The Society of the Blade

Prologue

My name is Shinjiruiji and this is my story. Not that long ago I had been picked up by this society. They are an enigma and mysterious. What they are after I can only guess is to protect and keep the balance of the world, but this is all just speculation. I joined because I had no other choice. I had nothing to go back to if I had told them no and continued being what they call a "rouge wielder". It all started when I had just left school that day.

I had a few friends, back when I didn't have the name Shinjiruiji. We were leaving the school that day when a group of guys attacked us. They were wielding knives and I remember one of them had a gun. They went after my friend Kyle first saying that he owed them. He ran and the man with a gun must have shot him in the knee as he fell and was bleeding from it.

Kyle screamed "Guys, run!" as the biggest thug kicked him in the ribs and silenced him.

The apparent leader yelled out "After them!" as my friend Mike and my girlfriend Anna ran away. But I stayed there, transfixed with horror. I heard two gun shots and also two bodies fall. When I turned around I saw them… dead… I gasped out in horror as I heard the man with the gun say he was 'out of ammo already' and also the 'this is what happens Kyle. You fuck with us and steal our crap and we ruin your life.' I then heard the sound of someone running towards me and as I turn around I am tackled onto the concrete. I can see that Kyle is crying as I try to push the thug off of me.

We hear police sirens and the thugs disperse. Out of fear I pick up Kyle and try to run with him. It was easy avoiding the cops as my school was in the middle of a rather large run down city near Houston. It's been awhile so I can't remember its name but that doesn't matter. We ran into an ally and I tried seeing if he was okay and who and why the hell those guys were after us. It turns out he also hung around with a bunch of drug dealers and when he was visiting their lab he stole some of their drugs to sell. Upon hearing this I promptly punched him in the face.

"Our friends died because of you!" as I raise my fist he raises he hands from his leg and shouts "wait!" he continues after I pause to hear him out. "I needed the money… I need it to keep our house… Mom got fired and Dad's still a drunk… I just needed the money for this month's bills…" He's crying again at this point. "I-I didn't mean for any of this to happen… I'm sorry…"

"Well, well" we heard a creepily familiar voice. "I'm sorry to hear that Kyle, but business is business. I got a lot of people riding my ass for that money so just hand it over and your last friend here lives." The thugs had found us and the leader was walking over to us. I put Kyle behind me to shield him but I'm punched in the stomach and then kicked to the end of the ally, which was a surprisingly far distance. As I try to get up I hear and see Kyle yell stop and throw some money on the ground. As the drug dealer picks it up and starts walking away I feel a well of anger rise up and my vision turns red with black… and I could feel it… the black… it felt cold… bitter… like darkness… in my hand shines this blade that looks like I'd seen it somewhere before, like I'd seen it in a game somewhere… and I thought to myself… "No, it can't be…? A Keyblade…?"

At that point I didn't care I rushed towards the dealer, weapon in hand. I scream enraged and try to strike him but he dodges somehow. He looks towards me with a shocked expression on his face and then kicks me in the chest, knocking all the wind out of me. He then grabs my neck and starts choking me. He picks me up by the neck and throws me back easily as if I was a doll. I hear him say "shoot them."

I see… I see Kyle get shot in the face…. I roar and the blade reappears in my hand and I charge. I see a guy pull a gun out and aim it at me as it turns out all of them had guns. I close my eyes and think of all my friends that have just died… I think of how my parents…. I think about my losses and a tear rolls down my face and I feel warmth and see a light… I keep running as I feel the light wrap around me and craft a makeshift armor. I hear the gunshots and hear a ringing sound but I feel nothing except a vibration. I run right to them and attack. This time none of them are lucky as the weapon slices through them. I feel my rage explode and the cold feeling hits me in the chest but the new armor stops it, or at least I think it did. But I slip from consciousness and fall as I hear a sound come from behind me and the words "get him" in a deep voice…

Battle one: The Organization

The boy awoke and appeared to be in a circular room with chairs surrounding him. These were not just any chairs for they were lifted by what appeared to be the same brown concrete that all the chairs were made out of but each one built at a different height than the other. There was only one visible exit to the room and when the boy stood up he noticed it was behind him. Opposite to the exit was the tallest chair and above was engraved a golden crown. A crown to signify who was the leader…

"So you have finally woken from your slumber." A deep, slow voice echoed through the room, its source being the tallest chair. The boy looked up quickly with fear and confusion at where he was and why. In the chair now sat what appeared to be a man in a black cloak. The cloak had a zipper that went from the bottom of its hood to about 1/4th away from the end, supposedly for mobility, and also two metal chains with elaborate aglets to adjust the hood. The man had his hood over his head and some had a pair of black boots and gloves on and with them you could not see a single characteristic of the man. All you could see was the cloak, boots, gloves, and a dark shadow hiding the man's face.

