Upon arriving at the temple Rei, Asuka and Shinji were awestruck at the sight of it. The path leading up to it was decorated with seven large red wooden arches. The temple itself was built into the side of a mountain with only the front visible. The main gate was close to meters high and made entirely out of metal. The gate was adorned with images of what they speculated to be strong masters of the past. On each side of the gate was a large statue of a warrior. The feeling that emanated from the temple was that of strength and good.
"This is Master Kenji's temple, his home." Rei said staring at the sight before her.
"Yeah yeah it's really big. Can we go in now?"
"Nice Asuka just ruin the moment."
"Quiet Shinji."
"She's right anyway." said Rei. "Lets go in."
The walked up to the gate and Rei knocked on the metal door. A small hatch slid open in the gate and eyes peered through.
"Who goes there?" said the man behind the gate.
"We are travelers. I am Rei Ayanami, disciple of Master Kenji. He instructed me to journey her and ask for assistance in our quest."
"And what might that be?"
"To destroy the mist and free the world."
"Ha! How can you do that?"
"Master Kenji was instructed to find me by your abbot. I am Shinpishugisha."
"Ok I'll let you in."
The large gate was opened and a single man stood behind it. He was average looking in every way. Height, hair color and length, muscle build and even voice had no real characteristic difference. He looked at Rei and company very calmly.
"If you are who you say you are than the abbot will be glad to see you. If you are not, if you lie about your relation to Kenji, then you will be killed. Do you accept these terms?"
"Yes."
"Ok then. Follow me."
The man turned around and walked toward the main temple. Through the small yard between the gate and the temple were several devices that were apparently used for training. The temple itself had another gate to it. This one was much smaller than the first and was imbedded in the side of the mountain. Behind the gate was a long staircase leading upwards. The trip up the staircase took quite sometime. At the top was a hallway that had many doors. Again they followed the man to the far end. Upon walking through this door they arrived in a large room. At one end was a large chair and in the center was a large square platform that was risen off the ground slightly. The man who had brought them bowed toward the chair and spoke.
"Lord abbot, these travelers have important issues to discuss with you. Please allow them to speak."
The man in the chair looked up toward them. He waved his hand across his body and the man who led Rei, Asuka and Shinji stood up. He then walked over to his left and pulled a large rope that was hanging from the ceiling. Soon after many people walked into the room and sat around the perimeter. The man in the chair spoke.
"What is it you wish to say young ones."
The man in the chair was very old. He had a long white beard and hair. He held a cane in his hands and his body was hunched over. Even with these signs of age it was easy to tell that he had once been very strong indeed.
Rei bowed before she spoke. "My name is Rei Ayanami. I am from a village in the south west that was inhabited by Master Kenji ten years ago. Upon your orders abbot he sought me out and trained me. Under his guidance I have been given the title master. I humbly request your assistance in our quest that was foretold by your vision."
"You mean to say that you are the Shinpishugisha that I saw?"
"Yes sir."
"I do not believe this."
"But sir.."
"I don't believe most things I am told. Please prove to us that you are who you say you are."
"Hold on a second!" exclaimed Asuka. "You don't trust us? We obviously are strong and what not, we made in through the mist. That's not something you can fake."
"Asuka be quiet." Shinji said with his smile.
"How dare you speak to the abbot that way!" called a man from the side. "You expect us to believe that a woman like her was given the title of master? Either Kenji is handing out the name or your lying."
"You wish to prove them wrong?" asked the abbot.
"Yes sir let me be one to test them." he said bowing.
"Very well then. You shall be tested on your merit. One of you will fight with Genya."
Genya walked into the center of the risen floor which was apparently a fighting area. Genya was a very large man, over six feet tall and very muscular. He scowled at Rei and the other.
"Hahaha!" Asuka laughed pointing at Genya with on hand and holding her stomach with the other. "This guy thinks he's strong because he has huge muscles. What an idiot."
"How dare you insult me. Do you wish to stand behind those words?"
"Yeah sure." said Asuka confidently. "It would be a waist of time to have Rei fight you."
"The first test shall be between Genya and the red haired woman." said the abbot.
"Asuka." Rei said as she began to walk towards the ring. "Don't do anything stupid like allowing your self to get hit alright."
"Like this idiot could ever lay a hand on me."
Asuka walked into the ring with a confident smirk on her face. Genya took a stance and Asuka stood with her hands at her side. Genya charged in and threw a punch at Asuka's face. She side stepped the attack and quickly got behind Genya. As Genya tried to turn around Asuka put her back against his and every time he moved she moved with him. Genya tried to shake her off but to no avail. Genya was getting annoyed with Asuka's style and tried harder and harder to hit her. Eventually Asuka ducked between his legs and in front of him. Immediately she jumped um and kicked him in the jaw. As Genya reeled back from the attack Asuka swung her other leg around and hit the side of his head. Genya was taken off his feet and landed on his side. Asuka landed calmly and gave a slight chuckle.
"What an idiot." she said turning away and walking out of the ring.
Several other members of the temple stood up and lifted Genya out of the ring.
"Impressive." spoke the abbot. "You were easily able to defeat him. Shall another of you take the test?"
"Why not." said Shinji. "It's not like I can really say no."
"You joke about us boy?" said a man from the side. "Abbot sir, I would like to test this man."
"Very well. The next test shall be between Seiryuu and the boy."
"Interesting." said Shinji as he walked into the ring.
"You find me interesting boy?"
"Yes." Shinji said with a smile.
"Do you smile out of confidence or out of ignorance?"
"I smile because I smile. I don' think I do anything else."
"Interesting."
As soon as Seiryuu finished speaking he charged at Shinji. He was quite fast, but Shinji was able to side step. Seiryuu instantly changed direction and attacked again. After a few exchanges like that Shinji blocked an attack instead of dodging.
"I see. You drop you speed just slightly so you can change direction better."
"Very perceptive of you. Only I can go faster." Seiryuu flashed behind Shinji and kicked at his head. As the kick was about to land Shinji vanished.
"Good." said Shinji smiling. "If that was as fast as you were going to go this match would have been a real drag."
"Hmm." said Seiryuu.
