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Spirit Seekers

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4/8/2013 9:51:58   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Setting's on modern day Shibuya. Hope y'all like it
Comment here.

Prologue:
Death and Rebirth

The sky began to darken. Thunder boomed and lightning crashed from the heavens. Little by little, water drizzled down from the dark and gloomy clouds of Shibuya. I gazed at the droplets of water passing through me like anyone - and anything - else. This reminds me of that 'little incident' I had three days ago. It was at the first day of school...

--------------------------


The sun shone brightly as I walked along the crossing. At day, the people here are quite busy. At night, even busier. Anyways, as I walked along the path to school, someone caught my eye. I froze right where I was standing when I saw her. I had never seen such a cute girl in my entire life. I froze alright, but my feet dragged me towards her, like a metal pulled in by a magnet. Soon I was standing beside her, staring at her beauty.

She had everything that I like in a girl and more. Silky white hair going down to her waist, lustrous crimson colored eyes, luscious pink lips, and a very womanly body. I didn't notice that I was staring too long for her to notice me. "Is something wrong?" she asked. My face suddenly felt hot, so I looked away.

"N-no. N-nothing's wrong..." I replied. Ugh. I feel so stupid. After a few more minutes of silence, I thought of bringing up a topic. "Uh...A-are y-you w-waiting for s-someone...?" Argh! What's wrong with me?

"Hmm..? Oh, yeah. I'm waiting for my boyfriend." she said, looking around for a bit.

"I-I see..." I let out a depressed sigh. My heart felt like it was shot by a gun. "I...I'll be going...then..." I said. I was about to leave when she suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Wait. Do you study at AGU too?" she asked, staring right at me.

"I...guess...?" I said, which reminds me... I looked at my watch - 7:50 A.M. Oh man, I'm gonna be late. And on the first day too.

"Then take me with you. I can't wait any longer." she said, clinging at my arm. My heart skipped a beat.

"O-okay...I guess..." I said, then both of us ran off. We arrived at our classroom not a moment too soon. Turns out we're classmates.

"Attention everyone." the teacher called out. Everyone immediately settled down. "Let's start with the introductions, shall we? Starting from you." then pointed at the girl beside me. The same girl I met earlier. She stood up from her seat and walked in front. I noticed that everyone was staring at her, mostly boys.

"Hello everyone. My name is Ayame Michiko, nice to meet you." she said, then winked at me. Uh, what was that all about? As she made her way back to her seat, the teacher pointed at me. I guess that means I'm next.

I stood up and made my way in front. When I was about to pass Michiko-san, she stopped and held my hand. I, too, stopped and looked at her. She leaned to my ear, then whispered: "Meet me at Hachiko after school." Okay, awkward. Anyways, I continued to walk in front.

"Please tell us your name." the teacher said. I know, I know.

"Um...Hi, my name is Hisaki Kaidou..." I paused when I noticed that Ayame-san was smiling at me. She looked so beautiful and innocent. Right. What the hell am I saying. "...nice to meet you..." I finished, then made my way back to my seat.

"Nice to meet you too, Hisaki-kun~!" I stared at her. She was smiling at me.

"I...uh...yeah...you too...Michiko-san." I said, then looked away. I feel like I'm blushing right now. She suddenly held my left arm, which I think made me blush. I was going to stare at her again, but stopped when she leaned over to my ear.

"Please, just call me Ayame~" she said. Um, is it hot in here or is it just me? Oh yeah, it's me, 'cause my face is burning hot right now. After class, I hurried towards Hachiko, though I have no idea why. When I arrived, the place was full of people, as usual.

"Why didn't you wait for me there?!?" I heard someone shout. Then I heard something like a slap sound. Everyone started to huddle up near the statue. I wonder what's going on.

I walked through the crowd, then I saw her. I quickly ran to her, not minding the other people here. "Are you okay Ayame?!" I asked, helping up. Apparently, the guy behind me slapped her so hard she fell down.

"Y-yeah. I'm okay." she said, then glared at the red-haired teen behind me.

"So, is this the scum you were talking about?!?" he said.

"Excuse me?" I said, then looked at him. Did I hear that right?

"Yes, he is. And he's not a 'scum' he's my new boyfriend." Ayame said. Say wha...?

"Then he'll have to 'go away' now." Took me long to find out that he had a gun with him. Once the crowd found out, some quickly ran away while the others tried to stop that maniac. He cocked his gun and struggled pointing it at me. Out of instinct, I quickly ran to him and grabbed his arm, trying to shake off his gun as the others held him back. He repeatedly kicked me in the thigh, while I continuously tried to take the gun away from him.

A loud gunshot stopped all movement. I didn't notice that, while struggling, I accidentally twisted his arm up to my chest, the gun pointing straight where my heart is. He fired. Instantly, the bullet pierced right through my heart. I dropped down as blood ran through my wound. The crowd frantically scattered away, some called the police and the ambulance, and the others chased the guy who shot me. On the other hand, Ayame sat there, crying, while hugging me tight.

"No, don't die...please..." she said. As blood continued to flow from my wound, I know I don't have much time left.

"Ayame...don't...cry..." I said, struggling in the process.

"Hisaki.." she said, still hugging me.

"Even though...we've only...just...met..." I stroked her hair, knowing that it would be the last. "...I want...to...say that..." No, not yet. I still have something to say.

"That...?" she asked, wiping up her tears.

I smiled, then coughed out some blood. "I want to say that...I...will love you...forever...Ayame..." I said, then slowly closed my eyes. Goodbye, Ayame. I don't want to leave you, but I can't do anything now. I'm sorry...

--------------------------


"HISAKI-KUN!!!!"

"Waaaaahhh!!!!" I shouted, then jumped, causing me to fall back. That was even louder than the thunder.

"Oh, sorry! Are you okay?" she asked, helping me up.

"Yeah, I'm okay...I guess..." I replied, then looked at Hachiko's statue.

"Hmph! Why are you always like that?" I gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Hmph!" she said, then turned away. What's her problem?

"What?" I asked.

"You are so... Argh!!!" she said, then ran off. Riiiiight. If you're wondering who that was, her name is Eri Nariko. I met her yesterday while I was busy sulking here. I'm glad that I met her though. It's lonely being a spirit. Yes, that's right. I'm a spirit, not a ghost. Spirits and ghost are different according to Eri. How did I become a spirit? Well, right after I died, a voice called out to me. It said: 'Do you want to live?' and obviously my answer was yes. Then a bright light enveloped me and BAM! Here I am.

This isn't exactly what I meant by 'alive', but I guess this is alright. I can watch over Ayame because of this. "Hisaki-kun!!!!!" I looked to see who called, well, I know already who.

"What is it, Eri?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No time... Follow me, quick!" she panicked, then ran off, dragging me in the process.

-san: is a title of respect added to a name.

-kun: is used to address men who are younger or the same age as the speaker.

Hachiko: link

AGU: link

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/27/2013 9:19:35 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 1
4/9/2013 9:25:39   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 1:
We Met A Powerful Yokai

"Hurry!" I yelled. Running as fast as I can. I can't believe she took it this long to tell me...

Earlier Today


"Hey, Eri...? Mind telling me why you're dragging me?" I asked. She just ignored me and kept on running. When we got to Shibuya's crossing, I pulled back my arm from her hold. She stopped and turned to me, looking confused. "Wait a minute Eri. Where exactly are we going? And why the rush?"

"Look, if you want to save your girlfriend, keep running, questions later." she said. I blushed.

"W-what?" I asked, lowering my head.

"You know what I mean. That girl---"

"Who, Ayame?" I cutted. "What about her? What's going on?!" I asked. She sighed.

"Look. All I know is that your girlfriend's school is being invaded by one of 'them'." she said. "So if you want to 'rescue' her, stop talking and start running!" Then ran ahead of me. When I had finally realized what she just said, I ran after her, then ahead of her.

--------------------------


I looked back at Eri who was a block away from me. "Come on Eri, run faster!" I yelled.

"Oh, so NOW you want me to 'rush'." she muttered.

When we got to the school's entrance, I heard a loud scream. "I hope I'm not too late..." I thought, then ran inside. "Hey, Hisaki-kun! Wait up!" Eri called out, but I ignored her and continued on running. I ran through the hallways and up the stairs, then stopped in front of their room. I was about to open the door but it broke down on me and a chair flew right past me. Good thing I'm intangible, or that would have hurt.

"S-stay back you freak!" I heard a student shout, then hurled a chair across the room. I went inside the war-zone of a classroom and saw this 'freak' they were talking about.

"Another one of them..." Eri said, as she suddenly appeared behind me. I searched around for Ayame, but haven't found her. I then focused on this beast we're about to fight.

"A Bakeneko this time, huh..." Eri said, eyeing the girl. I, on the other hand, couldn't wait to smash its face and pull its heart out of her lifeless body. The nerve of that Yokai, taking the form of Ayame... Yes, that's right. A Yokai. The first time I saw these creatures was when I met Eri, which is the day after I died...

--------------------------


The rain poured hard. I sat beside Hachiko's statue and watched as Ayame cradled my lifeless body while she cried herself out until the ambulance arrived. I let out a deep sigh. Why did this have to happen? When the ambulance arrived, they carried my body inside, but questioned Ayame first before driving off with her.

The following day, I still sat there, as if awaiting her return or something. I dunno, it just felt like I couldn't yet leave this place. As I sat there for hours and hours, sulking, I got disturbed when someone knocked me aside. Right. I thought these people can't touch nor see me? When I turned to look at the person who disturbed me, I saw a frightening beast in its place instead. It was an Oni, which I had thought were only a legend.

Ogre-like creatures with sharp claws, wild hair, and two long horns growing from their heads. This one had dark-red skin and wore nothing but tiger-skinned loincloths, holding an iron, spiked club. I just lay there, fear stricken, staring at its 12 foot tall presence. "Get out of the way. I have souls to feed on." it said, swatting me aside like a rag doll. Its voice was like a vibraphone got stuck in its throat. It walked behind someone then opened its mouth.

"Hey ugly!" a voice shouted. The wild-haired ogre looked at me. Uh oh.

"What did you just call me?!" it shouted, then turned to face me, looking angry.

"Are you deaf?! I said you're ugly as a mutant spider with terrible acne!" the voice shouted back. Who was that? I'm going to be in major trouble because of that voice.

"That's it! You're going down..." it said, then charged at me. Oh man. Am I going to die again? As the hairy ogre swung its club at me, I felt someone pull me out of the way. When its club hit the floor, it made a huge crater in place which made everyone here stop to look. The others freaked out and ran away. "That was close." I thought.

"Are you okay?" a voice said. The same one that got me in this position.

"Okay?! I almost died...again back there!!!" I yelled, then faced the girl behind me. She was almost invisible through the light, but I can see her face clearly. She has short, dark-brown hair which ran down to her neck. She has blue eyes and wore, I think, a school uniform. She smiled at me slyly.

"Sorry about that." She stood up and faced the ogre. "Time to kick some butt." she said. Immediately, her hands glowed a faint white. The Oni stared at her in confusion, then quickly changed its reaction as if realizing something.

"I see. A Spirit, huh..." It smiled widely. "You're gonna taste so good..." it said, then lunged at the girl. She grinned, then vanished right before my eyes. The hairy ogre stopped in its tracks, searching for its 'prey'. The brunette re-appeared behind the ogre. I saw her smiling widely as she raised an arm. The Oni, then, rocketed upwards with a strong blast of air. It flew so high I can't even pinpoint where it is in the sky now.

The brunette slowly walked towards me, while I just stared at her in awe. "I'm amazing, no?" she mused, then winked at me. What just happened...? Everything happened so fast. "So, what are you? A Ghost? A Spirit?" She helped me up. "Or...a Yokai..." she said, examining me from head to toe.

"Wait, what? What do you mean by Yokai? What just happened back there?! And who are you?!" I asked. She sighed.

"So you forgot..." she muttered.

"What?" I asked. She shook her head and smiled.

"I see you don't know what's going on." She walked past me. "The name's Eri. Eri Nariko. And what we just encountered was a Yokai." She turned to face me. "So, what's...your name...?" she asked.

Yokai? So they exist?! That is so...awesome. "M-my name is Hisaki Kaidou. And I guess I'm a Spirit too...or something." I said, then looked up. Hmm, I could have sworn I saw something fly past us, or was that just the Oni plummeting down? ...Yep. And in a split second, a very huge crater formed behind Eri. The impact was so strong, the nearby trees and plants lost its leaves. "What was---"

"RRRAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!"

"I can't believe he's still alive after that." Eri said.

"I...shall...devour you ALL!!!!" the ogre yelled, its red eyes glowing through the dust and smoke.

"Hey, Hisaki-kun. You said you were a Spirit, right?" Eri asked. I don't like where this is going.

"W-well I'm not actually sure if I am---"

"Close enough. Go get 'em tiger." she said, then pulled me towards her then pushed me towards the Oni. Oh man...

"W-wait! I don't know how to---" I paused when I felt the ogre's presence right behind me. I turned to face him and saw him lifting his club. "...Oh man." I said, then closed my eyes. The next thing I knew was, I wasn't dead and the ogre lay on the ground, scorched and smoking. "What just happened?" I asked, looking at my smoking hands.

"Wow. That's some fire power." Eri said, and tapped me on the back.

"Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean 'fire power'? What's going on?!" Then, after demanding an explanation, things became clearer to me...more or less...

"So let me get this straight. We Spirits have the power to turn our emotions into an element of our choosing..." She nodded. "...and those who died gets a chance to live again as Ghosts, Spirits, and Yokai's..." I said. She nodded again. After a few minutes of thinking, I looked at my hands and said: "Sweet..."

--------------------------


"Hisaki-kun! Its getting away!" Eri shouted. The 'impostor' jumped out of the window. I followed it and jumped at the window too, then chased it up to the school's entrance. When it finally stopped, it turned to face me.

"What do you want with me, Spirit? I've done nothing wrong." it said, smiling slyly at me. I clenched my fists.

"What did you do to Ayame?!" I asked, staring angrily at 'her'.

"Who?" She raised an eyebrow, then smiled evilly. "Oh, you mean that girl..." She shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe I had already killed her." she said. I clenched my teeth. That's it.

"Whoa. Hisaki-kun, you're on fire, literally." Eri said. Wait, I am? I looked at my hands. Wow. I AM on fire. I hurled a barrage of fireball at her, not stopping until I can't see her anymore because of the smoke. My eyes widened when I saw her emerge from the smoke. "Impossible..." I said, staring at her with disbelief.

"Impressive. But I'm not one of those wimpy Yokai you've encountered..." She bore out her claws, followed by her fangs. "...I'm with The League. A simple attack won't hurt me, little man." she said, then lunged at me so fast, it seemed she had vanished, until she re-appeared in front of me. She pierced her claws through my intangible body. I screamed in pain, then lobbed a fireball at her. She jumped back, but quickly thrown to the air by Eri.

