His eyes welled up. Kenji jerked back as he inhaled the smell of blood mixed with ash. His legs tripped. He fell down the crimson puddle with a thud.
Next to him. A head. The herbalist.
Kenji's stomach boiled as the acid crawled up his throat. But he tightened his jaw. He dragged himself up. Blood poured down from his shirt and pants. He clenched the fists.
His eyes shot up instantly as his house sprawled out. Collapsed. Blood splashes on the wall and the front door. He took another step. A man laid still in the blood pool. He paused. No... He was fully numb but his feet stumbled forwards. And another step.
"Father...?"
His feet froze in place. The wind drifted through. His gaze paused at the dead body in blood in front of his house. He didn't want to believe it. Never would he. He dragged his feet towards "Father..." And closer "FATHER!" He dropped on his knees. Slid his trembling hands beneath the head. Kenji held Haruto in arms but that couldn't wake him up. Blood poured down and soaked Kenji's hands.
He was too late.
Father's in arms but never woke up again. Images of his father coming home, taking him up the mountain. All the moments they had shared. Shattered. Kenji had been working with a sore back each day just to hug his father dead. Not because of illness.
Tears rolled and escaped to Haruto's face. Kenji's eyelids lifted up half way, enough to see his father again. The world sparkled as tears lingered on lashes. His chest pounded to find a cut straight at his father's hip. Then eyes stopped at the face. He glanced at a circular pattern near the soaked sand for a second. He couldn't tell why it was there. Yet Kenji didn't look again.
He went rigid instantly as his gaze shifted to the house. Mother. Riku. Body stiffened as Kenji turned back to the father, met his eyes for the last time. Kenji gritted his teeth and pulled the collar up to dry his face. Then gently laid his father down.
His eyes widened as he found a blood bath beneath at the threshold. Right foot onto the stoop. A long blood stain dragged inside the house. His hand hovered at the door knob.
Goose bumps popped out as he twisted the knob. Light split the darkness as the door opened.. Mother. In pieces in a pool of dark red.
Kenji stood there. His mouth hung out. His breath recoiled as a whimper escaped, "M-mom…" Kenji hitched and gazed at the bedroom. Riku sat in a crimson puddle in the corner of the room with his favorite brown teddy bear in the grip. A dark red cut drawn from floor to chest. And the wall. Riku's eyes had turned grey.
"Everyone…"
Kenji shifted back to the mother. And glanced back at the father on the sand outside. Then returned to his mother. His eyes quivered. A thought barely formed but something pulled him back. Squelching. He ignored it at first until it growled - like a wolf. His breath returned as the heart pounded. He glanced into the dark kitchen and snapped back to the body of his mother. One arm. Two. And only three? He paused five seconds before glancing back at the kitchen.
The munching stopped.
Kenji's eyes snapped wide. "Clink." Something met the floor. And again. He recoiled back away from the kitchen entrance. A shiver burst in his spine. A couple of sharp red dots hovered in the air and pierced straight into Kenji's eyes.
An arm in its jaw. And rolled on the floor as it dropped.
He glanced from the arm to the body of his mother. His feet dragged back without a thought. It took a step forward. Kenji scanned around but it snarled and drove to him.
Cold spread all over his skin. He found himself on the sand outside of the house. Kenji wrenched on the back and shifted his gaze to it. In the air above him. A sharp gasp escaped his mouth and he rolled to the left.Each move of the muscle struck him back with white burn. He gritted his teeth. The wolf stared and lunged at him again.
"ARGH-" Kenji pressed his hands against its neck and chest. Rows of sharp teeth. Crimson across the lips but still starved for more. It drove down to Kenji's neck with its jaw snapped wide. And struck together. Kenji pushed and skewed right. He threw his gaze for something. Or someone could save him.
Nothing.
His father's body was in the crimson pool. He paused half a second before turning back to the wolf on top of him. Both arms weakened and curled down slowly. The wolf pressed down harder, its face was five centimeters away from his. Tears welled up and blurred his vision. All air in his lungs drifted out until nothing left. Voices echoed from afar. Louder. Kenji dragged his head and found tall men driving to him. But the wolf drove first.
"KRRAAHK!" Both jaws hung out and snapped.