The attacking began again but this time it was a high speed battle. Shinji and Seiryuu flashed at equal speed all across the ring attacking each other. Several of the members of the temple were shocked at the display before them. Many were unable to see either of them move.
"How long is Shinji going to keep this up?" asked Asuka.
"Come on Asuka just relax. Your fight is over let Shinji enjoy his."
"Why he should just get it over with so you can go. We need to get help these people and not waste time."
"Asuka come on. Shinji finally gets to have a fight where his life isn't on the line. Let him have his friendly competition."
"I wonder if this Seiryuu guy knows that Shinji is holding back."
Seiryuu and Shinji stopped in the center of the ring standing relaxed with the arms at their sides. Seiryuu had a serious look on his face and Shinji had his usual smile.
"You very good boy. I never expected for you to be as fast as me. It is nice to see more people at this level."
"Huh, oh I'm not as fast as you." Shinji said and vanished. "I'm faster." Shinji was behind Seiryuu without him noticing. He struck the back of his neck and Seiryuu collapsed to his knees. "That was fun. I'm done now." Shinji said and walked over to Rei and Asuka. "Alright your turn."
"Good job Shinji."
"Thank you deception is my specialty."
"Very impressive." spoke the abbot. "For the final test Rei shall fight a master at Kenji's level."
"That sounds like fun." Shinji said.
"If you are who you say you are than you will be victorious of your opponent. If not, you will be killed."
"What?" called Asuka.
"I agree with these terms."
"Why?"
"If I impersonated a master of this temple than I deserve to be killed. You guys will be killed to if I loose."
"Good thing I trust you."
"Thank you Asuka." Rei said chuckling.
"Master Futoshi. Please step forward and test this girl."
"Yes sir." replied a man standing in the corner. He walked out into the ring and calmly stood at his end. "You say you are Kenji's student, I would very much like to see that."
"Than I shall show you." Rei replied.
Futoshi was a short man only about as tall as Rei. He had amazing muscular tone and shaggy black hair that hung down in front of his face. His eyes were narrowed and looked as though they could pierce through a person. When Rei entered the ring he very calmly put his right foot behind him and turned his body. His right hand went across his body level with his collar bone and his left went across his stomach. Both his hands were in fists. Rei put her right foot out and bent her knee so only her toes touched the ground. Her left leg also bent and she placed most of her weight on that leg. Her right had was up and open just below chin height almost fully extended. Her left hand was much closer to her body and just below her sternum. Rei and Futoshi stayed in their stance without moving.
After some time passed Rei and Futoshi had still not moved from their spots. Man members of the temple were quietly whispering amongst themselves. Asuka and Shinji stood silent for a while, but Asuka was unable to stay quiet.
"What are they doing?" she asked. "They haven't moved for ten minutes."
"They are predicting each others moves." replied Shinji.
"Huh?"
"Masters at that level can look at an opponent and know what they will do. Even more than can judge how that person will respond to separate attacks. Basically they can see the battle before they move."
"So they are imagining how each other will react if the attack first?"
"Not just that, they are seeing how they whole battle will transpire. By they time they attack they whole battle, every attack, evade and block will be known to each of them. When they finally do move that winner will already be decided."
"Wow that's amazing. Can you do that Shinji?"
"Never tried. My skills are different from their's. Since mine is mostly shadow and deception I was never taught things like this. Even if I could, Rei would still surpass me in that aspect. Right here is where we see the real difference between Rei and us. Not the Shinpishugisha skills, but here, in battle with her full skill being used."
"Rei will win. She'll see through this guy and be able to beat him."
"Let's hope so." Shinji said joyfully. "You two being dead would be a real bummer."
"Us two? You wouldn't be killed?"
"Oh of course not. I'd escape before they could do that."
"Heh."
Rei and Futoshi stood ready to attack for a few more minutes. Eventually the abbot exhaled. He was also able to see the outcome. As he exhaled Rei and Futoshi vanished. Only a few of the masters, the abbot and Shinji were able to clearly see what happened. Asuka could follow where they were, but the fine details were unknown to her. After being gone from sight for about thirty seconds Rei and Futoshi reappeared in the center of the ring. Rei was crouched under an attack and her palm was o Futoshi's stomach.
"Very impressive." Futoshi said. "You are definitely a master taught by Kenji." With this Futoshi fell over defeated by Rei. Everyone in the temple gasped at this event. Three strangers had come out of nowhere and beaten three of the strongest people at the temple with great ease.
The abbot stood up from his chair. "These three have proven themselves to be who they say they are. We shall now honor their request. Everyone is dismissed."
Everyone who was sitting stood up and left orderly out the same doors they had entered through. Only two people stayed in the room besides the abbot; another master who occupied another corner, and the man who had brought Rei and the others up to this room. They walked over and stood on either side of the abbot.
"What is it you wish to discuss with me?" asked the abbot.
"Sir." Rei said bowing.
"You need not use formalities. You are a master at this high a level so you may speak as you normally would."
"Thank you. Sir it was by your vision that Kenji traveled to my village and trained me correct?"
"Yes this is true. I saw a Shinpishugisha from the southwest who would have the power to save this world."
"I, being that Shinpishugisha, request more assistance from you. Either training, men to help our quest or more information of the mist. How to beat it, where the source is or the location of the one responsible, Shinigami."
"I am sorry. I can give you no men and no information that will be useful to you."
"Then please.."
"There will be very little we can do for you in the way of training as well. You will only be able to grow so much here. Your skills are almost level with the masters of this temple, and you Rei, may be stronger than everyone here."
"So your saying we came all the way here for nothing!?" exclaimed Asuka.
"It may seem that way." said the abbot.
"Surely abbot they can still be trained." said the man who lead the group up. "At least the can get used to fighting different people. They cannot get worse."
"This is true."
"Also, There is something that can be done for the Shinpishugisha."
"Do you speak of what I think?"
"Yes sir. She is the one from you vision so she will be able to do it."
"Be careful. You know full well what will happen if she fails."
"Yes." the man looked at Rei. "If you would, follow me and we will begin your training."
Rei stood up to follow the man.
"Rei." called Shinji. "Good luck."