"Are you okay?!" she said. I put my hand to my stomach, though blood's not flowing through, it still hurt. As she ran towards me, the Bakeneko suddenly appeared beside her. She swatted Eri aside then slowly walked towards me. I lobbed another fireball at her, but she swatted it away with her tail. When she got close enough, she pierced her claws through my chest then held me up.

"It’s too bad I'm about to kill you and still not even know your name." She said, and then threw me aside like a toy. I tried to stand up, but I couldn't move. "You're pretty brave, coming here without your master." she said, walking slowly towards me.

"What...master...?" I asked, then shifted my gaze over to Eri, who slowly crept behind her. The Yokai gave me a confused look.

"You mean you're not yet bound?" she asked in disbelief, staring down at me. "You're such an idiot." she said, then held me by the neck. She almost choked me to death, but loosened her grip when we heard footsteps coming towards us.

"That's where you're wrong. He has a master, and that's me." That voice seems familiar. "Now get your hands off my boyfriend." she said. And in a flash, an arrow pierced right through the Yokai's chest, reverting it back to its original form.

Yokai: link

Oni: link

Bakeneko: link

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/27/2013 9:20:45 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 2
4/10/2013 21:52:26   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 2:
A Pact With Ayame

"My, my." It pulled out the arrow from its chest and threw it away. "I'm very lucky today, having the 'Lightning Bow' as an audience." it said, then grabbed me by the neck again and held me up.

"Stop---!"

"I wouldn't move if I were you..." It cutted in, then smiled at me evilly. "...or this guy will lose his head." it said, then tightened its grip at my throat. I managed to produce a sly smile.

"I...wouldn't be...so sure...about...that..." I said.

The Bakeneko raised an eyebrow, looking confused. "And why is that? Hmm?" it said, tightening its grip even more.

"Because...you...forgot...two things..." I gazed at Eri, who's only a meter apart the beast. "First...is...you forgot...the other...person...here..." I said, then nodded at Eri. The Bakeneko quickly dropped me and looked behind, but was a second too late. It got propelled 40 feet up in the air, followed by a barrage of arrows by our mysterious helper. As the beast crashed down the ground, I conjured a fireball from my hand. "And second is..."

I threw the fireball at it. "...never underestimate your opponent's power." I said. As the fireball missed the beast by inches, it sneered at me.

"Hah! You missed." it said, flexing its limbs.

"I never intended it to hit you...." I looked at Eri. "NOW!" I shouted. Eri held out her hands as she chanted a spell I wasn't familiar with. She jumped back and swiped her hand at the fireball's direction, shooting a gust of air to it. The fireball erupted and formed a fire tornado, catching the beast in it, incinerating it completely. I gave Eri a thumbs up, then turned to face our mysterious helper who claims to be my 'girlfriend'. My eyes widened when I saw her.

"A-Ayame...?" I asked in disbelief. She rushed in and hugged me. Wait... HOW can she touch me?! "What---?"

"I thought I wasn't ever going to see you again..." she said between her sobs. Okay. What is going on here?

"Hisaki-kun, are you alright?" Eri said, running towards us. Ayame broke away from our hug and stared at Eri.

"Who's she?" she asked, pointing at her. Eri raised an eyebrow.

"So, is she that girl you're talking about?" she said, crossing her arms. She said the word 'she' with distaste. I wonder why...

The two just glared at each other. It was like they were waiting to see who flinched first before attacking each other. "H-hey, let's all calm down here---"

"SHUT UP!!!" they said in chorus, then continued on glaring at each other. O-okay...

"So, who are you?" Ayame asked, then put her hands at her hips.

"The name's Eri, whitey." Eri said, with a smug. I looked at Ayame. She looked like she's gonna pop a vein.

"What did you call me...?" she asked, slowly unsheathing a dagger.

"Whoa, Ayame. C-calm down. Y-you might..." She gave me a murderous look. "...Er, never mind..." I said, looking away.

"Alright. Enough of this already..." Eri said, smiling at me. "So, what's your name?" she asked, looking at Ayame. She sheathed her dagger then glared at Eri.

"The name's Ayame Michiko." She clung on to my arm. "Let's go, Hisaki-kun~" she said, then dragged me away.

"Just hold on a second!" Eri said, then grabbed my right arm. "Where do you think you're going?!" she said, then pulled me to her side.

"Why would you care where we're going?!" Ayame said, then grabbed my left arm and pulled me to her side.

"Why should I tell you?!" Eri said, then grabbed my right arm and pulled me to her side. I looked at both of them.

"Um...C-could you...could you both let go of me?" I asked.

"Stay away from this!" they yelled in chorus. Both of them held my arm firm, not wanting to let go, then started pulling me to each of their sides.

"Let go!" Ayame shouted, pulling me harder. Ow.

"No, you let go!" Eri shouted, pulling me even harder. Ow, again.

"Guys...stop...please..." I begged.

"Not until she lets go!" they yelled in chorus, pulling harder. Ow. At this rate, I'll be split in two.

"Okay, that's it!" Ayame let go of my arm, same with Eri. Whew, finally. "Let Hisaki-kun pick who he wants to go with." she said, then both of them glared at me.

"H-hey, wait a minute. Why me?!" I asked, looking at both of them.

"Enough talking, just pick!" Eri said. Oh man.

"Can't we just go...together? All of us?" I asked, trying to reason with both of them.

"No way!!" they said in chorus, then glared at each other. Ayame suddenly clung to my arm and ran away, dragging me in the process.

"HEY!! Get back here!!!!" Eri shouted, running after us. We ran around the school, then into Shibuya before stopping at Hachiko.

"I think we lost her." Ayame said, catching her breath. If I was still alive, I'd collapse right about now. I sat beside the statue, staring at her. I still can't believe what just happened back there. How can she see us? More importantly, how can she touch us?

"Ayame...What are you exactly...?" I asked. She sat beside me.

"Ever heard of Spirit Seekers?" she asked. I shook my head.

"Care to explain?" I asked, smiling at her. She smiled back.

"Well, I don't like explaining. So I'll just make it brief." she said. "A Spirit Seeker is like a Shaman and an Exorcist combined. The only difference is we work together with Spirits to enhance our powers. We drive out bad Ghosts and Spirits and send evil Yokai to the underworld, while we help the good ones cross to the other world." Wow. That's so cool! "Which reminds me..." She suddenly stood up and examined me from head to toe.

"I-is something wrong...?" I said. I leaned back as she leaned closer to me. "W-what are you doing...?" I asked.

"You're a Spirit now, right?" she asked, leaning closer.

"I-I guess..." I said. I looked away. Why? Because she's so close, I can feel her breathing at my neck. "C-could you...move away...?" I said.

"Hmm... No. There's something I need to do first." She placed her hand behind my head and turned it to face her.

"W-what are you doing?" I asked. I blushed as her face was only inches away from mine. She leaned closer and closer until our noses have touched. I closed my eyes. "A-Ayame, y-you're t-too c-close..." I said, blushing harder. I quickly opened my eyes as I felt her warm lips press against mine. My heart pounded with excitement as I tried to register what was happening in my mind. Moments later, she slowly drew back, smiling at me while panting lightly.

I just sat there, staring at her, trying to understand what just happened. "W-what just happened...?" I asked. She giggled.

"I kissed you, silly." she said, then sat beside me.

"N-no, I mean, w-why did you...kiss...me..?" I asked, still staring at her. She giggled again.

"Three reasons... First is because I need to form a pact with a Spirit. Second..." She clung to my arm. "...is because you're my boyfriend. And third is..." She leaned closer to my ear. "...because I love you..." she whispered, then rested her head on my shoulder. Okay, can you say that again? I'm having a hard time processing this in my brain. A few minutes later, I blushed so hard my face almost looked like a tomato.

I looked at her and saw that she was already asleep. I smiled as I stroked her silky, white hair. "I love you too, Ayame..." I said, then watched as the sun set down through the horizon.

Fire tornado: link

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/25/2013 5:06:55 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 3
4/13/2013 2:51:01   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 3:
Meeting With The Seven Sentinels

"Hmm... How long has it been already?" I asked myself while staring at her beautiful, sleeping face. I looked at my watch - which I had no idea how it's still on my wrist - 8:00 P.M. Wow. She's been asleep for almost two hours. Hmm... Maybe I should wake her up. Suddenly, I heard her mumble something while hugging me by the waist, then buried her head in my stomach. Yeah, I let her sleep on my lap.

"Ayame..." *poke* "...wake up, its evening..." I said, while poking her cute cheeks. She mumbled again, louder this time, though I still can't understand what she's saying. "Ayame..." *poke* "...come on, wake up..." *poke*

"Mmm... Hisaki-kun..." she muttered, hugging me tighter. Er, is she dreaming about me...? I poked her again.

"Ayame, come on..." *poke* "...wake up already..." I looked around. The streets are getting busier here at Hachiko, though nobody had ever noticed us the whole time. I wonder why...

"Hisaki-kun... I..." she muttered. What was that? I didn't catch that last part.

"What did you say...?" I asked her, leaning my ear closer.

"Mmm..." she moaned. I poked her again. I suddenly felt her warm lips on my cheeks, which made me blush. I bolted upright when she started waking up. "Stop poking me..." she said, while rubbing her eyes.

"S-sorry..."

"What time is it...?" she asked, stretching her limbs. I looked at my watch.

"Uh... 8:30 P.M." I said, staring at her.

"I better go back now..." She looked at me and met my eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow!" she said, then kissed me on the cheek. "...Or do you want to come...?" she asked, then winked at me. My face suddenly felt hot.

"U-uh... I...erm... W-well..."

"There you are!!!" I felt someone pull my arm, dragging me away. I looked to see who it was, and to no surprise, "E-Eri...?" I said.

"Hey!" Ayame shouted, then grabbed my other arm. Here we go again... "Where do you think you're taking him?!" she said, pulling me to her side.

"Why would you care?!" Eri said, also pulling me to her side.

"Ladies... Ow... can both of you... Ow... calm down for a sec...?" I asked, trying not to think what would happen if I got split in half. They gave no response, still pulling me, which lasted for three minutes, until they finally let go. "Whew. Thanks. I thought---"

"They're here..." Eri muttered, immediately chanting a spell I'm also not familiar with. I looked around and saw nothing but regular people. I gazed at Ayame. She was also chanting something with her eyes closed. After Eri was done chanting, she searched around for 'them' while I just stood there having no idea what to do.

"Are you sure they're he---" Ayame's soft, warm lips stopped me from what I was about to say. She gave me a very long, very passionate kiss which made my heart do a somersault, and made my face turn red. When she broke away, she immediately drew her bow and arrow and shot a nearby mortal, which turned into an Oni. I, on the other hand, just stood there, staring at her while trying to understand the situation. Ayame giggled, which snapped me back to reality.

"Are you just going to stare at me all night...?" she asked, then shot another human, which turned into a Tengu. It looked like a regular human, except for its beak, abnormally long nose, and crow-like wings and feet. Its clothes changed from a regular high school student's uniform into a Kimono, while its skin turned from a pale white, into a deep, dark-red.

"O-oh, s-sorry..." I said, then counted the Yokai's we're about to face. "They're all about, 20 in total. Naming: Ten Oni's, Three Tengu's, Four Bakeneko's, and Three Tanuki's." I blazed up, though something feels different. "Bring it." I thought. I was about to move, but got stopped by seven figures riding a storm cloud, headed straight for us.

The first one (from left to right) was a man in his 40's. He has short, black hair with brown eyes. He also has a mustache and a goatee in his slightly wrinkled face. He sports a black tuxedo with a slick, red tie and black slacks along with a pair of black shoes. The second one
was a woman in her 20's. She has long, blue hair tied back into a ponytail. Her left eye was green colored while her right eye was blue colored, like a cat's. She sports an elegant, red dress paired with her red, 5 inches, high-heels.

The third one was a 10-year-old child. Cute and innocent, though the look on her blood-red eyes tells me she wasn't. Her silky, blonde her was tied back into a ponytail. She wore a pink-colored tank top over her bright, yellow blouse and dark-blue jeans. The fourth one wore a black robe, covering his whole body and concealing his whole face. The only thing I can see through his hood was his golden eyes.

The fifth one was another 10-year-old. I think she, and the third are twins. Cause they definitely look alike. Same hair color and hair-style, same clothes, but had different eye color from each other. Unlike her sister's blood-red eyes, she had bright, yellow eyes. The sixth one was a middle-aged man. His hair-style and facial hair was the same as the first's. I thought he was blind, but then realized that was just the color of his eyes - white. He wore a white Judogi, though at his age, I can't imagine him being a master.

And lastly, the seventh one looks just like...Ayame. Well, except for her eyes, which was light-blue. She wore the same school uniform as Ayame. So, does that mean... No, it couldn't be...could it...? Anyways, they all sat crossed-legged on the storm cloud, hovering 10-feet-high above the ground. Well, except for the guy in the middle, who just stood up, terrorizing us with his icy-cold stares. And, like us and the Yokai's, they also weren't noticed by the busy people here.

"T-they're..." Eri trailed off, not daring to continue. I looked at her. She looked so horrified, it's like she's seen a ghost or something. I shifted my gaze at Ayame, same expression. What's up with these two?

"The Seven Sentinels..." Ayame said, with quite a hesitation in saying so.

"I see you've already heard of us..." the dark-haired man said. His voice was deep, like an anchorman's.

"So, I heard you killed one of my soldiers..." the cat-lady said, then glared at me intensely. In fact, so intense, I can almost feel her anger. The tone of her voice was like a child's. Simple and perky.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Ayame asked. She clenched her teeth and tightened her grip on her bow. Wow. I've never seen her so angry before. Well, really, REALLY angry.

"Oh come on, don't be like that, sister..." her 'sister' said. Her tone was like Ayame's too. Sweet and elegant. Wait, did she just say...sister? Then, they ARE sisters. And in a flash, literally, an arrow shot straight towards Ayame's 'sister', but failed to hit her when she simply edged away. That was so fast I didn't even see that she drew an arrow.

"What do you want?" Ayame asked. Her tone was cold and firm.

"Simple. We want the Yasakani no Magatama you're wearing." the old dude said. I looked at Ayame and saw that she's also staring at me. I gave her a 'What's going on?' look. She just mouthed 'I'll explain later.' then gazed back at the seven.

"Well unfortunately, that's going to be a problem." she said, then drew an arrow.

"Aww, too bad. Can we kill them now? Please?" the 10-year-old begged, smiling evilly at us.

"Relax Yukina, let the leader decide first." her twin said.

