Assassinating Legends
Volume 1
PUBLISHED BY:
Manik Ali on Smashwords
Copyright © 2011 by Manik Ali
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The Deceiver
In the land of Rock, Magmany Kingdom, there was an 18 year old girl named Alyssa Hyugo. Her dream was to become an adventurer at the open seas, so she bought a ship and printed the name “Hyugo” on the side. Before she could set sail, she needed a crew, but all her friends refused to leave their homes. She then thought of travelling on her own, so she headed home for the day. When she came close to her house, she saw her father, Kenji, leaving the house and his fiancé, Amanda Mills followed behind. Alyssa realised Amanda was acting strange so she hid behind the tree nearby as she watched them leave. Amanda was looking around, every second and then took out a small object from her bag. Alyssa was too far away to see what it was, but knew what it was after Amanda had struck Kenji in the back with it several times. Alyssa couldn’t believe it, but anger raged through her eyes. Alyssa unsheathed her sword and held it firmly, as she ran towards Amanda. Amanda noticed Alyssa was running towards her, so she grabbed Kenji and held him like a shield, and then she threw him at Alyssa. Alyssa caught him and laid him on the floor gently, as Amanda appeared behind her in an instant and then kicked her. Alyssa fell back a metre until she hit the ground and got up. She then lifted her sword in front of her, and then ran towards Amanda as she screamed. Amanda moved so fast, Alyssa couldn’t see her movements, when Amanda struck her neck, right shoulder then a punch in the stomach and then her head, before she was sent flying three metres. Amanda smiled at her, pitifully.
“You… you will pay for this…!” Alyssa shouted.
“Why don’t we make things fair…? You throw away your sword… and I won’t hit you as hard?” Amanda smiled with confidence.
“Fine…!”
The second, Alyssa threw her sword to the side, Amanda appeared in front of her and was about to punch her in the stomach, but stopped as she got close, then grabbed her right arm and twisted it behind her. Alyssa dropped to her knees, screaming. And then she clenched her left fists and struck a punch over her head and reached Amanda’s face. Amanda immediately let her go and jumped back.
“You will share the same fate as your father, lil’ girl!” She said, as she taunted her. Then Alyssa stood in a forward stance and waited for Amanda to make a move. “Hm… you have an opening!” Said Amanda, as she moved to strike her at the opening, but Alyssa quickly changed to a cat stance and parried her attack, which left an opening in her stomach, so she took out a small knife from her patch that was strapped to her left leg and stabbed her. “You… bitch!” Amanda yelled, as she held her wound. “That… wasn’t fair!”
“Fair…? After you stabbed my father in the back…!” Alyssa shouted, as she punched her in the face. Amanda dropped to the floor helplessly, still holding onto her wound. “Why did you kill my father?” Amanda smiled, but didn’t say anything. “Tell me!” She shouted.
“Hm! Very well, let me enlighten you! My name is Amanda Mills; I am an assassin from a group called Aoi Ishi. I was told by Master Drago Bell, to kill your father and yourself. Since I have failed to kill you, my Master will send an assassin stronger than myself!”
“I see! Where might I find this Aoi Ishi?” Alyssa asked.
“Who knows?”
“What about your boss?”
“Who knows?”
Alyssa kept asking her questions, but Amanda kept on smiling as she said “Who knows?” and it started irritating her, so she raised her hands, which she held the knife as a threat and asked again, but Amanda had the same reply. Then Alyssa slammed the knife through her chest and blood squirted out. Alyssa asked one more time but had the same outcome, so she continued stabbing her in the chest, until her arms grew tired. Later, she carried Amanda’s body to a lake and threw her there. A few days later, she held a funeral for Kenji and swore she would avenge him.
The Assassination
In a land called Genso Kiko, there was a country called Denki. And in that country, there was a village called Azumamura, where a boy named Tatsuo who was 10 years old, with black hair and dark brown eyes, was on his way home from school, wearing a grey thin overcoat and blue jeans. As he approached his house, he saw his father lying on the ground, outside his house and a woman sitting beside him was crying, as she held him. Rinji, 28 years old, had three stab wounds on his back, and the murder weapon, was a small sword, lying beside him. The woman that held Rinji was Dayanara Lamina, 24 years old and was in love with Rinji. But she isn’t Tatsuo’s mother, she did however, treat him like a son.
Tatsuo asked “what happened,” as he came close to them. Dayanara slowly moved away from Rinji, and walked slowly towards Tatsuo.
“They came… they came and they killed him” She said as she cried.
Tatsuo picked up the small sword, with his father’s blood dripping down, he said, “Which way did they go?” with a fierce look in his eyes.
“A group of assassins, called Aoi Ishi, came and attacked your father!” She said, as she looked at Tatsuo intimidatingly. Then she got close to Tatsuo and grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him off his feet. “Don’t go chasing after them, they’re extremely strong, you’d throw your life away, if you think about avenging your father. They’re also after you, since you’ve got the dark magic...”
Then, a girl around the age of 18 approached Rinji, without Dayanara realising and kneeled down beside him, and then she put her fingers on his neck to check for a pulse. She got up after realising that he’s dead and turned to face Dayanara.
“Dayanara, what is the meaning of this?” she said, as she held her sword firmly, in its black case.
Dayanara turned around, to see who it was. The girl had long blonde hair, light blue eyes and wore a sleeveless white overcoat over a red turtleneck-like shirt; knee high leather boots and a dark red mini-skirt. She also had a sword, about twenty inches long and curved with a long grip, carried beside her right leg in a black case which was tied to her belt.
“Oh, it’s you, Alyssa!” She said, as she dropped Tatsuo. “Aoi Ishi came, I assume you already know who they are, right?”
“Yeah, more or less.” Alyssa replied.
The next day, they held a funeral at the Southern Azuma Memorial Park. After the funeral, Alyssa was the first one to leave. Shortly after, Tatsuo chased after her. After he caught up with her, he asked her where she was going.
“I’m going to the land of Wind; I heard that Aoi Ishi base is located there.” Alyssa replied.
