"A Kaosu warrior must be strong willed… Because, in this chaotic world, the strongest souls have the better chance to survive… Although it is not a certainty."
-From "Kaosu Jutsu" (the Kaosu warrior's Code)
3.
Bureizo za Kyatto
Mens Sana in Corpore Sano…
Healthy mind in a healthy body… The balance between consciousness, instincts and physical form.
The needed discipline to create the perfect warrior… Or to destroy a living being.
In order to survive a battle, a warrior needs to be focused and ready… Both mentally and physically… In other words, he needs to exclude all of his emotions.
That is the problem… How could someone do such thing? How could someone refuse to let undeniably emotions like fear and hatred to blind his judgments and actions?
There are two known answers for that question:
1) He becomes a machine… A cold blooded monster with no purpose other than destruction and will to kill…
2) He finds the necessary determination to pursuit a chosen goal… Knowing that, if he would have to die before its accomplishment, he would have at least tried to do his best… Because, in Life, the Journey is more important than the Arrival… But that's just a personal opinion.
This possibility is currently known as the Kaosu's way… Which is paradoxical, since Kaosu warriors don't have a pre-written path in front of them… They are supposed to be chaotic, unified with the dominant element of Life, just as their title suggests… And yet, here's this "Kaosu Jutsu" code that contradicts its own statements just for being what it is…
A book of rules… For Chaos? It sounds ridiculous more than paradoxical… Then again, we could not afford to live our life without a guide… Something to rely ourselves with… Something to believe in…
In the end… Believing in Chaos (and therefore, in everything and nothing at the same time), is just like any other creeds… A suggested way to live our Life… A possible, yet unproven, truth.
That's what the Kaosu Order had tried to accomplish over the ages… The finding of the Truth… As an individual's personal experience.
Free Will, freedom of choice and beliefs… A way to live in this chaotic world, through personal and uninfluenced discoveries.
An ambitious goal that, unfortunately (or maybe, appropriately), is yet to produce the hoped results… Since total and untainted Arbitrary Freedom seems to be impossible to achieve… Since not each and every one of our decisions are determined by what we want, but rather what others want, what we feel we need to do, or even worse, what our instincts tell us to do…
We can't escape Chaos nor we can control it… And therefore, we can't possibly be one with the element… But we can still try.
And that's the whole point, in my opinion, the fact that we have (or should have) the freedom to try… And the Kaosu's way can teach us that.
And that's when a strong willed soul is truly required… Because, without the necessary determination, we could not even hope to properly live in this chaotic world…
Unless, of course, you're freaking rich and you're not born in the middle of a conflict… That would be an exception.
But… Luckily for me… This young girl, is not our case.
And I shall see why… Right after dealing with the fire.
Signed: Kaosu fireman: Fangu za Sunaipa.
Soleanna, the City of Water (the City of Flames), 12 years ago.
All was burning… A typical scenario in this part of the land. Civil wars born from racial persecutions, used to have that effect on once lively places… As well as everything else.
For this abandoned city, nothing was left other then blood red water, perpetual flames and ashes…
Blazing mountains of fire surrounded the island this city was in… Making it a very beautiful spectacle for the whom lucky enough to see it… From far away.
If you would have been unfortunate enough to be anywhere near this water surrounded Inferno… You would have become part of its spectacle… Permanently…
And screamed your burning lungs out of your chest right before turning into yet another eternal blaze of this beautiful and lethal marvel of fire.
Back in its glorious days, two races used to live in Soleanna. The average Mobian Cats and a sub-species known as… Bakeneko.
A purposely cursed name for a cursed race… In ancient mythology, the Bakeneko used to be a cat-like creature, a monster who could control fire itself. This race had that power… And for that reason, they were feared and hated.
Therefore… A war began. The flames were spread… Along with Death… Until nothing remained other then the flames themselves…
And their current master.
In the middle of its reign, a single figure stood… A blaze among blazes.
She was just a little girl… A young lilac cat girl with feline and bright yellow eyes and long messy hair that almost covered her face… She was no more then 10.
In all of her life, she only knew hatred and despair, solitude and grief… Her flaming servants were the metaphorical and literal vessels of her burning soul.
This is where she used to "live"… When He found her.
For reasons that went beyond my brain capacities… Fangu za Sunaipa was IN that city. He stood there, surrounded by the menacing flames and yet, not threatened at all. It almost seemed as if they were intimidated by his stoical presence…
The cat girl was in front of him… Her eyes were literally burning with rage and yet, consumed by fear… The fear of a child that has been left alone… The last one of her kind… The last Bakeneko.
And also the fear of Life itself… For she had no left strength to live any further… Or so she thought.
