Chapter Four: The Phantom Alchemist and the Mysterious Stone
Morning came to a fairly large house in the outskirts of Karasu Town. Inside one of the bedrooms (which had a modern Japanese style), Yuna began to awaken. She quickly scanned the room in surprise before remembering. "Oh, yeah. I'm staying at Ashura's house." The girl slowly got out of bed to stretch when she heard her new friend Ashura's voice call her. "Yuna! I've made breakfast!" She smiled at those words; she couldn't believe someone she just met would be kind enough to make breakfast for her. "I'll be right down!" she replied.
After breakfast, Ash and Yuna had decided to roam around town. "It's good to not have to duck and cover anymore." The white-haired girl began. "I really appreciate what you're doing for me." The raven-haired simply smiled at her. Pikachu wore a shocked expression; this was the first time he had smiled since... that day. "It's no problem. No one should ever have to go through what you have..." he responded to his new friend. Their conversation, however, was interrupted by a man running towards them.
This man wore a panicked look on his face, and he was hyperventilating. Ash quickly stopped the man, trying to calm him down. "Woah, there! What's going on?" The male quickly broke free. "You guys should be running! There's a madman in Town Square, and he's attacking people with weird white crystals!" he shouted before running away in terror. "Looks like shit's going down at Town Square!" Ash relayed to Yuna. "Right! Let's check it out!"
The two alchemists reached the scene of the disturbance within a minute... and were greatly shocked at what they saw. Standing there was a young man in a cloak, who appeared to be in his teens. Coming from the hood were a couple of locks of snow white hair. The figure turned to the two young alchemists before clenching his fist; strange, white-and-red energy emanating from it. In that instant, large, white crystals shot up from the ground! Each had a sinister red glow emanating from it.
"Was that... Aura Alchemy?" Ash exclaimed. How could someone be capable of Crystal Alchemy; that was Ash's specialty! "Why, yes... it was..." the cloaked man replied to Ashura's exclamation, in a voice similar to his. Yuna spoke up at that instant, "And just who the bloody hell are you?" the man merely chuckled at the girl's bark. "I am known as the Phantom Alchemist... but you may call me by my name... Nikura."
Ash wasted no time in charging at Nikura, his fist charged with a black-and-blue aura. The sinister alchemist merely side-stepped, causing the raven-haired teen to miss, and ultimately fall down. "Seriously? That's the best you can do?" Ash got back up, now more pissed off than ever. "Let me show you what real Aura Power is!" Nikura taunted as he charged a red-and-white Aura Sphere. A sinister vibe emitted from the sphere, causing a chilling atmosphere to develop. With no hesitation, he launched the Dark Aura Sphere towards Ash, who barely made it out of the way.
Nikura was starting to get annoyed. "I've had enough of your childish games! Tell me where the Tenshi Stone is!" Tenshi Stone? What was that? The two pure Alchemists merely tilted their heads in confusion. Nikura took notice of this. "Fine! It seems you know nothing of the stone. But mark my words, this isn't the last time we will meet!" he roared as he summoned a swarm of dark particles. When the particles disappeared, so did he.
"Tenshi Stone?" Yuna asked her friend Ash, to which he just shrugged his shoulders. Suddenly, a voice called from behind them. "Excuse me! I think I can help with that!" It was a woman in her late-thirties, with red hair and gray eyes. "Who are you?" the two alchemists asked simultaneously. "Oh! Pardon my manners! My name is Nanako." she introduced. "Come! We'll talk more at my house!" And with that, they followed her.
At Nanako's house, Ash and Yuna waited in the living room for their host. The woman suddenly came in with an old book, a plate of Japanese dumplings, and tea. "Refreshments? I always find them to calm my nerves after a long day." "Thank you." the teens responded as they each took a dumpling. "Anyway, the stone you've heard about, the Tenshi Stone, is a legend famous among Aura Alchemists. Actually, it's known by Aura Users in general." she began as she handed the book over to them. "You'll find the answers to your question in here." In the book was a picture of a sky-blue orb.
"Okay. The Tenshi Stone. An artifact of unimaginable power." Ash began reading the book, Yuna reading it from next to him. "Long ago, this stone brought prosperity to the world. But in order to keep it from falling in the wrong hands, it was sealed away in a hidden shrine, and the recipe for creating one has been lost for ages. Whoever possesses this stone will have greatly enhanced Aura Power..." Ash stopped in an instant. His eyes became wide after reading the book's contents. Yuna looked at him with concern. "Ash? What's wrong?" The boy didn't answer. He gazed forward for a moment before speaking in a hushed, yet still audible voice. "This means... I can finally return to normal... I can get my life back..."
This was it. The cure to his malformation. All he had to do now was find it...