I cowered behind the tree, trying to hide from them. 3…2…1
"There he is!"
I clawed onto the ground for my dear life.
"Someone help me, please help me," I thought of that over and over, but nothing ever happens, like always.
They surrounded and started yanking my hair, kicking my gut and used sticks to hit me; they laughed and laughed and laughed.
"Hey! What are you doing!?"
"Oh shit, someone spotted us; let's make a run for it!"
I lay on the ground, bruised and hurt everywhere when I saw a pair of brown polished shoes.
"You okay there?"
"Yeah," I mumbled. The man pulled me up and brushed off the dust on my shoulders. I looked up at the man, crimson hair with a small ponytail, a smile that could brighten the world and a pair of brown and yellow eyes was looking at me.
"You're in a tight fit, aren't you? But I'm sure they won't bother you anymore,"
"Thank you," I said.
"No problem," With that, the man was gone. He was right, they never hurt me again, and not even an insult was heard.
I bounced the ball up and down repeatedly, the rubber getting dirtier with each bounce when a gush of cold wind blew it onto the road, I ran to get it, unaware of the oncoming truck.
"Watch out!" I turned my head and saw the truck coming towards, that's when I felt a pair of hands push me from the back, and I landed onto the curb. I turned around and there he was, the man who saved me, now dead in a pool of blood.
"Mister, please wake up! You can't lie down on the road, it's dangerous!" I said, shaking the cold body. "Please wake up…" I started crying.
10 years later
"Hey, did you hear? Some people say that the old hospital down the street is haunted, some even swore they've seen people walking in the corridors at night,"
"That's just rubbish, there's no such thing as ghost," I said.
"Oh yeah, 50 bucks if you can walk through the entire the whole hospital,"
"Deal," I replied.
It was night time when we walked to the rusty gate of the hospital.
"So I just walk around it and 50 bucks is mine?"
"You got that right,"
My friend pushed open the gate, which squeaked cause of its hinges. I walked onto the corroded stone walkway.
"50 bucks do it for the 50 bucks…"
I opened the doors which led me to the various wards.
"Well, there isn't anything that's scary…" I heard the sounds of wood clicking on the floor. Eh? Don't tell me this place is really haunted… I hid behind the wall and tried to stay hidden, when a hand touched my shoulder, I turned around and was scared shitless when a pair of blue eyes stared at me
"Aieee!" I screamed.
The man put his finger to his lip, "Shush, do you want them to hear you?"
-Thump- -thump- -thump-
"Shit, they heard you, stay here," The man clenched his hand into a fist, sticking his middle and index finger out, brought his hand to the front and chanted, "Tomei shirudo"
A beast started walking towards us, I was scared out of my wits, but I kept silent. The beast stopped in front of us, grunted and walked past us.
"You mustn't make too much sound, that beast will kill you if you're not armed and trust me it's not pretty, so I suggest you follow me," The man waved his hand, motioning me to follow.
We walked down the dirty corridor and stopped at dead end.
"So, you got lost?" I asked.
"No, here it is," The man knocked on the wall which slid sideways to reveal a Japanese-like military office, except with only a few soldiers, one of them particularly wearing a black sash around his left eye.
"Kiyo, who is that boy next to you? I've told you not to bring any more hu- People here,"
"My apologizes Captain, but we've encountered the motasu and this boy must seek safety,"
"I see, request granted, but no more of this, understand?"
"Yes sir,"
"I don't mean to be rude, but what is going on, who are you and what is all this?" I asked.
"Excuse me; you are now at the base of the Aki army, one of the four traditional armies located in Japan. I am Captain Furito Hitaru; the man who saved you is Sihote Kiyo, the twins over there are Joso and Josa Lukoto."
"I see, nice to meet you, I'm Desone Fijoku." I said.
The captain was silent for a while, "Well, Fijoku, now that you have discovered about our secret base thanks to someone, you have no choice but to become a new recruit,"
"W-what?"
"Unfortunately, we have this rule we always follow: Anyone who has discovered a secret base, must become a new recruit, to avoid the secrets getting leaked out. If he or she does so, we will be forced to take action, painfully."
