Encounter 1: "Setting the Soul Ablaze! The First Shooting Star!"
It was raining, as it was constantly around the seaport of Chiba city. Nothing was as interesting to the citizens as to where exactly this rain had originated from. There was no sign of fronts coming into contact with each other, and there was no storms at sea from what they could tell. It was, for want of a better word, unnatural. As interested as they were however, they carried on with their daily lives. Ships went to and from the port and the factories kept producing their fare. In fact, not a soul noticed the ominous spot on the coast where there was no rain. Inside a dry like barrier of a circle, the patch of sand didn't stir. However, there was several cracking and snapping sounds from behind it. a dark bolt of lightning sprang from the rock, standing exactly ahead of the port. The rain increased further, now accompanied by thunder. Out of the lightning stood a now dust covered figure with a hideous mask. He was thin, particularly in his body extremities like the arms and legs. He was dressed in rags that were both black and gray. His mask however, was the most predominant feature about him. It was amethyst in color and had wide eyes. It had particularly large teeth and its tounge was out. He took a step forward, and looked up. The rain continued mercilessly. He smiled.
"HAHA! They were right, with this storm, HE cannot ruin my Himiko-sama's plans!" He threw his fists into the air, as if in victory. "Now, my Himiko-sama needs souls. Oh yes, there should be plenty." He proceeded to the city, practically skipping the way there.
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However, contrary to what the creature thought, a being had seen him. As well as the rock smashing. He was majestic, dressed in golden armor which shimmered with its own radiance, like a star. He opened his hand out. From the surronding space shot out different sparkling stars. He lifted his face to see the earth. "It is time then." With a whirl of his cape, he disappeared, and in an instant, a loud bang was heard, and a large golden star shot forward, heading towards earth.
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Around the world the star went, seeming to seek something. It finally broke through the atmosphere and was landing somewhere near the city of Chiba. However, before crashing, the majestic being flipped out of it, spreading energy to different places. He quietly held his head for a moment, as if in a psychic trance. He opened his eyes only a few minutes after. "Carrier of the Red Soul, you shall be the first." He walked off, transforming into a small fire-fly, immune to the rain around him.
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A little ways about town, the residents of Chiba were preparing for a massive flood. The only exception being the Kagi household, who was occupied by only two persons, two siblings by the name of Makai and Shimi. Shimi, being the responsible older sister of the two, was busy at the offices around the factories, trying to make sure flood-control was part of the insurance. Makai was near the window, magazine propped on his head. "Boring." He fell back onto his bed. He was extremely lazy to say the least, so while no one was looking, he sneaked away from helping with flood preparations. Paradoxically, he was looking for something to do to cure his boredom. He decided to finally turn the T.V. on, and arrived on the news.
A recent report states that this unnatural rain will continue to give us heavy downfalls.
Please take the necessary steps to ensure you and your family will be safe during this time.
Remember, the flood warning has been raised to-
It cut off as Makai turned it off. "Yeah right..." He got up and looked outside, it was clearly pouring, with not even the slightest chance of the sun returning. He sighed and stared at a mirror, trying to think of something to do. He had lightish hazel hair, with cool-clad black eyes. He was wearing a red tank with black jeans and a silver chain hanging around his neck. The chain has a silver shaped "S" with sharp ends protroding from the ends. He touched the pendant and looked upwards. "Otou-san, what would you do?" The wind howled and as if to answer, lightning struck down outside, illuminating most of the neighborhood. An earthquake followed, shaking and carrying everything that wasn't nailed down to the floor. Makai managed to find the railing of the stairs for support. "They didn't mention THIS in the report...!" A powerful aftershock threw him down the stairs and into the wall.
"Ahh... stupid weather..." He got up, grasping his back. "But if it did this to the house then... Shi-nee!" He grabbed his jacket and rushed to the door, hopping over the mess and flooding. He opened the door, and was greeted by another flood of water, which pushed him back a few feet. Regardless, he swam out, and, jumping ontop of a mass of cardboard boxes, made a makeshift raft. Using the wind as the driving force, he made it downtown, passing several buildings nearly submerged. He got to the office building and tried to look for something, anything, to use to climb the walls. His eyes rested on a floating rope. "Perfect!" He jumped off the raft and grabbed onto it. Diving down into the water, he unfastened the rope, which was stuck to the ground, under several cars.
