Hiroji and Keiji excitedly ran up to the cliff ledge where they could
see an entire landscape just waiting to welcome them.
"Wow, Aniki check out that waterfall!" the smaller boy hissed,
pointing to the great pillar of water that rained down into the valley
below from a river.
"Up for a swim, little bro?" Hiroji asked, throwing off his black
tank.
"What, are you nuts? That's like a ga-zillion miles to the bottom!"
Keiji shook his head abruptly. "No way, no, no, no. I'm not that crazy!"
Hiroji laughed. Keiji was famous for his fear of heights. Domon had
said he had been the same way at his age so it was no big deal. He would
work over it with time. In any case, the teen wasn't willing to wait and
leapt.
"Dad's gonna' kill you, Aniki!" was all he heard as he plummeted to
the giant lake below. Relaxing his arms against his sides, he allowed
himself to fall before preparing to right himself so he would land feet-
first. He failed to realize the danger of landing right where the water
churned as it hit the bottom.
Domon came running up to his son on the cliff. "Where did Hiroji go?"
Keiji pointed. "He wanted to take the shorter way to the bottom. "What? Oh shit!" Domon looked down just as Hiroji hit the water. "HIROJI!!!" The first thing Hiroji felt as the water closed over him, was the snapping of his left leg. He tried to go up to the surface but the waterfall continued to deposit the liquid down onto him with the strength of a battering ram. A whirlpool threatened to pull him even further down. All he felt was pain and burning lungs. Suddenly, that all faded away as he was freed from the water and carried ashore. Oblivious of his savior and his spared life, Hiroji simply lay moaning. Only after a long moment did he dare open his eyes. He found himself staring up into the eyes of a man silhouetted by the noon sun. As the youth squinted to see better, he found that the figure was wearing a strange red, gold, and black mask that completely covered his nose and mouth, with only his eyes showing. And those eyes were bright blue. "W-What happened?" Hiroji murmured, sitting up out of the man's grasp. "You tried to take on a waterfall and failed from what I saw." The figure answered casually, as though he hadn't done anything heroic at all. "Oh yeah, I remember now. Boy that was a mistake." "HIROJI! HIROJI!!" The two turned to see Domon dashing down the slope, Keiji at his heels. Before Hiroji could say anything more to his newfound friend, he was gone. Hiroji shrugged. "That was weird."
Keiji pointed. "He wanted to take the shorter way to the bottom. "What? Oh shit!" Domon looked down just as Hiroji hit the water. "HIROJI!!!" The first thing Hiroji felt as the water closed over him, was the snapping of his left leg. He tried to go up to the surface but the waterfall continued to deposit the liquid down onto him with the strength of a battering ram. A whirlpool threatened to pull him even further down. All he felt was pain and burning lungs. Suddenly, that all faded away as he was freed from the water and carried ashore. Oblivious of his savior and his spared life, Hiroji simply lay moaning. Only after a long moment did he dare open his eyes. He found himself staring up into the eyes of a man silhouetted by the noon sun. As the youth squinted to see better, he found that the figure was wearing a strange red, gold, and black mask that completely covered his nose and mouth, with only his eyes showing. And those eyes were bright blue. "W-What happened?" Hiroji murmured, sitting up out of the man's grasp. "You tried to take on a waterfall and failed from what I saw." The figure answered casually, as though he hadn't done anything heroic at all. "Oh yeah, I remember now. Boy that was a mistake." "HIROJI! HIROJI!!" The two turned to see Domon dashing down the slope, Keiji at his heels. Before Hiroji could say anything more to his newfound friend, he was gone. Hiroji shrugged. "That was weird."
