Chapter 7 behind my pain
The sun was shining as the day was ready to start, Since Stella and Joshua both agreed to be roommates. Things would be looking up for them.
-Joshua and Stella's room-
Stella and Joshua were still asleep in their bunk bed. Stella felt the sun come into the room as she covered her eyes.
"Morning already?" Stella said as she leaned up and stretched her arms. She then felt something as she looked to see Joshua's arm hanging from his bed.
Stella blinked as she got out of her bed and climbed the ladder, she quickly blushed at what she saw. In his own bed, Joshua was asleep. But only in his black boxers, As he didn't have on any pajamas at all.
Stella got into his bed as she stood over him, She then placed her hand on his chest as she felt his scars. She had a small blush on her face.
"All these scars..." Stella said as she was in awe, She then glanced up at his collar. She gulped as she gently and slowly reached for it. Stella placed her hand gently over his collar, She examined it carefully as she looked sad, She was sad that he had to endure the suffering of being another victim of the darkness magic. Stella began to smile as she then moved her hand to his head and touched his cheek.
'To survive against the darkness and live this long to tell the tale...and channel it no less. You truly are legendary, Joshua' she thought as she quietly moved off of him and got dressed for the day. Joshua moved in his bed as he turned to the side and fell out of his bed, Face first.
"Fuck...!".
Stella ran out of the bathroom to see Joshua on the floor as he was getting up. Stella just sighed at him.
"Well...good morning..." She said.
-meanwhile-
As everyone was prepared for the day, A train was coming into town. On the train were Shizuku Kurogane, And her ex-brother Ikki Kurogane, Now renamed to Gekkage. The Gekkage family asked the Kurogane family to have Ikki as their son, The Kurogane quickly agreed in an instant as they saw no use for him in their family to tarnish their great bloodline.
In only a few weeks, The Gekkage family cared and loved Ikki as one of their own. And he was trained by his new family as he learned and created his own techniques, He also earned the title of Another One. Needless to say, The Kurogane family was in shock and harbored a small amount of bitter hatred towards them.
Ikki was with his ex-sister as he traveled with her as she was on her way to Hagun Academy. Ikki wouldn't be going to Hagun Academy with her, As he was going to London to a very special school that would help with his physical abilities. Despite him not having any magic, He was happy to just be loved and accepted by someone other than his old family.
Ikki and Shizuku were talking to one another.
"Are you sure that you can't come with me brother?" Shizuku asked him. Ikki sadly shook his head at her. "Sorry, Shizuku" he said "But my parents want me to head to London for school. Besides, I don't think anyone would take me seriously on wanting to become a knight who has no magic".
"That's not true! You're a wonderful knight! Both I, Your family, And Lord Prince Joshua know that!" Shizuku said. Ikki just laughed at her.
"Wow Shizuku" he said "You gonna call Joshua that once you meet him?". Shizuku blushed as she then began to think about Joshua. Ever since she first met him, Shizuku had developed strong feelings for him. From when he and his family accepted Ikki and cared for him, To how they accepted her. Joshua was their first friend, And they cared for him just as much.
But they were also there when the incident happened, They supported Joshua as he struggled with his darkness magic, They promised that they would be together forever. Joshua thanked them, During the last 4 years of their childhood they kept that promise strong.
Shizuku looked out the window.
"The person that I've come to love so deeply...has been enduring great pain for the past 8 years now. He kept fighting and struggling to keep the darkness from ever emerging again, He's been afraid ever since. Ikki, I'll give him all the love he needs, And walk with him on his path to fight against the darkness within him" she said.
Ikki smiled at his ex-sister "I know that he'll be happy to hear that" he said as they reached her stop. Shizuku got her bag and stood up as Ikki followed her to the exit. As soon as they got off, Shizuku hugged her ex-brother.
"Brother" Shizuku said "Be safe on your trip".
"You too, Shizuku. And tell Joshua that his cousin says hi".
Shizuku smiled brightly "I will" she said as she walked off as Ikki went back to his seat to head for the airport. Shizuku smiled more as she blushed.
'I'll always be there for you, I'll fight the darkness so that it won't ever harm you again, Lord Prince Joshua'.
-meanwhile-
Stella and Joshua were running together down a path in the park. Joshua kept running until they stopped at a bench. Joshua sat on the table as he pulled out a bottle of water from his bag. Stella was breathing hard as she looked at him.
