Restless

I feel so restless

And in this changing world

I am lost for words

I feel so restless

Ain't got no interest

I couldn't care less

Can't be a success

~New Order, Restless

Chapter 1

This story began in a dusty schoolroom, with the sounds of pencils and erasers, and the ever so often cough heard in the background. Sitting at my desk, I watched as the clock slowly ticked the time, minute by minute. Why was I feeling so restless as I watched the time go by? Perhaps it was because after school was the only time I could feel like myself. Or maybe it was the only time I felt sane. The possibilities seemed endless to me, as if pondering them might help me pass the time, when I was supposed to be studying.

“Tick, tick, tick…...Buh-ring!”

My heart leaped as I heard the bell ring, I could hardly contain myself. I instantly sprang upright from my seat and began to collect my things.

Behind me, a voice spoke up omnioulsy

“And just where do you think you're going Satsuki-chan?”

I jumped at the sound behind me. I turned to see my fellow classmate and childhood friend, Ryu, standing behind me. A creepy smile was on his face, as if pleased that he was able to scare me so easily.

“EEP! Don’t you dare try to scare me like that again Ryu-kun! What pleasure do you get from it?”

I shouted, as I smacked him across the face. Ryu leaned over my desk with that same creepy smile on his face and looked up at me and said, “I’m sorry for the scare, but I was wondering what you were doing tonight and all.”

I looked down at Ryu and said in a cool tone “The only thing I do every night Ryu-kun, studying. It's the most important thing for a student to do. That's something you would never understand, seeing as you practically just copy from my notes.”

“And your notes always help me pass each test “Sensei” Said Ryu in a funny sounding tone, emphasizing on the word “sensei.”

“I’m really surprised how they never seem to notice how similar our test responses are,” I replied.

“Maybe I was graced by the hand of God, and have him in my corner or something. I dunno.”

I begin to walk past Ryu, on my way to the classroom door. I brushed my long hair aside as I walked past him.

“Then we will just leave this conversation on that note then. I wouldn't want the great Ryu to be without his precious notes.”

“Y-your the best friend ever Satsuki-sensei! How could I ever repay you for all your hard work?” Asked Ryu, with a grin. I turned my head and flashed a scary smile to him. “You can make me whatever food I want for a whole year! Or better yet, several years, seeing as that’s how long I supplied you with my notes.”

“S-sure, whatever you say Sensei!”

“Then it's settled” I said, and with a slight wave, added, “See you tomorrow Ryu-kun.”

Ryu perked up from his slump, waved and replied “See ya tomorrow I guess. Have fun with studying, I look forward to reviewing your hard work soon.”

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................

I soon walked out the front door of my school, the sun was low on the horizon of the tall buildings, shining down on me. The light chirping of birds can be heard, and a slight chill could be felt in the air. It was November, which meant that soon I would have to begin switching my after school activities. I don’t want to make myself look like i’m trying to distance myself from Ryu and the others. I just can’t help myself, I always end up going out alone. I looked up above to see the leaves falling from the trees as I walked underneath them. My face was perhaps a mix of guilt and shame as I silently thought about being with my friends. I just can’t help but to feel ashamed for hiding what I truly do every night from them. But it's for the best, they would never be able to understand any of this. Suddenly, my mind is taken from my thoughts as I begin to sniff the air around me, smelling a delicious aroma.

“Mmmmm, that doesn't smell half bad to me,” I say aloud as I start to follow the aroma with my nose, walking past scores of people. My nose ultimately lead me to the entrance of a park. I slowly walked through the the park gate and noticed a ramen cart, the origin of the pleasant aroma that lead me here. I instantly perked up at the sight of it and ran up to the cart owner. I Shouted my order to him.

“I want a bowl with all the toppings you offer Vendor-sensei!”

“O-okay……” The vendor replies, as he hands me a bowl of piping hot ramen. “Enjoy your meal”

I quickly grabbed the bowl and started to skip away, smiling ear to ear.

“Ahhh, this looks good! I will have to add this to my list of vendors to visit.”

I soon spotted a park bench and seated myself on it. I voraciously began to shovel ramen into my mouth.

“It's hard having to keep that high and mighty school girl image of myself up all the time! I barely let myself find the time to eat properly, always being stuck helping someone out somehow.” I say between mouthfuls of ramen.

I soon start to slow down now, silently thinking to myself. Why do I even bother trying to keep up this half lie/secrecy from everyone? One day, someone is bound to walk past me and see what i’m up to and figure everything out. Then everyone will look down on me and think i’m some sort of freak or something to that effect. I put the now empty ramen bowl beside me on the bench and lean my head back, looking into the trees above me. But this is all for the best, I know. I can never let anyone know that I love going out on my own during the night and practice my “art”. I smile at this thought. My “art: is unlike anyone else’s, I practically have the will to do anything with a simple thought, or even a few words. “Magic” it’s called, and I love everything about it.

