"So…it would appear that the child is this 'Kanto Beast' after all?" Crnobog said.
"It seems so master Crnobog. As we see here thanks to our scout that followed the group that was supposed to kill him, he recorded the whole thing. They got cocky and the child morphed into his rage stage and killed them all leaving these six individuals alive." Said a man in a black suit.
In a dark room Crnobog with a few of his men sat in a desk of a large building. They were using a portion of the space in the building as their temporary H.Q. while they were in the city. In front of them was a large T.V. and on the screen was the scene from the forest where Haru was ripping those teens to bits. Crnobog actually smirked as he watched Haru kill them all.
"And once again they failed us and not only that but they have awakened the child's power as well. The Great Master will not be pleased by this." Another guard said with a sigh.
Crnobog didn't say anything as he was deep in thought. His guard was right. When the Great Master knows of this news, and he will know one way or another, he'll have Crnobog's head on a spear for not only killing the child sooner but also using others that aren't them to do this work. Crnobog gritted his teeth as the room suddenly dropped a few degrees.
"That bloody runt will feel my wrath when I get my hands on him! This is the very last failure he has made and he'll learn soon enough why I am considered the… wait, what's this?" Something on the screen got Crnobog's attention.
"Wait, rewind the tape a bit." He said and the guard hit a button on the remote.
"There! Play it now."
The guard did as he was told and pressed play. It was Haru saying sorry to the others and running into the forest. The tape ended there. The guards looked back at their master and saw he was staring at the blank screen tapping his finger on the desk with a look that says "I'm thinking of a plan" on his face.
"Mmmm… I think this may actually be a use to us." Crnobog said with a smirk.
"Master?" One of the guards asked.
"It seems the child believes he's a monster of sorts and not what he really is. And now that I actually looked at the fight, the child also hasn't awakened all of his powers, just his strength, speed, agility, and a very small portion of Mana. I can see that he is either scared of these powers or is unwilling to use them. I think he actually thinks he is a human!" He laughed.
"I see… and how does this help us?"
"Since he believes he's a 'human that is a monster' I think we can persuade him to join us. We'll let him see our abilities and let him think he isn't alone and that he can trust us. When in turn we'll tear him down of this human bullshit he thinks he is and reform him into one of us and we can rule this whole country as a gift for the Great Master."
"An excellent plan master… but the child is once again in hiding. We have yet to find him since his powers went into dormancy as well. And now that I think about it, when he does use his powers it's so faint that it's considered to be one of those Fighter's Chi being used. So if he does use it we won't really know so how are we going to locate him?"
"Not to worry, I have a spell that will help us on that. Think of it as the last gift of a recently deceased God from the old country of the West." Crnobog said with a sick smirk as he mentioned God.
Hakufu was running at full speed through the streets in hopes to find an empty building and in turn find Haru. Along the way causing some property damage, running into the road causing a 15 car pileup, and running over many people. But that made little difference to her as she was dead set on finding Haru.
"I'm on my way Haru-kun, please be there!" Hakufu huffed as she ran.
"HAKUFU-SAN! STOP RUNNING LIKE A STUPID BRAT DAMMIT!" Yelled a voice from behind.
Hakufu skidded to a halt and whipped around looking angry.
"Hey, don't call me stupid! The one who says stupid first is actually the stupid one!" She said to whoever.
It was Ryomou, she ran up to her and stopped to catch her breath. Once she got her breath back she looked at Hakufu with a stern face on.
"Then don't pull stupid shit like this. The LAST thing we need is to do idiotic things that draw attention to us."
"But we need to find Haru-kun fast!"
"I agree with you on that but we need to be smart about this. And furthermore, I said he may be in the places I mention. I'm completely guessing here on where he might be since I don't know him that well. None of us do, so we can only guess on where he is hiding."
"Then what should we do? Gakushuu-san said that the more time passes by without finding Haru-kun… the more likely we'll never see him again."
"I know and we'll find him… we just need something to help us find him like a clue or lead to where he may be?" Ryomou scratched her chin trying to think.
"Or perhaps you can just ask?" Said a voice.
The two turned around and saw an old couple sitting on a bench looking at them. It was the same old couple Haru had met before.
"Um… excuse me?" Hakufu said.
"Why not ask where the child is?" The old man repeated himself.
"Hey, that's a great idea! Have you—" But Ryomou put her hand on Hakufu's shoulder.
She turned around and saw Ryomou shaking her head. She walked up to the old couple.
"And may I ask who you two are and what makes you able to find our friend when we can't?" Ryomou asked with suspicion in her voice.
"May, aren't you the cautious one? A good trait indeed. And as for who we are, I guess you can say we're looking for the same person." The woman said.
This got both the girls on edge.
"Who are you guys and why are you after Haru-kun?" Hakufu demanded.
"Now calm yourself child, we aren't after him, we are looking for him too. My name is Ignir and this is my partner Laufey. And we have been searching for him for a long time now." Ignir said.
