Long, long ago, before the world was created, there was the almighty one. He was the ruler of all which came to pass, had passed, and was passing. He was the ruler of the ever fleeting time and the slowly swaying reality. He knew the answer to the enigma of the truth and was the creator of the realm of dreams andhopes. He created the misty galaxies and shining stars. He was God. He ruled over the kingdom of Heaven, over eternity, over everything. Before the beginning had come to pass, it was decided that there would be eight guardians of the earth.
Eight persons upon one of the eight earth magics would be bestowed: Fire, Ice, Shock, Spectral, Life, Water, Wind, and Earth. Because of man's dominance and stubborness, it was decided that eight girls would be chosen for this task and that eight male watchers would be appointed to teach them, one for each element.
Eachguardian would be recognized on her thirteenth birthday, and from then on, would protect the earth until death. Each time a guardian died, a different girl would be born to take her place, with the memories of she who had come before her and all the others, up until the first guardian. The archangels were given the task of guiding the watchers and protecting the girls' spirits while the were alive and souls when they died.
But there was one archangel who did not agree. One who would become a formidable foe. This archangel was Lucifer. He had sought to take over God's throne, to overtake him, to rule over Heaven and all which was and was to be. Lucifer gleaned for himself a crop of lower angels which he won over with lies.
God threw them out with one blow and Lucifer created for himself a firey haven called Hell. He became a hideously evil angel and his wings were stained with blood from the fires which they were not meant to cope with. The angels which had rallied behind him were turned red from the heat and their wings turned black as coal.
When the Earth and the universe were first created and still new, after God had created Adam and Eve, the first humans, Lucifer sent up a creature of his firey lair. One which was covered in smoothe scales and had a flicking tongue with beady eyes. He gave it the power of speech, but because he had defied God, the snake's speech had prolonged "sssssss" in it whenever the snake used a word with the letter "s".
The snake did its job and tempted Eve into eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge, and she had gotten her husband, Adam to eat of the fruit also. God knew what had happened and banished all speech from the snake and cursed it to forever slither upon the ground like a worm. He also cursed Adam and Eve with the hardships of life and banished them from Eden. Micheal, the archangel guarded the entrance of Eden with two sabres which spewed into flames as soon as he touched them.
As civilization progressed, the need for the guardians became apparent. God gave the order for the watchers to be guided and for the girls to have their powers bestowed upon them. The first set of girls was in the prehistoric age, before Moses and Noah and Abraham. While dinosaurs still roamed the earth and Lucifer could still send out his creatures.
The peoples of this era were known as the cavemen. However, there was also a little known colony of people who had crytal waters and fresh grass with affable weather all years round. The soil was always fertile and the people never hassled with disease or sickness. This was because, unbeknownst to them, their village was quite near to Eden, one could say they were neighbors of a sort. From this village eight girls and watchers were chosen and put into action. . .
Chapter One: Fire Magic
Fire magic is the magic of violence and destruction, harnessing the powers of flame to burn your opponents down where they stand.
Ichigo was the accepted orphan of the village. Her hair was a downcast magenta and her eyes were a hazel brown. Most of the time her kimonos were either red or pink and were sometimes decorated with embroidered flowers. Today was her thirteenth birthday.
All the village had showed up for it. Everyone older than her was her mentor and everyone her age or younger was her friend and playmate. All wanted to celebrate her coming of age.
It was also on this day that Keiichiero, a man of about twenty years, and Ryou, Keiichiero's almost younger bother, recieved a vision from an archangel who called himself Michael. He had shared this vision with no one and looked around the party, seeking the one who would wield the first magics of the Earth.
He passed by one girl after another, seeking none but the one. He finally found her and was a bit surprised at the choice.
Ichigo cut the cake and rejoiced in her coming of age. She danced with all the boys and laughed with all her friends. But nothing was better than Masaya, who had danced with her twice already. Her heart felt as though it was soaring on wings, her day was going so well.
This was, of course, before she took a walk with Ryou.
When the two finished dancing Ryou asked her, "Ichigo, would you like to take a walk with me?" Ichigo saw no reason why not, so she complied. When they were a good distance away from everyone else, Ryou gestured for her to sit down on a chairlike boulder. He turned to her and looked into her eyes. Ichigo felt her heart beat faster and faster and she fidgeted with her hands.
Ryou leaned closer and said, "You've been given the ability to control fire magic and you've been granted the genes of an Iriomote Wildcat." Ichigo looked back at him as though he was insane. She heard footsteps and looked around. Keiichiero was coming forth from the village. "There is a symbol which marks you from the rest of the people and this is it," he said, and he lifted her skirt to show Ichigo that her upper thigh had a bright red flame on it. "EEEEEK!" Ichigo shrieked and blushed. Ryou turned to Keiichiero.
"I do not think that was the best thing to do," Keiichiero remarked. "Sorry, I thought it might be best to show her," Ryou apologized. "This is why you need to think before you act, at least around girls," Keiichiero replied. Ryou nodded his head and turned back toward Ichigo.
Ichigolooked back at him and felt cat ears and a tail pop out. "Eh?" she felt her ears and twisted to see her tail. "What are these!" she exclaimed. Ryou opened his mouth to say something, but Ichigo rambled on. "I can't go back to the village like this!"
The threesome then traveled back to the village. As Ichigo set foot on the grounds of her adopted home, Ryou and Keiichiero were called away, leaving Ichigo to walk back to the party on her own.Ichigo was passingthe great columns of the temple to the almighty when a voice stopped her. "Well, well, well. So this girl is the one I shall have to battle for this earth." Ichigo looked up to see a cute green haired boy who looked to be about her age jump down from one of the impossibly tall temple pillars. He pressed his lips against hers and drew back.
Ichigo was shocked, to say the least. He licked his lips. "My name is Kish, thanks for the kiss," he said. Ichigo was infuriated. This alien boy had just stolen her first kiss! "You seem quiet. I think you liked that." Oh, how Ichigo was disagreeing with him. "Wanna try again?" he asked, licking his lips. Ichigo snapped back into reality and cried, "Never!" Kish smirked and said, "Well then, since you don't want to play, let's see how well you can fight!" and he tossed something into the air.
Ryou and Keiichiero rushed to find Ichigo as soon as the quaking began.
The earth below Ichigo began to quake and a tyranosaourus rex came thundering toward the village. Ichigo's eyes widened and words appeared in her mind. "Strawberry Metamorphosis!" Ichigo shouted. A pink mist hinted withthe scente dof ichigo strawberries surrounded her. Ichigo's clothes glowed and vanished in a shower of sparkles as the ghost ofa fiery iriomote wildcat jumped into her. A new kimono grew upon her. It had no sleeves and ended right above her knees. The kimono was embroidered with glowing fire flowers and her hair turned a fiery red orange.
A large gold sword with a blazing blade formed in her hands as she shouted, "Fire Sword!" The tyranosourus loomed ever closer as the village swayed to and fro. Ichigo zoomed at the dreadful monster and pointed her sword at it and called out, "Fire Power!"
The fires of the sword shot out and consumed the beast. It burned until there was nothing left but ashes. She felt strong arms curl about her waist and a kiss upon her lips. "See you next time, Koneko-chan!" Kish called and vanished before her very eyes.
Ichigo burned with a mixture of rage and embarassment and she detransformed. Ryou regareded her coolly and Keiichiero congrajulated her on her first win.
and thus began the heirarchy of Ryou and Keiichiero above Ichigo, the pupil.