I slowly force myself to stand up from the bench, grabbing the empty ramen bowl as I do so. Every night, I find myself out somewhere in the city, practicing magic wherever I go. I have no fears as I do so, for Tokyo is a rather big city, and the odds of someone I know seeing me in the act is nearly zero percent. I even make a big deal to go as far away from my district as possible.

I throw the empty bowl into a nearby trash can and walk down a long cobbled stone path, with the odd light pole on either side.

“But, there is one person I wish I could tell about this.” I say to myself silently. I Want to tell Ryu-kun all about this, to bring him along with me and show him. I’ve known him since we were little, and we never keep secrets from each other. He was my only real friend, having met him after my parents dumped me at my aunts and never came back.

“I wonder who they were.” I murmured. “I never really knew who they were, and I can never get anything out of my aunt. She’s barely even home anymore, and I’m sure she knows what i’m up to as well.”

Maybe they had magical powers as well, and I just inherited them? I really wished they were still here.

I don’t hate them for having dumped me at my aunts, but I wish I knew why they di. They probably had a good reason for it, and maybe it was because they had magical qualities as well. Maybe that was the whole reason they dumped me in the first place, so that I could have a decent life.

I was suddenly torn from me thoughts as the park lights began to shine on me. Nightfall seemed to have come quickly as I was lost in my thoughts.

I swished my head back and forth, making sure I was alone. When I finally thought I was truly alone, I opened my mouth and said, “Alright looks like i’m alone here, and that means one thing.” I look down at all the fallen leaves around me and continue. “I want all the fallen leaves in this park to form one giant pile! And make it quick as well.” Then suddenly, as if a giant wind had come out of nowhere, the leaves began to lift from the ground and fly towards me at high speed. The only problem was that they were beginning to form a pile around me! Desperately looking around me, I begin to panic.

“W-wait! I didn't mean form a pile around me! If this keeps keeps up, i’m going to be buried alive.” I yelled at the leaves flying towards me, as if they could listen and see reason. Unfortunately they didn’t stop, and my panic soon turned into distress. I mustered as much energy as I could and began to hightail it as fast as possible, but the leaves soon changed course with me. As I ran through the park with a trail of leaves following me, I yelled at the top of my lungs.

“PLEASE, JUST STOP FOLLOWING ME AND DROP TO THE GROUND!!!!!”

Behind me, out of nowhere was a large sound, that seemed to grow louder as it neared me.

“FWUUUUMP!”

I skidded to a stop and tumbled into a tree from a great force behind me. I got up and steadied myself as best I could. To my surprise, all the leaves had fallen into a great long and winding wall, leading up to me. “I think I should just give it a break for tonight.” I say aloud to myself as I survey the leaves before me. “Well” I continue, unphased at what just happened. “That was educational for me at the very least. Now I know I shouldn't attempt to clean a park up, it’s much more dangerous than it looks.” I spot the path again ahead of me and make my way towards it. “I’m sorta glad no one was around to see that sight. I’m sure Ryu-kun would never had let me hear the end of that.” I laugh as I say this, because in a way, it was pretty funny. It’s not everyday a person gets chased by a cloud of leaves through a park. I continue speaking aloud to myself. “This is one of those moments that makes you want to just give up and never try again. I may attempt to try, but I will never be able to fully grasp magic on my own. I wonder if there are others like me in the wor….”

Stolen story; please report.

Out of the corner of my eye, something bright red caught my attention, shining in the park lights. “Is that…”

I mutter to myself before I fully realize what i’m looking at. In utter amazement I blurt out loudly,

“Blood?!”

Laid out right before me is a long trail of blood, leading down the long winding park path. I pick up my pace and begin to follow the crimson trail down the cobbled path. I finally come to a dead stop, noticing that the trail seems to have died. “Is that the end of this?” I wondered to myself. Then, to the left of me, a low and pained sounding voice could be hear.

“H-help m-me...please.”

I slowly turned my body to the sound of the voice, unaware of what I might see,

“Oh my!” I manage to gasp, at the sight of a boy no older then me, slumped in the grass with his head against a tree. There was a large pool of blood around him, and he was no doubt in a great deal of pain.

“What happened!” I yell as I rush to his side, kneeling down beside him and ignoring the pool of blood. He looked up at me and with a pained smile, and replied.

“It’s a really long story, and the same could be said for the blade that pierced me. Instead of a long story, perhaps a hospital would be better?”

