Past Life

Written by Justine JBV / Chibi Botan

Chapter Six: Kensei


XVIII

At a deep cavern at the heart of the cave, a little boy has finally gained consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes. The first thought that entered his mind was that he cannot see anything—it was so dark wherever he was.

He tried to move his hands, but he cannot move a bit. His hands seemed to be bound behind him. He found that he was sitting cross-legged and cannot stand, as if some invisible bond was holding him in place.

He sighed, and wondered what happened to him. He remembered he was playing with his sister in front of the hut. Rinji had called his sister, and as she was entering the hut a group of dark-cloaked creatures appeared and took him away. He remembered his sister screaming, and his father fighting to take him back. But there were so many. The last thing he remembered was hearing his father shouting back to Rinji and telling him to take his sisters to a safe place.

Something caught his attention: someone had just arrived. He did not hear any footsteps, but he was certain there is someone. A cold voice confirmed this.

"You're awake." It came directly in front of him, perhaps just a few feet away.

"Who are you?"

"I am Satori."

He could suddenly see him, through a faint light, a certain glow emitted from him. Keitaro cringed with what he saw. He was a huge creature, wearing a dark, creepy cloak. The hood of the cloak was pushed back on his nape, and his face was visible to him. His face was ashen, his eyes bloody red. There was a dark circle around his eyes, and Keitaro wondered if he had any sleep for the past year. He emitted the stench of a dying corpse, but he could see that he is a human. Still, that weird glow of his eyes scared him.

"Where is my father?" He feared that he had taken his father too.

"Your father." Satori smiled. "I have no need for your father. He is no longer the powerful being that he was before. I sought him out in the human world, but it turned out that he is but a weakling. While you, Kensei, you are more powerful that your father. You're exactly what I needed."

"Kensei?" Keitaro repeated. "You're mistaken. My name is Keitaro."

"Ah," Satori waved off what he was saying. "It doesn't matter what your ningen mother named you. You are Kensei, everyone in Makai knows that Kino's heir is to be named Kensei. He will inherit all of Kino's strength... And that is what I need from you. You see, after this small party, everything that is yours will be mine." Satori's eyes slanted and his lips curled into a disturbing smirk.

XIX

"Did she say left, or was that right?" Botan wondered. In front of her was a tall tree separating two paths. She could not remember which direction the guru has given her.

After telling her about the sorcerer, Botan decided to leave immediately. The last thing she asked the guru was where she could find the sorcerer. Reluctantly, the guru told her about the Dead Creek. It was on the other side of the mountain where the Dark Temple was built. She was given directions, but now she found that she had forgotten them.

She chose the left road. Hearing the rustle of leaves, Botan looked at the top barren tree on the left side, thinking that something there had just moved. She went on, but she wasn't looking where she was going. She realized that only when she was about to trip on a fallen log. Just before she lost balance, a firm hand steadied her.

"Hey, watch it. This road is very dangerous."

She looked back to see Yumi smiling at her. She straightened herself and blurted out, "Are you following me?"

Yumi grinned and said, "Yes."

"It's dangerous. You should go back."

"I know a few things about sorcery. I can help you out," she bribed. "Besides, there's nothing fun to do at the temple. Don't you think this is more exciting?"

Botan thought of it just a little, and accepted to herself that she needed company. "Well, do you know where to go?" She asked, a little more cheerfully now. It feels good to have company, no matter how dangerous this could be.

"Yes, I do. In fact, I was just about to tell you that you're going the wrong way."

XX

"Here, meet the others who will join our party tonight." Satori raised his hand, and suddenly a star-like shape formed on the ground surrounding Keitaro. The shape was made of a faint yellow glow. The same glow made him realize that they were not alone, five other boys were there. The pitch darkness of the cavern had hidden them from sight. They sat at each end of the star-like shape and like him; the boys were sitting cross-legged with their hands bound at their back.

As if on cue, the boys awoke and tried to move away. "You can not move away from there," he informed them. "All of us are bound in our place." They became silent, and stared fearfully at Satori.

"Isn't this nice?" Satori seemed very happy about the situation. "A party for the descendants of the once most powerful demons in Makai." He started calling out the names of each child. "Kasai, descendant of the strongest fire demon. Kuuki, from the master of the winds. Mizu, from the demon who controls the streams. Chi, of the earth. Iki, from the spiritual master. And Kensei. The power source."

"What are you planning to do?" asked Chi worriedly.

"Can't you see," Kasai shouted, "he's going to sacrifice us! You only have to see that pentagram on the ground."

"But... it's a bit different than..." Mizu was trembling, and couldn't say anything next.

"Yes, it is different." Satori proudly confirmed. "I have devised this ritual as a means of harvesting power." He was still smiling, and Keitaro had the impression that he is enjoying the confused and frightened looks of these children. It seemed to him, too, that he was proud to discuss his plans to them. "With all of you as my power source, I'm going to be the most powerful being in all three worlds!"

All of them tried to move away at once, but remembered that they were bound.

"We're good as dead," Iki was close to crying.

"Ah, do not worry. Perhaps you will still walk away after I gather all of your energy. Maybe. But as for Kensei," he looked at him in a disturbing way, as if he was about to eat him. "I will need his body after the last phase of see, when I become more powerful, I will need a stronger vessel. And that would be you."

XXI

"Why, six years ago, did you refuse to name my son Kensei?"

The Guru knew Kino will arrive, but she did not expect him to be here this soon, and definitely not with this kind of question.

