by Aaron Oster
“Going to be one hell of a family reunion,” he muttered, speeding up his pace a bit to catch up with Aika and Ferry.
Roy trailed behind him, his face betraying not a hint of the inner turmoil Hermit knew to be taking place.
***
Had Roy been able to read minds, he’d have been shocked at how accurate Hermit’s thinking was at that moment. There was a good deal of inner turmoil going on, as he tried to piece together Aika’s strange behavior and why her mood had seemed to shift so abruptly. He was distracted from those thoughts just a moment later, as Hermit picked up his pace and the main road turned into a sprawling marketplace.
Here, he was able to see the thousands of merchants that had come to the city, offering their wares or services. The entire thing looked like a massive, sprawling mess at first glance, but when one looked a bit closer, they could begin to see a pattern.
Roy stuck close to Hermit as he wound his way between stalls, all selling crafting materials of one sort or another. There were materials for buildings, small household items, transportation, and so on. There was such a wide array of things to look at that Roy had no idea where to start. Merchants were also continuously trying to get in their way, showing them one item or another that they absolutely had to have. Thankfully, Hermit simply ignored them and there was nothing here that Roy really wanted to purchase.
Had they been a few rows over, where the Pill and Elixir refiners worked, he’d have had a far harder time. He suspected that Hermit had taken them through this mostly industrial section on purpose, so as to avoid having to deal with that particular problem. It took them nearly twenty minutes of pushing and shoving to break free of the marketplace, at which point they were faced with another checkpoint.
The gates here were much smaller and made of wood. They seemed to be placed more as a barrier to separate the residential areas from the marketplace and work areas than anything else. After showing their papers to the guards, Hermit and the rest of them were allowed to pass through. Now that they were out of the busy part of the city, the noise levels began to drop drastically.
There were still plenty of people out and about here, but the area was far nicer than it had been. Lush grass and colorful flowers dotted the sides of the cobbled paths, and every once in a while, they’d pass a garden or outdoor training area. There were signs all over the place, directing people where to go and how to behave in this area of the city.
“Who knew there were so many rules?” Roy commented as they passed yet another warning about making too much noise in the public training area.
Wasn’t training noisy by nature?
“It’s the only way to keep a city filled with Martial Artists from devolving into a squabbling mess,” Hermit replied, taking a turn and heading down another path.
The noise had almost completely vanished by now, replaced instead by the pleasant sounds of trickling water, rustling leaves, and grass blowing in the wind. Almost everyone they passed now was dressed in the blue and gold of the Itachi clan, and for the first time since they’d entered, Roy began to see actual families going about their daily lives.
The houses were pretty spread out, looking like small compounds that he assumed held several families that were closely related. Outside one of these, Roy saw a small boy and girl sparring. They couldn’t have been older than 6 or 7, and each sported a Yellow-Belt around their waists.
Behind them stood a stern-looking man, dressed in flowing robes with a Blue-Belt tied around his waist. Another compound contained a few families sitting on blankets on their front yards, all eating together.
Roy felt an odd pang of sadness as he passed each of these houses. They reminded him of everything he’d never had, and it pained him to see the sort of life he may have lived, had his mother not died in Shah clan territory. He’d probably still have been an outsider without a Core, but at least he’d have had a family to support him. The longer they walked, the more despondent he became, feeling the crushing weight of everything he’d never known, coming down on him all at once.
“Hey. Are you okay?” Roy started and looked up to see that Aika and Ferry had fallen into step beside him.
He’d been so distracted that he hadn’t heard them approach. Clearly, they were done with their conversation, not having needed him at all. Ferry seemed happy enough, but Aika was looking at him with concern. He wasn’t really sure what to make of it, as just a small while ago, she’d practically torn his head off over nothing.
“I’m fine,” he said, trying to give off the impression that nothing was bothering him.
It clearly didn’t work, because Aika reached out and placed a consoling hand on his shoulder.
“I know you never really had a family growing up, but don’t let that get you down. You have us now, and a future ahead of you. You might not have gotten to experience what those children are, but one day, you may get to have children of your own, and you can assure that they have the upbringing you never did.”
Roy thought on that for a few moments, relaxing a bit as he realized that Aika was no longer mad at him.
“Yes, Roy, you have us,” Ferry said, placing a hand on his shoulder as well. “We’re your friends, so don’t be sad.”
Roy snorted out a laugh despite himself. He was touched by their concern, and slowly, the feelings of sadness and loneliness began to fade. He wasn’t alone, not anymore. Besides, Aika was right. One day, he might have a family of his own. After his hellish upbringing, he knew how not to treat a child and would assure that his children never had to go through what he did.
That was still a long way off, and he still had a lot to accomplish. The world had too much injustice, and as long as powerful Martial Artists continued to oppress those beneath them, his Ideal wouldn’t allow him to simply settle down. Still, he was glad for the support and made his gratitude known.
“Thank you. Both of you,” he said, looking between the two of them.
Before either of them could reply, Hermit broke into their conversation.
“You can stop all the mushy stuff. We’re here.”
