Chapter Nineteen

Ryou’s POV

I grinned at Masato. “Let’s go”

That’s the last thing I remember.

Masato’s POV

I blinked as a rock slammed into Ryou’s head.

Mugoi! Shit!

I turned, and saw three men, facing me and Yuki. They had to be Ningenbanare or Tenma, to be able to knock Ryou out with a rock from that distance. They were suppressing their ki, so I couldn’t tell how strong they were. I growled, and started morphing into my Tenma form.

That was when they stopped suppressing their ki.

The sheer force of it disrupted the concentration I needed to morph, knocking me back into human form. Panic surged through me, and I fought to control it.

There’s no way me and Yuki can beat them.

Ryou…Forgive us.

I turned and ran, hard. Yuki followed after about two seconds.

By the time we found Shigehito and the others, it was already morning. Emi was the first one to ask the question I

dreaded.

“Where’s Ryou?”

Ryou’s POV

“Ugh….”

The back of my head was extremely tender. And my shoulders hurt from supporting my weight.

Wait…What?

I opened my eyes. I was in a stone room. My arms were stretched out, on either side of me, with my wrists strapped into iron rings. My legs were chained to another iron ring near the floor. My entire body weight was being supported by my shoulders.

What the hell happened?

Then I remembered. I’d been grinning at Masato. I said something….And then I got hit in the back of the head.

Where’s Masato and Yuki?

“So, you’re finally awake.”

I looked up, and saw a tall man, with somehow, snakelike features.

Orochimaru wannabe?

“You are an interesting boy. Only a human, but you managed to break out the only two high-security prisoners in

my jailhouse. And the devices you had strapped to your wrists…I’ve never seen anything like them. Did you make them yourself?”

I didn’t say anything, choosing to look around. It looked like I was in one of the cells in the jailhouse I’d broken Masato and Yuki out from.

The man chuckled. I decided right then that I didn’t like him. The way he chuckled was scary. It promised pain and trauma, hundreds of times worse than death.

“It’s fine if you don’t answer me. Soon, you’ll be obeying my every whim.”

I snorted. “In your dreams, maybe. I’m too damn stubborn to be brainwashed.”

The man grinned, and his pupils changed. The turned yellow, with black slits in the middle. His teeth changed as

well, with two long, slender fangs growing out. I eyed them apprehensively.

Is it my imagination, or are those fangs practically GLISTENING with poison?

The man spoke, his voice a hiss.

“Who ssssaid anything about being brainwassshhhhed?”

The man’s neck elongated, and his head slowly came forward. Restrained as I was, I couldn’t do anything.

But I tried anyway.

I strained against the chains, nearly dislocating my shoulders.

I roared at the man, shouting every obscenity I could think of.

I spat at his face, trying to get his eyes.

And then he bit me on the neck, and my world dissolved into a symphony of agony.

Slowly, I woke up. This time, I felt cold stone on my back.

Confused, I tried to sit up.

And screamed in silent agony as a lance of fire burned through my mind. Slowly, the fire receded. I tried to move again, with the same result. I couldn’t even open my eyes. Every time I tried to move, pain burned through my

mind before I could move.

And then my eyes opened. Problem was, I wasn’t the one that moved them. I couldn’t even move my eyes.

What the hell is going on?

You haven’t noticed yet?

What the-? Who the hell are you?

Your owner.

Owner? Screw you. I belong to NO ONE.

You do now. Watch.

My body stood up, and walked over to a closet. Problem was, I never told my body to do that.

This is messed up.

My body opened the closet, revealing Quicksilver, as well as my knife-launchers. The intruder in my mind made

me strap them on.

What the hell happened to me?

You don’t remember? I bit you, injecting my venom into your body. My venom is special. It won’t kill

you, just take over your mind, and imprinting a version of myself onto your brain. I have access to all your memories as well.

Oh, and by the way, I made you a Ningenbanare.

…Why?

Because, you’re special. No human has ever broken into my jailhouse before. You have a certain

special something. And now it’s mine.

Then I felt an immense pressure forcing me into the back my mind. Before I could react, I blacked out. The last thing I saw, was an open door, and through that door, an innocent child, not more than 5 years old, playing with some toys. My hand raised, and Quicksilver’s blade gleamed.

ONE MONTH LATER

Suki’s POV

I leaned against a tree trunk, looking at the branches and holes that used to be Ryou’s training ground.

FLASHBACK

Koike slammed a nearby tree, nearly breaking it.

“We HAVE to get him back!”

Shigehito sighed.

“Look. We don’t know where he is. He’s only a human. He could be kept in any of the Mugoi bases around

here.”

Masato looked up, his eyes dull.

“Besides, I don’t think we have a chance at rescuing him. The only reason you guys managed to rescue me and

Yuki was because Ryou was human, and his ki couldn’t be sensed. But everyone here is a Ningenbanare, or a

Tenma. And none of us have the power to fight the Mugoi I met. The only ones who DO have that kind of power are too busy fighting somewhere else. They won’t come.”