"But Yukano..." She pouted, then sighed. "Alright..." Yukina said. The middle one glared at me with his gleaming, golden eyes for a few moments then shifted it back at Ayame. Man, that sent chills down my spine. Though... I feel like I know the guy... Weird.

"We're leaving..." he said, then vanished right before my eyes. The other six shrugged, then vanished along with the Yokai. Silence remained on the three of us, neither one not daring to speak, until Eri suddenly ran away.

"Eri!" I yelled. Trying to call her back, which obviously didn't work. I looked at Ayame. "Ayame---" She suddenly rushed in and hugged me while crying.

"H-Hisaki-kun... *sniff* ...Don't leave me... *sniffle*" she said between her sobs. I hugged her back.

"I will never leave you Ayame." I stroked her hair. "I promise..." Not now, not ever. Though something bothers me. Was that girl, and Ayame really sisters? How does Ayame know them so well? And who ARE those people? Well, I guess those answers will have to wait... for now...

Tengu: link

Kimono: link

Tanuki: link

Judogi: link

Yasakani no Magatama: link

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/25/2013 5:08:14 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 4
4/19/2013 8:36:46   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 4:
A Visit In Ayame's Room

"Whoa..." I looked around. "This is your room?!" I asked in disbelief. I can hardly call this a room. She walked past me and crashed on the bed.

"Yup." she said. Wow... I walked around, looking at everything in the room. Since we got here, the first thing I noticed is that the whole house was painted white. From the floors, ceilings, and furniture, all white. Ayame's room was the only thing that was different: it was painted pink. After that, the first thing that came to mind was if Ayame's royalty. The walls and ceiling were made of pure fiberglass. Outside, the view was beautiful.

I can see the bright, glowing moon atop the mountain range going through the horizon. Below it, I can see the vast reaches of the ocean, like they were connected. The only sound I could hear was the waves, washing over the cold, dark shore. The shadows that was cast outside were creepy. It's like the tree's branches were reaching out for us, but all and all, I wouldn't think of any other place to live. I didn't realize that I was standing in the middle of the room, gazing outside, until Ayame talked.

"So, what do you think of my room...?" she asked.

What do I think? Hmm... Well, aside from the majestic view outside, the giant chandelier hanging up the ceiling, the perfect copied paintings of you that hung through the other side of the 'wall', the queen-like decorations and furniture in the 'room', and a wide space almost as big as half a soccer field, I think it's perfect. But it came out as: "Uhh... duhh..."

"I'm gonna go take a shower." she said.

"Huh...? Oh, okay." I said. She stood up and opened the door to her room.

"I'll be right back." she said, then went out. I don't know what I was thinking, but when she went out, I threw myself onto her bed. I rolled around for a bit, then back to laying down, then jumping, and back to laying down again. "Wow. Ayame's bed is so soft..." I said to myself. Moments later, I heard the door creak open.

"That's probably one of Ayame's maids..." I thought. Yeah. Did I mention she has a lot of maids? Anyways, when the door closed, I thought about what happened earlier, about those 'Seven Sentinels'. I felt someone lay down on the bed next to me, while putting an arm on my chest. "Who---?"

"Having fun, Hisaki-kun~?" she said, smiling at me. I blushed so hard, I put a tomato to shame.

"A-Ayame!?" I said, then literally jumped out of her bed and into the floor. "O-ow..."

"Are you okay...?" she said, looking down on me from her bed.

"Yeah. I'm okay..." I said, then slowly stood up. Ayame sat down on her bed and looked at me.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. I looked away.

"N-n-nothing's w-wrong..." I said, trying not to blush harder. I can't look at her straight 'cause the only thing she's wearing was a bathrobe.

"Then why can't you look at me straight?" she asked. Oh you know exactly why!

"I... B-because... y-your w-wearing..." I said, pointing at her bathrobe, still looking away.

"Oh, you mean this?" She stood up and removed her bathrobe, revealing a pink, cotton shirt under a plain, white tank top and a deep, red miniskirt. "What? Did you think I wasn't wearing any clothes...?" she asked with a sly smile.

"N-no!! I-it's not like that!" I blurted out. She giggled, then sat down on the bed. She signaled me to sit beside her, so I did. A few minutes of silence has passed, I thought of asking about her 'sister'.

"Um... Ayame..."

"Hisaki-kun..."

Uh...awkward... "You go first." we said in chorus...again. She giggled.

"Okay, I'll go first." She held my hand. "What's your status with that Eri girl?" she asked in a serious face. I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Is she asking me what I think she's asking...? That's not good... She sighed.

"Are you and her..." She pursed her lips. "...dating...?" she asked. Slowly, my face felt hot and my heart skipped a beat.

"W-w-what?!? N-no!!" I shouted. She leaned closer to me, examining my blushing face, then pinched my nose.

"Okay. I believe you." she said. I sighed. "Then tell me how you two met. Why is she following you?" she asked.

"I-it's not like she's following me, it's just that..." I paused. Yeah, I don't know. "Well, we've met right after she saved me from being pummeled by an Oni. After that..."

--------------------------


"So, how about it?" she asked. I looked at her, then back at my arms, then back at her.

"...Do I have a choice?" I asked. She giggled.

"Two." she said. "One is to stay here and die..." Her hands suddenly glowed white. "...Second is to train with me and live." Right. Some choices... After a few minutes...

"...I'm gonna pass on the staying here and dying part..." I said. She grinned widely, then ran off, dragging me with her. It wasn't such a long drag, with Eri being a fast runner and all, but was still a very uncomfortable ride. We eventually stopped at the skating area in Miyashita Park. There's not much people here, so there isn't going to be much of a commotion here. Then again, nobody can even see us...

"You ready?" she asked, hands glowing white. I feel a lump forming on my throat. This isn't going to end well... I gulped.

"I... I guess...?" I said. She gave me a wide smile before introducing me to a new world of pain for the next 48 hours. She gave me a beating rather than training, but it eventually helped me control my powers. Luckily, I didn't burn any trees nor fought any Yokai, but left a mark all over the pavements. Eri, on the other hand, blew off every leaves on the nearby trees and bushes, which left people wondering what happened overnight.

Back at Hachiko, me and Eri sat beside the statue, happily chatting. "Hey, Hisaki-kun," she called.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Um... These past few days, you look kind of depressed. How come?" she asked. I gazed at the statue first, then looked up.

"...It's because there's somebody that I miss... who I can never be with anymore..." I said, as the rain drizzled down the dark and gloomy clouds of Shibuya...

--------------------------


"Wow... I never knew you became so...emo after you... you know..." she said, then laid down on her bed. I looked at her, then smiled.

"Yeah... Me too..." I said.

"It's getting late, I'm gonna sleep again now." she said, then grabbed a pillow and cuddled it. "Good night..."

"Good night, Ayame..." I said, then tucked her in. I'm sorry. I can't tell you everything about me. Especially about...that...

Miyashita Park: link

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/27/2013 9:21:36 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 5
4/29/2013 8:18:11   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 5:
A Not So Warm Welcome

"M-mom...? D-dad...?" I pushed open the oaken door leading to my parents' room, and found the biggest surprise of my 5-year-old life. I watched in horror as my mother crawled towards me. The corner of her lower lip had blood, slowly rolling down to her chin. Her left arm had a deep and horrible wound - a claw mark from the looks of it.

"Run..." she said, struggling in the process. But I didn't move. I just stood there, staring at her, pretending that this is all a bad dream, as tears rolled down my cheeks. She slowly reached out for me, but someone - something - kicked her aside into a nearby closet. I never even had a glimpse of what did that to my mom, when dad suddenly arrived and pushed me back then immediately closed the door.

"Let's go... For your sake..." a voice said, though I had already recognized who was talking.

"Uncle...?" I asked, then looked behind me. I was right. I saw him staring blankly at the door. He placed a hand on my shoulder.

"It pains me to do this..." he muttered, then pinched me somewhere in my neck. My eyes suddenly felt heavy as my body grew limp. Before I knew it, I fell asleep to the sound of my father, fighting that 'thing'.

--------------------------


"Okay... Meditating time, over." I said to myself. I stood up and stared at the view outside. Other than last night, the only difference to the scenery was the sun's rays penetrating through the glass. This could have burned my eyes out if I was still alive. Thankfully, I can still see the landscape outside. I sighed. "Of all the memories I can remember, why that?"

"Why what...?"

I quickly looked behind. "A-Ayame...? You're awake?" I asked. She yawned.

"I am now... So, what's all the emoting about?" she asked, then stood up and stretched.

"I am not 'emoting'!" I replied, then looked back at the view outside. "It's just... Nah, forget about it."

"Okay then. I'm gonna go brush my teeth now." she said, then went off. Alone again. It's so boring not being able to sleep.For the whole eight hours that Ayame slept, all I did was gaze at the moon, poke her while she sleeps, and meditate, like what I did earlier. "Now to stare at the sun until something pops up in my mind..." I said to myself. The thought shattered when I saw something disturbing. I leaned closer to the glass for a better view.

"Is that...?" The figure turned to face me. Now I can see her face clearly. "...Eri?!? What's she doing here?!" I shouted.

"Is there a problem, Hisaki-kun?" Ayame asked. I looked behind.

"O-oh. Ayame, you're back..." I said, then smiled. "This is bad..." I thought. She raised an eyebrow.

"You're acting weird..." she said. She sat on the bed, picked up a comb, then started brushing her hair.

"W-weird...? W-why would you say that...?" I asked, scratching my head.

"Aha! There you are!" a voice shouted, though I already know who it is...

"Oh man..." I said, then looked behind me. I saw Eri outside the glass. She passed right through it with ease and gave me a big hug as we fell down on the floor.

"I've been looking all night for you!" she said, then stood up. I also stood up, then took some steps backwards.

"Uh... Eri...?" I said.

"Hmm?" she said.

"Why---?"

"What the heck are you doing here?!" Ayame shouted, while pointing at Eri. This is what I thought would happen.

"What do you care, whitey?" Eri said with a smug. Again, Ayame looked like she was going to pop a vein. She was going to lunge at Eri, I think, but the door to her room were suddenly pushed open. One of her maids peeked in, carrying a tray of what seemed like breakfast to Ayame, but looked like lunch in a five star restaurant to others.

"Mistress, your breakfast is here." the maid said. Wow. 'Mistress'...

"Put it on the table, please." Ayame said, pointing at the table next to her bed. The maid nodded, then put Ayame's 'breakfast' on the table before leaving. After that, the tension resumed. They glared at each other, gritting their teeth and clenching their fists.

"Don't look at me, don't look at me, don't look at me..." I prayed, which worked. I slowly backed away until I hit the door. Their hating eyes gazed upon me. "Uh oh. Not good." I thought, then accidentally knocked down a lamp on the table next to me. I quickly picked it up. Good thing it didn't break. I was about to put it back when I saw something interesting. There's a button on where the lamp was standing.

I gently put down the lamp, then slowly reached for the suspicious button. "Hisaki-kun! Wait! That's---!" Ayame didn't finish what she was saying when I pressed the button. Nothing seems to have happened, or so I thought. As I looked back, the floor where Eri was standing got replaced by a hole big enough for the three of us.

"What---?"

"That place is supposed to be a secret!" Ayame yelled. I gulped. Well I didn't know!

"W-what's supposed to be in there that should be kept a secret anyway...?" I asked, staring at her. She sighed, then walked towards the hole.

"You'll just have to see find out." she said, then jumped inside it.

"Wait...! Oh man." I said, then followed after her.

*****


Alright. From now on, I won't push anymore suspicious buttons. One minute, I was trying to avoid a fight, the next minute, I end up as a prisoner. Well, almost. "H-hey, is the sword really necessary...?" I asked.

"Quiet you." she said, then pointed her sword at me. Right now, I got my hands up while being examined by this girl. Apparently, I landed somewhere inside a cave. In front of me lies a giant, oaken doors, much like the ones in... No, it couldn't be. As those doors opened, more people like her came out and pointed their weapons at me. Some welcome...

"Wait!" I heard a voice shout. It's pretty far, but I can still recognize that voice from anywhere. I saw Eri and Ayame running towards us. Everybody around me lined up and saluted at Ayame's presence. Wow. Just... Wow. "Stop. He's with me, and this little girl beside me." she said. One of them raised a hand. "Yes?" Ayame asked.

"Ma'am, you're bringing outsiders inside HQ?" the guy asked.

"Yes, and that boy on front of you isn't such an outsider. He's my partner. You all can go ahead and go back to your stations." Ayame said. Partner...? Oh yeah, the pact...

"Yes ma'am!" they all said in chorus, then went off. Except for the girl who still had her sword pointed at my neck.

"You can relax now, Yuni. He won't attack you." Ayame said. Slowly, the girl lowered her sword and sheathed it, but still glared at me with her deep, brown eyes. Ayame walked past me, with Eri on her side. Weird.

"Come on, you wanted to see it, right?" Ayame said with a smile, then looked at the gigantic doors. "Then let me show you the Spirit Seekers' Head Quarters..." And with that, the three of us went inside. I don't know what's going to happen to me there, but I hope I won't get killed again...or something...

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/27/2013 9:22:02 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 6
5/11/2013 23:15:45   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 6:
A Startling Challenge

Okay. Now, the first thing on my mind was: "Is this a town...?" Once we stepped inside, all I can see were houses, markets, and something that looked like a mall. The 'streets' were buzzing with people and spirits alike. But something wasn't right. "Is that a...Yokai?!" I said, staring at a nine-tailed fox. It was wrapped around a little girl's foot. I was gonna attack it, but Ayame stopped me.

"There are good kinds of Yokai too, you know." she said. "And some of these 'good kinds' we keep around as pets." Wow... That's kind of hard to believe... Anyways, we continued walking around, looking at the houses and shops. I thought the Spirit Seekers' HQ was just homes for abandoned children and for people who can see and fight Yokai, until we arrived at the middle. There I saw a towering wall of pure concrete, and another one of those huge, oaken doors guarded by a couple of Spirit Seekers.

"This is where the real tour starts." Ayame said, walking towards the doors. As usual, the guards saluted to her before opening the doors. As I walked inside, one of the guards kept on eyeing me, like he wants to kill me or something. "Why does everybody stare at me like that?" I asked myself. Once I got inside, I can't help but be amazed. The place was as big as five football stadiums combined.

The field was crowded with Spirit Seekers, sparring, running, and training. Bleachers stretched around the stadium. On the middle-end of the stadium lay the Tower of Pisa. Wait...what? "Hey...Ayame...?" I called.

"Yes?" she said.

"Is that... The Leaning Tower of Pisa?!" I asked, while pointing at the tower. Seriously, it looks like the real thing. Ayame suddenly giggled.

