-Okay ^^ as you can see I'm starting to update again! Ah, a small note on this story though; I'm not good at creating character o_o or mood, I don't think, so please bare with some parts of this story that might concern those two things. But anyway, thanks for all the reviews!
After that long night of partying, the Samari house was cluttered with dozing Samari Samurais who were all too tired and drunk to find their beds and have settled for the couches, tables, and every other available space. Peacefully slumbering Samari Orimoto was found next to his bed, stomach in rhythm with his slow breathing. Izumi carefully peeked into her father's room to make sure he was still sleeping before hurriedly fetching her things. Because of her training, sneaking out of the house was never a problem with Izumi; scurrying to the back door and slowly opening it as to not wake anyone, especially her brothers who had fallen asleep just outside the door.
"Ah, hmm," she smiled and took a deep breath before sliding her slippers on. Izumi started off towards town where she spotted several people already emerging from their own houses and getting a start on their morning chores; men hitching their wagons to drive into the city and women with baskets heading in to buy breakfast.
"Good morning, Izumi."
Izumi stopped and smiled, "Oh, good morning, Elder Haman, Mr. Ayiboshi," she said and bowed deeply.
The two nodded, "Up early, aren't you? Going over to open up your mother's flower shop this morning?"
"Yes, sir," Izumi replied.
"Even though we just got back, we heard about your run-in with Daisuke Motimiya yesterday, and we are very pleased to hear about your performance," Elder Haman smiled and nodded. "We heard nothing but good things from Elder Kin!"
Blushing, Izumi grinned sheepishly and scratched her cheek, "Aw, no, it was nothing…you should really congratulate the other guys, they put the fire out and everything!" After another minute of conversation Izumi finally excused herself and hurried off before the sun began to rise. She was pleased to hear from other villagers greeting her and saying that they were also pleased about the previous day, although it still did not take away how bad it made Izumi feel when she saw the large chunk of the town burned to the ground.
The ringing of the small bell had Izumi pick her head up to see the usual three old women that come to the shop every morning to buy flowers, or in most cases, gossip. Izumi smiled and shook her head as the trio began to chatter and went back to watering her plants.
"She's going to the city this afternoon to visit a sick friend of hers, although if you ask me she should just move there," a petite woman replied, her mouth tightening and giving her shawl a twitch. "After the burning the Motimiya Clan did yesterday there's about nothing left in this town to live upon."
A plump-faced woman touched her arm, "Oh, calm down, Yushiko, Elder Kin's having some men fix the burnings already."
The third, fair-haired and the same size as the other two shook her head, "I would have to agree with Yushiko…this village is just facing such troubled times; I've talked to a couple of women who are having such a hard time with their children, turning into such rebellions…" Izumi shook her head, some people just need to have faith once and a while, she frowned and tried to avoid hearing them until she had heard one of them say "omen". Izumi's ears twitched and she inched closer to listen.
"—that's all anyone talks about the east. And with Emperor Kouichi always going off to who-knows-where, who are we to count on?"
"Precisely, it's just not safe in these lands anymore…but I hear—"
"Umi-chan!" Taking the four by surprise, Izumi almost dropped the pitcher when Akasu came running in, almost being trampled when the women surrounded and showered the little boy with attention. But Izumi came to his rescue and pulled him aside. "Thanks! What are you doing?!"
"What are you talking about?" Izumi asked.
"You're missing practice—Otou-san going to lose his mind if you don't hurry!"
"Oh, no!" Izumi's hand covered her mouth as she quickly grabbed her little brother and sped towards the door. "Sumimasen, but I'll be back later!" she called as both of them left the three women in the shop gaping as they ran away. Akasu led Izumi through the crowds that had now built up throughout the village grounds, Izumi slightly cursing to herself when she saw the half the golden sun already peeking through the horizon. "I cannot believe I forgot about practice, Otou-san will have my head for sure!"
Akasu shook his head, "Not just yours. You know Papa; he punishes one, he punishes all."
"Oh, as if I needed that!" Izumi glared and hurried on.
Samari watched from the sidelines; arms crossed and constantly barking out orders at him and the other sparring men, "Hyaa!!" Yamato cried as his katana came down hard onto his opponent's, who faltered slightly before drawing back to receive Yamato's multiple slashes.
"Pace yourself, Yamato, Ryu Son Sen* can leave the user mighty tired before he can make another attack," he said. "Power and agility aren't the only things needed to succeed—well look who has finally come to join us," he frowned as Izumi and Akasu tiptoed in.