FLASHBACK OVER

It had been a month since then. I missed him. Our relationship had never gotten beyond a few hugs. We’d never

even kissed. And yet, I missed him. More than anything.

I sighed. There was no use in sitting around depressed like this.

I picked up Shinku, and started another kata. That was all I had time for. Training. I HAD to become stronger. Because the alternative was too terrible to think about.

Ryou.. Stay alive. I’m going to save you.

Chapter Eighteen

I breathed in slowly. I was hiding in an alley, waiting for the attack to start. The jailhouse was only fifty meters away. A year ago, in school, our P.E teacher had made us do a 100 meter sprint, and had timed us. My record was 10.9 seconds. I was faster now, but I still gave myself 7 seconds to get there, to leave myself a margin for error.

Suddenly, I heard a bell ringing frantically. Immediately, every soldier in the area perked up.

“ENEMY SOLDIERS SPOTTED!! ALL AVAILABLE SOLDIERS REPORT TO SECTOR EIGHT!!

NOW!!!”

The soldiers ran immediately. At the same time, the civilians hurried into their houses. Within minutes, the town square was empty, except for the guards at the entrance to the jailhouse. I cursed silently.

Guess it was too much to hope for an unguarded jailhouse.

I picked up a rock, and hurled it at the pair of guards. I missed, of course, but it had the desired effect. The guards looked at me, cursed, and started running toward me. I ducked back into the alley, and waited just inside the entrance. I could hear their footsteps as they got closer.

If they were Ningenbanare or Tenma, they’d have been here by now.

I drew the chisakatana (Author’s note: A chisakatana is a shortened katana. The blade is about two feet long. Wiki it if you like) I’d brought with me. Holding it with my right hand, I slid my foot forward. The first guard rounded the corner. My hand surged forward, and the blade cut through his neck. I stepped around the guard, and swung the sword around, slicing through the second guards’ neck.

I was running before their bodies hit the ground. Suddenly, an arrow thumped into the ground in front of me.

Shit!

I jumped and twisted, firing a knife in the direction the arrow came from. I heard a cry of pain, followed by a thud. I glanced over, and saw a body lying on the ground.

I’ve killed four now.

And then I was in the jailhouse. As I ran down a corridor, a guard stepped out, his sword drawn. He swung at me, but the corridor was narrow, and he hit the wall, knocking himself off balance. I easily dodged the sword, slammed him against the wall, and pressed the chisakatana to his neck.

“Where are the two Ningenbanare who were captured?”

He spat at me. In one quick movement, I pulled out a throwing knife, and held it between his legs. He paled visibly.

“I’ll ask again. Where are the Ningenbanare that were captured?”

He gulped.

“C-cell 18, third corridor on the right.”

“Thank you. Sorry about this. I’ll make this as painless as I can.”

I cut his neck open with the chisakatana, and replaced the throwing knife. I closed my eyes, battling the feelings

of guilt.

I can feel guilty after this.

I felt a breeze brush past my face, and opened my eyes in time to get punched in the chest. I flew backwards, but

as I flew, I launched a throwing knife in the direction the punch came from.. I landed hard, and rolled to my feet. I looked up in time to see the shocked face of a man wearing the clothes and armor of a Mugoi. The throwing knife had stabbed into his neck. He collapsed in front of me. I ran past the body, reloading as I went.

That’s six.

As I was running, another soldier stepped into the corridor. Before I could react, he grabbed my neck and slammed me into the wall. Instinctively, I used a scissors block, trying to break his arm. He didn’t even blink.

“Well, well. What do we have here? A little human, trying to break out his buddies, eh?”

I was starting to lose consciousness. I reached out my hand, trying to grab his neck. He laughed.

“You can’t choke me, little human.”

Choke on THIS

I flicked my wrist, and a knife slammed into the soldiers’ neck. As he fell, I heard a jangling sound. There were a bunch of keys on his belt. After reloading, I grabbed the keys and rushed to the cell. Masato and Yuki were there, with strange-looking handcuffs on their wrists. Other than a few bruises, they were unhurt.

“Ryou? But… The attack was only a short while ago. We heard the bell. How’d you get here so fast?”

“The attack was a diversion” I said curtly. I got the cell door open, and tossed the keys to Masato. Then I turned to cover the corridor, in case any soldiers came by. In a minute, they were free of their cuffs. As we ran out of the jailhouse, Masato and Yuki grabbed swords from the dead soldiers. Once we were in the open, Masato threw me over his shoulder, and took off, with Yuki close behind. In half a minute, we’d cleared the town walls.

“OI!! Hold up a second! I have to signal the others!”

He set me down, and I dug a small ball of tar from my pocket. I tossed it to Masato.

“When I light the fuse, toss it into the air.”

He nodded, and I pulled out a tinderbox, lighting the fuse quickly. With a flick of his wrist, Masato sent the ball

sailing high over the town. About halfway through its ascent, the ball of tar caught on fire.

