by Brandon Chen
Buu sighed, standing over the soldier with his arms folded. “Idiot. I told you! The weapon saps your energy unless you’re in real combat. Don’t use it to train because you won’t be feeding it any blood while you’re fighting. If you use it while it’s hungry, it’ll just start sapping your energy and blood.”
“It’s like a vampire,” Gavin gasped, staring at the ceiling. He chuckled. “So, it sure does take stamina to wield this thing, doesn’t it? Good! I’ll learn to wield it.”
Buu groaned and looked to Yata. “Have you been teaching this guy to be an idiot? Because he reminds me of you.”
“All three of you,” Z said, walking into the training room. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that Gavin was on the floor with Bloodthirster at his side. A small smile appeared upon his lips, but he said nothing about the spectacle. “We have a particular situation. The girl that Yata, Gavin, and Noah saved has awoken. Come with me immediately.”
Operation Destruction
As Keimaro followed Darius into the throne room, he could still feel the heat rising in his chest. This guy … led the destruction of my village? He is the one who physically was present during the massacre. He should be the first one to die! His hands were shaking at his sides, and his eyes were wide with disgust as he glared at Darius’s back. It took his maximum willpower not to kill the bastard right then and there. He could hear the clanking of armor behind him, and he knew that any loose actions would result in his downfall. Nevertheless, that didn’t change the fact that he wanted to rip this prince apart and burn his remains.
The boy found himself walking on the hard marble floor once more. A hush fell as the prince moved to stand before his father. Judal and Keimaro separated and stood on either side of the prince. Darius’s men stood in a formation behind them as the doors to the throne room closed. Keimaro folded his arms in front of him as the king left his throne to embrace his son. Watching them hug, Keimaro’s eye began to twitch. He wanted to cut them both down at that moment. All of his suppressed anger was now coursing through his veins at high speed, making his hand tap against his bicep impatiently. The man who had ordered the destruction of his village and the man who had carried it out were hugging each other right in front of him. Why didn’t he just skewer them with his blade right then?
“We should have a celebration in your honor, Darius! Not only have you come to exterminate the rebels, but you have also brought great honor to Faar through your military victories! I’m very proud,” the king said with a wide grin as he gripped Darius’s shoulders.
“Ah,” Darius said with a fake smile, “that would be lovely, father. However, there is something that I would like to test first. Your secret weapon, isn’t it? Riku Hikari,” he said, turning to face Keimaro with a broad grin. His eyes were filled with determination and eagerness for battle. He cracked his neck as he took a few steps away from his father, grasping the hilt of his sword, which was sheathed at his side. “I’ve been riding for a couple of days now, and I’ve been very hungry for some decent swordplay. My squire told me that you’re considered a prodigy amongst these guards, hmm?” He slowly slid his blade from its sheath. He twirled the weapon as it went free into the air and held it out in front of him with a nod. “Entertain me a bit then.”
Keimaro looked at the king for permission but was ready to draw his own sword. The king simply sighed and nodded, walking back to his throne and slumping into the seat, knowing his son wouldn’t stop the fight. He waved his hand, indicating for Keimaro to continue. The boy’s heart began to race with excitement as he slid his blade from its sheath, brandishing it into the silent air. He lowered his head, his dark hair coming over his eyes as he smiled. “It would be my pleasure, Lord Darius.” He had felt the heat between them the entire walk to the castle. They both glared at each other but always smiled. Behind their facades, they both felt some sort of a strong fire that blazed within them, wanting to battle the other. Each wanted to see why the other was infamous.
The boy turned and saw General Mundo with a smile on his face, folding his arms as he stood by the king’s side. Keimaro’s eyes then flickered to Aika for a brief moment, and he could see the look of worry on the princess’s face. He sucked in a deep breath and turned to Darius, admiring the prince’s glittering steel. His golden breastplate shone brightly, and he was, without a doubt, completely ready for battle.
“Begin!”