"Of course not." she said. "The Chief just made it look like the real Tower of Pisa...minus the leaning part." She quickly grabbed my hand and dragged me across the stadium. Next thing I know, I was standing in front of a warehouse just below the Tower of Pisa. And yes, we're still inside this stadium. The warehouse wasn't all that big, kind of like a regular warehouse. There was a carving of a sword with a shield behind it, on the door. There was also a plaque that hung on top of the door. It says 'Weapon Storage'.

"So, did you enjoy the tour?" Ayame asked. I just nodded. If you call 'sight-seeing' a tour, then yes. Some time later, a question suddenly popped up on my head.

"Hey, Ayame...?" I called, still staring at the tower. No-one answered. "Ayame?" I repeated, then looked around to find her. I turned around and saw that guy again. The one standing at the gate, glaring at me like everyone else. Somehow, I feel like I'm not welcome here... "Oh, hi there. Have you seen---" I didn't finish what I was saying when he suddenly punched me. The impact was so strong, I fell on the ground. "...What's your problem?!?" I shouted.

He just ignored me, staring at me coldly with his deep, ocean-blue eyes. "Ack. My jaw still hurts..." I said to myself, while massaging my jaw. Several seconds of glaring later, he finally talked.

"I challenge you to a duel." He said, coldly. "We'll start at noon. Don't let me down..." He glared at me some more, then left like nothing happened. "What's with that guy?! And I didn't even get to refuse..." I said to myself. Some time later, I saw Eri and Ayame running towards me. Where'd they even go?

"Hisaki-kun! Are you alright?! What happened?" Eri asked, helping me up.

"Yeah. I'm alright... More or less." I said.

"Who did this...?!" Ayame asked.

"You can blame that guy on the gate... He said something about a duel. I don't really care." I said.

"Oh... Him again..." Ayame said.

"You know that guy?" Eri asked. Ayame nodded, then scratched her head.

"Apparently, he does that to every boy I bring here..." she said. Oh, great. I got attacked by a jealous Spirit Seeker...

"So? What could he possibly do to Hisaki-kun?" Eri asked. Yeah. What can he do?

"Well, there's this one time..." she said, then started to think. "Someone didn't appear on his 'scheduled duel', so he hunted him down and forced the guy to fight him."

"Did the guy win?" I asked.

"Let's just say it didn't end well..." she said. Great. I can't refuse his crazy duel...

*****


Noon came. I want to bail, but it'll only get worse. I walked around town for a bit - not a single soul in sight. With that, I headed straight to the stadium. And to my surprise, every-single-one of the 'citizens' and Spirit Seekers filled the bleachers. All except for my challenger here. In front of him was a table, and on the table lay several weapons. Swords, rapiers, katanas, kunais, axes, hammers, and bow and arrows.

"Pick your weapon." the 18-year-old (or at least what I think his age is) said.

"Do I really have to do this...?" I asked. I got no response. That probably means 'Yes'. I hovered my hand through these weapons until I find what I'm most comfortable with. Took me several minutes to pick, but I finally found something I can use...I think.

"You choose bow over blade?" He shook his head. "Ridiculous." he said, then picked up a katana. Deep inside, I'm thinking: "Why did I pick this?! Why...?"

"The rules are simple." he said, taking a few steps back. "This is a fight to the death. No restraining. Use of powers are permitted." He stopped walking then faced me. Two Spirit Seekers took out the table of weapons. A lump formed in my throat, while beads of sweat trickled down my forehead. "Let the battle..." He pointed his katana at me. His eyes had the intent to kill. "...begin." he said, then vanished. I gulped, then searched around for him.

I never noticed, but he reappeared right behind me. I have only a few seconds to counter or dodge, but I'm not that fast. "Is this the end..?" I said to myself. I closed my eyes and waited for my imminent doom. A few seconds later...I blacked out...

Leaning Tower of Pisa: link

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/27/2013 9:22:26 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 7
5/14/2013 8:43:53   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 7:
An Unexpected Reunion

When I regained consciousness, at first, all I could see were blurry white dots. When I finally recovered, all I could see were snowmen all around the bleachers. I blinked. "Unbelievable..." I said to myself. It was the middle of spring, and yet its snowing here. And inside too. Slowly, the snowmen moved, revealing our freezing audiences, wiping off the snow from their hair and clothes. Then I suddenly remembered.

"I'm alive!" I shouted.

"Unbelievable..." a voice said. That voice reminded me that I was originally fighting before this. I saw my enemy several steps away. He was extinguishing the blue flames that were eating his clothes, but what disturb me was that his left hand were frozen solid. His katana (Now a block of ice), lay on the snow just below his ice sculpture of a hand. This got me thinking.

"What happened here?" I asked. The guy smirked, then clenched his fist, breaking his hand's icy prison.

"You don't remember...?" he asked. I raised an eyebrow.

"Why would I be asking you if I remember?" I retorted. He kicked the ice right where his katana's hilt would be, shattering it to a million pieces. He heaved the block of ice and chanted some kind of spell.

"You did all of this." he said. "Right before my blade cut through your neck, all around you, pale, blue flames erupted and froze my blade on contact. Not to mention my hand." When he finished chanting, the ice covering the katana melted.

"I...I did all of this...? I turned the whole stadium into a snow-globe?!" I asked in disbelief. The teen nodded, then pointed his blade at me.

"You've got some unusual powers." he said. "As expected on one of the Celestial Spirits..." With that said, murmurs shattered the silence among the audiences.

I can hear them saying: "He's a Celestial Spirit...?! No way!" And "It's amazing what a Celestial Spirit can do..." Or "Hisaki-kun! Kick that guy's butt!" ...Wait, did I hear that right? I searched the bleachers, and apparently, I saw Ayame and Eri cheering for me. Awkward...

"Now... Shall we continue?" the 18-year-old said. I didn't even get to respond. He suddenly attacked me, bringing blow after blow. Surprisingly though, I seem to avoid every attack he makes...well, that is until he backed me to the wall. He was about to deliver the final blow, when my instincts - which I didn't know I had - took over. I quickly drew an arrow and ducked. I rolled to one side then leaped a few good meters back.

"Nice reflexes..." he mused, then lunged at me. I shot him an arrow. He effortlessly deflected it with his katana and continued on running towards me. I ran. As I let him chase me, I shot a couple of arrows at him. Some missed by an inch, some he deflected, the others ripped the cloth on his shirt and pants. I stopped running and leapt forward, surprising my enemy by a mere second, enough time for me to shoot an arrow to his head...

But I didn't. Instead, I landed right behind him. I kicked the blade off his hands, pointed an arrow at his throat, then called it quits. But I don't think he'd want that... He leapt back, then slid down between my legs - baseball-style, grabbing his katana in the process, then standing firm behind me, holding his blade to my throat. The move was so fast, he caught me off guard. I thought he was going to finish me, but instead, he laughed and dropped the weapon.

"That was a good fight. I haven't had one of those in years..." he said. And with that, I fell on the soft, cold snow, laughing with the guy who almost tried to kill me. Then I heard footsteps coming towards us.

"Are you okay, Hisaki-kun...?" Ayame asked, then helped me up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, wiping off the snow on my clothes.

"That was a nice fight, don't you think?" Eri said. I nodded. Our audiences started to disperse, but then everybody froze as one guy, one middle aged guy, walked in the stadium.

"My, my... Now who turned the coliseum into a snow-globe...?" the man asked, smiling quite nicely. Though I still can't see his face clearly (Because we're so far away from the entrance), he looks kind of familiar... When he got into range, I got a clear view of his appearance.

He had short, messy, hazel-brown colored hair with blue eyes as deep as the ocean. His body was well built, kind of like a weight lifters'. He was wearing a plain, gray jacket over his white shirt that says: "I am #1" He also wore black jeans and a pair of cool-looking running shoes. Next thing I know, he was standing in front of us. NOW I know who he is...but I'm not yet sure.

"Well now, who's this young lad?" he asked, examining my every move.

"Oh, well, his name is Hisaki Kaidou, Chief." Ayame said with a smile. So, he's the Spirit Seekers' Chief, huh? How odd would it be if he really is my...

"Did you say... Hisaki...Kaidou...?" the Chief asked, looking quite shocked. Could he really be...?

"Yeah. Why...?" Ayame asked.

"I... I have a son..." the Chief said. "...whose name is Hisaki, too, but..." Then he trailed off, looking depressed.

"But...?" Eri asked. The Chief sighed.

"I...I'm sorry, but, could you tell us what happened to your son?" Ayame asked.

"...Okay." the Chief said. "It happened eleven years ago. After that 'incident', I quickly searched for Hisaki and his twin brother and sister. I went to his room, but he wasn't there. When I went outside, I saw my brother - his uncle - carrying Hisaki and his twin's unconscious body. I sighed in relief. 'They're safe.' I said to myself. Or so I thought. My brother put them down, only to attack me and render me unconscious. When I woke up, their gone. I haven't heard of them since..."

"A-and what would your brother's name be...?" I asked, lowering my head.

"Oh... His name is Daisuke." he said. "And why would you be interested in his name, might I ask..?" I was right...

"I found you..." I muttered. The three of them looked at me, clueless.

"What?" Ayame asked.

"So, I finally found you..." I said.

"Finally found who?" Eri asked.

"Daisuke...was the name of my uncle..." I said. All around me, I heard gasps and murmurs.

"Then that means..." Ayame paused, then looked at both the Chief and me with awe.

"The man I was searching for, up until today..." I said, then looked directly at the Chief's face. "This man... Is my father..."

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/25/2013 5:14:00 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 8
5/29/2013 9:54:00   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 8:
Father and Son

Murmurs... Murmurs everywhere... "Is it so much of a shock that they couldn't stop talking about it?" I said to myself while letting everybody's doubtful comments pass through one ear to the other. "No matter what they say, I'm confident that their 'Chief' is really my dad."

"Alright everyone," the middle-aged man said. "that's enough..." The Spirit Seekers slowly stopped murmuring and awaited my father's reaction. There was an awkward silence among us...until someone shattered it...

"Is it true?" Ayame interrupted. "Is he really you're son, Chief?" she cheerily said; a huge grin were plastered on her face. The old man opened his mouth, but no words came out of it...yet. With that, the atmosphere around us grew tense. A cold, icy sweat trickled down my forehead. My throat went dry, and my legs felt like jelly. My heart pounded as the tension went through me.

"If I'm wrong, I'd be as good as dead by now..." I said to myself as shivers ran down my spine. It felt like someone shoved trays of ice-cubes down my shirt. Then finally, the old man talked.

"You really are as smart as your mother says." he said, ruffling my now-messy chocolate-brown hair. Is it just me, or did that answer felt like a punch in the face? Well, apparently everyone thought so too. I can see it in their faces.

"Get straight to the point, grandpa..." Eri said, impatiently. The old man managed a small laugh, then put a hand on my shoulder.

"Alright." he said. His face turned from calm, to serious. "It's true. Hisaki is my son." With that, everyone began to simultaneously gasp. It's like everyone ran out of air. The whole stadium looked like it held a breathing contest. I glanced at Ayame and saw her holding hands with Eri, jumping up and down like she'd won a lottery. Dad cleared his throat. The Spirit Seekers began to quiet down.

"I think it's time you all call me by my name, and not 'chief'." the old man paused, glancing at me, then at Eri before continuing. "My name is Ryuunosuke. Ryuunosuke Kaidou."

*****


"Why would they want me to wait outside when I can hear their conversation perfectly?" I asked myself. I crossed my arms and leaned my back towards this oaken door. I sighed. "Might as well listen to what they're saying..." I muttered. Behind this oaken door shaped like a bottle of coke, the old man, Ayame, and Eri were having a conversation regarding me.

"So... That's what happened, eh?" the old man said. "Well, what's done is done."

"What the...? I swear, that old geezer's gonna get it..." I muttered, clenching my fist.

"Huh? You don't care that he died?!" Eri asked furiously.

"No, no. It's nothing like that." Dad mused. "It's just... Well, I can't do anything about it now, can I?" he asked the two.

"That's it!" I said. "I'm gonna---"

"But you could have at least be worried..." Ayame said shyly.

"I'm not saying that I'm not..." Dad said. "So Ayame, I heard you were dating Hisaki now." What's with the sudden change of topic?

"Eh? U-um, w-where did you hear about that?!" Ayame asked. The old man laughed.

"Oh, here and there..." he said. "So, what do you think about him?"

"W-w-what do I t-think...?" Ayame asked shyly. "Um... I-I think h-he's..."

"He's what? Come on, spit it out!" Eri demanded.

"W-well... I t-think he's...c-cute..." Ayame said. The old man laughed at the comment. I'm cute...?

"Y'hear that Hisaki?! She thinks you're cute!" Dad yelled throughout the room. I blasted open the door and slumped at the couch, then buried my face at the pillow.

"Yeah I heard!" I said. "You didn't have to brag about it!"

"Y-you heard...?" Ayame asked.

"Yeah. I heard everything." I said. "You were all practically shouting. How couldn't I have heard?"

"S-sorry..." Ayame said. I stood up, brushing off the dust on my clothes.

"Why sorry?" I asked, then faced the door to my right. "Anyways, I'm gonna go get some fresh air..." I headed to the bottle-shaped door and threw it open.

*****


"I can't believe the people here are so intimidated by dad..." I said to myself as I walked along the snow-globe of a stadium. Every once in a while, someone from the Spirit Seekers bowed or saluted at me every time I passed them. Although I feel more welcome here, my guilt tell me that they're just doing that out of respect and fear. I stopped half-way from my tracks when I heard someone call.

"Hey..." a voice said. I turned around and saw him again.

"H-hey..." I replied. You can really feel the awkwardness here...

"Um... I came here to apologize..." he said, fidgeting every now and then. I blinked.

"E-er... I-it's alright..." I said. "What you did was... Understandable." He nodded in agreement.

"But still," he said. "I shouldn't have... Erm... Punched you..." I smiled.

"Dude," I said. "it's okay. I forgive you already." He smiled back.

"Oh yeah..." he said. "I haven't introduced myself, have I?" I shook my head.

"No, you certainly didn't." I said. He nodded, then extended a hand.

"Yoshino." he said. "Yoshino Kuze." I took his hand and shook it.

"Hisaki Kaidou."

*****


"Today was tiring..." I said, as I lounged about the couch. "A lot has happened recently..." I stood up and went towards the door. "I still have to ask Ayame about some stuff..." But when I opened the door, I saw the man I reluctantly didn't want to see.

"Hisaki..." he said.

"Dad..." I said.

"We need to talk." we said in unison. That said, I trudged towards the couch and slumped down, while dad sat on his revolving chair, crossing his arms.

"So..." he started. The awkwardness is killing me.

"Let me get straight to the point." I said. "How long have you been doing this? Does mom even know?" The old man nodded.

"Your mother knows... Too well to be exact." he said. "She knows every little detail towards the Spirit Seekers." I nodded.