“There's no way you could survive a trip to the hospital!” I tell him, as I rip his shirt open to see the wound. I gently placed both my hands over his large wound and pressed down hard, in an attempt to slow the blood loss. In response to this action, even more blood came out then before. I looked at the boy and could see the light slowly begin to vanish from his eyes.

“The wound is worse than I thought. You must have had an artery rupture, which would explain the amount of blood being pumped out of your body.”

“So you're saying that if this keeps….up, i’m going to die? What a pity that my life had to be cut so short, I was really dying to try that new okonomiyaki place.” The boy begins to laugh in a pained tone, which ends in a bloody cough. I calm myself down as much as possible, and with a determined look on my face, say “Don't just give up now! I won't let you die on me! Your lucky I ran into you out here.”

“J-just leave me to die peacefully, i’m in agony as is already. I would rather see me bloodied t….then you.” The boy's breath begins to slow, the hand of death was about to take him from the world. I had no choice but to rely on my magical power, no matter how uncertain the outcome might be. I pressed my hands down harder on his chest and began to think clear, vibrant thoughts. I thought of his heart and his body mending itself and him living.

“Let this boy live somehow!”

I yelled into the night, tears beginning to drip from my eyes. And as if my prayer had been heard, a bluish light began to emerge from under my hands. I could feel a pulsating energy come from my hands and begin to slow down the blood loss. I cried heavily now and yelled loudly. “I won’t dare let you have him!”

Then, with a bright flash, the bluish light vanished, and I slowly lifted my hands. I looked dumbfounded at the almost non-existent wound. Only a scar in the shape of a crescent moon could be seen now, in place of the moon. The boy stares at me in shock and probably awe, maybe going to far as to think he’s dead now.

“W-wait, am I dead, or did you just somehow save me?” Then looking down at his chest, adds. “And why do I I have a moon instead of a massive wound now? Nothing's making sense anymore.”

“Well, trying to explain how I saved your life might take awhile. But as to the moon shaped scar, I have no clue. I swear it on my school grades.”

The boy lifts himself up and begins to chuckle to himself.

“Well, guess I will have to just settle with a name then. What are you called?”

“My names Satsuki.”

“What a wonderful name. Its very nice to meet you Satsuki-san, i’m called Kusaki. And I am very grateful for you being here in the right place and time.”

I start to blush a little at hearing his kind words.

“It was nothing really, but i’m glad I was able to help you Kusaki-san.”

“It was very much a big deal, so don’t put yourself down for it! I’m guessing you used some sort of healing magic to save me. Just my luck that I was able to run into a healer out here.”

I stand upright quickly, surprised at hearing him say this.

“Wha-what?! You mean to tell me that…...there are other magic users!”

“Well duh, you must live under a rock to not know this. Are you not aware of the families?”

“Families?!”

I shouted at him

“You mean there are entire families of magic users in Tokyo? That’s incredible!”

“Well, it’s not like you think. Not every “family” is strong in magical powers. Many are suited for other things, such as battle with sword, battle with fangs, battle with wit, etcetera. The list really goes on.”

Kusaki explains to me. He starts to stand up slowly, obviously still weary feeling. “And” he continues, “I was attacked by such a family. Or rather in this case, a faction of a family. If you are unaware of all this, it would be best if you got away as fast as you can. It could get ugly soon.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you explain better. You owe me that much for saving your life at least .”

“Ugh.” Exiles Kusaki, as he prepares to explain more. “Very well, I will try to lay it out for you. I was attacked by a group of assassins in masks, and they “killed” me. Or so they thought. They are undoubtedly on there way to kill us right now. You really should run away now Satsuki-chan.”

I flinched a little at hearing the words assassin and kill, but calmly toss them aside.

“You say they wore masks. What kind of masks did you see?

A large crunching sound of leaves could be heard suddenly, getting closer to us. Soon the sound of more leaves being crushed under pressure could be heard joining it. I gulped at the sounds, realizing there was no chance of me running away now. Around us, about ten or so men wearing crows masks materialized from the brush. One of them walked a little closer to us. His mask was different from the others, being red colored instead of the others black markings. He had to be the leader of the group. And as if he sensed my thoughts spoke up.

“Ahh, we finally found you now Kusaki. I’m really surprised at how fast you were able to run, even with such a large wound. How unfortunate this girl was able to save you, because it makes my job harder now.”

“W-why is it harder now.” I asked, in obvious terror.

The red masked man begins to laugh in a low, maniacal way.

“It means that I have to kill you as well. Which really is a shame, you have such a sweet and gentle looking face. But oh well, it’s apart of the job.”

“Don’t you dare come closer to us.” Kusaki shouts, with a fire in his eye. The red masked man tilts his head in a joyful manner, as if pleased that his prey wasn't about to give in.

“Looks like you don’t want to go silently. I admire that in a victim.”