"Thanks."
"You two shall be trained here for now. You may stay as long as is needed for your friend to complete her training."
"Thank you sir." Asuka and Shinji aid in unison with a bow.
Asuka and Shinji were led down a hallway by the other master that stayed in the room during the discussion. He walked a few feet in front of them so Asuka spoke quietly so he would not hear.
"Shinji I don't trust this."
"Trust what?"
"This place, this whole thing. They just took Rei and we don't know where she is. For all we know this is some kind of trap and we are being lead off guard."
"Well the off guard part is out, you nice an suspicious."
"I'm serious Shinji. If this is a trap and Rei gets into a bad spot what will happen? She cant use magic and we wont be there to help."
"You just answered your own question. And besides nothing is going to happen. We can trust these people."
"How can you trust them so easily?"
"I'm surprised you don't since Rei does. And because it takes less work to do that than think up ad things like you are now."
"Lazy idiot."
"We have arrived at your room." said the man leading them. "Unfortunately due to the amount of space you will be sharing a room."
"What really!?"
"This is the only spare room we have and I was under the impression that you would not want to share a room with the other residents of the temple."
"Fine."
"Please make yourselves at home. A meal shall be prepared in your honor so please come and attend when I come for you."
"Ok that sounds nice." said Shinji.
Shinji and Asuka stepped into the room to find only two beds. From this they concluded that either; Rei would be sharing a bed with someone or that she was not going to be staying in this room. Asuka was still annoyed and skeptical about the temple and the people in it. Shinji lay back on his bed and calmly looked up the ceiling with his trademark smile. Asuka glared at him.
"Can I help you Asuka?"
"Are you concerned about this situation at all? You don't even think that its odd that Rei was taken somewhere else? Don't you care about… about your friend?"
"Of course I do. I also know that Rei can handle herself. And if she thought that there was anything to worry about she would have given us a hint not just walked away. You worry too much."
"Hmph." Asuka grunted. "So, what do you think we will be doing while we stay here?"
"Some type of training I guess. We could use some more strength after all."
"I wonder if we will learn Rei's style while we're here."
"I wont be, you might."
"Why wont you?"
"I have a style. I would be unable to pick up another one."
"Hmm."
A while later there was a knock on the door. It was the same man who had brought them to the room a few hours before. He slowly opened the door and bowed before he entered.
"Excuse me, the feast is about to start. Please come with me."
Shinji and Asuka followed the man back down to the hallway. After passing through the fighting room, as they had come to call it, they took the third door on the left of the other hallway. After taking another short hallway the door opened and revealed a large area with man tables that were, at this time, covered with food. Each table was had members of the temple sitting all around waiting. At the far end of the room was the abbot sitting at his very own table.
"Our guests have arrived." the abbot said still sitting. :Young travelers and great warriors, Shinji and Asuka, please enjoy this feast in your honor."
The entire hall cheered as Shinji and Asuka bowed in thanks. They were lead over to a table were they sat down and began eating. Shinji looked over at Asuka with a slightly different smile.
"What is it now Shinji?"
"Your not suspicious anymore I see. I you didn't question the food or anything. What made you change your mind?"
"Nothing I'm just hungry. Why would I pass up all this free food that's in my honor?"
"Wow you are humorous."
"The only thing I don't like is," Asuka paused and started to speak quietly, "they said it was for us, with no mention of Rei at all. I think I do have reason to be worried now."
"Well you could be right." said Shinji without lowering his voice. "But I doubt it. Again I don't think they would have done anything bad to her. Or even been able to. Unless one of Shinigami's men had gotten in here somehow I don't think anyone here can harm Rei. You need to stop worrying and relax."
"Fine fine, if you say so."
"Seriously you of all people should trust Rei's judgment and skill. What ever they have her doing I'm sure is beneficial and probably has something to do with her Shinpishugisha powers."
"Yeah ok. Your right."
After the feast Shinji and Asuka went back to their room. They were getting tired of being escorted everywhere they went. They understood the formality behind it and that it was a gesture of respect to them, but it still got annoying after a while. After sitting around for a while Shinji retired for the evening leaving Asuka awake by herself. She laid back on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. With all of Shinji's reassurances she felt much better about the situation they were in and was able to sleep easy.
They next morning Shinji and Asuka awoke and decided to look around the temple a bit without an escort. After a little searching they were surprised to find no one around the temple. They continued to search and finally found everyone in a large room with a statue of a god at the far end. All the members of the temple were kneeling and praying to this statue. They were seated according to their rank at the temple with masters in the front and newest in the rear. Shinji and Asuka stood at the door.
"What are they doing?" asked Asuka.
"They appear to be praying to this god of theirs."
"Why would they do something like that?"
"Because people find it comforting to pray to things. And its probably a tradition of theirs."
"Do you think a god actually hears this or cares what they are asking?"
"How should I know? That sounds more like Rei's department. This is never something I did or ever wanted to do. I always found it stupid."
"Why?"
"Well I figure that if you listen to the stories of the worlds creation, the gods have enough trouble with us so continually bothering they does not seem like a good idea. That and I never had time to waste on something like this. It wouldn't have made me a better scientist or better at my fighting so why do it?"
"Good point."
"And you? No tradition like this was in your village?"
"Well I don't remember too much, but I think I remember hearing something about it. A few of the adults had said that praying to a god was pointless after they had forsaken humans like they did. You know, with the mist and all."
"That makes sense. If this is a tradition of this temple why doesn't Rei do this? She learned from someone from this temple and is a Shinpishugisha so she has stronger ties to spirits and whatnot."
"Probably because Kenji was her teacher." said Seiryuu standing in front of them.
"Oh the prayer ended I see." said Shinji.
"You don't ask about what I said?"
"Well either you'd tell me anyway, or Asuka would ask. And from what I know about your personality you are not the type to hold back information. Masters always want to teach other."
"You have me pegged very well. Kenji did not agree with this tradition of ours."
"Why not?" asked Asuka.
"He said that it was pointless. That as long as we did no damage to the earth and did not needlessly take life it would be enough. He said his time could be better spent training and refining his art. It was because he spent all is time doing that, he was picked to travel and find the Shinpishugisha girl."
