CHAPTER NINE

Nathan, Kristen, Christian, Reed, and Ruriko all balanced themselves as they took off their shoes in the little genkan before entering the house. It was the small foyer before the complete entrance of the home where one was to show respect by taking off their shoes before entering the house.

"That's the biggest mistake a tourist can make," Kristen had explained, carefully lining up the shoes to one side of the genkan. "It's a sign of disrespect of the home if you don't do it."

"Of course you're usually pardoned for your first mistake," Ruriko added with a teasing lift to her voice. She smirked at the boys. "Though we like to make sure that you don't forget it afterwards." She reached out and gently opened the door to the house and led the way inside. Kristen, Reed, Christian, and Nathan followed behind them. "First, we have to do one last thing."

The two young women walked over to a portrait of what appeared to be a fox hanging over a mantel. They picked up two sticks of incense that were gently smoking, and waved them around, closing their eyes, and allowing the smoke to drift up towards the portrait. As the smoke continued to swirl and dissipate into the air above them, a warm feeling seemed to cover the room in a heavy veil. When it reduced, the eye son the portrait seemed to flash. A smile gently graced the girls' features as they continued to swirl the incense.

Reed crossed his arms as he waited, eyes moving around the room. There was a little bit of wallpaper that covered the room, little birds mixed with pastel leaves. The tatami mats that covered the floor were thick and woven, slightly rough under his feet. But at the same time it felt comfortable to him. From where he was standing he could see into another room, the dining room maybe, that held a table close to the floor, pillows gently resting around each side. The house seemed big enough for two people to live comfortably and it held an air of spirituality around it. As his eyes moved, he found a few pieces of art and pottery that held kanji on the front and sides, though he couldn't read it himself, he felt it was something of the utmost importance.

Christian walked over to the large window at the side of the room and gripped the silky curtains between his fingers. Pulling it back, he looked out over a garden in the backyard. Cherry blossoms surrounded the perimeter of the property while tiny gardens filled sporadically around the luscious green grass. They weren't far from the city but the noise didn't reach them where they were. There was a tranquil atmosphere around the house, something he couldn't miss. Through the crack in the window he could smell the soothing scent of the cherry blossoms wafting around him and enclosing him in a calm breeze.

Nathan watched the smoke as it rose to the ceiling. The patterns it created as it flowed from the gently burning tips of the fragranced sticks mesmerized him. It was like a dance, the smoke twisting and twirling, waving its arms and legs as they continued their haunting dance towards the sky. What was it that had really caught his attention of it, the dark color, and the way it wouldn't have been noticed apart from the one person watching it? Maybe it was because he knew how it felt, to be noticed when it was time to be noticed and ignored when it wasn't time. He had gone through many science fairs and expos where he was able to show off his experiments and research without being shunned and exiled. It wasn't until he had met Reed and Christian that he felt he somewhat belonged.

Nathan lifted his eyes, watching the smoke as it twirled around the portrait. His eyes narrowed. Had it just moved? It looked like it had just turned its head and looked at him with narrowed eyes. Blinking, he looked away and turned back to the girls. "What are you doing?" He asked him.

Kristen opened her eyes and lowered the incense stick. "Paying respects to the kitsune that protects our family," she replied.

"Bless you," Reed said.

Ruriko chuckled. "No, a kitsune. It means fox." Reed's eyebrows furrowed together in an expression of slight confusion as Christian and Nathan snickered beside him.

"This six tailed kitsune has been rumored to be a guardian to our family for as long as I can remember," Kristen explained. Ruriko replaced her incense stick as well. "We pay respects whenever we come home and every morning, as a way to thank it for keeping us safe." She turned to the boys and gave them a peaceful smile. "I bet you all are hungry, I'll make us something to eat while we wait for our grandfather to get here." Her motherly instinct kicked in and she led the way from the front room to the dining room, motioning for the guests to sit down before she disappeared into the kitchen.

