Chapter 16: Familiars of the Past

                        Lloyd and Kyoshi, still tracking the mysterious man that kidnapped Yumi, night falls, they leave the city searching for her. Lloyd notices that the Spirit Force of that man is getting farther and farther away, days away from their current location, they are power walking through the road, the road is high up small mountains, a river passes by between the mountains.

            “Crap, he’s getting too far away, this guy is fast.” Lloyd says.

            “Is there no faster way?” Kyoshi asks.

            “Well I kinda know one, but it’s farther away, so we’ll have to stick to this road for a while longer.” Lloyd answers.

            “I just plain don’t like this road, it’s just that these rocky mountains give me the willies, I mean, we could fall down there you know and I doubt if we do fall we’re making it alive.” Kyoshi says looking down the high cliff.

            “Kyoshi, quit being a sissy, the road isn’t that small and let’s hurry up, we’re really running out of time and this guy is really hitting the road if he’s that far from us.” Lloyd says.

            “Why would he take her? I mean, he did mention something about light as you said, but what does it mean?” Kyoshi asks.

            “I dunno man, other than her powers well I don’t really know what business he has with her.” Lloyd replies.

                        They keep walking farther up until they see Harayoshi and Reika, the two mysterious hooded people that are looking for some high Spirit Force in Lemuria. They swiftly notice Lloyd and Kyoshi, Lloyd and Kyoshi suddenly feel unusually uneasy.

            “Why do these guys give me the creeps? Why are my hands shaking?” Lloyd asks with a surprised expression.

            “It’s true; they have a threatening atmosphere surrounding them.” Kyoshi says backing away slightly.

                        Reika and Harayoshi step in front of them glaring viciously.

            “Who are you guys?!” Reika asks.

                        Reika looks at Lloyd and widens her eyes in surprise; she then looks at Harayoshi like if she has noticed something, Harayoshi widens his eyes in surprise as well staring at Lloyd, Reika notices this and asks. “What? It can’t be, but…”

            “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it…” Harayoshi says quickly cutting her off.

            “…” Reika looks towards Lloyd once again, she shakes her head no.

            “The hell is their problem?” Lloyd asks puzzled.

            “I don’t wanna fight, I already told you Lloyd.” Kyoshi says slightly behind Lloyd.

            “Hahaha, oh that won’t be necessary, because I’ll finish you before you get a chance to draw!” Reika says with a grin.

            “Don’t waste time, Reika.” Harayoshi says.

            “But they’re witnesses, we can’t have them live after seeing us can we?” Reika asks.

            “… We have hood for a reason don’t you think?” Harayoshi asks.

            “Yeah, but you can never be too careful!” Reika replies taking out her spear and charging towards Lloyd and Kyoshi, they block with some difficulty, Kyoshi still trying to avoid confrontation speaks to her. “Please, I don’t want to fight, you don’t want to see when I get angry.”

            “Keep on bluffing you brat!” Reika shouts rotating her spear rapidly many times.

            “It’s no use Kyoshi, just fight back!” Lloyd shouts.

            “I told you I wouldn’t and you know exactly in the state I get in when I start fighting.” Kyoshi says still backing away.

            “No use talking with this b***h!” Lloyd yells readying himself with his sword.

            “What did you call me?!” Reika shouts angrily quickly covering her spear in flames and throwing it towards Lloyd and Kyoshi.

            “Get back Lloyd! It’s gonna blow!” Kyoshi yells.

            “Damn!” Lloyd yells widening his eyes.

                        The spear thrusts deep in the ground and explodes, still bursting with fire Reika grabs her spear once again and keeps attacking head on, Lloyd gets ready with his sword about to attack with some special move and says. “Sonic Wind!”

                        Lloyd makes a vertical slash, many blades of wind come out of Lloyd’s sword heading towards Reika; she smirks and unleashes a giant fire ball towards Lloyd from the tip of her spear. The Sonic Wind hits head on the giant fire ball only making it even stronger and bigger than before, Lloyd very shocked at this barely evades, the flames of the attack burns a little of his clothes.

            “Don’t you know that wind gives fire more power? It’s the basics.” Reika says.

            “Okay master of the obvious, why don’t you come and get me now?” Lloyd asks with a cocky expression.

            “Don’t taunt her Lloyd, she’s pretty strong.” Kyoshi says.

