Always There
It was
early morning; people were walking back and forth going to the market or the
blacksmith, pretty much ignoring the eight-year-old boy standing on the side of
the crowd, flute at hand. He raised it
to his mouth and began to play a melody.
It was a family melody, one that he knew by heart, and that he played
now, not for pleasure, or practice, but for a more worthy cause.
The people
slowly began to pay attention to him and noticed his small blue satchel placed
at his feet. Some people glared at the
poor boy, trying to earn money by people listening to his music, while others
gladly paid a sliver coin or two, and encouraged him. They knew him well, him and his family, and so were genuinely
pleased by his soft tones and playful sounds.
Amiboshi
kept his eyes closed, but would always know where the people were around
him. He could feel their life energies
through the air that which his music also played on. He played with all his heart, knowing that he had to make enough
for his family. The war in Kutou was
hard on everyone, though it hadn't reached the little city of Tenryo yet; they
felt it all the same.
Amiboshi
would come here, from his little home in the country, and play to earn money
for his poor family, which consisted of himself, his twin brother, and his
parents. He played now on a flute that
he had made on his own, by drilling holes in a straight stick and smoothing out
any rough edges. It was a simple flute,
but Amiboshi was proud of it.
After a
while, the crowd grew smaller, and Amiboshi ceased his music, and bent down to
count his earnings. He smiled and
carefully tucked it in his belt, before running off back home. It wasn't too far to reach his house. A small cottage that his father had built in
his earlier years and which sat up on a hill, overlooking the city.
Amiboshi
came in and closed the door behind him.
"Mom! Dad! I'm home!"
"Shhh." His mother quieted him. "You're brother isn't up yet." She smiled.
"I am glad you are home though."
She gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"Your father is in the room."
Amiboshi
nodded and trotted off to one of the two back rooms. "Dad! I made 30
today!" He dumped the money on the foot
of the bed.
The man in
the bed smiled. "That's great son! I'm so proud of you."
Amiboshi
beamed. "Maybe tonight we can have meat
with dinner?" He suggested.
"That is a
possibility, but we must be careful with our money. I want you and Suboshi to go down into town today and see into
perhaps getting a mule, or a small horse.
We may need it for the harvest this year. It will make things easier."
His father suggested.
"Alright." Amiboshi agreed. "I'm going to go wake up Suboshi." He left the money on the bed and went into the other back room. His brother laid on the bed besides his own,
sound asleep. Well, maybe not sound
asleep. He was snoring so loud,
Amiboshi was surprised the town didn't hear him by now.
He shook
his twin. "Hey, Suboshi. Time to get up." No response. "Suboshi." Still nothing. Amiboshi sighed, but then grinned as an idea came to mind. He took out his flute, which also hung on
his belt, and placed his fingers on the holes.
Taking a deep breath, he blew with all his might, letting out a loud,
high-pitched noise.
"Ahh!" Suboshi was up and wide awake after hearing
that sound. "By the Great Gods, do you
always have to play that thing to wake me up?"
He grumbled and threw off his covers.
Amiboshi
smirked. "I tried the quiet approach,
but you were out cold."
Suboshi
glared at his twin. "So, did you go
into town yet?"
Amiboshi
nodded. "Yep, I made 30 coins today."
"You get
that one song right yet?" Suboshi
questioned. His twin shook his head.
"Nope, not
yet. It's so hard to concentrate and
play the melody at the same time! You'd
think controlling some minds would be easy, considering all the stupid things
people seem to do now-a-days." He
commented. "Like this war…seems
pointless to me."
Suboshi
heartily agreed. "Let's just hope it
stays far away from us, right?"
"Right."
"Kids! Breakfast is ready!" Their mother called.
"Coming!" Suboshi called back. He patted his twin on
the back. "Hey, don't worry. You'll get the song down."
"I
guess." Then he and Suboshi went into
the kitchen and ate.
Suboshi
wiped a hand over his forehead to get the sweat away from his eyes, and give
him better vision. He held his
Ryuseisui in both hands and looked straight ahead at his target. It was a small circle, carved into the tree
in front of him. He knew he could hit
it, but he wanted to do it less with his hand skill, and more with his mind.
Ryuseisui
was actually a very dangerous weapon.
It was a long, whip-like rope that had two balls on either end. Underneath each ball, razors were set and
once the balls were spun, aiming could be controlled with a very focused
mind. That is what Suboshi wanted to
accomplish. He wanted to be able to
control his weapon with his mind, aim as deadly and accurate as ever. But it wasn't easy.
Grunting
with the effort, Suboshi threw forward his ryuseisui, focusing his mind, and
aiming at the tree. There was a bang
and a single mark was made just inches away from the circle. Suboshi was ecstatic. "Alright!
I almost got it down!" He called
back his weapon and tried again.
Inside,
Amiboshi sat with their father, playing his flute to his father's
instruction. "Now, to control other's
minds through your music, you must direct the music to them with your own
mind." His father explained.
