Dreams tend to get you a lot. They maybe a good dream or a nightmare. I wasn't sure this time. It felt like an old memory. But then again...I knew it was. However I wish it wasn't. When I was nine and my mother died because of an accident. It didn't come to mind yet of what that memory was.
My mother was already cremated and her ashes were sent back to Japan with her side of the family. She took care of me most of the time since she was a part-time teacher. But my dad, Hajime was a full-time Professor in a college in Japanese Language and History. So that left me alone in the house most of the house. I would often be lost in thought. But the memories of what happened at that time were sketchy. Comfort was doing said in my ears but they wouldn't connect. Most of my past lives tried to make me not think of my mother's death but Kenshin just signed. He knew nothing was getting through. Instead he shooed them away.
Kenshin then pats me at the head. "Take as long as you want kid." Kenshin said. With that, the rest of my past lives left me alone. From memory I used to be excited whenever they would teach me something new. But now I felt alone. all I could stare at the sky as the clouds came in. Rain came and the cold blew. The cold didn't bother me at all and the rain felt comforting for some reason.
Soon something covered my head. It was an umbrella carried by my dad. "You don't okay, kid?" He asked me. I didn't know how to answer. This was the first time I felt this. But I looked at the sky. Only one question popped out. "Dad...why did mom name me
My dad looked at the sky and smiled. He was hiding his face from me. "That's because you like the
But just that the vision started to turn fuzzy. It turned into static. Much like television static from an old monitor. It soon reveals to a scene of me being at my mother's arms at the bottom of the staircase. She was shielding me from the fall but her head was bleeding.
One of the mothers were getting mad at me for outshining their kid in my kenjutsu classes. My mom came just in time and was protecting me. The jealous mother pushed both me and my mom off the stairs. I survived. But my mom, Haruka Kamiyama, was gone.
Cracks started to appear everywhere. Soon it shattered to reveal that I was wearing one of Furukizu's masks. My constitution was starting to wear out and my mind in panic. A shivering leaf was what my body was now. Fear pulsed all over me and made me palpitate. I couldn't keep a straight look. Kenshin walked next to Furukizu and stood next to him while I was laying on the floor. "So... you had to show him that memory? You know that was the one trigger word that he hates, right?" Kenshin asked Furukizu.
Furukizu didn't answer. All he did was stare at Kenshin in a quiet and scary manner. "Don't look at me like that! YOu know very well memory can land us back to zero! How the hell is he supposed to accept all we got? " He shouts, "The guy may have been open minded but there's a limit for everybody. He needs those skills so he doesn't die."
But by saying that Kenshin realized something. He scratched his chin, something comes to mind. "Zero...all lives start with a name... so that's how it is." Kenshin rationalizes, "When I think about it...Rin was just a name handle given by somebody else. But are we really going that way? 'Them'?'
Furukizu nods. Kenshisn pouts and mutters, "I get that... but are we really going to play that route? You know well most of those memories are with dead people. And don't forget...he...didn't wanna...do all those...things."
The man then pauses. He realizes something. Kenshin then quickdraws his kodatchi but Furukizu blocks it with a single dagger. "You sick fuck! So that's why you chose me to help!" Kenshin shouts with blind range, "You knew well because I'm the only one that can do 'that'! Our boy never wanted to become the ultimatum! Do you want him to kill himself, again!"
Kenshin kept on swinging his blade even more. His blade was being moved like a typhoon of steel. Both Furukizu and Kenshin's skills were unmatched. But Furukizu found a weakspot and tripped Kenshin at the floor. Furukizu's knife lengthened into a glowing sword of light with its tip near Kenshin's neck. Eyes were full of rage from the soldier but he gives in defeat. "Fine! Do it your way if you're desperate! But mark my words. When we do the extra mile, hell will break lose. Amakusa will be red once more!"
Again my heart stopped. I couldn't breathe as my lungs were being squeezed by a vice. My legs were wobbly as I was grasping for air. It was there that flashes of memories came. That building I always saw was a school. There were many corpses around. Blood was flowing everywhere and the walls were painted crimson. The school was burning and blood was on my hands. I then come to realize it came from my armwarmer. Blood started to pray out like crazy from my wrist. It was hard to gain sanity. My emotions became wild and I gave out a wild scream.
The vision ended as I woke up from my sleep. I was sweating buckets, only to reveal that almost everybody in the room was drawing my guns. They soon noticed that it was me at the middle. They all put their weapons down to see the coast was clear. "Alright! Whoever wants to sleep, sleep!" Richard said. He went back to his sleeping bag and went back to sleep. The rest followed with some heading back to bed while others were at watch. I didn't feel like sleeping anymore. Instead I changed my shirt and packed my sleeping bag in my bag.
Instead I sit next to Mr. Williams as he took his post. "Are you sure you wanna stay up like this?" He asks me, "You already took watch, didn't you?" I took out a spell book of some omnyoudou spells and didn't mind. "I'm good enough. Besides, I think I might need to get into these spells first before we head off." I replied.
