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"FATHER!!!!" a boy shouted as he tries to cover the face of a young girl. Much fear can be seen from his face as he looks at the pool of blood slowly flowing out in all directions. All owned by the same one person he called father. "What are you doing? What is the meaning of this?" a heavily wounded man asked, focusing his attention to a silver-haired boy. "What do you think is the reason why people fight each other?" the boy asked, pulling the man by the hair. No words came out from the man's mouth. Just mere groans of pain could be spelled from his lips as he continues to bleed.
"We fight… because… it's our nature." The boy murmured to the dying man directly to his ear. And the boy raised his palm. Then, there was silence. And the man spoke no more.
~ I was five… when I first saw someone died before my eyes… It was also at that same age… when I first saw 'that' light… ~
******
"Hey boy, feeling better?" A man in a blue outfit with a cloth covering his forehead asked as he sits beside a wounded child. "Where am I?" the child asked in a weak voice as he tries to push himself up of the bed. "Wait. You still shouldn't be moving that much or your wounds will open up. You're still injured." Replied Shigeo with the same intonation as that of the wounded child, but seems to be a little higher.
"Me? Injured? I don't even remember being injured. Who are you? Where am I?" "You don't have to worry. I'm Shigeo Hanabishi. The owner of this house." The man replied in a loving voice. "Oh I see. So you've been taking care of me all this time?" the boy asked softly. "I believe we could consider it that way. You've been there for more than a week already. I thought you'd be dead, however, for some reason, you're body is really extraordinary. And it kept you from dying." Shigeo answered.
"Me dying? What happened? The last thing I remember is that I saw a shining red light in front of me. And then, everything turned black." The boy answered. "I found you in the woods all wounded. Your bruises are not that of a normal cut but it seemed to came from a very powerful bladed weapon or something like that. Normal child at your age couldn't possibly survive cuts like that. Can't you remember anything after that? What about your parents? And your siblings? Or even your name?" Shigeo asked continuously with curiosity. "Hmm… I can't remember anything unusual after I saw the red light. I don't really remember anything… just the word… Kin." The boy answered. "So you don't even remember your name?" Shigeo asked. The boy responded by closing his eyes and nodding his head, showing the expression of the word no. "Very well, I might as well give you a nickname, Recca. From now on, Everyone will call you Recca, Recca Hanabishi, the son of the great Shigeo Hanabishi." Shigeo declared with a smile.
Chapter 1 – Here, and There
8 Years Later… "Hey Recca, go get me some gun powders." Shigeo commanded as he blows out smoke from his mouth and tapping his cigarette to remove the ashed portion of it. "Hey dad! How many times do I hafta tell you not to smoke while making fireworks?" Recca asked as he walks towards his father who is still biting his cigarette. "Gyahahaha… It's alright. I won't mess up. Besides, even if I do, it'll just cause minor bruises. Wahahahaha…" replied Shigeo with the usual horselaugh.. "Hmph… Whatever. Just don't overdo it, or you might as well be dead." Recca shouted as he exits the house, slamming the door.
Meanwhile, while Recca takes his time to walk along the store, a shadow appeared before him several metera away. "Hey Recca! I still haven't got even with you since the last time we fought." A girl of almost the same age as Recca's shouted. "What? You again? How many times do we have to fight you so that I can prove to you that I'm better?" Recca asked with a sigh.
"Hell don't mess around with me this time, my friend. My skills have already improved a lot. You might as well beg for mercy before it's too late, ya know? Because Fuuko Kirisawa is gonna make you cry this time." The girl declared with all confidence on her.
"Stop this nonsense now, Fuuko. Fighting me won't do you any good. Both of us are just going to get hurt." Recca shouted as he lifts his arm to defend himself from a possible offensive maneuver Fuuko might make.
"Hey aren't we a little on guard tonight, Recca-kun? You seemed to be a little bit more worried than usual tonight eh?" Fuuko commented as he charges Recca who prepares for a defensive pose. "Too slow, Recca-kun. I can't believe you're that clumsy." Fuuko commented as she swirls around Recca and smacks him down to the ground.
"Get up. I can't believe you. You wouldn't have lost this easily after one knockdown." Fuuko shouted as he kicks Recca's chest. But Recca seemed to be not moving at all. He stayed down and down for good. After awhile, Fuuko got tired of waiting and pulled Recca by the hair and asked "Hey laughing boy, do you want to know the reason why I want to defeat you? It's because…" Before she could say the next word, she felt a tremendous flow of aura from the same person she fights.
~ If you hadn't existed… father wouldn't have been dead…~
"Wha? What are you saying? What about your father and mother? Shigeo is still alive isn't he?" a confused Fuuko asked. Suddenly, before she could do any more damage to Recca, a long-haired ninja appeared before her and takes her away. And then… she heard a faint explosion, followed by a total silence.