"You're not even tired? Ah ah ah..." Stella asked him. Joshua was drinking his water as he looked at her "Nope, It was only 20km. Besides, I have unlimited magic so that compensates my physical strength".
Stella just rubbed her head as she just stared at him. "But still, You should at least feel something" she said. Joshua pondered a bit, "well, Okay, Maybe I am a bit drained. But just a tiny bit".
Stella knew that Joshua was lying to make her not worry about him, She smirked at him "You really are something, Joshua" she said. Joshua smiled at her.
"That I am" he said as he passed his water bottle to her "Here".
"But it's...".
"It's water".
"No, I mean, I'd be kissing you indirectly..." Stella said as some steam came out of her ears. Joshua laughed at her "Hah hah! Sure sure. But I'll respect it. You wouldn't wanna drink out of something I put my mouth on" he said with a smile "I'll get you one for yourself".
Stella quickly spoke up "I-I didn't say that I minded" she said as she began to blush.
"Actually, It's the opposite".
Joshua blinked at her. "Uhhh...Stella? You okay?" He asked her, Stella quickly looked at him. "N-never mind. Just give it to me!" She said.
Joshua started to smirk at her as he laughed.
"Hah hah hah hah hah! Oh my god!".
"W-what's so funny to you?!".
"So...Stella. How should I "give it to you?" Hm?" Joshua said with a somewhat straight face. Stella quickly got red as she took the water bottle from his hand and then threw it at his face.
"You stupid pervert of a Prince!" She said.
Joshua was covered in water as he had a narrow glare at her, "It was just a joke..." He said "Heh, You remind me of a friend of mine from home. She did the same thing to me when her brother and I played a prank on her. I do miss those two a lot".
Stella puffed her cheeks at the mention of another female that he knew. "Was she pretty?" Stella asked him, Joshua looked over at her "Huh? Why is that a big deal?".
"I'm just wondering you idiot!" Stella shouted. Joshua facepalmed. "I don't get you at all, Stella...".
-freshman class-
All of the first year students were in there homerooms, Joshua and Stella were sitting together as Yuuri was speaking.
"Hello, Freshmen! Congratulations on making it in!" Yuuri said "I'm your teacher, Yuuri Oriki! I'm new, This is my first time having a class. Call me Yuri" she said.
Joshua just had his feet up on the desk and he leaned back in his chair. "I can manage that, Yuri" he said. Yuuri then looked at him. "Ah! I'm glad that you can Jo-jo" she said with a smile. Everyone just looked at Joshua as they began to snicker at the nickname Yuuri gave him. Stella was giggling to, As Joshua fell back in his chair.
"IT'S JOSHUA!" He shouted. Yuuri then waved her finger "Not in this classroom it's not" she said "There's no class today, But I have one thing to add...about the selection match for the Seven Star Battle Festival".
Joshua got back in his seat and placed his head on the desk. "If theirs no class, Then what the hell was the point in coming here in the first place?" He mumbled.
"Everyone, You do remember what the director said during the ceremony, Don't you?" Yuuri said.
Joshua lifted his head on the last part.
"How could I not forget that...?".
-flashback-
Kurono was standing in front of all of her students as she spoke:
"Up until last year, This school selected the representatives based on their ability score. But starting this year, It will be by actual fighting where all students participate. The top six winners will become the school representatives. This method is very simple and also fair...".
-flashback end-
"So, The school match will start next week!" Yuuri said "You'll be informed of your fight schedule and opponent by emails to your student I.D. Make sure to check them regularly!".
Stella then raised her hand "Teacher".
Yuuri quickly stopped her "No, No. Call me Yuri, Or I won't answer your questions".
Stella had a sweat drop come down her head. Joshua smiled at her as he raised his hand.
"Yuri".
"Yes, What's your question, Jo-Jo?".
Joshua's left eye twitched at his nickname, "Just how many matches do we fight in total?".
Yuuri then pondered a bit "Well, Easily over 10 matches per person. It's safe to assume that you'll have a match one every three days". Everyone groaned in the classroom, However Joshua pondered to himself.
'Once every three days huh. In that case, I could work on some new techniques with my crystal magic' he thought, Yuuri spoke again:
"If you don't want to fight, You can withdraw from the match! It won't badly affect your grade. But in my opinion, Giving a fair opportunity to everyone is a very wonderful thing. So I encourage you all to try".