The word echoed through the throne room, and steel clashed, exploding and sending sparks into the air. The two opponents had slammed against one another, their blades locked tightly, and their weapons shook in their struggle for dominance. Keimaro was surprised that Darius had taken the same rushing initiative that he had, charging the opponent straight on. He disengaged and went low, sweeping his leg outward and dragging it across the ground in an attempt to take out Darius’s legs. But, the prince, who was accustomed to battle, leapt into the air after predicting the movements. His eyes met Keimaro’s while he was in the air. Upon landing, he lunged forward with a yell, and his blade swept in a downward-cutting arc with beautiful form.
Keimaro spun away, allowing Darius’s blade to hit the marble floor with a loud clang. His boots squeaked as he slid away, rising back to his feet. He grunted, lashing forward. He kicked off of the ground and leapt into the air, spinning multiple times to gain incredible momentum while slashing downward at Darius, hoping to land a powerful blow. Even if the prince parried the attack, it would still numb an arm from the strength of the strike.
Darius moved away in a single instant, rolling on the ground to evade the slash. He knew not to risk parrying the blow, and he stumbled to his feet, facing away from Keimaro and grinning widely. “This is it! Someone who is truly strong! It’s wonderful!” he exclaimed. He turned and ran at Keimaro while laughing. He gripped his sword in a new way that Keimaro didn’t recognize and lunged forward, his sword seeming much skinnier than it had before, like a needle.
Keimaro grunted as he tilted his head, the blade poking inches from his cheek. He felt a rush of wind hit his face, and his eyes widened. What is this speed? The blade kept coming in a barrage of blows that were all lunges, no more slashes. The attacks were so fast and offensive that Keimaro couldn’t do anything except parry and dodge. He staggered backward, barely evading the flurry of blows that struck him. Small cuts began to form on his skin as part of his arms and legs were cut from the unpredictable storm of jabs.
This is bad. I can’t do anything except dodge! he thought. Not to mention the fact that he was still backing up. Eventually he would hit a wall, and that would be the end of him. Wait, no! The wall is where I will turn this around.
Keimaro glanced over his shoulder and saw that he had been pushed almost across the entire room to the wall. The jabs kept coming, like a needle trying to poke holes in a pillow. He wasn’t any practice dummy, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to keep on the defensive. “Let’s see what you’ve got, prince!” he murmured and kicked off of the ground. The action took the prince by surprise, and he watched as Keimaro placed one foot on the wall. The Royal Guard pushed off of the wall with incredible strength and flipped backward through the air, landing where he had left. His body swung, and his sword tore through the air, swinging with tremendous speed at Darius.
The prince staggered, not expecting the sudden blow. Keimaro turned his body sideways and kicked out twice, aiming once for Darius’s diaphragm and the second for this throat. The prince moved out of range just barely, trying desperately to maintain his balance. Keimaro had to keep the pressure to ensure that Darius stayed on the defensive. If Darius were given even a chance to take control of the battle, it would be over for Keimaro. He had to put everything into his offense.
Keimaro spun his sword, twirling it in the air. He released the handle as he gripped it backward like a dagger and swiped it across the air rapidly, pressing Darius back. He blinked when the prince sidestepped to evade Keimaro’s blow simply by getting out of range. Then Darius took a quick step forward and sho
t his needle-like sword outward in a fast jab. There was no time to react, and if the blade hit, he would die. In that moment of desperation, Keimaro’s Shokugan activated. It was only a millisecond, used to rotate his body in a perfect spin so that the prince’s blade shot past him. His irises changed back to their original dark color, and he found himself behind Darius.
The prince’s eyes widened at what had just happened. He gasped as his legs were taken out from underneath him in a swift moment. He grunted and hit the ground hard on his back, the wind driven from his lungs. He saw motion over his head as Keimaro flipped and spun over the prince, landing upon him. The boy’s fist came crashing downward and stopped several inches from Darius’s face, shaking furiously.
