by Brandon Chen
Aika gasped as she covered her eyes, the dust flying around her and engulfing her and Yuri. The strong breeze began to blow her hair back, and she shut her eyes as the roar of the explosion echoed in her ears. As the howling winds died down, she wiped her face with her sleeves and stared down at her torn, dirtied dress. Then she glanced up at the obliterated remains of the house. It was a simple wasteland of nothing, dirt blowing about. The entire building had been eradicated.
Aika’s eyes searched for any sign of life, and she found Keimaro lying on the ground on his back, his cloak flapping in the silent air. Blood was smeared across his chest, and his eyes were closed. The princess’s heart leapt a beat, and she pushed herself onto her feet, lifting up her dress as she ran over the debris, sprinting in Keimaro’s direction.
“Kei!” she screamed before being grabbed by her forearm. Her eyes widened as she was yanked backward, staggering over pieces of crushed rubble. “Let me go!”
“You’re trouble, aren’t you?” Tobimaru said, shoving Aika back onto the ground, pointing the tip of his sword at the princess. “Learn your place, or I’ll cut you in half,” he warned, his eyes glowing.
Aika couldn’t help but see the parallel between this man and Keimaro. Their eyes were filled with the same hatred. Still, underneath that mask of anger and pain, she saw a glimmer of humanity within. For this man, it was buried much deeper than it was for Keimaro.
“Out of the way!” Yuri boomed, suddenly in his werewolf form. His white fur was matted with blood as he flashed forward with incredible speed, slashing at Tobimaru with his claws. The Bount leapt into the air, avoiding the blow but unable to dodge a second uppercut that caught him in the jaw and sent him flipping through the air.
Tobimaru landed on his feet beside Hidan and grunted, twirling his sword as he examined the opponents. “So, you’re putting up a fight then? I’ll kill both of you if need be.” He glared at the werewolf with bitter acrimony.
Kuro simply stood at a distance with his hands in his pockets, witnessing the events unfold before him. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the dust from the explosion beginning to swirl in the air as a dark aura filled the air. He exhaled deeply through his nostrils, and a grin began to spread across his face as he turned to the pile of rubble burying Keimaro. “It seems that his inner beast has awoken.”
A crack split the air, and everyone turned their heads to the pile of rubble that covered Keimaro. A burst of howling flame tore through the debris, sending a beam of fire straight into the sky. Bits of rubble began to lift upward, floating several feet off of the ground, as if gravity itself had been reversed. A shockwave of dust flew outward in all directions as Keimaro slowly rose to his feet, swaying. His eyes were redder than the fire itself. His cloak had been partially burned apart from the extreme heat, and its ashes drifted off in the light winds. On his diaphragm was an insignia burned into his flesh, glowing wickedly and filling the air with its dark aura.
“You’re not going to touch them,” Keimaro growled, lowering his eyes, “or I will personally see to it that you share Junko’s fate.”
Tobimaru stared at the new person before him, incredulous. Such a dark aura resonating from him … was this the same Keimaro that he had seen only moments ago? He glanced back at Kuro over his shoulder with disgust.
Don’t tell me that he awakened Keimaro’s inner darkness with that mark, he thought. That could result in our deaths—and those of his friends as well. What the hell is Kuro up to?
“We are falling back,” Kuro murmured.
“What the hell?” Tobimaru called to Kuro with a scoff. “At least capture the bastard! He’ll work for us if you just use Danzo to—”
“To what?” a woman’s voice called out.
“That voice…,” Tobimaru muttered under his breath as he glanced to his right and saw a tan woman with gleaming blue eyes. She wore a long white cloak wrapped over her linen clothing, and she had three pistols holstered at each side as well as two swords cross-sheathed across her back. Her white hood was pulled over her head to shadow her face, but there was no mistaking her voice.
“Aoi,” Tobimaru growled. “The Queen of the Seas. The Third Immortal. You were the woman who journeyed with Zylon and Kuro centuries ago. What’s an old woman like you doing here?”