He felt less weight . An object rolled on him and to the sand. Warm and wet. The world bloomed. Where is the... He dropped his gaze to the right. The wolf's head remained on the sand. His lungs sagged as a tall man stood next to him. Eyes to face. He couldn't define that man's face covered in shade under the sunlight.
The world faded to dark. "Hey!" His breath slowed down "H-" And pure silence.
"Hey kid!" The tall man stood beside Kenji. His gaze glanced at the wolf and its head on the ground. He kicked it off Kenji and dragged him to other vanguards. Two recruits followed behind. Their eyes quivered and traced around. Red soaked the dirt across the village. People dismembered in dark ichor with grey eyes left open.
"Check on the kid," Dachi stared back through the corner of his right eyes.
They both jolted back before they could understand, "Y-Yes sir!"
One of them pressed his fingers at the neck and glanced over the man, "Commander Dachi. I report, the pulse is unsteady. We should get him to the medical facility."
Dachi adjusted his glasses while his sword in grip met the dirt. Lingered blood rolled and escaped to the ground. He scanned around, and the house in front of him. A half cut body on sand and one at the front door. He glanced at those faces. Nose. Eyes. And shifted his gaze to Kenji. He paused as his chest locked for a second, "Let's move."
Both of the new recruits jolted by the decision until one of them finally spoke, "Commander Dachi. The number of casualties is not recorded."
"You don't want to do that now," his eyes glared back at the new recruits as he walked to Kenji on the ground.
"Y-Yes sir!" Their backs straightened. Sweat rolled to the chin.
"Bring this kid back to the base."
"Yes sir!" Four arms grasped Kenji's limbs and lifted him onto a horse. They hopped on and waited for command. Dachi soon got on his own horse, "Let's go."
Three horses lunged out of the village. Far behind them, a hand in crimson slightly flinched.
Scattered bodies. Blood pools. Burnt houses and collapsed structures. The death of his father, mother, and little brother. It flashed in his mind. Blurry and echoing.
"FFSSSSSHHTAARK" The dark arrow pierced through the air. Reflected in the eyes of Kenji.
Kenji sat up immediately. Sweat rolled on the cheeks before soaking the blanket. Mouth gasped for air as heart pounded, loud enough to hear. Tears flooded and whirled the world around him. A knock on the door pulled him all the way back to reality. He instantly blinked off the tears and dried them with the blanket. His focus drifted to the door. Not the nurse. A tall strong man - just like who had saved him.
His dark brown hair tied up behind with lines of grey blended in. Short beard and bruises crawled from face to arms. Kenji noticed a clipboard in his grip as he stepped to the side of his bed.
"Koshida Kenji?" he asked while turning pages. Kenji's gaze locked to the bedsheet, "Yes..."
"I'm Yamada Dachi. Luminar Commander," he turned back to the first page, "and you're the only one who survived."
Kenji's chest stiffened and fingers tightened the blanket. Throat choked, couldn't break even a whimper. Commander Dachi traced the chart, up and down before he turned his attention to Kenji, "Tell me what happened."
Breath caught. Kenji wanted to shake his head but his body just froze. His jaw clenched hard. The commander's presence killed it. Dachi stood there with arms crossed while pinning the gaze at Kenji. He slowly lifted his head up to steal a glance. Met those eyes. Looked down instantly. His mind betrayed him with slashing sounds. Bodies separated and soaked in blood pools. That glare from the archer. The grey behind the eyelids of those who he loved. Kenji stopped dead.
Dachi waited.
Knowing he couldn't escape this. Kenji glanced back up at Dachi as he gasped hard through the mouth, "Tall...skinny."
Pen tip met the paper yet his eyes were still pinned on Kenji, "Weapons?"
"Bow. Sword..."
"Any symbol on their head or armor?"
Kenji paused five seconds before shaking his head. Dachi closed the clipboard and adjusted his glasses, "78 people in the Haimura village. All found dead." The numbers echoed in Kenji's ears. Air left his lungs instantly as the vision blurred.
Commander Dachi followed up another question, "And you survived. How?" A gulp ran down Kenji's throat, "I-I ran..." Dachi narrowed, "Just ran?"
"There was one who chased me up the mountain and..." Kenji paused half a second, "I killed it"
Dachi scanned those rough palms before returning to Kenji's face, "With what?"
