The Lone Angel
Written by Shadow and Dark Promise
Chapter five by the GS-Lifegiver, Azusasan
"Both a bird flying in the sky and a white flower
will return to the earth someday.
The earth accepts fire, ash, water and garbage.
They also soak into the earth.
I'm standing on the earth. I'm living on the earth were maggots and flower seeds
dwell."
~ Translated from Tomihiro Hoshino's floral poem, Stewartia Pseudo-Camellia
(Quick note: Tomihiro Hoshino was a man who broke his neck early on in his life and was paralyzed neck down. He was one of those really determined types, so he took a brush into his mouth, had a piece of paper placed in front of him, and began to write poems, essays, and drew paintings of flowers and other inspirational things. I personally find the Road of the Tinkling Bell, the book my mother owns, really inspirational, as his look on life is actually plain and simple, and he doesn't make it really flowery (Excuse the pun) or unbelievable. It's just a true outlook on life, which is why I like his works.)
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Disclaimer: ...How is it three or four paragraph jumps end up only being like... one? That's so... ick. I'm going to complain to FF.net's staff, and you have my word on it. ::Nodnod:: Now, Taku-kun belongs to Shadow, Lu-chan belongs to me, and other characters are... I guess... Mine, because I made 'em up, but I'm guessing he'll be using some of those names later on. Get off your lazy arse and do another chapter, for the love of ye gods, Shadow! I had to write this for you! --;
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The Lone Angel
----------
He awoke at dawn. Plain and simple, he rose with the sun, the birds, the opening of the blossoms on the flowers. Except that there were no birds and flowers, just that damning orange sun filtering into his dirty room every morning. It was either wake up or get beaten with a riding crop with short spikes, so he always got up, pulled his clothes on and trudged downstairs. There was always some other kid that got beaten, but it had happened to him so many times in the past he didn't bother to stand around like the others and hoot as Rassen brought down the short whip with his meaty arms.
Now, on Rassen: Rassen was rather tall but also rather fat, said to be six- by-four by some of the other trainees. (Call him 'raisin' and die.) Personally, he respected Rassen to a degree, but only enough to follow his rules and learn -- or rather, get forced to learn -- about the ways of mercenaries and assassins. Rassen was the type that thought no pain was no gain, so he continually beat them if they lacked in any certain one area, or they were caught resting any more at noon break or other than allowed. He had felt those spikes rake his skin more than twice, he could admit, but by the opinions on the other kids, some older and some even younger than he was, he was labeled a pet.
Rassen having a pet was by far the most outrageous thing any of them had heard -- six-by-four baldy having a PET? But Rassen knew of their schemes, beat them twice, and herded them off to exercises with a stick-like teacher with a hooked nose. Rassen had almost literally 'saved' Takuro, so the boy owed him a small debt. But Rassen cared not for any debts. He knew there was a fire within him, something special. Rassen believed in other-worldly spirits, though he gave no outward show of it, and he knew the kid would be an asset to him eventually if he were to be trained long and hard enough.
So, after a full two years out of his absence, Takuro was brought to a specialist that did not 'come cheap.' (He had to work double-time, so to speak.) The woman with one blind eye (Who claimed that she had lost the eye to a bear's claws) who smelled like garlic and perfume glared at him for a full half an hour, then took his palm, took a dagger, and ran a thin cut along diagonally. The blood was poured into a jar with some other liquid. Nothing happened.
But after the meeting, the lady took Rassen aside, whispered something urgently in his ear (With glances at him every once in a while), it was official that Takuro had some other things inside of him besides organs and blood.
That's when it changed.
~~~~~
A few years after his leaving, Luana chose to relocate to Vale. Vale suited her needs: It was quiet and undisturbed, the villagers tended not to be all that nosy, and it was the last place he'd look for her.
Since he left, a deep well of anger had welled up within her - she hated him so much for leaving her, so that the villagers could pick on her and tease her so often. They always said he left because she treated him normally, but her normal reply to this was either silence or an icy glare that stopped them in their tracks. People began to think she couldn't talk anymore, so she left altogether, saying two full words while they watched on: "Good riddance."
