Chapter 7
"Loren, it was just a simple scare tactic," Rowen said in a clam voice.
"It was a damn good scare tactic," Loren shot back.
Mia had heard Loren about ready to freak out over the phone and immediately asked Sage to bring her home. All throughout the drive, Loren jumped at every unfamiliar sound. Sage was worried, he knew that if she did get the part as the band's singer, Cale would never stop hunting her down, no matter what club she was in. Cale tended to look at his victims as prey, while he was the hunter. Sage wished he could forget all the times Cale referred to their fights as a hunt, with Sage the prey and Cale the hunter. When Talpa was defeated, Cale didn't use those terms anymore, but he might start using that language again if he was trying to kidnap Loren. Sage knew that Loren probably got the part as the band's singer, but she would mostly be in clubs and semi-darkened stages. Cale could easily hide in dark corners or manipulate shadows to make his hiding places dark and invisible to the naked eye. Loren was an easy target, but Sage didn't want Loren to stop living just because of Cale.
"Loren, could you come with me?" Sage asked.
"Sure," Loren replied.
When Loren got into Sage's room, Sage asked her to sit on his bed. Sage closed the door and made her look at him. "If you get accepted, will you become Midnight Serenade's singer?" He asked.
"Of course," Loren said, shocked, "I love singing."
"Are you afraid of the dark?" Sage asked.
"No," Loren said, confused, "why I should I be scared the dark?"
"That man you met," Sage began, "his name is Cale. He has the power to manipulate darkness and shadows. I've faced him before, he is very determined when he has his mind set on something."
Loren looked at Sage, "I'm not scared of his darkness," she said truthfully, "it's just that I don't know if he's bluffing or if someone will really end up dead."
"People may die," Sage sighed, "unless you surrender to the three Warlords."
"The I guess I should look them up in Mia's library, if I'm going to fight them again," Loren smiled.
"Good luck," Sage said as Loren left the room.
Loren picked up "Armor Genealogy" when she entered the library. She decided to look the Warlords up in the seasonal section. When she got past the large section on Anubis, she found the other seasons. Loren looked at summer's profile:
1. Name-Dais
2. Full Name-Dais Kuroda
3. Father's Name-Nori Kuroda
4. Mother's Name-Yin-Zan Kuroda
5. Date of Birth-October 9, 1549
6. Age-446 years old, looks 21 years old
7. Place of Birth-Kanto Region, Japan
8. Ancestory-Japanese and Chinese
9. Ancestor-Torasada Kuroda
10. Rank-General
11. Information-Torasada was lord of the Kanto region after inheriting the lands form his father, Juro Kuroda. The family name means "black field," probably due to the many rumors that the Kuroda men practiced illusion weaving and other forms of evil magic that killed the land. Other than magic, the Kuroda men were clever warriors, swift at using mental games, and fierce fighters on the battlefield. It was often rumored that captured victims of the Kuroda, were used as test subjects for potions. The famous potion known in the family was a memory erase drug, said to be developed Torasada himself.
Loren shuddered as she read, 'could Anubis' memories have been wiped clean by a family drug?' She thought as she looked at Dais' picture. Dais was odd looking for someone who was of Japanese and Chinese origin. He had a pale blue eye, the other one was covered by an eye patch, 'Probably a memento from a previous battle or he was careless and got jumped,' Loren thought. His hair was wavy and white. Loren learned that with his armor, Dais could create illusions or camouflage himself into an illusion.
Loren then found autumn's profile. Amazed that it was only two pages after summer's profile. Loren began to read:
1. Name-Sekhmet
2. Full Name-Sekhmet Yamanouchi
3. Father's Name-N/A
4. Mother's Name-Naomi Yamanouchi
5. Date of Birth-November 5, 1551
6. Age-444 years old, looks 17 years old
7. Place of Birth-Kyushu Region, Japan
8. Ancestory-Japanese, English, and Snake Demon
9. Ancestor-Kazauji Yamanouchi
10. Rank-General
11. Information-Kazauji came from the most mountainous region of Japan before he received the Kyushu region as fief. As his family name suggests, his home was originally between two mountains, hence the meaning, Inner Mountain or Between the Mountain. Kazauji was believed to be very open about outside influence, and thus he allowed westerners to come into his region. While he welcomed westerners, Kazauji was afraid of the serpent demons that roamed his territory. This fear would come back to haunt his family, when one of Kazauji's descendants was raped by a snake-demon.