Amiboshi
nodded and focused on the mouse in front of him. He continued to play, eyes closed, but he concentrated on his own
instructions…
Go away…
The
Mouse sat there eating.
Go away!
Still
nothing.
Amiboshi
concentrated more and sent the music to the creature carefully. Now!
The
Mouse squeals and ran back into his hole, abandoning its feast.
"Very
good! You're getting better!" His father exclaimed.
Amiboshi
smiled. "It's harder than it
looks." He admitted, breathing heavily.
His father
got up and went over to one of the drawers.
"I want you to have this." He
took out a long red and gold box. He
came back and sat next to his son and handed it to him.
Amiboshi
frowned.
"Open it."
"Okay." The little boy opened the unhinged side of
the box and was instantly struck with awe.
Inside the velvet laced box, was a handcrafted flute.
"That used
to be mine. But I want you to have it,
Amiboshi."
Amiboshi
carefully took out the flute and examined it in shock. Tiny markings were engraved all along its
length. The Seiryu marking that he
himself had, was also etched in among the markings.
"I made
those markings because they signify you and your brother as celestial warriors
of Seiryu. You will grow up and be one
of the defenders of the Priestess of Seiryu."
His father explained.
"W-warrior? Me?"
It was almost too much.
"Someday." His father patted him on the back. "But not today. Don't worry yourself."
Amiboshi nodded and smiled.
Suboshi and Amiboshi ran down the
hill and into town to see if they could get their father a good field animal to
work in the harvest. Amiboshi told
Suboshi about their destiny, as told by their father, and Suboshi was shocked.
"We get to protect a
priestess?" Suboshi exclaimed.
Amiboshi rolled his eyes. "You really think she wants eight-year olds
protecting her? I said when we get
older, my disillusioned twin."
Suboshi grinned. "Then we'll battle to win her heart?"
"I am not a
fighter. I am a composer." Amiboshi pointed out. "Besides…" He grinned back. "You'd lose." Then he ran off to town.
"Me? Lose? You wish!" Suboshi ran after him.
They laughed and played tag through
town, slowly making their way to the ranch on the far side of town.
Suboshi took lead and turn to take
a short cut through an alleyway…
"Hey, look who think they can waltz
through our alley for free."
Suboshi froze and turned to see five gruffy looking teens coming towards
him, out of the shadows.
"Who are you?" Suboshi questioned in a sharp tone.
"Don't speak that way to us!" One growled.
"Better pay
up, now!" Another said, inching closer.
Suboshi backed up. "No! This is our money!" He clutched his father's satchel close to
him.
The lead alley teen made a
fist. "Then I guess we'll have to take
it by force!" All five raised their
fists and closed in on Suboshi…
When behind them came a high-pitched
squeal. Suboshi looked past them and
saw his brother, standing on top of some discarded boxes. The boys covered their ears and cried out in
pain. Having gotten their attention,
Amiboshi ceased his high-pitched note. "Leave him alone!"
"So, another
trespasser?" One asked.
"We're
gonna have to teach you a lesson." The
spilt up between the two boys and Amiboshi saw his brother take out his
ryuseisui.
"No! Suboshi!"
Amiboshi flipped off the boxed, over the boys, and landed besides
Suboshi. He wouldn't leave his brother
to defend himself. They depended on
each other. Amiboshi's blue eyes were
cast down for a moment. What do I
do? He saw Suboshi clutching the
satchel with the money. That's what
they are after…
Amiboshi
quickly reached down and took the satchel from his brother, and back flipped to
the top of the fence behind them. "You
want the money! Come and get it!" He jumped down on the other side and ran
off.
"Get back
here, kid!" The leader shoved Suboshi
against the wall, and he with the other four boys, climbed up the fence and
pursued Amiboshi.
"Brother!" Suboshi called out. He gasped and looked
down on his arm, where a single kanji was etched on it.
South.
"Brother…"
He knew where they were headed.
And that's
where he was going too.
Amiboshi ducked down another
Backstreet, attempting to loose the thugs behind him, but they showed more
stamina than their physique revealed.
But he wasn't tired yet. He still
had a lot of energy yet in him.
He bent his legs and made an inhuman
leap over another fence, slowly inching his way to the south side of town.
He ran through a long passageway
towards his goal…when a foot came out of an adjacent alleyway, tripping
him. He fell, face first, into the
merciless stone floor. The alley teens
from before came forward and pulled Amiboshi to his feet by his hair. He gritted his teeth and glared at them.
The leader pulled his arm back and
punched Amiboshi in the stomach, making him double over in pain. "That's what you get for disobeyin' us."
"Now hand over the money!" His accomplice said.
"Go eat horse crap." Came Amiboshi's reply. He received a heart-wrenching blow to his
back. He fell to his knees.
"Ryuseisui!"
Suddenly, the leader cried out in
pain. The boys whipped around and
spotted the eight-year old twin.
"Leave my brother alone!" Suboshi swung his weapon again, making a
gash in the leader's leg.