"So where is your grandfather right now?" Nathan crossed his legs underneath the table, hoping he wasn't disrespecting someone by the way he had positioned himself.

"Considering what time it is, most likely coming back from the market," Ruriko replied. "He knows we were arriving today and wanted to be sure that he could give us some of the best food the city had to offer."

Nathan nodded then got right to the point. "What does he know about Elementals?"

"Everything you ever needed to know," Ruriko said. Her voice was a little sharp, as if she was offended that her grandfather's integrity was being questioned. "He's had his powers for as long as I can remember and if I'm not mistaken, he has the power of light. Though I've never seen him do it in person and if he did, he passed it off as magic before we understood what it was as well." She laced her fingers together. "He was always stronger than most people, able to move faster, get things done during the day that would take most people a whole week…"

"Does he know anything about what could potentially be going on with Trethaway?" Reed pressed. "Anything that could have to do with the way the element stones work?"

"Why don't you ask me yourself, young man?" Ruriko turned and got to her feet, hugging the older man that stood only a little bit taller than her. He hugged her, gently patting her on the back, before side-stepping her so he could face the three young men that were sitting around his table. His left eye seemed to be permanently squinted and while he was visibly older than the boys anticipated, he still had an air about him that was youthful. "Then again I may as well show you."

There was a gust of wind and all of a sudden he was at the head of the table, slowly lowering himself down to the floor, bringing his legs behind him as he sat. He glanced at Ruriko. "Where's your sister, Renee?"

"In the kitchen," Ruriko replied.

"Renee?" Nathan repeated, eyebrows shooting up. "I thought your name was Ruriko?"

"It is," Kristen explained as she came out of the kitchen, carefully balancing a tray that was filled with bowls. She sat down at the last empty seat and took her own bowl before handing it Christian, who sat at her left. "She answers to both of her names; it really depends on who is speaking to her that she uses her Japanese or English one. Just like my Japanese name is Keiko but I prefer Kristen." She turned back to her grandfather and bowed slightly. "Ohayō no sofu," she said to him."And as you can see," The older man said in a low, rumbling voice. "My granddaughters have become much immersed in the American culture." He gave a small smile. "My son-in-law must have done something right."

Kristen then turned to the boys and waved an arm. "This is our grandfather, Akito."

Akito leaned forward and bowed to the three men in front of him. He noticed the worried expressions on their faces and held up his hands. "No need for formalities," he said to them. "I'm sure you're aware of the different suffixes that are used for respect around here. As long as you respect my granddaughters, then we have no problems here." He took the bowl that was offered to him and brought it up to his face, breathing in deeply through his nose. "Now, who, may I ask, are you three?"

"I'm Christian Manning, this is Reed Jackson, and Nathan Reeves," Christian introduced himself. He shifted into a more comfortable position and so that he was facing the older man. "We know that you understand a lot about Elementals and we were hoping you could help us."

"First, we brought this." Nathan reached into the satchel that was with him and brought out a silk scarf wrapped around the Element stone of light. He handed it over to Akito who gently unwrapped it. If he was surprised at the stone lying in the scarf, he didn't show it. "We know that you gave your granddaughters this Element stone. We were wondering if you could tell us everything you know about it and Elementals."

Akito closed his eyes for a long moment and as he did so, the lights dimmed and brightened in a constant pulse for as long as he held his eyes shut. The young men and women glanced at each other, waiting as the older man continued to meditate. Finally, he opened his eyes. "If you've brought this to me, then that means the balance of the two worlds has certainly fallen apart."

"That must be why the government had so many files on it," Nathan remarked. He snapped his fingers. "They knew there were more and more Elementals awakening as the years went on and the balance between the two worlds started to fall apart."

"So what happened to Trethaway?" Reed demanded. "That stone reacted when he was starting to attack the school. He attacked us!"

"Probably because he knew you were on to him," Akito replied, arching an eyebrow. His voice had turned gruff in response to Reed's impatience. "I would have done the same thing to those that tried to oppress me." He lowered his gaze and the stone. "I managed to get away, but I wasn't so lucky."