"Who are you?" the boy asked. "And where am I?"

"Welcome to the organization…" replied the figure.

The boy, confused started looking around as the room was then filled with noise and people in similar cloaks started appearing in the chairs around the dark brown room via what appeared to be black portals with tinges of purple or through portals of bright light. Some cloaks looked unfinished or rather torn and they seemed like they were made out of leather but also of something else; something other worldly. A two other people in the lowest seats had armor on with helmets. The Armor, while different in many ways from each other, still had a feeling of similarity to the boy.

"I am the leader of this section of the organization. I am its eldest and longest current surviving member and thus that is how I am leader." continued the man.

"Alright, that answered one question, but where am I?"

"You are at the Society of the Blade's secret headquarters for the Houston Division."

"Society of the Blade Houston Division; what the hell does that mean?"

"Surely you remember when those thugs attacked you, you gained a certain blade and slain them with it."

"Wait… those thugs… are you a part of them?"

"Far from it. We serve to protect a balance in this world and we hope that you too will help us protect this balance."

"Protect a balance? With what?"

"Your keyblade."

"Key… blade…"

"Yes, that blade you possess is a keyblade." As the man finishes his sentence a light shines in the boy's right hand and a keyblade appears in it. The boy's keyblade has a blue handle and red wings for hand guards; the main part of the blade is a single red angle wing in a straight arc of a blade with a blue devil wing sprouting out at the top making the completed blade somewhat resemble a large key. The key chain is a red and blue wing together in an X.

"But I thought Kingdom Hearts was only a game!"

"It is and it is not… this society has been going on for as long as this world has existed. All of us are keyblade wielders and the balance we uphold is that of light and darkness."

"If this society exists why haven't I heard or seen it till now?"

"Simple… We are a secret society and only those with keyblades are allowed into our ranks and know of our existence."

"If that's so then how come the creator of the Kingdom Hearts games, Tetsuya Nomura, knows about the keyblade?"

"Another simple question, he is a keyblade wielder, and not just any; he is the keyblade's only true master. The Games are his way of teaching us keyblade wielders how to wield our keyblades and also of the dangers of the conflict of the light and darkness."

"So you think I'm able to be a part of your organization?"

"Yes, we have seen only a part of your potential. Within seconds of spawning your keyblade you were able to don your armor of light by reaching into you're the deepest depths of your heart."

"You mean that light, it was real?"

"Yes. With the donning of your armor it is clear that you are a keyblade wielder of light and not one of the darkness."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you will be a protector of the light and fight to protect our world, should you choose to join us."

"I get to choose?"

"Yes, but know that what you have to go back to, we cannot help you with…"

"Not much of a choice then…" The boy clenched his left fist tight while remembering what had just happened to his friends.

"I'm sorry."

"So I guess I'll join you, I mean I have nowhere else to go."

"Excellent. Now before you are taken to your new quarters you have a small matter to attend to, your new name."

"New name?"

"All members are given a new name so that they cannot be tracked in the normal world and so that you will not feel as much remorse for leaving you last life behind."

"A new name, huh…" The boy thought hard for a name. He remembered his parents always loved Japanese names. After thinking about it he raised his head once more. "My new name…. my new name is Shinjiruiji."

"Shinjiruiji; welcome to the Society of the Blade, and now to start with your training." The man snapped his fingers and in an instant Shinjiruiji felt his body get heaver and was slowly loosing consciousness. As his eyes closed and his body fell he could see his keyblade disappear and as well as the other people in the room through the same portals that they opened to appear here. As he finally closed his eyes and just before his last shred of self-awareness faded he heard the man say only a few more words.

"Meeting adjourned."