"Oi Oz, look I found some pretty ones here," Raito yelled.

His friend who was at the bottom of the hill looked up at him.

"Wait. Let me check if they are edible", Oz replied sarcastically. "We don't want to sell anything like what you picked up last time."

"Eh, it was not that bad as you say man. They all just got a little hysterical after eating the mushrooms, that's all. The villagers should probably thank me for making them laugh," Raito responded with an annoyed looking face.

"Well too good those were not poisonous or the one hysterical then would have been you".

He slowly started scaling the hill to where his friend was, standing atop a big rock with cracks all over it. The two friends were collecting mushrooms and herbs to sell in the village market. Most of the time, they gathered and sold firewood and fruits found in the jungle surrounding their village, but once or twice a week they made their way to that rocky hilly area for amassing more valued materials. The road to that region was perilous and a long way from the village, however they understood that with more toil came greater rewards.

"Whatever buddy, it's not like they can kill me or anything." Raito chuckled and made a swish with his finger in the air. "I am great at escaping as you know."

Oz who was already at his friend's location asked, "Yeah yeah, you are great. No show me the place where you saw the mushrooms."

Pointing at a big crack on the rock he was sitting on, Raito answered, "Over here."

Directing his gaze to where Raito was indicating, Oz peered inside the crack. His friend was not wrong. In the lower corner of the crack, mushrooms were growing in abundance and they were not of the poisonous kind. Oz thought that if they could collect and sell those, it would be a huge profit. He beckoned Raito to come down and help him with the gathering. Raito descended with a big smile and "See I told you" look on his face. And together they began picking up the mushrooms from the crevice and stockpiling them in their baskets which lay at their feet.

Oz who was the burly one, carried a Bokken on his back, held by a string through his neck and under his arms. He wore simple village clothes; a tattered shirt and pants woven from cotton fibre and shoes made of animal skin. Colourless and patched at various points, they showcased his poverty clearly to the onlooker. But the only thing uncanny about his attire was a mask shaped identical to a skull which he wore over his face, a permanent piece of his body. He never told anyone the reason behind it, and nobody wanted to delve further into such a matter. For as long as anyone could remember him, he had worn that mask. Something he wished to forget. Something he could not forget no matter how much he tried. A dark memento of his horrifying past.

While Oz was gloomy and knowledgeable, Raito was quirky and humorous. He was small framed and swift on his feet. Shorter in height than Oz, a tiny green leaf grew out his head, the symbol of his tribe's coherence with nature. For ages they have lived as one with the environment, which in turn have bestowed them with miraculous gifts. He wore the same attire which was a bit decent in respect to Oz's, but to such amounts which could be deemed negligible.

Both Raito and Oz were orphans, although Raito was nurtured by his Grandmother. Oz lived in a small thatched hut atop a hill near the village, his family home. They were close since childhood; two souls brought together by necessity and understanding.

Poking with his wooden sword where their hands could not reach, soon all the mushrooms were gathered and they attached the baskets to their backs and started descending the hill. Their return journey would be exhausting; it was a long walk to the village. Nonetheless they were happy for it was a good haul, worth hiking all that way there to pick stuff.

The path through the rocky area soon ended in a small mountain stream. The village was a little distance away from and the stream passed by it. Thus if they followed it they would reach their destination with ease. So they began walking besides it, talking about their daily lives and things they needed to do the next day. The clear translucent waters of the spring made a rhythmic sound as it flowed; at times lashing about an unruly rock and making an angry noise for disturbing the song. The cool breeze carried a sweet scent of summer as it danced as if to accompany the song. They could see many wild beasts flocking on the other side of the stream to quench their thirst and rest their fatigued bodies for a little while near the calm water surface. Nature was in perfect harmony with its guests, treating the passer-by with a sight to behold and cherish. One may wish to indulge forever in such a landscape, forgetting the world, his kin and even himself.

All of a sudden, Raito screamed, nudging his friend with an elbow, "Look man, look at that fish over there. I think it's a Goldeen. But the colour is a bit unnatural, don't you think? If we could catch it, we might be able to sell it for a lot to the village chief. This should be easy for us."

Oz looked at where his talkative friend was directing, and it was true. Cruising over the shallow waves of the stream, there was an enormous fish, flouncing, rolling its immense body and sailing over the waters majestically; occasionally shaking its long horn with dignity as if to showcase its nobility. However rather than the usual orange red shade, it was golden. It was a shiny breed. Goldeens were called the queens of the rivers; though seeing one was not extremely rare, but very uncommon in those parts. Moreover, not many brag about seeing a shiny one in their lives.

He knew they didn't have much time to lose if they wanted to ensnare the beautiful yet fast creature. Setting his basket on the ground, he speedily drew his Bokken, holding it in one hand.

"Can you trap it?" He asked his friend who akin to him had placed his basket on the ground, his face beaming with anticipation.

"Surely," Raito replied. "Look at what I can do."

