Sorry I haven't updated in so long...school's really been hell. Finally I've
found me some spare time. But anyway, on with the show. Or story. Whatever.
Disclaimer: I have not claimed ownership of Yu Yu Hakusho since my last chapter was posted. But I claim ownership to pretty much all of these characters. So hah.
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~Soldiers of Spirit: The Tensaari Saga~
Chapter 3-Ogunwe
Rain feel silently, pattering on the pavement of Gaski Street, as well as my and Merrakai's heads as we stood at the corner, waiting for whatever the hell was coming from this academy. I watched the droplets absently, wondering about what was going to happen to me now. My parents had been delighted to see me go, but then they thought I'd been chosen to go on a high-end educational tour, or whatever kind of story the Overseer had sent them. As for Merrakai, all he'd really had to do was say goodbye to his brother, though that must have been hard for him. Although it had kind of startled me at first when Merrakai had found out he could use this...Spirit power too, but now I was enormously glad that there would be at least one person I knew and could trust at this place. If we ever got to this place, anyway. We had been standing there in the rain for over two hours, and nothing had happened. I was getting impatient, and I knew if that was happening, Merrakai was really getting pissed off. He had always been impatient.
"What the hell is going on?" Merrakai's voice shattered the silence, jolting me out of my lethargy. "Are these damn people coming, or not? Shit, I'm freezing! If they don't get here soon, I'm leaving, damn it!"
I was about to tell him to take it easy when a deep, gruff voice spoke for me. "Calm down and stop screaming, idiot. I was planning on taking you with me now, but I think another hour of waiting in the rain might be better to cool you off."
Merrakai and I both spun around to face the speaker, and we both stepped back a little. The tallest man I had ever seen stood not two feet behind us. From his huge black boots to his wet, shaven head, he must have been at least seven feet tall, if not more. His skin was a dark, rich brown and many silver rings pierced his nose and ears. He wore a long dark leather coat that went down to his high-topped boots, and his piercing gray eyes looked at each of us as though evaluating us.
Merrakai found his voice first. "W-w-who the hell are you?" he asked shakily. I cringed. This guy looked like he could tie us into a ball, dribble us down a court, and dunk us without breaking a sweat. Luckily, he didn't seem offended by Merrakai's outburst.
"Talka Ogunwe, Commander of the Tensaari," he said crisply. "I've come to transport you two to the Academy. Come with me." He turned on his heel and strode away before Merrakai and I could get another word out. We glanced at each other, than both jogged after him, struggling to keep up with his long strides. He led us to an abandoned warehouse on the other side of the street, which he disappeared into as though he owned it. When I pushed open the door and stepped inside, I found him standing near the center of the huge opening space, pulling something out of his pocket.
"All right, now do either of you have any experience in controlling your Spirit power?" We both shook our heads, remembering our failed attempts to access our powers manually the night before.
"No more than I expected," Ogunwe said. "Now, you can both feel the power, just out of reach, right?" Again we nodded. "Well, unless I miss my guess, all the attempts you've made on harnessing it, you've been trying to 'grab onto it,' in a way, correct?" We nodded silently for a third time. "Yes, I thought so. You're never going to be able to control it that way. To access your Spirit power, you must first surrender to it. Allow it to embrace you, instead of attempting to forcefully grab it. Try that instead."
Fixing Ogunwe's words in my head, I let my concentration move to the glowing, glimmering wall in my mind that was my power. Instead of trying to break down the wall, as I had before, I let myself go, accepted the power, allowed it to flow into me. At fires I though I almost heard a door open somewhere in my head, and then I was again rushed by the crackling, burning power that filled my body. The blue aura I remembered from my encounter with Seriasko flared up around me again, even brighter this time, I thought. Looking over, I saw Merrakai staring at me with a shocked, almost admiring expression on his face.
"How the hell did you do that so fast?" he said, sounding frustrated.
"It's not that hard, Merrakai," I replied. "You just have to kind of...relax. Let the power do what it wants." He nodded, fixing his gaze on the floor. A few seconds later, a blue aura flared around him as well, though not as bright as mine, I was strangely happy to see.
"Good," Ogunwe said gruffly. "You did that much quicker than I expected. Now, I need to test both of you. Raise your power to the highest it will go. Draw as much Spirit energy as you are able."
I again turned my attention to the vast well of glowing light that now suffused me with power. Now I tried to draw more from it, to embrace as much as I was able to. The energy flowed into me, faster and faster, and my aura grew brighter and larger as it did. Soon, drawing the power became slow and sluggish, like walking in molasses, and I began to feel as though I would burst if I drew any more. Finally, I stopped, breathing hard. Glancing over at Merrakai, I saw a blindingly bright aura surround him as well, and he was panting even harder than I was.
