CHAPTER 8

A NEW WARRIOR IS BORN

Amir paced forward through unyielding winds and faced Amber. (You little fool— how dare you interfere with our fight. Now you’ll die first for meddling.)

“Run idiot!” Hikaru bellowed.

Amir pulled off his veil, revealing his face for the first time in combat. His shoulder length black hair flapped wildly in turbulent weather, while his dark eyes pierced into Amber’s. There existed a scar that ran from the center of his nose, stretching across to his left cheek, and a wide smirk revealed perfectly aligned teeth, which were as white as his robes. Amir tossed the veil, and allowed it to be swept away by varying gust.

“Yes, foolish girl, you’d better run as fast as your feet can carry you!” he yelled.

“I can’t… I’ll never run away!”

Amber’s legs straightened up, and she held her position aggressively, refusing to give way against her approaching enemy. The single thought of Amir killing Hikaru sent her into a blinding rage, at which Hikaru himself had never seen before. Amber stood ready to fight; it felt as though he were looking at a different person all together. Amber charged at Amir while yelling at the top of her lungs. When she got into striking distance, Amir created a huge destructive vibration that tore through the frozen ground. Amber formed half of a steel sphere, holding the convex structure up with hakq energy to cover herself, then, by inverting the semi-sphere into a concave form, she pushed Amir back as he became scooped up halfway inside. Amber entrapped her adversary by making the dome structure into a whole sphere, engulfing him entirely, then she followed up by contracting this spherical formation, compressing it little by little.

Hikaru couldn’t believe his eyes while he watched, barely able to sit up. For a moment, he started thinking she could ultimately succeed; but just after his emotions peaked with excitement, the sphere cracked. Hikaru covered himself by pulling up large chunks of ice, while Amber hastily wrapped herself under another steel dome she created. The metal sphere exploded with metallic pieces flying rampantly.

“Is that all you got, runt!” laughed Amir.

Dematerializing her current shielding, Amber came with all she had, throwing punch after punch, but Amir blocked every hit, using the palm of his hand until he caught her right fists, and began squeezing tightly. Amber reacted by throwing a left kick to Amir’s face, pelting him with the bottom side of her sneaker, causing the assassin to lose grip.

“Puny worm!” Amir spouted while attempting to deck Amber; but she used her hakq and thrust herself over his head behind him.

Amber crouched low as she landed, narrowly managing to avoid a quick swing that Amir threw while he turned. She countered by creating a dome around herself, which expanded outward several feet, and pushed Amir to the ground. Dissipating the barrier and raising both hands forward, Amber began forming a gigantic ice sculptured dragon head; she launched this stifling sculpture forward while simultaneously creating a huge icy body behind it. The dragon shield’s mouth shoveled through hardened snow toward Amir, who desperately tried getting to his feet, but became ensnared inside the dragon’s wide mouth before he could stand. Wielding the figure with both hands, Amber snapped its large jaws shut, and shot her created ice spectacle high into the atmosphere. She raced toward Hikaru.

“What’s going on!” he asked, still in shock about her devastating abilities.

Hikaru sensed the dragon within clouded heavens, whirling toward the earth head first. Amber made a metallic dome that covered both of them, and anchored it tightly into the terrain. The dragon smashed against solid tundra, shattering like glass, and launching shards of ice everywhere. Hikaru could hear loud thumps against Amber’s shield while the ground beneath him trembled violently. After what felt like a lifetime, noise from the crash desisted. Amber dematerialized the shield, and harsh damaged landscape became revealed. Chunks of ice were littered over harsh tundra; there drifted mist everywhere, and a huge dent rest where the large dragon barrier previously collided onto the frozen surface.

“Unbelievable, did she really beat him?” Hikaru thought aloud.

Amber sat down, exhausted from her powerful technique.

“Keep your guard up!” Hikaru shouted.

“It’s alright,” breathed Amber. “There’s no way he’s—.”

“You’re wrong… I can feel him.”

Hikaru pointed out an encroaching silhouette walking forward, and Amber stood to her feet with a transfixed gaze on the shadow approaching through shrouded vapors.

“What’s wrong, you look like you’ve seen the damned,” Amir said loudly, as he stopped and stood in front of her. “Come on little girl, you actually thought I would croak so easily… You’ve only been kidding yourself, there’s no way you’ll ever beat me.”