Straightening his body, Raito then observed the Goldeen carefully to lock on to its location and closed his eyes to concentrate. Then he crossed his arms. The small leaf on his head started to flicker violently as his body was slowly covered in a golden light. As the light grew brighter, he suddenly opened his arms wide. Three rings of rainbow coloured energy surrounded him, circling at high speeds making a whooshing sound as the air around him was being cut. The rings soon move outwards and positioned themselves near his chest creating a big ball of spiralling energy. Then he quickly opened his eyes and proceeded to fire the ball of light towards the unsuspecting fish, calling out in a small voice,

"Extrasensory"

When the creature was stuck, it shivered as if hit by lightning. The rings began to encircle it forming a cage above the water. Dazed by the attack, the Goldeen began to frolic madly and used its horn to break free to no avail.

Seeing his part done, Raito looked at Oz signalling him to start his own. Without wasting any more time, Oz retracted his right foot behind his left and held out his Bokken out with his right hand. Next he pulled back the hand holding the Bokken as far as he could and after writing an ancient symbol in the air with his left hand, threw the sword towards the caged Goldeen, as he whispered,

"Boomerang"

It flew with supersonic speed, slicing the surrounding winds in a silvery sweep and hit the cage of light at the centre. The cage burst, the rings exploded out scattering colours everywhere and creating golden ripples in the water surface. The fish however was glued to the sword, it made a perfect arc as it glided back towards Oz. He caught it using his right hand and the beast with his left. It was not completely dead yet, its gills were flaring a little as it gasped for the last bits of air. Happy with his work, he laid the prize on the ground so his friend could also observe it.

"See brother, it was easy as I said," Raito spoke holding up his hand in a boosting pose. "Did you see my magnificent trick?"

Before Oz could reply to his companion's remark, the river started to rise as if an explosion had set off on the river bed. A whizzing sound could be hard as the water seemed to part and a black silhouette shot out of it in the manner of an arrow and landed on the bank with a boom creating tremors, spewing dust everywhere. When the dust cleared, its full body came into view, to the horror of the two friends. A form twice the height of Oz and bulkier in proportion, its massive body coloured in orange with black stripes on its back, and puffed white caudal and pectoral fins with black spots. It had a huge horn on its forehead like the creature they had caught, it made a shrieking noise as the horn started spinning very fast, making countless rotations in the matter of a second. Nasty angry eyes glared at them, vengeance written all over its form.

Out of the blue, without any warning, the beast jumped from its position and darted towards Raito. He jumped in the nick of time, except the fish continued on its trajectory, hitting an enormous boulder behind him and blasting it to bits. Not stopping a little bit, it continued its onslaught, afterward dashing towards Oz similar to a ball fired from a mortar, spewing waves of destruction. He reacted swiftly to it and was saved by a hair's breadth.

"I knew this might happen. Goldeens always travel in numbers with a Seaking as their leader," Oz cried to his friend as he continued dodging the fish.

"Ughh, now is not the time to impart knowledge Oz. Do something or we will definitely meet our maker today," Raito bellowed.

Oz knew his friend was right. If they did not act fast, the beast would surely kill them. It was using "Horn Drill" a skill that had huge power. The only reason they were able to avoid its assaults was because it was an attack fuelled by rage making it less accurate. They would die instantly though if one of those hit them.

Setting his mind, he yelled, "Rai, can you draw his attention for a few moments? I may be able to get us out of this situation, I think."

"I can try, but please hurry."

Saying this, Raito opened both his hands wide. The leaf on his head started fluttering again as he focused. Strong winds began to blow around his body in a spiral motion, carrying with it twigs and leaves scattered nearby. Next he brought his hands together in front his chest in a wide arc, yelling,

"Leaf Storm"

The foliage around his body was propelled towards the Seaking. Akin to a tornado it coiled as it progressed, blowing dusts and rocks everywhere and making visibility poor. The instant it clashed with its target, the creature was hurled over and stopping its rampage. That did not seem to stop the creature though, but on the contrary it became more enraged and shot towards Raito with blinding velocity. Another twister gathered round Raito's body, as the previous one had disappeared and he continued hurling them one after another at the fish. Nevertheless, the beast continued its riot as it charged at Raito, making screeching noises.

"Come on Oz, this will not hold him long," Raito shrieked as he laboured to keep the beast in check, breathless and with a panic stricken face.

Oz firmly planted his feet on the ground as he looked at the fish. Its motions were made sluggish by the continuous bombardment from his friend making its movement more predictable. Closing his eyes a bit, he clasped his sword with both hands at one end. A small breeze blew near his body upsetting the dust as his mind reached a state of tranquillity. Suddenly he opened his eyes and quickly dashed towards the beast with lightning speed. A blue aura emitted from his body, encasing his figure resembling a second skin. Next he jumped, brought the sword over his head and with the agility of a swordsman stuck the fish's head as he came down and a word escaped his mouth,

"Bone Slash"

The creature's massive body was almost cut in half with a blue streak and it fell down, dyeing the ground red with its blood. With a deft movement to the right, Oz shook off the blood on his Bokken, before re-equipping it on his back. Feeling tired, he sat down on a nearby rock because such a strike took huge amounts energy to perform. A silent prayer escaped his lips, as he looked sadly at the beast's frame that had only attacked them seeking revenge for its partner. Two magnificent creatures killed, he felt like a criminal.