“Please… take me with you!” Tatsuo pleaded.
“Look… I’m sorry about your father, but there’s nothin’ you can do!”
“Please, I must avenge my father!”
“I know how you feel, but you aren’t strong enough to avenge your father!”
“Then teach me how to fight!”
“OK! Fine, you may come with me, but you must do as I say, you got that?”
Tatsuo nodded his head and they left Azumamura towards the east of Denki Kiko until they reached the docks. At the docks, there was a huge ship with “Hyugo” printed on the side of the ship that belonged to Alyssa and they headed out to sea.
The Reunion
After two years of traveling and training to become stronger, they arrive at the southern land of Wind. Alyssa handed him a photo of a woman with silver hair. “I want you to find this person.” She said.
“Who is she?” Tatsuo Asked.
“Her name is Jun. She is a friend of mine. She lives in Hype Town, which is further to the east.” She said and then explained that she had to go to Storm, which was in the western land of Wind.
Later, Tatsuo reached the main entrance of Hype Town, which was surrounded by a huge wall and only one entrance, with two gates blocking the entrance. There were archers on top of the wall and on high buildings outside the walls. Tatsuo approached the first gate, there were three guards blocking the entrance, but left a gap for one person to walk through. Tatsuo tried walking through that gap, but one of the guards brought him to a halt and asked him why he carried a sword.
“But… this ain’t real, it’s just a toy! I’m training in a dojo here, to be a warrior like you guys!” Tatsuo replied, as he smiled.
The guard looked at the other guards and they nodded and then he looked back at Tatsuo. “OK, you may pass!” He said.
Tatsuo thanked him and walked passed. Then he walked passed a second group of guards at the second gate, but didn’t stop him. Passed the second gate was a huge city filled with tall buildings and small ones, too. There were so many markets and people walking in different directions, so it was hard for Tatsuo to walk past them. “How am I supposed to find her in a place like this…?” He thought, as he looked down. He then asked people around, as he showed them the photo, but no one knew who she was, so he decided to take a break and relaxed at a bench nearby. He then decided to visit a store nearby and bought some snacks. On his way out, he passed a woman with white hair. He took out the photo and compared it to the woman. They look the same, a little; Tatsuo knew she was definitely Jun, with no doubt. Tatsuo thought he should go wait outside and eat his snacks before he should speak with her, but decided to talk to her first.
“Hey! Um… are you Jun?” He asked, hesitantly.
“Yes! And who might you be?” She replied, as she threw some vegetables in her basket.
“I’m Tatsuo! Um… Alyssa told me to find you!”
“Oh, Alyssa did? Hmm… Ok, would you mind if you wait outside, I just need to pay for these groceries and then I’ll come to speak with you?”
“OK!” He said and stepped outside. He then took a seat at the bench nearby and waited for her. A few minutes later, Jun came out with four bags of groceries.
“Hey, Tatsuo!” She shouted. “Help me carry these bags!”
“Yeah, OK!”
Tatsuo took two bags off her and went to her house. Her house was rather big with two floors. It’s surrounded by a small brick wall and a gate in the middle. Passed the gate, there was a footpath leading to the main door and the grass surrounding it. “Welcome, this is my home, please stay as long as you like!” she said, as she opened the gate. They then went inside, into the living room and Tatsuo took a seat on the couch. Jun went to the kitchen to put the groceries away and then returned to the living room.
“Did Alyssa tell you why she told you to see me?” Jun Asked.
“Erm… no! She said that she’s going somewhere dangerous, so I couldn’t go with her.”
“And that’s why she told you to come and find me?”
“Yes.”
“Oh OK, do you want anything to eat?” She asked.
“Sure!”
“It’s going to take at least an hour to prepare, would you like to do anything until then?”
“I’m gonna go outside and practice my sword technique.”
“Oh, then let me introduce you to my training room, its big enough!”
“OK, where is it?”
Jun took him upstairs, into the training room, which had a few punching bags and a few weight benches. There were a few dummies lined up in against the wall and blue mats laid across the room. In the middle of the room, the mats are orange in a shape of a square to identify the ring for sparring.
“Why do you have a training room in your house?” Tatsuo asked.
“Well, I was a ninja warrior, so i need my training. This is where I teach my daughter and other kids at your age, judo and other similar martial arts.”
“Oh, that’s amazing!”
“I’m gonna go prepare dinner, don’t hurt yourself!”
Jun went down to the kitchen to prepare dinner while Tatsuo practiced his sword technique. A few hours later, Jun called Tatsuo for dinner, in the dining room. They took a seat at the table and munched on the food.
“So, how’s your father?” Jun asked.
Tatsuo froze for a second and looked down as he put his food back in his plate.
“Father died… two years ago.” He said, with tears in his eyes.
Jun was shocked to hear this and left the room. Tatsuo looked down with anger in his eyes and clenched his fists. He then got up and went out the house. Jun returned to the dining room after wiping her tears and realized Tatsuo has gone. She went out the house to see if he’s still around, but she couldn’t find him. While she was still outside, she saw a man wearing a shinobi shōzoku, carrying a girl with a similar outfit.
“Alex? What are you doing here, what happened?” Jun asked.
“Your daughter got in a little bit of trouble, her dark magic has awakened!” The man replied.
The Encounter
Outside Hype Town, there was a forest, where Tatsuo was wandering in the night. He thought about his father as he was walking and thought he should go back to Azumamura, to find a lead to his fathers’ killer. Then, a dark purple-like hole appeared below his feet and sucked him in and then spat him out in another forest. Tatsuo had no idea of what happened, so he continued walking until he saw a boy around the age of 10 with black hair and dark brown eyes. He was dragging a girl, who looked like a 13 year old, with long bright pink hair and green eyes, in cuffs chained to her hands and feet.
The girl was screaming “Let me go!” but the boy wouldn’t listen.
“This is payback! Heh heh heh!” He laughed.
“Oi! What the hell are you doing?” Tatsuo shouted.