"Again why?" Ryomou asked.
"We thought he died years ago but we found evidence that he was still alive and in the lowest sense of the term healthy not too long ago. And so we have been searching for the child since then." Laufey said.
"Why are you looking for Haru-kun?" Hakufu asked.
"You can say he is a big part of our lives but we'll talk more about that subject later. If you let us, we can help you find him before they do."
"Who's they?" Ryomou asked.
"If we find him soon you won't need to know. Now let's head somewhere we can talk in private shall we?" Ignir said.
"Can you give us a moment?" Ryomou asked and the two nodded.
The two to a corner so the old couple won't hear them.
"Something doesn't feel right here." Ryomou said.
"You think they're lying and want to hurt Haru-kun?" Hakufu asked.
"No, it's more that they know more about Haru-kun and they won't say. They're keeping something from us so we better watch our backs." Hakufu nodded.
So, the two went back to the old couple and led them to the Shuuyu residence. There Ignir and Laufey sat with Goei sipping tea and talking while Hakufu and Ryomou waited outside for the others to come. It wasn't long before they finally came.
"Hakufu, I heard you ran out of school this afternoon, what happened?" Koukin asked.
"Yeah sorry about that, I kinda got carried away with a new hope of finding Haru-kun. My bad." She said, scratching her head.
"I admire your enthusiasm of finding our lost friend but next time try to have a level head about it, we don't want you going missing either Hakufu-san." Gakushuu said.
"Yeah, it's hard enough finding Haru-kun but if you went missing it's just more work for us Hakufu-chan." Ukitsu smirked.
"Sorry guys."
"It's no problem we just don't want you to go missing too in the search for Haru-kun, especially one as good looking as you." Saji said putting a hand on her shoulder but Hakufu smacked it away.
"I still haven't forgiven you for calling Haru-kun a monster you jackass!" Hakufu snapped.
"You called Haru-kun a what!?" Ukitsu asked, giving Saji a glare.
"Calling him a monster may have been going too far but the point I was trying to get at is that he isn't human. It's obvious that Haru-kun is something else. Maybe he does have a dragon in him or he's actually a different species altogether. We know next to nothing about him and what's more he has powers beyond any Fighter could ever possess. All I'm saying is Haru-kun is much more than a homeless kid." Saji explained himself.
"It's true that Haru-san is definitely not your average child and I'm not talking about him being homeless either. But calling him a monster is way out of line." Koukin said.
"Look I'm sorry I called him that ok?"
"I still don't forgive you." Hakufu huffed.
"Let's settle this another time. I believe you two said there were people here that can help us find Haru-san?" Gakushuu asked.
"Yeah, these two old people say they know Haru-kun and are able to find him." Hakufu said.
"That sounds way too convenient to me. You sure they ain't just saying shit to lead us to him?" Ukitsu asked.
"I have my suspicions about them too but if we want to find Haru-kun then we should let them help us. But we'll keep an eye on them if they try to pull anything." Ryomou said.
They all nodded and went to where the couple were.
"Ah so I see Haru has made some other friends as well, good to know." Ignir said.
"Oh yes, he has been such a darling child. I wish he would have trusted us a little more and told us he was homeless." Goei said with a sigh.
The others gasped at this since they didn't tell her that Haru was homeless or that he was the Kanto Beast.
"But… how did you know Haru-san was homeless Aunt Goei?" Koukin asked.
"Unlike my daughter I saw all the signs of him being one plus his clothing looked like he was found in a dumpster. The only reason I didn't bring it up was because I could see he was trying so hard to hide it so I thought when he was comfortable enough with us he would say. But anyways, who are your friends Koukin-kun?" Goei asked.
"Oh, there Gakushuu-san, Ryomou-san, Saji-san, and Ukitsu-san. All but Ukitsu-san here goes to Nanyo like me and Hakufu, she goes to Gogun High School."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." They said in unison bowing to them.
"And the same with you… and where is little Haru-kun? I haven't seen or heard from him in the last few days?"
"Um… well… you see… oh screw it, since you know Haru-san is homeless might as well tell the other stuff too." Koukin sighed.
"You sure you want to tell your aunt about Haru-kun's little secret?" Saji asked.
"At this point it may be better to have all those who care for him now and help us look for him." Ukitsu said.
"Look for him… as if he ran away and went missing?!" Goei gasped.
"Something along the lines of that."
So they told her everything from how each of them meet Haru to them being surrounded by a gang of Rakuyo thugs and to the fact that Haru is the Kanto Beast.
"Oh my… I would have never guessed that Haru-kun was that killer… are you completely sure he is the Kanto Beast?" Goei asked.
"Believe us when we say that Haru-san is in fact the killer. He displays everything that matches the other attack scenes from the past. But none of us believe he is one by choice. Ryomou-san here has raised a theory that Haru-san may have a Dragon Spirit within him. Which would make sense considering what the spirit does to a person." Gakushuu said.
