Chapter 2
-Shibuya, Tokyo - 12:23 AM
On top of an abandoned high rise in the center of Shibuya, the man in the red crows mask- Tatsumi as he was known by others, gazed over the massive city from his lofty perch. Silent footsteps were heard approaching behind him as he admired the brightly lit city. He turned his head slightly at the the shadow behind him, but as usual, could only see a feminine outline standing there.
“I see you have come to collect your reward for an unsuccessful kill Tatsumi,” The voice said. Tatsumi turned around to face the person behind him. He brought a black gloved hand to his mask and began to slowly remove it, speaking as he did so.
“In all fairness, I did exactly what you payed me to do lady. You wanted the boy dead and I delivered, How was I to know some girl would show up and save the day?”
The voice from the feminine figure replied to Tatsumi with an even more unfriendly tone.
“That boy needs to die! If he doesn't and he begins to realize what powers are held within him, this will be all for nothing!”
Tatsumi lowered his mask and his face shown from the side in the pale moonlight. His eyes were calm yet aflame looking.
“When I kill someone, they remain dead. The next time I run into them, I will put them on a platter for you.”
“The figure began to turn away, but in a chilling tone, parted with a last few words.
“You will not harm the girl. I want her brought to me alive….however…..” She looked back at him, “You may kill him in anyway that pleases you. Once you complete this simple task, I will pay you triple the amount of what I originally paid you for. But if you fail once again…..”
She let that trail into the night as she disappeared from view.
Tatsumi let out a slight sigh, and after he felt she had left him alone, yelled into the night, “Gaah! What a bitch! This is starting to get more complicated than I originally thought…..”
He turned his gaze back to the city and began to plan his next moves.
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- Shinjuku, Tokyo - 12:30 AM
Here I was, walking down a deserted street, in the middle of the night, with a boy I barely knew and a dark brooding man in a fox mask leading us God knows where. I sighed loudly to them, “Ahh, where are you leading us? We’ve been walking for a good hour and a half at least.” With a loud gruff, Kurogane replied to me without looking at me, “You will see soon enough, now keep quiet.” Kusaki dropped back and walked beside me. He spoke to me, but made sure to not be heard by the uncheerful Kurogane. “He really is a happy person isn't he?”
“I wouldn't say happy, more downright scary.”
“Oh come now!” Says Kusaki grinning at me, “Sure he doesn't look like parent material, but i’m sure deep down inside, he's a sorta okay guy.”
“Um, Kusaki-san...do you mind if I asked you a little bit more about the families?”
“Sure, but i’m afraid I don’t know everything about them. I will try to do my best to answer your questions.”
“Well, I wanted to know what kind of family….you are apart of. I hope it’s not too much to ask of you.
Kusaki looked at me and I could see a little bit of sadness in his eyes. He bit his lip for a seconds, but then managed a smile in the end.
“My family? Well, there really is not much to say about us, other than the fact that me and my mom are all that’s left of it. Hell, it's really just me anymore, I haven't seen mom since dad disappeared. I heard a lot of tales about our family, and they all talked about how great we once were, and how we kept the peace in the world. But now…..its almost non-existent.”
I looked at him and could he was a little upset. I guess it was understandable…..I missed my family as well. It was sort of nice to be able to have someone else to share that with, someone who could understand me. I sort of felt a little more closer to Kusaki...which seemed weird to me…...but I enjoyed the thought for some reason.
“I’m sorry that I had to ask you a painful question Kusaki-san. If it makes you feel a little better, I too miss my parents. To be more honest with you…..I never really knew them. But even with that being said, I kind of know what you're going through now.”
“Knowing that does help make me feel better Satsuki-chan…..I hope you don’t mind me calling you that! I just thought since you and I shared some closer details about our past….it might be easier.”
I smiled brightly at him.
“Okay….Kusaki-kun! Now…..what do you know about Kurogane's family?”
“Good question, and one I only know a little about. Kurogane is apart of the Takasima faction under Lady Kitsune, and his mask is that of a fox, which represents that fraction of the family he is apart. There are four factions headed by the four siblings, and they each have are represented by a mask. SO, the people who “Killed” me were wearing a crows mask, which means they are apart of another family. I don’t know the other names, but I do know they are three very strong warriors in their own respect,” he took a break for a second, then continues, “And, they have been at odds with each other for hundreds of years.”
I was shocked at hearing that, it seemed impossible to me that someone could live for so long.
“If that’s true,” I replied, “Then they have to be very, very old….right?”
“Quite the contrary,” replied Kusaki, “They seem to have some sort of power that enables them to live long and healthy lives. They haven’t aged a day in 300 years I hear. And….i’m afraid that’s all I know”
“Well, thank you for telling me that, it helps me learn a little more about what's going on. The more I know, the more I might be able to--”
“Hey you two!” interjects Kurogane, having stopped walking and was starting to remove his mask.