“Uh… this is none of your business! This is a competition!” The boy replied.
“A competition…?”
“Yeah! If I beat her, I take her place in the rankings!”
“Leo! You bastard!” The girl shouted.
“Aah! How did you get out?” The boy screamed.
“Heh! While you were busy talkin’ I snatched the key off ya!”
“No way! Damn it!”
Then the girl clenched her fists with a grimace look and delivered an uppercut, sending the boy flying into the air. The girl then faced Tatsuo and thanked him.
“What was that all about?” Tatsuo asked.
“Oh, nothing, don’t worry about that!” The girl replied.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah, thanks to you!”
“I didn’t do anything!”
“If it weren’t for you, I still would’ve been in cuffs, right now! If you had not distracted him…”
“Alright I get it… I’ll be going now!” Tatsuo turned around and slowly walked off. He then realized he doesn’t know where he’s going. “Hey, um… where are?” he asked.
“Are you lost?”
“No…! I just forgot which way I need to go!” Tatsuo responded to her question.
“Where do you need to go?”
“It’s none of your concern!”
“Fine, then you won’t be needin’ my help!”
“OK! I need to go to Azumamura.”
“Azumamura…? You’re kiddin’, right?” The girl looked upset, thinking Tatsuo was lying.
“Why would I?”
“Fine, I’ll be takin’ my leave!” Jen turned the other way and walked.
“Wait, can you at least tell me where we are?”
“As I thought, you really are stupid!”
“What was that?” Tatsuo yelled.
“Tell me, how did you get here without realizing where you are, I mean, there are signs at the entrances aren’t there?”
“I don’t… I don’t remember how I got here!”
“How dense can you be? We ARE in Azumamura! This is Azuma Park, stupid!”
“What…? But how…?”
“Did you not walk here?”
“That’s not what I mean…! I was in Velocity… how could I get here… it’s impossible!” Tatsuo said, as Jen turned and continued on walking. “Wait…! Please… can you tell me which way Walking Forest is?”
“Hmm… I’ll take you there!”
“OK, fine!”
They both strolled out the park, heading towards Walking Forest.
“What’s your name?” The girl asked.
“Tatsuo!”
“I’m Jen!”
“I didn’t ask!”
“Why Walking Forest, I mean what’s there?”
“My Home!”
“Home?”
“Yeah, I live… I used to live there, two years ago.”
“Can't be… you’re…!” Jen mumbled.
“Wha’…?”
“Nothing… I… I was just thinking… why is it called the Walking Forest?”
“Oh… well, I heard from my father, that the trees move at night, but it was just a rumour, so it’s not entirely true!”
“You wanna find out? Shall we go there at night to see for ourselves?” The girl smiled, as her eyes shined bright.
“When I have the time, sure!”
Soon, they arrived at Walking Forest. There was a road that cut straight through the forest.
“We’re here!” Jen said in exhilaration.
“Yes, thank you! This road leads to my house, so… this’s where we say goodbye?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Wait… before you go… erm… there’s this school nearby called… Azuma Chūgakkō…”
“Yeah, what about it?” Tatsuo asked.
“I was thinking that… you should go there.”
“And why’s that?”
“Well, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to! But if you decide to go there, I’ll be at the front entrance ‘til eight o’clock… Don’t be late!” She said and then turned to walk away, but stopped as she realized it’s quicker if she went with Tatsuo, through the forest. “Hold on, Tatsuo! My house is quicker that way.”
Tatsuo and Jen walked through the forest, until they reached the end. There was a T-junction, where they had to part ways. Tatsuo turned right as he waved back at Jen. As soon as Tatsuo got home, he rushed upstairs to his room.
The next day, Tatsuo got up early and got ready for school. He wore black trousers and a white shirt under his black leather jacket and headed to school. Jen was at the main entrance, just like she said. Behind the entrances gate, were huge stairs with a tall wall at the end and stairs leading to the left and the right. Atop the stairs was a huge building that Tatsuo and Jen entered.
Jen took Tatsuo to the administration’s office to get him enrolled and waited outside the office for him. When Tatsuo returned, he held a card in his hand and showed it to Jen. She looked surprised when she saw the note on the card.
“You’re a year younger. Hah! I didn’t know that. Come, I’ll take you to your class.” She said and took him to where his class was. She then waved at him as she ran off. Tatsuo looked at the door of his classroom and knocked. A young woman opened the door.
“Yes?” She said.
“I’m Tatsuo… Here.” Tatsuo gave the woman the card that was given to him, from the administration’s office.
“Oh Yes! Come in, come in. I’m Miss Kurai, please, come in.”
Tatsuo walked in and stood in front of the class.
“OK, listen up, you ignorant little fools! We have a new classmate here. His name is Tatsuo Ryuuga Hyugo. Please welcome him with open hands got that! Tatsuo, please take a seat over there, by the window!”
Tatsuo took a seat at the back of the class by the window.
“Tatsuo, was it?” A boy who sat next to Tatsuo looked at him. He had spikey white hair and green eyes.
“Yeah…!” Tatsuo replied.
“I’m Ken, this’ my buddy Gin.” Ken pointed with his thumb, at a boy who sat behind him. He had green hair and dark brown eyes. “He’s quite strong, so try not to get in a fight with him. But, I wouldn’t mind seeing a fight, right now!”
Tatsuo turned to face the window, ignoring what Ken had told him.
“Yo! Hahaha!” Gin laughed.
Ken smiled as he mumbled, “You’re quite interesting, Tatsuo!” with an evil grin on his face.
After school, Tatsuo went home and outside his front door was a boy with a dark hooded cloak with fiery wings on his back and wore a dark mask. In his right hand he held an implement with a long handle and a long curved single-edged blade, which looked like a scythe. “I am phoenix, the Red Flame! I have come for you!” He said, as he pulled the implement back and then ran towards Tatsuo at the speed of light and struck the implement horizontally, tearing Tatsuo’s torso. The boy then leapt into the sky, disappearing into the shadows. Tatsuo stood helplessly, as he held his bleeding wound, walking slowly towards his house, but then dropped to the ground, where the blood had spread all over the floor.