"But there are things that don't add up like his physical features change and the power he wielded was unlike anything we've seen. It is as though he is something beyond human." Saji said.
"And you are correct, Saji." Ignir said.
"Wait… do you mean that you know what Haru-san is?" Koukin asked.
"Yes but tell us what you know of him first." Laufey asked.
"Well, we know now that he is homeless and he is an orphan." Ryomou started.
"He has developed a great liking for sweets." Gakushuu said.
"He looks about 13 or 14 years old and has uncommon features such as his hair color and eyes." Ukitsu said next.
"He has a shy and awkward personality with a bit of a speech problem and is a Tinkerer." Koukin said.
"But most of all he is a sweet, kind hearted, and very nice person who cares for his friends and goes to great lengths to make sure they are safe. A total opposite to the Kanto Beast." Hakufu finished.
The two old couples looked at each other before looking back at the group.
"I see… it seems you know just the tip of the iceberg of what Haru really is. You say he looks around 13 to 14 years old but have any of you bothered to know how old he really is, when his birthday is, or where he came from?" Laufey asked with a bit of a serious tune to her voice.
They shook their heads.
"We… were actually hoping when we found him, we would spend time with him and get to know him better." Ukitsu said.
"And did you say that he may have a Dragon Spirit within him? Do you mean like the Dragons of Haou?" Ignir asked.
"You know about them?" Goei asked.
"You can say we are quite familiar with anything that surrounds anything to do with dragons."
"Do you mean like experts?" Saji asked.
"That and more. But I believe we still have a task to do." Laufey said.
"Oh yeah, you guys said you can find Haru-kun right?" Hakufu asked.
"Indeed we can, do you have anything that belongs to the child?"
"His satchel, I'll get it." Koukin left the room to get the bag.
"So if you had the means to find him, why couldn't you do it in the first place?" Saji asked.
"We have the ability, yes but lack both the opportunity and means to do it. As we stated before, we thought he died years ago. It was only recently that we found clues that made us believe he was still alive. How was still a mystery to us but at the time we didn't care, all that mattered was finding him." Ignir said.
"You must really care for him, are you two by any chance related to him?" Goei asked.
"By blood no. We are bonded by brotherhood and ties with his family."
"His family? So does that mean…?" Both shook their heads.
"I'm… afraid they are all gone. He is the last remaining member of his entire clan." Laufey whispered with some tears in her eyes.
"What… happen to them?" Hakufu asked.
"I believe that question should be held until Haru is found. He needs to know the truth more than anyone else here." Ignir said.
"Here's his satchel." Koukin handed the bag to them.
The two examine the bag closely.
"Yes… it has his scent and aura, this will do perfectly." The others just looked at each other not knowing what they meant.
"Did she say… his scent and aura?" Ukitsu whispered to the others.
"Yes I did." Laufey said.
"Whoa, how'd you hear that?" Hakufu asked in surprise.
"Oh there's much about us that you can't even begin to imagine." Ignir laughed softly.
Laufey placed the bag in front of her and pulled out what looked to be an old but unusual looking compass. Closing her eyes and calmly breathing in and out before opening her eyes again which revealed they have changed. They were like cat eyes with a black slit in the middle of her crystal blue eyes. The group all gasped at her eyes and a little scared as well. Then she began to speak.
"Ini shio wer atonus breaths, majak udoka guidance ekess batobot svaust ui woari ekess udoka trelk ekess hesi hearts vur lead udoka ekess wer vrak di wer loex clan." She spoke in a language that none of them could understand.
(Translation: By all the elemental breaths, give us guidance to those who are lost to us close to our hearts and lead us to the child of the dead clan.)
"What language is she speaking in?" Ryomou asked Ignir.
"Our native tongue and depending on how things go, we may teach you this and much more only if you deem fit to be Haru's true one's." He said.
Before anyone could ask what Ignir meant both the bag and compass clued orange as they saw some sort of energy flowing from the bag to the compass. It lasted only a moment or so before the color died down. She blinked her eyes and they returned to their human form.
"There we go." She sighed.
"Um, what did you do?" Hakufu asked.
"It's a tracking spell. This will help us find Haru." She said.
"Tracking spell? Who the hell are you guys?" Saji asked.
Saji was whacked on the head by Laufey's cane.
"Have some manners when you speak to your elder's boy!" Laufey snapped at him.
"Now don't be so hostile to them Laufey dear, they just don't unders—"
WHAM!
But Ignir was silenced as Laufey smacked him on the head with her cane.
"What have I told you about calling me that you idiot!"
"To not call you dear." He said, holding his head in pain.
"And yet all these years you still call me that, when are you ever going to learn? Why do I even put up with you?"
"Cause you love me?"
"… a good enough reason I guess. But besides that, now we can find him and end this search."
With a greater hope and enthusiasm to find Haru the group plus Goei and the old couple left to find Haru at last.