Firestorm – Flame of Recca After War

War of the Ancient World

There was a rushing surge of brilliance. In a blink of an eye, the cave that was once dark had burst forth light that consumed the darkness. A brief look at literature across history shows a fitting semblance. When everything is in its darkest, light comes at the last brink to consume the darkness. There was an explosion, and a deafening silence.

Episode 5 – Bad Blood

"Where am i?"

There was silence.

"Anyone there?"

Silence.

Kaoru opened his eyes. The pain in his abdomen was gone. His broken leg healed. How long have I been asleep? He rose from his bed, folded the blanket, and stepped out. A cottage in the forest? Something tells me I've been here before. As Kaoru surveyed the area, he could hear things moving from a room not far away. Almost instinctively, he speed up the pace. Walking towards the room where the sound was coming from. As he was about to pull the door open, the person from inside was quick to sense his presence, and the door was opened before Kaoru could touch it.

"Welcome to my house. I am Miyu."

"Kaoru Koganei. Thank you for bringing me into your house. Were you the one who healed my injuries."

Miyu nodded. It was rare for them to have visitors. Having settled in the middle of the forest, none of their friends actually braved the road to their house. Her husband shared a common interest in the tranquility of the forest. No rooster crows at daybreak. It was instead the chirp of the birds that gives them the wakeup call.

"My husband and I saw a flash of light inside the cave." Miyu pointed eastward, her finger almost stretching out of the window. "There were several flashes. The night looked like day each time it happened. My husband went in to investigate, and when he returned, he brought the two of you back home, unconscious."

Two? There were three of us in there. "Did you just said two?"

Again, Miyu nodded. "There were several dead bodies inside the cave. Only the two of you were breathing. The other one is still unconscious. I'm nursing both of you for a day. It's a good thing you've recovered in a short time." Miyu signaled Kaoru to come into the room. As Kaoru glances on the other person she's been nursing, he was looking at someone familiar. Raiha.

"There were three of us ma'am." Kaoru spoke in a soft but audible voice. "Do you know what happened to the other child about a year younger than him?"

Miyu gave him a saddened look. "I'm afraid, he's the one my husband buried not far from here."

No… Akai… I should've left them in the cave.

There was a brief moment of silence. Kaoru was letting the pain sink in. Miyu broke the long pause as she grabs an orb and moves next to Raiha. On the orb was engraved a chinese word for voice. "Kotodama." Kaoru have seen one of those before. When he was still training under Kurei, he used to spar with Aki, and she would use Kotodama to conjure illusions. He always saw Kotodama as a tool for battle, a means to strike people down with the power of command. Today, it's the first time he sees it for medical purposes. "Sorry for breaking out conversations. The healing had to be made every half an hour."

The Kotodama was traditionally available widely in the days of the Hokage. Of the madougus, it was the most popular for families. Kotodama used to serve as an alternative solution to healing. Mind over matter. Unleashing its power, the beholder can conjure illusions that looked like reality. The full potential however, lies in the fact that the body responds to healing commands like a baby in need of milk. Illusions can become reality when the mind transcends it. When dealing with grave sickness or accident, people used Kotodama as the last resort. People in those days had notion of batteries. The more you use the device, the more the batteries drain. Of course, Kotodama is not battery operated, nor does it power wane over time. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be transformed from one form to another. The Law of Conservation of Energy. Aki's possession of it is proof that its power can outlast even the oldest man. When ignorance is mixed with practicality, false beliefs are thus commonly accepted.

Kaoru didn't respond, yet he heard everything. Kotodama for healing. Akai is dead. Kurei in Bakuju. Things are getting complicated.

"How would I explain this to Raiha?" Kaoru murmured. Guilt still affixed in his mind.

"Kaoru. Could you tell me what happened in that cave?"

Present Day…

"A monstrosity is coming out of the sealed cave?"

Mikagami looked bewildered. Apparently, he was the last one to know the news. As the Team Hokage gathered around his doorsteps, there was apparently a sense of urgency rising every moment. For months, everything had been normal. The chaos that once raged from within the cave is supposed to be only a fragment of their memories. Today, these memories have been coming back. There's something brewing… and before the danger becomes full fledged, somebody has to stop it. Yet the biggest wall they need to climb, is not the location of the cave. It's how they could subdue the threat without their madougus.

Miyu nodded as Kaoru narrated the story. He still felt uneasy despite the warmth of the lady who saved his life. So much things has happened in a day. It was a nightmare he wished was not part of reality. In a short span of time, he lost two people whom he had developed friendship with. He knows not Kurei's location… and Akai, whom he tried to save, had lost his life.

"I'm sorry for the other boy. When my husband saw him, he was wearing a madougu that looked like a horned lion with its tail buried into the boy's heart. When the madougu was removed, it was too late. His life was already sucked out. He definitely didn't die from any wound. He died of excessive energy loss." For the first time, Kaoru's face turned from sorrow to shock. A horned madougu that looked like a lion with its tail piercing the heart? The description fits perfectly with the very same madougu Raiha possessed four hundred years hence. But how does a madougu that dangerous could be in the possession of two boys who doesn't even know how to wield a sword? Things just don't add up.

These kids… they saved my life… at the expense of theirs.

Kaoru was now feeling the same pain Kurei had been carrying. Like Kurei, he was unable to protect the people dear to him. Kurenai was murdered and Kurei had not been able to stop it. Today, while the circumstances are different, the situation is similar.

"Miss Miyu," Kaoru started. "I don't know how I could face Raiha. Not without his brother's life. I was responsible for his death."

"Kaoru, there's more to life than to let yourself be consumed with-"

"I'm sorry. Thanks for everything." Kaoru interrupted. With that, he rushed off the house. sprinting as fast as he can, tears rolling down his cheeks. As he runs away, he was right that the house is familiar. "Tatesako residence." It was the same place where he kidnapped Yanagi from Recca. How nostalgic. Now, in the very same house, he figured that he shared not only the pain Kurei had. It was also that of Recca's.

Raiha would hate me enough that he would never want to see me again.

As Kaoru disappeared from the house, Miyu opened a large rectangular box. inside it, was something that Kaoru was more familiar with than anything else. For certain, this won't be the last time they'll meet. As Miyu grabs the object from within the box, a golden hilt reveals itself… and then, an orb with the chinese word Gold engraved.

Kougan Anki.

End of Episode 5.

Author's note: Sorry. it took me so long to write the next installment. Now that i've got plenty of free time, the updates would be much more frequent. Please keep on checking back.