The two of them talked to each other… Their words went lost in the un-mistakable burning sound of the fiery mountains. Finally, Fangu offered his hand to the lost girl, muttering something about being strong willed or whatever…
Apparently, that speech managed to convince the lilac feline, who eagerly accepted the stranger's hand. Her infernal reign of Solitude, ended there.
Welcome to Life… Bureizo za Kyatto.
Present time.
"You should have insisted!"
"It would have been pointless, Emi… Did you look at his eyes?"
"Of course I did! How could I ever missed them? But that's not the point… I'm sure he would have accepted if Sonikku-san would have been the one to ask him…"
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
The pink hedgehog's mouth stopped suddenly, now aware of its recent aimless running… She pretended to be distracted by other chores before speaking to her fox companion again.
"And by the way…" She began. "Why did you lie to him?"
"Excuse me?" The baffled looking kit replied.
"Yeah… You told him that he would have to fight bandits…" She inquired with a matter-of-factly expression.
Mairusu rolled his big blue eyes in annoyance.
"Ooooh, I'm sure he would have gladly joined our followship if I had told him that we were going to fight Dokuta Egguman and his blasted robotic minions instead of regular nomad bandits!!!" He practically yelled right in the face of the now taken aback girl… Again, Logic turned out to be a strong ace in the boy's sleeve… Along with Sarcasm.
After the initial surprise subsided, anger took its place in the hedgehog's behavior, who turned her back to the vulpine and started walking away… She was clearly offended.
That childish attitude managed to get a good grip of Mairusu's feelings. He didn't want to enrage her… As a matter of fact, that was the last thing he wished. Suddenly immerse in a river of his own guilt, the fox darted towards the fleeing form of the girl, hoping to, somehow, receive her forgiveness.
"EMI, WAIT!!!" He cried, to no avail. "EMI, PLEASE, I'M SORRY!!!" He tried again, with the same result.
She would stubbornly ignore his pleads, just for making him feel more guilty by the minute.
Hell hath no fury over a woman scorned… Truthful words, indeed.
Finally, Mairusu managed to catch up with her. He grabbed her arm without any intensions in letting her go until she would have listened to him… Unfortunately for him, and for his legs, she happened to be quite good in kicking things out of pure annoyingness…
And unfortunately for them both… They ended up in a very familiar alley… With very familiar nasty looking hyenas.
Within a blink of an eye, the two teenagers found themselves surrounded by the aforementioned canines… And by the looks of it, they weren't exactly ecstatic to see her again due to that previous beating they suffered from that cobalt hedgehog.
All the annoyed rage that used to engulf Emi's body not so long before, immediately disappeared… leaving room for a whole different emotion. She cowered herself behind the fox's back, in frighten. Mairusu stood tall on his spot, trying to protect his friend and looking threatening at the same time… Just like a cornered animal would do.
They laughed at him. She was shaking like possessed behind him. He felt her distress… That unnerved him.
Then… They began walking towards them, reducing the distance from their chosen preys… Step after step.
Mairusu's breath shortened and turned heavy… They were going to hurt her… To beat her…
To rape her.
And after that, they were going to kill them.
Sensing the impending danger, his fists clenched and his own fur stood erect… His eye's pupils grew smaller… Like a cornered animal.
His body was now trembling like mad, then he lowered himself on one knee. The nasty hyenas thought they had him overcome by fear…
Huge mistake.
Emi looked down at her would be protector… Confusion found its way in her frightened heart.
Right now, the kit was on all fours… In a feral position… Showing his fangs to the bewildered thugs.
One of them committed the unforgivable error of showing him his knife.
The threat was clarified… Conservative instincts kicked in…
The cornered animal acted as he was meant to.
And the predators became the preys.
Both Maiti and Biggu looked dumbfounded… Well, Biggu more than usual.
Since this attractive young woman entered the pub, she hadn't stopped chitchatting with Sonikku about old times and stuff like that… It became rather annoying after a while. Maiti took all the courage he could master and approached the blue hedgehog.
"Uhm… Sonikku-san?" He shyly sad, interrupting the friendly dialogue.
"What it is, Maiti?" Sonikku asked, visibly annoyed by the interference.
"Who's this lady?" The armadillo muttered quietly, trying not to be heard from the woman… Her cat ears managed to hear him anyway as she decided to answer him by herself.
"My name is Bureizo za Kyatto and I'm a long time friend and comrade of this irritating blue rodent... That's all you need to know, villager!" The lilac cat said while adopting a sly smirk.
Maiti retreated in shame from the two old friends. Sonikku just grinned.
"It's good to see you haven't changed, Bureizo… And I'll be honored to fight along side with you, once again." He sincerely added.
Bureizo rolled her eyes in fake annoyance.
"Whatever… When are we supposed to leave this dumb city?" She asked.
The older Kaosu thought about it for a minute.