“B— but how!” replied Amber.

“It’s simple,” Amir gloated.“As soon as that dragon of yours swallowed me, I began making a strong vibration around my body, which repelled every shard. I even used these intense vibrations to repel myself from the impact of smashing into the ground.”

Hikaru looked up at Amber; it now appeared obvious that she’d tired, still, he could also tell Amir used an extreme amount of hakq to salvage himself from her assault. He appeared less energetic, and more serious, like it angered him that Amber alone dealt such a draining, critical blow. His earlier look of superiority against her faded; no longer did Amir stare at Amber with eyes of disregard, he now gave off the same glare that he’d given Hikaru, a glare of intense competitive nature that a fighter would grant to someone worthy of their attention.

Amir clenched both fist. “What are you waiting for coward!”

Seeing that Amber again gathered up enough courage to charge, Hikaru grabbed her pants leg, and teleported them both out of Antarctica through a portal he created on the ground beneath them. They both arose through the earth in California, surrounded by several sequoia trees.

“Why did you interfere!” shouted Amber.

“Shut up, listen closely, and don’t argue,” Hikaru said domineeringly. Judging by Amber’s posture, he knew that his plan would be demanding much from her. “Do you have enough hakq to create an electric shielding?”

“Yeah, I believe so,” Amber replied surely.

“Good, come sit very close to me.” Amber sat beside Hikaru, both well hidden away from plain sight behind a large sequoia tree. “Alright, here’s the plan, so listen carefully,” said Hikaru. “When I grab your shoulder, you make a high voltage lightening barrier as tall as this tree trunk, but not quite as wide— Also,” Hikaru uttered, almost forgetting the most significant detail of the plan. “On my signal, hold your breath.”

“Whatever you say boss.” Amber groaned with sarcasm.

Amir dropped in from a portal that opened near two trees, across from where Hikaru and Amber hid.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” he shouted fiercely. It’s no use hiding, I can feel the vibration of your heart beats!”

“Huh, like we would ever hide from you!” Hikaru shouted back. He used his setting control and caused the pair of sequoias beside his opponent to come crashing down. Amir reacted by activating his super vibration, and repelled both trees, flinging one gigantic trunk to the left, while the other went flying toward the right, each colliding into more plant life with such tremendous force, it caused both trunks to snap in half, and splintered sounds of crackling branches filled the area. Birds flew off quickly from damaged scenery, scarcely escaping chaotic destruction. Hikaru took notice at Amir’s struggle with hakq, and began causing more trees to topple over like dominoes from his adversary’s left and right. Amir used his super vibration, powerfully propelling himself forward in Hikaru and Amber’s direction, moving as fast as a high speed car. Feeling Amir’s body coasting through the forest with his sixth sense, Hikaru grabbed Amber’s shoulder, pulled them both underground, then used his hakq to push himself and Amber over, left of the large tree; his power snapped branches from firm embedded rootstocks, while Amir smashed through the trunk, and collided into an electric barrier hidden behind it.

Hikaru and Amber raised above ground, gasping for oxygen, neither seeming unsurprised that their desperate plan succeeded. Amir’s body lay motionless, almost burned entirely. With his leg healed, Hikaru stood on his feet, and grabbed Amber’s arm, assisting her up. Amber peered down at the unrecognizable corpse that looked more like charcoal than a body.

“I get it now,” she said slowly. “You used the tree as a ruse to hide my lightening shield.”

Hikaru peered at Amir’s body, unable to gaze without feeling extreme guilt. “Well he’s definitely dead,” he said stiffly. “Um, let's get out of here.” Amber turned her back without saying a word. “Hey, I said lets go,” Hikaru said once more— but she didn’t budge. He nudged her on the shoulder with his elbow.

“Leave me alone,” she said softly.

“Will you stop acting like a brat and come on?”

“Will you shut up and stop being a jackass with me!” snapped Amber. “I’m really sick of you always being a jerk!”

“What’d I do!” Hikaru snapped back defensively.

“What did you do!” shouted Amber. “Let me see, you told me to shut up earlier, called me an idiot, made me kill someone, and now I’m a brat!”