            “Oh you’re definitely gonna get it now!” Reika shouts charging towards Lloyd then making many giant rockets of fire and throwing them at Lloyd from all directions, Lloyd begins to evade and block all of these fire rockets, but is caught off guard by Reika when he looks at her b***s as she is about to give him the final blow. Kyoshi notices this and gets in the way therefore protecting Lloyd, her spear pierces Kyoshi’s chest on the right side, she then kicks him very hard throwing him down the cliff covered in blood, Lloyd is speechless when this happens, Reika raises her spear and attacks Lloyd, but Harayoshi says. “Quit wasting time with these low lives Reika, the target is moving farther away and that’s out top priority in these moments.”

            “But I-” Reika is cut off.

            “It seems you want me to kill you don’t you? You wanna end up dead? I’ll gladly help you.” Harayoshi asks, his eyes begin to glow red, his voice changing to that of a maniac, speaking wickedly, and he’s clearly getting eager.

            “Uh no Harayoshi, I’ll do as you wish, but please calm down.” Reika says walking towards Harayoshi nervously.

            “That’s better my little servant.” Harayoshi says petting her head and speaking close to her ear. “You better not disobey me or you’ll know what’s gonna happen to your beautiful body, it would be such a shame.”

                        Reika gulps, they then walk away, Lloyd falls on his knees, he doesn’t believe his eyes.

            “It’s my entire fault! Because of my negligence Kyoshi was killed by that woman… Kyoshiiiiiiiii!” Lloyd yells Kyoshi’s name, he’s speechless, and he has never before witnessed something so horrible happen to a friend. “I dragged him with me, and now… Kyoshi, I won’t let your death be in vain, I swear I’ll save Yumi and avenge you, no matter what it takes!”

                        As Lloyd mourns the death of Kyoshi, Shou is walking to Kyoshi’s apartment, but he notices Kyoshi isn’t there.

            “Hm? He isn’t here? Strange… I’ll have to look for him… maybe something happened to him? Nah, I don’t think so…”

                        Shou begins searching for Kyoshi, on his way he finds a disoriented Seshiro searching like crazy.

            “What are you doing out this late Seshiro?” Shou asks.

            “Oh, Shou, I could ask the same.” Seshiro answers.

            “Well, the thing is that I can’t find Kyoshi anywhere and I can’t feel his Spirit Force either.” Shou explains.

            “That’s odd… Wait, could he be in a bind with all those demons lose?” Seshiro asks worried.

            “I wouldn’t doubt it, but I also noticed Zero’s Spirit Force has also disappeared.” Shou says.

            “It is strange, well, now that we’ve noticed this I’ve also noticed that Yumi and Lloyd’s Spirit Force is also missing.” Seshiro says frowning.

            “Let’s search.” Shou says.

            “Yeah, but I first have to tell you something, you remember the other day when I told you about my past?” Seshiro asks.

            “Yeah, what of it?” Shou replies.

            “Then you also remember that I fought against my childhood rival? Well, I felt his presence in this city just a few hours ago.” Seshiro explains.

            “Oh, you mean that Keisuro kid?” Shou asks with a suspicious expression.

            “Yeah, and I’m searching for him right now, that’s why I’m out so late at night.” Seshiro says.

                        Shou makes surprised face.

            “I know that looking for our friends is our top priority, but who knows what Keisuro might be up to… he may even have something to do with it, so can you help me search for him?” Seshiro asks.

            “… Sure, but if he has nothing to do, we’ll look for the others after dealing with him.” Shou says seriously.

            “That’s just what I had in mind.” Seshiro says walking with Shou.

            “I guess I found you first, I felt your Spirit Force like you felt mine! A familiar voice says.

            “That Spirit Force! That voice! It’s Keisuro!” Seshiro yells desperately.

                        A long sword comes flying out of the blue at Seshiro; he evades swiftly, but it cut Sehiro’s right cheek very close to his left eye. Keisuro appears in front of them and without hesitating he takes out his zweihänder from his back and makes a vertical slash on Seshiro; Shou quickly takes out his spear and blocks Seshiro. Seshiro takes out his zweihänder as well and clashes swords with Keisuro, Shou and Seshiro trying to strike him with no luck. Keisuro jumps over them, picks up his long sword from the ground swiftly, and sheaths it. Keisuro then releases his Spirit Force making Shou and Seshiro feeling heavy and hard to breathe; his Spirit Force was getting stronger and stronger, the heaviness can be literally seen in the environment. He begins to concentrate all of his Spirit Force into his sword, Seshiro and Shou are clearly in danger, after Keisuro finishes concentrating all of this energy, he raises his sword upward and lets lose a horrifying vertical slash that makes a great fissure in the road. Clearly destroying half a block, a lot of dust and particles surround the area after this attack, it disperses, Keisuro notices Shou and Seshiro aren’t there anymore, he feels their Spirit Forces up in a tall building along with other three people all dressed in black clothing.