The Ninja Girl, Ryoko
A couple days ago in Hype Town, a girl named Ryoko, 10 years old, was in her house, getting ready to go on her mission. She wore a dark coloured shinobi shōzoku, which was made up of split-toed tabi boots and socks; special trousers with double-ties which fastened at the ankles, knees and waist; a jacket with overlapping lapels which was tucked into the trousers; and protective arm-and-hand sleeves with hidden pockets, containing a small weapon, such as a throwing knife. She took the curved sword which was mounted to the wall and strapped it to the double-ties around her waist, hanging from her right leg. She ran downstairs and heard her mother’s voice, coming from the living room.
“… She told you to come find me?”
“Yes!”
Then she heard another voice, which sounded like a little boy. She was curious to see who it was; the living room door was slightly opened, so she looked through that gap. It was a boy she’s never seen before; he had black messy hair and wore a sleeveless dark blue or navy coat. Ryoko didn’t have the time to introduce herself, so she left quietly, without a word.
She rushed through town, to get to the main entrance of Hype Town, where she rendezvoused with her team, Avryl and Alex, who were wearing the same attire as Ryoko.
“Ryoko, you’re late!” said Avryl.
“I know! I’m sorry!” Ryoko said, as she slightly bowed.
“It’s not a problem! Let’s keep on moving!” Alex responded, as he walked on, while Ryoko and Avryl followed.
Alex is 21 years old and the leader of the team; Avryl is the same age as Ryoko and are good friends.
“OK, listen up! Here’s what happened. An assassin infiltrated Hype Town, jus’ a few hours ago. Fortunately for us, he was spotted before anyone was killed. But unfortunately, he escaped from the guards and fled the scenes. Our mission… is to find this assassin… and take him in for questioning.” He explained.
They continued their search in the forest, nearby and Ryoko felt a strange aura around her, she slowed down and signalled Alex to carry on. As she examined the area, she felt a strange presence nearby. She followed her senses, heading south, while Avryl and Alex were moving towards the west. Ryoko sensed there was someone nearby, and then a shadowy figure appeared before her and clotheslined her.
Ryoko dropped to the floor as the man stood there and laughed. Ryoko laid on the floor unconscious, so the man turned around and raised his right arm in the air with a hand sign. He then turned back around and Ryoko was gone. He quickly turned back and saw her standing in front of him with a sword pierced through his stomach. Ryoko then kicked him and he went flying. Then a few shadows climbed down from the trees and tried to attack her, but she was too fast. Dozens more came and surrounded her. Ryoko flicked a sword from the floor into the air with her feet and caught it with her left hand. She held two swords and leaped into the air, over their heads and ran. She looked back and saw them following her, and then She smiled and turned face them, then ran at them, swinging her blade and cutting down every single person she passed. Then a ninja with a dark green outfit appeared. He slowly walked towards Ryoko and then swung his sword. Ryoko disappeared and reappeared behind the ninja and pierced her sword through his back.
She started walking slowly and wearily before she dropped to the floor and fell unconscious.
Alex saw Ryoko earlier, surrounded by twenty ninjas from a distant, so he rushed in to help her. “Ryoko...!” He shouted, as he looked near the dead bodies. “Where are you?” He then walked on further and found the girl lying on the floor unconscious. “Ryoko…!” He shouted, before realising she’s unconscious. He lifted her up and carried her on his back and left the forest.
The next day, Ryoko woke up at her house in her room, and Jun walked in.
“You’re awake, I see!” She said.
“Mother?”
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine, mum! I need to train…!”
“Do you… remember anything from last night?”
“Umm… no…! The last thing I remember is… I was in the forest, with Avryl and Alex.”
“Oh… I see! Do you remember killing anyone?”
“What?”
“Never mind…! Let’s talk in the living room… I want you to meet someone.”
“OK!”
Ryoko and Jun went down, to the living room. There was a young woman around the age of 20, sitting on the couch. She had long blonde hair and light blue eyes.
“Hello!” Ryoko greeted the woman.
“Hey!”
“This is Alyssa. She’s your cousin!” Jun explained.
“So you must be Ryoko, huh? I heard a lot about you… and how you killed over fifty assassins, single handed, last night!” Alyssa said.
“Huh…? That weren’t me…!”
“Ryoko, you don’t remember anythin’ from last night, do you?” Jun asked. Ryoko shook her head and Jun continued. “Last night, Alex saw you… he saw you fighting around twenty ninjas at once. He said he was on his way to help you, but by the time he got there, the ninjas were dead and there were more than fifty dead bodies lying around, and you were passed out.”
“No way!”
“Ryoko, have you met or seen a boy with black hair and wore a navy sleeveless top?”
“No… ah wait…! I think so… was he here… talkin’ to you last night?”
Jun and Alyssa looked at each other.
“That must be it!” Alyssa muttered.
“The reason why you don’t remember what happened last night is ‘cause a very powerful magic has activated within you, called Dark Magic. There are a lot of ninjas out there that would kill for that kind of magic, so you better learn how to use it quick.” Jun explained.
“OK, so if Ryoko’s powers have activated, does that mean Tatsuo’s powers activated as well?” Alyssa asked.
“Most likely!”
“Then we gotta find Tatsuo, he’s in great danger!”
“I know! Let’s go…! Ryoko, you too, we need to find that boy you saw. He wore a navy sleeveless top, that’s all I remember!”
“OK!” Ryoko replied.
Alyssa, Jun and Ryoko had split up to find Tatsuo. Ryoko searched outside of town and ended up in a forest. She started running through the forest until she tripped and fell. A dark purple spiral appeared where she dropped and she went through the spiral.
The spiral appeared again in another location and Ryoko came out of it. She was surrounded by trees and there was a curved road going through the forest and a bench on the edge of the road and another opposite it. Ryoko felt exhausted and one of her leg was hurt, so she limped over to the bench and laid down. Her eye lids were getting heavy and heavy, until she fell asleep.