My jaw dropped.
"There are four bases, spring, winter, autumn and summer. The spring base handles updates and all that shit. The winter base handles weapons which will be sent to the necessary bases for battle. The summer base mainly focuses on battles, cause of their reputation of having a short fuse. And then there's us, the autumn base, we are special however, we specialize in every corner and are called when needed for back-up," Joso explained.
"Wow…" I said.
"So let's begin your training," Kiyo tossed a wooden katana to me which I nearly dropped.
"There are nine things you need to know about combat. First, your stance. Always keep a firm standing, this will intimidate the opponent. Second always expect the unexpected," Kiyo explained.
"What does that me- AH!" Kiyo suddenly hit me on the head.
"Didn't expect that now, did you? Third, when holding your weapon, never lose grip of it, use the sword like an extra arm. Fourth, always scan your opponent, find their weakness and use it against them. Fifth, be quick, be accurate, one mistake could lead to your downfall. Sixth, when in combat, people will attack you at every angle, so always be aware. Seventh, always keep calm, a frustrated head makes one go insane, especially in battle. Eighth, never fight an opponent you can't win alone, always call for us and we'll be there. Ninth, never trust anyone besides yourself and your comrades. Now, we shall begin," Kiyo said.
"Before you start, do you remember the consequences of becoming a recruit?" Hitaru asked.
"Completely slipped my mind, Fijoku, I knew I should've said this sooner, but becoming a recruit means that you have to let go of everything dear to you, your friends, family etc. But if you can't we will have to drain the memories of us and this place out but with no pain, cause we should've told you sooner," Kiyo explained.
"Well, I have no problem in doing so," I answered.
"Eh? I thought you'd be protesting!" Josa said.
"No, I am an orphan and I don't have many friends, doing so is just like blinking," I said.
"Alright, but you cannot go back on your word, we shall begin," Kiyo said.
"But my friend is waiting for me outside," I said.
"Don't worry, when you agreed to the 'deal', you're friend forgot what he was doing and left," Joso said.
There goes 50 bucks…
10 minutes later
I lay on the tatami mat, exhausted.
"Dude, I knew you were weak but not this weak," Joso said, poking my head.
"Shut up," I answered.
"Neh, Captain, he won't be able to fight if he can't endure basic training," Josa said.
"Hmm, guess we will have to build his stamina, bring out the walker," Hitaru snapped his fingers.
"You will have to work on this walker for two days," Hitaru said.
"What? You expect me to do that?" I said.
"Yes, unless you want to die a horrible death because you aren't prepared," Hitaru said.
"Walker it is!" I said.
"Hm, his attitude is interesting yet funny at the same time," Hitaru said.
"You're right," Kiyo replied.
"Captain! Suba has been spotted on the third floor, west aisle!" Joso announced.
"Understood, get ready,"
"What about me?" I asked.
"Stay here, you're not prepared yet," Kiyo ordered.
I nodded and they all left, leaving me here alone. "Guess I'll go look around in the library,"
I rummaged through the shelves and knocked onto a very peculiar book, 'Kijo'
My curiosity aroused, so I flipped the book open, "Kijo, a power blast of energy to increase one's strength, but will have an after effect on the user,"
The wall slid open.
"Wah, what kind of monster uses his tongue to pick its nose!" Josa complained
"Pipe down; I have enough of a headache thanks to you," Hitaru said, massaging his head.
"Well, it isn't my fault that beast threw a gigantic booger at you," Josa said.
"Well, you dodged it," Kiyo said.
"That doesn't help!" Josa protested.
I walked out and greeted them.
"So I take it you were in the library?" Hitaru asked.
"How did you know?" I asked.
"We never dusted the library, and you're covered in debris. Kiyo, you're in charge of doing so." Hitaru pointed out.
"Oh," I started dusting myself off, "by the way, I chanced on this book which gave me information about 'Kijo', what is it?"
"Kijo? Kijo is like a power boost, but it affects on the user depending on how much they use it, sometimes it results in death if overused." Hitaru explained.
"Yikes," I responded.
