VI

Vazz

Vazz woke up in the middle of the night sweating. What the hell was that? He asked himself. It was just a dream but it was… too real for a simple dream. Suddenly he heard steps. He looked down and saw Sora's shape walking toward his tree.

"You are suppose to be sleeping." Vazz told her.

"Well yes but… I woke up and I herd you moaning…" She told him shyly.

"I see… Why did ya wake up?" Vazz asked suspecting the answer.

"Well I had…" She started.

"A nightmare… Sorry." Vazz said.

"No it's okay, you were having a nightmare too, aren't you?"

"Yes… I think I had one…" Vazz said turning his head toward the sky.

"I… see." Sora said astonished. The image of Vazz under the moonlight was…

"This is a beautiful night, don't ya think?" Vazz said.

"Yeah… it is." Sora said still wondered by Vazz's image.

"Are you gonna try to sleep again?" Vazz asked.

"No, besides I'm not really tiered."

All this girls have always the sane excuse. Vazz thought.

"Well then, I don't wanna sleep either so…" Vazz said disappearing from his branch and appearing in front of Sora. "We can talk a little bit after all dawn is near."

"You're right, of what you would like to talk?" She asked sitting down.

"Well I dunno, what about you?"

"Dunno, what about you?"

"Well this is certainly a very interesting chat." Vazz said laughing.

"Yeah." She answered also laughing. Suddenly she remembered her suspicions about Vazz.

"Well Vazz, what if you tell me about you?" She asked.

"Tell you something about me?" He asked surprised.

"Yup, I want to know about you."

"Well there's no much to say, I mean I just have memory of three weeks and one of them has been with you." Vazz told her.

"Well then, tell me about those two weeks." Sora replied smiling.

"Let's see… the first thing I remember is that I was lying in a bed… it was… painful." Vazz said faintly remembering his firsts memories.

"What do you mean by pain? Someone was hurting you?" Sora asked worried.

"Eh? No… it was something inside me… I was just half awake but I remember that I was feeling a huge pain like something burning inside me, I also remember someone coming into the room constantly or at least that's what I think, I was half unconscious."

"And then, what happened?"

"The next day, I guess so, I was fully conscious and the pain disappeared and in few hours I was able to walk and my host introduced himself, he was covered by a hood and he told me to call him Hope."

"Hope? How nice." Sora said sarcastically.

Vazz opened his eyes, he was laying on a bed. Then he remembered his past few hours, the problem was that he didn't remember anything else. What the hell is going on? He though. He sat down in order to calm down. "What's happening here? Who the hell I am? He asked himself holding on his sanity, which was fading slowly.

His desperate thoughts where interrupted when someone entered the room.

"I see that you are better, and it looks like the pain faded." A figure covered by a hood said from the room's entrance.

"I don't mean to be rude but… Who the well are you?" Vazz asked with something very close to rudeness.

"You can call me Hope." He answered simply.

"Hope? That's a very good name for a male." Vazz said sarcastically. "I would like to introduce myself but… I don't have any goddamn idea of who I am."

"Oh yeah, that can bug anyone." Hope said.

"I guess I have to thank you for taking care of me."

"Your welcome."

Vazz doubt for a second before asking.

"Do… do you know who I am?"

"Sorry I don't, I was walking near the cost when I found you lying on the ground unconscious."

"I see…"

"But there's something I know…" He said walking away.

"What is…" But before he could end his question Hope threw a knife to him. Before Vazz even noticed he caught the knife just before it reached his chest.

"That you have some very interesting skills." Hope said leaving the room. "Come downstairs, you must be hungry."

Still surprised by the unexpected attack Vazz noticed that Hope was right, he was really hungry.

Vazz abandoned the bed. He was wearing black clothes, he looked his outfit once more and for the first time he wondered about his appearance. He went downstairs and found himself in a living room with not so much as a decoration but charming at all.

He followed the smell of the food and he arrived to a small dinning room. There, Hope was cooking something, Vazz didn't have any idea of what but it smelled good and that was enough for him.

"What are you cooking?" Vazz asked.

"Eggs and beacon." He answered without turning. "Have a sit, is almost ready."

Vazz saw a nice square table with four chairs, one in each side. He sat down a gave the small room another look, like the rest of the house it wasn't very decorated but it was pretty.

"Well it's done, enjoy." Hope said giving Vazz some food.

"Thank you very much!" Vazz said and he started devouring his breakfast.

"It was delicious!" Vazz said finishing two minutes later.

"I can't imagine how do you know when hardly tasted it, you swallowed it too fast for that." Hope said laughing.

Vazz didn't know if he had to be offended or not, so he said nothing.

"Well now that I have your attention, and you are more calmed I have an offer for you?" Hope said seriously.

"I'm listening." Vazz answered changing his face.

"Well, you don't have any idea of who you are and, I presume, you don't have any place to go, at least that you can remember, and of course you have those impressive abilities."

"Continue." Vazz said.

"Well I will train you exactly for thirteen days; I will teach you how to be a dark slayer." He said.

"A what?" Vazz asked.

"Dark slayer, long time ago in the digiworld, the place where you are actually, some people was born with special abilities just like you; those people were trained and taught to use his skills."