When she awoke it was really dark.
“How long… was I asleep for?” she asked herself. She looked over to the bench opposite hers, and there was someone sleeping there. It was a boy with green hair and wore a sleeveless coat, the same as Tatsuo’s, but his is green. Ryoko approached the boy and woke him up. “Hey! Do you know where we are?” She asked.
“Huh…? Who’re you?” The boy said.
“Oh… I’m Ryoko… I’m kinda lost…”
“I’m Gin…! This place is called the Walking Forest…!”
“The… Walkin’ Fores’…? I’ve never heard of such thing!”
“Well, I don’t know the real reason why it’s called the Walking Forest, but they say the trees move at night to find food… and they’re man eatin’ trees, so they feed on us humans… but that’s jus’ an old folks tale!”
“OK! Interesting story…! Anyways have you seen a boy aroun’ here called Tatsuo…? He has black hair and it looks kinda messy like!”
“Tatsuo… Tatsuo…! Oh, I know! It’s that Hyugo kid, right?”
“Hyugo…?”
“That’s his last name. He enrolled in Azuma Chūgakkō today. It’s the name of the school… you should go there tomorrow and see if it’s him!”
“OK, Thanks! I will. I need to go now, it’s late. My mum’s probably worried ‘bout me!”
Ryoko waved at Gin and ran off, not knowing where she is heading.
“I’m so tired…! I wish I was in my bed right now!” She Thought. Then a dark purple spiral appeared before Ryoko, and she went through it, again. The spiral reappeared in Ryoko’s bedroom, which she came out of and fell to her bed.
The next day, Jun woke her up and asked her where she was.
“I was in the Walkin’ Fores’ lookin’ for Tatsuo.” She replied.
“You were supposed to come back at 9 o’clock, what happened?”
“I learnt that Tatsuo enrolled in a school.”
“And which school might that be?”
“Azuma Chūgakkō!”
“Azuma… Chūgakkō…? But that’s way out in the Genso Kiko Island. How could he have possibly gotten there in a day?”
“Genso Kiko…?”
“Who told you this…?”
“Umm… his name was Gin. I met him in the Walkin’ Fores’!”
“Walking Forest, huh? That’s in Azuma Village, which is also in the Genso Kiko Island…! Looks like this Gin made a fool out of you!”
“Hmmm… It must’ve been a dream…! I… I remember now…! I was actually in the forest jus’ outside of town, when I tripped, a purple circle thingy appeared out of nowhere and I went through it. I think… it teleported me to this Genso Island.”
“Is that so? Would you care to demonstrate?” Jun folded her arms with doubt.
Ryoko tried to concentrate and teleport. “Come on… why ain’t it working…? Maybe if I try thinking of a place to go. Hmm…! I wanna go to the kitchen…!” A purple spiral appeared below her and she went through it.
Jun was stunned and sat down on Ryoko’s bed. Ryoko was in the kitchen and she ran upstairs to go back into her room.
“See, mum! It wasn’t a dream after all…! I can actually teleport!”
“I know! But that is the power of the Dark Magic. It consumes a lot of your Ki, so don’t use it too often, OK!”
“Ki…?”
“Your Ki will restore once you get a good rest… you don’t need to worry about that now…! Go and find Alyssa and bring her back here… you can teleport if you must!”
“OK!”
Ryoko decided to teleport and appeared in front of Alyssa. Alyssa startled and held her sword firmly until she realized it was Ryoko.
“Whoa…! Where did you come from…?” She said.
“I… uh… teleported here…! Mum sez it’s from the power of the Dark Magic!”
“I see…! Does it work on other individuals?”
“Not sure…! Let’s try!”
Ryoko held Alyssa’s hand and teleported back to her house. Ryoko started breathing heavily, like she ran a mile.
“Are you alright, Ryoko? Do you need to take a rest?” Jun asked.
“No, no…! I’m fine…! I’m actually hungry, I need to eat!”
“OK! I’ll get food prepared right away!”
Jun rushed to the kitchen and fixed her a quick meal. Ryoko quietly ate her meal and then realised the time.
“Ah, it’s almost 3:20pm. We need to go the school that Tatsuo enrolled to!” Ryoko yelled.
“School…?” Alyssa asked.
“Yeah! Tatsuo enrolled in a school in Azuma Village. He must’ve teleported there, like I did!”
“Then we’ll go to his house, I know where it is, so we don’t need to go to the school. Let’s go, now!”
Ryoko grabbed Alyssa’s hand and teleported to Azumamura. They were surrounded by trees and there was a curved road going through the forest with a bench on the edge of the road and another opposite it.
“I’ve been here before…” Ryoko thought.
“Let’s Go, Ryoko! Follow me!” Alyssa directed.
They walked along the road until they reached a T-junction and turned right. When they reached Tatsuo’s house, they saw a boy with black leather jacket, lying on the floor face down, bleeding. Alyssa approached the boy and turned him over.
“It’s Tatsuo…!” She muttered.
“Tatsuo…! Is he alive…?” Ryoko asked.
“Yeah! He’s alive, but jus’ barely. If we hadn’t arrived, he would have been dead!”
Ryoko let out a sigh of relief and Alyssa took Tatsuo to his house to treat his wounds.
Sorceries Guild
Tatsuo woke up in his bed.
“Where… am I…?”
Tatsuo got out of his bed and looked at his hands.
“That’s right… I was… cut down…”
He looked at his stomach, he had bandages all over.
“I was saved…?”
“Tatsuo…! You're awake!”
Alyssa walked in the room and saw Tatsuo standing up and looking at the bandages, until he realised Alyssa was there.
“Alyssa…? You saved me…?”
“Yeah! We found you outside, lying on the floor. Why have you come here?”
“I don’t know…! I thought I could find my father’s killer…”
“It’s dangerous here… you need to go back to your mother!”
“Mother…?” Tatsuo muttered.