"Yikes indeed, we had a soldier in our unit, a talented one but he died cause of over usage of the Kijo, this is why we refrain from using it," Joso said sadly.
"Anyway, it's time for dinner, Josa, it's your turn to cook," Kiyo reminded.
"Yes sir!" Josa saluted before running off to the kitchen.
"Josa sure is taking a long time," Joso complained.
BOOM!
"Oi Josa, that's the last time I ask you to crack an egg! How does it even explode?!" Hitaru yelled.
"Logic doesn't apply to this unit, does it?" I asked.
"Nope, weird huh?" Joso replied.
"So, Fijoku, tell us about your childhood," Kiyo asked.
"Well, my childhood wasn't fun but I remember this incident very clearly except for some details. When I was young, I was bullied often because I was an orphan, but this man, I can't remember how he looked like, saved me. The next day, he saved my again but died as a result, the only thing I remember about him is his brown and yellow eyes, it was strange yet comforting," I explained.
Joso's and Kiyo's eyes widened and looked at each other.
"What's wrong?" I started to worry, did I say something wrong?
"N-nothing," Kiyo said.
"Dinner is served~" Josa cheered.
"It's not much, but should be enough to fill your stomachs," Hitaru said.
"Wah, unagi! Captain you're the best! I wish you were my father!" Kiyo said.
"Hah, dream on," Hitaru replied, a snicker plastered onto his face.
"You're mean, but having you as my captain is good enough!" Kiyo replied. All of us started laughing.
Boy, I could love being in this unit…
"What kind of crap is that?!" Joso shouted.
"It's my crap and I like it, suck it up!" Josa replied.
"Why you little…" Joso and Josa then started fighting.
"Why are they fighting?" I asked.
"It's a daily routine, they find something stupid and then this happens, you'll get used to it eventually, hey, aren't you suppose to be working on the walker?" Kiyo asked.
"Oh, uh… No?" I lied.
"Liar, get your ass there and start working!" Kiyo ordered.
"Right away!" I sprinted away.
-Ring-
"Hmm, it's a letter, Kiyo, do me a favor and get it for me," Hitaru said.
Kiyo returned with a pink colored envelope.
"Must be from the spring unit. Hmm… Ah! The season celebration is coming soon," Hitaru said.
Joso and Josa stopped their fighting, "Season celebration?"
"Yes, it's next Monday," Hitaru added.
Everyone cheered, as for me I just kept 'walking'.
I hung onto the handles, completely dried out of my energy.
-clap- -clap-
"Well, you succeeded in building your stamina, congrats," Hitaru applauded.
I wheezed, not sure if Hitaru understood my message.
"Now then, let's begin your training; you will fight those two losers over there, followed by Kiyo then me, understand?" Hitaru said.
"Yes," I replied
"Oi, we're not losers!" The twins said in unison.
"You're the weakest here, therefore you're the losers," Hitaru said.
The two pouted.
Josa walked out, with a wooden sword and got into a position. I too did the same.
"Ready, set, fight!"
In 10 minutes, Josa was down, I hit him on the head and he passes out, no wonder he's considered a loser.
Joso was next, and the same results…again.
Kiyo was standing before me, I started praying, but I managed to beat him, though it was slightly tougher.
"My, you've already beaten three of them, great improvement, but I doubt you can beat me," Hitaru said.
Beating three of them has already boosted my confidence, "I will prove you wrong,"
"We shall see," Hitaru pulled his coat off, revealing a white sleeveless shirt.
When we begun, I started the first attack, but Hitaru just swung his sword in front of him and stopped the attack. I sent a few more hits, but Hitaru just kept standing there, blocking every attack. I was tired like shit, so Hitaru took the opportunity to swing at me, I stumbled and he held the tip of his sword to my face, "Dead,"
"You were too over-confident, and that will lead to your downfall," Hitaru said.
I started stammering in my speech. The three just sat at the floor, not a tad bit shocked.
"See, I told you captain would defeat him," Kiyo said.
"I'm convinced, again," Joso replied.
"No one has ever beaten captain, so the results are quite predictable," Josa said.
I fell onto the tatami mat, trying to catch my breath. How the hell is this guy so strong?