A man stood beside her with a young girl slung over his shoulder. He had a red bandana pulled around his brown hair, and his blue eyes gleamed with hysteria. He had a cleanly shaved face and was dressed in a buttoned-up blue coat over fine linens. His long, baggy pants were sewn from ragged white linen as well. A large red sash was tied around his torso, and a thick leather belt encircled his diaphragm. There were two holsters for pistols at his side and another two on his chest over his jacket. A blue cape draped down to the ground behind him, and a golden medallion with a skull insignia dangled from his neck. He revealed a small smile as he cocked a pistol using his thumb, pointing the barrel at Tobimaru and Hidan. “Don’t forget me, mate. It ain’t polite.”
“Edward Jones, too,” Hidan said, holding out his hand, where a red staff formed from the wind. He tapped the staff to his shoulder and sighed. “Oi, Tobimaru, don’t get too hasty now. This is dangerous.”
Kuro scoffed as he took a step forward to look at Aoi and smiled. “Aoi, my old friend, it’s been a while. Too long, perhaps. I assume that you’ll be helping Zylon and his band of fools to stop me, then? You won’t take up this final offer to assist me?”
“As much as I would love to become a god,” Aoi said, pulling back her hood to reveal flowing blonde hair. She tossed her hair playfully and gave a sly smile. “I don’t think it would be much fun if I already had all of the power in the palm of my hand, aye? So, I suppose I’ll help Zylon this once with his stupid affairs.”
Kuro sighed and waved for Tobimaru and Hidan to follow him. “Then do so by fleeing. You will have an hour before Danzo activates the Chains of Memories. This is the only warning that I will give you,” he said with a smile. “For old times’ sake, hmm? After all, Aoi, I know how much you like your freedom. If I were you, I’d get out of this empire as soon as you can. And you, Keimaro,” he said, turning to face the young man, “I expect you to ponder the offer I have made you. If you refuse, I will order your execution. I cannot have a member of the Hayashi clan rashly running loose in my new world.”
“Kuro, stop this sick plan of yours,” Aoi said as the Bounts began to walk away. “I don’t want to have to result to violence and—”
“And what?” Kuro said, stopping to glance at the woman over his shoulder. “Fight me? Who do you think is currently the strongest being in this world? Do you truly believe that your armada of pirates will be able to defeat me? Or that your own personal strength will even make a tiny enough contribution in your efforts to actually stop me? I can sink your ships and kill all your men with a single glance. I can obliterate entire cities with a simple wave of my hand. Armies run at the sight of me walking alone down a battlefield. I am the perfect weapon. I am my own army. In fact, I’m invincible now that I have awakened with my dragon at my side. Make all the threats you want, woman,” he said, continuing to walk away. “In the end, anyone who opposes me will feel the full wrath of my hatred.”
“Stop!” Aoi commanded, drawing a pistol from her holster and pointing it at Kuro’s back. She stepped forward slowly. Hidan and Tobimaru cringed at the sight of the weapon, but Kuro simply turned around, his look completely devoid of emotion. “You won’t get away. Your plan from the very beginning has endangered everyone in the world. Don’t you see how selfish it is?”
“This lady is a bit crazy…,” Yuri muttered, transforming back into his human form. “Pointing a gun at Kuro Hayashi … that’s a death sentence.”
Keimaro watched with interest from a distance, taking a few steps off of the pile of rubble to get a closer look at this stranger who was threatening Kuro. Her bravery was commendable, but did she have the guts to follow through with pulling that trigger?
Kuro walked
toward Aoi with his arms open and raised his eyebrows. “Go on then. Shoot me,” he said, walking up to the woman and grabbing the end of the gun. He placed the barrel against his forehead and looked straight into Aoi’s eyes. “Pull the trigger and put an end to this sick plan of mine then, if you’re so sure that you want it all to end.”
“Oi, Kuro…,” Hidan murmured, “you—”
“Shut up,” Kuro snapped and smiled at Aoi. “Go on; pull the trigger. Kill me. If you’re going to do it, do it.”
Aoi’s eyes were wide with incredulity, her face pale with disbelief. Her hands were shaking, and the pistol rattled in Kuro’s hands. Her finger twitched on the trigger, unsure whether or not she wanted to pull it. Sweat began to stream down her face, and she gulped, sighing as she lowered the weapon.
