"Ahh crap! sh-" 'That hurt!' Toran mentally cursed the stupid crutches. He'd just gotten up for his midnight run to the kitchen for a snack, it was dark and those darn crutches didn't help he'd hit something, a wall or corner perhaps, with end of and lost his balance, he had leaned a the closest wall regain it, but lo and behold, the blasted wall turned out to be a sliding door. And now he was sprawled out on the floor without a clue of where he was and only one of stupid crutches. He'd been with Seito and Matsuri for quite some time now; they'd been so kind to allow him to stay with them. The two were something that's for sure, Seito was a merry man who loved to joke, Toran had yet to see him really serious. And Matsuri was her own enigma, happy one moment calm and collected the next.
'Only thing worse than having two of the blasted things is having one' he thought scowling at the troublesome crutch.
He could see a little better than in the hall, a window let some starlight in.
It was completely empty save few things hanging on the furthest wall from his unexpected entrance.
'It looks familiar some how...'
Don't do that, you know what they say 'curiosity killed the cat'
"Yeah but, your not cat your a...a human. Now then..." For some reason it didn't feel right to say that. Shrugging off the feeling of uncertainty, Toran hobbled over to the wall.
They were swords maybe15, 20 of them, all covered with some sort of cloth over their sheaths.
Balancing as best he could on one crutch, he carefully took one off the wall. As if in a trance he carefully studied it. Must have been 4-6ft minus the hilt, ' Almost the same size as the one I had...As the one I had?! I HAD...' Half a memory came to him, nothing but muddled images and half said conversations.
He must have been standing there a while, at least till he 'felt' Seito's presence. Didn't know how he knew, he just knew; beside anyone in a ten mile radius could hear Matsuri coming.
"I remember," he started not turning around, merely laying the sword in its place. Seito's science meant he was listening.
"I remember, someone gave me a sword once, taught me how to use it.... but someone else, someone close to me said "Depending on a metal tooth pick is for the weak, not for a saying..." He didn't bother to say the rest it just confused him.
"I can hear them and see them but their faces and names are a blur...
I'm sorry for intruding."
"Don't be, if it helped you even just a little." Seito silently approached him.
One odd thing about Seito was you could never hear him coming; it unnerved him every time Seito sneaked on him. He had to listen very hard to hear his breathing. So instead of listening like he did for Matsuri, Toran 'felt' for Seito's presence. He couldn't explain how though.
"If you're willing to learn I will teach you, if you become my student
you'll have earned your keep." He was all seriousness now, unlike his usual jolly self.
"Really? You'd teach me?" the prospect of learning any thing related to fighting appealed to him greatly. Strangely, it excited him.
His face lit up like a bulb.
"Think about it now, it's hard work Toran, and not all sword play to learn my family's style of fighting, takes dedication and-"
"I'll do it! I'll do it!"
"Well, Alright"
"Yes! Thank you! When can I start?" He felt ready to go to, ready get started and- He stomach growled loudly angered from being neglected. He remembered why he'd gotten up in the first place.
'Can't you keep quite even for a minute?' he thought at the traitorous organ, which rumbled again in spite of him.
Why should it? Your the one that forgot to eat! darn that small voice again.
Seito became his usual self again. "The Bottomless Pit calls again." he teased picking up the other crutch.
They'd quickly gotten used to Toran's oddities, like his eating habits, his hair (it Toran himself had to get used to that one, lavender hair, sheesh!) and his uncanny ability to know where anyone was in the house at any given moment.
"Well I can give you your first lesson right now" he said leading him out of the room in the direction of the kitchen.
"Think of your body like a car. Now, what happens when you don't put gas in that car?"
'Duh that's easy' he thought hobbling after the old man.
"It won't go"
"Good. I don't think that one needs repeating with you and that stomach, Matsuri is already starting breakfast."
"This early? What time is it?"
"Almost sunrise, which reminds me, I expect you to be up every morning before sunrise. You'll address me as sensei. Follow my every instruction to a 'T', and always, always be on your guard"
With that said, Seito abruptly stopped, almost causing a collision with out a word he opened a hidden sliding door much like the one he'd fallen in earlier except this was a pantry of some kind filled with medicines and herbs ect. 'I wonder how many of these hidden doors there are, he must have them all memorized'
"Ahh here we are" Seito pulled out rack of dried leaves the size of his palm.
"What are those for?" he asked attentively
"Preventatives."
