Author's Note: Thanks to my first reviewers. Hopefully, when this story has more people, people will start noticing. I should probably put R & R in the summary, but I usually don't. The purpose of this story was originally to get some feedback on it, so I will value any thought-out reviews. Thanks in advance to all who have the courage to do so. For the next chappie (which is done already) I WILL wait until I have at least another review, unless there really aren't any. I won't keep any current fans waiting too long in that case, I'm too soft. Also, I'm having some extremely irksome formatting problems…yeah, so I hope this chapter looks okay. Since I now have Chap.'s 1-7 (8 including prologue) written and 9 almost done, there will be updates very frequently. Here's my first Chapter with some real action in it. Some Chapters will be nothing but.

Disclaimer: I don't own SC2, could you guess? Namco does, not me, oh no, no indeed.

Jeff Heigh – To answer your questions: 1) No, no exclusive characters. I find that a story about Soul Calibur should remain about Soul Calibur, rather than the inclusion of unneeded characters from other games. I don't dislike the exclusive genre, but I don't write that way. 2) You've hit the nail on the head. That's exactly what's going to happen. About two fourths of the main characters will be introduced by Chap. 6 or so, but more characters will be introduced into other storylines almost by each chapter. I won't give anything away, but this a very full, almost novelized version of SC2/3. It will have all characters, from all the three games (excluding Li Long, who is dead).

Avion Jade: Hey, glad you like it. I hope you've at least touched on SC1 or Soul Blade, or else some of the plot might elude you. Otherwise, there will be plenty of character development for everyone, so if you haven't heard of some, you will soon figure out who they are.

Chapter IV – Shuriken Shortcuts

Hong Yunsung could hear his fellow comrades going about their training in the distance. It was a normal day at Master Seung's dojo. Everyone was following their usual routines, everyone except for Yunsung that is. He stood on a wooden plank bridge that went over the dojo moat. 'I guess no one's going to say goodbye,' he thought to himself. 'It doesn't matter anyway. Master Seung wouldn't have let me go if he didn't think I was ready. He believed in me and gave me his blessings. That's all I need.' He overlooked Master Seung's dojo one last time before his departure - his home for the past fourteen years of his life. He couldn't help but to reminisce on the good and bad times he had here. For a split second, he thought this might be his last gaze upon his home, but deep down he knew he would return, and unlike his rival Hwang, he would return victorious.
The red-headed youth bowed respectfully toward the entrance. Turning around with his burlap bag over his shoulder, his new sword in his hand and a smile upon his face, he took his first step on what would be his first adventure.

…

The fresh aroma of pine filled the air as the youth traveled down a country road toward the seaport village of Pusan. He had heard rumors that the Sword of Salvation was recently seen somewhere in southeast China. The quickest way to get there would be by boat, but Pusan was a three day hike through the Puchong Forest. Yunsung knew the seaport like the back of hand. There was only two ways to get there from Chili-san. Travel along the coast on the main road that cut through his hometown or go through the dirt road through the forest. The forest was the fastest route, but he also knew that it was the most dangerous. The seclusion of the area meant many thieves and manipulates, but he wasn't worried. He could take care of himself…he was Yunsung after all.
After several hours of uneventful traveling, the sun was finally beginning to show signs of age . . . the first day of his journey at an end. He had made excellent progress, jogging for at least have the day. He traversed down a small hill, leaving the road and heading toward the sound of rippling water. A shallow stream ran alongside the road for the majority of the distance to Pusan, so water wasn't an issue. He placed his sword and bag on the ground as he knelt over toward the edge of the stream. Cupping his hand, he scooped up some water in his palm and drank it. Hong sat back on a large boulder while pulling his burlap bag closer. His hand searched the contents of the bag while the youth surveyed the tranquil area around him. Not a soul for miles…except one, who Yunsung was alerted to by the snap of a twig.

Yunsung's eyes narrowed, as he paused for a brief second. Keeping his ears open, he continued to pull out a small, orange pear and placed it on flat piece of flagstone. Taking his sword in his right hand, he casually cut the pear in half. He then procured a slice and proceeded to take a big chunk out of it. With his sword still in his right hand, he looked at his reflection on the large blade and slowly rotated it to the right. Chewing on the sweet fruit, he observed the images on the sword as the trees behind him passed in and out of the sword's sight, until it caught a fix on a tree with a very peculiar inhabitant on it…a ninja. Realizing that he was caught, the ninja made a break for it. Swallowing the piece of pear, he sprinted off with great speed in pursuit of the ninja. He wasn't going to let this one get away. Yunsung made sure to keep good eye contact on the fleeing opponent. Ninjas were known to be slick and could disappear at a blink of an eye. The ninja could still hear the presence of the youth behind him. He untied a pouch along his waist and began dropping its contents on the grass; tetsu-bishi, small spiked masses used to deter cavalry. However, the caltrops were thrown in haste, as the youth easily somersaulted over them. Upon landing, he grabbed one of them and continued on his chase.
Dissatisfied that his escape route was not successful, the ninja pulled out several shuriken and hurled them at the advancing swordsman. The throwing stars unraveled into three separate blades, but with his new sword, the young Yunsung batted all of them away with a huge grin. "You'll have to do better than that!" he shouted in a cocky voice. The black assassin threw a smoke bomb toward the ground. Heavy white smoke exploded from the tiny capsule. The ninja shot up to a tree limb and began traveling along the branches of the gingko trees.
'Oh no you don't' the redhead jumped straight for a tree. Using his leg muscles, he pushed himself away, ascending higher toward a nearby tree. Upon contact with the second tree, he was able to push off it with his left leg, ascending even higher. With the split seconds of seeing the ninja at eye level, he threw the four-pointed caltrop with force straight for the escaping ninja. The caltrop lodged directly onto the ninja's back, sending him ungracefully to the ground with a thump. "That's music to my ears," he chuckled as he placed a perfect landing a few feet away from the enemy. Now the ninja was angry. He pulled the caltrop from his back and flung it across the small opening they were standing in. Yunsung ducked just in time to see the weapon lodged into a tree, he then turned around to face his opponent. Yet all he could see was a small, one-handed kasuri-gama, a slender scythe and a shortened rod (perhaps two feet long in all) with a weighty chain and sphere twirling around its length, swinging at full length toward his torso. He hopped back, narrowly eluding the blade of the curved scythe. The moment his feet touched the ground, he made a dash for his opponent. Yunsung came in with a high side kick, aimed straight for the ninja's head. Instead, the ninja sidestepped in the knick of time, but was unaware of the boy's excellent kicking skills when he seamlessly twisted his body with a hopping turn kick with his opposite leg.

