Fan Fiction ❯ KamiKai: Search For The KamiKai Orb ❯ Episode One: The KamiKai Orb. Enter Emiko Kiminari ( Chapter 1 )

<A/N: First chapter of the long awaited story, KamiKai! Woot! All characters and such belong to me and are copyrighted. Sorry peeps.>

In a dark room, a place where sound was deceased and the air was so thick with a sense of wickedness, that even the bravest warrior, would fall to his knees in fright. At the far end of the stone room was a large throne. It was gray and its only decoration was the woman sitting in a deftly crossed legged pose on it. The woman was silently cursing herself, angry at her most recent failure.

She smashed her fist against the cold arm of the chair. “This artifact can give me all the power I need to rule this atrocious universe. Yet, I STILL can not find it!” She closed her eyes and gave a deep breath. “Hmm…I suppose I must be a little patient a little longer. My search for this will pay off in the end. And then…Then the universe will finally belong to me…” Her spirits were lifted as an inauspicious laugh began to fill the room, unheard by another soul’s ears…

***

Elsewhere, on a mountain called Takikawa, resided a considerably small building. It looked to be like a normal house, except much longer in length. It was obvious it had been painted several years before. The paint was peeling off and showing the dirty brown of the wood underneath. Although it wasn’t much to look at, what resided inside was what mattered most. Sounds that seemed to be a battle emitted from the structure. A sudden wind blew by, shaking the branches of a nearby Sakura tree.

“Focus Miss Okayama!” A feminine yet acerbic voice called from aside the large concrete platform. The platform was two feet in thickness, and thirty feet in length and width. Along the walls were various weapons and old paintings of battles and geishas. There were broken-in mats with ripped edges and a few windows were plastered along the walls of the facility.

The woman, who so harshly called out, drummed her fingers against one of her arms, which were tightly crossed. Her eyes were arched into a balked expression. She gave a huff and muttered under her breath. “Why do I even bother? Teach them all I know and yet…Okayama! I said look alive!”

The girl who was being called Okayama in such an acrid manner paused for a second to look down at the tall, dark haired woman who was talking so strictly at her. The girl stood fully up and rubbed the back of her head. “What?”

The girl’s opponent, who stood at least 10 feet from her, twitched her eyebrow. “She SAID, pay attention to the fight...” She threw back her curly teal hair over her shoulder. “I still don’t know why I had to fight you Cho, of all people.”

Cho, the one who as being ridiculed left and right, stamped her foot against the concrete tile of the platform in a frustrated manner. Her voice was full of humiliation and her thick country accent. “I yam’ payin’ attention! A-And I can’ fight too!” Cho raised her fists. “Just watch!” Suddenly, a large puff of smoke suddenly appeared where Cho once stood. Her opponent stepped back a bit. Bracing herself for what was to come.

When the smoke cleared, it began to slowly show the figure of a large lizard. Except that this lizard was about eight feet in height and had wings that stretched out across the arena. The tiles that covered the top of the concrete platform began to crack under the weight of the large creature. A gruff snicker came out of the monsters long mouth. “Humph…let’s see how well ya’ll fight now…”

***

“Gahh…Natsume-S ensei’s gonna kill me for being late to the dojo again! I don’t wanna run 100 laps again!” The girl panted as she ran up the paths, which lead to the mountain where the dojo the girl was so worried about being late to. She continued up the path, finally arriving at the mountain. Once there she began to sprint up the rocky terrain, which led to the red dojo.

***

The teal haired girl shook her head. “Just because you’re a giant, unsightly dragon, doesn’t make you any better of a fighter.” The girl put her hands out in front of her and began to sparkle a light blue. “I’ll show you how a true fighter battles.”

Cho, now a dragon as her opponent had pointed out, was getting angrier by the second. She began to swiftly beat her wings up and down, lifting her slightly off the ground. The force of the massive beating of wings suddenly propelled her high above the platform. Her deep brusque voice came booming out from above. “Damn you Michiko! Ya’ll makin’ me angry! You best shaddup!” Cho opened her large jaws to reveal two sharp rows of jagged teeth. Suddenly, in a burst of light, a giant ball of what looked like fire hovered inside her serrated mouth. Cho took a deep breath of air and prepared to release the scorching ball of flame it at her foe.

Still on the concrete stage, the girl who was being called Michiko moved her hands from in front of her and laid them down at her side. A small smug smirk took the place of her emotionless expression. “Still don’t get it do you?” Then, out of thin air, a blue liquid began to swirl around her.

Cho growled at Michiko. She decided that it would be best to attack her, before Michiko had a chance to retaliate. She released the ball of flames toward Michiko, who was continuing to stand her ground, the icy, blue water still swirling around her. As the large, blazing globe came at her, she simply stood up and raised her arms out, sending a wave of the water at the fire. The fire was stopped in its tracks and doused, causing the flame to prove for null. The wave, continued its way upward though, heading toward Cho, who was still hovering in the sky.

Due to her big size, Cho could little do to dodge the wave coming at her. She cursed inwardly as the attack hit her right in the face, knocking her back in the air, causing her to transform back into her more human form. Cho’s back hit the concrete with a thud.

“See?” Michiko bragged as she let the water swirling around her disappear into thin air. “You don’t pay attention. I thought everyone knew that water beats fire.” She giggled daintily.