"That's to be expected..." I said. "Now, can you explain to me the reason you started this...group?" He heaved a sigh.

"It's a long story..."

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/27/2013 9:22:58 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 9
5/30/2013 9:01:21   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 9:
Spirit Seekers' Purpose

"I'm listening..." I said, making myself comfortable on the couch. Dad looked a little hesitant, and I didn't know why.

"Well, if you insist..." he said. "This all started even before you were born, before I met your mother." I blinked.

"So... You didn't create this...?" I asked.

"Oh, I did." he said. "But right after I became Chief." I nodded.

"Go on." I said.

"So... Just before I met your mother, I was a scout at the Spirit Seekers with my faithful - and still - companion, Leonidas." Just as he said that, a Spirit materialized itself beside him.

"Good day." the Spirit said. "I am Leonidas. Though some still call me by the name---

"Leonidas the Brave..." I said, staring at the said individual with awe. Leonidas nodded.

"It is heartening to see that some still remember me by that name." he said. He gave me and dad a respectful bow, then vanished just as quickly as he appeared. I blinked, then shook my head.

"Back to the story, please." I said. The old man nodded.

"Right." he said. "I was a scout back then, running around ensuring the peace within our perimeters, which is the whole Shibuya. It was within there that I met your mother. She was a fine woman, with an amazing gift."

"She was able to see Yokai, Spirit, and Ghosts alike, am I right?" I asked, to which he nodded by.

"Indeed, she was able to see them," he admitted. "but that gift always tend to get that woman into trouble, so I was always there to lend a helping hand. And... Well, you know what happens next, right?" I nodded.

"Along with Ayame's statement, that pretty much sums it all up." I said. Dad nodded.

"Ah, Ayame. I remember the first time she got here... Practically beaten up every single one of my good men..." he mused. I nodded in approval.

"Stating by experience, I'd agree with you on that..." I said, while remembering the human tug-of-war Ayame and Eri had with me.

"Experience?" Dad asked. I shook my head.

"Forget I said that." I said, then started at him eye-to-eye.

"Did I forget something...?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No, nothing." I said. "But tell me, what is your group's purpose? Other than protecting Shibuya 24/7 that is." That said, the old man smirked in response.

"You're really sharp, no?" he said. "Fine, I'll tell you." I smiled. "Have you ever heard of Japan's Three Imperial Regalia?" he asked.

"You mean the Sword Kusanagi, the Mirror Yata no Kagami, and the Jewel Yasakani no Magatama?" I asked. Dad nodded in reply.

"Well done." he said. "Those, like all of the things happening around you, are real... And powerful. We've been trying to get it before our rivals - The Seven Sentinels - take them first, which would mean chaos and destruction upon the world." I nodded.

"Thought as much." I said. Dad raised an eyebrow.

"You mean... You knew?!" he asked in disbelief.

"Only a little." I admitted. "But after you told me, my hunches were correct."

"Hunches?" he asked. I nodded.

"Met with all the Seven Sentinels the other day." I said.

"You really are a very surprising child..." he mumbled to himself. I smiled, then stood up.

"I'm going out for a bit." I said, walking over the door several inches from dad's chair and swung it open.

"Hisaki! Hey, wait!" Dad called, but was too late. As I passed through the door, a bright light enveloped me. Next thing I knew was, I was in front of AGU, the school I go to...

Leonidas: link

Imperial Regalia of Japan: link

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/25/2013 6:17:14 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 10
5/31/2013 7:57:59   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 10:
Trouble At Aoyama

"How the heck did I get here...?" I asked myself. One minute, I was at dad's office. The next, I suddenly got here. What's with that freaky door?

"I have to ask dad about that later..." I muttered as I walked around school grounds in ease, seeing as though I'm not visible to the others here. I kept walking up to the point where I arrived at my classroom. "The teacher's out..." I said to myself. There were few students left in the room, happily chatting to each other. "That's right. It's already past 5:00..." I muttered, then made my way outside.

*****


I walked past the busy crowd and made my way towards Hachiko. I sat by the statue, reminiscing the events that took place here four days ago. A lot had happened ever since.

"Hey, if it isn't Hisaki..." A voice said out of nowhere. Did I hear that right? I turned around and saw a shocking surprise.

"Y-you..." I said in disbelief. "H-how...?"

"What do you mean how?" he asked, scratching his chocolate-brown hair. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten your best bud?"

"No that's not---"

"It's been only three days since you were absent and you've already forgotten me...?" he asked, crossing his arms. "That accident sure did a damage to your brain."

"Wait, what accident?" I asked.

"Huh? You don't remember?" he asked, examining me from head to toe. "Well I can't really blame you. You did got hit badly."

"Just tell me already!" I demanded.

"Okay, okay. Sheesh." he pouted. "Just after the first day of school, you got hit by a car on your way here."

"I got..." I paused. I can't believe what I'm hearing. He doesn't even know the truth?

"Well, that's what Ayame told me anyway..." he said. Ayame...lied about my death...? But why?

"Well," he continued. "since you don't remember anything, and probably my name, I'll introduce myself once more!"

"I...I still remember you..." I said. My whole body started to droop. Why would Ayame hide my death...?

"You remember me? Well, since I'm in a good mood I'll do it either way." he said, beaming with joy as always. "I'm Ryouhei Suzunami, your best friend since you were born!"

"Ayame's got a lot of explaining to do..."

*****


"Um... Are you sure about this?" I asked.

"It's fine. I'm sure the landlady's alright with this." he said, pulling out some pillows, blankets, and a futon. "Besides," he continued. "what are friends for?" I sighed.

"Alright, you win." I said. "I guess it wouldn't hurt spending the night here." He gave me a reassuring pat in the back.

"That's what I want to hear!" he said. He opened up his mini-fridge and scavenged whatever he could find. Finally, he threw me a bag of chips and some diet cola.

"Is this all you eat?" I asked. I popped the bag open and stuffed a few chips on my mouth. Not that I needed any though...

"Of course not!" he defended. "I just ran out of ramen."

"You never cease to amaze me..." I said, shaking my head.

"I know. I'm amazing alright." he mused.

"Yeah, yeah." I picked up the canned drink he gave me and threw it at him. He caught it with ease and blankly stared at me. "I'm not on a diet." I said. He gave me a hefty laugh as a response. Ryouhei and I go way back. We first met at the orphanage, right after my uncle dropped me off...

--------------------------


"B-but uncle, I---" He pressed his cold finger against my lips, not wanting to hear anymore of my complaints.

"I don't want to hear anymore." he said, raising his voice a little. All around me, I was surrounded by kids about the same as me. Dropped off by their parents and guardians, not wanting to be taken care of anymore. "Before I leave," he continued. "take this." He gave me a small envelope. After that, he took off, leaving me crying as I called out his name. When he was no longer in sight, some of the kids huddled around me.

"Hey, new kid," one of them said. The only thing I remembered from him was that horrible scar across his face. "you've got something interesting there..."

"H-huh...?" I stuttered, hugging the envelope tight.

"Give it here!" another one said, then quickly snatched away the envelope.

"Hey, give it back!" I yelled.

"Make me, new meat!" he replied, getting into my face. I clenched my teeth. My fists were shaking as I tried to hold back my anger.

"Oh, I'll make you alright." Someone's hand suddenly pulled on the bully's hair, throwing him aside like a toy. In front of me, a kid, no less than 10, took the beating I was supposed to get. The other kids circled around him, throwing kicks and punches at the poor boy. The kid fought back with all his might. All I could do was just watch him, and I hated myself for that. Miraculously, the delinquent came out with no more than just some minor bruises, while the others were...not as fortunate.

"You okay?" he asked, brushing off the dust in his clothes. My eyebrows furrowed.

"I should be asking YOU that!" I yelled. "Why would you butt in into someone else's problems?!" He replied with a smirk, then took out my envelope from his pocket.

"Guess that's just who I am." he mused, then handed me back my envelope. I managed to smile a little. For the first time, I managed to forget - at least for a moment - all my troubles.

"I'm Hisaki. Hisaki Kaidou." I offered him a hand. "What's yours?" I asked. He smiled, ruffling through his chocolate-brown hair.

"Ryouhei." he said with a smile. He took my hand and shook it, neither of us knowing that it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

--------------------------


Our conversation went on for hours. Our topic were mostly about his 'foster-parents'. We chatted idly, until he crossed the line with his question.

"Where's your uncle now?" he asked. I immediately became silent and crushed the can I was holding, letting the cold liquid escape through the holes, passing through my hand. Fortunately, he didn't notice that. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to---"

"It's alright." I interrupted. "Let's get some sleep."

*****


Morning came. I didn't really sleep. I'm not saying that I can't, I just don't want to have any unnecessary dreams from my past. Anyways, I waited for Ryouhei to finish whatever it is he's doing and go to school together. Yeah, school. I had no choice. If I said, I wouldn't go, he'll bombard me with questions. And if I said I should go by myself, he'll keep pestering me 'till I budge. He's just too stuborn. Finally, I heard the door to his apartment open.

"Did you wait too long?" he asked, as he went down the stairs, almost slipping on the way.

"About five centuries." I replied.

"Ha. Ha. Ha." he said. "Come on, let's go."

*****


We stood there in horror, watching our school get crushed to pieces. Wait, isn't that a good thing? No? Oh well.

"What... The... Hell..." Ryouhei said. His jaw dropped at the sight of the slithering beast curled around the school. "Hisaki, do you see that?!?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah..." I replied. "I'm not blind." I thought. I still can't believe everyone else can see this. Usually, they will all thought that it's just the fault of an earthquake. But now, the sight's crystal clear to everyone. Its eight, massive tails were almost done crushing the first floor of the building. Seven of its serpent heads bore holes through the windows and ceilings while one of it's heads took aim at the two of us. On the bright side, every student were already evacuated out of the school and was gathered outside with us.

"That's..."

"Yamata no Orochi..."

Futon: link

Ramen: link

Yamata no Orochi: link

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/27/2013 9:23:36 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 11
6/8/2013 8:50:04   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 11:
A Rash Choice

"Everybody run!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Everyone immediately scattered, but stopped just as fast and backed away from the exit. I turned to the exit, only to find everyone else staring at the same thing.

"My, my. I didn't expect to see you here~" she said.

"What are you doing here?!" I demanded, clenching my fists.

"Oh, how cold..." she replied. The students made way as Ayame's 'twin' walked towards me. "I just came to visit my sister's school..." she continued. "Is there a problem with that?" As she slowly made her way towards me, I felt someone nudging my shoulder.

"Hey, Hisaki," Ryouhei whispered. "you know this girl?"

"Unfortunately, yes." I whispered back.

"Are you, perhaps, talking about me?" she said, caressing my cheek. I slapped away her hand.

"Call off that beast, or else." I threatened. She giggled in response.

"Or else what?" she asked innocently, then leaned closer to my ear. "You couldn't possibly pick a fight with me here~" she whispered. I gritted my teeth. She's right. I can't use my powers here, not in front of all these people. She took a step back and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the trees around us simultaneously rustled. From there, dozens of Oni's came smashing down the ground. On how the trees supported them, I have no idea.

I didn't notice before, but behind Ayame's 'sister' were two nine-tailed foxes, scaring off the students who tried touching it. The students of Aoyama began to panic. Some tried to run, but was blocked by the Oni's, while the others can't do anything else but scream.

"What are you going to do now, Hi-sa-ki-kun~" she said; her lips curled into a wicked smile.

*****


"Hey! Let us out!" Ryouhei shouted, repeatedly banging the wooden door.

"It's no use, Ryouhei." I sighed. "You'll just tire yourself out."

"Well it's better than doing nothing!" he exclaimed, then continued on shouting at the door. I leaned behind the concrete wall of our classroom, gazing outside, watching, as the police fought a losing battle. It's been half an hour since they locked us up in our own classroom, and half an hour since the police put up barricades and fought the dozens of Yokai around the school. There's nowhere else left to run.

If we tried breaking the door open, the Oni guarding our classroom will pummel us to death, and if we tried escaping through the windows, well, I can't guarantee the outcome (because one of Orochi's heads glared at us from outside the window). All we can do now is wait for our imminent doom, that is, unless I use my powers, but I can't. I looked around. My classmates were all sprawled out in the corners of the room, crying, comforting each other, and wishing that this was all a bad dream.

"Dream..."

"Huh? Who said that?" I asked, looking around me. There was no-one else beside or behind me. "I must be imagining things..." I thought.

"Hisaki... What is your dream...?"

"There's that voice again." I muttered. My dream? I forgot about my dream ten years ago.

"My dream is to save other people... Just like when you saved me..."

"This again..." I muttered. "Just like back then..."

"But are you prepared for it's consequence...?"

"Consequence..." I repeated. "I can never really understand..."

"Sometimes, you have to make harsh decisions to protect the ones you care about... Even if you have to risk your own life doing so..."

"Yes... Yeah, that's right!" I said. That dream finally made sense... More or less. All eyes suddenly stared at me. Ryouhei walked up to my side and tapped my shoulder.

"Are you okay...?" he asked.

"Hmm? Yeah, why?" I replied. He shook his head.

"I just thought you were going insane...talking to yourself." he said.

"What? I'm not going 'insane', and more importantly," I said, replacing the frown I had with a smile. "I know a way out." All their faces suddenly brightened up.

"Really? How? Where?" "Yes! We're gonna get out of here!" "How are you going to do that?" They bombarded me with questions after questions, and other unnecessary comments.

"Calm down, all of you." I said, glancing at each face before turning to the giant serpent head. "Before I do," I continued. "Promise me that all of you won't freak out..." A short series of staring and whispering occurred before all of them finally nodded. I took a deep breath first, then set myself ablaze. Short murmurs and whispers were heard, but quickly died out once I melted the window bars and glass. The serpent head peaked through, coming in face to face with me.

I gave it a gentle tap on it's nose. Upon contact, ice climbed its way up to the serpent's throat, instantly freezing it. As for the final blow, I struck it with my fist, shattering its head to a million pieces. Its neck dropped down the ground, lifeless, creating a way out of this prison. I gazed back at my awe-struck classmates. "Let's go."

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/27/2013 9:24:02 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 12
6/17/2013 5:59:16   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 12:
An Unknown Helper

"Hisaki, you have a lot of explaining to do." Ryouhei warned. I managed a smile.

"Sure." I said. "But right now, you and all the others must---" One of Orochi's heads smashed through the ceiling, hissing and spitting and glaring at me like I'm next on its menu. "Go, go, go!" I shouted. My classmates didn't argue. One by one they slid down the frozen neck (I froze it while Ryouhei was threatening me) straight down the ground. But there were three problems. One, they were all going too slow. Two, the serpent head looked about ready to strike. Three, there's no room to fight unless I want to freeze/melt the whole room.