They all came to a stumbling halt, and Roy looked further down the path to see a ten-foot stone and brick wall stretching right across the path. It spread as far as the eye could see in either direction, and the only way in seemed to be the path ahead. A set of carved wooden doors stood in the center of the path, before which stood four Purple-Belts, all with their eyes trained squarely on them.
13
Tonde Kaeru danced back as the massive, red frog-beast unleashed a fiery blast that nearly took his head off.
“Woah, there! You almost got me,” he chuckled, striking out with a powerful punch and sending a lance of ice to slam into the Beast’s rubbery hide.
Instead of piercing the frog with that strike, the ice shattered, turning to steam, and not leaving so much as a scratch on the beast’s hide. The frog let out a deafening croak, then leaped towards him, flashing across the distance between them in an instant and twisting in the air to lash out with its powerful legs.
Kaeru threw both arms up in a defensive block but still felt the searing heat from the frog’s body as it collided with him. He flared his Core, switching to Qi as the frog flipped off him and struck out again, using the same technique as before. The lance of ice that burst from his fist was fifty times stronger and about ten times as fast, slamming into the frog midair and punching a massive hole in its side.
The frog let out a croak of rage as molten lava rained from its side. The massive, sticky tongue lashed out, and Kaeru was forced to use his own Movement technique to avoid it. His body flowed easily to one side as the tongue flashed by, slapping a boulder behind him and melting it to slag.
“Now that was just plain rude!” Kaeru exclaimed, looking down at the hole burned in his robe. It was annoying, and he’d just replaced them.
The frog whipped its tongue to the side without retracting it, shearing through a dozen trees and lighting them on fire, forcing Kaeru to lea
p up and use his Projected technique to get him aloft. A geyser erupted from his closed fist, throwing him skyward, but the frog wasn’t about to let him go.
Its massive tongue came back to its mouth with a snap. The frog jumped into the air, opening its mouth wide and spewing forth a stream of molten stone.
“Shouldn’t have come up here, froggy,” Kaeru called out, then used his Containment technique to surround the airborne Beast.
A whirl of water flowed from thin air, surrounding the creature in a cocoon of whirling water. The frog bellowed, belching up more molten stone and even whipping its tongue out, but the constant stream of Kaeru’s Qi-enhanced Containment technique kept the Beast in check. Then, gravity began to reassert itself, and the two of them plummeted to the ground.
Kaeru landed gracefully, coming up in a roll and dashing forward, his body twisting and flowing between the pools of molten stone and fire as the frog came down. He lunged forward, the Containment technique fading away, just in time for him to slam a fist directly into the frog’s chest. He let out a sharp breath, reaching to the space that existed in the water molecules he’d just projected from his fist, expanding and freezing them in a star-shaped pattern.
There was a loud crackling sound, and then a dozen spiny shards of ice punched through the frog’s body, spouting outward as though the creature had just grown a bunch of new limbs. Kaeru landed lightly, letting out a breath, as the solid thump of the frog sounded behind him. The Beast’s body twitched a few more times, the frog desperately trying to hold onto the last vestiges of its life before it finally gave in to the inevitable and lay still.
“Phew!” Kaeru said, wiping imaginary sweat from his forehead. “Can’t get a workout like that in the Crater.”
That much was obvious, as the Beast before him was at 1st Dan Purple, stronger than most of the Martial Artists in his clan, and just a single stage below him. Still, there was a big difference between him and the Beast. For one, he was more intelligent. This was clearly not a Beast that had chosen the same path as the Beast King. And for another, he was a Supreme. Though that fight may have looked close to an outside observer, he could have ended it with the first blow had he chosen to use Chakra instead of Essence or Qi.
But what fun would that be? Besides, it was hardly conducive to a good training regimen if all fights were over in an instant. He also needed to train his newfound ability to control ice and steam, both components of Water Essence he’d previously believed impossible to touch. He’d learned a lot since leaving the Crater over two months ago, like that the outside world had so much more to offer.
Back in the Crater, his strength had been stagnating. Only once he’d found his Ideal had he moved past Base Red-Belt, and he now sported a 2nd Dan Belt around his waist. The blood-red Belt with two golden stripes was a testament to his hard work and determination. Both to better himself and to ultimately give his clan a better future.
His sister Hato had hardly been pleased when he’d told her he was leaving, especially after the war between their clan and that of the Beast and Kyofu. Still, without the Beast King around and the Tonde having achieved victory, Kaeru was fairly confident she’d be just fine. He did plan on going back, and he’d had to make that very clear to her – several dozen times – before she’d finally agreed to take over while he was gone.
Kaeru crouched near the massive frog, ripping the beast open and retrieving the spiny Fire Essence Core within. He’d taken to collecting any and all Cores he could, storing them in his Soul Ring – a storage device linked to his Core – to bring back to the clan upon his return. But he couldn’t return just yet.
He’d learned some troubling things from the Beast King before his old rival had died, ones that his Ideal demanded he go out and investigate. The Beast King hinted that he himself didn’t know why he’d incited such a large-scale war, and Kaeru’s Ideal had told him that his clan was still in danger from an outside source. So, until he discovered the enemy in the shadows, he would continue hunting for answers, and right now, his best bet was Light City in the Chikurin Empire.