“Now we can go.”

Chapter Seventeen

It was afternoon. We had about eight hours until we attacked. That gave me maybe seven and a half hours to prepare, and infiltrate the base. At the moment, I was working on something that might increase my chances of surviving through this.

Necessity is the mother of ingenuity

I’d taken a hollow wooden tube, and cut a hole on each side, then I’d gotten one of the Ningenbanare to twist a stiff iron rod into a spring for me. With that done, I fit the spring inside the tube, and placed a shorter iron rod through it. Then I placed a throwing knife inside the tube, pulled back the spring, and let fly. At first, the knife was easily dodged by the Ningenbanare, but then I got an even stiffer rod for my spring. Now I had a good chance of hitting a Ningenbanare inside of ten meters, even with the blunt wooden sticks I used to experiment with. Using a proper weighted throwing knife, I could expect my new weapon to hit Ningenbanare up to twenty meters. Probably more, if they didn’t know they were being shot at.

I made a duplicate device, and fit them to the inside of my wrists. At the same time, Koike helped me design a trigger device that allowed me to fire by flicking my wrists. This let me keep my hands free while firing. In the end, I decided to drop most of my concealed knives so I could pack in the smaller throwing knives that were the ammunition for my weapons. The only melee weapons I was bringing was a short katana, that I could carry openly without attracting suspicion, and Quicksilver. If worse came to worse, I could always use the throwing knives as makeshift melee weapons.

I learned from Shigehito that the human form of both Tenma and Ningenbanare was exactly that. Human. Their body structure was exactly the same as a normal human, just that they were much faster and stronger. But that didn’t bother me. I didn’t plan on engaging any of them in actual combat. I spent the rest of the time meditating.

Before I left, Miharu stopped me.

“Here.” She gave me a small bag. I opened it to see four pills, one red, one blue, one yellow, and one black.

“These pills will boost your speed, strength and stamina, but at a cost. The more strength you use, the more strain you put on your body.”

“Take the blue one first, then, if it isn’t enough, use the yellow one. If the situation is hopeless, take the red one to push your body past your human limit.”

“What about the black one?”

“If you take that, you’ll have incredible power, but there’s a ninety percent chance you’ll die.”

I nodded. “Thank you. I’ll remember that.”

I nodded to Koike, and gave Emi and Asuka a hug. Finally, I turned to Suki. She hugged me fiercely.

“Don’t you dare die on me.” She whispered into my ear.

I grinned at her. “Don’t worry. I’m too stubborn to die. You better not die as well, ya hear?”

With half an hour until the attack, I walked into the base.

I got tagged, so.........

1. Favourite spot to make out with dream guy/girl
EVERYWHERE!!!! Hahahahahahahaha…

2. Have u kissed urself in front of a mirror? Be honest...
Nope.

9. Favourite method to release stress/ anger
punching walls. Good training for the hands. XD

10. How many seeds are there in d last orange u ate?
um……eight. I think.

Chapter Sixteen

It was dawn when we reached the base where Yuki and Masato were being held. On the way, we met up with a squad of fifteen Ningenbanare, and five Tenma. I did a quick mental tally. We had twenty-three Ningenbanare of varying levels of development, six Tenma, and one human. Koike and the other new Ningenbanare were increasing in power every minute. Already, their stamina far surpassed mine. Their development rate surprised me. Shigehito had said it took up to two years for a Ningenbanare to reach full maturity. If what he said was true, in our spars, he’d been holding back on me far more than I’d thought.

I’d watched Koike carefully. He seemed well in control of his new strength. The others were the same. I theorized that whatever was in Tenma blood that made the physical change, also affected some mental changes to cope.

Maybe the Mugoi have found whatever chemical in Tenma blood that is in charge of this growth, and gave it to their Ningenbanare in concentrated doses..

We were camped behind a hill from the enemy base. Miharu had set up a few wards that she claimed would keep our ki from being sensed. Since the Mugoi were simply occupying a town, there were human traders going to and from the base. It had been simple for me to disguise myself as a trader, and sneak into the town. I’d memorized the layout, and the positions of the guard towers. Now, I was sketching a basic map onto the ground in front of me.

The layout of the town was simple. It had a roughly square shape, with walls on each side. There was a guard tower at each corner, plus two more beside the main entrance. The jailhouse, were Masato and Yuki were kept, was in the centre of the town, where it was easily defended. When I was done sketching, I outlined my plan.

“I overheard one of the guards saying they plan to move Yuki and Masato at first light tomorrow. During and after the journey, they’ll be under constant and heavy guard. Therefore, our best chance will be at night, when they are preparing for the journey.”

I pointed at the corner furthest from the centre.

“I propose that we send a small squad of men to attack, and create a diversion, at this corner. Nothing much, just enough for the Mugoi soldiers there to call for backup. When that is done, they should circle back to meet us.