“As I thought,” Kuro said, spinning around and sweeping her off her feet with a swift kick to the legs. The woman left the ground and flew parallel to the earth as Kuro brought his fist down toward her stomach, ready to tear out her insides with his bare hands. “That will be your downfall.”
Keimaro was suddenly upon him with frightening speed, prying his sword from the debris in the ground. He held it tightly by the hilt as he slashed it upward at Kuro’s throat with deadly accuracy.
The Bount leader tilted his head back as the blade cut through open air. He took several steps back with a scoff. “You fleas keep interfering,” he muttered and glanced to see the other pirate’s pistol trained on him.
Edward’s eyes were trained on Kuro with his wrist completely still, the pistol not shaking at all. He was perfectly ready to shoot to kill. “I’m not weak like the Queen over here, mate.” He pulled the trigger, and gunpowder erupted from the pistol in a loud explosion, sending a spiraling ball of lead flying at Kuro at blinding speed.
Kuro’s hand shot up, and the bullet hit his palm, stopping in its tracks. “That’s enough of that,” he said. He turned away and began to walk with his fellow Bounts through the holes in Z’s mansion’s wall, making their way casually back to the castle. “I intend to see you soon, Keimaro,” he called over his shoulder, flicking the bullet onto the ground.
Keimaro stared in disbelief at the Bounts and looked at the bullet that rolled uselessly on the ground. He turned to Edward, recognizing the man. He had broken into Edward’s house and taken refuge there after he had assassinated that politician. He turned to Aoi, who was lying on the ground. He held out his hand to her. She had spoken of working with Z, which meant that they had to be on the same side. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Aoi said with a brief nod to Edward. She sighed as she brushed off her white cloak. “Reckon he’d do that. I also thought I was strong enough to actually pull that trigger, not that it would’ve done much anyway.” She sighed. Keimaro remembered that Tobimaru mentioned that she was the Third Immortal, so she was like Zylon and Kuro, ancient. But she looked to be thirty at the maximum. “At any rate, we need to get out of here. We found your friend taking quite the nap in dangerous territory. Lena, I believe Edward said. Did you leave her there, mate?”
“Yeah,” Keimaro said, motioning to the destruction around them. “That was before all of this happened. It was safer to have her there than have her with me.”
“Aye,” Aoi said, glancing at Yuri with a smile. “Ah, if it isn’t the werewolf. And how is your friend faring?”
“She seems all right,” Yuri said, nodding to Aika. “Just a few scratches and bruises.”
“Good, so the only one in poor condition is this girl that Edward is holding. But first, we need to get out of here,” Aoi said. “We will get her fed and tended to once we are outside of the empire.”
“Are we really in that much of a rush?” Yuri asked. “I mean, Lena needs medical attention. Aika should be able to heal her. If we just give her—”
“You realize that the Bounts still have Danzo, correct?” Aoi interrupted. “That means that if we don’t get out of here in the next hour, we are all doomed.”
“Why is that?” Yuri frowned. He wanted to get Lena help as soon as possible. But at the rate things were happening, that didn’t seem too likely.
“Because Danzo is planning on activating the Chains of Memories.”
“What do you mean by that?” Keimaro intervened.
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. Danzo is a memory specialist with magical capabilities that no one seems to understand. It’s too strong to be deemed artificial magic, but it takes too much of a toll on him when it is used to be natural,” Aoi said. “Danzo is a member of the Bount organization, but you probably haven’t seen him. He is a wise old man who has lived for several centuries. He typically uses his magic on a large scale, which leaves him at a weak stage for a long period of time.”
“Then why don’t we just cut him down while he’s weak? That’s one less Bount to worry about,” Keimaro observed.
“If only it were that easy. You see, the reason that Danzo is a member of the Bount organization is because of his magic and wisdom. Members of the organization are able to fight on their own, but Danzo cannot fight. In fact, an ordinary soldier could probably kill him in a battle. However, his ability to manipulate others as if they are mere chess pieces is the reason he is dangerous. With his magic, he can enter someone’s mind and change their memories entirely. He can make things that never happened, happen. He can make a person meet someone whom they have never met before,” Aoi explained. “That’s the issue of what is going on here. Kuro is the brute force in all of this, but the real mastermind behind their plan is going to be Danzo. When he unleashes the Chains of Memories, he will change the memories of every single human in the Faar Empire, and they will all work for Kuro permanently. In other words, the empire of Faar will be under Bount control, and the fate of mankind will be dominated by the largest army in the world.”
