Komatsu: The Ice Chronicles

Run!

Oh my god! He's dead!! Help!!

Help us!! Please!!!

No, STOP!!! STOP!!!

The village is on fire!! Run!!

Komatsu, Komatsu…

Hey Komatsu! You're shivering…

Komatsu, are you alright?

Komatsu woke up with a start in a cold sweat. He gazed around the room, trying to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He slowly looked down to his hands. They were trembling uncontrollably. He then noticed that someone had been shaking him. Komatsu glanced over to the right hand side of the bed. It was his little sister, Yukio. "Big brother! Big brother! Are you o.k.? You were twitching and talking in your sleep…" Komatsu held his head. "Oh, man! I've got a major headache…" Komatsu glanced back to his little sister, "I guess I had a bad dream. I didn't mean to scare you." Komatsu noticed his sister had lowered her head in concern. "O.k. I give. What's bothering you?" Yukio looked up, "It's the same dream isn't it?" Komatsu paused, and then nodded. "I don't get it! It's always the same one, over and over again." "Why don't you tell mom about it?" asked Yukio. Komatsu quickly slid out of bed and kneeled down to Yukio, "No, no! I can't tell her! She'd freak!! Promise me you won't tell?" Yukio looked up, "Only if you allow me to watch you practice today!" Komatsu sighed, "Fine. You can watch me practice…just don't tell mother, alright?" "I swear I won't tell, big brother!" Komatsu stood up, "Let's just get some breakfast already."

Komatsu and Yukio ran down the wooden stairs into the small kitchen. Komatsu looked into the freezer, "Hmm, not to much here. Yukio, I'll split some pancakes and bacon with you." Yukio smiled in glee, "Sure!!" As the two began to chow down on their breakfast, their Mother walked in through the back door. "Hey kids! I'm home!!" she cried. "Mommy, Mommy!" yelled Yukio as she ran towards her. Komatsu snickered to himself. Even though Yukio was one year younger than he was, she still sometimes acted like a baby. Yukio jumped up to her, with Mom barely catching her. "Oof!! You're getting so big, little Yukio! Soon mommy may not be able to catch you!!" Mother laughed. Komatsu grinned. He loved seeing his Mother so happy and content. Komatsu put away his dishes and slipped on his black turtleneck. This was his favorite shirt because his father patched a white outline of a kunai knife on the back. It also made him sad to wear this shirt. His father had passed away during the war and only had time to do this for his only son. Komatsu snapped out of his daydream and headed out the door. "Wait! Komatsu!!" cried his Mother. "What is it?" yelled Komatsu, slipping on his shoes. "You might want to put some pants on first before you leave!!" Komatsu looked down. "Shit. She's right…I totally spaced on that." thought Komatsu. He grabbed some nearby white pants and slipped them on. "Alright, I'm off!! C'mon sis! The day waits for no one!!" Yukio stumbled down the stairs, halfway dressing herself, "I'm coming Komatsu!" The two siblings jumped out the door almost at the exact same time. As they ran off, their Mother leaned out the door, "Be safe you two!!!" she shouted. Komatsu grinned, "We will!! Take care!!" Their Mom watched them run down the snowy road until they were out of sight.

As Komatsu and Yukio ran down the street, Komatsu made a quick stop at a nearby house. "Why are we stopping here, big brother?" Komatsu turned around, "I'm getting my sparring partner, Haku." "Haku? I've never heard of him…" "You'll like him, trust me on this one." said Komatsu. Komatsu knocked three times on the door. Almost on cue, a man and a woman appeared. "Um, excuse me. Is Haku available to play?" The woman grinned, "Oh! You must be the friend Haku as telling us about! Sure, sure!! He's available!! Hold on; let me get him, HAKU!!! FRIENDS ARE HERE!!!" Haku stomped down the stairs and walked out to Komatsu and Yukio. "I thought you said she was a he." Komatsu raised one eyebrow, "Um, he is a he." "No she's not!" said Yukio. She turned to Haku, "Sorry about my big brother! He gets his genders confused sometimes…" Haku grinned, "Actually, your big brother's right. I'm a boy." Yukio stood their utterly surprised, "Oh!!! I'm so sorry! My fault!" she said. "It's alright; so many people make that mistake. Hopefully this will be the last time." Komatsu looked from Yukio to Haku, and then back to Yukio, "Well! This has been an interesting five seconds. Let's continue to the practice area, shall we?" Yukio and Haku nodded.

The practice area had nothing special. It just had a few practice dummies, a shuriken range, and an old sparring mat. The ice and snow made things even more challenging to do then normal. Of course, what did you expect from the Land of the Mist? Komatsu began to stretch and warm up, with Haku following suit. Yukio looked confused by what they were doing. "Whatcha doing?" she asked. Haku looked up, "Before any fight, it's important to make sure all your muscles and important organs are working. That's why we do this." Komatsu jumped up, "Alright Haku! Bring it on!!!" Haku nodded, taking a few steps back. Komatsu quickly clasped his hands together and formed a kunai made out of pure ice. He dulled the end to make sure it wasn't too deadly. Haku slipped out a few needles. Komatsu stopped, "Isn't that extreme? Using needles I mean." Haku gave a little grin, "Don't worry, I've been studying how to hot numbing points only, so you have nothing to fear." Komatsu nodded, then looked over to Yukio, "Please stay back Yukio, I don't want you to get hurt." Yukio moved over to the fence to watch. Komatsu and Haku began to circle each other. Then, they rushed to begin the fight.

NEXT TIME!!! CHILDREN OF THE SNOW, HAKU VS. KOMATSU!