When the Mugoi send more men to this corner, they’ll weaken the guard at the center. When that happens, we should spring a surprise attack on the jailhouse. We are not there to defeat them, just to break out Yuki and Masato, then run. It shouldn’t take long at all.”

Shigehito thought for awhile.

“Good plan, except for one thing. They’ll sense our ki the moment we get too close. We won’t be able to draw them out like that. They’ll just run back when they sense our ki.”

I put my hand to my chin.

Damn. Didn’t think of that. There is still a way though.

“Can anyone here suppress their ki? Or is that possible?”

This time, it was Miharu.

“It’s possible, but no one here has the control necessary to keep their ki suppressed while fighting.”

Okay, plan B.

“In that case, all of you attack from as many directions as possible, and make as much of a diversion as possible.

I’ll slip in and break Yuki and Masato out.”

“Not possible!” barked Shigehito.

“Why not?”

“You’re no match for the non-humans!”

I looked Shigehito straight in the eye. “That’s true, in a fair fight.”

He froze for a minute. “You’re not implying what I think you’re implying.”

I shrugged. “I’m going to be a killer anyway. In fact, I already am.”

Koike, Asuka, and Emi had been following the exchange with confused expressions. When I spoke, their faces registered shock.

I spoke to them. “We’ll have to kill sooner or later. And I can’t knock them out. Not at my current level. I have to go for the kill.”

Shigehito nodded curtly.

“How do you want to do this?”

“I’ll sneak into their base again, and wait near the centre of town. When you commence the attack, I’ll wait for

the guards to run towards the fighting, then I’ll get into the jailhouse, get Yuki and Masato, and run like hell.”

“That’s as good a plan as any.”

“I’m going to need more knives.”

One of the Ningenbanare we’d met smirked. “That’s one thing we don’t have a lack of.”

He took of a large roll of leather, and unfurled it on the ground, revealing hundreds of knives, of varying sizes.

I smiled, and set to work, trying to conceal as many blades as I could into my clothes.

It was going to be a long, bloody night.

Chapter Fifteen

Ryou’s POV

The four of us, Koike, Emi, Asuka and I sat around a campfire. It had been a week since we got our Fumetsu weapons, and defeated three Ningenbanare. But the mood was solemn.

“Do we really want to become part Tenma?”

Emi voiced the thought that had gone through all our heads. Koike nodded, and spoke thoughtfully.

“Well, we’re going to be fighting Tenma and Ningenbanare. At our current level, we’ll be easily killed. So far, we’ve been lucky. We haven’t had to fight any fully developed Ningenbanare. The only way for us to survive now is to become Ningenbanare ourselves.”

This time Asuka spoke up.

“But how will this affect us? If we become Ningenbanare, will it affect our personalities? What will happen when we go home? Is it even possible for Ningenbanare to exist in our dimension?”

I sat quietly, and listened to the others talking. While I was hesitant to become Ningenbanare, that wasn’t my main problem. I’d been training for years to make myself as strong as I could be. I didn’t take steroids, or those testosterone boosters like some of the other guys in my class at Fujiwara-sensei’s dojo. I was committed to seeing just how strong I could get. Though I was only in the advanced class, on a good day, I could hold my own against some of the expert class members. Koike was at my level, but now he’d surpassed me. Emi, too, had surpassed me. Granted, they both used weapons, but I’d seen Fujiwara-sensei take down ten armed expert class members. I wanted to get to that level. But if I turned Ningenbanare, I’d never find out just how good I could be as a human.

I sighed.

I need to think more.

Koike threw water on the fire, startling me. I’d been thinking so hard that I hadn’t noticed when they’d finished talking. I chided myself for letting down my guard. At the same time, I wondered what they’d decided on.

Shigehito walked by.

“Have you decided?”

Koike nodded. “We’ll do it.”

Well, there’s my answer.

Shigehito glanced at Emi and Asuka. They both nodded. He looked at me.

“I’m not sure.”

He nodded. “Take your time.”

To the others, he said “I’ll inform Yuki and Masato when they get back. We’ll set a date for the transformation then. For now, try and get some sleep.”

I sighed.

I’ll decide soon.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

The next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake by Suki.

“Ryou! Wake up! We’re moving out.”

I shook my head groggily. It was still dark.

“What’s going on?”

“Miharu just got back. Yuki and Masato have been captured! We’re going to get them back.”

I looked around, and saw Miharu sitting to the side. Blood was splattered on her face, and her clothes were torn,

though I didn’t see any wounds. She must’ve healed herself.

Hurriedly, I strapped Quicksilver on, and tightened the harness around my waist. Shigehito came walking up, his

face grim. Beside him was a man I didn’t recognize.

“We’re moving things a bit forward. We’re doing the transformations now. Everyone, step up.”

Everyone except me took a step towards Shigehito. He nodded.

“Good. Now, come to me one by one.”

Koike went to Shigehito, who took his hand, and with a fluid motion, cut his palm. The man beside him cut his own palm as well. Shigehito pressed their palms together, and held it for about half a minute. I noticed that no blood spilled onto the ground.