Cho sat up slowly, using her left arm to raise herself off the ground that now had an imprint of her body from where she had landed. She then took her left hand again and wiped the small trickle of blood coming from her mouth. “It…it ain’t over yet!” She stood up slightly, swaying on her knees. She took a small step forward, paused for a second, and then took another one. Suddenly, another puff of smoke appeared where Cho was standing and Michiko could do nothing but rub her temples in annoyance.

“You know that move won’t work on me, why do you keep doing it?” Michiko looked up to see a now large feline standing where Cho was. Michiko was startled by the creature she transmogrified into, admitting to herself that she was a little surprised. She watched as the giant striped cat began to make a run for her. It lunged at her, and Michiko summoned her water again. Just as she attacked, a sudden slam of an object filled the room, causing both Michiko and Cho to lose their concentration for a second. Thus causing Michiko’s attack to miss, and Cho to hit Michiko at an alarming speed. They both flew out of the large stone fighting ring, and hit the ground, rolling to the far end of the room.

The girl, who was behind the sudden outburst of sound, was a tall girl, panting heavily, both hands on her knees. She had short spiky dark blue hair that was tied into a small ponytail in the back. Three long bangs covered the middle of the forehead, and the girl smoothed the bangs back as she wiped her hand across her head. The bangs fell back into their rightful place as the girl stood fully up, showing her height and build in plain view. “Natsume-Sensei!” She said, trying her best to throw on a giant cute grin. “I’m sorry for being late…again. It’s just I kinda overslept and…” The girl was interrupted by the woman who had been watching the rather boring fight in her opinion. The woman stepped out from aside the ring and walked aggressively up to the blue haired girl, causing the blue haired girl to step back a bit in intimidation..

“Sorry?” The woman called “Natsume-sensei” asked in a condescending manner, although the girl didn’t seem to catch it.

The girl nodded hastily. “Uhh…Yes! Very sorry! I swear it won’t happen again!”

The teacher crossed her arms. “It won’t happen again, it won’t happen again..., Emiko Kaminari! This about the fiftieth time you’ve been late to my Dojo! I don’t even know why I keep you around!” Natsume grabbed the girl named Emiko by the collar and shook her franticly. “What do you think I go through when my students are so poorly trained and undisciplined?! Why, when people look at The Dojo of Yamabushi, they see a dojo full of bright and strong young students! Not slackers like you! I suggest you shape up within the next couple of days, or this year’s mission is going to be off limits for you! You understand me?!”

Emiko focus was blurred and dizzy from the shaking. She still managed to get out an answer. “Y-Yes Natsume-Sensei…” Natsume glared at her, and then let go, letting Emiko fall to the ground. Emiko gave out a small groan as she hit the ground. Natsume began to walk away before pausing to look back at Emiko.

“Oh, and Emiko?”

Emiko looked up at Natsume. “Yes Natsume-Sensei?...”

“Don’t forget to run l00 laps after school again…”

Emiko’s face faulted. ‘Aww Crap…’ “Yes sensei…”

Natsume looked back at Emiko and turned her head back to the concrete platform, and walked atop it, ignoring the two girls fighting next to the fighting arena. Natsume rubbed her temples, as if she had a migraine. “Michiko…Cho…can you two please stop fighting and sit with the rest of the class?”

The rest of the class gave an exasperated sigh in unison. They had been observing Michiko’s and Cho’s fight, not to mention Natsume’s outburst on Emiko’s tardiness in complete silence. Michiko and Cho walked somewhat awkwardly back to where the rest of the class was, and sat down. Emiko also sat down with the rest of her peers, except a little further back.

“Okay students…” Natsume started. “You all know that at the end of this week, this year’s mission is going to start right?” She received a bunch of nods and ‘yes’s.’ “Well, I must tell you, this year’s mission is going to be as bit different…” She could see the confusion in her pupils faces. She sighed and slid strands of unruly hair behind her ear. “Usually, we have the students from each year compete in small task like Fighting tournaments and such, but this year…” She dramatically paused. “This year, we’re going to look for something called the KamiKai orb.”

The room was silent for a few moments before a girl spoke up. She raised her dark skinned hand up high, not waiting for the teacher’s acknowledgement. She had bracelets with spikes decorating her wrist and one silver ring on each of her fingers. “So sensei, sensei, the KamiKai orb? I thought we were doing the same thing as every other year? You know, marital arts tournaments and stuff. What about this year is so special?”

The sensei’s face grew serious. “Ms. Haneda…this year’s class has been one of the best I’ve seen so far. Out of all my time here, I have to say I’m surprised at your ever growing abilities. Even though some of you can still use work, compared to a lot I’ve seen…you girls are the best.”

The girls all blushed slightly. The dark skinned girl raised her hand again. “That’s great and all, but like, what is the KamiKai orb still?” The girl who was sitting next to her elbowed her in the ribs.

“Iwa hush! Natsume-Sensei will get to it eventually!”

Natsume cleared her throat passive aggressively. “If I may continue, The KamiKai orb…The KamiKai orb is an old legend that has been passed down since early Japan. It supposedly is bright, white orb that can give the finder infinite power or allegedly grant the person any wish. Those are just assumptions though; its true power is still unknown. Many still travel the world to look for this artifact. There was one record of a man who supposedly found it, many, many years ago. He sent a letter back to his village after finding it, saying that he would come back to the village first, and share the treasure with them. But he never made it back.” She closed her eyes and put her hand over her heart. “Poor man, he was probably killed for it…but it hasn’t been found since. So I want you all to go out and look for it.”