“We're here now, so you’d better stop gossiping now.”
As he told us this, he had fully removed his mask and I could finally see his mask. He seemed to be a rather handsome looking man in his late 20’s, and he wasn't pleased looking. But where was “here” exactly? I looked up at building next to us and all I could see was a typical Tokyo highrise. Kusaki took quite an offense to hearing the word “Gossip.”
“Gossip!? What do you think I am? A school girl!?”
Kurogane looked dead serious and simply replied,
“I don’t know, are you?”
Kusaki was practically butting heads with him now, as I looked on in silence.
“You take that back!”
“No, I won’t, not until you stop acting like one right now.”
I decided now was the best time to stop them before things got more out of hand.
“U-um...guys? Shouldn't we head inside or something now?”
They both stopped and looked over at me, as if they had forgot I was standing right there, watching the whole thing.
“The young lady seems to understand much better then you…….whatever your calle-”
“I’m Kusaki! And you better remember it!!
“Right, whatever you say kid. Now if you would just walk through those doors, we might be able to not attract anymore attention to ourselves.”
Kusaki silently stared at Kurogane for a second, in obvious anger, but then just turned away and walked into the building.
Kurogane beckoned for me to follow suit. I walked past him and grabbed the door handle and walked inside. When I was indoors, what I thought I would see would be a typical high rise drab lobby, but instead I was surprised by something totally out of this world, something seemingly impossible. What lay before me was an ancient japanese courtyard, with an equally ancient castle overlooking it. In awe, I stuttered my words.
“H-have we gone back in time?”
Kurogane walked beside me spoke in that sual gruff tone of his, “No you haven't traversed time. What you see before you is the power of Lady Kitsune, everything here was created by her magic.”
“Amazing. This is all from her magic?” I asked him in wonderment. He just stared at the castle as we walked to it, silent once again. I guess I would have to wait and find out about this Lady Kitsune in due time. We had finally come to a dead stop in front of an ornate looking door. Kurogane put his hand on the door and pushed it open, then pointed inside to us and told us, “You two will have to go in there alone now.”
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I looked up at him and saw a look on his face that more or less read “Get your asses in there, you're gonna be fine!”
Kusaki didn’t seem to pleased with the thought of us having to go in alone, but in the end just shrugged and went inside. As I walked past him, I looked back and said, “Thank you for helping us Kurogane-san. I hope we haven't been a terrible burden for you.”
He seemed to have reacted well to me telling this, at least by the look that was slightly generated on his face. It was a stark contrast from his usual “Warrior” look that I had seen most the night.
“Its no problem” He replied, “I just can’t stand to sit and watch as a girl’s life is threatened. I was just doing my duty.” I smiled once more at him, then went inside.
After I had walked inside, Kurogane looked up at the night sky and whispered to himself.
“I will spend the rest of my days protecting what I swore I would protect, and kill anything that gets in the way of that duty. I made that vow to you so long ago.”
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Kusaki was waiting for me inside. He wasn't to pleased looking, and I could see why. We seemed to be in an empty room, with no signs of life other than ourselves. He spoke up when he saw me.
“There's nothing here, just an empty room.”
“That’s quite the opposite,” said a feminine voice from behind Kusaki. In shock, we both turned ourselves to the voice. To our surprise, the empty room had been replaced by a lavishly furnished room, and in its center was sitting a beautiful looking woman. This had to be Lady Kitsune I told myself. She was wearing a long black kimono, and her beauty was like that of an ancient princess. She even seemed to carry the air of royalty as she began to get up from her seat.
“Welcome to my home, Satsuki…….Kusaki. I’m glad you both were able to come relatively unharmed,” she said to us, to break the ghostly silence in the room. I spoke up after a few moments and asked her, “Are you the one called Lady Kitsune?”
“Yes, I have been called that,” she replied in a friendly tone. She walked over to Kusaki and placed a hand on his cheek as she continued to speak.
“Your Kusaki….Ichihara, am I right? I was expecting to come yes, but….”
Her hand began to slowly move to down to his torn shirt. She moved it aside and revealed the crescent moon scar on his chest, and her face became a little surprised looking.
“I did not expect that you would be able to get such a mark. This shows that you have a much stronger role to fill….one that is unknown to us as of yet.”
I decided it was time to get some answers, so I spoke up.
“What do you mean? Why am I even here?”
Lady Kitsune turned and smiled at me.
“You have just as big of a role as he does. When that role will be revealed, that is also unknown. Such is the way of the universe. But…..you and me are quite alike.”
“How are we the same?”
