This is a story that a friend came up with and asked me to post for them.

Plz R&R for me and them.

Finding the Truth

I stood under the trees the moon illuminating the man in front of me. The wind picked up and whistled loudly through the trees. A lake lay to the left of me, still and calm. I look up as clouds cover the moon and it starts to drizzle. My gloves became soaked as it rained harder. The wind died down and everything went silent.

The lake shimmered; it looked as calm as I felt but one wrong move would disrupt the calmness. I removed my gloves as they stuck to my hand, restricting my movements. My aqua eyes flashed in the darkness as he smiled at me. He started walking forward and, looking into the boys angry eyes, said "I'm back, aren't you happy to see me?".

* * * * *

I sat up in bed, panting slightly. 'It was a dream' I thought, rubbing my head. The memory of that day, just a week ago, still vivid in my mind, the day my father returned and sought to end my life. I thought I had escaped him but he had found me again to finish what he started. I tossed my sheets back and padded softly out of the room to stand on the veranda. The cool night air was refreshing on my skin.

I still didn't know what to do. I could sell the house and travel or I could just stay until the money runs out. Then I would die. I smiled slightly thinking my father would be happy. He was still hiding somewhere; he had run away before I could destroy him and rid myself of his filth. I looked up at the sky as the sun started to rise. Sighing, I walk back inside and change into my day clothes. 'Today's the day I find a job' I thought, walking outside and roaming the streets.

By noon by stomach was rumbling, I had had no luck in getting a job. No one wanted me. I turn to go back to my house when I hear a noise. I spot a person running full pelt toward me, a man's body lying on the ground in a pool of blood behind him. He is wearing dark clothes that cover him from his eyes down but I can tell he is smiling.

I see him draw a knife out as he comes closer, warning people to stay away or be killed. I get this urge to stand up to him and my body reacts instantly. I take a defensive position, knowing that martial arts lessons were about to pay off, and stand in the persons direct path. I see his eyes widen in surprise before narrowing. He speeds up and gets ready for the kill.

As he draws near I balance on the balls of my feet, ready to move at an instants notice. He lunges once he is within range, his aim true and that of a professional killer. I see the swipe and spun out of the blades way before driving my fist into his chin, knocking him back. He flipped over and stared at me, as if memorising my face, before running off.

Shocked, I stood there, still in my defensive position. "Are you okay?" asked a voice, coming from the right of me. I jump about three feet in the air and turn around. The girl falls down in surprise as I land softly on my feet. Shaking my head I realise what happened and quickly offered my hand to help her up.

She accepts the hand and I pull her up. "Sorry about that" I say. The girl laughs and replies "that's okay, you didn't mean it", then she waves and walks off. Watching her walk off I realise that quite a few people are staring so I run back to my house and shut the door.

I walk out to the veranda again and just stand there in the shade of the trees, relaxing my body. "How did you dodge my killing stroke?" asked a voice from behind me. I jumped again, spinning around and looking at the person behind me. As I take in his appearance I see that he is the same person from the market area, except he has removed his face mask.

I stare, expecting him to try to attack me again, but he doesn't, he just sits there. He continues staring at me with his piercing blue eyes. "Can you stop staring at me, it's creepy" I say, walking towards him now that I know he won't attack, and sit down in front of him, about a metre away.

He blinks and apologises. I shake my head, not believing that I am comfortable talking to a killer. "Why do you want to know how I dodged you strike?" I ask, looking at him and watching for a sign of movement or reaction. He just looks at me and says "because no one has ever dodged it before and it was at full power". He is frowning now, examing me.

My mind flashes back to the attack as I say "I saw it coming". The man or, as I notice he is about my age, boy looked at me disbelievingly. Then he grinned and stood up. Instantly I was on my feet and ready to defend any attack. He laughed and said "relax, I'm not here to kill you but I do want to see if you can dodge it again".