That man must be a Tenma, and Shigehito is infusing his blood into Koike.

Shigehito released Koike, who stumbled back. Miharu caught him, and healed his palm before guiding him to a

sitting position. And just like that, it was over.

Shigehito gestured for the next one, and repeated the process.

I walked over to Koike, who had a dazed expression on his face.

“How does it feel?”

He shook his head.

“Weird. I can’t explain it. But,” he held his hand in front of his face. “I can feel the power pulsing through my

body. I don’t feel any stronger as of yet, but, I can feel the change. It’s slow, but it’s definitely happening.”

When they were done, Shigehito glanced at me. I stood up.

“I’ll do it.”

He smiled.

“Why the change of mind?”

“If Yuki and Masato have been captured, they’ll be heavily guarded. We’ll need all the fighting strength we can

get to break them out.”

The Tenma shook his head.

“No. Your intentions are noble, but I’ll not allow you to change now, to rescue your friends, only to regret it later.

I’ve seen too many Ningenbanare kill themselves because they couldn’t stand the fact that they’d lost their

humanity.”

I gritted my teeth, but before I could say anything, Shigehito cut in.

“You can do the change after we rescue Yuki and Masato. Speaking of fighting strength, we’ll be meeting up with reinforcements on the way to the Mugoi base.”

“How do you know which base they’re in?”

“There’s only one base big enough to hold two Ningenbanare as strong as Yuki and Masato. But we have to

move fast. The Mugoi will be moving them to an even stronger base soon, and then we’ll have lost them forever.”

As the words sank in, everyone started moving faster. Soon, we were running through the forest, following Shigehito. In spite of the situation, I felt a sense of exhilaration as I ran. It was dark, but the training Shigehito gave me was paying off. I jumped over fallen branches, rebounded off trees, dodged hanging tree limbs, without slowing down. It was amazing. I noted that the others were keeping up as well as I was, though some of them were stumbling a little. It felt almost primal, running through the forest together, the only sound being the wind in my ears.

Is this how wolves feel when on the hunt?

I grinned.

The Mugoi who were holding Yuki and Masato captive, were in for one hell of a surprise.

Chapter Fourteen

The next day, as I ate breakfast with the others, Shigehito and Suki walked up and passed a packet of food to each of us. I blinked.

“We’re going to my ancestral home.” said Suki. “It’s not far from here, and I got permission from Yuki. Shigehito’s coming with us. Yuki, Miharu and Masato have to report to the resistance anyway, so this is a good time to kill two birds with one stone.”

I spoke up. “No offense, Suki, but I was under the impression that training us was kinda important. Why’re we going to your home?”

“Well, in my ancestral home, there’s a vault that only a member of my family can open. Inside, there is a collection of Fumetsu weapons.”

Fumetsu? Doesn't that mean, indestructible? Indestructible weapons?

Koike asked the question before I could. “Fumetsu weapons? Why would we need indestructible weapons? Our own weapons have served well enough.”

“Yea, and I don’t even use weapons.” I said.

Shigehito spoke up. “Fumetsu weapons are incredibly old. All of them were forged from an unknown metal over a thousand years ago. Most of them have been lost. There are only a handful left, and they are prized above all else. They are valuable, because in a fight between two fully developed Ningenbanare, or a fight between strong Tenma, only Fumetsu weapons can withstand the force. Ordinary weapons will shatter. Because of this, the Fumetsu weapons in Suki’s home are extremely valuable. The only reason we’ve waited for so long to take them was because there was no way the weapons could be stolen. Not from that vault.”

With that, he turned and walked away. We filled our water canteens, and hurried to catch up. Walking beside

Suki, I asked her. “Why does your home have Fumetsu weapons? From the way Shigehito was speaking, they seem quite rare.”

She smiled sadly. “My clan, was one of the greatest clans in this land. We were famous for our fighting strength and for our skill at weapon forging. The lands you see around you used to be under the rule of my family. We were responsible for its protection, and we protected it well. Under our rule, the land prospered.”

“What happened?”

Her smile faded. “The Mugoi came. My entire clan rode out to meet them in battle. As the youngest child in my clan, I was left behind. My brother, only two years older than me, rode out with the others. My clan, along with the other ruling clans from the other states, faced them on the battlefield. However, our forces were composed mainly of humans, and a few Ningenbanare. Their forces were almost completely Tenma. Even though we outnumbered them, we were slaughtered. As far as I know, I am the last of my clan.”

I didn’t know what to say. In the end, I just put my hand on her shoulder, and whispered. “I’m sorry.”

She squeezed my hand, and continued her story.

“Yuki was the one who came to my home, and asked me to join the resistance. The family vault will only open to those of my family that are above sixteen years of age. At the time, I was only fifteen. Thankfully, before my mother rode out to war, she opened the vault, and gave me a scroll. Inside the scroll, was everything I needed to continue my training by myself. But now, I’ve learned everything I could from that scroll. And I just passed my sixteenth birthday. It is time to continue my training.”