Keimaro said nothing while the rest of his comrades began to panic.
“Sparta is already on the brink of destruction.” Edward offered. “Faar will easily bring them down unless they have assistance. Even with us there, the Faar army stands at over a hundred million soldiers strong. The Spartans have only ten thousand at their maximum. We should—”
“We aren’t running away, if that’s what you’re implying,” Yuri growled at the pirate. “If the Spartans collapse, so does Athens. It’ll be like dominoes. Once Sparta falls, everything in this world is going down with it. We need to stop them. You damned pirates just love running away, don’t you?”
“Then what the hell do you propose we do, eh?” Edward snapped at the werewolf. “Mate, I don’t want to risk my life for a damned lost cause! The chances of survival and victory are zero! Zero!”
Everyone began to argue, but their words were drowned out by Keimaro’s mind as he stared forward through the ashes and destruction and locked his eyes onto Yata’s peaceful body. He bit down on his lip, his hands balling into fists at his side. “Enough,” he said, and everyone was silenced immediately. Keimaro stared forward, his heart throbbing. “It is not a lost cause.” His voice broke the silence as he closed his eyes.
“When I joined you guys as an assassin, I thought of all of you as tools for my vengeance. I see now that I was foolish. I want to thank all of you for changing me,” Keimaro said with a small smile as he looked at Aika. “I used to want to destroy this world, but right now … right now I want to save it.
“Kuro has been awakened. A dragon along with him! The entire Faar Empire is about to be mind-controlled, and we’ve lost many comrades.” He spoke softly, watching as a gentle breeze blew Yata’s hair from his closed eyes. “But don’t let that discourage you. This is still our world. This is still our fight! If we turn around now and run, we won’t be escaping anything. We’ll still perish. So now, it’s a matter of whether we decide to die fighting or die running.” Keimaro glanced at Edward. “I’m not exactly a fan of running, I might add.”
The pirate raised an eyebrow and sighed. “Aye, I see what yer saying.”
Aoi grinned, giving Keimaro a big slap on the back. “I like you already! Brave and fierce. You’re exactly what we need to bring down Kuro, but there’s a lot that we need to do before we head to take him down. Right now, we need to focus on fleeing the empire. Edward’s house has a teleporter, similar to the one that was in Zylon’s mansion. We’ll port ourselves to Sparta where we’ll discuss our next step. We’re going to have to somehow find a way to slay Kuro’s dragon. That is the first step to bringing down this tyrant.” As the pirate spoke, she began to step over piles of rubble, making her way toward the cracked streets of Bassada. “Quickly, follow me! If we’re going to get anything done, we need to get out of here before Danzo’s chains are activated.”
Keimaro watched as everyone began to follow Aoi, eager to get out of Bassada as soon as possible. But he didn’t move. Aika noticed and turned to look at him with worried eyes. “Are you coming?” she asked with a sincere tilt of her head.
Keimaro looked at the princess for a moment, his lips quivering before he shook his head. “Yeah. Just go on without me. I’ll be right there,” he said as rain fell from the sky. What seemed like a light shower turned into a downpour, and Aika nodded, leaving without another word. Keimaro turned to Yata’s body, which still lay in the mud. He looked peaceful.
Yata’s blood was washed away with the rain, and he lay amongst dozens of lifeless teenage bodies that were punctured with wounds. The destroyed remains of Zylon’s mansion were reduced to piles of charred wood and cracked stone debris, the rest of the ashes washed away. Keimaro walked to Yata’s body and stood there, watching his old friend.
A part of him wasn’t able to accept the fact that his best friend had died. Another part accepted reality. Before he knew it, tears were mixing with the streams of rain that streaked down his cheeks. His wet hair came down over his face. “Why wasn’t I here for you like all of the times that you were for me?” he murmured, grinding his teeth. He tried desperately to hold back his sobbing. “In the end, I wasn’t strong enough to stop all of them.”