            “What? It can’t be! You guys are alive?” Keisuro asks shocked.

                        Three ninjas can be seen on the roof along with Seshiro and Shou. The male ninja takes off the black garment from his head, he is dark skinned with white spiky hair; the other two are female ninjas.

            “Tesshu!” Seshiro says amazed.

            “Yo what’s up baby, it’s been long Seshi, I see ya’ll grown up now.” Tesshu says laughing.

            “Yeah, where have you guys been? Where’s Sophia?” Seshiro asks.

            “She’s back at our new hideout guardin’ everything back there. It really surprised me that Shou was with you, so how ya been n***a?” Tesshu asks.

            “You guys taking steroids or something? You guys are freaking fast!” Shou says stunned,

            “He’s suffering from memory loss…” Seshiro says.

            “Whatcha say?” Tesshu asks taken aback.

            “Are you guys taking part of a spelling bee? Don’t you see we still got him to worry about?!” Shou says.

            “Humph… I guess I’ll have to kill every one of you.” Keisuro says readying his sword.

                        A radio turns on all of a sudden, Harayoshi’s voice can be heard saying. “Come in Keisuro, it’s Harayoshi, our target is pretty far from your location, I’ve yet to contact Arai, and so you’d better be here ASAP.”

            “Damn you Seshiro, always saved by a damn radio!” Keisuro shouts angrily.

                        Keisuro swiftly flees from the battle after having all the advantage; in the meantime Kirisu is checking his mail.

            “Crap. Crap. Crap. Oh, this is from…” Kirisu says looking at the address of the envelope.

                        Kirisu opens up the letter, he reads it quickly and says. “So you want me to meet you in person in another country… I guess since this is an order from him then I should go alone without anyone noticing, but this letter looks kind of weird, why would he suddenly order me to come back? It’s not even summer yet…”

                        Kirisu prepares his stuff, taking his sword and gun in a big bag, he heads out, but as he walks out of the city he abruptly stops. “This Spirit Force, do I know it?”

                        Kirisu rapidly feels a hand on his shoulder; he quickly turns around and jumps back.

            “Who are you?” Kirisu asks.

                        A shadow can be seen in the dark.

            “What? You don’t remember me or perhaps didn’t care?” A voice of a woman says.

            “Huh?! Are you that prostitute from that country? I told you I don’t have your money ho!” Kirisu says.

                        The woman swiftly attacks him, Kirisu rapidly lies on the ground and throws her behind him using her own weight, she recovers in midair and lands safely.

            “You get your emotions get the best of you.” Kirisu says.

            “That’s not the first time you said that to me.” The woman says.

                        Kirisu observes her with detail; he’s widens his eyes in surprise and says. “No! You can’t be this old!”

                        Kirisu still in doubt draws his gun and aims, but she quickly grabs him and dismantles his gun in seconds then throwing him on the ground still holding his arm consequently joint locking him. Kirisu swiftly makes five dark spears in midair and throws them at her, she quickly lets go of Kirisu and makes many back flips until all of the dark spears strike the ground. Kirisu materializes five more spears and throws them at her; she evades four and easily shatters the last with her hands before it strikes her.

            “Those moves, so it really is you, Arai!” Kirisu shouts.

            “You finally remembered.” Arai says releasing her Spirit Force; he starts to feel heavy and is having difficulty breathing, he thinks to himself. “This is one of the side effects that Zero told me… How did she manage to get this strong? This huge Spirit Force she’s releasing, it’s not humans.”

                        Kirisu starts to materialize more dark spears and begins to throw them at her, many of the dark spears disintegrate from her Spirit Force alone as soon as they’re about to strike her. Arai begins to concentrate some Spirit Force on her fists and legs, she then charges towards Kirisu, he begins to materialize stronger dark spears and throws them at her while running. She keeps dodging every single one of the spears, but she suddenly catches one and throws it at Kirisu with incredible force as a result scratching him on his right arm. She then catches another and while she runs she thrusts it on the ground and uses it as a pole to jump at incredible speed towards Kirisu then landing in front of him safely making a front flip. Kirisu stops unsheathing his sword.

            “I see you’ve grown insanely strong.” Kirisu says surprised.

            “My body as well as mind has matured.” Arai says.

            “I can see that, but I can’t clearly see you with that cloak on.” Kirisu says gripping his sword tightly.

            “You’re finally going to fight seriously?” Arai asks.