Loren had a vague idea of what Sekhmet would look like if he were the product of a rape between a human and a snake-demon. She suspected that Sekhmet would have serpent-like eyes and scales on his body someone. When Loren finally looked at Sekhmet's picture, she wasn't surprised. As she had thought, Sekhmet had green hair with serpent-like eyes. His features were so noticeable that Loren guessed that Sekhmet was a first generation half-breed. 'He must a first generation half child,' Loren thought, 'if he wasn't first generation, his serpent features wouldn't be so sharp and noticeable.'
Flipping a few more pages, Loren found winter's profile. Loren read the profile:
1. Name-Cale
2. Full Name-Cale Sasaki
3. Father's Name-Yuki Sasaki
4. Mother's Name-Sveta Sasaki
5. Date of Birth-January 9, 1550
6. Age-445 years old, looks 20 years old
7. Place of Birth-Northern Honshu Region, Japan
8. Ancestory-Japanese and Russian
9. Ancestor-Taro Sasaki
10. Rank-General
11. Information-Taro Sasaki was the personal guard of the emperor. He had been called away from his fief in Northern Honshu to serve in Kyoto. As his family name suggests, he wore a cape over his left shoulder. Taro served the emperor faithfully, and while in Kyoto, met Jin-Ho Koma. It is not known if the two men knew each other as acquaintances or were friends. But Jin-Ho's son and Taro's son, Osamu, were inseparable. After his service to the emperor, Taro went back to Northern Honshu with Osamu. After Taro's death, the fief had a sudden surge of wolves that killed most of the economy, leading the peasants to believe that Osamu had made a deal with a demon. A rebellion flared up, but was squelched. It is said that all of Osamu's descendants have used the wolf as their familiar.
Loren shuddered again, 'I guess when you have three weird men coming from three weird families, anything's possible.' Then Loren thought, 'these three families almost make Anubis' family look normal.'
Loren looked at Cale's picture, but didn't really seem all that worried. While their pictures may look harmless, the men were not. Loren rubbed her eyes, 11:37 PM. She has a 10 AM class and couldn't be late. Putting the book up, Loren took a shower, and went to bed.
"Loren, it was just a simple scare tactic," Rowen said in a clam voice.
"It was a damn good scare tactic," Loren shot back.
Mia had heard Loren about ready to freak out over the phone and immediately asked Sage to bring her home. All throughout the drive, Loren jumped at every unfamiliar sound. Sage was worried, he knew that if she did get the part as the band's singer, Cale would never stop hunting her down, no matter what club she was in. Cale tended to look at his victims as prey, while he was the hunter. Sage wished he could forget all the times Cale referred to their fights as a hunt, with Sage the prey and Cale the hunter. When Talpa was defeated, Cale didn't use those terms anymore, but he might start using that language again if he was trying to kidnap Loren. Sage knew that Loren probably got the part as the band's singer, but she would mostly be in clubs and semi-darkened stages. Cale could easily hide in dark corners or manipulate shadows to make his hiding places dark and invisible to the naked eye. Loren was an easy target, but Sage didn't want Loren to stop living just because of Cale.
"Loren, could you come with me?" Sage asked.
"Sure," Loren replied.
When Loren got into Sage's room, Sage asked her to sit on his bed. Sage closed the door and made her look at him. "If you get accepted, will you become Midnight Serenade's singer?" He asked.
"Of course," Loren said, shocked, "I love singing."
"Are you afraid of the dark?" Sage asked.
"No," Loren said, confused, "why I should I be scared the dark?"
"That man you met," Sage began, "his name is Cale. He has the power to manipulate darkness and shadows. I've faced him before, he is very determined when he has his mind set on something."
Loren looked at Sage, "I'm not scared of his darkness," she said truthfully, "it's just that I don't know if he's bluffing or if someone will really end up dead."
"People may die," Sage sighed, "unless you surrender to the three Warlords."
"The I guess I should look them up in Mia's library, if I'm going to fight them again," Loren smiled.
"Good luck," Sage said as Loren left the room.