Then, a girl with pink hair and green eyes walked in the room and looked surprised with teary eyes, to see Tatsuo standing on his feet, and then she leapt at him and hugged him tightly.
“I’m glad…” She cried. “You’re alright! I thought… I thought you were gonna die…!”
“Jen…? Why’re you…! I’m fine, I’m fine! I was jus’ tired, so I fell asleep… that’s all.”
“Eh…? No one sleeps for 12 days… Tatsu!” She said, as she let him go.
“Wha’…?”
“You were in a coma, Tatsuo!” Alyssa answered.
“Coma…?”
“Mmh!” Jen nodded. “Tatsu… the guy who did this to you… I’ve heard of ‘im. He calls his self the Phoenix since he can create ‘n’ manipulate fire! So I was thinkin’… maybe you should try ‘n’ learn magic?”
“That’s not a bad idea, Jen. But, he has magic powers that he’s not aware of, so there’s no need for him to learn magic, but to control the powers he already has.” Alyssa explained.
“Magic… powers…?” Tatsuo muttered.
“I see…! Then there’s this guild, they can help ‘im control it.” Said Jen.
“Guild?”
“Yeah! It’s a Guild for sorcery, it’s called Aquamarines. They teach magic and help control it.”
“Tatsuo, you go to this Guild! I’ll be going now, so take care.” Said Alyssa.
“OK, see ya!”
“Jen, Take care of Tatsuo… eh…?” Alyssa stared at the star shaped badge for a second, that Jen wore on her top with the number ‘nine’ written in roman numerals on it. “Why do you wear that badge?” She asked.
“Oh, this?” Jen pointed at the star shaped badge. “It’s to represent my rank.” She smiled.
“Kin’iro no Star, is it?”
“Yeah… How do you know about it?” Jen asked with a confused look on her face.
“Kin’iro no Star is a small clan formed by a member of Aoi Ishi. I’ve infiltrated many Aoi Ishi bases, and learnt a little about the enemy.” Alyssa explained.
“Oh, I see.”
“So why are you a part of them?”
“It’s not like I had a choice…!” Jen looked down. “Father forced me to…!”
“Your father?” Alyssa had nothing else to say, after seeing Jen frown, so she decided to leave.
“Are you alright, Jen?” Tatsuo asked, after Alyssa was gone.
Jen put on a fake smile and tilted her head slightly.
“Yeah!” She replied. “I’m fine! Let’s go out for a walk!”
“Alright!”
Jen and Tatsuo left the room and went down the stairs, when someone walked in through the front door. It was a girl with black hair and she looked at Tatsuo and Jen walking down the stairs.
“It’s you…” Jen muttered.
“Where is Alyssa?” Said the girl.
“Alyssa jus’ left!” Tatsuo replied. “Who are you?”
“Tsk!” The girl wasn’t too happy to hear Alyssa’s gone, so she went to the living room and took a seat; Tatsuo and Jen followed, shortly after and took a seat. The girl slouched back on her seat and closed her eyes.
“She was here with Alyssa, the other day. Alyssa said if it weren’t for her, you would ‘ave been dead.”
The girl opened her eyes and leaned forward. “You should be grateful, boy! I saved your life!” She said. “I’m Ryoko Ryuuga! Nice to meetchu!”
“I’m Tatsuo!”
“I’m Jen! Nice to meet you” She said, as she Bowed her head slightly.
“Ryuuga…?” Tatsuo muttered.
“Oh…! Does the name Ryuuga sound familiar, to you?” Ryoko said, as she smiled. “Oh! I gotta go now, Bye!”
As soon as she stood up, a dark purple spiral appeared below her feet and sucked her in. Tatsuo and Jen were left puzzled from what they’ve seen so they got up from their seats and looked around, where Ryoko was standing.
“It was most likely a teleportation type magic. It’s the first time I’ve seen it!” Said Jen. “Eh! What’s the matter, Tatsu?” She added, when she realised Tatsuo looked puzzled.
Tatsuo stood there lost in his thoughts, until he realises Jen has been calling him.
“Oh… it’s nothin’! It’s jus’… my second surname is Ryuuga… maybe she’s my relative.”
“Really…? She does look a lot like you…!”
Tatsuo walked outside, and Jen soon followed.
“Oh yeah, that’s right! We were supposed to go to the guild, right? Come on, let’s go!” She said.
Tatsuo and Jen walked through Walking Forest, until they reached the other end. Jen stopped and looked around, after she felt a weird presence.
“We’re bein’ followed!” She whispered to Tatsuo. “Come, we need to hurry!”
Jen took the lead and ran in a different direction from Azuma Park, and towards a forest..
“Why are we running? We can take them!” Tatsuo Asked.
“No…! We’re outnumbered. There’s far too many for us to handle…! We jus’ need to lose them, before we get to the guild!”
“OK! Where are we goin’?”
“For now, we’re gonna have to find a place to hide, where we can get a good view on whoever’s pursuing us. Then, we’ll sneak up behind one of ‘em and take ‘im someplace quiet.”
“Alright!”
While Tatsuo and Jen were talking, a dark purple spiral appeared infront of them, big enough for both of them to fit through, and they both ran into it before they realised it. They both then appeared on top of a tall tree, looking confused.
“What happened…? Did you do this?” Jen asked.
“I… I don’t know…!”
“Alright, let’s hide here and keep a lookout for anyone passin’ by, OK?”
“Yeah!”
A while later, Tatsuo spotted a group of soldiers wearing steel armour, heading in their direction. They were carrying swords and shields and a few with longbows and arrows in their quivers.
“They’re not the ones following us!” Jen whispered.
“Wha’…?” Tatsuo whispered back.
“Look! They’re soldiers with heavy armour. It would be hard for them to move fast in those. So it’s impossible to be lurkin’ in the shadows, right?”
“Oh, right!”
“Let’s go!”
“But… what about whoever’s followin’ us?”
“I don’t know…! We jus’ need to go the guild. Can you teleport us to Azuma Park?”
“Teleport…?”