******
"Brother… Don't leave me… I'm scared." A little girl shouted as she holds a boy not older than fifteen tightly. With her red, irritated eyes, she began to cry. "Forgive me. But I have to leave. Or else… mother would be..." He replied. Kneeling down, facing his sister and holding her rosy cheeks with an innocent smile. "Forget about mother, I just want to be with you... I just want to live with you." She responded with broken voices, still crying and breathing heavily.
"Ganko, I'm sorry…" the boy replied as he lifted one of his knees and pushing his sister's arm to remove it from his white shirt. "Brother… stop… don't go… please…" Ganko shouted who cries even louder. And still trying to crumple his brother's shirt even more. His hand loosened a little as he feels the guilt of leaving the one who needs him the most alone with a guy he don't even know. "If only it's possible, I want to stay by your side… but it's just… impossible. I can't… I can't disobey. Or else…"
"Commander, time is running out. We should depart by now." A woman shouted from outside the house. " Roger, Mikoto. I'll be out soon." The boy responded with an elevated voice as he tried to let go of his sister. Ganko held him, and hugged him tight keeps him from moving freely as he wishes. He rubs his sister's hair and kissed her forehead murmuring, "I promise… I'll be back after this mission. Goodbye, my little angel…"
And the boy finally let's go of his sister and pushes her away as he stands on both feet. Ganko stares at him blankly as the darkness slowly erases her brother's presence. Soon, she heard a plane launched just from outside her house. From that time, she prepares herself for another negotiation, or perhaps just a mere preparation for a pain she has yet to endure.
A man in white coat walks towards her from the darkness, every step sends him nearer and nearer to an innocent nine year old girl. And each step she hears brings fear upon her. "How are you doing, Ganko?" asked the man with a grin. "Stop it… please… I don't… I don't want to do it anymore. I'm already exhausted." She replied with her tears of sorrow slowly turning into tears of fear. "How pitiful. But without your brother, you wouldn't have anyone to turn to. Now, are you just going to sit there? Hurry up and take them off." The man commanded. "Please… I don't want to do it anymore. It hurts. Even now…" she replied, trying to soften the seemingly stone heart of the long-haired man. "So what if it does? I'm not concerned with what happens to you. Besides, it's your brother's fault that he left you, not mine." Responded the man as he takes off his upper clothing and moves nearer and nearer to the young girl.
She felt something painful afterwards, but still, she refused to cry out. It would be better this way, she thought, that she would just stay silent and endure the pain for a few hours, rather than begging for something she always knew that wouldn't be granted to her no matter how she plead. She laid down the bed as the man pushes her, and just soft cries and painful tears dripping down from her eyes involuntarily helps her ease the pain a little.
******
"Commander, we spotted Shoguro's hideout. North of here, somewhere in point 1204, there is a small hut surrounded by hills, intelligence report shows evidence of Shoguro presence in there." Said Mikoto as she looks at the same boy who left his sister. "Is that so? Now that we found him, he could no longer escape death." The boy answered. "I believe killing him would not be as easy as we think it would be, commander. According to our spies, Shoguro is guarded by a legendary living dead." Mikoto answered. "A living dead? You don't mean…" the boy asked. "There is no doubt. The living dead is none other than Noroi." Mikoto answered. "Noroi? You mean the same Noroi who died about five hundred years ago?" He asked. "Yes. It was the same Noroi… the same Noroi who possesses the madougu that animates the dead, Bakuju." Responded Mikoto with a low worried voice.
"It would appear that even with only Noroi on his side, the assassination plot would be easy. However, our spies claimed that this Noroi has already eliminated half of the troops we sent last week with a record time of five minutes." Mikoto explained softly. "What? But… there are about a hundred of them." the boy commented with a mix of fear and shock on him. Mikoto bowed before him, indicating confirmation to the death reports they received. "Tell me Mikoto, if I took care of him, how long would it take for the rest of our troops to assassinate Shoguro?" the boy asked. "Hmm… at that rate, five minutes would be enough. But do you truly wish to fight that Noroi alone? This guy is no joke. If he could kill our men in that short time, there's a chance that he can equal or even exceed your skill." Mikoto asked.
"We don't have much choice. No matter how I we look at it, I am the only one who could possibly match his power. If I could hold him back for five minutes, we'll be okay." The boy responded with his palm sweating coldly. Suddenly, they heard some shouting from behind. No doubt, it was a shout of a dying man. And soon after that, he heard a soldier shouting from the same place where the cry of pain was heard. "Commander, we have been discovered. Noroi is attacking us.
"Shit. He attacked us sooner than expected. Mikoto, you lead the rest of the troops in the B and C faction and kill Shoguro. I'll go and help the soldiers in the A faction. Once Shoguro is dead, set the hideout on fire. And then we'll meet in our garrison later." The boy commanded. "Understood sir." Mikoto commented as she walks towards the rest of the group. "You too…" said the commander as he runs towards the opposite direction from where Mikoto left, towards the living dead, Noroi.
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