"Rei." Asuka interjected.
"Yes my apologies. He was sent since he was the strongest and had the best chance to make it to her village."
Shinji looked past Seiryuu to some of the other members of the temple. "It seems we angered a few of these people by saying what we did earlier."
"That you did. Everyone here takes the traditions seriously so you words and the mention of Kenji's name are not taken well."
"Your temple seems to have anger problems." said Asuka.
Several members of the temple started to speak after Asuka's comment. They were saying she was far to confident for her own good.
"What, you big strong men are mad that a woman should speak like this? Then do something about it. Or are you to scared after you saw what I could do yesterday?"
The room went quiet.
"That's what I thought."
"Asuka why don't we stop pestering them."
"Fine." Asuka said and walked out of the room.
While Asuka and Shinji walked Asuka looked as though she was thinking about something. Instead of asking Shinji just walked besides her and waited for her to say something about it. They arrived at the training room and it was full of people training.
"Is there a shortcut somewhere that we don't know about?" asked Shinji.
"Maybe." Asuka paused. "Hey Shinji."
"Yeah?"
"I was wondering. Can you teach me that flash thing that you and Rei do?"
"Huh? Ok. Why al of a sudden?"
"When Rei fought yesterday, I was barley able to follow it and even you were moving pretty fast. I could follow you, but you weren't going your full speed. We've let it go for a long time, but I am the weakest one in our group so I need all the help I can get. Please teach it to me."
"Sure. This place is a little full so how about we go outside and train it?"
"Ok."
Shinji and Asuka traveled outside to the area between the main gate and the actual temple. Shinji stopped and turned towards Asuka.
"So do you really want to learn this?"
"Yes. Why wouldn't I?"
"Well some people cant actually handle the training. Do you think you are up to it?"
"Yes."
"Once you complete this you will have strength on par with that of a master. Lets begin. Very simply, I want you to run at me as fast as you can."
Asuka and Shinji continued to train all day without stopping. When the sun was beginning to set Asuka fell to the ground on her back exhausted from the days training.
"Man this is hard. You both did this?"
"No neither of us rested before we were instructed. Now stand back up."
"Are you kidding me? I can keep going like this. I haven't eaten."
"And you wont eat or stop until you accomplish the task set before you."
"But I can't.."
"Can't what? Go faster? Yes you can, and you will. You have gotten slower since we started this morning. You shall not stop until you move faster than when we started. You must pull all of your strength into this and surpass your limits."
"Damn. This is so much harder than the training we did in Sendai."
Asuka continued to train until the moon had risen into the sky. By her best guess it was past midnight and starting to work its way toward next morning. After many tries and near mental and physical collapse Asuka finally was able to move faster than she did at the start of the day. When Shinji said "Good job" Asuka collapsed on the ground asleep.
"You don't know how well you gust did Asuka. Completing the first stage after only one day is quite the accomplishment. Most people take much longer. You, Rei and I are probably the only ones that can do this."
The next morning Asuka was woken up by Shinji. She looked around surprised to find herself back in her room. Puzzled, she looked at Shinji and started to speak.
"How.."
"I brought you here after you fell asleep. Please don't yell at me this early in the morning. Instead eat some food and meet me back outside, we need to keep training. The hard part is about to start." Shinji got up and walked out of the room.
"Wow. I feel bad for anyone that Shinji ever trains fully. So Shinji and Rei went through stuff like this, no wonder they are so strong."
Asuka ate her breakfast and joined Shinji outside. He was waiting for her patiently facing the direction she was coming from.
"Show me your speed improvement." Shinji said flatly.
Asuka stopped and readied herself to run. When she did she was surprised at how much faster she was moving since yesterday. It was like her weight had halved and she was gliding across the ground. She stopped just before reaching Shinji and looked at him with amazement.
"Very good. Your normal speed is high enough that learning the flash is not out of the question. Now to do this move you'll have to go one step further than just muscular strength. You need to understand the energy that flows through you."
"Energy?"
"Yes. Everyone has life energy that flows through them. Even those people that work for Shinigami have a life force. Theirs is distorted, but it's still there. Everyone's energy is unique to them had has a different purpose."
"What do you mean by purpose?"
"Well I was getting to that. The reason we do things, all our action, especially fighting, are guided by this energy. Much of who we are is determined by it. Rei is a very just and noble person that stands by her beliefs and the energy that flows through her is also just and strong. That is why her flash is what it is. She has understood her energy and mastered it."
"Ok that makes sense. What about you is yours calm and partially lazy?"
"No. my energy has been changed by my art. My art is that of death and the shadows and that is what my energy is. Rei fights for her principles. When she charges it is for those. When I charge, it is to kill my target. There is no other purpose to it than that. You on the other hand are much nicer. You live and breath protecting. You reason for fighting, and the energy that flows through you, exists for no other purpose than to protect those you love. You have to use that to master your flash."
"To protect those I love?"
"Yes. Stage two of flash training involves you understanding that energy and transferring it to you legs and feet. Before you can learn the full flash you must learn how to leave the spot you are standing."
"What you mean start moving? I know how to move."
"No you don't. When people start to run they are slow and their speed gradually picks up. What you need when you run is much like when you attack. The speed must be there when it starts, but even attacks get faster between start and finish. The reason flash is so hard, the reason you loose sight of it, is because you move at full speed the instant you start moving. There is no buildup of momentum, just instantaneous speed from the very start. That is what you need your energy for."
"I understand."
"Good. Then try it."
Asuka and Shinji trained this skill everyday for one month. Each and every day Asuka got faster and fast until she was just short of the full flash. For several days she pondered about what she was missing. She could tell that there was one thing she did not have, one small difference between how Shinji did it and how she was, but she was unable to figure it out. Eventually her speed stopped increasing. She had three straight days of no gain and was very worried about why. On the four day Shinji had a bigger smile than normal when Asuka came out to train.
"I see you haven't gotten any faster in a few days, how sad."
"Instead of pestering me why don't you tell me what I'm doing wrong? That would be a lot more useful that just wasting my time."
"What could possibly be more useful than that? Pestering those you are training forces them to learn. But I will tell you what your problem is."
