"A Kaosu warrior's chosen path is not necessary meant to achieve Happiness… Because, in this Chaotic world, a one person's desires aren't fundamental in order to reach a far greater goal."

-From "Kaosu Jutsu" (the Kaosu warrior's Code)

5.

Shado za Hejjihoggu

I… Don't know… If I can go on with this… I feel sick within myself.

But then again, I must do it… It is the path I chose to follow… And I still want to fulfill it, despite my personal feelings, I must finish what I began…

I must do it… For his ideal…

For our ideal!

I shall not forget what they did to my family… I will claim my revenge upon the cursed human and his soulless minions…

I shall not fail… May Chaos be with me.

Signed: Kaosu warrior, Shado za Hejjihoggu.

Spring Yard Zone, 15 years ago.

He was tired… Tired and desperate. Pure terror printed in his own blood red eyes. He was a Mobian hedgehog, a unique one for that matter. He had black fur and red striped pointed quills. He was different and so, was his brother… The younger kid he was holding tightly in his arms, trying to protect him from the harshness of this mad world.

They say that Hell is the Nightmare of Reason… Its perfect opposite and nemesis.

War was Hell. A place in which Logic and Rationality had no room and Senseless Destruction was the key word.

War… The outburst of Chaos… The consequence of Mortal's follies and power lusts… Of their inner chaos.

In this case, the result of one man's Madness.

Dokuta Egguman was his name. He was the last human alive… A heavy living testament of the species that once ruled this world… And caused its own demise.

Just like the Ouroboros who ate itself from its own tail.

In the midst of war, Shado and his blue brother were nothing more than invisible victims of a far greater conflict. A conflict that led to the destruction of their home in the Spring Yard Zone… And their parents' death at the lifeless hands of those metallic monsters.

They were alone now… Lost, scared and all alone. Sonikku, the younger of the two, quietly cried on his older brother's chest until he fell asleep. Shado was fighting the urge of crying too. The only reason of their survival was their own unique ability… Both of them were really fast.

Really, really fast.

So fast, actually, that they couldn't be seen by the naked eye... Or robotic eye, in this case.

Only one individual was able to notice them… The very same individual that now stood right in front of the terrified hedgehog boy and his sleeping sibling.

He was a purple creature with a pointed nose, a canvas hat and huge tooth coming down his mouth. He wore a golden kimono… All in all, he looked like a God or a Demon in the middle of the battlefield.

He smiled a warm and reassuring smile at the black hedgehog… Who nodded, somehow trusting this mysterious stranger.

He offered him his hand. Shado accepted it without hesitation, as if already knowing what his chosen path would have been.

For both him and his brother.

Present time.

He was not usually the kind of person who would return in his own decisions. He was usually firm on his answers and votes… Usually.

This time, however, for the first time in years, he found himself in doubt about a recent deal that has been proposed to him… He previously dismissed it as a waste of his precious time, then he started to reflect upon this topic, to really consider it… And before he could help it, he found himself walking towards the pub where those people, in accord with everybody has told him, used to be.

When he entered the poorly made building, a rather peculiar spectacle awaited him…

The place was filled with few people. The humblest looking of them were a red-yellow armadillo and a strange, huge cat with a fishing rod on his shoulder (the use of such item in a city like this, slipped the observer's logic), their expression were visibly awed in both frighten and amazement. On the farthest angle of the room, stood a red echidna with a sinisterly amused face. On the opposite side, two females, a pink hedgehog and a bright white bat were showing very baffled and worried gazes.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the two figures in the middle. They were both hedgehogs, the observer could tell, and very similar, to say the least. One was cobalt blue, his green eyes showed a fair amount of rage and surprise… With a hint of glee. The other was pitch black and red striped, his ruby eyes shown surprise as well but not rage… Only a profound sadness.

They've been staring at each other for quite a while, he could tell. He could also tell the tension was so thick he could easily cut it with one of his dual blades.

The blue one was about to tell something when a sudden orange blur came out of nowhere, tackled to the ground the ebony hedgehog and actually hugged him.

The observer recognized the being as that curious vulpine boy that so timidly approached him earlier… Only, he didn't have his kimono on, so he could clearly see his extra appendage.

Weird.

"Sensei Shado!!!" The boy cried in an overly joyful tone while still embracing his apparent master.

Everyone's gazes were absolutely wide in stupor… Especially the blue hedgehog's ones, along with his mouth.

The watcher could also see the tackled hedgehog's expression very well… At first he was surprised just like everyone if not more, then his face slowly changed into an amused one… Almost a happy one. Apparently, that two-tailed boy meant a lot to him. He returned the embrace and spoke softly into the fox's ear.

"Good to see you again, Mairusu." He muttered in a sincere tone…

"My name is Teirusu, now." He responded while tightening the embrace… It was starting to look awkward.

The black one's eyes fixed once again over the blue one's unreadable face… Sadness was shown.

The boy released the embrace and helped his "sensei" to his feet, blushing a little while doing so… He was a little kid no more, as he realized.

This Mairusu person seemed to be a very emotional individual… The exact opposite of what the watcher used to be. He stood still on the entrance, observing him presenting the black-red hedgehog to all the people inside, including the baffled cobalt rodent.

Those two already knew each other, he could easily tell. From his distance he carefully watched the facial features those two similar hedgehogs wore when they shook hands. He would always recognize an unfinished business when he would see one and these two were no different… he's always been good in noticing others' emotions, a task that he could do easily due to his lack of ones… To his own void.

Finally, someone noticed him… The nasty looking echidna, for the sake of clarity.

And now, all's gazes where on him… On his strange and unique form. It didn't bother him, he was used to it. He would summon such curiosity wherever he would go. He was, after all, the only one of his kind.

"Ehi… You're that Kaosu from before." The vulpine abruptly said. "Have you changed your mind?" He added, his big blue eyes full of young hope.

Had he changed his mind? Good question, indeed.

He nodded. Apparently, he had.

The blue hedgehog gave an odd look at the fox boy, then at the new comer. He smiled, understanding the situation.

He seemed to be smarter than he looked, the new comer could tell. He walked over his direction and stopped a few inches from his bewildering form.

"Hello, noble Kaosu. My name is Sonikku za Hejjihoggu… May I know how to refer to you?" He politely asked while offering his normal 5-fingered hand towards the stranger.

He stared at it with his huge black eyes before answering.

"I'm Void… Just, Void." He said with a surprisingly juvenile voice while putting his own 3-fingered clawed hand into the hedgehog's one and shaking it.

Now, they were 6.