The class sweatdropped. The man was killed and she wanted them go and look for it? That was practically a death sentence.

Emiko was half asleep for all except the orb part. At the sound of some kind of heinous voyage, Emiko’s dropped eyes shot open again. “What? Really? We get to look for this orb thingy right?” Emiko’s somewhat upset spirits were lifted. Not noticing the annoyed stares she was getting from some of the other students. “That’s so cool! Wait, if one of us finds it, and gets all powerful or a wish or whatever, then won’t it like disappear or something? How will you know if one of finds it or not? And won’t we run into other people who are looking for it too? What if we’re killed?”

The teacher smirked conceitedly a bit. “Don’t worry Emiko; I have thought this through quite a bit. One thing, if you die while on this mission, you will be given a proper warriors burial. If you do find it, before you do anything with it, you will come back to this school, and show it too me. That way, I know who is truly worthy in inheriting the school.” The last comment trailed off. She looked over her shoulder, giving herself a smug grin. 'That should be incentive enough.'

The entire room gave out a flabbergasted gasp. Michiko who was playing with her nails looked up abruptly. “Whoever finds it gets to become headmistress of the dojo? But this is the most prestigious Yamabushi dojo’s in all of Japan! And you’re just giving it away like that?”

Natsume nodded. “Well, perhaps I should have explained that better. I’ve been the headmistress of this school for a long time. I think it’s time this town got someone new to run the school. Since you girls are the best I’ve seen in a long time, I have no doubt in my mind on everyone of you have the ability to run the dojo. Also, you all will be in pairs of two when you look for this, so I suppose there will be two headmistresses, but I’m sure that doesn’t matter too much…” She turned her head to the right and looked out the window at the far end of the room. “So all in all, you will receive the unknown power of the KamiKai orb when you get back, and inherit the school. Wish there was that much incentive when I was younger…”

It took a few seconds for the class to register what she way saying. A girl who was sitting next to Michiko didn’t look up from her cross-legged position. Her arms were crossed and her face was pointed toward the ground. Even though she was taken by surprise, by looking at her face, you couldn’t tell. “So, what you’re saying is we’re going to be in groups of two, while we look for this “orb.” And whichever group that finds it, inherits the school, AND gets to wish, or power of whatever this orb thing does, correct?”

The dark haired woman looked back down at the sitting class gulped a bit at the girls question. It was still slightly hard for her not to be intimidated by that girl’s mature and cold attitude. “Y-yes…correct. Although I will be choosing the pairs for this adventure, that way, you can be paired up in equally balanced groups.” She turned her back to the amazed girls and began to saunter away, her hips shaking side to side. She lifted her hand and gave a small wave, back still to the students. “You all can break for lunch. When you get back, I’ll tell you who you will be paired up with for this task.” She walked and opened a door that had a sign hanging from it that said; ‘Headmistress office’ and went in.

There were a few moments of silence before Cho broke the ice. She sat up from her sitting position, to crouching on her knees. She rested her left arm on her knee. “That there woman is crazy. She’s givin’ up the school fer’ something like that?” Cho scratched the scalp under her untamable violet hair. “Why, anyone can just find it, what if it doesn’t exist or anything? Then all of that serchin’ will be fer’ nothin’.”

A girl who hadn’t spoke up at any point in time that day, stood up and crossed her arms. Her face was in an emotionless expression. She turned her back to the rest of the class, and made her way for the door. Her voice was low and rough. “I doubt sensei would have us look for this “orb” if it wasn’t real. Although for her giving away the school to whoever finds it…” She stopped walking for a second, and gave a cold stare at the Headmistresses door. “Maybe she just can’t handle the school anymore. Her skills have always been…“questionable.” She turned back to the door that lead outside and gave smug scoff. “I would be more suited to become master of this school…Unlike some people…” At the last comment she obviously stared over at Emiko, who caught her abased stare. That being said, she turned back and opened the door, letting in wind that frayed her short, spiky, dark red hair.

The rest of the pupils began to stand up and follow the girl’s actions. Emiko, who was still sitting, face gave an irritated frown. ‘Damn that Seika…thinks she’s so tough.’ Emiko clenched her fist irately for a second, and then let it relax again. ‘Relax Emiko, no need to get all worked up…its lunch, go get something to eat.’ Obeying her conscience, she pushed herself off the floor and stood up. She straightened her white oxford shirt and pulled down her tight, black shirt that lay underneath it. She could hear her stomach rumbling noisily. “Ahh, feels like it’s been years since I’ve eaten. I’ll grab some food, and then go train a bit before coming back.” She put her left hand on her right shoulder and began to move her right arm around in circles. She did this walking out of the dojo and jogged down the paths that lead down the mountain to Emiko’s favorite restaurant.

***

“I’m unsure. Sensei could put us in any group, and you all heard she’ll put us in balanced groups. Most likely we won’t be with someone we would be generally more comfortable with.” The blond girl said. She picked up her chopsticks and brought it down to the small bowl of white rice in front of her. She picked up another clump of rice and put it inside her mouth.

“Kazeee….!” Michiko whined. “I don’t know what I’d do if I’m not with you!” She grabbed the girl by her arm, knocking the rice she had on her chopsticks to fall on her black kimono. “Please ask sensei to let me go with you!”