"What is it?"
"There is a problem with your flash. Your abilities are higher than that of a normal human, but your flash still wont change."
"What am I not trying hard enough?"
"Oh heavens no. in fact you are trying to hard."
"What?"
"Think about how you have been doing you flash. You ready your run or attack and then go. Think about how Rei and I have done a flash in the past."
"You've gone from standing normally."
"Yes. If you can do that you will gain your flash, but there is a trick behind it."
"What is it."
"Unfortunately your strong personality will be a problem with this last step. You need to be fully relaxed to do such a move. Stay calm and empty and then you will be able to do the flash. Once you have learned to do that you must do it over and over until clearing your mind like that can be done without thinking. Your almost there."
"So once I master this, how does it get better?"
"The same way as before, forcing yourself to move faster than the last time."
"Ok."
Asuka spent the next week training to flash from a standing position. She initially had to stop and breath before being able to move, but after the week had pasted she could do it whenever she wanted. Asuka could now flash like Shinji and Rei, not as fast, but she had the ability.
"Good. Now, one final test, attack me using the flash."
"Right."
Asuka drew her weapon and readied to attack Shinji. When she vanished Shinji's smile grew just a little. Asuka flashed all around Shinji to try and confuse him on her location. She did not actually think that her speed would be enough to do this, but showing how well she could control the flash was what Shinji wanted. When Asuka finally attack Shinji simple side stepped and put his blade to Asuka's back.
"Very good. You are quite fast. I think we will be able to beat them all now."
"Thanks Shinji."
"No problem."
"I see you can do the flash now!" called a voice from behind them.
Asuka turned around and smiled from ear to ear. "Rei!" she called and flashed over to her. "Your finally back."
"Yeah I'm back."
Asuka hugged Rei and Rei returned the act. Shinji walked over to them.
"So, how did it go?"
"Good. I don't have to worry about the evil side of e anymore. And, I got a new power."
"Really? And?"
"It is amazing. With it I'm sure we can beat Shinigami and his minions. Asuka's new flash will be a real help too."
"Well?" said Asuka letting go of the hug. "What happened while you were gone? Where did you go? What did you do? Tell us."
"Yes please Asuka was all kinds of worried at first and I'd like to know what happened. I've been suppressing my curiosity for some time know."
"Ok. It's a long story so lets go sit down."
"Yes." the man looked at Rei. "If you would, follow me and we will begin your training."
Rei stood up to follow the man.
"Rei." called Shinji. "Good luck."
Rei followed the man out a door behind the abbot's chair and down a long hallway. After a few minutes of walking Rei stopped.
"What seems to be the problem Rei?"
"Who are you?"
"What do you mean? I yes I haven't introduced myself, my name is Takuji."
"That's not what I meant. What I meant is who are you really?"
"I do believe I answered that."
"Don't try to keep this up I can tell you are disguising yourself."
"Oh?"
"Shinji was able to tell too. You may not have changed your name, but you are not who you are pretending to be, not to us anyway. You mentioned something to train me that they could not. You obviously know something related to the Shinpishugisha that they don't. Are you a Shinpishugisha as well?"
"Very good." Takuji said smiling. "One thing though, did your friend Asuka not notice that I was hiding?"
"No, her skill in that matter is not well advanced."
"Too bad I only fooled one of you. Yes I am a Shinpishugisha like you." Takuji pulled off his wig and his blue hair fell over his face. "I'm glad you figured this out so fast I can take all this makeup off."
"How did you disguise your eye color?"
"That is a trick I would like to keep to myself."
"Fine. Why did you think it was necessary to hide yourself like that?"
"One to test your perception and two so you would not ask me to train you. I wanted it to just happen."
"Interesting. So, where are you taking me and, what is your Shinpishugisha power? Can you tell me anything else about our race? Is all this really our fault?"
"You'll see and I will tell you all you'd like later, please just follow me for now."
Takuji continued to walk down the hallway. Rei followed with ever increasing curiosity about what was going to happen. Eventually they came to a staircase that lead down into the earth. The staircase was deeper than anything Rei had ever seen. It seemed to descend indefinitely. After quite some time on the staircase it finally ended and there was another hallway that lead back in the direction of the temple. When they finally reached the end Rei guessed that they were deep beneath the temple.
"This is where we will train for now." Takuji said opening the door.
Inside was a large open space that was fully like exactly like the underground library. Rei looked around amazed at the sight.
"This is just like the library."
"So you have seen that have you?"
"Yes. I was lead there in some kind of trance and Shinji tried to translate some books from there. How does the ceiling glow like that?"
"Many hundreds of years ago the Shinpishugisha wanted to be able to conduct research in a secluded manner so they built great spaces like this one underground. At first the just used torches but one scientist invented a crystal that would glow as long as there was air present. By putting in a large enough source this perfectly lit space was created."
"Wow."
"As interesting as that is it's not why we are here. We have come here to train you. You are the demon whisperer correct?"
"Yes."
"Good. Many Shinpishugisha survived the massacre and are hiding all over the world, but only you can stop this mist. The demon whisperer is the only one who can acquire enough power."
"Why did it have to be me? Aren't there others with this power?"
"No. In all history there have been three with this power. The first was born over one thousand years ago and the second almost two hundred. This is not a skill that manifest itself regularly."
"I see. Then I am honored to have this ability."
"You needn't say anything like that I am only here to train you not make you grateful."
"Before we start I want to know, what is your power?"
"My power is more of a curse than anything. I have the power of infinite knowledge."
"Infinite knowledge?"
"Yes, I know everything. Everything that has ever been and everything that is learned is instantly acquired by my brain. I have also learned many things yet to come. This have made my life horrible in many ways."
"I see."
"But I shall put this curse to one last use. I will give you the full power obtainable by a demon whisperer. Are you ready for your training?"
"I, have a slight problem. I was cursed by a demon manufactured by Shinigami. Using my magic allows this evil part of e to grow and become stronger. If it grows too strong it my take me over."
"Yes I am aware of this. All we have to do is conquer that side of you. If you can take control of that part of you, you will be much stronger than you are now."
"How do I do that?"