            “It’s easier to kill than save a person.” Kirisu answers.

                        She heads towards Kirisu once more, Kirisu starts attacking her with his sword, she evades every single blow while at the same time countering with punches and kicks. Kirisu then prepares to swing a powerful vertical slash, but as soon as he swings she kicks the sword’s hilt upward thus blocking him from completing his move successfully holding his hands with her foot. A radio can be heard all of a sudden, Harayoshi says. “It’s Harayoshi, I called Keisuro, I want you to come back, your mission over there is over, the target is very far from the city.”

                        Arai swiftly jumps back and says. “We’ll meet again Kirisu, just you wait.”

                        Arai flees hastily, leaving Kirisu behind, he thinks to himself. “I bet that letter was a fake just to lure me out here… Arai… What were you doing here exactly? Did you leave Gen-Exis? I’ve never seen those clothes before… I have to find out what’s going on in Gen-Exis…

                        Kirisu picks up the dismantled parts of his gun and heads to his apartment thinking about what’s happening. “I should tell the guys tomorrow what happened today, but Arai… Humph… Now I’m not sure if I want to tell them, they could get suspicious of me.”

                        Meanwhile Seshiro and the rest are walking.

            “So you’re Tesshu, I heard of you from Seshiro, since you were my best friend, you can tell me about myself.” Shou says.

            “First of all, I need to know what happened to ya.” Tesshu says.

            “I’m not really sure.” Seshiro replies.

            “Alright, I just suddenly woke up one day in the desert and didn’t know who I was, I had this spear lying next to me, a soldier who was nearby called me Shou Shiranui, but he suddenly died. Since then I’ve been searching around the world to see if I can figure out who I am, maybe a person, object or location could ring a bell, but I’ve had no luck at all until I met Seshiro, he told me some things about me.” Shou explains.

            “Damn, that’s whack.” Tesshu says shaking his head.

            “Shou, as you just said, Tesshu’s your best friend from that time, there’s no one else in the world that knows more than he about you.” Seshiro says.

            “Yeah brotha, we were hot s**t then.” Tesshu says smiling.

            “Tesshu, a fair warning, this isn’t the same Shou we used to know, he’s become a rather sarcastic person, so beware.” Seshiro says.

            “Sarcasm is just one more service I offer, haha.” Shou says.

            “You see what I’m saying?” Seshiro asks looking at Tesshu.

            “Do they ever shut up where you come from?” Shou asks annoyed. “Anyways, I still can’t remember clearly about Tesshu or anyone from my past…”

            “It’s a’ight, you’ll remember soon enough.” Tesshu says placing his hand on Shou’s left shoulder.

            “Who are these female ninjas? I’ve never seen them before.” Seshiro asks.

            “Oh, these girls are my new assistants, this one here is Shiemi and the other is Mikae.” Tesshu replies.

                        Shou observes the female ninjas and says. “One of us is thinking about sex…”

            Everyone stares at Shou annoyed, Shou then says. “OK, it's me.”

                        Seshiro face palms.

            “Your name was Shou… correct?” Mikae asks.

            “Yeah, but don't worry. I forgot your name, too.” Shou says.

            “How long have you been like this? Without memory.” Mikae asks.

            “About four or five years… Lost count.” Shou replies. “Hey Tesshu, do you by any chance know where the ruins of the hidden ninja village is?”

            “Of course bro, what? Ya wanna go there?” Tesshu asks.

            “Yeah, maybe I’ll remember something if I go there…” Shou replies.

            “Well… there is a chance you will, but it’s not a sure thing.” Seshiro comments.

            “I’m prepared.” Shou says.

            “Ya wanna go now? If we start moving now we might get there in a few weeks.” Tesshu suggests.

            “Alright, let’s go. We’ll meet again Seshiro, thanks for your help, be sure to give my farewells to your friends, I’m too old to be walking back and forth, at my age, all my joints ache…” Shou says shaking Seshiro’s hand.

            “Yeah right, take care…” Seshiro says smiling.

                        Shou, Tesshu and the female ninjas head out towards the ruins of the hidden village of ninjas. Seshiro goes back to his apartment, meanwhile Hisana is in front of the building complex where Seshiro lives, after a short time Seshiro arrives and is surprised to see her there, he asks. “Hisana, what are you doing here at this hour? It’s pretty late you know.”

            “It’s just that, so many Spirit Forces have gathered here, and I’ve been having visions of things that have started to happen.” Hisana says.

            “What? What are you talking about? How do you know about Spirit Force?” Seshiro asks suspiciously.

