Romantic Tragedy

The black kunai taunted him as it idly laid dormant in Shinobi’s outstretched hand.

Nobody made a move, even as Shinobi’s tired arm began to shake.

“With these I can save the world, one soul at a time, even yours if it pleases you. Pluck your skin with it, and you can join your friend Saeko Nagata in eternal bliss,” Shinobi said with excitement.

Finally, Xiomazu reached forward, and knocked it out of Shinobi’s hand.

It fell to the ground with the softest noise.

“How…disappointing,” Shinobi then said.

He gave a subtle wave with his wrist, causing the kunai to float back up into his grasp once more.

“My ambition is a world in which nobody has to experience death or loss again. Is that so hard to understand?” Shinobi asked with a tilt of his head, expecting an answer.

“That’s impossible,” Xiomazu simply said.

“In Greek mythology there is a term known as a psychopomp, which is used to describe something or someone that delivers the dead into the afterlife. My kunai are psychopomps, and before a person’s expiration date arrives, I can store their soul safely inside my kunai. Meaning…” Shinobi's words trailed.

“You have Saeko’s soul,” Xiomazu said calmly before Shinobi could finish.

“Then that also means you spared her of the agonoy she would have suffered from her injuries as well.”

“I can grant her a second chance at life, along with everyone that is suffering. Why would anyone ever oppose a free wish?” Shinobi proclaimed.

“He’s lying! That kind of shit is just witchcraft talk!” Donburi shouted back from behind. "Him and his goon Tsunami kill countless in order to take what he wants!"

“I’ll show you, Xion. Take this kunai, and listen to it carefully against your ear. Just exhibit safety, or else you’ll be inside it too,” Shinobi said with a hint of humor.

Xiomazu took the kunai hesitantly, and placed it against his ear.

Then he heard Saeko’s familiar voice shout his name, though faintly.

This caused him to frown.

“My old name, how do you know it?” Xiomazu then asked, returning it.

“Akuma. Is it true that Inari’s trials change the structure of our blood?” Shinobi turned his head to her as he took back Saeko's kunai.

“Yes, master,” she replied back.

“It has been so long since I underwent them myself. I forget things more easily than ever lately, but I digress,” Shinobi said this as he pulled his hood off.

Beneath the hood was a face Xiomazu had only seen through a memory and pictures.

The man’s hair was white as snow, spiked up, and across his face was a black mask that didn’t cover his white eyes. Though his skin had seen age, it hadn’t changed the fact that this man’s face resembled Kitsune’s.

A man regarded as the mysterious Daimyo of Kansasi, who had never appeared to the public aside from one small occasion.

That was who Shinobi was.

“YOU FUCKING TURNCOAT!” Donburi yelled as he charged forward, though Akuma met him, blocking his movement forward.

“OUT OF MY WAY!” he screamed in her face, resorting to a thrusting strike with the tonfa in his right hand.

Akuma quickly deflected this with her own katana, holding the attack at bay.

“Please,” she tried to say.

Donburi reacted by swinging with his left tonfa.

Akuma avoided this altogether by ducking, letting go of the block, and springing back up with an attack of her own that put Donburi on the defense.

Sheru still sat, conflicted at what to do. Just the other day she went diving with Akuma, and now her mentor was fighting her.

Chaos had erupted.

“Now that’s not what I had intended to happen, but I suppose we take what we get sometimes,” Shinobi said out loud as the fighting ensued between Akuma and Donburi.

“Don’t worry, they aren’t fighting to kill each other. Hopefully anyways, though I do expect some bruising may occur.”

“Just like the baseball fights that we saw every now and then, right Xion?”

After storing his pistol, Shinobi reached out, and began to pat Xiomazu’s head.

Xiomazu was just as conflicted as Sheru had been, unable to move himself or his sword.

“May I tell you my story?” Shinobi asked politely.

“A tale of what will be freedom for all.”

“Yeah…sure,” Xiomazu said, not knowing what else to do.

Shinobi took the kunai, and placed it next to Xiomazu’s ear.

He could hear voices coming from it.

There were many, though faint.

They called to him, just as Saeko's voice had.

Suddenly he felt a prick, and before he knew it the tip of the kunai had pressed lightly into Xiomazu’s neck, no harder than a mosquito bite.

Everything went white all at once.

Memories came flooding to him. Memories he had never experienced himself.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------

Growing up, every kid has a hero.

Imaginary friend, a fictional character, or maybe even someone that was real.

This hero was someone that you could always count on to make you smile, because they always had the answer to every solution, even in the cloudiest conundrums.

To a much younger Xion Mizuno, his hero was his father, Wataru.

When Wataru taught Xion how to catch and hit a baseball, it became their niche.

Together they would play outside sometimes when he got home from work, usually later than Xion’s mother, Harumi, would approve of. However, she seemingly always had ice cream waiting for them inside after they were done.

Clearly she was only pretending to be upset.

Once Xion was older, Wataru volunteered to coach baseball for Xion’s school, as he now suddenly had more freetime.