“So, it’s not just weapons inside that vault?”

“No. There are also scrolls, written by the members of my family. In those scrolls, are the techniques and katas of every martial art practiced by the members of my clan.. From unarmed fighting styles to weapons styles, everything is there. My clan used to pride itself on the varied styles in the clan. We used to have annual tournaments. Poor uncle Genryu always said he’d win the tournament, but he never did.”

I could hear the amusement in her voice.

‘What style did he practice?”

She actually giggled a little.

“Drunken Fist. But since alcohol is prohibited to all the participants of the tournament…”

I blinked, and chuckled.

“Poor guy.”

After an hour of brisk walking, we’d came to a hill. Shigehito turned to Suki. She walked forward a little.

“My clan estate is just over this hill.”

She walked forward. I started to follow her, but Shigehito stopped me. I looked at him quizzically.

“This is her first time home in a year. Give her some time to remember her family.”

I watched as she climbed the hill. At the top, she stopped, and stood there a while. Then she suddenly ran forward.

“Suki? Suki!” I called after her. Shigehito let me go, and I ran after her. I was vaguely aware of the others following me.

We reached the top of the hill. I froze in shock.

I guess, news about the vault of Fumetsu weapons got out, and reached the wrong ears.

The only word that could describe it was destruction. Someone had been here, probably the Mugoi, and they hadn’t given up on the Fumetsu weapons easily. From the debris lying around, I guessed that a pretty big house had once stood there. There was nothing left, however. It looked like the Mugoi had torn the house apart, then set fire to it. The only thing left standing was a small shrine in the center of all the debris and ash. I spotted Suki kneeling among the ashes, near a burned out tree trunk that must’ve been huge before it burned. I stopped a few steps from her. I could see her shoulders shaking, even though there was no sound. Not knowing what else to do, I reached out, and pulled her close to me. She resisted for a minute, then turned and buried her face in my chest. I stroked her hair, and whispered reassuringly in her ear. Emi came over. Emi and Suki had gotten pretty close lately. Emi leaned in and hugged Suki too. We stayed like that for awhile. Then Suki whispered “Thank you.” and pushed us away gently.

She stood up, and gestured toward the shrine. “The entrance to the vault is that way.”

As we went closer, I saw that I was wrong. It wasn’t a shrine. Or, at least, it wasn’t a statue of a god in there. It was a statue of a man, a katana in one hand, and a blacksmiths hammer in the other.

At the statue, Suki bowed once, then pulled her sword out, and cut her palm. She walked forward, and let the blood drip onto the base of the statue. The statue rumbled, then a trapdoor opened, revealing a staircase inside. Asuka quickly stopped the bleeding with some herbs. Suki nodded her thanks, and continued inside. We followed her, and found ourselves in a large room, with racks of weapons on one side, and shelves of scrolls on the other. Shigehito was the last to come in. He closed the trapdoor behind him. Suki turned around, and smiled slightly, though it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Please, choose whatever weapon you want.” Then she went towards the shelves.

Hino smiled, and made a beeline for the weapons racks. After a while, the others followed, except Asuka. She looked at me. I sighed.

“Keep Suki company for me, would ya?”

She smiled. “Sure”

I gestured at the door. “Shigehito and I will make sure we don’t get unwanted visitors.”

I leaned against the wall, and closed my eyes. “You should go pick out a weapon for yourself.”

I sighed. “We’ve gone over this. You don’t use a weapon, and neither will I.”

“As it is now, you are far weaker than Koike and Emi. You need a weapon. Or at least something that will let you block blades without getting cut. Go take a look around. Maybe you’ll find something you like.”

I sighed again. “Fine, fine.”

I walked among the weapons racks, and I saw many weapons, but I saw none that would suit me. Then I turned a corner, and right there, in an alcove, was a weapon that was unique. It was made of six parts. There were a pair of gauntlets that were meant to cover the forearms, and they had a piece of metal that was designed to cover the back of the hand, and could slide back into the main body to provide better flexibility of the wrist. There were also a pair of shin guards, with a similar design, so they could cover my feet and toes without obstructing my movements. Finally, there were a pair of what can only be called knuckleblades. They were similar to the spiked knuckles I had at home, but there was a long, dangerous looking blade extending from one end. The blade was about the length of a dagger. Each knuckleblade had straps that kept the knuckleblades wrapped securely in my palms, so I could open and close my hands. Also, there was a harness that was designed to hold the knuckleblades. The metal was polished, with silver highlights. It was an elegant and dangerous looking weapon.

Nice.

A crash sounded, in the direction of the entrance. Shigehito bellowed. “We’ve got company!”

I ran towards the entrance. By the time I’d got there, the others were already there. I hadn’t realized how far into the vault I’d wandered. I looked around. Suki wasn’t there.

“Where’s Suki?”

Asuka spoke up. “She needs more time to gather the scrolls she needs.” We looked at Shigehito. He nodded grimly.

