So a few notes before reading this chapter...

1. If you're still there dad90, I'm REALLY sorry about the long delay, but I've finally started introducing your characters. Please comment on how I did, and let me know if there's something wrong.

2. This story takes place in the past. PRIOR to the main story. (It's somewhat confusing, I know, and I'm really sorry about that)

3. I'm starting to struggle from writer's block again. That, and the fact that since the semester is ending here at the university, and I need to go through a lot of things like where to store my stuff, plane tickets for home, etc; I'm not sure when I'll be able to post the next chapter. Sorry again.

Anyways, here's the first chapter of the next sidestory. As always, enjoy, and if there's anything you want to comment about my writing or whatever, please feel free.

Tainted Waters

A large ship hung high in the air of the Far East, bearing the words "Tenebrosa Aqua" on the side of its hull. It was much smaller than the usual ships that held countries and nations, but it was still a fairly large size. White lines were painted in a sanzu-style near the top in contrast to the dark blue paint that coated the entire ship. Inside, five shadowy figures sat in various spots inside the ship, looking at the giant screen that was flashing in front of them.

"Now then…." One of the figures smiled as light reflected on his sword's tsuba, which was shaped into a dragon's head. "Let's go pay a visit to the people of Musashi…"

Sakai Household...

"Ichijou, why don't you go take a break today?"

Ichijou Sakai, a young teenager with short, wavy black hair and brown eyes, turned to his uncle, Tadagatsu Sakai, who was the easygoing President of Musashi. Ichijou wiped his forehead of the sweat from his sword practice as he frowned slightly at his smiling relative.

"Uncle, I'd rather use my spare time to train myself and get stronger." He replied. "Someday Musashi may enter a time of war, and I want to be prepared to defend it in its time of need. I can't just…"

"Yes, yes…" his uncle interrupted while waving his hand. "But if you keep working so hard, you'll collapse before you even take the first step. Hard work is good and all, but you should go spend some time with your classmates or something…"

Ichijou sighed before grabbing a towel from one of the automatrons nearby, and started walking toward the house. "Alright, I'll take a break…" he answered in a reluctant tone. "But I'm not going to take too long. I'll return in about an hour or so…."

Five minutes later, he was at the entrance while wearing a jacket over his freshly washed school uniform. He left the building and informed the automatrons of his absence as he went into the small town. At the second floor of the building, Tadagatsu Sakai was smoking his pipe as he watched his nephew leave. He grinned as he turned to his chair and sat down in front of his desk. Before he could start going through a few papers, there was a small knock on his door.

"Come in," he said as a red-haired automatron entered and bowed before speaking. "Tadagatsu-sama, there is a guest outside who asked me to give you this piece of paper."

The elderly president grabbed the small slip that was offered, and glanced at its contents. He made a serious face as he told the automatron to let the stranger in, and crumpled the paper before tossing it into the trash bin.

Ichijou walked along the market area as he started to think about Tadakatsu Honda, and his daughter. Although he had effectively quit as Tadakatsu's student, he was still worried about their well-being, especially Futayo. He subconsciously placed a hand over the pendant that she gave him when they were kids, before returning to his surroundings. He started walking a bit faster, when suddenly, he noticed a middle-aged high schooler who looked like he was harassing a couple of students from Ariadust Acadamy. Ichijou calmly made his way to the group and placed a hand on the guy's shoulder.

"What's going on?" He asked as the stranger quickly turned around started to panic a bit.

"Um….s-sorry for….hitting on your….girlfriend?" the stranger stammered. Looking closely, Ichijou noticed that the stranger had heterochromia eyes, the left one was black while the other was an abnormal red. He wore an orange beanie that covered most of his hair, however he could see strands of the young man's black hair sticking out while the front of his hair was openly shown in a highlighted red . Ichijou sighed and removed his hand. "I'm just wondering if you're harassing them. I don't even know who they are…"

The girls left the area quickly as the stranger grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Sorry, I was just asking for a date, but they seemed like they were really playing hard to get…"

"Or you just don't understand the word 'no'…" Ichijou thought to himself. Looking at his uniform, which consisted of a classic school Gakuen uniform with a red undershirt, there was a good chance that he was an outsider. Ichijou started to leave when the stranger began to speak up. "Actually, before I started hitting on them, I wanted to know if they knew directions on how to get somewhere. The Sakai household to be exact…"

Ichijou suddenly stopped as he slowly turned his head towards the stranger, who was boldly smiling with a slightly piercing stare. "Sounds like you know the place very well…"

Ayumi and Kuina were walking along the shopping district, each carrying large bags filled with groceries for the party that they were going to have that evening. Kuina listened to Ayumi as she talked about her childhood with Kazu, and his embarrassing moments. In turn, she shared with Ayumi about Plum-3's embarassing moments and the chaos that ensued as a result. The two girls were laughing together and continued talking when suddenly, a dark-skinned young man with spiky black hair suddenly appeared in front of them and tried talking to them while stroking his hair and smiling. His uniform, a classic school gakuen uniform with a tanktop in place of the undershirt, was very open, hinting that he was attempting to seduce them.