I had no choice, so I did the most stupidest idea I have: I jumped through the window. The good news was, the snake head followed. The bad news was, Orochi's eight massive tails wrapped around me. One on each arm, then the rest wrapped around my feet up to my chest. I guess with this, the eight-headed snake was done crushing the school, and is beginning to crush me. It held me 10 feet above ground. In front of me stood the gates of the school that was barricaded by the police. I don't think they can really help in this situation...

Somewhere behind, I heard footsteps coming towards me, accompanied by the disturbing sound of metal being dragged against asphalt. It kinda reminds me of a horror movie, though I don't know which exactly. On the corner of my eye I saw where the sound was coming from. It was Ayame's evil twin's footsteps coming to kill me. She was dragging around a five-foot long golden blade of destruction.

A katana of legends. The cursed blade Muramasa. It was a rather simple-looking katana. The only difference was its blade, like it was crafted from pure gold. It radiated power so strong, even the Yamata no Orochi started to tremble from fear.

"A shame, really..." she said, swinging Muramasa wildly like she was having fun (and of course she was). She faced me, staring at me with her cold icy-blue eyes, grinning widely like killing me was the best present she ever had. "Maybe if my sister haven't found you," She held the blade to my throat. "You could have been our most powerful ally ever." she said. She pressed the blade further, making a small wound. As usual, no blood flowed down the wound. I winced from the pain.

"Even if Ayame and I haven't met, I still wouldn't have joined you." I said. Every word felt like a hundred bee-stings. I realized then that the blade was poisoned. Ayame's evil twin laughed. She stepped back, then stabbed me right next to where my heart supposed to be, and right through one of Orochi's tails, which clearly surprised the beast. It dropped me and trashed around. The wound Muramasa had made on its tail turned to a sickening green, oozing with bubbling green liquid I suspected was blood. I guess the poison affects monsters differently.

"Hmm, interesting..." She walked back and forth, studying the bubbling tail wound. She stopped next to me and examined mine. "So this is the power..." she muttered, then stabbed me at the leg this time. Her lips curled into an eerie smile, which was the last I've seen as consciousness slipped away from me. Last I felt were series of pain throughout my whole body. I'm guessing she's having fun hacking and slashing my partly unconscious body. Poison flooded my body as Muramasa ate away my soul. I don't think I can endure much more of this any longer.

When I forced my eyes open, she was gasping for breath, sweating buckets but still grinning like a madman (or woman, whatever). "It's amazing you're still alive..." she said. She pointed the blade at my heart, planning to stop my breathing for good when suddenly,

"Hey!" a familiar voice shouted. Ayame's evil twin turned around just in time to receive a knock-out punch from none other than Ryouhei himself. His punch worked. Ayame's sister doubled over like a charm, slumping a few inches next to me. I summoned all my remaining strength just to stand up, using the cursed blade as crutch.

"Thanks...man..." I croaked. My voice was weak and raspy. Ryouhei gave me an O.K. sign then patted me on the back. He opened his mouth to talk, but stopped as Ayame's sister regained consciousness and glared at both of us. She sneered - which sounded like a hundred hissing snakes - and drew two bronze daggers from her back pockets (that's what I thought, at least).

"Kill..." she muttered. Her voice was not hers anymore. It sounded very different now, like a shriveled hundred-year-old mummy's raspy voice. Her eyes turned from icy-blue, to a murderous black.

"Go..." I told Ryouhei in a weak voice, though I doubt he even heard. Fortunately, he ran off without being told twice, as he was about to be dragged into a losing fight. The possessed girl charged. Just when my head was about to get severed from my body, two blades clashed with hers.

"Don't you dare hurt Hisaki you witch!"

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/25/2013 6:24:14 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 13
6/17/2013 6:01:34   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 13:
A Shocking Revelation

Standing by my side was the weirdest duo I've ever seen. To my left stood Ayame. She was wearing her school uniform. Her bow and quiver of arrows were slung across her shoulder while she wielded the same bronze shards of death her sister was trying to shove down my throat. To my right flashed Eri in her usual outfit, looking mighty pleased with herself. She wielded a sword quite similar to Muramasa.

The hilt was wrapped with lime-colored cloth, extending up to the guard which composed of a silver ring. Lightning-shaped bronze figures connected the ring to the hilt. A sharp, silver blade about five-feet in length, extended outward from the hilt itself. Another katana of legend. The fabled Masamune, counterpart of Muramasa. On how Eri got hold of it, I have no idea.

"What...?" I said. My voice, barely audible.

"Save your strength, Hisaki!" Ayame said, struggling to keep the daggers away from me. Same goes for Eri.

"She's right." she said. Now there's a shocker... "You need to rest." She glanced on Ryouhei who was by my side, helping me up. "Ryouhei... Take him away from here."

"Sure." Ryouhei said with a nod. He began walking me - or rather, dragging me - towards a nearby bench. Once he laid me down, dozens of students came rushing towards me, yelling at each other to go get the first aid kit or something. Ryouhei put the cursed blade to my side, but that didn't ease the pain I was having. In fact, it grew ten-fold. Seconds later I felt myself getting weak, tired maybe. My eyelids felt heavy. I realized now that I was slowly losing consciousness.

"Hey! Don't you dare die on me you idiot!" Ryouhei barked. It didn't do me any good though. Last I heard was the faint sound of the students yelling...and Ryouhei calling my name.

*****


When I came to, all I saw was white. But no, it wasn't snow this time. I stood up, trying to take in the environment I was on. "Am I dead?" I asked myself. I shrugged and started walking around. "Hey! Is someone here?!" I yelled. No reply. Minutes later, I stopped walking. It was no use. I felt like I was walking around in circles. I was about to give up and just lie down until something happens when suddenly, a campfire appeared right in front of me.

I sat, cross-legged, and stared at the fire. It was nice and warm. This might seem weird, but the fire made me feel like my mom were here by my side, hugging me, holding my hands...smiling. It reminded me of the happy times I've spent with my family, even though I was only small back then. I hung my head and let out a depressing sigh and let my mind wander aimlessly...until a voice shot me back to reality.

"Miss your family?" asked a voice. I looked up. I almost jumped, but I managed to control myself.

"Who... Who are you?" I asked. "And why...do you look like me...?" Seriously, the guy looked the exactly like me. Only difference was his hair. A striking red-orange with small streaks of yellow, which made him look like his hair is on fire. He had a tattoo of a sun on his forehead. An upside-down orange triangle was also tattoo-ed on each cheek, just below his eyes. Other than that, it felt like talking to myself through the mirror.

He flashed a grin, then quickly replaced it with a stern look. "I am the ghost of your past~" he said in a voice that might scare a 5-year-old. "I came to haunt you for eternity~!" I raised an eyebrow. From his side, a girl with dark-blue hair smacked him on the head. She wore an elegant white one-pice dress, perfect for summer break. Her waist-deep dark-blue hair perfectly complemented her sapphire-colored eyes. She looked strangely familiar...

"Hisaki..." she said. Coming from her, just the mention of my name's enough to send shivers down my spine. It's like... like I know her. Or I'm supposed to know her...

"Um... You look familiar. Have we met somewhere...?" I asked stupidly. She started to get teary-eyed. She looked away and muttered something I could barely even hear.

"What was that?" I asked. She completely ignored me and turned away.

"Oh, don't mind her!" my 'clone' interrupted. "She's been like that ever since she got here."

"Can I ask where I am right now?" I asked, looking at the two. The girl ignored me even more (if possible). The guy just grinned. Again, he replaced his smile with a stern face. "And I don't want to hear jokes." I added. He frowned, but beamed just as quick.

"Well... Simply put, you're inside your 'subconscious'." he said.

"O-okay..." I replied. I don't quite get it, but that explains most of the detail...I guess. "So," I continued. "your names? And why are you in MY subconscious?" My clone grinned again. He stood up firm.

"Celestial Spirit Sol, at your service!" he said, then bowed awkwardly. He sat back down and pointed to the girl beside him. "And this is Luna."

"Ah..." I said. But then... "Wait a minute!" I blurted. "This doesn't make sense. I thought they said that I'M a Celestial Spirit. How come there's one in me?!" The boy laughed.

"Silly Human," he playfully said. "you're not a Spirit! Heck, you're not even dead!" I couldn't believe my ears.

"I'm... I'm not... D-dead...?"

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/27/2013 9:24:31 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 14
6/22/2013 7:01:54   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 14:
I Learn The Truth of My Existence

"W-what do you mean I'm not dead?!" I asked. The two stayed silent. Sol had his hands on his mouth while Luna ignored us - or rather me - completely. That being the case, I couldn't possibly let this slip by. I knew I couldn't ask Luna about this, so... "Sol," I said in a firm tone. "what are you not telling me?" Sol kept on fidgeting until Luna cleared her throat, then elbowed Sol in the chest. The boy sighed, then stared at me eye-to-eye.

"I... I guess I should tell you..." he said, twiddling his fingers. "Thing is... You aren't really dead. There I said it." I sat there, dumbstrucked. How could that even be possible?

"B-but I saw myself die with my own eyes! How can you explain all of that?!" I asked, raising my voice a little. Sol flinched. Luna kept ignoring us.

"W-well... That's..." his voice trailed off, which was followed by, yet another elbow to the chest by Luna. Sol heaved a sigh. "Your soul - what you are right now - left your body just before you got shot and entered the material world just after I spoke to you." he said. His eyes shot at every direction. Once again I found myself dumbstrucked.

"H-how...?"

"Sol's been laying dormant inside of you for so long," Luna said, finally facing me. "your sudden urge of 'justice' awaken his powers just in time right before you got shot." She looked at Sol. "His powers were not enough for him to save your body, but it was enough to take your soul out from it, which, surprisingly, took form into what you are now." I didn't speak after that. It was too much of a shock. I was alive!

"But..." I finally said. "Then how would I get back? To my original body that is..." Sol and Luna looked at each other. Somehow, somekind of understanding passed on between the two of them.

"We're already working on it." Sol said, smiling. That was reassuring. I can finally return to my own body.

"But," Luna cutted, which smashed all of my hopes. "it will take long to do so. So, you'll live like that for a while."

"Bummer..." I muttered.

"Way to go crush the spirit Lun---Ack!" That last part was because Luna punched Sol in the gut.

"It IS taking long, but it's not impossible..." Luna finally said before completely ignoring us again. We all sat in silence of a while, then Sol spoke up.

"Look on the bright side," he beamed. "at least you'll return to your body." He's right. I shouldn't be sulking. For once, I got some good news. My expression slowly lightened.

"So," I said. "can I go back to the fight now? I don't know how much longer Ayame and Eri can last out there."

"Sure." Sol said with a nod. "Just wait until I've absorbed the chaotic energy of Muramasa." I blinked.

"Y-you can do that?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yep!" he beamed.

"If you're thinking 'Won't that kill you?', well, you don't know how much power he really has." Luna said.

"Unbelievable..." I muttered. After that, nobody uttered a word anymore. Sol was busy concentrating while Luna still ignored me whenever I tried having a conversation with her. It went on like that for several minutes until...

"Done!" Sol suddenly shouted, which made me jump a little. "Hahaha! Eat that, Muramasa!"

"Er... Dude, calm down." I said. Once everything had settled down, Luna turned and finally faced us.

"Now I shall send you back to your world." she said, then placed a hand on my forehead. "Concentrate your will---"

"Wait!" Sol cutted. "Wait, wait, wait." Luna sighed.

"What is it this time?" she asked.

"Hisaki!" Sol yellled.

"Y-yes...?" I stammered.

"Can you please switch with me?" he asked.

"Huh?!" Luna and I yelled in chorus.

"What on earth are you thinking?!" Luna said. She dealt a punch on Sol's head, which caused him to fall back.

"Just this time, let me borrow your body!" Sol said, completely ignoring Luna's sermon.

"E-er... Emm..." I said. Suddenly, something dawned on me. "Wait a minute," I said. "borrow my body? But I'm not even in my body yet." Sol laughed while Luna heaved a sigh.

"Didn't we tell you that we're working on it?" Luna retorted.

"Y-yeah," Sol said as he finally stopped himself from laughing. "right now, we're almost done weaving you back to your body."

"Although there's one last 'ingredient' to find first." Luna said.

"R-really... I---"

"So," Sol cutted again. "can I borrow your body?"

*****


My body started to glow. Seconds later, fires surged all around me. As I - I mean my body - stood up, my hair started changing color. It turned from chocolate-brown, to Sol's crazy flaming hair-style. His tattoo's emerged from my face as well. From the tips of my fingers, fire danced around, climbing up to my shoulder, and forming an image of the sun same as the image on the tattoo on my forehead. My lips curled into a smile.All of the girls around us started to squeal. Sol turned to them and gave a bright smile, which made them swoon.

"Hey, cut it out!" I yelled. "This isn't the time for that! Go help them!"

"Oops, sorry." he said. Though he didn't sound so sorry. He picked up the cursed blade by the bench. "Its been a long time since I got to fight..." He grinned. "Hey! You!" he yelled, pointing Muramasa at Ayame's sister. The three of them turned to us. The expressions on their faces tells me their either shocked...or something else...

"H-Hisaki-kun?" Ayame called. "Is that you?"

"What happened to you?" Eri asked.

"Don't worry ladies, I'll explain later after this." Sol said. Ayame and Eri gave each other a confused look, then quickly ran behind us.

"You'd better win." Eri whispered to my ear. Sol grinned, then lunged at his enemy.

< Message edited by _Arceus_ -- 6/27/2013 9:25:00 >
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 15
6/25/2013 6:26:48   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 15:
Sol's Power

Metal clashed against metal. Sparks flew everytime the two blades met. The battle against Celestial Spirit Sol and the now-possessed body of Ayame's sister heated up, literally. Everytime their blades meet, the fires around us intensifies.

"Wow." I said. "Sol's really good." Luna smirked.

"I told you so." she said. I smiled.

"You know, Luna," I said. She stared at me. "you'd be prettier if you smile." Luna blushed. Seconds later, her expression suddenly fell. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"N-nothing." she said. "I just remembered something..." I cocked my head.

"What is it? Can you tell me?" I asked. She shook her head.

"No..." she said. "N-not yet...at least..." After that she got quiet again, so I was forced to watch Sol fight.

"Damn, he's really good." I said to myself. I didn't know who was winning, but it was clear that Sol's got the upper hand. On the other hand, Ayame's sister was also good. I can't think of anyone else that can block Sol's strikes. Outside, I can hear the students cheering for him. Even Ayame and Eri were impressed.

"Just give up," Sol said. "even back then, you can't beat me." Ayame's sister sneered.