“Yeah! Like… the way we got up here!”
“I’m not sure how…”
“Try closin’ your eyes and think only of goin’ to that place!”
“OK!”
Tatsuo closed his eyes and thought of goin’ to Azuma Park, but nothing came up. Jen tapped his shoulders and he opened his eyes.
“You can give up now! Let’s go!” She said.
“Wait! Let me do this one more time!”
“Alright, hurry!”
Tatsuo raised his right arm in front of him and thought of going to Azuma Park. Then, a small red spiral appeared and slowly grew big. When the portal was big enough, Tatsuo jumped in and Jen followed.
“Wow! It worked!” Said Jen, in amazement.
They both continued walking through the park and Jen guided the way. The park was quite big with trees all over the place. Several minutes later, they approached a rusty huge gate. “Welcome to Aquamarines” was written on a wooden board that was hanging on the gate. Behind the gate was a huge broken down mansion.
“Is this… the place?” Tatsuo asked.
“Yeah!” Jen replied.
“Are you sure…? It looks like a haunted mansion.” Tatsuo asked again.
“It’s here! That building you’re lookin’ at is nothin’ but an illusion, to scare off any intruders! Close your eyes.”
“Wha’…? why?”
“Jus’ do it!” Jen yelled.
Tatsuo closed his eyes and Jen followed, as she placed both her hands close together in front of her.
“You can open your eyes now.” She said, after she opened her eyes.
Aquamarines
When Tatsuo opened his eyes, he noticed the building was completely different. The gate was shining like it was brand new. The building was made of wood and had three floors. Above the main door was a huge logo shaped like an aquamarine gem. Tatsuo and Jen passed through the open gate and headed towards the door. Jen open the door and walked in first, and then Tatsuo followed. There was a huge hall, passed the door, with a huge crowd of people staring at Tatsuo.
“Oh look! It’s that fuckin’ samurai girl! It’s a fuckin’ surprise to see you again.” A man from the second floor balcony jumped down and greeted Jen. “So who’s this fuckin’ kid, eh? Your boyfriend, is he?” He asked as he looked at Tatsuo.
The man had long spikey hair and wore a black leather jacket, blue jeans and black boots.
“Fuck off, Giovanni!” Jen shouted in irritation. “He wants to join the guild; you got a problem with that?”
“Nah I’m cool.” He looked at Jen and waved his hand, and then looked at Tatsuo and asked for his name.
“I’m Tatsuo!”
“I’m Antonio Giovanni! Nice to fuckin’ meet you!” He said, as he shook Tatsuo’s hand.
Then a young woman walked towards Tatsuo and Jen from the crowd of people. The woman wore a red short sleeved shirt with a sleeveless black leather overcoat, black leather jeans and black leather boots.
“Yo, Jen! Nice to see you again.” She greeted.
“This fuckin’ kid here wants to f…”
The woman punched Antonio in his mouth and went flying across the room, before he could finish his sentence. Tatsuo looked surprised as he stared at Antonio, as a pair of socks hanged out his mouth.
“You want to join the guild, huh?” The woman smiled at Tatsuo. “I’m Ashley Belle and you are…?”
“Tatsuo.”
“Tatsuo, you’ll need to speak with the master, first. Come, I’ll take you to him.”
On the right there was a staircase leading to the second floor. Ashley led them up those stairs and approached a door, where another woman stood by. She was beautiful with long straight black hair and she wore a full length red dress in tulle, with a boned bodice and softly shaped sweetheart neckline. She then introduced herself to Tatsuo and leaded him and Jen through the door, as Ashley stayed outside. The woman was a younger sister of Ashley’s. Her name was Katerina Belle. In the room they just entered was an old man sitting in his desk and writing something on a paper with a quill pen. The old man had a bold head and grey pointed beard on his chin and a pencil thin moustache, he wore a robe with white folding cuffs.
“Master,” Katerina Called out. “We have a new member.”
“Who is it?” The old man asked without looking at her and continued writing.
“Tatsuo Hyugo is his name, Master.” Said Jen.
“Jen, is that you?” The old man looked surprised to see Jen.
“Yes.”
“You’ve grown, haven’t you? It’s nice to see you again, Jen.”
“You Too, Master!”
Then, the old man took out a sheet of paper and wrote his name on it, then when to the backroom which was through the door behind him. He then returned with a black jacket in his hands similar to the one Tatsuo was wearing, but with the Aquamarines logo on the back, and gave it to Tatsuo.
“You must wear this jacket to let others know you’re an Aquamarines member. I’m Kraken, the master of this guild. Your name has been registered to the roster and a copy has been sent to the Magic Circle.”
“Magic Circle…?” Tatsuo mumbled.
“It’s a society that was founded many years ago, to prevent magic being used wrongfully and to maintain order in the guilds worldwide.” Katerina explained.
“Yes! You may take your leave, now.” Kraken insisted them to leave. “Oh, Jen, I’m glad you decided to come back to the guild. After what happened last time, I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
Jen just smiled back at him without a word. Katerina pulled Tatsuo outside the room and waited for Jen.
“You know, your skills are astounding. I believe you’ll be one of the strongest mage’s of the world, in a few years, maybe sooner.” He added.
“That’s not true. I have a younger brother that’s stronger than I am.”
“Really? Can your brother combine water and lightning elements or any other elements and use it as a weapon?”
“No, but combining elements doesn’t prove that I’ll be among strongest!”
“But your Water and Lightning combination was just incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it! I see potential in you, Jen. I was really disappointed when I heard what your father did.”
“Yeah, me too... I have to go now, Tatsuo’s waitin’ for me.”
“OK then, take care of yourself.”
Jen left the room and met with Tatsuo and Katerina outside. Katerina lead them down the stairs they came up and went to the back of the building, which was a playground used for training.
“Now then.” Said Katerina. “Do you know how to control your chi energy, Tatsuo?”
“No,” Tatsuo shook his head. “What’s that?”
“Chi is the flow of energy in living beings, like us. I’ll be teaching you how to control your chi today.”