"Come... on... Baka!" He let out as he gasped for air. He had to swim back up and get air. "How do I get that free?" A ping inside his head made him turn around. All he saw was rain, flood, and wreckage. A voice called out to him, again in his head,
"Carrier of the Red Soul, ignite your courage and your path shall open before you."
Makai stared blankly into the rain. "What's that supposed to-?" But a large wave crashed down and he was thrown under water. His eye sight fading, he screamed inside his head, "NO! I need to make sure Shi-nee is okay!" But as much as he wanted to, his body wouldn't move. A cold numbness settled into hs body, as if to prepare him for death. He clutched his fist and and with a muffled yell, he cried out, "I PROMISED OTOU-SAN!" A firece warmness, like raging fire burst from his body. He opened his eyes and swam to the surface, quickly gaining strength and speed. He grabbed the rope and with one pull, ripped it from under the repressors. He broke out of the water and cling to the building, quickly scaling it to the floor where his sister was. Crashing through the window, he rolled onto the floor, amid the screams and gasps from those on the general floor. He looked up and found his sister's face. She was stuck between what seemed to be relief and fury. Deciding to hold it in for later she stepped forward and bent down, holding out her hand.
"Makai, why exactly-?" She started, but was pulled down and embraced by the now soaked Makai.
"Just making sure your fine, Shi-nee." She giggled, followed by a pat on the back.
"Since when do I need my kid brother to check up on me? You'd think it was the other way around." He stuck his tounge out, then got up.
"Yeah maybe, but it didn't hurt to check." He smiled. She just shook her head and began,
"What am I goi-" But she froze. In fact, everything in the room, save Makai, wasn't moving. He quickly turned in all directions, then tried shaking them back to life.
"Come on! This isn't funny!" He started breathing heavily. A minimal sound finally came from his right, where a golden firefly flew past him. He stared at it, transfixed. It seemed to be calling him, but not in any form of communication he knew. He carefully followed it until it went out the window. Makai looked outside, it seemed the storm also was held in place, as if it wasn't going on at all. He was slightly confused, but caught sight of the fire fly again. It stood in one spot and the voice inside his head called out,
"Valor Spirit, you must not be afraid to venture into the unknown."
Remembering his close encounter with death all but a few moments ago, he was reluctant. "I don't think falling out of this building isn't good either." He scratched his head. But the voice egged him on,
"Trust is the key to open your path, believe in the power of your Soul."
The voice did have a point. He believed he could survive and was repaid with a feeling of wonder. A feeling of power. Something inside of him was flaming. Taking advantage of his sudden drive, he took the step outside. To his astonishment, he did not fall, but was standing on a solid step. A staircase became visible. They were bright gold and leaded to a brilliant white light.
"Sugoi! But where does this..." The firefly whizzed past him, making him chase after it, getting closer and closer to the light. They eventually broke through it. Makai found himself inside a room of sparkling white and gold, leading to a throne of ruby and still gold. The firefly flew ahead and was covered in golden light. Out of its place walked the tall, amor-clad majestic figure. He addressed Makai,
"Makai Kagi, Carrier of the Red Soul, you were summoned by me to defend the planet of Earth which you call home." Makai nodded, then a few seconds later,
"EH?! But I'm just-" He was searching for the right words. "I mean I can't..." The figure waved his hand. He spoke in a gentler voice,
"I am aware you see yourself as powerless, but you have the most powerful gift. A person so dear to you that you give anything to protect her." He looked back down to the earth, as did Makai. Shimi flashed into his mind. "As you see, the earth is being pilaged by a very turbulent storm. This was caused by those that live in the Underworld." Makai did a double take.
"Underworld? You mean Akuma and Oni?" The figure slowly nodded. He continued in a grave tone,
"But there are also gods and goddesses within the Underworld. They seek to destroy the world as we know it. However, I have been keepng watch over the millenia." He bowed. "I am the Star's Guardian, Orion. The last of the original Stars." He picked up his head. "It has been quite a long time since the Underworld was opened, however, I cannot leave my chamber for long, so I need the help of the select few humans on your planet to defeat the Underworld and push it back." He pointed to Kai. "This is where you come in. You had the strongest Star of anyone on the planet. Your courage, valor and bravery has sparked a flame in your soul."