Joshua looked at Yuuri as he silently nodded in his head, He knew that he wanted to control his darkness magic, But maybe joining the Festival wouldn't be a bad idea to add on his list.
"Well then, Everyone! This coming year, Do your very best! Okay! Then together let's say "Hip hip hooray!" " Yuuri said as she then vomited a huge amount of blood.
All of the students freaked.
"Yuri!" Stella said.
"Shit! Not again!" Joshua said.
-the emergency room-
After Yuuri's little moment, The staff had gotten her into the emergency room. Joshua and Stella came to see her.
"Ah, It's good to see the both of you" Yuuri said "To tell you the truth, I vomit at least a liter of blood per day".
"Th-that's tough" Stella said.
"You shouldn't push yourself so hard, Yuri" Joshua said.
Yuuri nodded at him "Yes, But you know, It was a day to celebrate, So I didn't wanna put on an unhealthy look on my face" she said. Joshua looked over at Stella. "Yuuri said that she knew my father in collage as well as me when I was just a baby" he said.
"Jo-Jo was such a cute little baby. Although, It was still unfortunate about the incident that happened..." Yuuri said "But I'm glad that you're alright jo-jo".
Joshua sighed "Yeah...". Stella just looked at him. 'There was an incident...' She thought as she became a bit curious on what it was. Joshua then got up from his chair and headed to leave, "I'll see you latter. So take care until then, Yuri" Joshua said.
Yuri nodded as he then left the room, Leaving Stella and Yuuri to themselves. Stella just stared at the door.
"You're curious aren't you?" Yuuri said getting Stella's attention. Stella turned to her. "Huh?" Stella said.
"You're curious about the incident. The way you looked at Joshua was obvious of that".
Stella moved a bit in her seat "Yuri..." Stella said "Did...did something happen to Joshua?". Yuuri glanced to the window as she sighed.
"Stella, Are you familiar with the Frostwill massacre...?".
Stella's blood went cold, What did this have to do with Joshua. Unless...
"N-no...I've never even heard of a massacre that took place in Frostwill. All I know is that the town was shut down as the people had decided to move to find new resources to survive". She said.
Yuuri then slowly sat up in her bed. "That was a lie, Made up by the government. The government also knows of Joshua's darkness magic and knew that it was a total accident. The director also knows of the incident too. She was there when it happened".
"What...but, What did...what did Joshua-".
"He killed the people in the town, All of them, In a matter of seconds. Men, Women, Children, Pets, Everyone. His darkness magic was born that day when he was only five years old, Sadly, Those who are born with darkness magic quickly become corrupted by it's out of control nature and become a beast. It has a mind of it's own, And Joshua was unfortunately it's next victim...".
-flashback-
-Frostwill, 8 years ago-
"Joshua!" Shizuku said as she and Ikki ran over to him. They were invited to a celebration party for Joshua's 5th birthday. He had been mastering his Crystal magic powers since he was 2 and has been awarded the Rank-S, A rank to surpass all others. Joshua was playing around with his Crystal skin as he saw Ikki and Shizuku.
"Ikki! Shizuku! You made it" Joshua said. "Of course, We wouldn't want to miss your birthday party and congratulations on becoming an S-Rank magical knight!" Ikki said.
"Thank, Ikki" Joshua said "Hey, Let's go play in the open field. They say Frostwill has snow that never stops". The three children all ran to the open field as Kurono and the Gekkage family saw them go.
"Don't go too far you three!" Kurono said to them. She then sat with Jessica "Ah, It was nice of you to bring me and my family here, Jessica. But you didn't have to do that".
Jessica smiled.
"Oh Kurono, Relax. You're my best friend. We've always looked out for each other like sisters. I wanted you to have fun, So enjoy this with us" she said. Kurono smiled at her "You're too kind".
"Hey, Kurono" Samuel said "Umm, If It's alright with you. I would like to ask something of you".
Kurono just looked at Samuel with confusion.
"And that would be?".
"Well...heh, Would mind being Joshua's aunt? He's really grown to liking you. And he sees you as a part of the family just as we do" he said. Kurono was speechless, She had no idea that they would ask her to do something like that.