"Impressive," Ogunwe boomed. "Most impressive. You two have more potential than many of the students I've seen in years. You will certainly do well at the Academy, if you manage to survive." I almost laughed, thinking he was joking, but as he surveyed us silently, I began to realize he was serious. I gulped, and Merrakai blurted, "What the hell? You mean students die at this school?"
"Of course," Ogunwe replied calmly. "Leaning to use one's Spirit power does not come without certain risks. And now, you two have a choice."
"What?" I said, becoming confused. "What choice?"
"Either you come with me to the academy, or you refuse and stay here."
"What happens if we stay here?" Merrakai asked. "Your letter didn't say shit about staying here."
"If you refuse to come, then I will seal off your Spirit energy and prevent you from using it, then leave."
"You can do that?" I asked wonderingly.
"Of course. But do not be so quick to decide," he added, glancing at Merrakai's face, which was in a puzzled, considering look. "Sealing away your Spirit energy is a risky process. It could have any number of side effects, including your death. And there is a very high chance your life span will be shortened by at least 10 years."
Merrakai and I looked at each other, each searching the other's face for any doubt or worry. Finally Merrakai spoke. "Well, screw that, then," he said, trying to draw himself up. "You bastards ain't gonna suck any of my life away. I'm going to this damn academy." I nodded, agreeing.
Ogunwe nodded as well. "Very well, then," he said sharply, pulling out what looked like a silver slip of paper covered in odd symbols from his pocket. He stuck it to the wall, then placed his palm on it and spoke in a deep voice: "Mount Genkai!" Suddenly, the symbols on the paper began to glow, more brightly by the second, until it hurt to look at them. The air around the paper also seemed to be glowing, and bending, almost, until there was a glowing circle of light that hung in the air. Before I could turn to ask Ogunwe what the hell this was, I felt his hand shove into my back and send me almost flying into the glowing hole. There was a bright flash, and light filled my vision as I had a sensation of going down a really fast waterslide, and suddenly I was standing on solid ground, looking up at a huge, old-looking building, almost like a samurai dojo on a huge scale. There was another flash, and Merrakai was stumbling next to me. We both stared up at the building, too disoriented to talk.
"Well," came Ogunwe's voice from behind us, "This is it. Your new home for at least a year. Welcome to the Tensaari Academy."
* * * * *
And there's the third chapter. The next one, hopefully, won't be so long in coming. Also, I'll hopefully get more reviews...we'll see...
Disclaimer: I have not claimed ownership of Yu Yu Hakusho since my last chapter was posted. But I claim ownership to pretty much all of these characters. So hah.
* * * *
~Soldiers of Spirit: The Tensaari Saga~
Chapter 3-Ogunwe
Rain feel silently, pattering on the pavement of Gaski Street, as well as my and Merrakai's heads as we stood at the corner, waiting for whatever the hell was coming from this academy. I watched the droplets absently, wondering about what was going to happen to me now. My parents had been delighted to see me go, but then they thought I'd been chosen to go on a high-end educational tour, or whatever kind of story the Overseer had sent them. As for Merrakai, all he'd really had to do was say goodbye to his brother, though that must have been hard for him. Although it had kind of startled me at first when Merrakai had found out he could use this...Spirit power too, but now I was enormously glad that there would be at least one person I knew and could trust at this place. If we ever got to this place, anyway. We had been standing there in the rain for over two hours, and nothing had happened. I was getting impatient, and I knew if that was happening, Merrakai was really getting pissed off. He had always been impatient.
"What the hell is going on?" Merrakai's voice shattered the silence, jolting me out of my lethargy. "Are these damn people coming, or not? Shit, I'm freezing! If they don't get here soon, I'm leaving, damn it!"
I was about to tell him to take it easy when a deep, gruff voice spoke for me. "Calm down and stop screaming, idiot. I was planning on taking you with me now, but I think another hour of waiting in the rain might be better to cool you off."
Merrakai and I both spun around to face the speaker, and we both stepped back a little. The tallest man I had ever seen stood not two feet behind us. From his huge black boots to his wet, shaven head, he must have been at least seven feet tall, if not more. His skin was a dark, rich brown and many silver rings pierced his nose and ears. He wore a long dark leather coat that went down to his high-topped boots, and his piercing gray eyes looked at each of us as though evaluating us.
Merrakai found his voice first. "W-w-who the hell are you?" he asked shakily. I cringed. This guy looked like he could tie us into a ball, dribble us down a court, and dunk us without breaking a sweat. Luckily, he didn't seem offended by Merrakai's outburst.