"An axe"
Then a silence. No single movement. Kenji slowly lifted his face up and found Dachi was still looking at him. His breath hitched. Dachi reached up the glasses and pushed them up, "What is your plan now?"
Kenji flinched with his throat choking out, "Wh-what?"
"Your village is gone. Your family is dead. What are you going to do?" Dachi repeated with hands folded behind and turned his head down to Kenji. The brutal facts hung with the question echoed in the mind. His mouth left open but no reply. Then dropped his face.
"Look at me."
He looked up without thinking. Those quivered eyes focused on Dachi while he couldn't stop trembling, "I-I don't know..."
Dachi adjusted the glasses, "When you do. Meet me at the Tenbo Outpost." Before Kenji could react, Dachi stepped out with the door clicked shut behind. The constant hum of the fan grew louder. "What is your plan..." Kenji collapsed on the back and stared up at the ceiling "Your family is dead..." Two circle wet spots formed beneath his ears and spread larger. Everything is gone. Within a morning. The world shut to darkness.
A loud cry from the back of the wall behind Kenji echoed, "My son!" Kenji dragged those heavy eyelids up. "Why did everyone say that thing never came back?!" On the other side, an old woman stood next to a bed where a deceased person was laid. The bed sheet soaked red. The old woman dropped to her knees, couldn't stand watching her son like this.
Footsteps reverberated down the hall. He dragged his eyes to the tiny space beneath the door and found shadows shifted by. How long have I slept... He looked up at the ceiling again. The light had already been on. He stretched himself beneath the blanket and noticed no pain. Only the emptiness in his chest.
Even the stomach boiled, his vision froze to the spinning ceiling fan. The eyes of those who he wished to see. Never again. He stilled on the bed.
Until a screech from the other room broke the silence. Out of the lungs. Kenji frowned and gazed at the door. Behind it, a woman's voice quivered, "Wh-why did they say this had ended?"
"No time to cry. Let's help the victims."
"Hold the legs. QUICK!"
Kenji's gaze pinned to the fan. The tears, the groan of pain. They all recalled one picture, the family of four gathered around the campfire. "No...no...He's dying!" Kenji's fingers curled into the bedsheet. Wet warmth rolled to chin but both legs dragged him up already. The old woman's cry. The man's groan of pain. Enough.
"ENOUGH!"
Veins grew from his fists to the neck before spreading up his face. Eyes were red. Legs were almost fully covered in bandages. "What's your plan..." The air left his lungs as those days flashed again. The first day he could get on the mountain with his father. That grin. Kenji could never see again. And the wooden spoon of his mother as they had come back home.
Riku's voice. No matter how long Kenji had worked in the forest, Riku had always been waiting and jumping once he got home. He leaned his forehead to the wall and tears dropped between both feet.
"If I stay here any longer..." Tears escaped. His fists tightened while frowning hard, "They are dead for NOTHING!"
The nurses turned back as they noticed the loud screams, "You heard that too?"
"Yeah, there's one patient. You check on him."
She nodded and hurried to the room instantly. One step away from the door, she noticed that it had already been opened. Her eyebrows shot up before pushing in, finding nobody. The bedsheet and the blanket were set up perfectly. No trace of untidiness. Her legs stumbled back as her focus shifted all over the place. A hole on the wall next to the bed. She leaned closer, face five centimeters away.
Her fingers trailed the outline and immediately knew what had caused it. A fist. Her breath hitched, "Stone wall...And someone left a hole here" She gulped "With barefist?" But something caught her attention. She dropped her head beneath, "Blood droplets?" Then traced her eyes throughout to the doorway "Two more."
She reported to the other nurses with a loud scream, "Patient's missing - Room 9." Her legs drove straight out the hall with the lead of the blood stains on the floor. To the concrete. Step to step until she found a figure crawling to the hospital's entrance. She looked from those legs to his head. Mostly bandages. She threw her grip to his left arm, "Where are you going?!"
Silence. "Tenbo Outpost." Kenji replied without turning back as he took another step forward.
The nurse froze and lost his arm, "Tenbo Outpost...?" She glanced back at those injured patients waiting their turn to the medical treatments. Her head jerked back, "Have you lost your mind?!" She grabbed. Caught air.
Kenji was already two meters further.
"My family is all dead." he slowly turned his head back and stared at the nurse. He paused before facing the hospital's gate again, "Even if I died."
"Who would even cry?"