"Why? What for?"
"There is a plant, the Mali, in these forests on these mountains that has a deadly poison in them, but by consuming the leaves you build up an immunity. You where lucky you didn't run in to a Mali before we found you. Since a lot of your activities will we outdoors, this is for your safety."
"I have to eat them? Do you and Matsuri have immunity?"
"Yes. Don't look so grim they don't taste that bad! In fact the go excellent on chicken as seasoning!"
The house or compound really was situated in the side of the mountain, literally. One could not tell they were on a mountain till they went outside. A person could see for miles all around nothing but forest and other mountains. It made one realize how insignificant they were compared to the world. It made him wonder how he even got there himself.
"Toran are you paying attention or are you taking in the scenic view?" Matsuri taunted from her seat on the stoop in front of the doorway to the house.
"What?" 'Ahh, so she does have a mean bone after all'
"Toran focus." Seito commanded, the older man was now standing in front of him with a slab of wood about 3ft long 2 inches thick held at arms length.
"I want you to break this."
"Is that all?" 'Wow this one's easy compared to the others' His muscles were still stiff from the earlier exercises.
"Don't over estimate yourself just as much as you don't underestimate your opponent"
"Yes sensei"
He looked at the board once more as if to figure out how to approach it.
"Okay" he placed his feet shoulders width apart and bent his knees slightly.
The old man raised an eyebrow at this. He felt kind of silly but it felt right almost like it was second nature to him.
'Maybe it is and you don't know it'
He balled his fist and swung with his whole upper torso.
CRACK! THUD!
"Father!"
"Sensei Are you alright!"
"Wow what a punch!" Seito groaned standing up. Not only was the wood broken but the holder had been thrown several feet back as well.
"Father are you sure your alright?"
"Yeah I'm just fine, remind me to start teaching him some restraint looks like he already got enough strength in him." Seito laughed for the first time that day. Matsuri looked mad.
"I'm sorry, I don't know my own strength."
"You had better be! What if he'd been facing the other direction, you idiot?! He would have gotten thrown down the incline into a tree or something!" he'd never seen Matsuri upset. Period. 'Still she doesn't have to go ballistic on me'
"I said I was sorry," he states getting mad at her for being mad at him, "I didn't mean to. I didn't know it'd hit so hard."
Her eyes narrowed.
"If he had gotten killed because you-
Seito's voice silenced them.
"Children stop this! Matsuri, I am fine I assure you, it'll take more than that to get rid of tough old bird like me." He chuckled his gray eye sparkling, "Well I must say your full of surprises boy I didn't think you get so far in one day what do you say we go eat dinner. You can do your last lesson while we're at it"
"Another!? What now?" 'I'm tired' Seito was already heading back inside,
"Matsuri is going to teach you how to cook."
"What?"
"Cook?!"
Pan sat on the roof of the new apartment she'd just moved into only a few days ago. It was a great place to think and be alone. She sat with her leg dangling off the side off the building
Things seemed to be falling apart around her, her uncle was blaming him self for 'not being a better friend' one of his bad days again. Goten was the last to see him they'd been sparring, Trunks had been distracted he said. Marron and Bra had stopped by to say hello but ended up having a tear fest on her couch. Even her parents sounded kind of mopey when they'd called; Trunks had been like another little brother to them.
Pan felt even worse because there was nothing she could really do to help. She looked for work during the day and spent her nights searching for Trunks. The media was in an uproar over the whole fiasco not to mention the shake up the shift in power had caused in the business world. She laughed a short grim laugh 'who knew one person affect so much. I feel so useless, I should be out looking for him right now!' Another more rational part of her brain told her that she needed sleep to look for work, which brings income that in turn brings food. If only she could look for him while working... Perhaps then maybe she'd feel, not quite so useless and unhelpful.
'Just a little while tonight.' She thought taking off of the roof an into the night sky.
Matsuri stood completely silent and still, a long wooden staff in her hand as she waited for her opponent to make his move. Her perceptive gray eyes watched for every subtle movement made around her, listening for every bird that chirp, every tree that rustled, any twig that snapped. 'He's getting good...'
Matsuri heard the faint snapping of a twig several meters to her left, right behind her. Though the trees obscured her vision she knew her opponent was very close with out a moment's hesitation she jumped silently to a tree branch above her. Blending in with the shadows the canopy cast, Her opponent shrugged forward a second later into the empty glade she'd just been hiding in moments before. Now that she could see him his lavender hair stood out against the surrounding trees and forestry. Only his black gi melted into the dappled shadows in the forest.