Loren picked up "Armor Genealogy" when she entered the library. She decided to look the Warlords up in the seasonal section. When she got past the large section on Anubis, she found the other seasons. Loren looked at summer's profile:
1. Name-Dais
2. Full Name-Dais Kuroda
3. Father's Name-Nori Kuroda
4. Mother's Name-Yin-Zan Kuroda
5. Date of Birth-October 9, 1549
6. Age-446 years old, looks 21 years old
7. Place of Birth-Kanto Region, Japan
8. Ancestory-Japanese and Chinese
9. Ancestor-Torasada Kuroda
10. Rank-General
11. Information-Torasada was lord of the Kanto region after inheriting the lands form his father, Juro Kuroda. The family name means "black field," probably due to the many rumors that the Kuroda men practiced illusion weaving and other forms of evil magic that killed the land. Other than magic, the Kuroda men were clever warriors, swift at using mental games, and fierce fighters on the battlefield. It was often rumored that captured victims of the Kuroda, were used as test subjects for potions. The famous potion known in the family was a memory erase drug, said to be developed Torasada himself.
Loren shuddered as she read, 'could Anubis' memories have been wiped clean by a family drug?' She thought as she looked at Dais' picture. Dais was odd looking for someone who was of Japanese and Chinese origin. He had a pale blue eye, the other one was covered by an eye patch, 'Probably a memento from a previous battle or he was careless and got jumped,' Loren thought. His hair was wavy and white. Loren learned that with his armor, Dais could create illusions or camouflage himself into an illusion.
Loren then found autumn's profile. Amazed that it was only two pages after summer's profile. Loren began to read:
1. Name-Sekhmet
2. Full Name-Sekhmet Yamanouchi
3. Father's Name-N/A
4. Mother's Name-Naomi Yamanouchi
5. Date of Birth-November 5, 1551
6. Age-444 years old, looks 17 years old
7. Place of Birth-Kyushu Region, Japan
8. Ancestory-Japanese, English, and Snake Demon
9. Ancestor-Kazauji Yamanouchi
10. Rank-General
11. Information-Kazauji came from the most mountainous region of Japan before he received the Kyushu region as fief. As his family name suggests, his home was originally between two mountains, hence the meaning, Inner Mountain or Between the Mountain. Kazauji was believed to be very open about outside influence, and thus he allowed westerners to come into his region. While he welcomed westerners, Kazauji was afraid of the serpent demons that roamed his territory. This fear would come back to haunt his family, when one of Kazauji's descendants was raped by a snake-demon.
Loren had a vague idea of what Sekhmet would look like if he were the product of a rape between a human and a snake-demon. She suspected that Sekhmet would have serpent-like eyes and scales on his body someone. When Loren finally looked at Sekhmet's picture, she wasn't surprised. As she had thought, Sekhmet had green hair with serpent-like eyes. His features were so noticeable that Loren guessed that Sekhmet was a first generation half-breed. 'He must a first generation half child,' Loren thought, 'if he wasn't first generation, his serpent features wouldn't be so sharp and noticeable.'
Flipping a few more pages, Loren found winter's profile. Loren read the profile:
1. Name-Cale
2. Full Name-Cale Sasaki
3. Father's Name-Yuki Sasaki
4. Mother's Name-Sveta Sasaki
5. Date of Birth-January 9, 1550
6. Age-445 years old, looks 20 years old
7. Place of Birth-Northern Honshu Region, Japan
8. Ancestory-Japanese and Russian
9. Ancestor-Taro Sasaki
10. Rank-General
11. Information-Taro Sasaki was the personal guard of the emperor. He had been called away from his fief in Northern Honshu to serve in Kyoto. As his family name suggests, he wore a cape over his left shoulder. Taro served the emperor faithfully, and while in Kyoto, met Jin-Ho Koma. It is not known if the two men knew each other as acquaintances or were friends. But Jin-Ho's son and Taro's son, Osamu, were inseparable. After his service to the emperor, Taro went back to Northern Honshu with Osamu. After Taro's death, the fief had a sudden surge of wolves that killed most of the economy, leading the peasants to believe that Osamu had made a deal with a demon. A rebellion flared up, but was squelched. It is said that all of Osamu's descendants have used the wolf as their familiar.
Loren shuddered again, 'I guess when you have three weird men coming from three weird families, anything's possible.' Then Loren thought, 'these three families almost make Anubis' family look normal.'
Loren looked at Cale's picture, but didn't really seem all that worried. While their pictures may look harmless, the men were not. Loren rubbed her eyes, 11:37 PM. She has a 10 AM class and couldn't be late. Putting the book up, Loren took a shower, and went to bed.