"Hello Ladies," he said giving a very radiant aura. "I was hoping that the two of you would be willing to help me with something…"

The two stared for a bit before Kuina spoke up. "Um…why are you trying so hard to look cool?"

"Kuina…just ignore the weirdo," Ayumi interrupted. "I think he's trying to hit on us…"

The stranger looked like daggers were suddenly shoved into his chest, and looked heavily depressed before recovering and talking normally.

"I'm actually serious about the help. So do you both mind telling me directions for the Sakai household?"

Ayumi shifted her eyes suspiciously as Kuina acknowledged the stranger's request and began to give him the directions. Afterwards, the stranger gave his thanks and walked away.

"You sure that was a good idea?" She asked as Kuina waved her hand goodbye at the stranger.

"It's fine, there wasn't any ill intentions as far as I know…"

"Well then, what do you think about his abilities?" Ayumi asked as Kuina suddenly wiped away her façade and replied with a more serious tone in her voice.

"I'm not sure about his romantic skills, but he's definitely stronger than he looks." She said eyeing the stranger closely. "We should be prepared, just in case something happens…"

Asama, Adele, Hituro, and Neshinbara were all looking around to gather the props they needed for the party tonight, and started chatting about the old days, schoolwork, and whatever else they could bring up. As they started to talk about their chancellor's recent mishaps, a cloaked figure was walking toward them while dragging his feet along slightly; giving the impression that he was tired, or somewhat troubled. As he passed by, Adelle suddenly stopped and turned towards the figure. The others watched as she suddenly started to follow the figure with an enchanted look in her eyes, and decided to see what was going on. They all traveled a few feet before she suddenly went to the cloaked figure, who was sitting on a nearby bench, and sat down next to him. She inched closer to the stranger, who tried moving further away from her. As she tried to move closer to the opening of his hood, the three quickly ran up to them with a somewhat panicked look on their faces.

"Adele, that's enough!" Asama shouted while blushing. "You shouldn't be trying to do something so indecent to someone you just met!"

Adele didn't appear to be listening, as she acted as if nobody else was nearby. Hituro tried snapping his fingers, but she still didn't take any notice.

"Did you have something to do with this?" he asked as he turned his head to the cloaked figure.

"I'm sorry…" the figure sighed as he brought out a syringe filled with an unusual substance, then jabbed it into Adelle's neck. Her eyes widened before they closed and went as limp as a ragdoll.

"What the hell did you just do?!" Asama yelled out in shock. The figure stood up and left Adelle lying on the bench.

"It's a special tranquilizer, It'll numb her pheromones for about a few hours of so, so she won't be acting like this again anytime soon."

Hituro and Asama gave blank, doubtful stares. However, Neshinbara went into thought until he suddenly made a face of realization.

"Are you by chance a Furyon?"

"Furyon?" The other two chimed together as the figure went deathly silent.

Masazumi Honda walked towards Blue Thunder. She gripped her stomach as pain began to shoot through from the intense hunger she was experiencing.

"Haaaa… I wonder if I'll even make it there in one piece…" she mumbled to herself as she sighed. Walking further down the path, she saw a crowd of people gathering around a nearby building. As she got closer to the crowd, she noticed that they were all looking toward the roof, and followed their gaze before being shocked at what she saw. A young man with light-brown hair spiked outward was standing on top of the roof, looking out towards the horizon. As she wondered what to do about the situation, Tori suddenly appeared, waving his arms and shouting out at the strange man.

"HEY! KAZUMA! I'VE FOUND THE SHOP YOU WANTED!"

The figure leapt down from the roof and landed on the ground without a scratch. Upon closer inspection, he had a scar on his chin, though it wasn't very noticeable while looking at his smiling face. He wore a classic gakuen uniform, hinting at his status as an outsider of Musashi, but was wearing it in a more unusual way by having a hoodie beneath his outer jacket. He talked with Tori for a bit before they both smiled and laughed a bit while walking away.

Masazumi just stared dumbfounded for a few minutes before shaking her head and pretending to have seen nothing in the last few minutes. She suddenly remembered her original goal, and started to drag her feet as the hunger pains began to kick back in.

I'm sorry if this seems kinda short. I promise that there will be more action starting next chapter. Also, "Furyon" is something that dad90 came up with, and I'll go into more detail next time.

Anyways, sorry about making you guys wait. I promise that I'll try to make/upload the next chapter as soon as possible