Akasu and Izumi bowed nervously, "I'm sorry, father, to my best effort it won't happen again!" Izumi said before running off.
"We'll talk later, Izumi," Samari chided and walked over to watch her practice, Izumi quietly groaned as she got her boken ready. "Open us up with Sou Ryu Sen* and I want you, Shin, to block and counter," Izumi nodded and held her breath until her father had finally walked off to observe the others.
After a good several hours of training, and since she was late, Samari had given all of them a huge lecture about punctuality and teamwork before setting them off to their punishment…the Samari house was the biggest house in the village, and to clean it would take the samurais hours.
"Ready, go!" Takeru exclaimed as the four of them ran back and forth across the floor, rags in their hands and sleeves rolled all the way up their shoulders. Akasu then entered carrying a bucket filled with soapy water which he landed next to Izumi before they started washing the windows.
"I think my arms have finally gone numb with all this scrubbing," a boy with messy dark hair sighed and collapsed on the floor. Yamato bent over him and pinched his arm which caused the boy to wail and sit up. "Baka, what was that for?"
"Well, your arms don't seem so numb to me. Get up, Keitaro, we're not even done yet," Yamato glared and pulled him up.
Takeru wiped his forehead and looked out the window, "The sky sure is looking a bit uneasy…might storm tonight."
Keitaro pouted and shot a look at Izumi, "We've used our hands for cleaning more than anything else! It's all her fault, you know."
Upon hearing this, Izumi snarled and threw down her rag, "What did you say?! If you've got something to say to me then say it to my face before I—ow!" Izumi floundered and shook a fist as Takeru held her back from tackling Keitaro who had cowered behind Yamato.
"Hey! We're supposed to be working here," he said, "the last thing we need is you getting hotheaded again."
"Keitaro started it!"
"No, I didn't!" Keitaro exclaimed defensively before Izumi's slipper flew past his head. "Ha, you missed, Izumi!"
They heard a long sigh behind them and saw Samari rubbing his temple, "I'm afraid she didn't…now what is going on in here?" His voice boomed. The bunch sidled and fell into a straight line; arms pinned to their sides and chins looking across the room. Samari eyed them for a minute then sighed, "Alright, all of you out, you're done for today—except you, Izumi."
"What's gonna happen to her?" Akasu whispered when Yamato was ushering everyone out hastily, hissing at Keitaro when he made a face at Izumi.
Izumi was trembling so hard that she felt so relieved when her father told her to sit down, but then that only meant that the lecture was only going to be longer and stringent.
Her father looked at her disappointingly and let out a huge sigh, "I think it's time you stop tending to that shop."
"What?!" Izumi stood up. "What do mean? Are-are you saying that we should sell it? But, Otou-san that's mother's shop, we can't just sell it to some stranger—"
"I wasn't implying that we should sell it," Samari frowned and avoided to look at her straight in the eye. "It's time we close that place for good, Izumi."
"Why?!"
"Because it is not benefiting anyone," Samari replied and Izumi grunted. "And it has been very evident; you have been late to practice three times this week already and are always falling behind—and although you do manage to catch up with the others it's still not a very smart thing to continue with. You should try and be more like your brothers, Izumi; you've got great potential to become one of the best in our family. Take your grandfather, for example, not to mention his father before him and the men who came before them."
Izumi's brows creased and her frowned deepened, she spoke in a low voice, "It just kills you that you were given a daughter, doesn't it?"
"What? What are you talking about, Izumi?"
Her father was looking at her now and Izumi bit her lip in hesitance, "You're always pushing me to be one of the best…but what you are really doing is molding me to be one of the guys."
Samari arched a brow and cleared his throat, "Izumi, you don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, yes I do!" she said, her voice rising. "It's always been like this, Otou-san, ever since I was little; normal girls would be playing with their dolls while I was too busy balancing things on my head and learning the art of defense—if mother were still here—"
"That is enough, Izumi!" Samari's voice exploded and he wagged a finger at Izumi's face. "Your mother is gone and that flower shop is next!!" Izumi scrunched her face, even though her and her father were known to break out into constant arguments, never had he raised his voice and seemed so furious and this made Izumi feel even more angry. She was about to respond when someone made a noise behind him.
It was Yamato, "Uhm. Excuse me, Otou-san, but there's a foreigner here and he insisted that he needed to speak with you."
Samari didn't hesitate and walked right out, and in an instant Izumi let out an exasperated cry. Yamato walked over to her as the other boys began to file back in, obviously having been eavesdropping from the other side. Yamato touched Izumi's arm.