I watch as he picks up a wooden pole, one that I use for training. Tossing it about like a sword he says "see, I'll use this so I don't kill you". I nod, not taking my eyes of the pole or him. He watches my eyes move about, noting they were the eyes of a trained fighter. Smiling, he walks back until he is satisfied. "It was about this far away wasn't it?" he asks. I nod again, still not taking my eyes of him.

He closes his eyes for a minute before opening them, I can tell he is visualising that I am an enemy that he has to kill. He speeds towards me, putting the pole in preparation for the killing stroke again. My eyes follow his movements and then everything seems to be in slow motion except me.

I dodge his stroke again but don't attack him; I just step back and allow him to stop moving. He stops about a metre away and turns around, his eyes full of disbelief. "How? It's not possible" he says quietly. I cross my arms and say "test complete, I can easily dodge your attack. Anything else you want?". He is still staring but shakes his head and sits down.

I decide to ask what has been on my mind since I saw him. "What are you?" I say, and he looks at me. "I am a ninja, trained to kill and move silently" he replies, as if it is his pride and joy. Now I stare at him, 'maybe this is my chance but I doubt I will be allowed, better not to ask' I think sadly. Then he kneels in front of me.

"We haven't been properly introduced, I trust you enough to tell you my real name. I am Jace, ninja" he says. Shocked I don't reply for a second before realising I must reply in the same courtesy. "I am Athrin, son of Leon" I said and, when he gave me a questioning look, asked "what?". I watched as the boy shook his head before he stood up.

He walked over to me and said "I'll be back tomorrow night, be on the veranda". I look up at him and nod, asking "why?". He just smiled and said "you'll see" before running out the door and disappearing out of sight. I walked to the door and looked out, I could still see Jace running. Then I looked at the sky, noting that night had fallen and I still needed food.

Sighing, I walked outside and wandered down the street to a bar. I walked in and, after receiving a distrusting look from the bartender, ate a burger with a drink of water. Once I had finished I walked home, it was almost past midnight by the time I arrived at my house.

I walked in, locked my door and crawled into bed. I snuggled under the covers and went to sleep, dreaming of the ninja boy, Jace. I slowly opened my eyes as the sun pierced my eyelids. Groaning I rolled over and tossed the covers back. I stood up and stretched before standing on the veranda, realising it was just after noon by looking at the sun.

I decided to do as Jace had said and went out to the veranda to meditate. I sat down in the shade and controlled my breath, slowing it down until it was barely audible. My muscles relaxed and my mind went blank, all my other sensations were very active. I heard a person running toward me and then it stopped somewhere to my left. It barely moved but I could feel the knife been thrown at me so I leaned back and allowed it to pass.

A rustle of leaves and 'it' was gone, leaving me to wonder who or what it was and why it tried to attack me. I sighed, 'oh well' I thought, must not have been important since they didn't stay and chat. Smiling to myself I relaxed again, listening to the world around me.

Soon night fell and I was still sitting on the veranda, the world forgotten except the sounds that surrounded me. Then I heard the rustle again and knew someone was watching. Once again I sighed before speaking softly "why not come and join me?". The rustle came again and footsteps walked toward me. My ears picked up another set following and closely related to the first footsteps.

"You didn't tell me we were having visitors Jace" I said, opening my eyes and taking in the man following Jace closely. He wasn't much older than himself, possibly around twenty but still fit by the looks of him. "This is my leader and teacher, Aerin" said Jace.

I stood up and nodded to Aerin, who nodded in return. "The name's Athrin, son of Leon" I said and noticed that, like Jace, he gave me a questioning look. "Nice to meet you, Athrin" Aerin said. He and Jace walked up to the veranda and stood next to me.

I looked at Jace and raised my eyebrows, he just shook his head and said "don't ask, all will be explained". I sighed and motioned for them to sit down so they could talk. "Athrin, where is your family?" asked Aerin, his green eyes looked at me and I managed to hide my reaction.

I didn't say anything for awhile but in the end said "my mum and brother are dead and my father is somewhere in the world, looking for me". Aerin and Jace looked at me strangely and I added "he wants to kill me"

"He went out one night and came back changed, he acted like he didn't know me and that I am to be blamed for his miserable life. He tried to kill me but I managed to escape. After that night I trained hard and the next time he ran away before I could kill him", I ended my story and looked at them, watching the emotions flickering across their faces.

