Chapter 4

Hello everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the story so far! If you aren't, then let me know! So far, no one has made any comments on what enemies/powers/relationships COULD be. I want this to be well liked so your input is important.

Anyway, as a little teaser, we will get a hint at Rikimaro's power! About time, I know, but I think it will be worth the wait! Now let's read on!

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"HES THE LEADER OF THE COMUNITY?!" Rikimaro shouted. He was standing in the shadow of the gate to little garden with Asuka, You, and Jin and were waiting for Izayoi and Black Rabbit to finish their game and come back. In the meantime, Rikimaro needed to get his head around the idea of a kid leading a whole community.

"I-It's not that strange..." Jin said with a stammer. "There are plenty of community's that have young leaders."

"How many?" Rikimaro asked. He had his arms folded and was giving Jin a dead stare. Nervous from the stare, a large bead of sweat appeared on the back of his head.

"Well, I know of one community, but little garden has the surface area of a star so I can't know every community's leader..."

"Why are you so focused on that?" Asuka questioned, giving the same look to Rikimaro as he had given to Jin. He made a note to not piss her off any time soon.

"The idea of a kid leading a whole community is unsettling to me. Even if the community is called [No Names]." Rikimaro responded. Jin and the girls got noticeably depressed about that, but Jin far more than the girls. "Speaking of which, the girls told me to ask you about that. Why are you guys called the [No Names]?"

"It's a bit of a story. I'll give you the full details later, but essentially we lost a battle we were forced into and had to bed our flag and name." Jin said.

"But i thought both parties had to agree to a game?" Rikimaro asked. He really needed to find a rule book or something. This was all so confusing.

"There are exceptions to the rule. If a community has a series of games set up to allow another community the right to challenge them, then they couldn't refuse. Another possibility is a demon lord." You pitched in.

"A demon lord?"

"Yes. Little garden is home to many types of beings. Demon lords are powerful beings that have unique abilities. The main one people fear is their ability to force others into a game." Jin said. He had a knowledgeable look on his face which surprised Rikimaro. He thought the kid was just that, a kid.

"So you guys were challenged by a demon lord and lost." Rikimaro said. "I take it this was before you two showed up?" He asked the girls.

"Yes. Both us and Izayoi were summoned here to help the [No Names]. We arrived the same way you did." Asuka replied. Her face grimaced the reminder of the unceremonious entrance.

"Ahh, with a splash then. Speaking of water, my clothes are still wet, so can we-" Rikimaro started to say until he heard a loud crack. Everyone turned and looked at the forest only to see a large tree flying towards them. The girls grabbed Jin and started to run through the gate. Asuka looked behind her to see Rikimaro just standing there.

"RIKIMARO! MOVE!" She shouted as her eyes glowed. To her surprise, Rikimaro didn't move. She started to turn around to grab him but he suddenly wasn't there. A second later, the tree collided with the entrance, sending a gust of wind and leafs down the corridor.

"Rikimaro!" Asuka yelled, searching for a sign of the boy who disappeared.

"Ow. Jeez you don't have to yell." Rikimaro said calmly as he emerged from the shadows behind Jin and You.

"What!" The three of them yelled in surprise.

"Oi, I said don't yell. Hurts my ears being in this corridor with a couple of people yelling throwing echo's everywhere." He chastised the three of them. They were all stunned speechless at how he had gotten ahead of them. "Hello? Anyone home?" He asked, waving his arm in front of Jin's face in an attempt to get him to snap out of it.

"H-How did you do that?" Jin stammered. His eyes, along with the girls, were still wide with shock.

"Beats me. I just remember Asuka telling me to move and next thing I know everything is dark then I'm ahead of you all." He said, just as confused as the others.

"What's your [gift]?" You asked, returning to her calm, nonchalant self.

Rikimaro looked at the three seriously for a minute before smiling and asking, "What's a [gift]?" The three of them collapsed to the ground in disappointment.

"A [gift] is your ability!" A voice said from the entrance where the tree had landed. Everyone turned to look and saw Izayoi walking down the corridor with Black Rabbit in his arms. Black Rabbit looked like she was crying.

"My ability?" Rikimaro asked, completely uncaring about the now missing tree and the crying girl in the mans arms.

"Oi, I thought you guys were explaining things to him!" Izayoi said as he let Black Rabbit down. She stood nearby, still crying.