The king sat forward in his chair, intrigued by Keimaro’s sudden turn-around. He clapped with an outburst of laughter. “Riku, you truly have shown me a sight that I haven’t seen before.” He didn’t seem the least bit disappointed in the fact that his son had been defeated.
Keimaro was breathing heavily as he glared down at Darius, restraining himself from tearing the prince apart. He bit his lip and closed his eyes. Killing him now would do nothing. If anything, it would only set them back more. He had to wait until the Bounts were here before he decided to kill anyone. He slowly rose to his feet and extended a hand to the prince, offering to pull him up. “Are you okay, milord?” Every time he said the word lord, he felt as if he wanted to vomit.
“I’m all right, thank you,” Darius said, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet as he gave Keimaro a small smile. “That was quite the performance. Never in all of my years have I seen someone with such remarkable talent and strikingly deadly blows as you. I wonder why your talented is being wasted in the castle guarding my sister against an invisible enemy rather than on the front lines massacring thousands of Spartans. But then again, I suppose these assassins must be quite strong if my father had to call me in.” Darius reached around his neck and yanked off a gold chain. He held the chain up, letting a small locket dangle in the air. “As a token of my gratitude for sparing my life and for defeating me … you were the first, so I must insist that you take this.”
“Milord, I couldn’t….”
“I insist,” Darius said, placing the locket in Keimaro’s hands and slowly closing the boy’s fingers around it. “At any rate, I must go and bathe now. It’s been a long ride, and I’m quite fatigued. I suspect there will be some sort of a ball, knowing you, father?”
“Yes, tonight!” the king said, rather excited.
“Perfect, I will see you all tonight then. Thank you for the battle, Riku,” Darius said, giving a small nod to his squadron of soldiers as they began to file out of the throne room. Darius shot Keimaro a swift look over his shoulder along with a sly smile that stained his lips as he vanished through the doorway.
Keimaro watched the prince for a moment, his heart thumping as he wiped the sweat from his brow. There was a small chance that, in the millisecond he had activated the Shokugan, Darius had seen him. But the prince hadn’t outright announced the discovery, so perhaps he hadn’t noticed. But that look he gave me sure was unsettling.
The Royal Guard felt a tap on his shoulder as Judal and his fellow guards practically leapt onto him in a cheerful embrace with outbursts of laughter. “Where did you learn to do that?” his captain exclaimed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “Were you born in a circus or something? Those flips were insane! And the speed of your attacks were beyond belief! Are you going to teach me how to do that?”
“That was absolutely incredible!” one guard called out.
“You’re the man, Riku!” a second said.
Keimaro’s eyes widened at the praise that was being thrown at him. He couldn’t help but feel warmth in his chest from these new comrades that surrounded him. He smiled. All of the soldiers suddenly straightened when the king cleared his throat. In unison, the guards dropped to their knees and bowed before their lord.
“Forgive us, milord! We spoke out of turn!” they all said at the same time.
The king burst out laughing and descended the steps of his golden throne to Keimaro. He tipped Keimaro’s chin up and gave him a smile, as they looked each other in the eye. “You’re something else if you were able to best my son. I truly do feel safe around you. My daughter informed me that you will be taking her to tonight’s ball, is that correct?”
Keimaro’s face turned bright red as he remembered Aladdin’s story about how his eye had been cut for interacting with Aika. However, the king simply smiled when the boy nodded his head.
“Don’t get too rowdy,” the king said with a small smile. “You may take my daughter tonight. I trust you’ll take care of her and keep her out of trouble. Take the rest of the day off to prepare yourself. Judal, escort my daughter to her room and make sure that she is ready for tonight’s feast. Also arrange to set up your guards in a perimeter around the castle, just in case. We wouldn’t want any disturbances on my son’s first night home.”
“Yes, milord,” Judal said, pounding his chest in response as a formation of soldiers moved around Aika the very moment that she stepped off of her throne. “Yo, Riku,” he called as they walked past. “I’ll meet you up in the room, okay?”
“Sure thing,” Keimaro said with a nod as he stood up from the ground and was suddenly confronted by the king.