Kaze face grew red; she tried to keep her usually cool composure, but wasn’t doing to well. “Uh…well, we just have to see who sensei pairs us up with. Not much I can do.” She turned her focus away from the amorous girl to her kimono bottom, which was covered in rice. She began to swipe off the grains. “More important is this orb we’re looking for, most likely it will take us longer than a year to find it. And knowing sensei, she’s going to say if we see someone with it, try to get it from them as best you can.” She rubbed the bottom of her chin. “Infinite power or any wish you could imagine. That would certainly be helpful.”

The other girls nodded in agreement. Michiko’s mind began to wander with all the things she would wish for. “Oooh, any wish would be so worth all that looking! But then you would have to share the wish with your partner wouldn’t you? Well I guess you could just ask for double…”

“Well, there’s nothing that I would really want to wish for, and getting stronger is something I’d rather do on my own. I also couldn’t care less about who I get paired up with, just so long as they don’t get in my way.” A girl commented, watching Kaze continue to strip off the food on her garments. The girl brought her hand up to take another bite of her extra-large humbow, showing off the wrist that had the black bracelet with the spikes decorating the outside of it. She finished off the humbow and began to adjust the headband that had the kanji in dark brown for “Iwa” on it.

“Well, I don’t care who I’m paired up with as long as it’s not that stupid Emiko. I can’t stand being near her here, I could only imagine what it would be like to spend a year alone with her. Let alone run a dojo with her.” Michiko said, finally letting go of Kaze’s arm, and brushing back her long hair.

“Iwa, Michiko, C’mon now, there’s no need to be so harsh. It shouldn’t matter who we’re paired up with right? I mean I’m sure the only reason she’s making all of us look for this together is so we all become stronger mentally and physically. You know,” The girl lifted her hand and began to wag her finger up and down, like a mother lecturing a child. She made sure to lift her voice as she impersonated their mentor. “In order to become a proper fighter, you have to be strong mentally and physically. Knowing your rivals and surroundings can help you even in the dimmest of situations.” She began to giggle and covered her mouth, poorly hiding her laughs. “So I’m sure remembering that will even help us deal with Emiko.”

The rest of the girls sniggered at the girls dead on impression of their sensei. Michiko giggled as she put a hand on the girls shoulder. “Akina, you’re so mean! We really shouldn’t laugh at her behind her back like this.”

She grinned as she put a hand on Michiko’s arm. “Aww, it’s not like she’d ever find out.”

***

“AACHOO!”

E miko rubbed her nose and sniffed confusedly. She never sneezed. She wiped her nose with her arm and went back to her large bowl of rice. It was her third one already. Although she normally she ate a lot, it seemed as if she was eating to escape thinking about something. As long as she concentrated eating her food, she would be okay. She let her chopsticks hit the now empty bowl. They made a loud ‘clink’ and began to swirl halfway around the bowl, before hitting one another and stopping to a halt.

Why did she have to team up with someone for this mission? It would have been so much more fun just to be alone. It’s not like she had anybody who would enjoy being with her for that long, so why even bother? She wasn’t popular at all between her seven other peers. They all thought she was an annoying, immature unintelligent weakling. Although she knew that she could fully well she could take on any of them and hold her own, they all didn’t seem to notice that. She shook her head. No. She would let herself down. The last thing she needed was to let little words like that affect her. She was strong. She’s dealt with things harder than that so why even think about it?

Right…

Emiko took some money out of her pocket and left it on the counter where her three empty bowls were. Reaching for her black gloves with white outlines on the edges, she pulled over her scarred hands. The fingers were cut off at the knuckles. Once they were on she then scooted her legs from under the table, and walked outside. The bright sun made her eyes water, and it took Emiko a few seconds from seeing bright orange blobs to seeing the dense thick, green trees of the forest, and the clear blue sky above her back into their original color.

She began to jog off in no particular direction, trying to exercise off the food she had just eaten. As she tramped along, she couldn’t help but remember the words that Seika has spoken to her not to long before.

“I would be more suited to become master of this school…unlike some people…”

Emiko growled under her breath. Like hell Seika would! She was just as capable and strong as Seika was. Why did Seika have to go and give her the evil eye like that? Emiko knew that with that last comment, Seika was trying to get to her.

It was working too…

Emiko’s feet began to pound the ground faster as she quickened her pace along the dirt path. She stopped suddenly, and skidded in the dust a few inches. In front of her was the girl that she was so bent on destroying right there in her face. She could just skip over there and kick her in the egotistical shin that she detested so much.

Seika was leaned up against a tree, her back against the bark. Her eyes were closed and her arms were crossed. It looked like she was sleeping. In front of her was a cliff that fell of into the local town. You could see the town and the mountains on the edge of the now brightly lit up horizon. The green from the trees in the forest seemed to merge as one, making the small huts and houses look like they were all floating in a sea of green.

Emiko knitted her brows a bit and gave a small scoff. She took a step toward Seika’s direction, and then stopped. The last thing she needed right now was a confrontation, but she would have really liked nothing better than finally putting Seika in her place. Being late to the dojo because of a fight would look bad though. Sensei was angry with her enough; she didn’t want to be late for something this important. Plus, she knew that she would receive ridicule from her so-called partner. Why not get it over with and then just leave afterwards? She hated to jump ship, but what else was there for her to do? If she didn’t leave, her partner would, so why even let it happen to her first?

Emiko turned her back on Seika and ran in the direction of the path that lead to the dojo. There was nothing for her to worry about now; she just had to take the problems as they come. Besides, that’s what she would have to do on the journey right? As long as she kept the journey in mind, she would be fine. She could actually have an excuse for leaving the town, and go explore the world. She hated staying in one place. Now she wasn’t even sure if she would even look for the orb. Seeing what the rest of the world had to offer her was enough, she didn’t need any wish or infinite power. All she needed was herself and her strength, and then everything would be okay.