            As Yunsung flew, he managed to take in the look of his assailant. He wore black, as ninja's did, and seemed to be nearly wreathed in the color. The bizarre weapon, the kasuri-gama was held firmly in his right hand and swinging, while the rest of his ninja repertoire remained hidden all along his person. No markings, nothing to tell him apart from another black-clad shadow was born by him. Only the strange weapon that he held served as distinguishable. It occurred to Yunsung that this ninja was not particularly good with the scythe and chain, since he was continually moving to avoid it. Even Yunsung could guess that a real master of the device would not need to dodge his own attacks, no matter how powerful.
The redhead's foot connected cleanly against the opponent's side as he dove in with a forward thrust of his sword. The assassin parried it the scythe, but with the flexibility of the kasuri-gama, the ninja, with his left hand, whipped the attached chain across Yunsung's face. Stinging instantly formed at Hong's right cheek, but it was the speeding roundhouse kick that was coupled with the chain attack that sent Yunsung toward a large tree. More pain began swelling in his chest. The youth turned and pushed away from the tree, escaping the incoming swipe of the scythe as it lodged into the trunk. The ninja attempted to pull his weapon, but to no avail. Yunsung sped in with a crane kick. The ninja, quick to see it coming, sidestepped, reversing with another swing of the chain attached to the scythe. Yunsung ducked and then parried a low, heel kick with his open hand. Retaliating with a horizontal crescent slash from his crouched position, the black assassin flipped up and was standing atop of Hong's shoulders! The boy couldn't move at the shock of the impeccable balance of the ninja. The black-clothed menace hopped down, but delivered a nasty kick to Yunsung's back. The ninja was able to pull the sickle from the truck as the red-headed Hong bounced nimbly back to his feet.

'This guy's not too bad,' Hong thought to himself. He began advancing forward, but his sly opponent suddenly shot out a feathered dart from his fukiya (bamboo blowpipe). The startled teen barely flicked it away with his sword, but it was a part of the ninja's plan as the chain of his weapon wrapped around White Storm. Without warning, Yunsung and the ninja were playing tug-of-war. Hong's muscles tensed, showing his well-defined arms as he struggled to keep his sword in possession. The ninja attempted to swing the bladed end of his weapon around, but it was out of reach. Frustrated, the ninja pulled a low growing tree branch, giving him more leverage.
The ninja was sure that he'd let go of the sword, but to his amazement, the boy had slid into a front leg split…and was still holding on to the blasted sword. The assassin moved in, attempting to capitalize on Yunsung's awkward position, with a snapping axe kick. Yunsung saw the falling kick and grabbed the ninja's calf with his open hand, remaining in his split stance. He effortlessly pushed it away while sweeping him onto his back. The boy rolled over, smacking the ninja's face with an elbow strike. Dazed, the next thing the assassin felt was a knee crushing over his chest while seeing the blade of Yunsung's sword across his neck. "I'm just going to ask you once," Yunsung stated with a breathy tone. "Who are you and why are you following me?" Hong's chest heaved up and down, gasping for air as he awaited an answer. The ninja, not speaking a word, quickly pushed himself forward, forcing his neck against the redhead's weapon. The sword cut cleanly through the assassin's neck as thick, crimson blood squirted into Yunsung's face. The ninja took whatever information he had to his grave, leaving Hong without any answers.
Under normal circumstances, the redheaded youth would have been celebrating and bragging about his victory, but this one was different . . . much different. All of his years of training could not have prepared him for this. He looked into the empty eyes of this dead opponent, staring out unto the glowing red sky. Even though he embarked on a long and treacherous journey, Yunsung had never envisioned killing someone. Despite the fact that his weapon was designed for that sole purpose, the boy looked at his blade, tainted with the blood of his opponent. He slowly rubbed his face and then gazed upon his fingertips . . . fingertips marked with the blood of his first kill. He slowly stood up, solemn-faced and bowed to his deceased opponent. With his bloodstained face and sword, Hong slowly walked back to where he left his other belongings. A few moments later, Yunsung had finished wiping the blood off his face and sword. The blood dissipated into the stream as it flowed away. He stared at the reflection on his blade.
"Was this the thing Master Seung could not teach from within his walls?" He wasn't sure his plan was so great after all. He didn't want to kill anybody, all he wanted to do was bring back the one thing that would save his country and prove that he was better than Hwang. Hong continued staring at the sword until he finally fell asleep.