"Unfortunately that method required takes some time to prepare. It should be ready by tomorrow so you can actually wait until then. First I have some questions for you. Are you aware of what that sword and necklace are?"
"Huh? I was told that this sword was the first, the model for all swords that exist and this necklace belonged to my mother."
"Your mother had it did she. Did she ever say where she got it?"
"No I never asked, nor did I have much time, she died when I was very young."
"Well, that sword and necklace are very important. They are symbols of the royal court."
"The royal court?"
"Yes. The Shinpishugisha had a royal family, the first that traveled down to the world of mortals, giving up their immortality. They crafted three artifacts to use as symbols. One was the necklace, the symbol of the female side of the family, passed to either daughters or wives if there was no daughter. The sword passed to the first guard, the head of the of a different family that was charged with protecting the first. And an embroidered Haori, to be passed down to the males in the family. Somehow you managed to acquire two of them."
"Well what does that mean?"
"The necklace would declare you head of the family if it was passed down by blood or the wife of the head if not. The sword would deem you the strongest Shinpishugisha known."
"I had no idea."
"These two items will be important when the mist is cleared. If the Haori is not found it will be you who will retake the royal family."
"I'm really not interested in that sort of thing."
"I see."
"I am going to prepare dinner. Please rest. You will need as much strength as you have for your training tomorrow."
"Ok."
When Takuji returned he had a bowl of soup in his hands. He walked over to Rei and handed her the bowl. The look on his face said to eat it, but Rei was concerned as to why there was only one. Takuji should also be hungry so it made little sense for him not to have food. For some reason Rei trusted him and ate the soup. Shortly after she finished the meal Rei became very sleepy. As she tried to keep her eyes open she became weaker and weaker, until slowly she did not have enough strength to hold her head up. She slumped back against the wall of the room and fell asleep.
"And now I wait." said Takuji.
Rei awoke and wondered why\at was in the soup and why Takuji would have drugged her. Then she noticed that she was not in the same room as last night, but in a large empty void. She looked around confused at the endless sea of white that somehow still had a clear up and down. After a moment of searching she noticed that someone else was there.
"Who's there?"
"Really, you still haven't figured it out?"
"You? Where am I?"
"Your in your soul you idiot." said Rei's evil half. "Somehow or other you managed to travel to inside yourself."
"Inside my soul?"
"Yes. This is everything you are. Unfortunately your soul is pure and white. It really sucks. All I need to do is grow a little stronger and I can make it black and win over you. And you just made that easier for me."
"And how did I do that?"
"You came here. If I kill you here than I will take over this body. It will be amazing."
"And if I kill you?"
"Than you will have control and my power. I don't think it will happen that way though. I will win and take your power."
"And you are so confident why?"
"I have something you lack. The required skill to be victorious. I will kill humans, I am ruthless and I hold nothing back. You who are nice and don't like killing can never beat me."
Rei flashed behind her dark self and sliced at her back. Rei's evil side easily blocked.
"Such a basic move? You thought that would work."
"Nope." Rei said stepping back from your dark side. Rei then used the same technique she used on Hachi. Moving fast enough to make visual copies of herself all around her opponent in a dome shape. When Rei attacked her sword had enough force to cleave a person in half with all three strikes, and each one was blocked by her dark side.
"I am you, you fool. I know the weakness of that attack. I can see the change." Than Dark Rei vanished and reappeared above Rei and thrust down at her with the sword held in her left hand. Rei avoided it.
"Damn." said Rei. "How can I beat myself? She knows everything I do."
"It is of no use. There is no way you can win."
"By that logic you shouldn't be able to win either. This should be a stalemate indefinitely."
"Ha ha. You think so?"
Dark Rei held out her right hand and brought forth the bat demon. It flew at Rei and then unleashed its strong cutting wind than Rei barley avoided. When it attacked again Rei swung her sword with enough force to stop the wind and then flashed to kill the demon. After Rei dispatched the beast she landed on the ground and looked at her evil self.
"You can summon demons too huh?"
"Well of course. I am you after all."
"Damn. That just made this a lot harder."
Rei stood motionless trying to construct an idea that would allow her to win. There was no attack or technique she had that her dark side would be fooled by. She needed a tactic that was completely out of her normal scope of tactics. One that she wouldn't normally think of. Eventually her dark side attack her and Rei defended from her relaxed condition.
"Oh, that would have so much fun if it worked."
"You don't take this half seriously."
"Yes I do." and dark Rei summoned the fire demon in her left hand and sent it at Rei. The exact tactic that Rei used on San. Rei avoided the full force of the blast by flashing out of the way.
Despite Rei's best efforts she was unable to land a hit on her dark side. With that halves ability to use magic not impaired there was little Rei could do. Finally Rei had to stop and breath. As she stood there breathing heavily her dark side charged in and thrust at her chest. Rei tried to jumper over her evil self to avoid the attack, but was stabbed in the leg during the jump.
"Crap." said Dark Rei as she realized what had just occurred."
Rei was now suspended in the air by Dark Rei's sword. Using the control she now had on her opponent she rotated her hand over and thrust the blade down into Dark Rei just behind the clavicle. Dark Rei gasped out a few words.
"You let yourself get hit so I would be unable to defend myself. Damn, I never saw that coming."
"That was the point."
"I guess you do deserve to control this body. Enjoy your supremacy Rei."
"Thank you for making me earn it."
"Ha. Condescending to your enemies to the end huh? Damn you."
When Dark Rei disappeared Rei woke up back in the room that Takuji had brought her to. When she realized what happened she noticed Takuji exhale a sigh of relief.
"What happened?" asked Rei.
"I almost had to kill you."
"Why?"
"The time your were in there was almost at it limit. Any longer and I would have had to kill you t keep your evil side at bay. You mad it though."
"How long was I in there?"
"From the time I drugged you to just now? About twelve hours. You only really slept for one of them."
"That would explain why I am so tired after just waking up."
"Actually I'm surprised you are still conscious. Most people, when this happens they pass back out pretty fast. Maybe it's because you haven't stood up yet."
Rei barley heard the end to that statement as she fell back asleep on her spot on the wall.