Being around 'saviors of the world' somewhat calmed her tangled spirits, and even gave her a knowing of safety. While she couldn't fit in with the other adepts, she amused herself by getting into and breaking up a relationship with Ivan, stalking Felix, and making short trips to Tolbi in between. Eventually, her amusement came to an end, and she grew icy on the outside again. She still hated him with that ice cold fire.
Yet, somewhere in that pit of hatred and wrath, was a little voice that spoke out whenever she thought of him in a 'I'll-kill-you-first' sort of way.
/You miss him,/ it said. /You miss him and you're damned worried about him./
//I though little voices in my head didn't curse at me?// She snapped.
/Think again.../ The voice whispered, before drifting away.
Little voices never give answers, she thought moodily. Never.
/I'll tell if you'll listen.../
//Then talk, or be damned.//
/Hee!/
She sighed and glared out the window in a huff. //And I thought Garet was insane.//
~~~~~
All of sudden, at about four, our beloved Taku-chan's covers were thrown brutally off, exposing him to icy air. He was yanked up, and told gruffly to wake up and dress in five minutes, or the crop would be at him.
\\Why four?\\ He grumped as he rubbed at his face with the ever-freezing water. \\Everyone else is getting sleep, why can't I?\\
"Kid, if you don't get your ass down here this second, I swear I'll -- "
\\Yeah, yeah. Cut the crap already. I've been through worse.\\ He stomped downstairs, arousing a huge layer of dust out of the worn carpet.
"Why did you wake me up at this ungodly hour for?" He asked. He tended to ask these kind of questions when he was in a rebellious mood, which came about every other two days or so. The trainees wondered how he could be so rude and not get 'cropped.'
"Kid, if you want to repay that debt... You gotta work. Hard. Those 'powers' of yours will come in handy as an assassin."
\\Whoever asked if I wanted to be an assassin?\\
"Yeah. And?"
"And... You've gotta hone those skills of yours. You don't want tornadoes or earthquakes or gods know what else whenever you walk around, do you?"
\\It's a means of venting anger... Natural disasters. It sounds so appealing.\\
"I guess not."
"Exactly! So we're going to train you. Harder than before."
\\Great.\\
"Who are you putting me under? Not old Hookbill?"
"Hookbill's too old for anything. He just comes for what little we pay him. Nah, you're going under one of those mages. He's a friend of mine. Rather famed."
\\Famed?\\
"His name's Marceous, the BloodDrinker."
\\His mother must be proud of him.\\
"You might've heard o' him, maybe not. He's rather new. Anyhow, he specializes in the winds and fire. He might be of some help, but I don't think he can do anythin' about those spontaneous snowstorms you give us." He squinted, stroking his chin. "You'll train extra hard for the next two or three weeks, maybe. He lives back by Xian. Funny man, really... Say he's as quiet as the cat's shadow and quicker n' even the lightning he calls upon."
\\Those storms aren't spontaneous. They come every other week.\\
"Get to work, exercises first, then sparring with Mesh. Knives this time, kiddo, and I don't want you in the infirmary, you gotta do lotsa stuff before Marceous arrives." Rassen shoved him towards the door. Giving the man a glare, he trudged outside, where it was dark.
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----------
----------
Phew. -_-;; That was something to write. And Rassen's name is pronounced 'rah senn,' not like raisin with a slur. Marceous (Where the hell do I come up with these names?!) is 'Mar kaos,' not 'Mar chaos' or 'Mar keeoss.' Wheeee... This oughta be a big shove for Shadow, RIGHT? ::Glares::
Taku-chan will also have a little inner voice later on. Maybe. If I write more chapters or if Shadow remembers.
[Stephanie: The crop-whip idea with the spikes was Azu's idea, NOT MINE!]
oo;; Whaa?
[Stephanie: Um...]
Stephanie! That was so your idea!
[Stephanie: *Pokes fingers together* She was saying that 'Only I can hurt the hell out of Takuro,' or something along those lines...]
o_o; Then I... ::Thinks:: I gave her half of my whip-collection!
[Stephanie: Luana is a very barbaric person. o_O;]
...We knew that already. --; Their intimate lives must be very... _interesting._
[Stephanie: Ew, bad images... *Runs off screaming about holy water*]
Go, please, for the sake of everyone. -_-;
Written by Shadow and Dark Promise
Chapter five by the GS-Lifegiver, Azusasan
"Both a bird flying in the sky and a white flower
will return to the earth someday.