"Mind if I ask what made you ask that now? Six years ago you didn't mind when Hana and I agreed on naming him Keitaro. It wasn't such a big deal." She turned his back on him. How she hated the situation they are stuck in.

"Back then, it didn't matter. But now, I wonder why you violently disagreed then."

When Keitaro was born, he had wanted to name him Kensei. When the guru found out about it, she disagreed, and made sure they would not name him anything that is synonymous with "power" or "powerful". There was something with the way she had said that such a name can bring trouble for the child, but he had let it pass, because Hana didn't mind at all. They named their child Keitaro, because as Hana said, he was a blessing from the heavens.

"As I've said before, it will just bring trouble for the child. Everyone in the Demon World knew you wanted to have a son and name him Kensei. You were hiding, remember, and that name might just connect him to you."

Kino shook his head. "I was at the riverside earlier, because I heard that some of the children who were lost just appeared at the foot of the mountain. There were other men, and they told me that there are still five children who has not returned. Apparently, those who came back remembers nothing of what happened prior to their disappearance."

He continued, "A list of the names was recited. There was this man in front, who was alarmed after hearing the names. This man knew some things about sorcery, and noticed something. It was obvious to him what the names signified. He said, the names signified important elements. Fire, wind, water, earth, spirit. He was sure that, if it was the sorcerer who took the children, then there must be another child other than the five."

"Because, an element is missing," the guru said.

"He said that the name of the child will tell something important. Something of elemental sort. And I remembered, Kensei. Power. Strength."

The guru nodded. "I foresaw that something like this will happen. The sorcerer got the idea from the children's names. He used his knowledge in these rituals, and somehow made use of it for whatever he was planning. These kids were chosen."

"I know little about sorcery, but I gathered from the men that they're fearing it has something to do with a ritual--a sacrifice. Guru, I need to find Keitaro before anything happens," he said that with both urgency and desperation in his voice. "I need your help."

The guru asked him to follow her. They entered Yumi's room, and the guru was searching for something. "The only thing I could help you with is to lend you a book that will help you understand what the Sorcerer knows. Other than that, there's nothing I could do."

Kino was about to say something, when the guru suddenly looked surprised. "What is it?"

XXII

"The book. Yumi took it." She stopped for a second and seemed to be in deep thought. "She followed Botan. And I thought she knew better than to stay out of trouble."

"Botan?" Kino repeated. "My Botan?"

"Yes, your daughter. She was here earlier."

"But I left her with Rinji. She can't be—"

"She was here to ask for help looking for her brother. She left an hour ago and headed to the Dead Creek."

"And you didn't help her?" He was shouting at her now.

"I tried to stop her," she answered calmly. "But she's a stubborn child."

"I'm wasting my time there." Kino knew the guru enough to see that she wasn't going to help.

He rushed back to the Dead Creek where Botan was supposed to have gone. He didn't have any trouble finding his way, but it was a long run. He knew that Botan had left an hour ago, but he made sure to listen to his surroundings in case she was just near.

Towards the creek, he encountered a group of dark-cloaked creatures. Unlike when he first saw them, their cloaks no longer hid their face. It was then that he realized they were demons from Makai.

Weak type of demons.

Long ago, Kino could have killed all of them in a flash. But now, he had to depend on his remaining physical strength.

Kino estimated that there are thirty of them. They attacked him almost at the same time. He noted that the demons, like him, depends on physical attacks. He tried to make use of anything around him to keep them from hitting him. By throwing fallen logs at them he managed to sweep half of them towards the creek.

XXIII

Botan ran as fast as she could.

She was not sure of their exact location, but Yumi said that they are near the Dead Creek. They found an old map on the book, and used it as a guide. But even with the help of a map, they were not sure if they could find the underground cave that was rumored to be Satori's hideout. The underground cave should be there, just across the creek, hidden by huge rocks.

Earlier, Botan was scanning the book while they were walking. She passed by a small part about rituals such as sacrifice. Yumi told her what she knew about it. They were, for a moment, engrossed with the topic.

She was still scanning the book when she accidentally walked into a trap-- which was covered by grass. But before she fell, Yumi managed to pull her away.

From seemingly out of nowhere, a group of demons went after Yumi. The biggest from the group caught Yumi by her clothes. Botan threw a huge rock to that demon to distract him. Her plan succeeded, and Yumi managed to run away from him.

She was about to follow her, but the demons were in the way. She ran to the other direction.

Now, she kept running, and Yumi is out of sight. It took her a long time before she was sure that no one is following her. She can't go back; the demons may still be around the corner. She felt hopeless. Now she got Yumi in trouble, too.

And then she noticed she was still carrying the sorcery book and the map as well. Yumi had seen the map longer than she did. It's llikely she will remember the right way. If she continue on and follow the map, maybe they will meet somewhere near the cave.

Ah, maybe it's not so hopeless after all.

XXIV

A small demon threw himself at him, head first, intending to hurt him with his horns. He caught him, two hands on his horns, and leaned back to gather momentum. With all his strength left, he forcefully hurled the demon to the crowd that was about to attack him. It was enough to stun them and make them fall to the ground a few feet back.

Not intending to waste more time, he leapt past the pile of fallen demons. He will need to cross the shallow side of the creek, which was at the other end of the forest. From where he stood, he could see the boulders of rock that hid the entrance to an underground cave.

Hang on, Keitaro, Botan. I'm almost there.

He was ready to cross to the other side when he heard a scream. He looked back to see a girl running from the few demons who are now back on their feet. He debated whether to save the girl or continue, and was tempted to leave her because he had already wasted so much time.

She must be just about Botan's age.

He headed back.

To be continued… Thank you for reading!