“Tell her to hurry up.”

“Shigehito, why couldn’t you sense the Mugoi coming?” I asked.

He shook his head. “It seems this chamber blocks my senses.”

“That means they don’t know we’re here, right?”

He shook his head. “I opened the door when the crash sounded. At that moment, I sensed a few Ningenbanare. That means they sensed me, too. Don’t worry though, I only sensed one powerful one. I’ll handle that one, and you guys clean up. There aren’t any Tenma to worry about either.”

I strapped the armor onto my arms and legs. Koike whistled when he saw the armor.

“Damn, man. That looks cool. Not as cool as mine though.” He hefted a pair of nunchaku. It was black, with a golden dragon etched on both sides. Beside him, Ralph held up a pair of elegant swords that, even to my untrained eye, was obviously finely made. Emi held a metallic staff with a white dragon wrapped around it. Hino held a staff that had a blade at each end. Bruno brandished a broadsword that had gold stripes curling around the blade.

We turned at the sound of footsteps. Suki and Asuka rounded a corner, coming from the weapons section of the room.

“I thought you were getting scrolls?”

“We were, but I also had to get this.”

Suki held up the katana she had been carrying. The sheath was crimson, and the handle was a darker red. She unsheathed the blade. It was the same color as the sheath, and beautifully made.

“This, is Shinku. It is a legendary blade. It was last wielded by my great-grandfather, and has only been used when the clan is in great danger.”

The corners of her mouth twitched slightly.

“Being the last of my clan, I think this qualifies as a time of great danger.”

She pointed at Koike. “That, is Kuroi.” She pointed at Ralph. “That, is Futago.” She pointed at Emi. “That, is Shapeshifter. As the name implies, it can turn into any weapon you like, within reason. It can’t turn into a dagger, and it can’t turn into a twenty foot long spear. It is one of the rare Fumetsu weapons that have a special ability. However, no human has been able to control Shapeshifter’s shape. That is why it is normally used by Ningenbanare.”

She pointed at Hino. “That’s Tsuin.” She pointed at Bruno. “That, is Makai.” She turned to me, and paused. She stepped forward, and ran her hand along the armor. “This, is Quicksilver. The last person to use it was my brother.”

I blinked, then started to take it off. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”

She stopped me. “No, it’s fine. I think, if he had known you, he’d have wanted you to have it.”

“Why didn’t he take this with him?”

“I don’t know. I asked him, and he just said that it was not suitable for that particular battle.”

I looked at the armor. “Thank you.”

She smiled, then turned to face the others. “Every weapon here has a name. This, is my family’s vault, and my family’s weapons. Outsiders, are not allowed to use them. But, I think of you as my family now. Please, remember the names of your weapons, and may they keep you safe.”

Another crash sounded from the entrance, this time much closer. Suki drew Shinku. The blade hummed. Shigehito grinned in anticipation of a fight. Koike twirled Kuroi a few times. Emi spun Shapeshifter around her hand. I drew Quicksilver’s knuckleblades out from the harness. I could feel the adrenaline start to flow. Grinning, I started walking towards the entrance. “Let’s go guys” I said.

We opened the trapdoor, and Shigehito leapt out, going straight towards a blond man with a sickle. They started fighting, their every movement a blur. I glanced around, assessing the situation. There were a bunch of men approaching us, weapons drawn. I couldn’t tell which ones were non-human. Then they charged, and the battle began.

Koike’s POV

I twirled Kuroi expertly around my hand as the men charged. Suddenly, the lead guy took a jump, and kicked Ryou in the chest. Ryou managed to block with the armor on his arms, but he was thrown backward.

That’s one Ningenbanare. Ryou should be good enough to handle him.

A man charged, slashing downwards. I blocked with Kuroi’s chain, and kicked him in the groin. As he knelt, agony written on his face, I inspected Kuroi.

“Not even a scratch. Cool.”

I swung Kuroi, and knocked the man out cold. I took up a stance, and waited for the others to come. Another man, with a symbol on his chest, stepped forward, wielding a cutlass. He saluted with the cutlass.

“I am Junta. A Ningenbanare with the Mugoi. I will be your opponent.”

I bowed back. “I am Koike, a human with the resistance.”

The man charged.

He’s not very fast for a Ningenbanare.

Then we clashed.

Emi’s POV

I spun Shapeshifter, and blocked the three men’s attacks with the Wuhua defense skill. I reversed the spin, and knocked their weapons out of their hands.

This is a good staff.

A woman stepped up, also wielding a staff. She smiled at me, and attacked. Instantly, I knew this was a different opponent. She was stronger, faster, and more skilled than the other men.

Ningenbanare.

But she wasn’t that good. I was still holding my own, though some of her blows were getting through.

Time to see how much better I’ve gotten.

Ryou’s POV

I cursed, as I flew backward, and bounced off a wall that hadn’t collapsed. Yet, anyway. I pulled myself to my feet, and faced the man who’d hit me. He, also wore arm and shin guards, though he didn’t have any knuckleblades, and his armor was made of regular iron.