I shrug, "don't worry, I'm used to it by now" I said. Aerin shook his head, "it isn't that, I was wondering if your father's last name was Shinobi?" he asked. I nodded and said "Yes, he was Leon Shinobi and I'm Decoder Shinobi, shortened to Athrin for people who want to live".

Aerin and Jace looked at each other than at me. I narrowed my eyes, not liking what their faces were betraying. "If there is something about my father you know then tell me" I said. Just then the moon went behind the clouds, enveloping my house in darkness. I could see Jace and Aerin and I knew that they could only see my aqua eyes flashing in the darkness.

The moon appeared again and they were bathed in moonlight but my body was still in shadows. I noticed that Aerin and Jace both shuddered slightly and wondered why, I had realised that people tend to do that when it was dark.

"You are definitely Goldeneyes son" said Aerin, looking in wonder and trying to hide the fear in his eyes. "How do you know my father and what was he?" I asked again, glaring at them until they took a step back. I heard Jace mutter "this isn't the same guy I first met" and grinned. He had only seen the kind side, even now I was only slightly showing my true potential.

Aerin sighed and looked at Jace, nodding. Jace nodded back and said "Your father Leon Shinobi was also known as Goldeneyes since his eyes were the only thing you saw before he killed you. He was an assassination ninja, trained to be a killer. You are just like him, I can see the same thing I saw when I first met your father, the eerie calmness in his eyes".

I looked at him and nodded, 'that would explain a lot, why he was so good in killing' I thought. I sighed and relaxed. I stepped into the moonlight, noticing the looks on Aerin and Jace's faces as my looks and personality changed, to their eyes.

"That explains some of why he could dodge my strike, I mean, Leon couldn't so how can he" said Jace, muttering under his breath. I looked at him and said "I heard that". Jace grinned and said "Aerin, can we test him and see if he follows in his fathers' footsteps and has the skills to be a ninja?". Aerin nodded and then, looking at me, said "if you want to".

I looked at him and nodded. "If I get in, will I need this house?" I asked. Aerin shook his head and I smiled, 'perfect'. I walked over to Aerin and Jace and said "let the tests begin". They nodded and ran out, expecting me to follow. I picked up the one thing I always had with me, my backpack.

I stood on the veranda, watching them run away in the distance before speeding after them. I caught up pretty easy and noticed the looks I received from both Jace and Aerin. As I jogged next to them I asked "What?" and they just shook their heads. I followed them until we reached a mansion.

I stared as we entered, the house was massive and the yards surrounding it were huge as well. "Welcome to my house" said Aerin, letting me inside. My mouth opened and closed a few times before snapping shut. It was massive inside, the tiles were dark grey and the staircase had a beautiful blue carpet.

I saw Aerin motion me to follow him and Jace, who was grinning at me, outside. "We will test you here" said Aerin, standing in the doorway to let me pass. I walked out and stopped, the grass fields were endless. There was an archery field, a track field and other training rooms, there was even a dojo near the back.

I smiled and said "it is beautiful" to Jace and Aerin. They nodded and Jace said "lets begin" before leading me toward the track. Aerin followed after a man came out of the house and handed him two folders and a pen. "I will keep track of your scores and results, Jace will tell you what to do, begin" Aerin said before sitting down and watching me.

I placed my backpack near him and, as I was about to walk over to Jace, said "don't touch". Aerin smiled and nodded before making a shooing motion and writing something down. I sighed and walked over to where Jace was waiting. "Ready?" he asked, I nodded.

I followed Jace over to the edge of the track; it ran all the way around the yard, to the fence and back again, probably five miles in length. "First I want you to run around this track as fast as you can, don't hold back" said Jace. I nodded and breathed deep, standing at the starting line. I focused my mind and then looked at Jace.