The earth accepts fire, ash, water and garbage.
They also soak into the earth.
I'm standing on the earth. I'm living on the earth were maggots and flower seeds
dwell."
~ Translated from Tomihiro Hoshino's floral poem, Stewartia Pseudo-Camellia
(Quick note: Tomihiro Hoshino was a man who broke his neck early on in his life and was paralyzed neck down. He was one of those really determined types, so he took a brush into his mouth, had a piece of paper placed in front of him, and began to write poems, essays, and drew paintings of flowers and other inspirational things. I personally find the Road of the Tinkling Bell, the book my mother owns, really inspirational, as his look on life is actually plain and simple, and he doesn't make it really flowery (Excuse the pun) or unbelievable. It's just a true outlook on life, which is why I like his works.)
----------
Disclaimer: ...How is it three or four paragraph jumps end up only being like... one? That's so... ick. I'm going to complain to FF.net's staff, and you have my word on it. ::Nodnod:: Now, Taku-kun belongs to Shadow, Lu-chan belongs to me, and other characters are... I guess... Mine, because I made 'em up, but I'm guessing he'll be using some of those names later on. Get off your lazy arse and do another chapter, for the love of ye gods, Shadow! I had to write this for you! --;
----------
The Lone Angel
----------
He awoke at dawn. Plain and simple, he rose with the sun, the birds, the opening of the blossoms on the flowers. Except that there were no birds and flowers, just that damning orange sun filtering into his dirty room every morning. It was either wake up or get beaten with a riding crop with short spikes, so he always got up, pulled his clothes on and trudged downstairs. There was always some other kid that got beaten, but it had happened to him so many times in the past he didn't bother to stand around like the others and hoot as Rassen brought down the short whip with his meaty arms.
Now, on Rassen: Rassen was rather tall but also rather fat, said to be six- by-four by some of the other trainees. (Call him 'raisin' and die.) Personally, he respected Rassen to a degree, but only enough to follow his rules and learn -- or rather, get forced to learn -- about the ways of mercenaries and assassins. Rassen was the type that thought no pain was no gain, so he continually beat them if they lacked in any certain one area, or they were caught resting any more at noon break or other than allowed. He had felt those spikes rake his skin more than twice, he could admit, but by the opinions on the other kids, some older and some even younger than he was, he was labeled a pet.
Rassen having a pet was by far the most outrageous thing any of them had heard -- six-by-four baldy having a PET? But Rassen knew of their schemes, beat them twice, and herded them off to exercises with a stick-like teacher with a hooked nose. Rassen had almost literally 'saved' Takuro, so the boy owed him a small debt. But Rassen cared not for any debts. He knew there was a fire within him, something special. Rassen believed in other-worldly spirits, though he gave no outward show of it, and he knew the kid would be an asset to him eventually if he were to be trained long and hard enough.
So, after a full two years out of his absence, Takuro was brought to a specialist that did not 'come cheap.' (He had to work double-time, so to speak.) The woman with one blind eye (Who claimed that she had lost the eye to a bear's claws) who smelled like garlic and perfume glared at him for a full half an hour, then took his palm, took a dagger, and ran a thin cut along diagonally. The blood was poured into a jar with some other liquid. Nothing happened.
But after the meeting, the lady took Rassen aside, whispered something urgently in his ear (With glances at him every once in a while), it was official that Takuro had some other things inside of him besides organs and blood.
That's when it changed.
~~~~~
A few years after his leaving, Luana chose to relocate to Vale. Vale suited her needs: It was quiet and undisturbed, the villagers tended not to be all that nosy, and it was the last place he'd look for her.
Since he left, a deep well of anger had welled up within her - she hated him so much for leaving her, so that the villagers could pick on her and tease her so often. They always said he left because she treated him normally, but her normal reply to this was either silence or an icy glare that stopped them in their tracks. People began to think she couldn't talk anymore, so she left altogether, saying two full words while they watched on: "Good riddance."
