"Hey!" Yakeru is pulled out of his trance before a bamboo sword collides with his torso, throwing him into the steady flow of the creek. "Pay attention!"
Yakeru and Fuyuko were out training with Goemon again. After a full morning of taijitsu and an afternoon lesson of shuriken tossing, Yakeru and Fuyuko were ending the day with some sword work with some balance work. They stood on top of some rocks that shifted under their weight anytime they moved as Goemon used basic swings to help them with defences while staying balanced. But to Goemon, Yakeru seemed distant.
"Fuck," Yakeru cursed under his breath as he stood from the water, pushing his hair to the right side as it fell over his eyes.
"You've been out of it all day." Goemon sighs, crossing his arms while hugging the wooden practice sword.
"Sorry… I've just got something on my mind."
"Is it something that needs to be talked about?"
Yakeru opens his mouth before closing it, shifting his eyes away from his instructor, and looks down at the flowing water.
It was the events that happened last night.
After Goemon left suddenly, Yakeru felt a tinge of guilt, worried that he must have said something to trigger the man; seeing how the sudden pain twisted on his expression as a memory resurfaced. Then that morning at breakfast, Kotaro asked him what he and Goemon talked about the night before, not letting on with his stoic expression what he was checking on. If Kotaro was worried, it definitely was a taboo topic to bring up with Goemon: Yakeru noted to himself.
Morning practice was the same. Goemon was back to his same authoritarian self as he effortlessly threw Yakeru to the ground dozens of times trying to teach him even some of the most basic techniques that should have been second nature to the kid but for some reason lacked. Even Fuyuko was able to pin him down a few times. Really showed how much the last 8 years have taught him.
Goemon watches Yakeru stand in the water, completely silent and in his own thoughts. He is showing ignorance but he knows that the kid is processing the previous night's reaction. Must not be taking his training seriously if he is completely thinking of something other than his training.
"I think that's enough for the day." Goemon finally states through the silence. "Let's get you two back and get some dinner."
"Yakeru-kun," Fuyuko reaches out towards the teen, taking a bit of his sleeve and pulling it to pull him out of his trance.
Yakeru smiles at her, his heart fluttering a bit at her innocent gaze.
As he trudges out of the stream, Yakeru focuses on his ability and remembers how Goemon showed him how to use his entire body to warm up to dry himself in cases like this.
Goemon watches with a small smile as Yakeru's body glows an orange hue, steam evaporating from his skin before the color disappears. Yakeru did a once-over to feel if it worked as it should have.
"Alright, I'm ready." He gives Goemon a nod before he and Fuyuko begin to walk ahead of him.
"You're definitely getting better at using your ability in smaller amounts. That really helps with-" A sudden whistle from behind alerts Goemon, spinning around just quick enough to catch the end of an arrow, the tip that narrowly escaped his grip was still able to pierce Goemon's skin just deep enough to draw a steady flow of blood.
Goemon let out a pained grunt, tossing the arrow to the ground before a sudden feeling of lethargy washed over him. Glancing at the arrow, mixed with the blood from him was a dark green substance that coated the tip and edges of the arrowhead. He didn't need to look at his wound to know that whoever just shot at him had dosed the weapon and whatever was on it was now running in his bloodstream.
"Goemon-san!" Fuyuko's high-pitched call pulls him out of his trance, looking back to find that both Fuyuko and Yakeru were being tied and thrown to the ground by some unknown rogue ninjas.
The sudden scene unfolding in front of him made his stomach drop. The poison in his system made his reactions slower, and his brain fogged as he tried to think of a way to help before the feeling of a sharp blade at his neck made him stiffen.
"Nice to finally meet again, Ishikawa." A gruff voice comes from the end of the katana, the familiarity resulting in a small grin creeping upon Goemon's lips.
"Matsuoka," Goemon side eyes the man, meeting his dark eyes the best he could. "Good to see you alive."
The samurai stood nearly as tall as the elite ninja. His black hair pulled back in a ponytail, showing his familiar face with a distinct scar on his temple. One that Goemon gave him.
"Hm. Well thanks to you, I've gotten just a bit better with my swordsmanship and make a killer living taking out people like you. So don't take this personally." The samurai kicks Goemon's feet from under him, watching him fall flat on his back without trying to save his paralytic really took effect on him quite quickly. "This is personal though," he says before winding his leg back and kicking the ninja in the stomach.
