by Brandon Chen
“What?” Yata exclaimed. “That’s the forest! And it’s nighttime! Why would you ever go in there? Are you mental?”
“We wanted a bit of adventure, didn’t we?” Keimaro said, beaming. He grabbed a club from Yata and twirled the weapon in his hand, testing its balance. Then he glanced at his two friends. “An adventure just fell straight out of the sky. This is an opportunity that we will never get again! Are you just going to toss it away like it’s nothing? Fine, you don’t have to come! I’ll go alone.”
He took off, sprinting down the hill with the wind blowing straight into his face. He stumbled as he moved in the direction of the beam, dashing toward it. He grinned as he heard the sound of Yata and Aika chasing after him. Looks like they were coming along after all. Dozens of dangerous monsters were likely heading toward the meteor. Nearby adventurers from Faar would probably start flocking to the area as well. A star falling from the sky was ridiculously rare; such an event happened only in fairy tales. If Keimaro could just get there first, before anyone else, then he was sure that he’d find an adventure finally. Who knew? Maybe his wish would actually come true for once.
A Wish
The forest was at its darkest, surrounding Keimaro and his friends in an overwhelming shadow that cast out all light and happiness. The aura of the forest spread an overwhelming sense of fear. They could see the beam of light in the distance, and Keimaro felt sweat beginning to form on his brow as they slowly made their way to the fallen meteor. He could sense the shadows of creatures that were watching and did his best to ignore them, hoping that they wouldn’t lunge out. He gripped the handle of the club tighter and felt Aika’s gentle breath on his neck, realizing that she was probably even more scared than he was.
About ten minutes into their walk, he saw a blue light glowing behind a bush. Keimaro gulped, holding his breath as he brushed the bush apart and looked over the rustling leaves to see that the ominous glowing was coming from the dark mouth of a cave. As the light beamed, he saw its reflection coming off of the cave walls. The beam that entered the sky burst from the top of the cave as well.
“Did the meteor fall inside of a cave?” Yata asked with a raised eyebrow, standing beside Keimaro. “Aren’t meteors supposed to, like, create big craters in the earth or something?”
“How would I know? I’ve never seen one fall from the sky before,” Keimaro muttered. There was something odd about the cave. The glow had an ominous feeling that drew Keimaro toward it. He didn’t like it, feeling oddly attracted to the alien material. That was when his eyes locked onto Yata beginning to walk through the bushes and out toward the cave opening.
“What are you doing? You have no idea what’s out there!” the young boy exclaimed.
“Who the hell cares?” Yata said, glancing over his shoulder, holding his club out in front of him. “Come and explore with me then! This is a huge chance! When we are old and are sitting and looking back at our lives, don’t you think you’d wish you went into the alien cave when you had the chance? I’m willing to take the chance.”
That sounded exactly like what Keimaro had said earlier. He sighed and grasped Aika’s hand. He pulled her with him through the bushes and out toward the opening of the cave. Feeling multiple eyes locking onto him, he gulped and looked around at the darkness. He knew that someone or something was watching him, but he had no idea what it was. He glanced at Yata and already saw that the boy was beginning to walk into the cave.
“Let’s go, Aika,” Keimaro said and pulled her after him.
“Whoa, this place looks pretty creepy, doesn’t it?” Yata said with a chuckle, the sound of his footsteps echoing off of the cave walls.
“Yeah, I guess,” Keimaro said, finding it rather hard to see through the thick darkness. “I can barely see, though.”
“Yeah, neither can I,” Yata said. Then suddenly the cave glowed with turquoise energy, illuminating the entire area for a brief second. “Whoa!”
Keimaro blinked as he looked around and walked deeper into the cave, examining the stalagmites that held up the natural structure. He finally locked his eyes onto an enormous glowing rock that somehow rested in the center of the skinny cave. The rock had deeply embedded cracks but was otherwise normal. The cracks were glowing bright turquoise and shined as bright as a miniature sun every few seconds. “Are you guys seeing what I’m seeing?”