Hikaru stumbled back on his anger, almost choking while trying to get the next words out of his throat; then, he completely stopped before spewing only half a syllable. Realizing the true reason for Amber’s lashing tantrum made it difficult being tough on her as she glared into his eyes with hatred and distrust. So many things happened throughout their adjoined journeying, and finally, Amber had been forced to cross a line that she was nowhere near ready to step over. Never once did these thoughts cross Hikaru’s mind in the heat of battle, when it became win or die, still, he knew his actions could never be justified… A warm spring breeze blew through shambled trees, causing half broken twigs to fall on the earth.

“I know it’s hard on you,” Hikaru said sympathetically. “But lingering close with this man’s corpse won’t help you heal.”

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“You don’t think that I’m being childish?” asked Amber, doing her best holding back tears.

“Not at all— you’re the best friend I have now, and I never meant any of those things that I said earlier. We were just in pressured situations when I spoke,” Hikaru tried explaining. He walked around and faced Amber. “You’re like a little sister now, and I’d never purposely try hurting you, so don’t hate me for this. Understand that we’re in a supernatural war, and I can’t worry about the lives of people who want us dead.” Silence fell between them for a few seconds as Hikaru waited for Amber to say something.

“If I’m your little sister, you shouldn’t yell at me.”

“I agree with you mostly,” Hikaru shot back.

Amber stared at Hikaru for a moment, childishly taking in every word he spoke. Without warning, she embraced him tightly, wrapping her arms around his waste.

“I love you also dudette,” Hikaru said, patting softly atop her head.

“You’re silly… but sweet,” Amber said softly.

Feeling all of her weight falling upon him, Hikaru stumbled. Just before Amber completely blacked out, he cradled her in both arms, almost toppling over as he struggled to stand against her dead weight. Hikaru became somewhat worried about his partner, but as he sensed her consistent breathing, his small doubt about her well being died down quickly, and his thoughts refocused. They couldn’t risk returning to the abandoned apartment building where they’d previously stayed, and however long both squandered around where their battle recently took place, the more likely it would be for fighters like Elitist to locate them. As Hikaru thought at opening a passage, a figure dressed in white cloaks and a kabuki mask appeared from behind a bush. Reacting quickly, Hikaru immediately dropped Amber, stepped in front of her, and prepared for battle. The masked fighter approached, staring directly into Hikaru’s eyes.

“Hey!” Hikaru shouted hostilely. “You’re the guy who kicked me around last time.” He materialized a straight blade sword inside his right hand, while the masked nemesis created a katana, pointing the blade’s fine tip outward. “Well, I did want a rematch!” Hikaru bellowed, aggressively racing forward.

The concealed warrior swung his sword, forcing Hikaru to block an incoming attack with his straight blade, both weapons clashing with a strike. After narrowly deflecting, Hikaru tried piercing his opponent’s left shoulder, but the masked assailant quickly stepped to his right, pushed Hikaru off balance using his free hand, and tripped him by sticking out his left shoe. Hikaru fell, and the masked fighter immediately pointed his sword outward at his adversary’s throat, symbolizing victory. Instead of being afraid of death, Hikaru became angered by his pathetic loss as he frowned with a foul expression.

Exhaustedly waking up from being drop on hard grass, Amber gazed at Hikaru’s helplessness, and instantly used her hakq to fling a spherical shaped steel shield (twelve inches in circumference) directly at the masked opponent. The mysterious warrior reacted quickly by jumping back, dodging her attack, which gave Hikaru enough time to grab his straight blade that lay near, and rise upon both feet.

“Guess what, I’ve already figured out who you are,” Hikaru revealed. “You’re that thirtieth fighter Elitist is searching for.” The anonymous warrior gave a thumbs up in reply. “If it’s Elitist that’s your enemy, why are you hunting us!”

Another portal opened, and out of it came one member of Elitist. The masked man opened a single passage, then darted inside.

“Get back here you coward!” the blue haired member yelled authoritatively. He turned toward Hikaru. “Fool, why didn’t you stop him!”

“Maybe it’s because I don’t work for you… freak.”

The Elitist member pointed his fist outward irately as his arm trembled with anger. “When the time’s right, I will be the one that kills you,” he stated.

“I think you’d better get back on your little chase before he gets away,” Hikaru wisely pointed out.

The blue haired member quaked with anger. “You’re lucky I don’t have time for you fools, or I’d crush you where you stand.” He created a portal with his raised fist and jumped inside, slamming it closed behind him.

Amber paced toward Hikaru while holding her head as she staggered and eyed him harshly.