"I see… and what's the catch?"

"I need you to do something with a certain group…" Hope said.

"What group?"

"The digidestineid…."

"I see… where do I sign?"

"You don't have too, now follow me." Hope said leaving the room.

Then he threw a black mask to him.

"And… I suggest you to don't let anyone to see your face until you remember everything, and when I say anyone I also mean… you." He finished.

"Am I that ugly?" He asked laughing.

Vazz said nothing and put the mask on. Is amazing how easily you follow the instruction of a perfect stranger when you loose your memory. He thought ironically.

He followed Hope to an extensive garden. There he was waiting besides a huge rounded stone.

"Well, first of all let's warm you a bit." He said patting the stone. "I want you to tie this stone to your back and run."

"You gotta be kidding me." Vazz replied.

"No I'm not, now do it." Hope said throwing a rope to him.

"Well, see ya later, I got some things to do." He said reentering the house.

Vazz started tying the stone as Hope instructed, then he tied the other end to his back. Well is about time now. He thought.

Vazz tried to ran but as he imagined, he couldn't. He tried harder a lot of times, but again he was unable. Okay… I'm getting really frustrated. He thought breathing hardly.

He turned and watched the huge and tremendously heavy stone. How the hell am I supposed to run with this thing on? Suddenly he had an idea. When I was in the room and I caught that knife, even thou I did it almost automatically, I felt something that burst inside me when I felt death over me, may be if I concentrate enough …

He closed his eyes and started concentrating. Suddenly he felt how the power was running through his veins. He opened his eyes and gave one step, nothing happened, then he gave another one and this time he herd the sound of the stone moving. Surprised he gave his third step and the stone moved again. This thing is moving! Is really moving!

Hided from Vazz's sight hope was watching him. He really has wonderful ability's, well that's natural after all he is…

After two hours of moving the stone Vazz was moving it faster and faster. Suddenly Hope appeared in front of him.

"I see you're doing good." He said.

"Well, I can't complain, is easier than it seems."

"I'm glad of hearing it, now I need you to wear this." Hope answered giving him four weight bracelets.

"You don't have an idea of how much I hate you…" Vazz said taking the bracelets, each of them was about twenty-two pounds. This guy is trying to kill me.

"Well I'm leaving, I don't wanna bother you while you are training." Hope said.

"Surely you don't." Vazz answered sarcastically, but hope wasn't there. Damn he is fast…

For the next twelve days Vazz trained untiringly, improving his speed, his reflexes and his fighting skills

"Well… this is the thirteenth day and as I said before, this is the last day of your training." Hope said.

"Yes I know." Vazz answered simply.

"Now let see how good you are."

Vazz unsheathed the katana that Hope gave him and prepared for whatever he was planning.

Hope drew a nine millimeters gun.

"This is a gun, this is a very useful and quick weapon used in the human world, that place I mentioned before." Hope said.

"Yeah, so…"

"I need you to evade or stop or whatever you want to avoid being touched by the bullets."

"Fair enough." Vazz answered.

"Well…" Hope said and started shooting him.

With his sword he repelled all of the fifteen bullets in the loader.

"Good." He said dropping the gun and taking another thing from his tunic. "Now this… is a machine gun."

"Damn it!" Vazz said while Hope was pressing the trigger. Almost instantly the rain of fire reached Vazz.

Once the loader of the fully automatic gun was empty Hope dropped it.

"Good." Hope said.

"You are sick man, you know?" Vazz said smiling but still breathing quickly.

"Well now that you mention it…" Hope started and quickly threw a knife to him.

Hope took Vazz by surprise but he repelled the knife with a slash of his sword.

"Good." Hope congratulated.

"As I said, you are sick." Vazz said still smiling. In those twelve days they built a strong friendship, after all, Hope was his only friend.

"I see you have really improved." Hope said. "Now is time for your last test."

"What is it?"

"Well, on your last test you will have to…" Hope started taking a sword. "Fight me and touch me at least once, but you just have ten minutes."

"I see, ten minutes, enough time so… bring it on!" Vazz answered attacking Hope.

Hope smiled and answered the attack quickly.

They fought fiercely against each other. But Vazz couldn't touch Hope, he was really good.

Hope is amazing; I didn't have any idea of how good he is. Vazz thought as he was fighting his mentor.

"I've become slow; I think I'm getting old." Hope said. "You just have one minute left."

"Well… then I don't have time to loose." He said and quickly ran toward Hope.

Suddenly Vazz had a strange feeling like the one he had when he caught the knife that Hope threw to him the first time they met.

Vazz relaxed a bit, and a little wound appeared in Hope's face.

"Exactly ten minutes… good." Hope said.

"I think is time for me to leave." Vazz said.

"Yeah, the digidestineid should arrive soon." Hope said.

"Well is time for you to tell me what do you want me to do with them."

Hope smiled simply.

"Well what I want you to do is…"

"After leaving Hope's house, I started looking for you, and… well I found ya."

"I see…" Sora said.

"Well that's my story." Vazz answered and looked the sky, the dawn was near.

"I think is time for us to leave, Sora." Vazz said.

"You are right." Sora said. "Uh… Vazz… Thank you for trusting me."

Vazz smiled, but he felt a little guilty…