Yata whistled as he leaned against the cave wall with a nervous laugh. “It seems we have made quite the discovery, huh? What exactly is this thing? Does the educated princess happen to know anything?” he joked, glancing over his shoulder at her.
Aika pouted lightly and shrugged, folding her arms and sighing. “I’ve never seen anything like this before or read anything about it in my books. I mean, I don’t think there have been many meteors in this entire world’s history that have landed right in the earth! It’s simply unheard of!”
Keimaro felt himself being drawn closer, taking a few steps at a time toward the large meteor. Its glow, its jagged edges—all he wanted was a single touch. He wanted to know what it felt like, an alien rock that came from somewhere beyond the planet. Even adventurers on their planet had yet to see such a thing. Keimaro had always wanted to journey around and see the wonders of the world. But now, he was witnessing one of the wonders of the universe. This was beyond the simplicity of their world. This was something else.
An invisible hand wrapped around his body with its fingers curling around his waist and guiding him toward the meteor. He reached out. As his fingers brushed the rock, the entire cave pulsed. What happened next was unexplainable.
A massive explosion sent Keimaro, Yata, and Aika all rocketing back through the air. The world began to spin wildly. Before he knew it, Keimaro found himself on the ground outside with no idea how he got there. His head was pounding furiously, and an annoying ringing battered his ear. He winced and coughed a bit of dust, turning to find Aika lying on the ground beside him. His heart was pounding, and he glanced back at the cave to see that there literally had been an explosion that had erupted inside of it. An odd blue smoke rose from it.
Keimaro glanced down at his body, feeling his chest growing extremely hot. He winced as he saw blue energy pulsing from his chest and gasped, knowing that the meteor had done something to him. He panted for a moment, staring blankly into the sky. He pushed himself into a sitting position, gasping for air as he rubbed his eyes. He didn’t know what had just happened, but touching that meteor probably wasn’t his best idea. He glanced at Aika and Yata and saw that a blue current of electricity was surging through both of them. He stared at them in absolute shock, unsure of what to do. All of this was his fault….
Yata stirred, and his eyes opened as he rolled over onto his side, gripping his stomach with a slight twinge of pain surging through him. “Gah … what the hell…?” he muttered, coughing before he pushed himself onto his knees. His eyes were closed, and he groaned. “W-What just happened?”
Keimaro grunted as he pushed himself to his feet, finding that he wasn’t harmed at all. Not even the slightest part of him hurt. He shook his head at Yata, not particularly sure what to say, and reached down to turn Aika on her back. He stared at the young princess’s unmoving body, and a surge of fear burst through him. What if she was dead? It would be his fault. She couldn’t be dead! He reached down and pressed his index and middle fingers against her neck to feel for her pulse. She was still alive. A wave of relief flowed over Keimaro, and he sighed lightly, lifting the princess up over his shoulder and picking up his club as well. “It’s dangerous here. We need to get back to the village. Let’s go, Yata.”
“Look, it was my fault that we went in there…,” Yata said, still on the ground. “I didn’t mean for…. I’m not sure what just happened, but if anything did, I take full responsibility for—”
“It’s fine,” Keimaro said with a reassuring smile at his friend, placing his club down on the ground and offering his hand to Yata. “Let’s get going.”
Yata lo
oked at Keimaro’s hand for a moment, his lip quivering. It was the first time that Keimaro had seen even a sliver of fear on his face. His hand shook lightly as it grasped Keimaro’s. He struggled to his feet and took Aika from Keimaro, holding her in his arms instead. “Take both of the clubs and wield them just in case something comes along.”
“Why would you give me the clubs? You have more fighting experience than I!” Keimaro exclaimed.
“I don’t have fighting experience,” Yata said with a chuckle. “I just have confidence. All it takes to fight is to swing those things around. Your mental strength is what really matters.”
Keimaro sighed and picked up both of the clubs, holding the metal weapons in his hands. At Keimaro’s nod, the two young boys began to race through the forest at incredible speed. Surprisingly enough, no creatures of the night came at them. The faster they ran, the more confidence seemed to rise in Keimaro’s heart. The heat in his chest radiated throughout the rest of his body and pushed him onward to increase his speed, letting off some energy. A gust of wind blew through his hair, and for some reason, he felt good. No, not just good. He felt amazing.