            “Well… actually, I’ve been hiding some things from you and the rest.” Hisana replies.

            “Why don’t we go inside? It’ll be more comfortable to talk there.” Seshiro suggests.

                        They go inside Seshiro’s apartment; they then sit on the couch in the living room and begin talking.

            “Well… firstly, I’ve noticed your Spirit Force as well as the others some time ago, and I also know about the demons you’ve been facing.” Hisana says.

            “But how can you feel Spirit Force? I mean, only someone that has increased his fighting abilities are able to do that. Are you telling me you’re a warrior as well?” Seshiro asks skeptically.

            “…” Hisana looks away.

            “But I’ve never felt your Spirit Force.” Seshiro says.

            “I just didn’t want anyone to notice, so I’ve been suppressing it.” Hisana replies.

            “That means you could’ve helped us in all of those battles, but why didn’t you?” Seshiro asks.

            “You all seem to be very strong, I never thought you actually needed help, but now that I’ve felt these incredible Spirit Forces lately coming inside the city, well I knew for sure these people are too much for you guys to handle, so I’ve decided to tell you my little secret.” Hisana answers looking back at Seshiro.

            “A while ago, you also mentioned visions, what did you mean by that?” Seshiro asks warily.

            “Umm… well, I’m not sure why exactly, but sometimes I have visions of certain events that are taking place or are about to.” Hisana explains.

            “And what have you seen?” Seshiro asks.

            “I saw Yumi as well as Lloyd and Kyoshi. Haven’t you noticed their Spirit Forces have suddenly vanished?” Hisana asks.

            “Yeah, that’s right, what of them? What have you seen?” Seshiro asks worried.

            “Kyoshi… he’s dead.” Hisana says in a low voice, lowering her head.

                        Seshiro quickly gets up and grabs Hisana’s arms, and asks in disbelief. “What! No, it can’t be, you’re lying!”

            “No… I’m not…” Hisana says.

            “What about Yumi and Lloyd?” Seshiro asks desperately.

            “Lloyd is injured and is searching for Yumi.” Hisana replies.

            “What? What happened to Yumi?” Seshiro asks even more worried.

            “Yumi was kidnapped.” Hisana answers.

            “By whom? Is that even possible? Yumi has incredible fighting skills! That can’t be right!” Seshiro says in a high tone of voice.

            “It’s true…” Hisana says looking away once again.

            “And since when do you know this information?” Seshiro asks letting go of her arms.

            “Just a little while ago, not even an hour.” Hisana replies.

            “Who kidnapped Yumi? Who killed Kyoshi? Where’s Lloyd?” Seshiro asks inhaling deeply.

            “I’m not really sure, my visions aren’t accurate.” Hisana says.

            “Damn! Are your visions ever wrong? Do you have them frequently?” Seshiro asks.

            “No, it’s very rare for me to have visions, and no, I’ve never had a vision that didn’t happen.” Hisana answers.

            “What about Zero? I can’t feel his Spirit Force either, did something happen to him too?” Seshiro asks.

            “I don’t really know… Sorry.” Hisana replies.

            “S**t, we have to look for them, and we gotta tell Kirisu and Kazumi right now!” Seshiro says anxiously.

                        Seshiro and Hisana walks out of the apartment to look for Kirisu and Kazumi. They first arrive at Kazmi’s house, Kazumi answers the door.

            “Seshiro? Hisana? What are you doing here?” Kazumi asks.

            “Kazumi! We have to go! It’s an emergency!” Seshiro says restlessly.

            “But what happened?” Kazumi asks worried.

            “It’s Lloyd is injured, Yumi was kidnapped, Kyoshi is dead and Zero is missing!” Seshiro says quickly.

            “What? No!” Kazumi shouts in disbelief, then shedding tears.

            “We have to look for Kirisu, let’s go!” Seshiro says hastily.

                        Kazumi still in shock grabs her coat and leaves with them; they now head to Kirisu’s place and knock on his door. Kirisu opens the door while assembling his gun.

            “Oh hey guy, what are you doing here at this hour? Kazumi?” Kirisu asks surprised.

            “There’s no time for that Kirisu, Zero is missing, Kyoshi has been killed, Lloyd is wandering somewhere injured looking for Yumi because she’s been kidnapped by some unknown guy!” Seshiro says.

Reviews

[Felipe]

holy crap what an awesome chapter, i wonder who harayoshi is, he and reika seemed very shocked at seeing lloyd! what a mystery, i also wonder about hisana warrior abblities and her vision of the futurer,I hope Kyoshi is all right great chap man, keep it up!