He held up his hand and then dropped it saying "go". I raced off, deciding that I would hold back a little, even though he had asked me not to. I jogged around the track and finished the lap quite quickly. I stopped in front of Jace, who was staring at the timer in his hand. "How long?" I asked. "Seven minutes twenty" Jace replied, looking at me with wide eyes. I shrugged and said "Damn, that was slow" before walking up to him and saying "next". Jace nodded and walked over to the target field. There were targets all at different ranges and at the starting line was a table with knives, a bow and arrow, a spear and a training pole made of hard wood.

I grin and look over at Jace. "What do I need to do?" I asked. He indicated the weapons on the table and said "Throw them at the targets, each weapon in order from left to right. First one is for the closet target and the last for the furthest. Simple as that really". I nodded and gave a small smile.

I picked up the two knives first and poised my arm ready to throw. The first target was about ten metres away. Drawing my arm back I let the knives go at once. Judging wind and weight before throwing. They landed with a solid thump, one on each side of the centre circle. Also about where a person's eyes would be.

Next I picked up the spear, measuring it's weight before throwing it into the target about twenty metres away. The spear stuck into the wood about a centimetre above the centre circle. "Damn, miss judged the weight" I mumbled before picking up the training pole.

I looked at Jace questionly. He indicated a spinning throw, making the pole spin around like a Frisbee. Nodding, I fiddled with the pole until it was held lightly between the tips of my fingers. Spinning it around my head until it had enough speed I twirled it around my body. Then I let it go, it spun through the air so fast it was just visible before thudding into the wood where it stuck, quivering.

It had so much force behind it that it had embedded itself into the wood. "My bad" I said before picking up the bow and single arrow. It was a long bow, harder to draw back and more power in its release. Judging the wind pattern I loosed the arrow and watched it soar the fifty metres until it thudded into the wood, a bullseye.

Jace watched as I shook my head and I looked up at him, a question forming in my eyes. He looked away and wrote down some notes before leading the way to where Aerin was waiting.

Jace handed Aerin the notes and Aerin looked over them quickly, his eyes widening with every page that turned. I didn't understand his surprise, it was pretty bad compared to my normal scores. I studied Jace while I was waiting. He looked like me, a bit taller and he had sea blue eyes. He also had red instead of silver streaks in his black hair, whereas mine was a blue/black. There was something familiar about him but I could place my finger on it.

"Jace take Athrin to the room next to yours" said Aerin, but he as he waved us off I saw three fingers crossed, meaning 'meet me in an hour'.

Pretending not to notice, I followed Jace upstairs. He left me once he showed me my room and disappeared into his. I lay down on the bed and pretended to sleep for an hour. Then I heard the door open and someone look down at me. I resisted the urge to hit whoever it was but stayed still. "Hard to believe really" said a voice; I recognised it as Jace's. He brushed a stray hair from my face and then left.

I rolled over and stood up. Then I grabbed my dark clothes and tied my belt around my waist. I left my weapons behind, hidden under the floorboards. I ran out and up the stairs to the roof. I leaned over the side to see where they were.

A light shone from the lounge room window so I climbed down the wall near it and stopped right under the window to listen. The window was slightly open so I settled down to listen.

"He is definitely Leon's son, but he has even greater powers and skills that he doesn't realise yet" said Aerin. I heard someone pacing and assumed it was Jace. "I still can't believe he is my brother, I guessed it when I saw him but he said that his family was dead and his father wants to kill him" said Jace, coming close to the window.

My breath caught. My brother was alive. "You can't blame him, Leon told him that you were dead. I knew he was your brother once I saw him and read about his skills. They match yours but since he trained at a younger age by himself he bypasses your skills a bit" said Aerin.

I sat still under the window and then climbed the wall. My gaze was full of anger and my vision was tinted with red. I ran down the stairs and stopped outside the door, listening a bit longer. "He doesn't realise what he is and what our father did to us both, the reason we have such great skills and these extra powers. It is because..." I heard Jace say before I slammed the doors open.