The king simply grinned and touched his shoulder. “I’ll see you later tonight then. I’ll have some men get some attire for you for tonight’s ball. You deserve a dance with my daughter after such a display of talent.” He gave him a small nod before he began to leave the room along with another squadron of guards.
Keimaro stood there for a moment and exhaled. “That was something,” he said to himself. Suddenly, he felt all of his hatred toward Faar being drained in a single instant. For once, he felt happy. A ball to look forward to with a princess that he’d come to love, a well-respected position in the Royal Guard, people who respected and treated him equally, everything seemed perfect. He almost completely forgot why he had even come to Bassada in the first place. But he knew, in the end, he couldn’t escape his duty. He would have to assassinate the king still, despite his hospitality. However, for the boy, there was no time to sulk. In an instant, a group of tailors swept him away into another room to fit him for the night’s ball. For once, Keimaro allowed his plan for revenge to be pushed away from his mind.
***
As Yata walked into the infirmary, he couldn’t help but stare at the liveliness of the girl that sat back in the bed, propped up against her pillow. She looked at them as if they were foreign creatures. She blinked a few times to register the fact that she was seeing people. Her eyes reminded Yata of Keimaro’s, except they glowed a constant red. Another person with the Shokugan; now this was something that one didn’t typically see.
“Has she spoken yet?” Gavin asked Z, who shook his head.
“She doesn’t seem to like talking.”
“Maybe she’s a mute,” Buu cut in.
“I doubt it,” Gavin muttered as they all stopped at the foot of her bed. “Hey, uh….” The soldier scratched his neck, quite unsure what to say in the awkward situation. “So, we were just wondering about how you got into that test lab underground. Do you remember anything?”
The girl said nothing.
“Guess she is a mute,” Buu remarked.
“Shut up,” Gavin sighed.
“What’s your name?” Yata asked suddenly.
Everyone was silent as the girl looked up at Yata, brushing her long, black hair from her eyes. Her face seemed fuller, and her body had recovered a small amount from being fed over the past couple days. Nevertheless, she still looked extremely weak and skinny. “Eve.”
“Eve?” Buu said. “Never heard of that name before. That from the north?”
“And how did you come to get those eyes of yours?” Yata asked, giving her a reassuring nod. “Don’t worry; we won’t hurt you.”
***
; Eve felt overwhelmed with all of these men staring at her as if she were some type of specimen. She would’ve lifted her arm if she could to try and at least get up, but she truly didn’t have the energy to do it. Not to mention the fact that she hardly remembered anything prior to being tested on by the government. I suppose that’s all they want to know anyway.
She leaned back into the comfortable pillow and sighed with pleasure, not able to remember a time when she had been this comfortable or well-fed—not that she could remember much at all. The people who had performed tests on her had always taken it upon themselves to make her fast quite often or starve her simply to see what would happen. Perhaps it was that, or maybe they didn’t want to spare food for mere test experiments.
And these eyes. Oh, she remembered how she had gotten them. The procedure was excruciating, and she remembered that she had been blind for several days. Someone had used an odd type of magic in order to make this all possible. “I got these eyes from transplants that they gave me.”
“They? You mean the government?” the boy with flowing brown hair said.
“Yata, who else would it be?”
“Someone else,” a voice echoed through the infirmary. Everyone turned to see a rather dashing blonde-haired boy walking into the room. He wore a fancy blue silk shirt with tight red pants. He tossed his hair as he walked forward, and Eve saw that one of his eyes was actually scarred with a long slash across it. “I have reason to believe that the government wasn’t actually involved in this little underground project of theirs.”
“Aladdin?” Yata said. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I searched through their database of files, and I found no papers that regarded any underground experimentations at all. It seems as if the king isn’t even aware of these test experiments occurring,” Aladdin said. “That is why I believe that the Bount organization has something to do with this. Noah’s whereabouts are unknown because, unlike Lena, he wasn’t brought to the royal prison.”