"Don't be angry with him, Izumi, you know father gets all uptight with the mention of mother."
"That's not it! Even if he knows I am right Otou-san never listens to me unless I say what he wants to hear," Izumi frowned and marched out of the room. "Will you leave me alone?" Izumi crossed her arms and glared at him when he followed her outside. "You're just going to make me more upset."
"Well, then, I'll just have to take that risk," Yamato grinned and started to say something when a clap of thunder caught their attention. They looked up just in time to see rain beginning to pour down from the darkening skies. Yamato put his hands behind his head. I guess we're going to have to do some more cleaning tomorrow, looks like it's going to come down hard—Izumi? Where are you going?"
Izumi threw her cloak on and sped out their gate, "The flowers, I forgot to close the shop! I'll be right back!"
"It's getting dark, be careful!"
A raven-haired boy smirked before he stomped his feet onto a small puddle and caused the murky water to splatter onto his friends' clothes, "Taruka! Watch it!" exclaimed a girl, running away from him and to the one leaning so casually against the wall.
Taruka grinned, "It's raining, so you're already wet. Hey, Miko, pass me that club over there."
"Not until I am done with it," said a boy with a calm, deep voice. He held a metal plank in his hands and banged it against an abandoned market stand; pieces of wood flew when the plank collided with the wood, Taruka laughed and joined his friend in ruining the stand.
"What do you four think you're doing?!"
"Huh," Taruka and Miko glanced up the street, as so did the girl and the other boy, and saw Izumi watching them. "Aw, it's just Izumi. What do want?"
Izumi glanced at the one leaning; Aoshi was his name, "Have you lost your minds, there's a storm going on! You four should go home before you cause any damage," they all just looked at her with smugness, crossing their arms and not budging from their places even if the rain came down hard on their bodies. The four were known to be a local gang, but Izumi had never been afraid to face them nor do them face her, but all of them were skilled to fight in different ways. Assuming they wouldn't go the easy way, Izumi was about to approach them when the one, Aoshi, got up and began walking.
"Let's go back," he said to them. The three were surprised but nonetheless began to follow.
Taruka grinned back at Izumi, "I would watch out if I were you, Izumi, it's getting dark and we've seen some rather strange things lurking around this part of town." Puzzled, Izumi figured it was all just Taruka attempting to get back at her and continued on her way.
Thank the Light, Izumi smiled when she saw that her flowers and plants were still as she had left them that morning. Remembering that her family might get worried Izumi hastily tidied up and was about to go lock the door when a flower pot crashed onto the floor, Izumi jumped, a frown coming upon her face as she looked around her.
"Oh great, Taruka's nonsense finally got to me," she laughed and started picking up the broken plates. "I don't know why I let myself get…" Izumi let her voice die down when she heard movement; she quickly crawled behind a table and listened for more noises, robbers, it couldn't be. Spotting a spade, Izumi snatched it and peeked from the corner and getting ready to tackle whatever it was waiting for her.
Before she could have even gotten up something wrapped its arms around her neck and almost threw her on her knees, Izumi yelped and reached behind her back until she got a firm grip and threw the person to their back, "What the," Izumi's eyes were wide open when she saw that it wasn't a person—it wasn't even human!—but some kind of black, furry creature; it rolled back onto its feet and was joined by three more. The three multiplied to three more, and those three multiplied to another three, Izumi watched paralyzed until the whole shop was filled with these screeching monsters.
Izumi tried backing up but it was no use, whatever these things were she had no choice but to face them if she wanted to get out alive, "Alright," she said, holding the one spade as if it were a great sword, Izumi bit her lip, I wish Otou-san were here! Izumi cried when several creatures lunged at her but before she could even defend herself someone charged in from the door and brought the creatures down to the floor with one stroke of his sword.
She watched in half a daze as the boy who had come to her rescue was throwing down every one of the creatures that jumped at him, and he did it as if he had done this hundreds of times before. Through her eyes it all had happened so fast that Izumi blinked, and the creatures were scampering out the broken windows and into the rain, and she was left with the stranger who, for all she knows, could bring her down just as quick as he had brought those creatures to the floor.
"What, what on earth were those things," she breathed.
The stranger sheathed his sword to his side and said, "Just the beginning, I'm afraid."
Izumi reached her hand out to him, "Who are you…" just as she was about to lay her hand on him, the boy collapsed to the floor.
Back at the Samari house and crawling about, Akasu rubbed his tired eyes and was about to head back into his room when he heard someone making muffled noises in one of the bedrooms. I wonder what's going on in Keitaro's room, Akasu wondered and slowly slid the door to sneak a peek, that's not Keitaro! He opened it wider and walked in, getting a better look of the person laying on the bed; he had long, dark blue hair and looked oddly familiar to Akasu.