'It's a wonder he can hide anywhere with hair like that.'
Matsuri watched with a bird eye view of Toran, as he looked about the now vacant area confused before frowning. "Darn, she heard me." She heard him mutter as he looked for signs of which way she'd gone. He cursed frustrated again, having lost her for the fifth time today, he punched a nearby innocent tree. Matsuri's gray eyes widened as a vicious crack split at the point of contact falling almost immediately; the whole thing! Trunks, seeing his mistake, had comically apologetic look come over his face as he jumped to the other side to prevent it from falling. Steadying it as best he could. 'What are you doing?!. The green hair woman wondered. Amazingly as he actually succeeded, without even breaking a sweat! He walked off continuing the search for the person he might have seen, had he looked up.
Dropping back to the forest floor she looked at the tree he'd punched slack jawed. It was now planted about a foot or two deeper than it had been before. 'But how can he be that strong? Just a few weeks ago he was on crutches now he can walk as lightly as a feather floats. It doesn't add up right. I sense something different about him. And not just his abilities either. ' Still she needed to start heading back. By the dimming light she could tell it was time to start heading back; she needed to speak with her father about what she'd had just witnessed and his progress in this particular exercise. He obvious needed more training he wasn't going to catch her any time soon.
Matsuri turned heading back towards the house, her mind preoccupied on the enigma that was Toran. Having seen Toran walking in the opposite direction moments earlier she wasn't paying to much attention to her surrounding.
"Deep thoughts?" a male voice protruded her train of thought.
She looked up to see Toran walking beside her. She hadn't heard him not even his breathing.
"How'd you find me?! How'd you catch up so quickly?" she demanded.
Being caught off guard wasn't something she was used to.
Toran tapped his nose with a small smile," I can smell you."
She wasn't amused.
"Why you!! How dare-
"Not like that, I mean you have a smell and so does your father, every one does I just followed my nose." the faint smile dissolved "What happens next?" Asking about his training.
Matsuri shrugged, "No ones gotten this far in such a short amount of time.' A sly smile reappeared a faint mischievous gleam cam to his eyes Matsuri groaned inwardly hoping he hadn't remembered their bet.
"Well since I caught you you'll be doing dinner duty for the rest of the month," he gloated, "I you said I'd never find you."
It was no surprise to her that his ego got a major inflation. His was usually so quiet and introverted, but sometimes he was like a different person arrogant, cold and calculative, very strange indeed.
What an odd one we've picked up.
The trio ate dinner in companionable silence and then dispersed. After two months of living with the Oteras, he'd gotten used to the poigent taste of Mali seasoning in almost every meal. He even got used to the funny feeling it gave him in the base of his spine. Later he found out that it was why their eyes were gray, from acclimating to high levels of Mali in their systems.
Seito along with Matsuri would train Toran during the daylight hours but night was used for resting; excluding training sessions, which took place at night, which at this point in his training rarely occurred.
Toran sat not to far away from the house, watching the stars come out. A gentle summer breeze ruffled his lavender hair. He closed his azure eyes and listen to the beginning of the natures nightly serenade.
It was the perfect time of day, everything seemed to wind down and relax.
It was during this time that Toran mused over his blank past.
Some days he got so frustrated trying to unlock his memories it was maddening. Other times he felt he just didn't care, let his brain fix its self on it's own. He had flashes mere seconds of images and muddled voices, usually while training. But not any thing clear or profound, like his memory of receiving a sword. That particular flash had occurred when Seito first began teaching him the Shadow sword techniques.
Still he had many questions, like his strength for example.
He knew it wasn't normal, nor was his appetite or speed. He wondered what his parents were like, what was his mother like?
What kind of family did he belong to? Where did he live and where was he from? What sort of life did he live?
Or did he have a family of his own? A wife and kids? He idly wondered if the rest of his family had odd colored hair. The thought off a large family reunion with lots of odd haired people made him chuckle.
He yawned well his foggy mind wasn't divulging any of it's secrets, perhaps sleep would jarr his memories. He doubted that, but he was tired anyways. He stood up; stretching his limbs he began walking back inside.
Maybe he should stop trying to figure out his past. Maybe he should focus on just the future from now on. He paused blinking, from some reason that thought disturbed him. Like there was something really important he would be missing if he did. Someone he may forget forever.