When Rei awoke the next day she felt different that before. When she stood up she felt lighter and stronger. Her breathing was silent like Shinji's and everything looked clearer. Being confused as to why she looked around for Takuji. When she finally found him she tried to ask him about what she was feeling, but he responded before she could make a sound.
"It's what happens when you become whole. When a person acquires power there is always the split between the side that uses it for good and the side that uses it for evil. When you can control both sides you become whole and your power increases."
"That's amazing. This much more strength just from that."
"Don't be too amazed, there's still a lot more for you to do here if you want to beat Shinigami."
"Well lets not waste time then. Please teach me whatever it is you have to offer."
"Your very eager to learn. Ok lets begin." Takuji walked into the center of the large underground room and turned to look at Rei. "This room in below the training hall of the temple. So it will also be our training hall."
"Understood."
"Your training will be very difficult, I hope you live."
Rei stood silent.
"First summon a demon, anyone will do."
Rei held out her hand and the fire demon instantly formed in front of her. The process of summoning demons was greatly easier than before.
"Good." said Takuji. "Now, summon another one."
Rei nodded and released that demon and summoned the ice demon.
"I did not say to release one I said summon another one."
"I have tried before, summoning two demons at once is not something I can do."
"Did Kenji raise a student who gives up that quickly? Summon a second demon!"
"Yes." Rei replied.
Rei's attempts to summon two demons at once achieved less desirable results than she had wanted. The whole day was spent without bringing the skill any closer to completion. At the end of the day Rei dropped to her knees, exhausted by the day's training.
"Wow, I haven't had a training day like that in a while."
"This will be your goal for now. You cannot proceed to step two of the training until you can summon two demons at one time."
"I understand."
Rei spent that night meditating instead of sleeping. She was attempting to find the answer behind her problems. She felt that there must be a way to find the answer as to why she was unable to do this task. After a while of mediating she spoke with her demons about his problem. Unfortunately they had no answer. Next she tried to speak with the voice that gave her the Shinpishugisha powers. The voice that she had spoken with before about this strength. After quite some time she finally was able to reach the voice. Instead of speaking with the voice Rei heard a sound. The sound was that of a droplet of water falling into a lake. AS that sound echoed through her mind she opened her eyes.
"Is that it?" she asked. "Thank you very much. I would not have seen that on my own."
Takuji lay on the other side of the room and smiled when he heard Rei speak.
The following day Rei and Takuji attempted the training to summon two demons again. Rei again summoned the fire demon to start and then tried to summon the bat demon. It took a considerable amount of effort, but Rei was able to summon the second demon.
"You figured it out did you?"
"Yes. The trick is rather simple once you know it."
"And?"
"You don't know?"
"Usually people love telling there knowledge to others."
"The trick was understanding the demons energy. Until now I treated the demons as something separate from my own energy. I though of it as a support, as a helper. Almost as something unnecessary that was only convenient but not fully needed. When I realized that the demons were me, that their energy was entwined with mine, it was easier to summon two."
"Good. Now do it again. You took too long to bring out the second one." Takuji turned around and walked to the side of the room.
"Where are you going?"
"You don't need me standing here. I'm going to sit and have some tea. Now keep going."
"Yes sir."
Rei spent the next several days improving on her summoning ability. After about of week of fully exhausting herself everyday she was finally able to summon two demons at once without effort. Rei could summon one and then another or two at the same time. Takuji was pleased.
"Very good. You have progressed faster than I expected. Now summon three."
"Three?"
"Yes. Did you think we would stop at two? You have to keep going until you can summon all of your demons at the same time."
"Understood."
For the remainder of the month Rei trained at summoning her demons in larger and larger groups. She would summon and uncommon them in different sized groups for hours at a time to increase her stamina in using magic. As the month grew close to its end Rei was able to summon all her demons at once, but continued training. She was also learning to summon the demons without moving. Up until now she needed to raise a hand to summon the demon. She wanted to call forth her power from standing still so she could use it more covertly. At the end of the month she had achieved her goal. Rei could summon any and all of her demons at a single time without moving her body.
"Very good." said Takuji.
"Thank you sir. I am very grateful for what you have taught me."
"Don't be so formal it's not necessary."
"Alright." Rei said with a slight chuckle.
"Rei. There is one more thing you must do if you want to beat Shinigami."
"What is that?"
"You have heard about the Shinpishugisha trying to make demons that they could merge with correct?"
"Yes I have."
"Did you know that they succeeded?"
"No I was unaware."
"Follow me."
Takuji walked toward another door in the room that neither had goon in the entire month they had been underground training. Has Takuji walked Rei sensed something was terribly wrong. She tried to ask Takuji but again he spoke before she could say anything.
"The Shinpishugisha spent a very long time trying to create a demon that they could merge with. It took hundreds of years but they did eventually learn what the difference was between the and humans that was inhibiting the process."
"What was it?"
"Humans and Shinpishugisha have different energies that their bodies produce. A specific energy that the Shinpishugisha have, the one responsible for their powers, is on an opposite wavelength to that of the demons. This cancels the energy out and the demons cannot combine with Shinpishugisha."
"And how did they solve that problem?"
"With a large number of experiments they were able to figure out how to influence the energy produced by a demon. The only way to make one that was compatible with Shinpishugisha was to fuse many of them together. The degree of difficultly was far greater than they anticipated, and the demon they created was several times larger than a human. These massive giants had so much power they could not be controlled. They were like gods. Fallen gods that instead of accepting the human world as their own, as Shinpishugisha did, they hated the world. These creatures wish to destroy it, and if they were able to fuse with a Shinpishugisha, or were set free upon the world, they would have."
"What do you mean set free?"
"There were three of these demons produced. They were numbered 00, 01 and 02. The demon referred to as 00 was unstable and actually went berserk shortly after its completion. It was destroyed as a result. The location of 02 is unknown, but since the world is still here it must mean that it is under control somehow."
"And 01?"
"It, would be right here." Takuji said stopping in front of a large cage that was built into the rock.
The demon reacted to the presence of Takuji and Rei and moved. Its eyes glowed and it grabbed the cage bars. The scream was enough to shake the ground and make Rei have to brace herself to stay standing. Rei looked at the demon and her eyes widened.