Lady Kitsune walked to me in a light manner, as if she floated over to me instead of walking. She looked into my eyes and answered me.
“We both share jade green eyes, what a lovely happenstance and…..we even share the ability to practice magic.”
She turned and walked away from me know, but then looked over her shoulder and continued.
“But there is one slight problem. You are unable to fully channel your arcane powers. In the end, something goes amiss from your practice.”
She now walked over to a bookshelf and delicately selected a book from it. I was surprised how she was able to know what happened when I practiced magic. I spoke with a little uncertainty now.
“Y-you know all about that? I always thought I kept my actions a secret and I-”
“Yes, I know” interjected Lady Kitsune, walking towards me with a book. She then placed the book in my hands, which I could do nothing but hastily accepted. I glanced down at the book’s title and saw that it read “Arcana Majora”, and I was a little stunned at how small and light it was for such a massive subject. Lady Kitsune placed her hand on the book and gave me that same smile again.
“This” explained Lady Kitsune, “Is a very old book that was entrusted to me when I was very young, and now I feel it is right to entrust it to you. This book will propel you through the world of magic. And, it may look small, but never, ever, judge a book by its cover.”
“Not to be rude, but could you explain a little more about what happened to me? I was the one that got stabbed to death after all.”
Interrupted Kusaki, looking clearly serious. I couldn't blame him, I would want to know why someone wanted to kill me too.
“That is not very clear to me right now, but I suspect it has something to do with your family heritage. Beyond that, I am unable to discern. I we know is that someone in one of the other factions tried to have you killed. But i’m afraid that is all I can say.”
Kusaki looked down a bit and I could see him clench his hand into a fist. I thought he was about to get loud and argue with her, but instead he just looked up and smiled at her.
“It’s fine I guess. I will just have to wait then.”
Lady Kitsune put a reassuring hand on both our shoulders and spoke in almost a paternal way.
“I want you to both know that you are safe now, and that no one will try to lay a finger on you while you are here. In light of these events, I have decided to make you full-fledged members of the family.”
She paused for a moment, then continued, speaking to me “Now Satsuki, I know this will be hard for you to accept, but i’m afraid you won't be able to go back to your old life again. You do understand don’t you?”
I was honestly upset at first to hear her say this, but then I began to kinda understand. I was on a kill list with Kusaki, and if I tried to go back to my way of life, I would only endanger Ryu and the rest. Finally I looked at Kusaki, then back to her.
“I understand. Its sorta funny, but I have always dreamed of this moment...but under much better circumstances. If I can finally learn how to muster even a fraction of my magical abilities, then I will give up my old life. As long as Kusaki-kun is here with me. Starting right now, he's the only person in the world who I trust and the one I want to train alongside with.”
“Then it is settled. You both will begin your training in the morning. You, Kusaki, will learn the arts of how to protect yourself and others. Satsuki, you will train with a few others in a small group. ANd that book will also help to speed the process.”
She snapped her fingers and a few attendants appeared from a sliding door to her left.
“We will continue the conversation over morning tea. Now, will you please show these two to their new rooms?”
“Yes ma’am.” Replied the attendants. They began to lead us out of the room. Kusaki was the first to leave, with him looking back at me a little red faced. As I was about to leave next, Lady Kitsune stopped me for a second and spoke.
“Satsuki, it would be best if you did a little reading in that book before you go to sleep. I think you will find it very….enlightening.”
“O-okay!”
I was then was lead out and quickly shut into my room before I knew it. I turned and looked at my new surroundings. It was a modest room, with a bed and what looked like a kimono on top of it. I noticed a door on the other side of the room with a light on it. I went over to it and was overjoyed to see a steaming bath that had been made ready for me. It would feel great to get all of this blood and dirt off this body. I set the book on the counter and began to slowly remove my clothes, throwing them down on the floor. I soon stood completely naked and quickly jumped into the warm waters.The water felt wonderful as they washed over my tired and weary body. After I thought I was sufficiently clean, I got up and dried myself off. I then went to pick the book up on the counter, so I could give myself something to read as I lay in bed, but I was stunned by what I saw in the mirror. I placed a hand down on my lower torso as I looked at it in the mirror. Right there, on my body, was the marking of a cherry blossom….a sakura flower. Before this night, I never had such a marking before in my life. I ran over to the bed with the book in hand and made sure to put the kimono on and then restlessly flipped through the book, looking for any clues for this. But there was no writing about what was on my body, but I knew it had to do with something about the night's events. As I flipped and flipped through the book, something caught my eye.
“Takasima Family History”
I stopped on the page, and again I was disappointed. There was not a line of text whatsoever on the pages after that. I was about to just give up and go to sleep, when slowly, my vision seemed to dim. And then….... blackness.