Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The secret of Tenkaichi ❯ The adventure's commencement ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter one: the Adventure's Commencement

 

 

Small, liquid drops known as rain fell from the dreary sky. It was mid spring, so rain wasn't all that uncommon. Small droplets dripped off a tree of Cherry blossoms and into a small puddle of mucky water, which had collected on the muddy ground. It rippled slightly as the rain droplet fell into it. Another puddle, a few feet away from the mucky puddle was shown to be on a stone road, and unlike the first puddle, it was clear and untainted by the earth and dirt.

 

A few feet ahead of the puddle, a young man walked it. His hair was a very pale tint of sky blue, and long strands of it hung over the left side of his face. The strands ended at mid-neck level, and there were only enough strands of hair to stop at the bridge of his nose, width-wise. As for the right side of his face, the bangs of his hair were cut short enough to reveal his eye, which was a crystal blue color. As for the rest of his hair, it was straight and hung down to his lower back. His pale-white skin helped bring out the light shade of blue within his revealed eye and hair. The young man wore a snowy-white kimono, with the sleeves drooping at their ending point; his wrist. Strapped to his wrist, he bore the traditional wrist guards of samurai. These, like his kimono were a snowy-white color. His kimono was tucked into his off-white hakama, which he wore to cover his legs. His obi was black, contrasting the rest of his clothing choice. The most significant feature of this young man was that, despite his rather slim and generally scrawny appearance, he bore a katana on the left side of his waist. This was held in place neatly by his obi.

 

The young man then sighed deeply, as the rain began to run into his hair and clothing. "I suppose I should get back..." He spoke to himself. His voice was soft, and lacked the deepness that most males carried in their voices. He walked on the stone path, which was surrounded by cherry blossom trees on either side. After a short walk, he spotted another man approaching him from the opposite direction. This other man was significantly older than him, judging from appearance only. His head was completely bald. The man's eyes were closed, but over his right eye was a deep, vertical scar. It was as though he was slashed in it with the blade of a powerful sword. Another feature this man seemed to have, was that he bore a gray goatee around his mouth and chin. The skin of the man was significantly tanned, and was easily seen by the fact that the man was shirtless. His stomach muscles were clearly outlined, as were his arms and chest, evident that he went through intense training. Like the young man on the opposite side of him, the older man also wore hakama. However, they were a raven color in contrast to the young man's snowy colored pair.

 

"Who else would live here...I thought only me and my master lived here. And coming from that path...that would be toward my master's dojo. But beyond the gates, the temperature immediately drops to below zero. How could anyone but those who study the Tenkaichi No Koori Ryuu be able to survive those harsh conditions? And shirtless no less! Ah, maybe he's from another Tenkaichi school that utilizes cold. Yes, that must be it. He must simply be a fellow master, and went to visit my master." The younger male thought to himself, as the distance between the two began to diminish. Within a few moments, the older male was merely inches away from the younger one. The older male opened his eyes, revealing them to be of a raven color, although they seemed to be streaked with crimson. Suddenly, the two paused and were locked in an everlasting gaze.

 

"This...pressure! Is this...kenki? It's unlike anything I've ever felt before! It feels so...murderous. Not only that, but he reeks of rotted corpses and blood. Who is this person, and why do they make me feel like this? It's as though a thousand pound weight was laid upon my soul. It's suffocating me! And he's not even wielding a weapon." The younger man's thoughts were racing. His face became even moister than before. Partly due to the fact that they were still in the rain, but mainly from the fact that he began to sweat from nervousness.

 

The younger male finally managed to tear himself away from the older male's piercing eyes. The two then continued to walk, brushing past each other and continuing on their path. The younger male, now free from the older man's presence, continued on his original path to his master's dojo, where he lived as well. Perhaps he would provide clarity as to who the older male was. As he grew closer, it began to snow vigorously. This was due to the location of his dojo. The Tenkaichi No Koori style of swordsmanship was just one of many in the Tenkaichi family, which was the most powerful swordsmanship in existence. However, the Tenkaichi no Koori style was involved with ice and cold temperatures. Therefore, it only makes sense for the dojo to be located in a cold area, which was a mountain to the far north of Japan. Growing nearer to the dojo, the young man began to ascend the final steps, which would lead him to his home. The steps were completely covered by snow, and only someone who had prior knowledge as to where the steps were located could successfully navigate up them. He continued climbing up the stairs, until he got to about the third to last one. It was at this point that he had stopped, and sniffed the air. "Blood?" He thought to himself, as his steady climb turned into a rapid run toward his home. He was merely feet away from his home, before he noticed a body laying face up in the snow. It was covered in a crimson liquid, which began to soak into the snow it laid on.

 

"Master!" The young man shouted, warm tears flowing from his eyes. His run slowed to a walk, as though he couldn't believe what his eyes had brought to him. "Master...get up. I know this is a joke. Master...please..." The boy spoke to the corpse as he walked toward it, his voice laced with sorrow and on the verge of sobbing. When he finally approached the body, he dropped to his knees and flipped it over. The body was so covered in blood; its definite features were unable to be seen. Instead, it seemed to be a mass of height and muscle. Slowly, it coughed and began to speak. "Sei...sui...." It uttered, with a voice deep and yet frail.

 

"I'm here master! Who could have possible done this to you? Who in their right mind c-" The young man, Seisui began to cry out. He cut himself off with sudden realization, when he was plagued with flashbacks of the older man. "Him...he had to have done this..." Seisui thought to himself. "And I just let him waltz out of here...." He added a thought, blaming himself.