Goemon groans, coughing up some blood and bile as he turns over to his side. Matsuoka kicks Goemon again, watching him crumple on the ground in pain before a voice takes his attention off the ninja.
"That's enough, Matsuoka." The samurai looks back over his shoulder and finds Hojo walking up with two more of his men while also being flanked by a couple of his hired rogue ninjas. "I want him alive. Not half dead."
The samurai frowns, not feeling satisfied about the abuse he was throwing onto the ninja that killed his clan.
"You son of a bitch," Goemon grits through his teeth, barely being able to move as the poison paralyzed most of his body in just minutes.
The rage that boiled in him couldn't be suppressed resulting in him taking another kick to Goemon's stomach.
"Leave him alone!" All eyes look back at Yakeru, anger in his gaze as he watches his mentor get kicked around by the familiar swordsman.
"Shut it, brat. We're not here for you." The old man says before turning his back to the two trainees. "We are here for you."
Goemon looks up at the two swordsmen standing over him, and he can only guess what Hojo and his hired swordsman Matsuoka wanted from him.
"Nice of you to make of show of the destruction of my property, Goemon the Fire Dragon. I don't think you realized that I wasn't in Japan during your "sneak" attack." Hojo talks with a smug, flattening the front of his yukata. "I do have to admit, it's not very like you to do something so extravagant. You ninjas tend to do things in the shadows and make little noise when on a mission. Yet you decided to burn down my home with everyone but me inside. Seems reckless of you."
Goemon watches him with a glare before spitting onto his feet, not having the energy to argue with the dumb swordsman. He blamed the wrong person for the destruction of his property, but the mistake would keep the trainees safe until he figured out a way to get them out of the situation… but the chances of survival seemed slim.
"May I kick him again?" Matsuoka asks without waiting for a response, kicking him in the jaw and throwing his body onto his back.
"Goemon-san!" Fuyuko calls out to Goemon again, tears starting to form in her eyes as she watches her mentor be kicked around like a sack of wheat.
Hojo looks over his shoulder, taking a scan of the two amateur ninjas before an evil grin spreads across his face.
"These are your trainees, I wager." Hojo turns and slowly begins stalking the pair. "Your stunt wasn't such a great performance to show to the young ones. They may pick up bad habits when it comes to working on missions as a Shogun ninja."
"You leave them alone!" Goemon shouts, attempting to raise himself off the ground before the feeling of a blade shoots through his side and he is pinned down to the ground once again.
"Stay down, or I will start cutting off your body parts to make you stop moving." Matsuoka threatens as he twists the blade in his body.
Goemon let out an agonizing scream, his insides feeling like they were being spun like thread while being scraped like some meat in the grinder.
Yakeru watches Goemon in fear. This man who has shown only stoicism was in unimaginable pain. His scream sent chills down his body as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. The swordsman's grin made him sick as he continued to slowly twist his katana's blade inside Goemon's body like it was arousing to him. As he looks away with a heavy feeling in his gut, a familiar pulse behind his eyes suddenly surfaced. A migraine dances around his head as he clenches his teeth to keep the feelings suppressed, not wanting him to come out and wreak havoc like he usually would.
"Noo! Goemon-san! Please stop!" The tears fell heavily as Fuyuko watched the man in pain. The blood dripping down his lips stained the grass underneath him as the internal bleeding made it up his esophagus.
"You two are too young to become ninjas." Hojo continues, keeping his eyes on the trainees as he circles them. "To risk your precious lives on doing something so unethical. Being broken down by days and nights full of training and torture. Only for you to grow up and watch your friends die in the most brutal ways, such as your instructor there in front of you."
"You're the bad man that needs to die!" Fuyuko shouts at Hojo, giving her best glare that her teary eyes can do. "I'm training to be better than you and kill people like you!"
Without saying a word, Hojo slaps Fuyuko across the face hard enough to make her fall to the ground. Then grabbing her by her ponytail, he drags Fuyuko and tosses her in front of Goemon, muttering to the swordsman, "Kill this one first."
The pulsating grew stronger after witnessing how the man handled Fuyuko like a ragdoll. Yakeru's body shook as he released the tension in his body and allowed him to take over.