He bowed to me. “I am Kiga, the Kicker. A Ningenbanare with the Mugoi. That armor looks interesting. I’ll take it after I’m done with you.”

I grinned at him. “Awfully cocky, aren’t ya?” I tucked the knuckleblades into the harness. ‘If you aren’t using weapons, neither will I. Bring it.”

He smiled, and attacked, his legs a blur. True to his nickname, he attacked with kicks.

Fujiwara Martial Arts is based on Taekwondo. Seems this guy has learned the equivalent of Taekwondo in this dimension.

I blocked his turning kick, but it was a feint. He nailed me with a sidekick, but I managed to block it with my arm guard. Still, it was enough to knock me back a few paces.

This guy must be a new Ningenbanare. And he hasn’t gone through whatever it is that the Mugoi do to make their new Ningenbanares develop quickly.

I called to him. “How come your speed and strength is only slightly better than mine? I thought you Mugoi had something to make a Ningenbanare develop fast?

He smiled. “We do, but I refused to take it. My friends refused too. We prefer to be able to control our power. Our squad only has one fully-developed Ningenbanare, and three other new Ningenbanare, including me. The rest are humans waiting their turn to become Ningenbanare.”

My lip curled. “You mean those humans are willing to kill others, just for the sake of power?!”

He smiled again. “Yes.”

I’m gonna wipe that smile off his face, then I’m going to beat the hell out of those human soldiers!

“One more question.” I said.

“Yes?”

I waved my hand at the debris around me. “Are you the ones responsible for this?”

He smiled again. “Yes.”

Okay, now I'm REALLY gonna kick your ass!

I charged, and kicked out with a jumping sidekick. He jumped backwards, and blocked my kick with a raised knee. Then he twisted, and hit me with his other leg. I blocked that one, and we both landed within striking distance of each other. I punched out, but he dodged it, and kneed me in the stomach. I dropped to my knees. I looked up, to see him take a step back. Then he jumped, and did a 360 spin. I watched his foot come down.

I know that move! That’s the Falling Comet Kick!

Shit!

Emi’s POV

I found myself looking in Ryou’s direction just as the guy he was fighting came down with a kick so strong the downdraft kicked up a cloud of dust.

“Ryou!”

The woman attacked, lunging with her staff, like it was a spear. I knocked it aside, and spun in a circle, building momentum, and slamming Shapeshifter onto the woman’s head. She blocked with her staff, but Shapeshifter broke through, and nailed her hard enough to knock her out.

I turned back just in time to see the dust settle, revealing Ryou holding back the man’s leg with one armored arm.

He blocked that kick with just one hand?

It seemed his block was a little slow, however. A trickle of blood dripped down from above his left eye. A

breeze blew by, carrying his words to me.

“This, is for destroying this place!”

He twisted, and punched the man behind his knee. The man cried out, and jumped, bringing down his other leg. Ryou blocked that one too, making the man slam into the ground. Ryou spun in a circle while falling toward the man. Ryou’s arm flung out, and slammed into the man’s gut. Even from here, I could her the air exploding from the man’s mouth. Then the man got his feet between him and Ryou, and sent Ryou flying to slam into a wall.

Ryou’s POV

I gasped as I slammed into a wall. Vaguely, I noted that it was the same wall I’d slammed into the first time the guy sent me flying. I looked up in time to see the guy kick a few rocks at me. They were so fast I couldn’t even see them. The best I could do to block them was to cover my face with my arms. When the barrage stopped, I looked up in tim to see the man’s foot rushing towards me. I rolled away, and the wall behind me took the hit.

With a load groan, the wall toppled.

I sighed. “Haven’t you done enough damage?”

The man stepped forward, leg raised in a hook kick. I twisted, and punched the man behind his knee, putting my waist behind it. This time, my strength, combined with the speed of the man’s kick, was enough to break the knee. The man howled and collapsed.

I sighed. “With a hook kick, you’re supposed to chamber your leg, then sweep out in a hooking motion. Hence the name, hook kick. Not swing you entire leg like it’s a baseball bat or something. Here, let me show you how it’s done.”

I stepped up, and hook kicked the man in the head, knocking him out.

Koike’s POV

Junta thrust forward with the cutlass, nearly stabbing my heart. I turned my body parallel to the blade, and wrapped Kuroi around it. I pulled backward, forcing Junta towards me, and slammed my elbow into his jaw. I spun, and back-kicked him in the gut, making him drop the cutlass. Completing the spin, I brought Kuroi around and hit the man in the temple, knocking him out.

I glanced around, and saw the others finishing up the other soldiers. Shigehito was walking towards us, blood on his right hand. From his triumphant grin, I guessed the blood wasn’t his.

He came up to us, and looked from us to the unconscious and dead bodies. He nodded in approval.

“I think, You’ve gotten almost as good as you’ll ever be. It’s time for you to decide whether you want to be Ningenbanare, or not.”