“Why are you getting in my face?” Hikaru posed.

“You dropped me,” Amber mumbled heatedly, putting her hands down.

“Just trying to protect you,” Hikaru attempted explaining. He placed his hand atop Amber’s head where she’d rubbed it. “Honestly, I couldn’t think— it was an accident.”

“Well accidents hurt,” Amber whined, wincing as Hikaru gently rubbed her bump. He couldn’t help but slightly laugh at his irritated partner’s expression. “It’s not funny you jerk,” Amber said, frowning up.

“Aw, my little sidekick in crime,” Hikaru scoffed. “Stop being mad.” Amber slapped his hand away. “Look, we have to leave now before we’re attacked again, so stop being salty with me, seriously. And if you want, I’ll even carry you.”

“Yeah right, like I’d ever let that happen again,” mumbled Amber.

Hikaru grinned at Amber’s rainy disposition as her stomach growled loudly with hunger.

"I guess being dropped on your head doesn’t make you lose your appetite,” he teased. “We’d better find a hideout before you turn cannibalistic.”

“Stop picking on me, besides, I desire eating out at a restaurant today,” Amber said indignantly.

“You know we can’t do that.”

“Aw, is little Hikaru so afraid of bad guys, he won’t even go out and eat.”

Hikaru tried thinking logically, but being marked as fearful by a thirteen year old girl loaded far pass the threshold weight for even his ego to carry.

“Fine then, where are we going?” he asked.

Amber thought on a moment when she and her mother once ate at an Italian restaurant in Venice, and easily decided.

“I know the perfect place,” she said, raising her hand and creating a passage. “After you.”

Hikaru stepped through the portal with Amber walking inside behind him. He entered into the living room of a nice home where sun rays shined through the front window. A china cabinet set to his left, displaying a variety of beautiful plates, while a grandfather clock rested in a corner across from it, ticking loudly, being the only object making noticeable sounds. A red wooden table that could seat four people rested front and center of this tidy room. Amber’s passage closed, and Hikaru gazed at her suspiciously.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“This is where I live,” Amber said regretfully, realizing that a lecture would certainly incur for what she’d done.

“Amber!”

“I know, I know… we shouldn’t be here, but my mother’s safe at work, and we haven’t bathed for days.”

Hikaru sniffed underneath his left arm. “Alright, we do need showers, but as soon as we’re done bathing, lets be on our way.”

Amber grabbed his wrist, excitedly leading him out of the living room, and through a hallway. She took Hikaru into the first room on her right, where a full-size bed rested underneath open blinds against a window. Daylight reflected off pure white walls, which made the area illuminate brightly.An antique dresser that displayed unique double mirrors set across from the bed, while a blank television rested along an even corner of the room atop a tiny wooden table.

“I’m taking a shower first,” said Amber.

She walked out happily, leaving Hikaru alone. Deciding to make himself at home, Hikaru took off both shoes, and sat on Amber’s bed, avidly wondering about his last encounter with the thirtieth picked storm warrior. Certainly, he and Amber were his targets, but he couldn’t figure out why, or what they possibly did to garner so much attention. It ringed obvious that this mysterious fighter wasn’t on their trail because they were any threat to his existence, yet it had been a repeated followup attack, like he specifically carried an underlying vendetta against them. Hikaru thought back to when he and Kamari first got pulled inside the storm, and still, there sparked nothing in his head that would remotely link either of them with a thirtieth warrior; surely Kamari would’ve mentioned it if he’d met another person. In fact, Hikaru knew Kamari would definitely have helped any lost stranger out, just like he himself did for Amber, at least that’s what Hikaru believed, so he came to this conclusion without a doubt.

Hikaru recollected about when he first met Amber, who cried as she sat idly in total darkness. His mind triggered an explanation; if this thirtieth warrior entered the dark room around similar times that he, Kamari, and Amber had, the only reason for the man to target them would be if he directly met someone of their now broken party beforehand. Hikaru saw Kamari die, and he’d never encountered the mysterious fighter until after battling vigorously against Yuki, which only left his partner, who (now that he thought about it) remained a complete stranger that he’d foolishly helped and trusted without question. Hikaru clenched his fist tightly together while thinking about the hunter’s final words. (There can only be one master of the storm.)