"The problem with these demons is that they were too big and powerful for anyone to control so they had to be locked away. This temple was actually built for that purpose. The hope was that if it ever broke free the humans at this temple would be strong enough to stop the demon from destroying the earth."
"I have seen this thing before."
"You have?"
"Yes the night my village was attacked. Shinigami came and tried to kill us. A demon that looked like this one appeared and destroyed the wall that was around my village keeping the mist out."
"That explains it then. Shinigami must have 02. It is very possible that Shinigami is using the mist to control the demon."
"Does that mean he created it?"
"It could be. For some reason I am unable to learn anything about him or the origin of the mist."
"Damn I was hoping you would be able to tell me where it was coming from."
"Well I know that, but first you need to complete your task."
"Which is?"
"You must capture this demon."
"What?"
"As a demon whisperer you are able to control this demon like any other. You must tame this demon and take its power. If you can do that, you will have enough strength to beat Shinigami."
"I understand. And if I fail?"
"This demon will devour your and steal your power destroying the world with ease."
"Don't pressure me or anything."
"Go Rei, you must do this."
Rei calmly walked toward the cage. As she approached the demon roared again, but Rei continued to walk forward. Once she was inside the cage the demon stood on its hind legs. Standing up as best it could 01 was hunched over trying to fit in the cage. It swung one of its large hands at Rei, but Rei merely flashed forward to get close to it. Rei then jumped up to the demons head and placed her hand on its forehead.
Rei found herself inside the demons mind. She saw a disturbing mess of anger and hate that was so distorted she was unable to see her body. Other thoughts drifted into the demons mind and were instantaneously destroyed by the hate. Rei walked forward until she found the source of the negative energy in the demons mind. At the center of the emotion she found a child sitting alone facing the other way.
"What are you doing here?" Rei asked calmly.
The child did not answer.
Rei got closer and put her hand on the child's shoulder. "What are you doing here?" she asked again.
This time the child turned around and responded. "Go away." it said. The child was a small boy who could not have been more than tem years old.
"Please," said Rei, "Tell me what them matter is. There is too much hate around you for a child."
"I don't know who I am. These people took me away and said that I would be made into something great. They did horrible things to me. I became a monster."
"That sounds horrible."
"I hate them. They made me into this terrible thing. I want to kill them. I want to kill everyone." the boy said crying.
"I see." Rei said. "In order to make the demon they wanted they had to use a person as the base. I am sorry for what they did to you but please don't feel angry anymore."
"Why shouldn't I?"
Rei hugged the boy and his crying stopped. "Do not hate them. Forgive them for their ignorance. Chanel your power to something good."
The boy sat in awe at what Rei was saying. He words made him feel better and the mass cloud of hate started to disappear.
"There is another like you, you know. Lets use your power and free him from this torture."
"You want me to help them?"
"If there is anyone who can understand what they must be going through it's you. You should use this power to help those people. Please, let me use help you do it. When that task is done, when the world is free from its current evil, I will set you free from this place."
"I will be able to leave? I will be able to die?"
"Yes, but only if you help me. Please, your anger will bring you nothing."
"I understand. I will help you the promise to be set free."
"Thank you."
Outside the demon Rei was still suspended in air with her hand on it's forehead. A blue light shinned between her hand and the demon. The light grew until it engulfed the cage and tunnel. It was a pure warm light that made Rei and Takuji feel warm. 01 faded away and Rei fell very slowly back to the ground. When Rei landed she turned toward Takuji and smiled.
"He's free from his hate."
"That's good."
"Why didn't you tell me how they created these demons?"
"I thought it would be better if you found out yourself. Then the trust you built up with him would be more genuine."
"That makes sense." Rei said and then collapsed to the floor. "Damn, that took too much energy. I need to sleep for a while."
"Of course."
Rei awoke a few days later and felt better than she ever had. Similar to when she mastered her evil side she felt stronger and lighter. Rei looked over and saw Takuji sleeping at his usual spot.
"I wonder what time it is?" Rei asked herself. "It's so hard to tell down here."
Rei waited for a few hours until Takuji woke up. When he noticed that Rei was, and had been, awake he smiled.
"I see you recovered."
"Yes."
"Good. You have everything you need to beat Shinigami."
"Thank you again for all your help."
"There is a boat in a harbor a short distance east of here. Take this boat south to Kyushu. There you will find the location of the source of the mist. Be careful, Shinigami and his remaining men will be there and they will be strong."
"Yes thank you."
"Now go back and see your friends."
Rei bowed and walked out of the room toward the temple. Takuji looked up at the ceiling and exhaled.
"There, I've hung around long enough to help that girl. Am I finally done?" He went silent for a moment. "Thank you. I'll see you soon." Takuji said and smiled. After a brief pause Takuji fell over onto the floor dead.
Rei was back up inside the temple when she finally though about where Shinji and Asuka might be. She thought for a moment and then tried to feel where they were. Almost instantly she noticed That Shinji and Asuka were outside so she walked out to see them.
"Very good. You are quite fast. I think we will be able to beat them all now."
"Thanks Shinji."
"No problem."
"I see you can do the flash now!" called a voice from behind them.
Shinji and Asuka sat there silently listening to Rei's story. It was night and the moon was directly overhead. Asuka was speechless at what Rei had been through. Shinji eventually broke the silence.
"That is amazing. So you are about as strong as can be now huh?"
"Well I don't know about that."
"Yeah Rei your really strong now. We can definitely beat those guys. We should head out as soon as possible."
"We can leave tomorrow if we wish."
"Than lets do that." said Shinji. "I mean there is no point in waiting."
"Yeah. Your right. Tomorrow we head east to the sea. The we journey south to find Shinigami and taken the fight to him."
AOTHORS NOTE: There another chapter turned out much faster than the last. I finally incorporated a little bit of the Evangelion thing part with the three big demons, obviously the Eva's. I really liked this chapter because it did a lot in a short amount of time. The characters got stronger and the story is heading toward the end. With only a little left to go I hope I can finish the story soon. Next time the journey south toward Shinigami's castle.