"For the end of this week… When we, hopefully, will have a few more recruits. You're the third one besides a Kaosu thief and myself, by the way."
"So… The odds are against us?" She inquired.
He silently nodded.
"Good. It'll be more fun this way!" She uttered while tightening her fist in midair to exclaim her point… Scaring Maiti and Biggu to death.
Bureizo za Kyatto had her own ways to enjoy Life… Fighting against the odds, was one of those… As Sonikku learned from the last time they fought a war together.
And to beat the holy hell out of blue would be lady-killers who would try to hit on her, was another… As Sonikku learned as well.
He sighed… Apparently, he wasn't her type.
Not enough mysterious… As she put it.
Women… There is a guide for Chaos itself… And not a guide for a woman's heart!? What a world… He complained within himself.
Then, his Hong Kong express of thoughts crushed because of a certain not anymore drunk echidna who "casually" happened to be around.
"Ehi there, fuckers… And ladies." He corrected himself when noticing the lavender cat. "Perhaps you should go looking for your foxy friend and his pink galore… Or else they're going to be turned into someone else's bitch!" He venomously added.
Sonikku's eyes widened.
"They're in the south-west alley… I suggest you to move, hedgehog." The echidna concluded.
Before any of the present people could do or say anything back… The blue Kaosu rushed out of the building at his trademark speed, leaving the others in its vacuum.
Bureizo's bewildered expression turned to the two villagers.
"What's going on?" She demanded, rather than asked.
The other two just shrugged their shoulders in oblivion… Especially the bigger of the two.
Annoyed by their ignorance, she turned towards the red dreadlocked rodent responsible for the other rodent's current state.
"And just, who are you, other than a potty-mouthed moron?" Again, she demanded.
The echidna turned his cerulean eyes over her… An unhealthy mixture of unjustified hatred and fury towards the whole world was shown in them.
"I'm Nakkuruzu za Echiduna… A Chaosdamned Kaosu warrior." He proclaimed, not hiding his pride.
She wasn't impressed… Not a single bit.
It has been said… Hell hath no fury over a woman scorned… But, perhaps, what Sonikku found in that no longer black alley, could very well surpass that aforementioned fury.
A certain young, pink hedgehog… Bloodshot eyes consumed by tears… Hugging her trembling knees. Fear and shock permanently printed in her body. She was covered in blood…
Not her own.
A certain vulpine boy… Still like a granite statue… Blank expression. He was covered in blood…
Not his own.
Corpses… Disemboweled, dead corpses.
They're blood, all over.
Sonikku's gaze shown a generous amount of terror… All the wars and conflicts he's been in, couldn't possibly prepare him for such disfiguring view…
The pure, untainted wrath of an unleashed demon.
His green emerald eyes fixed themselves over the suddenly ominous form of that kid… His royal blue kimono was thrashed, revealing the vulpine's body beneath it.
And he could see it… The un-mistakable mark of his curse… Of his own bloodline.
In the midst of the now blood red alley, Sonikku za Hejjihoggu could clearly see them…
The two tails.
Mairusu Paua wasn't a normal fox… He was a legendary creature… A cursed beast… A demon…
A Kitsune.
His clawed paw still held one of those hyenas' pulsing heart… Still pumping some residual blood. An unidentified limb appendage was hanging from his mouth, clenched in his sharp teeth.
The Kitsune acknowledged the older warrior's presence and slowly turned his head towards his direction. His feral eyes gave a calm look at him, at the terrified girl on his right, then at him again.
He opened his mouth, releasing the limb arm from it, then, with an unnaturally calm tone, spoke…
"They threatened us… I just had to defend her." He said, pointing his paw over Emi.
Sonikku managed to recollect himself. He thought about this gruesome situation for a minute.
"Mairusu… Are you aware of what have you done?" He calmly inquired.
The two-tailed vulpine nodded… Then lowered his gaze, clearly ashamed of himself… To say the very least.
"Then… You are our forth Kaosu." The hedgehog suddenly pronounced.
To say that Mairusu was utter bewildered by such unexpected statement, would have been a very huge understatement.
His bloody mouth was agape and his now normal blue eyes were widened.
"But… But why? I'm a monster! A freak of Nature! I shouldn't even exist, in the first place!" He yelled… Painful tears of painful memories beginning to drip from his orbits.
The hedgehog crossed his arms… Not knowing how to respond him. Not even knowing why he made this decision… Was it because he considered the kit's abilities a valuable asset? Was it because, after seeing what he was capable of, he needed to keep a close eye over him? Was it because… Deep down… Sonikku was a more empathic person than he let himself to seem and the boy desperately needed help?
Or was it because the plot needed to go on? Who knew? Not me, for certain…
Only one thing I knew for sure…
They had found the forth Kaosu.