With a flick of his wrist, a small wrist-watch sort of device appeared in his hand. He handed it to Makai. "That is your Boshi Changer, it will unleash the flames of your Soul and grant you the power to defeat the Underworld." A brilliant flash appeared and Makai had to cover his eyes. But Orion's voice called out faintly,
"Carrier of the Red Soul, please remember, yuuki is your claim."
Before him was the office again. Time seemed to reset itself and everything was moving again. Shimi was talking as well,
"-ng to do with you?" She finished. Noticing the blank look on his face she waved her hand and said "Hello? Makai? What's wrong?" He snapped out of it. He stared at her for a minute then said,
"Uh... nothing." He walked to the windows. He muttered to himself, "Was all that a dream?" But he looked down at his wrist and saw the weird contraption that Orion gave him. Before he had time to contemplate anything else, the electricity went out and the storm grew so violent it broke through the windows. A giant tentacle, composed of water, reached in and grabbed Shimi from the waist, pulling her into the hailing storm. Makai yelled after them,
"SHI-NEE!" They all heard a laugh from above. Rushing to the windows, they looked up to see a giant squid like monster. It was translucent like water, but was solid as if ice. On top of it was the masked figure. He waved his hands.
"Yes yes! Humans from the above world, you will give me your souls so that I can present them to my Himiko-sama!" Shimi was hurled into the air, caught by the figure. His thin and pointed hands slimly grasped around her throat. "Oh ho! So the first volunteer is a pretty lady! Oh yes definately a good choice!" His other hand morphed into a thin sword, like those used for fencing. "Farewell!" He smirked. Makai jumped from the building with no reason behind him.
"LET HER GO KISAMA!" He swung from a hanging cable and knocked right into the masked figure, his fingers letting go of Shimi. She fell atop of the squid's head. The figure got up.
"Oh a fiesty one. You'll pay for that though!" H erushed forward, raising his needle word well above his head. But Makai, rolled under him and grabbed Shimi. Looking at her, then to the side, where a balcony was close. He set her on the balcony and faced the masked demon.
"You hurt Shi-nee! That is the ultimate penalty!" The voice in his head was egging him on, telling him exactly what to do. He flipped the device on his wrist and held it high, calling out,
"Shinwa Damashii! (Mythic Soul!): Star Shine!" A glorious red light enveloped him. Out of the light stepped Makai, with a new uniform. He had a Star on his helmet and the motif was red with black and gold. A flaming bird was emblazed on his chest as well. Striking a stance, he addressed the masked stranger.
"Forging the light in universe!" Flames erupted from his hands. "YajuRed!" He jumped forward, and kickly gained the upper hand against his masked opponent.
"How can this be? No human is a match for me!" He shouted as he drove the blade towards Makai. He quickly dodged. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he held up a flaming fist.
"Phoenix Jabber!" He threw the fist into the masked one, throwing him backwards.
Staggering to get up, he held his chest and said, "This isn't the last you've seen of me HUMAN!" He disappeared in a cloud of mist. The rain and the squid however still posed a problem.
"How do I...-?" He was cut short as the phoneix emblem glowed on his chest. The voice in his head leading again, he followed it to the letter. He grabbed the swriling energy around his emblem and cried out,
"Shinwa Yaju Heinshin! (Mythic Beast Transformation!)" He was surronded by furious flames. Out of them flew a massive bird, which was also red. Makai's voice rang out, "Shinwa Star Hou-Ou!" Flying high into the sky, the phoneix blew the clouds away with a mighty flap of its wings. Diving down, it was covered in flames.
"Fire Finisher! Phoenix Winger!" The phoneix dived straight into the squid, causing it to evaporate and disappear. The storm and the water all disappeared as well.
"I did it!" Makai proclaimed as he untransformed. He ran over to the balcony and found Shimi still unconcious. He laughed. "This will be a bit hard to explain..."
He shook it off and carried her home.
TO BE CONTINUED...