As Emiko was running off, the red haired girl against the tree twisted her head slightly and watched as she left. She turned her head back to the cliff and looked out into the brightly lit horizon. “Coward…”

***

Behind the dojo, behind the few various training devices was a large Sakura tree. It’s branches reached high upward, almost as if they were reaching to grab a piece of the blue-sky overhead. The petals fell every once in a while, but was no loss to the tree, which was lavish with them.

A girl with long raven hair sat up against it. A large book sprawled in her lap. The shade clouded her facial features, but her face still had a glow all on it’s own. She was so absorbed in the book that she didn’t even notice the person running up to her.

“Heya Nozomi, whacha reading?”

Nozomi was startled and jumped up from her book, causing it to fall from her lap and unto the ground, losing her reading place. She looked down at the book and switched her gaze to the girl standing above her. “Oh, it was just a book I found in the library this morning. How are you doing Cho?” Her voice was full of politeness, and such a gentle softness to it.

Cho stood up to her full height and turned her head back toward the dojo. “Nuthin much, just talkin’ with the rest of the girls bout’ Emiko.”

Nozomi face faulted for a second. But she covered it up with a small smile. “Oh…” She looked down at the grass that rested beneath her legs. She loved the way it felt against her skin. “Why do you all talk about her so much? I can usually overhear your conversations about her, what has she done to deserve such ridicule?”

Cho looked back at Nozomi with a confused expression coating her face. “Beats me. I don’ actually talk to her. I don’ think I ever have.” She scratched the back of her head. “Michiko an’ the rest got a big problem with er’ though. They think she’s just annoyin’.”

Nozomi sighed and fell back against the tree. She looked up at the blue sky. She could see several red and blue birds fly wildly in the sky. She closed her eyes. How she wished she could do the same…

Nozomi opened her eyes again. “Even f she is annoying, that’s no reason for her to be made fun of so much…”

Cho began to play devils advocate. “She’s always late and stuff. It makes the school look bad. Michiko was talkin’ about how she wishes that Emiko could be mor’ like you. Ya’ know, like all classy and stuff. She said that if she just had at least half of the sense you did, she’d be easier to stand. And she-”

Cho was interrupted by Nozomi’s abrupt action of standing up fully on her feet. Nozomi began to pat down her red skirt and picked up her book off the ground. “If you don’t mind Cho, I think I’m going to go inside the dojo now. It’s about time for us to head back correct?”

Cho stuttered for a second and then nodded. “Uh…Oh yeah! It probably is! Betta’ go I guess.” A poof of smoke appeared and Cho was now a large bird. She pushed off on her wings and began to float in the sky. With another beat of her large wings, she set off into the air. Flying over the dojo’s roof and to the other side, she left Nozomi standing by the giant Sakura tree.

Nozomi sighed again with a light annoyance. She didn’t have that much sense. She hated praise. She knew that behind everyone’s admiration, was just a deeper ambition, and that everyone was just trying to get on her good side. No. Not her good side. More accurately her father’s good side.

She began her way to the front entrance of the dojo. “Honestly though…” She said, remembering what Cho had told her. “I’d rather be with Emiko than be with one of those fakers. Even I could probably take them all on.”

***

Emiko got to the dojo just as she saw everyone else begin to walk in. She heaved a giant sigh of relief. ‘At least I’m not late for this, if I was, sensei would probably make me run 100 more laps.’ She wiped the beading sweat on her forehead off on her hand. She walked past the wooden sign that was staked into the dirt, and read; “Dojo Of Yamabushi,”

Emiko pushed open the door and sat down back into her earlier spot. She shuffled her hair and glanced over at the rest of her peers. She could hear a few giggles and whispering remarks. She didn’t bother to even try and decipher what they were saying. Out of her peripheral vision, she could see a girl that almost looked a lot like Natsume. She had long black hair, and didn’t look like too much like a fighter. Emiko had seen her around before, but she never bothered to talk to her. In fact, she was one of the people who didn’t really talk to anybody at all. Emiko assumed that’s why she had never noticed her before.

“I’m glad you all are on time for once.” A voice called out, as a figure stepped from the far edge of the room’s shadow and showed herself in the warm beams of light that came emanating from the windows.

Emiko huffed again. 'Again with the remarks.'

“Okay,” Natsume said as she began to pace back and forth in front of the sitting students. “Figuring out who is going to be with who is a hard task. Therefore I would like you all to come back tomorrow, to see who it will be. This is a hard decision so bear with me.”

The room was filled with a disappointed sigh. The headmistress could hear small comments on how disappointed they were and she slightly cringed. She twirled a strand of hair that had fallen out of place on her shoulder. “Look, all of you leave for the day. Come back at dawn tomorrow. You all are going to leave the subsequent day, so prepare for your trip. I’ll see you all soon.” She turned on her heels and began to walk back toward her office, leaving the girls speechless.

Tapping the brown hardwood floor beneath her, Emiko sighed softly. At least she didn’t have to deal with it today. She stood up and patted her baggy, dark blue pants. Moving her feet barely an inch, she could hear a sharp voice call out after her.

“Oh and Emiko…”

She cursed inwardly. “Yes Natsume-Sensei?”

“Don’t forget those laps you owe me!”