Aerin and Jace both stopped and stared at me. Aerin took in my clothes and furious look. "You heard" was all he said. I glared at Jace and he backed away slightly. "Pray tell me why you didn't think to mention that we are brothers a bit earlier or come by the house to tell me that you weren't dead" I practically yelled at him.

Jace looked at Aerin who sighed. "Sit Athrin, and I'll tell you" he said. I sat on the floor and stared at him. "When you were born, you and Jace's mother died in childbirth. Leon kicked Jace out of the house when he was five and you were four, saying he only needed one son and that Jace was useless" started Aerin but Jace said "let me tell it".

Jace at across from me and I saw the sadness in his eyes. "When I was kicked out by our father I wandered the streets and slept in the alleyways where we played. Aerin found me and trained me once he found out I was Leon's son. I thought you were dead because he showed me a child's body that was about your age but too bloodied to be recognized. That is why I never came back to the house. I have lived here with Aerin for about eleven years now" Jace stopped talking and looked up at me.

I felt a tear slid down my face and mumbled "I have a brother, my brother isn't dead", then I was crying quietly. Jace crawled over and pulled me into his lap, hugging me close. I buried my head against his shoulder. Jace leaned down and whispered "I used to do this when you cried when we were younger". I grinned up at him and lightly punched him.

I pulled back out of his embrace and looked at them and said "next time just tell me". They laughed and I hugged Jace again, his body and smell so familiar. Aerin leaned over and said "I have a proposition for you Athrin, how would you and Jace like to live here and be assassination brothers?" I nodded and so did Jace.

"Aerin, can I remove the contacts now?" asked Jace. Aerin laughed and nodded. Jace smiled and removed the contacts. "What the? These are green. Wait a minute" I said before looking up. Jace's eyes were no longer sea blue but silver with large blue flecks and the pupil slitted. "And time to remove yours, I can't believe our father didn't tell you" said Jace.

I let him touch my eyelids and when I opened them, I could see everything in detail. "What happened?" I asked. Jace smiled and said "I removed the film that we had placed on us at young ages; mine wore off because no one replenished them but Leon did with yours. Go and look in the mirror and see your eyes for the colour they really are".

I got up and looked in the mirror, my eyes were no longer a dull grey but they were a bright silver with black flecks through them, the pupils slitted. Jace came up behind me and I could see we really were brothers, almost identical. "We are demons, mostly half demons when in human form" Jace said. My eyes widened and I stared at him.

"Demons?" I asked, happy but surprised. Jace nodded and looked over at Aerin. Aerin pressed a button and a wall opened to reveal a room. Jace walked in and a clear panel slid across. "I will show you my true form, then we will release yours. We are bound my limiters. Ours are headbands, but at the moment invisible. If taken off we go demon" Jace said before pulling off the gold headband that was now visible.

He let it drop and then he was surrounded by a blue aura, pulsing around him. A yell could be heard and when the smoke cleared I saw Jace. His body was now a golden colour, a fox tail and ears were on his body and fangs could be seen. His eyes were now catlike and his nails longer. His eyes were no longer flecked with blue, they were an electric blue colour.

"Wow" was all I said. Aerin pressed a button and mumbled a few words. Jace's headband flew up and encircled his head again. Jace changed completely, going back to human form. He sighed and stretched. Aerin opened the door and Jace walked out smiling.

"What demon am I?" I asked curiously. Jace shrugged and said "We don't know yet but I am the third strongest demon in the world. Shall we see what you are". I nodded but asked one more question "Does it hurt?". Jace laughed and shook his head.

I stepped in and he told me just to remove my silver headband and the change will happen.

(Third Person view)

Jace watched as Athrin walked in and the panel slid shut behind him. Athrin turned around and smiled, trusting his judgment. He removed his headband, letting it drop to the floor. Then the smile on his face fell, going from smiling to one in absolute shock and pain. "Aerin! Put it back on, it is hurting him" Jace yelled. Aerin was mumbling but nothing happened. Aerin's eyes were wide in terror.

Hope you enjoyed it and plz R&R

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