"I take it you won?" Asuka asked Izayoi, her voice had a sharp tone to it.

"Is that doubt i hear? Of course I won." He stated simply. "Anyway your ability is what makes you stand out. Its why you were brought here."

"Didn't you ever feel out of place in your world?" Asuka asked.

"Kinda. I didn't really hang out with anyone other than my childhood friend. But other than that I had a pretty normal life. No abnormal abilities or anything." Rikimaro replied. "Can you give me a better definition of what a [Gift] is?" Black Rabbit suddenly stopped crying and was right in front of Rikimaro.

"[Gifts] are just what they sound like! Powers or abilities bestowed onto people by gods or won through games. Some gifts are inborn powers that can be activated from specific movements. Others can be items that are summoned when the user needs them. There are also [Gifts] that are trinkets that bestow the wearer abilities." Black Rabbit said. She seemed to have forgotten why she was crying and seemed to be happy that she was helping.

"So would anything in here be a [Gift]?" Rikimaro asked, hoisting up his bag. Everyone let out a small gasp when he showed it. "Oh come on. You all saw me walking with it! How is this the first time you're noticing it?"

"We figured it was empty or everything inside was ruined from the water." You said calmly.

"We left behind everything when we came here besides the clothes we were wearing. How did you bring a bag?" Asuka added.

"I had my bag on my back when i opened the letter that brought me here." Rikimaro said simply. "Why, is it against the rules or something?"

"Normally, yes." Black Rabbit said with a sigh. "But since you were wearing it it's allowed."

Rikimaro just shrugged. He still didn't know the rules so he really didn't care. But looking at Izayoi, You, and Asuka's faces, they looked like they would kill for something from home. Wanting to get off this topic, he pointed out his clothes were still wet, and he was hoping he could change.

"Oh, right! This way!" Jin said as he began to lead everyone through the tunnel. Apparently everyone had forgotten about Rikimaro's unknown [Gift] for now.

They walked through the corridor and emerged into a city. Rikimaro asked about the domes he had seen when he was falling, and was told they were created so light sensitive beings could live in little garden.

"Beings like vampires?" Rikimaro asked as they passed what looked like a café. Calico Cat meowed at the waitress working and she laughed.

"Yes. Like Jin said earlier, many beings live here." You said with a smile. "My goal here is to make new friends here. With so many different types of people, I'm sure I'll find plenty."

"Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to be your friend." Rikimaro said with a kind smile. You looked away for a minute and blushed then nodded her head. Rikimaro was completely oblivious to her blush and continued talking. "So what's everyone's gifts? Since I don't know mine i figure i should learn as much as i can about them."

"Mine in [Genome Tree]" You said as she quickly got her unwanted blush under control. "It lets me have animal characteristics and traits from the animals I befriend. It actually comes from this wood carving my dad gave to me." she said as she pointed at the wooden medallion.

"Oh, so that's what you mean by wanting friends." Rikimaro said teasingly. He hadn't ignored the last part, just wanted to teas her.

"N-No! That's not w-what I meant at all!" She said, reacting just the way Rikimaro wanted her to. He put his hand on her head and ruffles her hair with a smile.

"Relax. I was just teasing you a bit." He said with a laugh. Rikimaro then turned to Asuka and missed another blush on You's face. "What's your gift Asuka?"

"My gift is [Oraculum]." She said proudly. "It allows me to control others with my words. Unfortunately it only works on people weaker than me. I also have a gift called [Dean]. He is a giant red machine that I control using [Oraculum]."

"Oh, so it's possible to have more than one [Gift]?" Rikimaro asked.

"Yes! Black Rabbit has several!" Black Rabbit exclaimed proudly. Asuka, You, and Izayoi simply kept talking and ignored her. She was about to be depressed again when Rikimaro put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok Black Rabbit. I was listening." He said, giving her a warm smile. Black Rabbit looked at him with a big smile as tears of joy ran down her face.

"Finally! Someone other than Master Jin is giving Black Rabbit the attention and respect she deserves! Thank yo..." She stopped as Rikimaro reached out and whipped away her tears of joy.

"I know their tears of joy, but a pretty girl shouldn't cry." He said. Black Rabbit started to blush and looked away. Rikimaro blinked a couple times in confusion. "So anyway what gifts do you have?" He asked her.