"What happened, Grandpa?" Kristen's mouth turned down at the corners in a slight pout.

"I was facing someone much stronger than I had ever anticipated fighting," Akito said slowly. "And…I had a curse put on me. It's been with me for years. It's not going to go away until the one that placed it on me is killed. And…I have a feeling that it may be the same person that is dealing with this Trethaway fellow at the moment."

Nathan brought his hands up and rested them over his face. It still didn't answer a lot of their questions, though it did shed some light on some situations. Whatever had fought Akito when he was young had slipped through the cracks when the world started to merge together, when they were supposed to be separate. Whatever had attacked Akito was what had, more than likely, taken over Trethaway and attacked them when they got too close to figuring out its identity. His eyes moved over to the portrait that hung over the mantel. It was supposed to be a guardian for the family…so what if it was what had kept the girls' parents and themselves from becoming elementals?

And if that wasn't the case, then what was it that was keeping them from being able to have the same sort of abilities Akito had? He made a mental note to check that, the lineage that Elementals had. Sure, there was a one in five chance the person was to become one, as evidenced by his research so far. If there was a way they cold trap Trethaway and force the thing that had its clutches on him out and get some sampling done with it…

Then we'd be able to prove the existence of Elementals and that it shouldn't be kept a secret from everyone, Nathan thought. He exchanged a glance with his best friends and the two men looked back at him, appearing just as anxious.

All they had to do was figure out the identity of what had Trethaway and move on from there.

"So what does the Element stone of light have to do with it?" Ruriko asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"If it reacted when this fellow came around, then there's a good chance that it would have an adverse affect against the powers of light," Akito continued. "Light is creation. Darkness is the space necessary to create." He paused. "Though what I faced didn't just have the power of darkness, it was stronger than anything I could have ever imagined."

Ruriko sat up straight. "Did it have a name?"

"It never said." Akito shook his head. "It was just…there….the sinister feeling that came from it was something that could never be rivaled. No matter how hard I tried to fight it off, and I was pretty strong at the time, I couldn't do much damage to it. It had almost every element anyone could think of. It was like it was reading my thoughts." He cleared his throat. "If you kids are going to get mixed up in this, then you're going to want more people on your side."

Christian slapped his hand against the table, emitting a loud crack that caused the girls to jump and glare at him. He gave a sheepish smile, holding his hands up defensively, then sobered up and turned serious once more. "Then maybe that's what we need," Christian said. "To create things that'll be able to scan the abilities that an Elemental has, to determine how strong they are."

Reed pointed at him. "Or to see who is more likely to become one."

Kristen's eyebrows lowered in disbelief. "Do you really think that's possible?"

"I didn't think any of this was possible up until it started to happen," Nathan said to her. He bobbed his head back and forth. "Until we found the existence. But maybe that was the point, that we were supposed to find it."

"Everything happens for a reason," Akito agreed. He closed the scarf back over the Element stone and enclosed his hands over it. It shone brightly as he continued to hold onto it, the light going from the stone to his hands. He juggled the ball of light back and forth for a few moments before closing his hand once more. "And I'll be glad to answer more of your questions, but I'd like to get some of this food first."

"No worries," Reed said quickly. "We have all the time in the world."

Maybe not that long, Nathan thought, picking up his spoon and dunking it into the broth that was in his bowl. Maybe not long at all.

A/N: I know it seems like this 'look into the past' chapter came kind of quickly, but now that I have things planned out better it'll come between the chapters with Zack, Cody, and Bailey before starting the cycle over again. And as they go on you'll get a better look at Christian, Kristen, Reed, Ruriko, and Nathan and how their lives started to change with the existence of Elementals, which had started to be seen here.

So there's no confusion, after this chapter Ruriko is going to be referred to as Renee (as in, when she's mentioned I'll write her by that name) but will be called Ruriko depending on those around her that are speaking to her.

Cheers,

-Riles