"Don't let one victory get in your head, Sol." she said, her voice was back to normal. "You got lucky back then. I'll finish what I've started now!" She side-stepped next to Sol and feigned an attack. Sol saw through her actions and parried with Muramasa, but what he didn't see was the other bronze blade coming straight at his face. Then I heard Eri shout:

"Watch out!" Sol didn't move. He just smirked and waited for the blade to cut his eyes out.

"What is that idiot doing?!" I shouted. "He's gonna get me killed!" Luna tugged my sleeve.

"Relax." she said. "He knows what he's doing." Just as she said, before the blade touched my - I mean his - cheek, the blade melted. So now, only the blunt surface of the hilt collided with his face. Everyone gasped...well, except for Luna. What does it take to impress this girl?

"See? I told you so." Sol said, then lunged. I blinked.

"What just happened?" I asked.

"I told you," Luna said, staring at me eye-to-eye. "he knows what he's doing." Well that's reassuring... We watched as the battle came to an end. Sol dealt blow after blow as fast as the eye can see. Even Ayame's sister was no match from his speed. Indeed, she parried some of the strikes, but the others left wounds and bruises all over her body. At last, the fight came to a stop. Sol stood strong and firm, smiling like an idiot, while his opponent was panting, almost out of breath.

"Give it up, Mars" Sol said. "You can't fight me in that condition. I win."

"Mars?" I asked.

"That's the name of the Spirit inside her." Luna said. "She was Sol's girl... I mean ex-girlfriend."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Ask him." she said.

"Hey, Hisaki!" Sol called. "Did you see that?! Did you?!"

"Y-yeah..." I said. I noticed that 'Mars' had already left the building. But still, something's been bugging me. Like we've forgotten something.

"Something wrong?" Luna asked. That's a surprise.

"N-no, nothing." I lied. The students came gathering around Sol, asking questions and...admiring his hair...I think.

"Whoa, calm down guys." Sol said. All the girls on the campus were now asking for Sol's autograph. From the crowd, I saw Ayame, Eri and Ryouhei making their way towards us. "Ladies, please." Sol pleaded.

"Hisaki? Is that really you?" Ayame asked. "What happened to your hair?"

"Yeah, and why the sudden 'coolness'?" Eri added. Sudden?

"Yeah, and what happened here?" Ryouhei asked.

"Guys, please." Sol said. "Ask the real owner of this bod---" Everything suddenly went black...and slimy. Luna sighed and stood up.

"Sol!" she shouted. "Switch!" With that, Luna vanished and was replaced by Sol.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Damn snake's alive." he said. "We're inside its belly now."

"We're what?!" I yelled. Then suddenly, everything turned white...and cold. "So, who's controlling my body now?"

"Why, Luna of course." Sol said.

"That's...disturbing..." I said. Luna suddenly smashed her way out...and made a hole on Orochi's stomach. When we got out, the surroundings went back. Behind us was the frozen statue of Yamata no Orochi...with a gaping hole in it's stomach. But that's not the shocking part. My appearance completely changed.

My hair, from Sol's flaming hair-style, changed to Luna's waist-deep dark-blue hair. The sun tattoo on my forehead became a moon, and the flaming sun on my back became a misty moon...and some nearly-transparent mini-clouds. I looked down and saw...

"Dude," Sol said, trying to supress a laugh. "you have boobs..." He's right. I turned into a girl. Now all the boys came crowding around me asking for autographs...and kisses.

"Hey Hisaki," Luna called. "can I freeze these guys? They're creepy."

"This is creepy." I thought. "N-no... As annoying as they are, it's still a no." I said. She sighed, then switched places with me without even telling. Soon, I was back at my own body.

"That was the most horrifying moment of my life..." I said, while massaging my temples. The students started crowding around me. Somebody from behind pulled me back. And I saw that it was Ayame and Eri...and Ryouhei?

"You have a lot of explaining to do!"
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 16
6/28/2013 9:17:33   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 16:
Our Awkward Family Reunion

"Oh..." they said in unison. Well that took about two hours...

"But still," Ryouhei said. "I can't believe you have powers." I was about to reply, but a certain "Psst!" stopped me. It was Sol.

"That kid's got a Spirit inside him." he whispered.

"What?!" I whispered back.

"You heard him." Luna said. "Though it's still dormant. Oh, and don't tell him." After that, they didn't talk to me anymore. A couple of my classmates started asking questions, followed by the police. I forgot, they're also here. When they asked me who my dad was, they all froze, then apologized, called me "Young Master", then drove off.

"What was that all about?" Eri asked.

"You tell me." I retorted.

"...But," Ayame said. All eyes turned to her now. "how come there's two Celestial Spirits inside you?"

"Yes, how indeed." said a voice. I turned around and froze.

"Y-you... How---?!" I asked.

"You know him?!" Ayame cutted, then drew an arrow.

"Why, do you?" Eri asked. Ayame nodded.

"He was the cloaked man back when we met the Sentinels." she said.

"What?!" Ryouhei yelled. "But that's my---"

"Uncle..." I finished. All eyes turned to me now.

"He's your uncle?!" Ryouhei and Eri yelled in chorus. "But he's my uncle too...!" They looked at each other, then to me, then to our uncle.

"No way..."

"Yeah..."

"Impossible..."

"Hello again, Hisaki, Eri, Ryouhei." the middle-aged man said. "It's so nice meeting my brother's precious little children again."

"Then that means..." I looked at both my best friend and trainor.

"We're siblings?!" we yelled in chorus, completely shocked by the sudden reunion.

"That's right." said a voice beside me.

"Whoa!" I jumped. "Dad? Where'd you crawl out of?"

"Don't say that," he said. "you make me sound like a cockroach."

"Dad...?" Ryouhei said. Dad looked at us and smiled.

"You've all grown so big." he said. Together, the four of us were locked on a group hug. Though I was forced on joining in, it was still a happy reunion.

"Alright!" I cutted, then broke out of the hug. "Let's do the whole reunion thing later."

"He's right." Eri said, wiping a tear off her cheek. "We have another 'family member' right here."

"So," Dad said. "what brings you here, Daisuke? What could you possibly want now?" The dark-haired man grinned. He looked just like dad here. Only his hair was different. It was as black as the star-less sky, with streaks of gray from the sides. I don't know if he's older than he looks. He wore the same cloack back when we saw them.

"There's one more thing." He took a step forward. "Hand over Hisaki and nobody gets---" He stumbled backwards. His chest was now smoking. The cloak he was wearing was now half-burned, revealing his muscled left arm. He glared at me with murderous intent.

"Sorry." I said, hiding my flaming hands. "My hand slipped." But in reality, it didn't. I hated that guy as much as I hated my nightmares.

"Why you insolent little---!"

"Now that's no way to talk to your nephew." Sol said, as he switched places with me. Uncled flashed a grin.

"So you finally came out, Sol" he said. He stood up, wiping the dust off his cloak. Sol raised an eyebrow.

"You were expecting me?" he asked.

"No, no." Daisuke said. "I was expecting Luna to come, but you will do fine." Sol grinned.

"Sorry to disappoint, but Luna's having a date with Hisaki now," he said, sheepishly. "she told me not to disturb them."

"I-I said no such thing!" Luna yelled. Her face was bright red. I managed a laugh. "What are you laughing at?!"

"N-nothing." I said, supressing my laugh. "Just...thanks."

"For what?" she asked.

"For protecting me." I replied. She blushed harder, then looked away, mumbling something I couldn't quite hear. "What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"N-nothing!" she said. "Just... Be careful next time..." I smiled.

"Sure."

"If you're done flirting, I might need your help over here!" Sol suddenly yelled.

"Help? How?" I asked. Sol grinned. I didn't notice that he, along with Eri, Ayame and my dad, were already fighting with uncle Daisuke. I have to admit, as uncle fought back, he didn't even break a sweat. That proves how good he is...

"Ask Luna!" he said. He let out a stream of flames from his hands. Uncle blocked with his own flames. I also noticed that uncle had the same tattoo on his forehead as Sol.

"Um, Sol...?" I asked. "Is it possible for uncle Daisuke to use you powers?"

"What?!" Sol yelled, then stumbled backwards. "That's impossible! Your the only one who can acess my power! His' just a replica, and its pure evil!"

"How---?"

"I don't know!" Sol yelled. He punched the ground. Immediately, columns of white flames came blasting out of the ground like a geyser. It was going straight towards uncle. It almost hit him, but he conjured up a wall of black flames. "See? I told you so!"

"Yeah, yeah." Luna said. "You don't need to yell." I looked at her.

"What's this 'way' to help him?" I asked. She blushed.

"I-I d-d-don't k-know." she stammered. With every word, her face became redder. I held her hands and stared at her, eye-to-eye.

"Please!" I begged. "We need to help them!" She blushed harder (if possible in her current state), but she finally agreed.

"A-are you sure about this?" she asked once more.

"Yes." I answered.

"Okay..." she muttered. "C-close your eyes." I immediately closed my eyes. Little did I know that this 'way' of helping Sol involved...kissing. Moments later, I felt Luna's lips press against mine. A sense of familiarity suddenly flooded my brain. Now I'm definitely curious about all this... When Luna broke away, next thing I knew was, I was standing right in the middle of our family quarrel.

"Hisaki...?" Ayame asked, wide-eyed. I faced uncle Daisuke and sighed.

"Such bothersome bunch you all are..." I - I mean Luna - said. "Well, if it isn't for Hisaki, I wouldn't even do all of this..."

"What?" I asked. Luna blushed.

"P-pretend you didn't hear that." she said. Okaaay...

"Ah, Luna." uncle said. "You've finally come out of your hiding place, eh?" Luna gritted her teeth.

"Shut up." she said. "Tell that to me again after I beat you up!"
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 17
6/28/2013 9:18:33   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 17:
The Angel, Luna

"This is disturbing..." I said. I sat cross-legged in front of the fire. I'm still inside my 'subconscious' as Sol called it, though I - or should I say Luna - was fighting side by side with Sol and the others. "So this is the 'way' Sol said... I can't believe that guy." I watched as Sol and Luna - fire and ice - used their powers with perfect coordination. After Luna froze uncle Daisuke's legs, dad and the others attacked on each side, and before uncle thawed his way out, Sol released a column of fire right at him, burning the rest of his cloak.

"Still," I said. "Luna looked awesome while fighting. Though she looks different." Her appearance were all same when she possessed my body. The only difference now was she was now wearing a girls' uniform. I saw a faint ring of light above her head, but it quickly vanished. I shrugged. "Must be seeing things."

"Damn, Luna," Sol said. He conjured a fire wall, protecting Ayame and Eri from uncle's black flames. "You still haven't lost your touch. It's been ten years since then, huh?" Sol dodged just in time to avoid the frozen flying projectile that almost cut through his face.

"Don't make me remember those days." Luna said, then went back to fighting uncle Daisuke.

"Weird." I said to myself. "Thought I saw a pair of wings back there." I shrugged. "Must be seeing things again." Everything was going well for team Spirit Seekers when suddenly,

"Need back up, boss?" a voice said. From behind Daisuke, the rest of the Sentinels came walking off their flying storm cloud. Though the one Sol called 'Mars' was out of the picture. Now it was five against six.

"Just in time." uncle said.

"Hey!" Eri yelled. "That's not fair! There's only five of us and six of you!"

"Stop whining girl." The guy with a tux said. "Nothing's fair in war." The old geezer beside him nodded.

"Indeed." he agreed. "Only the strongest survive if they are strong enough. The weak have no right to live in this world."

"Grr, just shut up and fight!" Eri yelled, then lunged. Soon, it turned to an all out war.

"I hope the students are okay..." I said to myself. The war was heating up. We were out-numbered. Even if I miraculously got out and help them, what help would I make if I can't use my powers? This was turning into a one-sided battle, and unfortunately, our side isn't going to last any longer. Sure, Sol and Luna can still fight, but the battle with uncle Daisuke drained everyone's strength. "Come on guys, you can do it!"

"We can't do it..." Dad said. He was slowly losing hope. Same goes for everyone. "We need to fall back."

"We can't." Ayame said. "Even if we manage to flee, all of AGU's students are still here. They'll surely take them as hostages."

"She's right." Eri said. "We have to fight." She was all bruised up, panting and exhausted from the fight. I know everyone were soon to follow.

"Look, we can't give up now! Hisaki's counting on us all!" Luna said, trying to raise their spirits.

"She's right you know." Sol said, panting. "We can't give up now!" Uncle started laughing.

"What use is it to fight when you know you're going to lose?" he said, grinning.

"Shut your mouth old man!" Eri yelled, then lunged.

"Geez, they're all idiots." I said. "Sol, Luna, stop this. I'll give myself in."

"What?!" they yelled in chorus.

"Dude, you can't. You just can't." Sol said.

"Yeah," Luna said. "you don't know what that guy will do to us."

"Well it's better that watching all of you get hurt!" I yelled. Both of them were taken aback. "I don't want my friends to suffer because of me. I'd rather endure all their pain myself!"

"No way!" they yelled in chorus.

"Why...?!" I asked.

"Why? Do you even need to ask?!" Sol said. "Think of what the others would feel if they lost you."

"Yeah, don't you even care about my feelings?!" Luna asked. "I don't want to lose you again..." Tears slowly formed in her eyes.

"Y-your...feelings?" I asked. Wait a minute... Again?

"W-what I mean is... um..." she stammered. She quickly wiped off her tears. I smiled, then stood up. I closed my eyes and concentrated. When I opened them again, I was standing beside Luna.

"Dude..." Sol said, looking amazed. "How'd you get out by yourself?"

"I---"

"Well, now that Hisaki's here," uncle cutted. "can you kindly hand him over?"

"Wait," Luna said. "You didn't want us?" Daisuke laughed, but now, his voice seemed to echo throughout the campus.

"Why would I want you two?" he said, grinning. "I can make perfect copies of all the Celestial Spirits once I have all my 'ingredients'."

"And that ingredient includes me?" I asked. He smiled.

"You're as sharp as your mother says you are..." he said. "Its a shame I had to 'eliminate' her so soon..." A wave of anger suddenly washed over me, but I managed to control myself.

"You..." I said, clenching my fists. "You sent that Yokai to kill mom?!" He grinned in reply. With that, I found myself getting angrier. Shadows seemed to respond to my anger, but I didn't pay any attention to it. Just then, my heart started to beat slower every second. The air itself was escaping out of my lungs. I couldn't breathe. I fell to my knees. Suddenly, the shadows around me shot up and came to me, slowly enveloping me.

"What the...?" Sol said.

"Interesting..." uncle muttered.

"Hisaki!" Dad called.

It was no use, I was slowly losing consciousness...and slowly losing control of my body. Suddenly, I heard the fluttering of feathers. I thought it was just the birds, flying away, but then, I saw an angel right in front of me, literally. A halo hung above her dark-blue hair. A pair of white-feathered wings sprouted from her back, which extended fifteen-feet outward, nearly covering the both of us. It took some time to recognize who it was, then what I saw shocked me. Those familiar sapphire eyes, staring stright at mine.