Kaeru had come across several members of the Itachi clan, all of whom had been gracious enough to tell a traveling Supreme about their clan’s great city. He had a feeling that they were trying to recruit him, but Kaeru had no interest in working for others. Even putting in this much effort was unusual for him, but he did it because it would ultimately benefit his clan.
“Okay,” he said to the dead frog. “Now that you’ve been taken care of, I suppose I should head back into town for a bit. Don’t you think?”
The frog, of course, said nothing, continuing to bleed out on the ground.
“You’re right, of course,” Kaeru said. “A good meal and some new robes are in order. Though, honestly, the quality of these last ones were a bit shabby. I’ll need to have a talk with that merchant and see if I can get another.”
He stared at the frog for a few moments, cocking his head to the side.
“No, I don’t think it’s unfair of me to intimidate him into giving me a good deal. He ripped me off!”
One of the frog’s eyes rolled in its socket, and Kaeru let out a sound of disgust, throwing his hands in the air.
“Fine, I’ll pay full price because it was my own fault they got burned, not his. Are you happy now?”
Another long moment of silence, and then Kaeru nodded.
“Yes, I’ll tell them where they can find you so that you don’t go to waste.”
That said, he turned away from the frog’s corpse and headed back to the path that would lead to the small Itachi town.
“Back so soon, good sir?” the merchant asked as Kaeru walked into his shop.
“Yup. Need a new set of robes,” Kaeru replied, pulling the robe up and displaying the massive hole that had been burned through its side.
“But of course,” the merchant said, all smiles as he rubbed his hands together. “Could I perhaps interest you in a…”
“Just the robe will be fine,” Kaeru cut him off.
“Of course,” the merchant said, bowing deeply at the waist. “If you’ll just wait a moment, I’ll return shortly.”
Kaeru resisted the urge to sigh as the seedy man vanished into the back of his shop. He didn’t know why, but every time he left this place, it was with the distinct impression of having been ripped off. It didn’t matter, because he wouldn’t be returning here. After this, he would be going back to the inn, collecting his things, and hitting the road once more.
He’d overstayed his welcome in this small town for one reason — two, actually. The first was that he needed the correct papers to enter Light City, and the person in charge of this small town had been taking her merry time. He suspected it was to keep him around for longer, or perhaps try to convince him to join the illustrious Itachi clan. Either way, she’d been holding him up for an inordinate amount of time.
Luckily, there were plenty of strong Beasts in the surrounding area, which brought him to his second reason for staying and not pushing too hard to expedite the papers. He was still not completely in control over the new aspects of his Path, which was oddly exciting. It had been such a long time since he’d learned anything new, that the experience was almost novel by this point.
Out here, away from the constraints of his clan, he’d been rediscovering his love of the Martial Arts and what they truly meant to him. He was doing everything for the betterment of his clan, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy himself along the way. The merchant emerged from the back room then, a robe neatly folded over his arm.
“Will there be anything else?” he asked, placing the robe on the counter.
“No,” Kaeru said, dropping a single silver ginka on the counter before turning to leave.
However, he stopped as the merchant loudly cleared his throat.
“Yes?” he asked, half-turning back.
“I’m afraid that as of yesterday, prices have gone up,” the merchant said, the light of greed glittering in his smal
l, piggy eyes.
“Oh, has it now?” Kaeru asked, feeling the urge to throttle the greasy man.
“I’m not the one who chooses the prices,” the man was quick to say, holding his hands up. “We merely price according to cost.”
“And the new price is…?” Kaeru asked.
“Three ginka,” the merchant replied smoothly.
“You expect me to believe that the price on robes, something that everyone wears, tripled overnight?” Kaeru said flatly.
“The quality of these robes can demand such a high price,” the merchant said, without missing a beat. “The stitching is only of the highest caliber and the fabric of the finest linen. Look at the crafter’s mark on the corner of the label, which marks this robe as only one of fifty ever made. The…” the merchant faltered as Kaeru slammed the robe back down on the counter with enough force to splinter the wood.
“I think I’d rather just keep my money,” Kaeru said, deftly swiping the coin from the remains of the counter and heading for the door.
“Sir!” the merchant called after him, a mixture of desperation and indignation in his tone. “You cannot simply destroy property and then walk out without paying for damages!”
Kaeru turned then, eyes hardening as he beheld the greasy man.
“Clearly, after the many times you’ve seen fit to rip me off, you seem to have forgotten just who I am,” he said, allowing a dangerous edge to creep into his voice.
The temperature in the room began rising rapidly as steam began flowing from Kaeru’s body, billowing out, coating the floor and flowing towards the merchant.
“I’ve paid your exorbitant prices for over two weeks, while you continuously sold me shoddy products. If you thought to do this to any other Supreme, they’d probably kill you on the spot, but I made a promise to a frog, so I’ll let you live. But if you value your life, I suggest you be more careful with how you do business in the future.”