***
Two cloaked men stood outside of the mouth of a cave with the remnants of the meteor. Mere pieces of the alien rock were scattered across the area, and one of the cloaked figures kicked at the rubble in annoyance. “What in the gods is this? How is it possible that someone got here before us?” He pulled down his hood, revealing a man in his forties with white hair and a red tattoo running across his right eye. He scoffed in disbelief, running a hand through his naturally snow-white, slicked-back hair as he clicked his tongue. “Did someone know about the operation?”
Tobimaru didn’t say anything, though he glanced to the side with an interested smile. “It seems like the kids that we were examining before came out for a little exploring. They know how to breach the ward, meaning I can find the weak spot. Catch up with the children and buy me some time. The Faar army was waiting for us to bring down the ward anyway so that they could go and take this beloved village of theirs. The kids stole the energy from the meteor, so I suppose it’s only fair if we steal everything from them.”
***
Keimaro and Yata rested against the apple tree outside of Bakaara, panting. Keimaro was completely exhausted from the long run. His eyes felt heavy, but he knew better than to fall asleep outside of the ward. They weren’t one-hundred-percent safe yet. He sighed, knowing that he would have to go home and apologize to his mother and father for his behavior. He had been so angry about being lied to. But, now that he had cooled down a bit, he knew that his parents still loved him despite everything; otherwise, they wouldn’t have even taken him in or cared for him all of these years.
Aika lay in her sleep right next to Keimaro, snoring soundlessly on the soft grass. Keimaro was reluctant to wake her but was about to reach for her when suddenly he heard a shift of movement and a grunt. Keimaro turned and saw Yata being lifted off of the ground. His feet dangled inches above the ground as he choked, gasping for air and grabbing at the arm of the man who was holding his neck. Keimaro’s eyes widened and glared at a white-haired man wearing a black cloak. The man stared into Yata’s eyes with a crazed look, licking his lips slowly. An odd tattoo crossed his right eye, making it look as if he had been brutally slashed with a blade across the right side of his face.
“Oi, Tobimaru!” the white-haired man said with an evil cackle. “Looks like I found the fresh meat! They were off resting!” He squeezed Yata’s throat tighter with a snarl. “You wasted the meteor’s power on yourselves, huh? How selfish of you! Don’t think you’ll get away with it, you little brat!”
Keimaro looked past the man and saw another black-cloaked man. When his eyes met those of the man named Tobimaru, Keimaro’s heart thumped, feeling an instantaneous connection to the figure. It was as if he could recognize the man through the cowl of his cloak despite not being able to see his full face. “Who the hell are you guys?”
Tobimaru ignored Keimaro’s question and simply turned to face Bakaara, a gentle breeze blowing through his cloak, swaying it ever so slightly. “I’ve located the weak point in the barrier. I’ll bring it down. After I do so, signal for the attack, and we will begin the operation.”
Keimaro’s eyes widened at Tobimaru’s words, and he gripped his club tightly. This guy was planning on bringing down the barrier? That would mean the deaths of all of the citizens. That was the only thing that kept the villagers safe from the dangers of the forest. Hardly any of the guards actually knew how to defend themselves and would probably run in the face of danger. It would mean the death of his family.
A surge of anger shot through his veins, and he rushed forward, leaving Aika’s side to sprint at Tobimaru. He leapt into the air, gripping his club with both hands as he brought it crushing downward upon Tobimaru. The white-haired man’s body moved in an attempt to save Tobimaru from the blow, but he wasn’t nearly fast enough to match Keimaro’s speed. However, what happened next was something that surprised Keimaro entirely.
Tobimaru swung around without any warning and slammed his fist solidly into Keimaro’s face as if he were able to know exactly where to hit before the boy had even attacked. The fist sank solidly into Keimaro’s face, stopping his swing entirely. He flew backward, hitting the apple tree’s trunk with a heavy thump. Tobimaru looked at Keimaro for a moment longer before smiling and turning away, vanishing directly before his eyes.