Emiko swore she was trying to rub it in. She growled as the rest of the girls passed hey by giggling. She could just reach out and punch one of them. All except one at least. The girl that Emiko had noticed before glanced at her almost sadly before she went ahead and walked out the door. Emiko watched the girl walk away. She didn’t know who she was, but for some reason…some reason she felt like she wasn’t so bad. Emiko still didn’t know why she hadn’t really noticed her before. She made a mental note to pay more attention in class before turning back to reply to Natsume’s call. “Yes…sensei….”

***

Dark orange clouded the entire sky. Blotches of red and yellow pattered the canvas, making the sky look gloomy and bright at the same time. The air was getting slight more cold too. Emiko could feel the way the wind seemed to wrap her up in its claws as she ran her final lap around the dojo.

Finally.

She passed the front door to the dojo for the hundredth time, and fell to her knees in exhaustion. After all the times she’s ran laps. She didn’t know why it didn’t easier over time. Well, she supposed it did help with training a bit, but she still hated doing them. She looked up at the blanket of sky above her. The green grass and the wind danced with each other, and for a second the entire world had seemed at peace.

Emiko let her back hit the ground and she looked earnestly at the wasteland over her. After a few moments of staring at the sky, Emiko turned on her side and stood up. No use in even remembering something like that.

Just as she stood up, Natsume came out of the large red door. Both jumped back a bit. Natsume gripped at her chest and gave out a small startled cry. “God Emiko, you nearly scared me half to death! What are you still doing here anyway? Aren’t you done with your laps by now?”

Emiko nodded slowly, getting over the initial shock herself. “Yeah, I just finished…Is there anything else you want me to do?”

Natsume stared at her for a moment. “No, everything is okay; just make sure you’re on time tomorrow okay? Now get home, it’s going to be dark soon.”

Emiko nodded again. She turned to move down the paths that lead to the town. This time she wasn’t running. Natsume watched her and after a few seconds called out to her again. “Emiko…Be careful okay?”

Emiko put on a small smile. “Sure thing.” She turned her head again and continued looking forward toward her destination.

***

“It’s so late! Mom and Dad are going to throw a fit!”

A girl sprinted through the forest trees, hoping to reach her home as quickly as she could. She noticed the sky was already turning dark. She insulted herself for not realizing what time it was. It was just that the book was so absorbing, and she wanted nothing more at that moment than to just finish it.

She turned a sharp corner in the dirt, running past a few stone statues and shrines.

She soon began to pass a small house far off into a giant field. It wasn’t much to look at, but had a homey look to it. As if you would feel right at home as soon as you stepped inside. Her feet began to slow down, not because of the house, but because of the four menacing men that were suddenly approaching her. She gave an annoyed sigh and continued to walk up the road. She began to walk past them, attempting not to catch any of the men’s eyes. Nozomi thought she was out of the clearing until one of the men grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around to face him. He put his face up to hers. His breath reeked of sake, and the girl wondered just how much he had.

“Now, now little lady, where you going so fast? Wouldn’t you rather stop and spend some time with me?” The other men behind him began to snicker and whistle.

“Hey,” One of the men called out. “Isn’t that the lord’s daughter?”

“Yeah,” The other man replied. “Think it is.”

It was then when she noticed the man with his arm on her, sake bottle in his other hand. The girl knocked the man’s hand off her shoulder in a hostile manner. “Who I am and where I go is none of your business. And my name isn’t little lady, it’s Nozomi.”

The man recoiled a bit in surprise. “Oohh, the princess is feisty. C’mon boys, why don’t we show her how to relax a bit?” The other men began to laugh lewdly as Nozomi took a few steps back.

Nozomi stepped back into a fighting stance. “Please, I don’t want to have to fight you all.”

“Fight us?” The man’s drunken grin turned into a scowl. “Lady, we’re just tryin’ to be helpful. See, now you’re getting us all mad…” His large hand formed into a fist.

Nozomi sighed and mentally kicked herself for not leaving when it was still light outside. She drew back a hand and suddenly, a dark light began to form around her hands. In a flash, a large violet bow and arrow appeared in her hands. The tip of the arrow was pointed right at the frozen man’s heart.

After a few moments, the man began to snicker softly. “Why, that’s quite a trick you got there. For a moment there, I thought you would really teach me a lesson.” He moved toward the stunned Nozomi, his friends following close behind.

***

Emiko could hear the cicada’s sonata. It was as if they were singing their heart out, so the plants all the way to the cark clouds in the night sky could hear them. Emiko was walking at a slower pace that usual. She always ran home after staying out late due to her either training in the grassy fields, or grabbing a few bowls of yakisoba at her favorite restaurant. But even when she went home, her heart wasn’t as heavy as it was now. Even though things weren’t going as well as she’d wish them to be, she would still stay fairly optimistic.

Or maybe she was just fooling herself…

*Crunch.* *Crunch.* The graveled road beneath her cracked under Emiko’s feet, which she was dragging along, instead of actually picking them up and walking. Emiko’s arms were up resting behind her head, as her head tilted upward to see the night sky in all its glory. Bright, exquisite stars that sparkled like diamonds decorated the sky. Comets whizzed by before they disappeared off into the distance. Even though there were a few dark clouds overhead, the moon, had never been more beautiful. It looked like a giant pearl, smack dab in the middle of the sky. Its light beamed down unto the earth, giving it a dim glow.