The nurse flinched hard and went completely rigid. A sharp gasp escaped her mouth, "Then will I." Her throat convulsed, "Don't even die out there!"
The air left his lungs. Kenji stopped dead no matter how much he pushed himself forwards. He shifted his gaze back to her, into the eyes. Those words echoed once more in his mind before nodding. Both legs dragged him through the hospital's entrance.
Carriages drove across the road with people inside. Fancy clothing. He dropped his gaze down. The pathway he went was entirely different from those dirt roads with mud puddles. He threw his attention around without thinking. The houses had been built so tall as he had to lean back his head. Until the one he was finding appeared.
Two concrete pillars held a massive sign above the gate, ten meters long at least. Kenji's eyes shifted from the left to the right of it. Tenbo...Outpost. He flinched back. The gate was already opened. No sign of a person outside but sword clashing and thuds echoed behind it. Kenji breathed hard through his nose before moving in. First step in. A cold wind struck him and crawled to the back. It carried the odor of sweat mixed blood to his lungs.
Kenji froze. The area was so huge with three main sectors. He paused at the first Vanguard And the next one Central Quarters Then the last on the right Luminar.
Hand reached up and scratched the back of his head. He looked around again before walking straight to Central Quarters. A rectangle paper taped on the wall. Kenji stopped before it. Oh, a map. He traced from the entrance to the end of this building. So many places to go. Kenji gazed down at the red dot which said "You are here" just to find himself stuck in the middle of nowhere. He inhaled hard. A grip met his shoulder, "Took you long enough, kid."
Kenji jumped and whirled back immediately. His eyebrows sagged down as he knew this man, "C-Commander Dachi..." He bowed down without thinking.
"Follow me," commander Dachi stared for two seconds before stepping into the central quarters. Kenji slowly lifted his gaze, only to find Dachi was far ahead.
His eyelids jumped. Both legs dragged him forward instantly. Three rooms ran down the centre of the building. Two halls extended on either side. Commander Dachi stepped into the midsection as he pushed the door open. Kenji traced up the top of it, three meters estimated. It went completely dark when the door shut.
A single lamp burned at the end of the room. Kenji turned back. His breath hitched as he found a massive portrait running from ceiling to floor.
A person with a golden flame katana. Eyes faint gold. Black Yoroi armour. The scene hit first, the smell hit harder. Something ancient met his lungs and grew goosebumps across his skin. His chest stiffened as he approached the picture. Aoyama Hikaru - The Founder of The Aegis (660 BCE).
Another torch lit the wall beside it. One more man. Both of them had the same eyes but different weapons. Kenji paused at the portrait and looked down. Aoyama Masaru - The Founder of The Luminar and The Vanguard (630 BCE). Gazed up. A tall muscular figure in Tosei Gusoku with two blades at his sides.
Kenji dragged his trembling legs behind. Both legends were on the same wall. His eyes had been wide since he walked in. Both of them radiated something - faint and entirely real. Even through paint.
"You must know why they have created this."
His mouth hung open but nothing came out. Those things. He hitched hard as the tragedy crashed in his mind again.
"We call those shadowy creatures The Shroud."
"The Shroud, sir?"
"Yes."
Before Kenji could react, Commander Dachi already continued, "Why are you here?"
Kenji stopped dead. The same question from the hospital echoed back again in his mind. What are you going to do? Why are you here? Sweat rolled to the chin. Kenji frowned. The blood bath at his collapsed house. The faces he wished to see again. All gone because of The Shroud. He gritted his teeth as his fingers tightened in his palms.
"Revenge."
Dachi stared. The wind outside even felt louder. Kenji stilled. Dachi turned to the door and pulled it open, "Qualification first."
"I don't recruit loud mouths."
Kenji flinched with his mouth hung open. Before he could ask, Commander Dachi was already through the door. Kenji walked behind. Qualification… And looked up to Dachi.
They stopped at a plain wooden door. Dachi reached the doorknob and twisted. The smell of dust came first. He sat down on the chair behind a huge desk inside. All covered in dust. Kenji walked in and looked around. Bookshelves. Black board.
"Eh hem!"
Kenji jerked back to the desk and found Dachi staring straight into his eyes. His breath caught. Dachi left his gaze and shifted to the paper in front of him. Kenji followed and sat down on a wooden chair. His attention fixed onto the paper. Admission Application.