One of the other assassins speaks up from behind Kusaki.

“Ahh come on, enough talk already. Lets just kill ‘em already!”

“Yeah! And how about we cut the girls still beating heart out and show it to her?”

“Or” another killer interjects, “We just kill them now and wish them a happy afterlife.”

The man in the red mask speaks loudly to his subordinates.

“We will do no such thing to a beautiful looking young girl. I want her to die quick, yes, but the other……..I want him to die cruelly.”

“Heh heh heh!”

The other masked men begin to hiss and laugh at me and Kusaki. I could feel a shiver run up my spine as they laugh at us. I was about to die here and now I thought. What did I do to deserve such a fate? As if reading my mind, Kusaki put his hand onto my shoulder, as if to reassure me. I closed my eyes tightly shut, putting the images of the men out of my vision. WHile my eyes were shut, I could hear the men get closer to us, the leaves crackling under their footfall. As I began to despair at my coming doom, I heard something I thought I would never hear. A loud “Wuuuud!” was heard, followed by some of the men shouting out in what sounded to be pain. I opened my eyes and was taken by surprise by what I saw in front of me.

Standing right in front of me and Kusaki was a man dressed in a black and white hakama and wearing the mask of a fox. He seemed to be aimed at the crows masked men, and not us. Some of the fallen men got back up and walked a little bit away from the fox mask. The red masked man spoke up to break the silence.

“Now this just keeps getting better and better. Not only do we have to kill these two, but also a member of our own broken family. Maybe I will even get a bonus for your death! Now that would be something.”

Wait a minute, I thought to myself. So what Kusaki told me is true then, there are families like these in the world. But why would one of their own protect us?! As if Kusaki could read my thoughts, he whispered in my ear.

“Don’t worry, this guy is on our side. These two factions of their family don’t really get along anymore.”

The man in the red mask continues on.

“Step aside now and I may let you live. If not, then you and your beloved leader will be on my…...our kill list next.”

The man in the fox mask remains silent, as is beginning to look down at the ground.

“The silent treatment huh? Well it was nice knowing ya!”

The man raises his hand to signal to his fellow killers.

“Kill ‘em however you want to boys! I don’t want any of them breathing by the time I get around to ‘em!”

His subordinates begin to laugh hysterically now and start approaching with a nasty array of weapons drawn. The man in the fox man in the fox mask continues to remain silent, but raises his hands a little now. Kusaki begins to do his best to become a barricade between me and the assassins.

“Satsuki-san, the minute things go from bad to worse, I want you to run as fast as you can.”

“I’m not going anywhere! I saved your life, and i’m going to remain here to see that you remain that way!”

“Your courage is quite….Unusual.”

Kusaki looks back at me as he says that, slightly smiling. I look back at the man in the fox's mask and hear him say something under his breath to me.

“If I were you, I would hit the ground as fast as possible.”

I’m too shocked to say anything, but Kusaki grabs my arm and drags me down to the ground with him. Satisfied, the fox mask shouts something into the airs, and swings his arms in a blinding flash. It was too much of a blur, but I could hear him shout a few words.

“HAMA RYU O JIN!”

My eyes were blinded by the dust that followed his actions, but just as quickly as I was blinded, I could start to make out something. To me and Kusaki’s utter amazement, we saw only the man in the red crows mask, and our savior left standing before each other. I could see the man in the fox mask brandishing two long and ancient looking Katana’s.

All the other assassins had knocked away from us and were still alive, all that could be heard from them were groans of pain. The man in the red mask begins to to laugh, but his tone has changed slightly out of fear.

“Wow! You sure are something! If it wasn't for that, I might never had been able to recognize who you were…..Kurogane. I am right am I not? The fabled warrior who was able to wipe out an army of a thousand warriors?”

The man in the fox mask-Kurogane as he seemed to be called, was silent. The man in the red mask continued on. “I will withdraw for now, but remember this. We will kill the boy and the girl, whether or not you are in our way. And if you do decide to continue to be a nuisance, I will show you my true power.”

And with that, he turned and began to walk away. His subordinates got up slowly and walked away with him. They were very upset at Kurogane's interruption at what was supposed to be our execution.

“T-thank you! You saved our lives! How can….”

“You can keep your compliments to yourself. All I did was follow my order, and now it looks like you two may want to come with me.” Kurogane said. Kusaki in a very serious tone, spoke to Kurogane.

“Where are you going to take us?”

“Somewhere you will be safe until the dust has settled. And perhaps learn more about what transpired here tonight.”

And with that, he turned and started to walk away. Kusaki ran after and started shouting something at him. I just looked up at the night stars and thought to myself what would follow this and what would happen to me. Then, I ran as fast as I could to catch up to them.