"Rnrn…" The stranger's face twisted into an expression that told Akasu of a nightmare he was having.
His body writhed beneath the layers of blankets, Akasu kneeled beside him, "Wake up, mister, you're having a nightmare. Wake up," he repeated and lightly shook his shoulder. "Mister, wake!—" Akasu gasped when his arm came to life and grabbed Akasu's, and within the blink of an eye the stranger had managed to get up behind Akasu, a small dagger at his hand and the point of the blade less than an inch from Akasu's neck.
"You mean to tell us that you were attacked by—what was it, devil monkeys?" Yamato arched a brow.
Izumi glared at him a bit from across the table, "Well, now you make my story sound lame. But that's exactly what they looked like, maybe it was too dark for me to see but what those things were…they were neither human nor animal."
"And what about that guy?" Takeru glanced up at the ceiling. "He came out of nowhere, too?" Taking a sip of her tea, Izumi nodded and wore the same worried look as her brothers. "His clothes are quite uncommon to be seen around these parts; maybe he's a wanderer, a foreigner from the east…"
"Or maybe he's a ghost."
"A ghost?"
The three looked up with blank faces at Keitaro but he spoke in a matter-of-factly manner, "Well, think about it, we've all heard the legends…a lost spirit with unfinished business—usually a devoted soldier to some emperor—wandering the lands and protecting those in need all the while seeking to find some peace for his tired soul."
"Sometimes I don't even want to know what goes on in that brain of yours," Izumi shook her head.
Keitaro made a face and crossed his arms, "Mock me now, Izumi, we'll see who laughs last when Samari hears about this."
"Ah—where is father anyway?" Izumi looked at Takeru and Yamato. Takeru threw his head upon the direction of Samari's den. "What's he doing in there?"
"While you were gone, this man had come and asked to see Otou-san, immediately," Yamato answered, a growing curiosity appearing on his face. "I think he is from the city, I remember seeing him when Otou-san had taken me there once…Anyway, they had been in there for almost an hour now. I don't suppose it's anything to be worried about though," he said, although Izumi noticed the creasing of his brows but before he could say anything else the door opened and Samari walked in with someone.
The four of them stood up straight in honor of their father and guest. Izumi looked at him from the corner of her eye, his looks did look like he came from the city; as tall as her father but a bit lighter in appearance.
"Everyone, this is Subaru Aroboshi, he is a successful business man who came all the way from the city," Samari announced and waved them all to sit. "Aroboshi, these are three of my children and Keitaro Rukashima."
Aroboshi smiled and nodded to each, "Fine looking samurais you have, Orimoto, any one of them will do just fine," he chuckled. Izumi's brows furrowed and exchanged puzzled looks and shrugs with the others.
"It's getting late. Where is Akasu?" Samari asked, and it only took a second of glancing up before the four of them rushed upstairs to Keitaro's room. "What's going on?" Samari called after and both he and Aroboshi quickly followed.
Takeru was the first to reach the door and pulled it open, "Akasu?—what—"
"Hi, Takeru!" Akasu beamed and stood up. The boy he was talking to turned his head and both boys quickly narrowed their eyes at the other but the one who had the weapon was the stranger, and he wasted no time pulling that out and striking it at Takeru. Fortunately, his blade was met by Izumi's who dove in just in time.
Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Izumi almost thought she saw a flicker in the boy's eyes but he didn't seem to have all his strength back for he pushed away from her and almost stumbled on the bed. Takeru pulled Izumi back right when Samari and the rest caught up, the boy kept a deadly stare at all of them.
"Now, now, there's no need for that here, boy," Samari hushed, putting his hands up. "See, no one's here to cause harm. Ah, who are you?"
Takeru and the rest laughed nervously, "Well, Otou-san, we were going to tell you about um…uh…"
Akasu came out from behind the boy, "His name's Kouji, he's tired and he doesn't know where he came from." Izumi looked up at him, Kouji.
Just then Aroboshi let out a gasp and pointed, "You! You're that lad who defeated the Motimiya Clan all by yourself!"
-Wee! Yay! ^_^ I finally finished a chapter, I'm so darn proud of myself right now. I might have stuck in a few unnecessary things such as…Aoshi and his little gang but I think I might find some important purpose for them as the story progresses, actually, a lot of things I stuck in this chapter will prove to be of some importance in chapters to come. n_n Woo, review!