These thoughts made him realize that all people were out for themselves. Furthermore, his trust for a complete stranger that could’ve lied about everything, including her age, made it a possibility that she’d been in the storm years before himself, and could just as well be pulling wool over his eyes. Of course, Hikaru knew only one way to be sure; questioning Amber about everything became a must, so he waited for her to finish showering. Time passed quickly while Hikaru’s anxious deep thoughts set in, then he heard distinct sounds of a powered blow-dryer coming through the hall. He got up off Amber’s bed, left her room, and walked down the aisle, turning right to find the door wide open. Dressed in a blue jean skirt with a purple shirt decorated with ruffled sleeves, Amber turned around, fearfully flinching back after spotting Hikaru standing in the doorway.

“Ah!” she shrieked, her panicky voice overlapping noise from the hair dryer. She switched off the device, then placed it down on the sink’s squared edge. “Sorry, you startled me.”

Amber’s long wet hair flowed down to her waste, dripping droplets of water on beige tiled flooring. For the first time, Hikaru saw her hair let down, and it only added fuel to his fire of suspicion, as now, even her appearance seemed deceptive. He glared at her fiercely, his nose wrinkling up.

“I know,” Amber sighed. “You don’t want us lingering here, but I must look nice before we head out for the place that I had in mind. You should dress better as well, instead of wearing those loose fitting clothes.”

Hikaru stared inside the doorway, wanting badly to believe that her innocence wasn’t an act, but logically, he knew it would be reckless not questioning her.

“We need a talk, Amber.”

“Well can it wait till I’m finished?”

“No, it can’t, so come on.”

Hikaru made way for Amber, who passed through the door as she walked into the hallway. He guided her with his hand on her shoulder toward the bedroom, and she turned around, facing him once inside.

“Is this a surprise, because I’m not that type of girl who likes surprises.” Amber propped herself up on the dresser in front of the round mirror, suddenly taking notice to Hikaru’s unfriendly gaze. “Alright, why are you staring at me like an idiot?” she asked, hitting Hikaru with assaultive words before he could say anything.

“I’ll tell you why, because you’ve been keeping secrets from me,” Hikaru snapped defensively.

“Secrets, what are you talking about?” said Amber.

“First of all, you know who the thirtieth fighter of the storm that’s been attacking us is.”

“What,” Amber jolted. “I didn’t know there was a thirtieth pick of the storm!”

“Oh really, then tell me exactly what happened while you were inside the dark room— before we came upon each other.”

Amber paused without saying a word, looking directly at Hikaru with a stunned expression. She folded her arms together as though a cold chill ran across her body. “Listen Hikaru… when I fell into the storm I was all alone. Like any person, I tried finding my way out of faintly lit dimness, but after searching for a while, I thought that I’d be stuck there forever. Out of desperation, I panicked aloud, and you heard—”

Amber paused for a second, hesitating at continuing.

“I need to know what happened,” said Hikaru, pressing her onward.

“I saw a line of white light stream across the floor, then a frightened man came charging toward me. He grabbed my shoulders and pleaded for help, but I got afraid, so I pushed his arms off, and ran away. After that, there were loud screams while I stayed in hiding… That’s why I cried so much when you found me— because I just let that man die, okay!”

Tears streamed down Amber’s face, but Hikaru wasn’t satisfied with her story, so he continued. “Did you get a glimpse at him?”

“Not really,” Amber whimpered. “The only thing I remember is that he had dark hair.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

“How could I tell you,” Amber said. “How could I tell a person who reacted completely opposite of myself what I’d done.”

Hikaru still pondered, quite unsure if Amber’s story passed with complete legitimacy, until he thought about his fight with Yuki, where she’d hidden the entire time, which proved her capable of being afraid enough to not help someone in danger; then he remembered her racing at the masked fighter and saving him from being killed, finally, thoughts entered his mind when she fought Amir with everything she could give, trying her absolute best at protecting him. These selfless actions stood as de-facto evidence he needed for trusting all that she’d told him since the beginning of their journey. Hikaru gazed at Amber’s teary face and couldn’t help but smile at her growth.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, you’re just thirteen, and still you’ve found tons of bravery. After all, you saved my life more than once,” he said proudly. “Now go finish your hair so I can shower, then we can get going to that restaurant.”

Amber got down from the dresser and embraced Hikaru tightly, then walked out the doorway. He lay down while waiting for her, knowing that they had hard times ahead of them in their struggles to survive.