It was Luna...
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 18
6/28/2013 9:19:57   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 18:
A Long Day

"L-Luna...?" I croaked. That's it, I'm almost out of breath and consciousness...until...

"Hisaki, don't move." she said. Yeah, like I can really move right now. "And don't talk."

"What---" I was stopped by her soft warm lips. This was the second time she kissed me, but it felt like we kissed more than that. A tingling sensation wrapped my whole body. The shadows around me started dissipating. My heart started pounding. Air returned to my lungs. I was getting better. When she broke away, I foun myself able to stand again.

"What happ---Whoa!" I exclaimed. I saw myself standing on a rocky platform hovering ten-feet above ground. Below me, the earth cracked in an odd pattern. From where my rocky platform should have been, seven cicles with symbols on it formed on the ground around it. I couldn't believe the earthquake I caused caused that. I recognize all seven symbols well.

The northern symbol was of the sun. The western was of the moon, below it was the symbol of mercury. The southern symbol was of venus, beside it was the symbol of saturn. And lastly, the eastern symbol was of the mars and below it was the symbol of jupiter. The platform started crumbling down before I could even do anything. Luckily, Luna caught me in her arms. As the rocky platform completely crumbled to dust, Luna and I descended down.

What's really bothering me is that the sun symbol appeared directly underneath Sol. While the symbols of saturn and jupiter formed underneath Eri and Ryouhei respectively. Coincidence? Maybe... I don't know.

"Thanks, Luna." I said. "I owe you one." She blushed.

"I-it was nothing." she said, then dropped me on solid concrete.

"Ow." I said, as I fell face first. Dad and the rest huddled around me as I stood up.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I don't know." I replied.

"Are you okay?" Ayame asked. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." I said.

"Dude, that was awesome!" Sol exclaimed.

"Er..." I said.

"Hehehe..." All of us turned as we heard uncle's 'evil' laugh.

"What's so funny?" Dad asked.

"All the more reason to capture your son." Daisuke said. He turned his back to us and started to walk away. "I'll be seeing you soon..." With that, the other Sentinels vanished into thin air while uncle Daisuke stayed behind after hearing me shout:

"Wait...!"

"Yes?" he said, smiling.

"I-is it true...?" I asked. "T-that you k-killed mom?" He just grinned in reply.

"That is for you to figure out..." he said, then vanished.

"What was that all about?" Sol asked. I hung my head.

"Dude, cheer up." Sol said.

"Yeah," Eri said. "don't tell me you're going to believe that liar?" I shook my head.

"You're right..." I said. "Maybe he's just lying... Trying to make me angry..." Ayame nodded.

"Don't take what he said to heart." she said. I nodded.

" Well," Sol cutted. "Guess we'll be going then." he said, then turned to Luna. "Let's go Luna. Time's almost up." Luna nodded. Just before they vanished, Luna turned to me.

"Bye." she said. "And don't forget, you owe me one." she added, then stole a kiss on the cheek before they completely vanished and returned to my 'subconscious'. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ayame glaring at me.

"What?" I asked her.

"Nothing!" she said, then turned her back at me.

"So," Dad said, raising his voice. "I suppose we'll be going too, right Eri?"

"Yup!" Eri beamed. Both of them started to leave, just as Ayame shouted,

"We'll catch up with you guys later!" I turned to Ryouhei.

"So..." I started. "All that's left now is to see if anybody got hurt." He nodded.

"I'll go and convince the teachers that none of this ever happened. You and Ayame tend to the wounded, if there's any." he said, then bolted off. I faced the crowd of frightened students.

"Does anybody here need some medication?!"

*****


Afternoon came so suddenly. Fortunately, everyone was alright. On how we explained it to them was the problem. Normally, if we say we're shooting a movie here, they'd believe it. But after what happened, we had no choice but to tell the truth. Eventually, we managed to convince them not to tell anyone else about this. It will be the shcool's well guarded secret.

"Well," I said. "all we can do now is wait for the school to be repaired."

"Yeah." Ryouhei said with a nod. "It'll be months before they can repair this kind of damage..." The two of us stared at each other.

"Which means..."

"NO SCHOOL!" we yelled in chorus. We were about to bolt, but a twisting pain in my ear stopped me from bolting. Same goes for Ryouhei.

"Oh no you don't." Ayame said, twisting our ears further.

"OW, ow, ow, ow, ow..." I muttered. Oh man...

"The two of you aren't going anywhere today." she said, then let go of our ears.

"What do you mean?" I asked, rubbing my stinging left ear.

"Have you forgotten?" she said. "We're going to see your dad, of course."

"We're going to see dad?!" Ryouhei exclaimed. "Let's go!" With that, he bolted. Ayame sighed, then shook her head.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go after your brother."
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 19
6/28/2013 9:21:20   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 19:
Luna's Request

"Whoa..." Ryouhei said with his mouth agape. It took some time until we got here. We did have to hut this idiot down before we went to dad's office. Right now, we're in front of the 'Leaning Tower of Pisa' immitation. Once we got to the office, his exitement grew ten-fold. "Dad!" he yelled.

After a nice series of telling-each-other-our-backstories, we managed to get a proper reunion this time. Turns out Eri was adopted by the Nariko's. She'd live a peaceful and wealthy life like Ryouhei before she got into a car accident. Ryouhei on the other hand, got adopted by the Suzunami's long after I got adopted. I didn't bother explaining to them what happened when I got adopted. I actually have no memory of it. And the ironic part was, we've all been dropped off the same orphanage.

I guess uncle Daisuke did more than make us unconscious, 'cause we all HAVE met on the orphanage, but we forgot about each other. Eventually, evening came. After we watched dad and Ryouhei go all out on a pig-off contest on the dining table. After that, we all went to our respective rooms inside the 'Leaning Tower of Pisa' immitation. Just when I was about to meditate, I heard a familiar "Psst!" coming from the mirror.

"Sol?" I guessed.

"Yep." he said.

"What do you want in this time of night?" I asked.

"Nothing." he said. "Just here to ask questions." I nodded.

"Ask away." I said.

"Okay." he said. "What happened back there? I mean, the earthquake you caused...and the symbols you made...fell into the right spot."

"I know right?" I said. "I feel like it isn't a coincidence it fell into your places." Sol nodded.

"That girl... Eri, right? She really has Saturn inside her." he said. "As for Ryouhei... I'm just assuming. I'm not yet sure."

"I see..." I said. "So, could you tell me what all of that means?" He shook his head.

"That was what I'm going to ask you." he said. "But you don't know either..." I shook my head.

"Sorry." I apologized. "My turn to ask now. How many Celestial Spirits are there?" Sol looked up and mentally counted down.

"Ah... We're about... Seven in total." he said. "Well, if you count the missing Aether... We're eight." I raised an eyebrow.

"Who's Aether?" I asked.

"Ah, I suppose you don't know him." Sol said. "Well, Aether is a Celestial Spirit like us...but more powerful."

"How powerful?" I asked. Sol shrugged.

"Last I saw him was millenia ago. Back when we fought in the first Great Yokai War." he said. "He controls all of the darkness in the world. That power helped us win the war, but costed us an ally... Which was him."

"You mean... He died?" I asked. Sol shook his head, smiling.

"Of course not." he said. "I told you, he disappeared. I don't know where he's hiding now." I nodded.

"I see..." I said. Somehow, the name Aether suddenly rang a bell. I think I know him... But I think I don't at the same time... Weird.

"Okay, my turn again." Sol said. "Why do you hate your uncle?" I cocked my head.

"Is that even a question?" I asked. "Of course I hate him. He took me away from my dad, he left me at the orphanage, lied to me and worse of all he..." I trailed off, not daring to continue. Fortunately, Sol got the idea and just nodded to my statement.

"Okay, let me ask you again." Sol said. "What happened to you back at that orphanage?" A sudden jolt of pain coursed through my head. I massaged my temples while shaking my head.

"A-are you okay?" he asked. I nodded.

"I'm... Fine..." I said. The pain in my head decreased, but it didn't fade away. "To answer your question, I have no idea." Sol raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean you have no idea?" he asked.

"I mean, I really have no idea." I said. "I have no memories of my time on the orphanage except for when uncle dropped me off, me meeting Ryouhei and me being adopted. The whole thing before that is an empty void." Sol blinked in surprise.

"Wow..." he said, to which I nodded in agreement.

"I know right?" I said. "It's hard not remembering anything from my past."

"Then let me help you." said a voice. Sol's image, then, dissipated and turned into Luna, who was smiling at me.

"Help me...?" I asked. "How?"

"Do you remember, back then, when Sol was fighting Mars, you asked me what I remembered when we were talking, right?" she asked. I nodded.

"I did, but what does that have to do in this situation?" I asked.

"Well... It's because..." she said, fidgeting every now and then. "I... Back at the orphanage... The two of us... We've met before..."

"Huh?"

"I... I'll help you remember everything." Luna said. "Just... Do me a favor first..." I tilted my head. If everything she's saying is true, then this may be my only chance to regain my childhood memories. It took me a while, but I finally managed to say:

"Okay. I'll do it."
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 20
6/28/2013 9:24:58   
_Arceus_
Creative!


 Chapter 20:
The Picture

"I wish I hadn't said 'I owe you one' to her..." I muttered. Its almost midnight. Just as she said, everyone's fast asleep. I crept my way outside, up to the Hideout's front gate. Miraculously, I got there without waking someone. Just as I was about to open the gate, I heard footsteps coming from behind. Out of instinct, I quickly tackled a nearby tree and climbed up.

"Hey, its that girl...Yuni." Sol said.

"Yeah." I said. "Hey, can you please tell Luna I want to bail?"

"Can't," he said. "she'll kill me. 'Sides, she's fast asleep." I sighed. I guess there's no going back now. I glance up on the gates.

"I hope I can jump across from here..." I muttered.

"Hey, are you insane?" Sol said. "Even if you can jump across, its a twenty-feet trip down!"

"Shh!" I told him. "Just... Help me, okay?" With that, I readied my body for what was about to happen. Seconds later, I jumped. Just as I expected, I leapt all the way across the gate. Although the next feeling won't be so pretty...

*****


"Geez, man," Sol said. "you almost gave me a heart attack." I managed a smile.

"Yeah, well, remind me never to do that again." I said, brushing off the dust on my clothes.

"Consider it done." Sol said. I stopped in front of an old, run-down building in the middle of nowhere...well, that was my impression at first.

"We're here." I said.

"Hey," he called. "why did Luna send you here, anyway?" I sighed.

"You'll find out when we get it." I said. This place brings back some memories. Good or bad, it had both. A plaque hung above the door. The words engraved in it wasn't what it used to be. Some of the letters was gone, so now it read: HAPPY OR AN GE

"Heh, orange..." I muttered, then threw the door open, or rather, broke it open. It was so old and rusted that once I touched it, it fell apart like an unstable LEGO building. I stepped inside. The smell of old wood and worn out books filled the frigid air. It was ironic, really. I was inside the place I swore never to set foot again. The place I have resented ever since I was a kid. My old orphanage...

*****


"Man, it reeks in here." Sol complained. "I wanna go home."

"I'm with you on that." I said. "But Luna's gonna kill both of us if we bail now."

"Yeah, your right." Sol agreed. "But, what are we looking for?"

"It's just around here...I think." I said. It was already, I think, 3 in the morning, and so far we've found no trace of Luna's missing object. We've searched almost every nook and cranny in the orphanage, but we found no sign of it.

"Come on, let's bail." Sol said. "We're never gonna find that 'thing'."

"Don't be like that," I said. "Besides, there's still one more room we haven't searched yet." I walked around the halls. With each sight, I remember the times I've spent. I stopped when I saw a faint light inside a room.

"I thought you said no-one's here anymore?" Sol whispered.

"I did." I said. "There couldn't possibly be anyone here." I came closer to the door and pushed it open. The door creaked and revealed the most shocking part of the building.

"So much for 'run-down'." Sol said.

"I don't understand..." I stepped in and closed the door behind me. I rubbed my eyes just to see if I wasn't hallucinating, but its still there. "The room's...spotless..." Literally. Its like they've abandoned maintaining the building, but kept this room perfectly clean. Even the air is clean in here.

"Dude, look." Sol said. I turned to my left and saw Sol pointing something just below the mirror. "I think I found what we're looking for." I slowly reached for the item we've been scouring for three hours.

"This is..." It was a beautiful locket...made of pure diamond and was shaped like a heart, just like what Luna had told me.

--------------------------


"Please, Hisaki." Luna pleaded. "Do this for me will you?" I sighed.

"Well, I couldn't possibly turn you down now..." I said. She's been pleading for half an hour now. I still can't believe she made me do this.

"Great!" she beamed.

"So what exactly do you want me to find?" I asked.

"Here's the deal," she said. "Your...I mean my locket got lost somewhere..."

"If its lost then how will I find it?" I asked.

"I'm getting there." she said. "Thing is... I found it, but..."

"But?" I asked. "Where is it?"

"It... It's in your old orphanage."

"It's in where?!" I asked, raising my voice. "If it's in that place, then I'm not going!"

"Just... Hear me out first okay?" she said. I sighed.

"Alright... I guess..." I said.

"Well... It's in your old orphanange..." she repeated. "What I lost is a locket. A heart shaped, diamond locket which I lost many years ago in that place."

"Why is it so important anyway?" I asked.

"B-because..." Tears started to well up from her eyes. "It has a very important picture inside it. A very, VERY, important picture..." With that, she started to cry.

"H-hey, stop crying..." I said. After a few minutes, I finally gave in. "Alright!" I yelled. She looked up. "I'll get it for you..." I muttered.

"Really?!" she asked. Her expression quickly brightened. "Thank you!"

--------------------------


"I can't believe I fell fo the 'fake tears' act she put up." I muttered.

"Nope!" Sol said. "She really cried back there, I can tell."

"Those tears were real?" I asked in disbelief. Whatever's in this photo, it has got to be the most important and precious memory of her life.

"So, what are you waiting for?" Sol said. "Open it up already!" I did as he said and opened the locket. When I saw the picture, I almost dropped the locket out of shock.

"T-this is..." I held the picture in my hands. It was a photo of Luna as a child. She looked cute in her black one-piece dress with a dark-blue colored hem that complemented her sapphire eyes and suited her dark-blue hair. She was wide-eyed and blushing in the picture, maybe it's because of the chocolate-brown haired boy kissing her on the cheek. The boy wore a white t-shirt with the initials: HK at the back. He was hand in hand with Luna in the picture. It took me almost immediately to recognize who that boy was.

It was me...
AQ AQW Epic  Post #: 21
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