"Talka Ogunwe, Commander of the Tensaari," he said crisply. "I've come to transport you two to the Academy. Come with me." He turned on his heel and strode away before Merrakai and I could get another word out. We glanced at each other, than both jogged after him, struggling to keep up with his long strides. He led us to an abandoned warehouse on the other side of the street, which he disappeared into as though he owned it. When I pushed open the door and stepped inside, I found him standing near the center of the huge opening space, pulling something out of his pocket.
"All right, now do either of you have any experience in controlling your Spirit power?" We both shook our heads, remembering our failed attempts to access our powers manually the night before.
"No more than I expected," Ogunwe said. "Now, you can both feel the power, just out of reach, right?" Again we nodded. "Well, unless I miss my guess, all the attempts you've made on harnessing it, you've been trying to 'grab onto it,' in a way, correct?" We nodded silently for a third time. "Yes, I thought so. You're never going to be able to control it that way. To access your Spirit power, you must first surrender to it. Allow it to embrace you, instead of attempting to forcefully grab it. Try that instead."
Fixing Ogunwe's words in my head, I let my concentration move to the glowing, glimmering wall in my mind that was my power. Instead of trying to break down the wall, as I had before, I let myself go, accepted the power, allowed it to flow into me. At fires I though I almost heard a door open somewhere in my head, and then I was again rushed by the crackling, burning power that filled my body. The blue aura I remembered from my encounter with Seriasko flared up around me again, even brighter this time, I thought. Looking over, I saw Merrakai staring at me with a shocked, almost admiring expression on his face.
"How the hell did you do that so fast?" he said, sounding frustrated.
"It's not that hard, Merrakai," I replied. "You just have to kind of...relax. Let the power do what it wants." He nodded, fixing his gaze on the floor. A few seconds later, a blue aura flared around him as well, though not as bright as mine, I was strangely happy to see.
"Good," Ogunwe said gruffly. "You did that much quicker than I expected. Now, I need to test both of you. Raise your power to the highest it will go. Draw as much Spirit energy as you are able."
I again turned my attention to the vast well of glowing light that now suffused me with power. Now I tried to draw more from it, to embrace as much as I was able to. The energy flowed into me, faster and faster, and my aura grew brighter and larger as it did. Soon, drawing the power became slow and sluggish, like walking in molasses, and I began to feel as though I would burst if I drew any more. Finally, I stopped, breathing hard. Glancing over at Merrakai, I saw a blindingly bright aura surround him as well, and he was panting even harder than I was.
"Impressive," Ogunwe boomed. "Most impressive. You two have more potential than many of the students I've seen in years. You will certainly do well at the Academy, if you manage to survive." I almost laughed, thinking he was joking, but as he surveyed us silently, I began to realize he was serious. I gulped, and Merrakai blurted, "What the hell? You mean students die at this school?"
"Of course," Ogunwe replied calmly. "Leaning to use one's Spirit power does not come without certain risks. And now, you two have a choice."
"What?" I said, becoming confused. "What choice?"
"Either you come with me to the academy, or you refuse and stay here."
"What happens if we stay here?" Merrakai asked. "Your letter didn't say shit about staying here."
"If you refuse to come, then I will seal off your Spirit energy and prevent you from using it, then leave."
"You can do that?" I asked wonderingly.
"Of course. But do not be so quick to decide," he added, glancing at Merrakai's face, which was in a puzzled, considering look. "Sealing away your Spirit energy is a risky process. It could have any number of side effects, including your death. And there is a very high chance your life span will be shortened by at least 10 years."
Merrakai and I looked at each other, each searching the other's face for any doubt or worry. Finally Merrakai spoke. "Well, screw that, then," he said, trying to draw himself up. "You bastards ain't gonna suck any of my life away. I'm going to this damn academy." I nodded, agreeing.
Ogunwe nodded as well. "Very well, then," he said sharply, pulling out what looked like a silver slip of paper covered in odd symbols from his pocket. He stuck it to the wall, then placed his palm on it and spoke in a deep voice: "Mount Genkai!" Suddenly, the symbols on the paper began to glow, more brightly by the second, until it hurt to look at them. The air around the paper also seemed to be glowing, and bending, almost, until there was a glowing circle of light that hung in the air. Before I could turn to ask Ogunwe what the hell this was, I felt his hand shove into my back and send me almost flying into the glowing hole. There was a bright flash, and light filled my vision as I had a sensation of going down a really fast waterslide, and suddenly I was standing on solid ground, looking up at a huge, old-looking building, almost like a samurai dojo on a huge scale. There was another flash, and Merrakai was stumbling next to me. We both stared up at the building, too disoriented to talk.
"Well," came Ogunwe's voice from behind us, "This is it. Your new home for at least a year. Welcome to the Tensaari Academy."
* * * * *
And there's the third chapter. The next one, hopefully, won't be so long in coming. Also, I'll hopefully get more reviews...we'll see...