Being around 'saviors of the world' somewhat calmed her tangled spirits, and even gave her a knowing of safety. While she couldn't fit in with the other adepts, she amused herself by getting into and breaking up a relationship with Ivan, stalking Felix, and making short trips to Tolbi in between. Eventually, her amusement came to an end, and she grew icy on the outside again. She still hated him with that ice cold fire.
Yet, somewhere in that pit of hatred and wrath, was a little voice that spoke out whenever she thought of him in a 'I'll-kill-you-first' sort of way.
/You miss him,/ it said. /You miss him and you're damned worried about him./
//I though little voices in my head didn't curse at me?// She snapped.
/Think again.../ The voice whispered, before drifting away.
Little voices never give answers, she thought moodily. Never.
/I'll tell if you'll listen.../
//Then talk, or be damned.//
/Hee!/
She sighed and glared out the window in a huff. //And I thought Garet was insane.//
~~~~~
All of sudden, at about four, our beloved Taku-chan's covers were thrown brutally off, exposing him to icy air. He was yanked up, and told gruffly to wake up and dress in five minutes, or the crop would be at him.
\\Why four?\\ He grumped as he rubbed at his face with the ever-freezing water. \\Everyone else is getting sleep, why can't I?\\
"Kid, if you don't get your ass down here this second, I swear I'll -- "
\\Yeah, yeah. Cut the crap already. I've been through worse.\\ He stomped downstairs, arousing a huge layer of dust out of the worn carpet.
"Why did you wake me up at this ungodly hour for?" He asked. He tended to ask these kind of questions when he was in a rebellious mood, which came about every other two days or so. The trainees wondered how he could be so rude and not get 'cropped.'
"Kid, if you want to repay that debt... You gotta work. Hard. Those 'powers' of yours will come in handy as an assassin."
\\Whoever asked if I wanted to be an assassin?\\
"Yeah. And?"
"And... You've gotta hone those skills of yours. You don't want tornadoes or earthquakes or gods know what else whenever you walk around, do you?"
\\It's a means of venting anger... Natural disasters. It sounds so appealing.\\
"I guess not."
"Exactly! So we're going to train you. Harder than before."
\\Great.\\
"Who are you putting me under? Not old Hookbill?"
"Hookbill's too old for anything. He just comes for what little we pay him. Nah, you're going under one of those mages. He's a friend of mine. Rather famed."
\\Famed?\\
"His name's Marceous, the BloodDrinker."
\\His mother must be proud of him.\\
"You might've heard o' him, maybe not. He's rather new. Anyhow, he specializes in the winds and fire. He might be of some help, but I don't think he can do anythin' about those spontaneous snowstorms you give us." He squinted, stroking his chin. "You'll train extra hard for the next two or three weeks, maybe. He lives back by Xian. Funny man, really... Say he's as quiet as the cat's shadow and quicker n' even the lightning he calls upon."
\\Those storms aren't spontaneous. They come every other week.\\
"Get to work, exercises first, then sparring with Mesh. Knives this time, kiddo, and I don't want you in the infirmary, you gotta do lotsa stuff before Marceous arrives." Rassen shoved him towards the door. Giving the man a glare, he trudged outside, where it was dark.
----------
----------
----------
Phew. -_-;; That was something to write. And Rassen's name is pronounced 'rah senn,' not like raisin with a slur. Marceous (Where the hell do I come up with these names?!) is 'Mar kaos,' not 'Mar chaos' or 'Mar keeoss.' Wheeee... This oughta be a big shove for Shadow, RIGHT? ::Glares::
Taku-chan will also have a little inner voice later on. Maybe. If I write more chapters or if Shadow remembers.
[Stephanie: The crop-whip idea with the spikes was Azu's idea, NOT MINE!]
oo;; Whaa?
[Stephanie: Um...]
Stephanie! That was so your idea!
[Stephanie: *Pokes fingers together* She was saying that 'Only I can hurt the hell out of Takuro,' or something along those lines...]
o_o; Then I... ::Thinks:: I gave her half of my whip-collection!
[Stephanie: Luana is a very barbaric person. o_O;]
...We knew that already. --; Their intimate lives must be very... _interesting._
[Stephanie: Ew, bad images... *Runs off screaming about holy water*]
Go, please, for the sake of everyone. -_-;