 

"Listen to me Seisui..." Seisui's master began to speak. While doing so, he reached his hand up as though to grab Seisui, whom responded by quickly placing both of his dying master's hands into his own. "The person who killed me...he is the creator of the Tenkaichi style. Therefore, he has lived for at least two hundred and fifty years. He wanted to remain as omnipotent in this world as the gods themselves! His will was answered, when he learned of reincarnation. He is too powerful for you, as he's killed off every master of Tenkaichi, as to keep its secrets for himself. Seek out other students such as yourself, and only then will you have a chance. And one more thing..." The master spoke, his voice growing weaker through each word. "Everyone has to fight and eventually lose their battles with time. But that man...he chose to run away from this fight. Don't you ever do the same. It's been fourteen long years sine I found you at the tender age of two, orphaned and abandoned, and you've always been naive and innocence. But essentially, that innocence is your strength! Don't ever lose your purity...Se...i...su..." The master told Seisui, before he took his last breath. His body went limp, just before he was able to completely utter his student's name.

 

"Master? Master? Master!!!" Seisui cried out, but to no avail. "You were my friend! You were my mentor! It was like you were my father! You were everything to me! How dare he just take you away!” Seisui shouted to the heavens, his voice angry and at the same time, filled with sobbing.

 

"A true stain on humanity up until the very end." A hideous and gruesome voice boomed. From the stairs, stepped up the same older male whom Seisui saw before. Almost instantly, Seisui grew angry, and stopped his sobbing. The elder man caught on to this fact, and grinned. "What say you...Seisui? Will you fight?" He questioned, almost sadistically.

 

"You..." Seisui began, still kneeling at his late master's side. "I'll carve your heart out!" He cried, hopping up almost instantly, and charging the man. He unsheathed his katana; swinging it quickly toward the man's torso. In response, the man stuck out his index and middle finger, catching the blade of Seisui's sword between them. In the next moment, Seisui was on the ground with crimson blood spilling from his chest.

 

"What...just happened? I didn't even see him move from that spot...let alone a weapon...what is he?" Seisui questioned himself, as he lay bleeding. Weakly, Seisui turned to the right and glanced at his master's corpse. Immediately, he was filled with strength once more. Seisui rose to his feet, using his katana to support him. A deep gash was marked on his chest, the cause of his bloody form. Slowly, his wound began to encase itself in a layer of ice. It successfully stopped it's bleeding.

 

"Ah but of course. You are, after all from the Tenkaichi no Koori School. Very smart, stopping your bleeding with ice. However, if you come at me again then I will break you." The elder man spoke, his face contorted with a grin of insanity. Seisui ignored the man's warnings, and tightly gripped his katana. He charged, and snow began to blow behind him due to his speed. His legs carried him like a racehorse, as he approached the man and went into a low spinning slash. He aimed at the man's legs. When the blade began to cut through the older man's hakama, its target suddenly vanished.

 

"Surely, you jest. That's the best you can do? Pathetic. You're not even worth killing." The man's deep voice a whisper in Seisui's right ear. Alarmed, Seisui quickly began to turn his body to face the man, slashing his sword in the process. A split second later, Seisui's katana shattered so that only the hilt remained. With one quick thrust, the older man's arm forced itself into the layer of ice sitting on Seisui's chest. It shattered, and Seisui fell back into the snow, bleeding once more. The snow turned a vibrant shade of crimson as Seisui laid on it. The older man slowly walked over to the bleeding Seisui, and pressed his firm fist hard into his shoulder. Seisui cried out in pain, as he felt his right arm dislocate from his body.

 

"Now, away with you. Survive and loathe me. Detest me. Hate me with every fiber of your being. Grow stronger, so that you may grow worthy to kill. To save your life, move away from here. Crawl away. Crawl like the worm from the bird." The elder man whispered into Seisui's ear, before standing up and beginning to walk away. After hearing the sound of something dragging against the snow, he stopped his walk and turned his head to see behind him. Upon looking down at the ground, he saw Seisui, crawling toward him. He was using his left arm to help pull him forward, while his right hand slid limply along the ground at his side. Eventually, Seisui's left arm grabbed the man's right leg, and held on tightly.

 

"That won't do. The worm shall try it's hardest to strike the bird. But to no avail, as the bird's talons carve out the worm's heart before it reaches it. You are not the bird; you are the worm. Roll over and die like one!" The man shouted, kicking Seisui hard in the head. The force of the kick caused Seisui to roll backwards and bounce along the cold snow. The elder man once again walked over to Seisui, his firm grip on Seisui's dislocated arm. "Remember me well, boy. When you finally transcend from the worm into the bird, our blades shall dance once more. And when our dance is complete, I will revert you to the worm once more. Remember the name, Joutei." The elder man, finally revealing his name to be Joutei whispered. He then pushed upward with Seisui's arm, forcing it back into place. Seisui cried out once more from the pain, before losing consciousness, and falling face up in the snow.

 

 

{~Two weeks later~}

 

Seisui, having awakened up about a week ago, was grabbing his possessions. He was fully healed, and ready to do his master's dying wish. He would take down Joutei, after gaining students who agreed with his goals. Seisui walked to his late master's room, walking to the corner of it. He picked up a katana, its sheath an abnormal snow-like color. He placed the katana in his obi, and walked out of the room and eventually, the dojo. "This is it...." He uttered, as he pulled out a small stick. He struck it against the sheath of his sword, until an ember danced on it. And with that, he tossed it into the home. The result of this was his dojo going up in a ball of flames.

 

"If only I had one more night...if only I had one more time to..." Seisui began to utter as he saw the Dojo burning. He began to reminisce how his late master treated him, as though he were his own son. He then rapidly shook his head, and turned to walk away. "Thanks for the memories." Seisui whispered as he walked off, the flames dancing wildly behind him...