As Katerina explained, Jen went to the back of the garden, where there were six target dummies in each row and each row had a different range. The first one was 10 yards from the target, which she approached. She stood with her left foot forward and put weight on her right leg. She placed both her hands in front of her and formed it like she was holding a ball. Then she pulled her hands behind her slowly and then she quickly pushed it forward, where a ball shaped ice shot out her hands and froze the target. She then moved to the next row, which was 30 yards away and did the same thing.
Several minutes later, Tatsuo approached the target 10 yards away. Both his foot were parallel to each other and were aligned to his shoulders. His hands were down, in front of him by his waist and then he slowly raised his hands slightly, as he felt his energy flowing through his arms and building up in his palms. He then pulled his right foot back and his right hand behind him and then he looked at the target and then pushed his hand forward, towards the target. A dark aura surrounded his arm as a small red fireball was shot out his hand, but the fireball extinguished before it hit the target.
Tatsuo tried it again, but this time he pulled both hands behind him, as the dark aura surrounded his whole body. And when he flicked his hands forward, a dark, ball shaped, solid object shot out his hands, which barely missed the target.
“Fuck!” Tatsuo shouted in frustration. “Wait…! That wasn’t fire!”
“It looked like some sort of solid object… a steel ball, maybe?” Said Jen. “Can you do that again?”
Tatsuo nodded and pulled his hands behind him again. The dark aura which surrounded him turned to black smoke. Tatsuo raised his hands in front of him and looked at them, confused. There were black flames flowing out of his hands.
Tatsuo pulled his hands back again, but with a different pose. His left foot was in front and all the weight was on his right leg. His right arm was parallel to the ground where his elbow was behind him and his hand face down pointing towards the target. His left hand was pointing behind him, facing up under the right hand.
A spiral of black flames formed between his two hands as he pushed it towards the target. A black fiery ball whistled through the cold air and struck the target, completely blowing off the top part of the dummy. Jen was speechless with her mouth wide open.
“That was amazing!” Katerina was surprised. “Have you named it?”
“Um… the Dark Fireball of the Dragon!”
“No, that’s too long! How about Yami Hidama?” She asked.
“Yami Hidama…? Hmm… that’ll do for now!” Tatsuo confirmed. “But I’ll change it in a later date, if I happen to find a better name for it.”
“It’s getting late, should we go home now, Tatsu?” Jen Asked.
“Hold on, before you go, I just want to see something!” Katerina halted them. “If you don’t mind, can I see you fight Tatsuo?”
“Fight… with Tatsuo…?” Jen muttered.
“It’s just… I’ve never seen you fight before. I only heard from Ashley, how a great mage you are! Please! It’ll also help with Tatsuo’s training!”
“I’m kind of curious myself, to see how well you fight.” Tatsuo unsheathed his sword and pointed it towards her. “Let’s do this, Jen! There’s no turnin’ back, now!” He urged her.
“OK, fine!” Jen placed her left hand open in front of her chest, with her finger tips pointing up. Then a small red hole appeared on the palm of her hand and glowed, as she reached inside with her right hand and pulled it out, along with a curved sword. The sword looked like it was made out of ice, though.
“Did you jus' make that sword out of ice?” Tatsuo asked.
“This is one of the legendary sword, Pagos, made from rare gems. There are two more, which I know of, made from rare gems, but there’s only one made from the white gems, which resembles the snow.”
“So is that why it looks like ice?”
“Yes! This is Pagos! It looks like ice, but it’s as hard as gold.” Jen smiled.
“How did you get such a rare sword?”
“It was given to me by my master, Blendz, before he passed away.”
Jen swung her sword in the air and shards of ice appeared and flew towards Tatsuo. Tatsuo deflected the shards as Jen moved her arms in a circular motion and then pointing towards Tatsuo with her right hand, producing a bolt of lightning from her fingertips. The bolt barely missed Tatsuo, but left him shocked and vulnerable. Jen took that chance and appeared beside him with a spinning hook kick to the back of his head and fell to his knees. Then, Jen jumped back as Tatsuo got back up, trembling.
“What’s wrong, Tatsu? Are you afraid?” Jen asked, as she concealed her sword. “Let us stop, I don’t want to hurt you!”
“Jen wait! I heard from Ashley that you created your own technique, with the combination of lightning and water, that true?” Katerina asked. “Can I see it?”
“Yeah, sure!” Jen replied.
Jen spread her legs apart and bended her knees and relaxed all her muscles, building her Ki energy. Then a small drop of water appeared in front of her, and orbited around her as it got bigger and faster, causing static electricity. The water that orbited her looked like a ring around her body with electricity flowing through it. She then manipulated the water and formed it into a shape of a ball.
“This is it! I call it Acqua Scossa!”
“Great, now launch it at me!”
“What…!”
“Do it!” Katerina shouted.
Jen launched her Acqua Scossa at Katerina, but it disappeared in the instant it touched her.
“What…? What happened?” Jen was confused.
Katerina smiled as she flicked her hair.
“I have the ability to create and manipulate wood, and also turn myself in to wood, which allowed me to absorb the water as energy.” She explained.
“Oh I see. Tatsu, Let’s go!” Jen commanded. “Can you teleport us back to your house?”
“Yeah!” He replied, as he tried to create a portal, but it didn’t work. “Um, actually, it’s best if we walk it back, right, Katerina?”
“Yes.” Katerina replied. “You’ve used up too much of your chi, that is why you can’t teleport, Tatsuo.”
Tatsuo looked confused and didn’t know what to say.
“I see, let’s go, Tatsu!” Said Jen. “It’s gettin’ late! I was really hopin’ on teleporting, but, I guess we have no choice.”
Jen and Tatsuo walked out as Katerina waved. “Take care, you two!” She shouted.
“You too, Kat!” Jen Replied.
As soon as they left, Katerina and Ashley were called in to Kraken's office.
"We got a letter from the Magic Circle, regarding a top class mission. I have assigned you two for the job!"