"Black Rabbit has several! The most notable is the [Replica Vajra]!" She said as the blush vanished from her face. "With it, Black Rabbit can shoot lightning that runs from its tips to the targeted opponent! Black Rabbit also has the gifts [Spear of Indra], [Sun Armor], and [Moon Shrine]. If you want, you can ask Black Rabbit about them later. Black Rabbit also has the ability of Judge Master!"

"Wow. I take it you're the powerhouse of the group then?" Rikimaro asked.

"Wrong!" Izayoi said loudly. Rikimaro looked at him with a confused expression on his face. "Whatever my gift is, its the strongest." He said vaguely.

"What do you mean 'whatever it is'? Don't you know what your gift is?" Rikimaro asked.

"Well you don't know yours." Asuka chimed in with a chuckle.

"Oh hush princess." Rikimaro shot back with a smug grin. Asuka's face got flustered and she stayed silent. "So what do you mean Izayoi?"

"See for yourself." He said as he pulled out a blue card. On it was the word "UNKNOWN".

"What is that?" He asked.

"It's a [Fragment of Laplace]." Jin said. "It's a high-valued card that lets the user store the physical manifestations of the gifts they have."

"Apparently they come in all sorts of colors." You chimed in as she and Asuka pulled out their cards.

"Huh. Where can I get one? It would be great to know what my gift is."

"Well show you tomorrow. For now lets just get you introduced to the rest of the community." Jin said as he started leading the group back to their home.

"What happened here?" Rikimaro asked. He was standing in front of a rather large mansion with craters in the ground around it. If the craters weren't there, the place would have looked nice.

"A few of the craters are left over from when the Demon Lord attacked out community. However," Black Rabbit glared at Izayoi, "most of these are from Izayoi refusing to train in the training room."

"It's too damp down there." He said without a care. Suddenly the doors opened and a large group of kids came running out. Rikimaro looked shocked to see that many kids all running towards him. To his great relief, they stopped a short distance away from the group and smiled.

"Everyone!" Jin said with a loud enough voice for everyone to hear. "This is our newest member, Rikimaro Rentoya. Please treat him like you would any other member of the community."

In unison, all the kids yelled hello and started to greet him individually. After greeting the small mob, Rikimaro looked up and saw that everyone had gone inside besides three people. One of them was a young looking girl with fox ears and two tails. She had blond hair with brown tips on her ears and tails. She had emerald green eyes and a kind smile on her face.

The other two girls were in maid outfits. One had pale skin and red eyes with long, blond hair that had a ribbon in it tied like a bow. She seemed to have a complete calmness about her and, despite her small size, felt like she was older than she looked.

The other girl in a maids outfit had short, red hair with twin black ribbons on the side of her head. She had crimson eyes and was as tall as the other maid. Despite her smile, Rikimaro thought it would be best to not make her angry, as she had what felt like an aura of death around her.

Confused by the sight of the three girls, Rikimaro blinked repeatedly until the small fox girl stepped forward.

"It's nice to meet you Rikimaro." She said and her smile grew. "My name is Lily. I'm the leader of the senior and junior groups of children you just met."

"Nice to meet you." Rikimaro replied, returning her kind smile. "I hope we get along and have fun."

"Me too! These are my friends, Leticia and Percher." She said, pointing to the blond and red haired girls respectively.

"Greetings master." Leticia said with a respectful bow.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Percher said and bowed with Leticia.

"Ummm, hello. Nice to meet you too." Rikimaro said. He wasn't use to people treating him so formally. "Like I said to Lily, I hope we get along and have fun."

"Depends on your version of fun." Percher said with a mischievous smile. Rikimaro returned the smile and extended his fist for a fist bump.

"I think we're going to get along fine Percher." He said as Percher's first hit his.

"Call me Pest." she said simply. Rikimaro shrugged and went with it.

"If you'll follow me, we shall escort you to your room." Leticia said. Rikimaro looked up and saw the sun setting. He then nodded to Leticia and she walked into the mansion.

As they walked, Pest latched herself to him. This got surprised glances from both Lily and Leticia, especially since Rikimaro had no clue what Pest represented.

Rikimaro really didn't care at this point. As far as he was concerned, she could have been god and Satan's child.

He just wanted to get out of his still wet clothes and go to bed.