"Don't fucking touch her." His deep voice states in a controlled manner.
"What did you say?" Hojo asks with a frown, turning back to face the other trainee. But the sudden change in aura around him made chills creep down his body.
"I said, don't. Fucking. Touch. Her."
Yakeru's body is suddenly engulfed in flames, fire dancing in every direction as it pushes back the two rogue ninjas that held the teen down. Slowly standing on his feet, the ninjas and swordsmen felt themselves shrink as this large presence emanated from the teen. Fire making him look bigger than he was, the exposed tattoo on his shoulder glowing brightly with the fire around it, and his black, milky eyes piercing the souls of the men in front of him. This wasn't Yakeru no more, it was a monster.
"Who wants to die first?" A grin crawls across his lips, sharp canines peeking through as a threat.
While a bit hesitant at first, the rogue ninjas all attack at once in every direction, all hoping to get a slice of the trainee before they were all hit with a blaze of inferno. The flames burned hotter than what they have ever felt before, their clothes engulfing them and burning their skin as they screamed and rolled on the ground to extinguish the fires. While distracted, the possessed teen unseathes his sword and in one singular slew cuts all of their bodies enough for the ninjas to halt all their movements as they burn. The smell of burning flesh and boiling blood filled the air, the other swordsmen nearly gagging as they attempted to approach, their swords drawn and ready to attack after the ninjas.
He gives them a smug smile before lighting the blade in flames, spinning it professionally as he allows the two samurai to approach. As they get close enough, he slashes upward at one of the men and horizontally towards the other. They stood still for a moment before one of the men's head rolled off his body and the other was effortlessly split in half.
"What the fuck is he?" Matsuoka mutters under his breath as he pulls out his sword from Goemon's body, bringing it up and holding it up in a defensive position.
"Fuyuko, you okay?" Goemon asks the girl as she continues to watch Yakeru with some caution, yet she doesn't seem surprised at the sudden possession and shift of character.
"Yes, I'm okay." She answers as she wipes the tears from her face, getting close to Goemon and helping him sit up.
Goemon groans, looking down at the two new holes in his body. Then hearing some shifting footsteps, he looks up to find Hojo running away from the scene, like the fucking coward he was.
As Hojo ran, he turned around to take a look to see if anyone was following him before he was suddenly stopped by a large figure and a blade in his chest.
"How pathetic," Musashi says before pulling the blade upward and slicing a good chunk of the man, watching him fall to the ground dead before slicing downward to clean the blood off of the blade.
Musashi and Kura look away from the corpse in front of them and take in the bloodied scene around the trainee.
Matsuoka stalks forward, keeping the blade between him and whatever that person was who was still surrounded by flames of inferno.
"You really think you can take me?" His deep voice echoed in Matsuoka's mind as he was suddenly reminded of the night he watched Goemon and his partners torture and kill all of the people in his small clan.
Rage resurfacing once again, Matsuoka goes to slash the teen with full force before he stops the blade with his flaming sword and grabs the swordsman's neck with his other hand. The look of shock pleases him as he lifts the man from the ground, staring into his eyes as he struggles to breathe. His body shook as his skin burned, his mind literally melting from the heat in Yakeru's black eyes as he felt himself being burned from the inside out.
"You are weak." He says to Matsuoka. "You couldn't avenge your clan even if you wanted to."
Matsuoka's body spasms for a few more moments before his eyes burn to a charcoal gray, his body limp in Yakeru's grip as he dies from the monster in him. He drops his body to the ground, not giving it a second thought as his gaze fixates on Goemon and Fuyuko, who watch him silently in awe and fright. He takes a few steps towards them, burning the ground where he stepped, reaching out towards the two as the fire still danced on his skin in defense before Fuyuko called out to him, "Yakeru!"
Almost immediately, Yakeru halts, letting out a gasp as his body stiffens. Blinking once, the blackness in his eyes disappears and a look of disorientation replaces the smugness from moments before. The fire dissipated, leaving the trainee to look as ordinary as before the attack.
Yakeru stared at them for a long moment before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed onto the ground. The silence surrounding them once again before a pair of footsteps pull Goemon's attention away from the unconscious Yakeru.
"Need some help?"