The leader fell to the ground, and
the other teens helped him up. He
glared at the two, as Suboshi ran to his brother's side, helping him to his
feet. "That wasn't too smart kid." The leader took out a knife. "I'm going to gut you myself and feed your
gizzards to the birds." He growled and
walked forward.
Both boys gasped in growing
fear. Thinking quickly, Amiboshi took
out his father's flute…
Suboshi nodded. "You can do it."
Amiboshi put the musical instrument
to his mouth, and played the song he had before, focusing it on the boys. They seemed to stop in confusion, then
advance.
"Come on, brother!" Suboshi encouraged.
Amiboshi focused with all his
might, and directed the sound to the boys…
When he found the music swirling
around them, with his mind's eyes, in a high enough concentration, he said one
word…
Die!
The boys stopped in their tracks
and held their heads in pain. "What's going on?" The leader said, dropping his knife.
Suboshi waited until all five boys
had fainted, before he pulled Amiboshi by the arm and out to safety. Both boys looked back at the unconscious
teens, somewhat saddened by the recent events…and ran for home.
Suboshi and Amiboshi didn't stop
until they reached the base of the hill…where a frightening scene greeted them.
About ten or so soldiers stood at
their home's doorstep, and proceeded to stab their parents, right through the
stomach. The world froze, and the
bodies fell limp to the ground.
"NO!!!" Amiboshi screamed.
"Dad! Mom!" Suboshi cried out,
both boys running up to their house, non-stop.
The soldiers watched as the boys
came up and stood in front of their parents' dead bodies. "Stay back!" Suboshi warned, taking out his ryuseisui.
"We have been ordered to take their
town by force." One said, monotone.
"Leave us now!" Amiboshi shouted, glaring at the intruders.
The soldiers laughed. "How would you like to feel what it means to
suffer?" He took out his sword, covered
in the parents' blood.
"Why don't you tell me?" Amiboshi said coldly, taking out his
flute. He began to play the same melody
he had used with the mouse…
The same melody he had use on the
ally teens…
And now he would kill these
murders…
"Ryuseisui!" Suboshi shouted, attacking the soldiers, as
they covered their ears in pain, as the music tore apart their heart, mind and
soul.
Amiboshi did not cease to play, as
his brother attacked mercilessly with his razors, cutting and slicing at the
soldiers.
When all ten were dead, both boys,
gathered a few of their belongings, took one last look at their house…
…And ran away.
Nakago came
out from behind the house, with his second in command. "Shall I have a warrant sent out on those
two, general?" His officer questioned.
Nakago
watched the two boys run down the hill, and away from the town below. "No…leave them to me." There's something strange about them…
Amiboshi
and Suboshi used some of their money and bought some bread and salami in the
next village for a small meal. They
huddled close, covering themselves in a couple of blankets, and found a small
wooden box to cover themselves out from the pouring rain.
"Brother,
I'm cold…" Suboshi whimpered.
"I know…so
am I." Amiboshi held his brother
closer, trying to warm his cold skin with his own body heat. I also miss mom and dad…Why did this have to
happen? Why can't we just live in
peace?
Just
then, loud footsteps were heard, and Amiboshi peaked his head outside their
flimsy shelter, only to cringe back as a tall man, with long blond hair,
wearing a silver helmet, and dark blue eyes, stood before them.
"Do you
long for shelter?" The man, Nakago,
said.
Both boys
peered out.
"Do you
long for food and safety?"
Suboshi
bought into it right away, but Amiboshi held him back.
Nakago
smirked. "What about peace? To be far away from this war?"
Amiboshi
glared at Nakago. "And how will you
give us that?" He reached for his
flute.
Nakago saw
the move. "I noticed your instrument." Amiboshi gasped. "You and your twin will be very useful to me." He held out his hand. "Will you come with me?"
Suboshi got
out of his brother's grip and took Nakago's offered hand.
Nakago sew
the marking on his arm. "Suboshi?"
Suboshi
gasped. "How did-…"
"You are
one of the Seiryu seven." Nakago
answered.
Amiboshi
gasped, grabbed his brother, and moved away from Nakago, taking out his flute
and getting into a fighting stance.
"How'd you know that?" He
demanded.
Nakago took
off his helmet and revealed his own blue colored marking on his forehead. "I am Nakago, also one of the Seiryu
Seven." He paused. "Will you come with me? We must all stick together."
Suboshi
looked pleadingly at his brother, silently convincing him to agree, not wanting
to be alone anymore. Amiboshi slowly
nodded in agreement. Suboshi beamed and
took his brother's hand. "Always there
for each other."
Amiboshi
smiled and nodded. "Always together."
Nakago put
his helmet back on. "Now…we must be
off." He walked down the streets, both
boys following behind him. They are
two more of the Seiryu Seven. I will
never tell them that I was the one who ordered the killing of their
parents. These two will be useful to me
when the summoning of Seiryu commences…
A/N: Okay, that was my little explanation about how Suboshi
and Amiboshi came to have some of their skills, and how they met up with a
bonehead like Nakago (Can you tell I don't like Nakago?) Hope you liked it!