Soon, Emiko began to walk down the paths that lead to her home. Still gazing upwards, her daydream was broken when she heard faint sounds of yelling coming from up the path. She halted for a second, trying to convince herself that her ears weren’t playing tricks on her. When she heard the voices again, she gave out a large sigh. Her day just could not get any worse she thought as she scampered up the road.

***

“Stay back! I’m warning you!” The materialized arrow was beginning to take its toll on Nozomi’s fingers and it was getting harder and harder for her to keep her grip on it.

“Listen toots, I tried to be nice and help you relax. But since you’re being difficult, I’m gonna have to be…convincing. That ‘magic’ of yours isn’t going to work on me. I’ve seen this Yamabushi technique before. In fact,” The man grinned and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb to a much bigger, burly man compared to the rest of the men.

The man took another swig from his bottle of sake. “This here’s one of my very good friends here also has that “talent.” And now, instead of me getting my hands all dirty, I’ll let you have a little talk with him.” He turned to the hefty man behind him. Out of all them, he most certainly was the tallest. He looked to be almost ten feet in height. The man had on a tattered vest that was obviously too small for him, and shorts to go with it. The moonlight shinned nicely on this waxed head, and his face could make a troll cringe. “Tsuka, show this girl how we like to ‘talk’.” Tsuka began to waddle forward, and the drunken man stepped aside to let him pass.

Tsuka walked with small steps and the ground shook when he walked. Nozomi stepped back a bit. She could feel sweat bead down her forehead and hands. Her eyes narrowed at the monster.

“Okay! I warned you!” She let the glowing, violet arrow go, and its tip ran straight for the man’s chest. Tsuka lifted his trunk of an arm and swatted at the incoming attack, dematerializing it instantly. Nozomi gave a small gasp. Her best attack was useless. She could do little now to stop him. Her face was a mix of fear and anger. She punched at his abdomen a few times, barely dazing him. She watched as his hands lifted high above his head, begin to glow an eerie green, and suddenly come straight for the top of her head.

“Leave her alone!”

The giant halted in his attack and glanced over his broad shoulders. His drunk friend growled and turned quickly on his heels, furiously looking to find the owner of the voice. “Who said that?! C’mon! Show your ugly face!” His eyes continued to dart around before stopping on a shadowy figure in front of him.

“Ugly? Look who’s talking.” The figure moved out of the night’s shadow and came unto the dim moonlight. It moved toward the man menacingly. The intoxicated man moved in front of his other lackeys, his bruised ego looking for retribution. He took one last chug from his sake bottle, and threw it viciously at the ground, shattering it into pieces. “Tsuka, continue teaching that girl some manners. “Fellas…” He said, not looking back to the other two men who had been watching the ordeal on the sidelines. “Watch my back.” He began to walk toward the figure, wind blowing by, kicking up the dust and debris between them.

Nozomi couldn’t see the person who was talking around the now confused giant. The voice, on the other hand, seemed oddly familiar. She couldn’t quite place who’s it was though. She looked back up at Tsuka and took the opportunity to step back away from his reach.

Meanwhile, the drunken man lunged at the person. The figure shuffled their feet forward and ducked under his incoming punch and clenched it’s hand into a fist. The man gritted his teeth and was stunned that someone could move out of the way so fast, he decided to make a move for another attack. But before he could even move is arm to do it, his body froze. His breath began to come out in ragged beats. Falling slowly to his knees, an imprint of a hand was imbedded on the side of his neck. His body finally fell to the ground, defeated.

The other two men who were watching from bit father behind gasped in disbelief. They had no idea that someone could take someone down that quickly. He didn’t even have a chance to make another attack! They regained their composure and did their best to act brave. “Hey! You think you’re so hot! When…”

The figure began to move toward the two men, shutting them up. They started to move back a bit, afraid that they would suffer the same fate as their leader. But the figure took no interest in them as it pushed it’s way between the two men, walking toward Tsuka.

Nozomi’s back hit a tree trunk and her face tightened at the sight of Tsuka coming at her. His speech sounded that of a five year old. “Heh, Tsuka teach girl…”

“If you’re were as good at fighting as you are ugly, then maybe you would stand a chance.”

A bolt went through Nozomi’s mind. Finally! Finally she knew where that voice was coming from. She had no idea why she hadn’t recognized it in the first place. Nozomi ducked to the side to see the figure in full view. Her face lit up. She thanked the gods above for bringing the person along. “Emiko! Emiko that’s you right?!”

Emiko’s expression changed from a serious to a more flabbergasted one. She patted a foot against the ground behind her. “What? Hey! You’re that girl at my dojo! What are you doing by my house?”

Nozomi furrowed her brows. “Your House? I was going to my house when these men attacked me!”

Tsuka’s view throbbed on his forehead. His anger at Emiko’s comment was still buzzing around in his brain. Completely forgetting about Nozomi, he turned to Emiko, taking a few steps toward her. “Who are you?!”

Emiko’s attention went from Nozomi to Tsuka. Emiko gave a sly grin and pulled the cloth around the top of her baggy dark blue pants tighter. “Me? My name…my name is Emiko Kiminari! And for messing with a fellow student,” She stretched her arm out, still giving a sly smirk. Her index finger was pointed outward at Tsuka. “I’m going to defeat you!”

Tsuka yelled savagely and began to charge at Emiko, catching her off guard. He threw a mad punch at her, charging at her like a bull. Emiko had only a few seconds before she could react. Putting her hands in front of her, she caught the giant’s fist. She was forced back on her feet a few inches, before she was able to hold her feet steady. She was amazed at the fact that even when her two hands were side by side; it still wasn’t as wide as his fist.