He had worked as an archeologist at a museum, and occasionally ventured throughout Japan, studying its oldest artifacts and locations.

Unfortunately his boss decided to let him go, due to a sited conflict in interest. They wanted Wataru to spend less time coaching, and more time working.

But Wataru valued the time with his son.

Luckily, after just a few months of great feedback from other parents whose kids were coached by Wataru, he was offered a permanent job opportunity to coach, which he gladly took.

This not only kept him close to his son, but allowed him to still support the family.

This continued for a few years until Wataru suddenly got a call from his old boss.

A fragment of the sword of the first Shogun, Yoritomo, had supposedly been found.

Legend had it that his black sword had been broken into pieces after his death, and scattered throughout Japan. It seemed the first piece had finally been uncovered in the city of Kanazawa, inside the region Hokuriku.

Knowing Wataru’s skills, his boss wanted Wataru to be the first one there to identify and claim it for the museum in Kyoto. His boss had also offered a generous payment if Wataru did so.

A payment enough to retire on.

If he got this fragment back, his wife would no longer have to work at Jenki’s hazardous warehouse.

Wataru told his wife Harumi about this offer, and she supported him to do what he desired most.

He packed his bags, and set out on a one day trip. He would be back in time to coach his son’s next baseball game, where they would win the regional school tournament.

The day came, and Wataru arrived at the site with a cloak over his body.

In front of him was a school, now surrounded by hundreds of police.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------

Naoki Wakasa, age 16, was on his way to school, joined by his sister, Yukina, who was just a year younger. Each was dressed in long dark cloaks that concealed most of their bodies, as per the culture of Hokuriku, intended to present everyone as equals. This was an edict issued by the governor of Hokuriku.

This applied to all citizens, aside from when at home.

The siblings had just finished breakfast with their parents, and today was the last day before winter break.

Today was also the day Yukina was going to be asked out after school, as she was told this by a friend who overheard a boy named Satoshi talking with his friends.

However, Yukina had no feelings for Satoshi, so she planned to politely decline.

She had also told her brother, Naoki, about this, so that he wouldn't walk home without her.

School hours had ended, and Naoki had gotten bored after a few minutes of waiting for his sister outside, so he went back in to look for her.

To his surprise, he heard his sister’s scream, and ran in the direction he had heard it.

Again he heard it, only this time closer.

He continued to search until he was finally close enough to hear a commotion from within the nearby girl’s bathroom.

“Yukina!” Naoki shouted inside the entrance.

No response.

“Hello!?”

Again, no reply back.

“I-I’m coming in!” he shouted, making his way into the girl’s bathroom.

In the corner of the marble wall there was an opening that had been carved out, exposing piping and a large hole. Yellow caution tape had been placed around sectioning the area off, but allowing access to the stalls and sinks.

Reconstruction of several areas in the school had begun.

Next to this hole was a bloodsoaked knife, and across some of the stalls were red handprints.

Naoki scrambled to the knife, then looked down into the dark hole.

“YUKINA!!!”

Just then he heard a noise from behind him as one of the stall doors flung open, and Satoshi charged at Naoki from it.

Naoki attempted to reach for the knife, but was shoved before he could, and each of the two boys fell down into the hole together.

It wasn’t much of a fall, only about 5ft.

They landed onto damp mud, and brawled, blindly punching and kicking at each other.

The only light came from above.

Finally after what seemed like hours had gone by, Naoki broke off and gained distance.

He held out his phone to create light, and immediately found his sister’s body on the watery ground next to him.

Naoki lost the will to shout.

“Yuki…”

“I’m sorry…” Satoshi cried, “I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“I…”

“WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!” Naoki shouted, stepped over his sister’s body, and punched Satoshi repeatedly, causing Satoshi to fall to the ground.

Naoki mounted him, and continued to attack until he was exhausted.

“...a gir…girl…told m-mmme Yuki l-liked me…”

“...b-but ssshe didn’t, a-and ssso i-i-i-” Satoshi barely muttered.

“YOU STABBED HER?!”

Naoki spat in Satoshi’s face as he yelled, and creamed him again with another fist.

He got up from Satoshi, and shouted for help.

The hole was too high to climb out of, so there was no escape.

Instead he used his phone to call the police.

He knelt down to his sister, and learned that she was still alive.

While Naoki checked on his sister, Satoshi had struggled back to his feet.

He saw an object glowing in the water, and picked it up.

It took him a minute to take it, as it was stuck in something’s grip.

A hand’s grasp.

There was another body buried down here.

Eventually Satoshi was able to obtain a strange looking shard.

With the shard he would eventually kill Naoki, and flee the scene successfully as the police arrived and pulled him and the unconscious Yukina out of the hole.

He would explain that Naoki had attacked him after learning Satoshi had declined Naoki’s sister’s loving advances. He said that together, both siblings tried to kill him, and he was only defending himself.

While the police closed off the scene and would investigate further, Satoshi was allowed to go home.