Keimaro stared at the place where Tobimaru had been only a second before. That guy … he had red eyes. They were demonic and filled with hatred, just like the way Aika had described the Shokugan. Keimaro thought he might have used it during his brief fight against the guard outside Yata’s cell, but he had never actually seen what it looked like. Was it possible that this Tobimaru person was actually also a member of the Hayashi clan? And how had he disappeared? Was that another form of magic?
“Gah!” the white-haired man grunted suddenly, staggering backward, and Yata fell to the ground. There was a bruise on the side of the white-haired man’s face from a heavy blow. He raised an eyebrow, turning toward Yata with a snarl. “You annoying bastard….”
Yata’s skin had transformed from its flesh into a shining metal that reflected the moon’s light. He glanced at his own body and blinked a few times in disbelief. “What is going on?” he muttered, clenching his fists and chuckling lightly. “I don’t know what this is, but I like it.”
He leapt forward and swung his fist into the white-haired man’s face. “Kei! Get Aika and head after that other guy! He’s going to go and assassinate the elders. I think the meteor did something to us, but there’s no time to figure it out! You need to head there and stop that guy right now! Otherwise, everyone in Bakaara is dead; you hear me? I’ll hold this old man off!”
The white-haired man worked his jaw, cracking his neck to the side with a broad grin. He swung his fist, conjuring a burst of concentrated wind that swept forward and slammed into Yata. The wind shook the apple tree to its core, and the leaves began to fall off into the air. Keimaro braced his arms in front of him as the wind struck him like a cannon, blowing his hair back and flapping his shirt everywhere. He grunted, closing his eyes to protect himself from the wind.
When the wind calmed, Keimaro opened his eyes and stared at the two super-humans fighting like gods, obliterating the earth with their supernatural powers. It seemed that Yata’s newly developed powers were rather easy to control, consisting of nothing but punching. However, the white-haired man was using advanced techniques that involved controlling the wind from different angles and concentrating the amount of pressure that he used with each blow. The attacks didn’t seem to be doing substantial damage to Yata because of his metal-like body, but Keimaro could tell that this man had gotten his powers the same way Yata had—from some alien source.
But, since Yata had obtained new powers, did that mean that Keimaro and Aika had gained some from the blast as well? It was quite possible. But when
would he be able to use them? And would the powers be the same as Yata’s or different? This was his wish coming true: a foreign power was now sweeping over him and would grant him his ability to become strong. Was he supposed to be happy at this moment? Happy that he had now achieved power? Or should he be sad that a rogue was entering the ward with the intention of bringing it down, thus killing everyone Keimaro had ever known?
Keimaro reached down and picked up Aika like he would an innocent child. He glanced toward the two men fighting and saw their battle raging with Yata constantly swinging his fists and the white-haired man throwing his harmless gusts of wind at the metal boy. The battle was stagnant, but Yata had purposely drawn the man away so that Keimaro would have a clear path. He needed to get Aika to safety and then head after Tobimaru. Hopefully the guards in the social district would be able to hold Tobimaru off until he got there.
True Despair
Tobimaru walked through the calm village of Bakaara during the silent night. This was the easiest job he’d had in a while; he had entered the village without any resistance. He didn’t have anything to gain from destroying the village, but he was eager to see how the young boy from the Hayashi clan would do in combat. In fact, that one attack earlier had shown Tobimaru that the boy was filled with rage. Listening to the tone of his voice and the strength of his battle cry, Tobimaru understood that the young boy was filled with hate, anger, resentment, and sorrow. That boy probably understood solitude more than anyone else. That was the destiny of the Hayashi clan’s survivors after the massacre.
Tobimaru continued through the city, absorbing his surroundings. He could feel the auras of many different humans in the area, but only five elders were capable of holding up such a ward. He scoffed in disappointment when he located them, finding that they were hiding in plain sight. Such insolence came from the humans who hid behind the barrier, thinking that it would always be there to protect them. It was a foolish to believe one would always be safe behind a shield. Without fail, someone eventually would be strong enough to break through.