Tsuka growled at the girl’s ability to block one of his attacks. He jumped back quite far for such a large man. His arms began to glow green again. His slow laughter began to echo in the trees, and they shook with fright.

Emiko wasn’t all that surprised by his ability. He was obviously using his sprit energy to make his attack stronger and inflict much more damage to Emiko. Her foot moved back behind her, and she moved into a fighting stance.

Nozomi could only watch Emiko as she fought the beast. Emiko was so string to be able to catch his punch like that. Nozomi’s gaze fell to the ground, and her eyelids fell halfway down. 'She’s so strong, I couldn’t even faze him…' she shook her head, hoping the bad thoughts would fall out. She turned her concentration on the matter at hand.

Tsuka began to run at Emiko with his arms out behind him. He punched upward just as she jumped up into the air out of the way. She landed a second later only to get a fist heading straight down at her. She quickly shuffled to the left and jumped back, just as his fist connected with the ground. The forest floor went mad and began to shake violently. Dust sprang up around Tsuka and he stood up, revealing the large crater he just created. The other two men, who were holding the still unconscious drunkard, were shivering, terrified. They got the idea, and began to run off, carrying their boss with them. They called out behind them as they ran. “Tsuka! Take care of that girl for us!”

Tsuka’s attention was taken away for a second as he nodded to the already disappearing men. He turned back toward Emiko. “Tsuka take care of girl…”

Nozomi yelled out to Emiko, in an effort to at least cheer her on, if she couldn’t help in the fight. “Emiko, Keep it up! You can beat him! I know you can!”

For some reason, once upon hearing these words, Emiko’s sprits were lifted a bit. Usually she was on the butt end of being cheered for, so this did wonders for her pride. Emiko looked to Nozomi and grinned. Suddenly, Tsuka’s fist came toward Emiko’s face. It felt as if she had been bit by a rhino. She flew back in the air, her head aching from the impact. A large tree was behind her, and she struggled to turn her body right side up again. She was successful, and her feet hit the tree trunk, she jumped from the tree, leaving imprints of her shoes in the bark, and shot herself at the astounded Tsuka.

Tsuka flew back into a nearby tree cracking it in half. The top half of the tree fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Emiko stood back up fully, ignoring the bright red fist mark in the middle of her face. She swatted at her nose with her nose and smirked conceitedly. “Wasn’t to hard…I’ve fought tougher.”

Nozomi ran up to Emiko, her arms immediately gripping her in a tight squeeze. Concern was dripping from her voice. “Emiko! Your face! It’s all bruised! I’m so sorry! This was my entire fault. If I was just a better fighter I could have done all this myself.”

Emiko was slightly startled by the girl’s sudden embrace. She pushed herself away and gave an embarrassed laugh. “Yeah. No problem. Anything for a fellow student.” Emiko lowered her head. Her voice became solemn. “But actually, there’s been something I’ve wanted to ask you.” Emiko put her finger up to her head and scratched her scalp. She dropped it again and looked at the shorter girl. “What’s your name again? I don’t really pay attention to things like that in class.”

Nozomi’s vein pooped out a bit, but because she was saved at the hands of this girl. She threw it off. “I-I’m Nozomi Mizuhara.” She looked down at the ground again, a slight condescending tone in her voice. “Although you’ve probably heard of me anyway, well, my father at least…”

Emiko starred at her blankly for a second. “I haven’t heard your name before. Who’s your father?”

Nozomi stood, dismayed. “Are you serious? My dad’s the-” Nozomi was interrupted by a long groan coming a little ways from them. They both looked over in unison to see Tsuka rub his head slowly and sit up. Emiko face turned serious again. She moved her arm out to push back Nozomi.

“Move away.”

“But-”

Emiko’s face turned toward her. “I said move away!”

Nozomi flinched a bit at Emiko’s strictness. “Y-yes…” She ran back to her place at the tree. She saw Emiko begin to get into another fighting stance. Her right arm was out in front of her while her left was out behind her, a little above her head.

Tsuka stood up fully finally. His towering figure stretched high above her. His shadow loomed over her and Emiko lowered her head and smirked. The air around her began to crackle and heat up. She let out a loose laugh. “You know, you’re not the only one with special powers.”

Emiko’s right fist began to glow a slight yellow. A bit at first, but then her fist began to have what looked like small thunderbolts hover around them. The air around her began to swirl and kick up fallen leaves and flower petals. They flew around her in a mad rush. Then, out of nowhere, came a large flash.

Nozomi covered her eyes. She had only seen Emiko’s ability a few times, but never up close like this. The bright flash of light finally went away. Nozomi lowered her hand from her eyes and gazed in amazement.

Yellow bolts began to fly in the air around Emiko. Emiko stood upright, and lowered her arms at her side, her fist raised up to her chest. Yellow light began to emit from her. Emiko’s entire body was now decorated in thousands of small bolts of electricity. Tsuka had to step out of the way of a few random bolts crackling near his feet. Emiko gave out a proud laugh. Gazing straight in Tsuka’s stunned eyes; she let out a few words.

“Well then, let’s get started shall we?”

<A/N: Well, the first chapter of KamiKai is done. It took me long enough. This was something I was planning to keep going for a while. Possibly opening a website for it if it got popular enough, things like that. So if you like it, or would like to see more, have ideas for chapters, whatever, feel free to review. Thanks for reading!>