"I...I don't know what to say" Kurono said happily. Jessica then leaned over to her, "Say please! Please! Please!" Jessica said as if she was a little kid.
Kurono giggled at her as she nodded "Hah hah! You're such a little girl, Jessica" she said "Very well, I'd be-".
"Mr. Gekkage!".
Samuel, Jessica, Kurono and the rest of the Gekkage family all turned to see Ikki run over to them. Samuel kneeled down to him "Ikki what's wrong? And where's your sister and Joshua?" He asked him.
"We...we were playing in the open field in the snow. And Joshua started to be in pain, That's when this huge dark stuff came all over him and covered his body!".
Everyone panicked.
"What!? Everyone! Come with me! Ikki, Take us to him" Samuel said. Ikki nodded as he lead the family to the open fields.
Everyone ran as fast as they could to see about Joshua, As soon as they made it. They were horrified to see Joshua covered in a black aura, And it was only getting bigger and bigger. Shizuku was crying as she could only watch in horror.
"Joshua..." Shizuku said. Jessica quickly got her away from the still growing dark aura. Samuel's eyes widened as he realized what the black aura was.
"That's darkness..." He said "That's darkness magic!".
"What!? But how!? Joshua has only Crystal magic! No person can have two magical superpowers" one of the other Gekkage family members said. Samuel then ran over to his son.
"We can worry about that latter! My son's life is important!" He said as he then saw the dark aura transform Joshua into a beast, The aura died down as the beast looked at it's surroundings. It's six eyes on it's face looked at the Gekkage family as it then saw the town of Frostwill. The beast then dashed at the town at Mach 1 speed.
"Shit! After it!" Another Gekkage family member said.
They tried to get to the town as fast as they could, But by the time they got there...
It was too late.
The town, Covered in blood and bodies everywhere on the streets. Bodies ripped apart and broken. Everyone could only look in horror that was in front of them, Thankfully the Gekkage covered their children's eyes.
"My god...Joshua!" Samuel yelled. Samuel then saw a huge black aura again from one of the broken roofs, The beast came out from one of the houses windows as it glared at him.
"Joshua, It's me...your father" Samuel said as he calmly walked over to his son. The beast however had access to Joshua's Crystal magic as it then roared an ear piercing scream that sounded like a mix between a t-Rex and a panther.
The family covered their ears from the scream, That's when the ground began to shake as huge dark purple Crystals came from the ground and scattered all over the town. Jessica pushed Samuel out of the way as she got hit in the arm by one of the jagged Crystals, Samuel was quick on his feet as he grabbed his wife and took her to safety. Samuel then saw the beasts claws become covered in blue white Crystal.
"Protect us, Senboku!" Samuel said as he summoned his device which was a bladed staff with gold rings on the blade and hilt. He then slammed blade staff into the ground.
"Light chains!".
That's when five alchemy symbols surrounded the beast as they then shot out three pairs of white light chains and stuck to the beast as it began to weaken it. The dark aura then began to form around the beast, As it reverted Joshua to his normal state.
"Joshua!" Samuel said as he grabbed his son. Joshua's body had been changed, His eyes no longer had their orange color anymore. As they along with the canines in his mouth, And his hair had now changed. He also had many scars on his body, Especially on his heart which was a huge.
Joshua then began to open his eyes "Daddy...". Samuel just held his son tightly.
-flashback end-
"After the incident, The government had been called in and was told of the situation. Joshua was also informed and was completely broken after that, He was never the same again. His family tried to help him control the dark magic within him for 2 years, But it always ended with him turning into a beast again and being corrupted. That's why his family created that collar. To stop the dark magic from taking control of him and corrupting Joshua to turn into that monster again" Yuuri finished.
Stella felt completely frozen, To find out the truth of what really happened at Frostwill was horrible to say the least. But she now knew about the incident that had happened.
"Joshua..." Stella said "So that's why he's afraid to use his darkness...".
"Yes, He refuses to tap into that power despite having that collar on his neck. Without it he won't be able to channel the dark, And if the collar gets taken off. He'll become corrupted again" Yuuri said. Stella then got from her seat as she walked to the door.
"I'm going to go find him! Please get better, Yuri" she said as she ran out the room. Yuuri smiled as she looked at the celling.
"My my, You're so lucky to have such good friends Jo-Jo" she said.