He traced down. Name section. Age. And the purpose of joining The Vanguard. Kenji shifted his gaze to the left where a pen was already there. He glanced up before taking it, Dachi was writing something else on the other side. Kenji turned back with the pen hovered above the paper. Koshida Kenji. 18.
Purpose of Joining:
A sharp gasp escaped his mouth. Pen waited for him. Kenji glanced up. Commander Dachi was already watching. He inhaled hard. Pen landed.
REVENGE.
A minute passed. Kenji broke the silence as he slid the admission paper to Dachi.
Dachi shifted his gaze to Kenji, "You will be fighting Akuma."
Kenji's chest locked. Fight?!
"We provide chalk powder. Your goal is to land three marks on him."
"Three falls. You're out."
His eyes shot wide with a gulp crawled down through his throat. Kenji recoiled and breathed hard. His fingers tightened the pants. Dachi took a clipboard and stood up. Stepped out of the room without any word.
Kenji followed immediately. They moved into the hall on the left side. A clashing sound pulled his focus out the window on the left. Metal collided. Men roared.
Fist met abs. Leg to chin. The dust clouded up as their feet slid on sand. One of them sharply stepped aside with arms gripped on the collar and the other's hand. Whirled. He slammed his rival on the ground. Kenji stilled. Eyes left open wide as his breath caught. Something caught his attention in the corner of his right eye. Kenji snapped at it. Commander Dachi was already staring at Kenji at the door of room 219.
His feet stumbled and dragged him to Dachi. Some people walked by and looked at Kenji, "Oh…Who are you fighting?"
Kenji stopped and turned to them, "Uh…Akuma."
"Why?"
They all jumped back. Their eyes shot upright with mouths hung open.
"Holy!"
"Akuma?!"
"OH You're done!"
Kenji recoiled. Why are they reacting in such a way…? His chest pounded harder and harder. Lungs forgot what to do until Dachi pinched his ear and pulled him to the room.
"Lost focus for the third time," Dachi stared down.
Kenji jolted and followed the pull, "I-I'm sorry, sir!"
"Make this quick. Fight him. Or leave." Dachi released and walked up the judgement room above. He sat down at a long desk and laid the clipboard down. Kenji stood at the door as the arena opened. A muscular man already stood in the center with a plain black shirt. His back faced Kenji and it felt like staring at him.
Kenji froze. That…Must be Akuma. Akuma looked over his shoulder before turning back. A smirk grew on his face, almost amused, "Scared?"
One word. The shiver spread across the back. Kenji stepped back as his gaze quivered.
"Kenji. Leave."
He looked up. Dachi stared and adjusted his glasses.
"I repeat. I don't recruit loud mouths."
A sharp gasp escaped Kenji's mouth. He returned his focus to Akuma. Traced up and down. Muscular with both arms in pocket, six feet tall at least. He breathed in hard as his jaw locked. Veins grew on the fists. Those familiar faces hit him again. A bucket of chalk powder sat at the arena entrance. He grabbed a fistful.
The smell got thicker inside. Blood. Sweat. Kenji raised his guard after stepping in. Clumsy. His focus locked onto Akuma with his hands stilled in pockets. He giggled, "Who even taught you that?"
Kenji paused. Jaw clenched and locked his gaze at Akuma.
"Oh? How serious you are."
Akuma shifted his right foot to the front. Lowered his body with two arms hovered before his face. Slow. Deliberate. Commander Dachi shot his arm straight up, "Qualification begins in 3"
Kenji's breath hitched.
"2"
He tightened all the muscles and frowned.
"1. FIGHT!" Dachi dropped his arm.
His shoulders sagged. Kenji slowly closed his eyes and inhaled hard. I've killed a Shroud. He opened and exhaled. This couldn't be that bad. His body folded at the ribs. Kenji frowned as his mouth burst all the air he had left. Akuma's leg already found his liver. No sound. No movement.
Only result.
Kenji whirled in the air for one and a half seconds. He landed and dragged onto the ground half meter. Kenji choked. His mouth opened but nothing came in. Red veins grew visible in the white of his eyes. He looked down and pressed his hand to the ribs. What was that?!
Two feet stood before his face. Kenji gazed up. Akuma stared at him with a look of disgust.
"Stand up. Or leave."