Playing it cool was all I could do for now. But now it was getting really hard to relax. I could feel their concern for me but I acted as if it was nothing. Especially since we were in the middle of nowhere. Our group was at the outskirts of Tondo. While driving around we managed to find a diner in the middle of the field. From what we can tell was the location was from Columbus, Ohio from one of the menus. It looked like it came a few days ago. What was suspicious was the fact that the diner didn't have any signs of struggle or people. The place was open when we came here. There was a truck outside but that was it. It was hard to say what was going on.
But there wasn't much going on. All I had was the omnyoudou spell book to read. I practice writing the glyphs on some of the glyphs on some old menu. But as I was practicing to make these ofuda charms some memories came. I had memories of practicing these with the ninja and Kenshin when I was little. Yet it makes me wonder what does Kenshin have to do with this. Sometimes the First would even help as well to give a few words of wisdom. It was all done in the white room and I was having a fun time.
Eventually I was able to remember how to do these charms like bread and butter. There fifty different charms in my holster now. But it still troubles me. How was it that I was able to be in contact with my past lives without any memory of it. The re was something up but I didn't know. But the more I remembered these thoughts, the more I was brought back to that school again. Yet the most suspicious thing about that memory was that all the victims dead in that hall were censored in a blurry cloud.
It was getting weirder by the moment. In seeing that memory again, I slammed my book hard. The more these memories got into my head, the more unstable I became. Maybe it was best to let go of the magic for now...? I don't know. I feel as if learning about these skills are important but why am I so scared of them?
It was only when I checked on my scribe that it was something startling. My skills listed made accounts of the spells that I managed to recollect from those memories but something was wrong. Some of the skills were blacked out. it was a whole page labeled: Kamuidakara: Shiki. One technique was barely visible. It was Zanmaken or also known as Divine Demon Slicing Sword. The rest of the description however wasn't visible at all. It was blacked out.
Yet there were problems with this. I don't even recall even using this. The only time I saw something like that was when Furukizu was using it. I thought I was reincarnated six times. Who the hell was this guy?
But that's when Kenshin appeared behind me. He looked unamused. The man rubbed the look off his face and maintained composure. "The First is starting to get puzzled with Furukizu but he wants to go on with it." He says. "That guy knows something we don't. I know you are trying to keep composure but I'm starting to wonder why." He then stands in front of me. Kenshin's eyes were sorrowful. "Rin... we've raised you for most of your life and I just wanna let you know...if I do something that might hurt you, my intent was for you." He told me with compassion.
Just a blink of an eye the man disappears. I didn't know what was going on at the time but I guess those are two things I have to be wary of. The First and Furukizu...what are they planning?
An hour later breakfast was ready. The food in the storage room was spoiled after a few days without electricity however there were a lot of canned goods that we are able to bring back. There was also the haul we managed to get were the cooking utensils and the propane tanks. Yet the biggest haul was the truck. Tyrell was on the stove cooking a meal while the rest of us were setting up for the day. Sakuya, Richard, and Magna were discussing things with Mr. Williams about strategies. The rest of us were just doing prep on the stuff we got.
My head was starting to ache. But what was I supposed to expect? I'm not getting a healthy amount of sleep. Most of my stuff was in the car and being strapped on the motorcycle. I took a step outside to get some of the powdered pain reliever in my belt. I poured it in my mouth and drank some water in hopes to get rid of this headache. But I barely felt any better as the effects of the medicine came in It was there at the corner I spot Rebecca staring at me. "What is it?" I asked her. "You look like shit." She told me.
"It's no different from the other times. Is it getting worse?"
"Like something out of a psychological thriller."
I chuckled a little ad looked at the horizon. The sky was a yellowish orange as sunrise came. "I've always hated looking at a clear sky for some reason. It looks like one of my past lives are pushing it." I admitted.
"Yet you still go on hunting quest with Mr. Williams." She put out.
"That I do...but I guess it was just to feel something."
"Day one I swear you were always the odd one out." Rebecca says, "You don't like being touched, you become obsessive to the point it's suicidal, and now you hate clear skies."
"Weird...ain't it?" I mumbled.
I sit on the ground and stare at the sky as I watch the sunrise. Rebecca then sits next to me. She looked rather concerned. "You can always tell us what's going on." She says, "You quit telling us details about your 'developments' lately. Are you sure you don't wanna talk about it?"
"That's the problem... it's just one gigantic mess. It's really hard to even put a starting point." I explain myself, "One way or another...I just don't know how to start. And even if I did...it's hard to say when is the right time to do it."
I gripped my armwarmer tight. The cold sensation of liquid could be felt from my wrist. But it was there that I felt warmth at my arm and dispelled the sensation. It was Rebecca holding my arm. "You don't have to tell us now. Just take your time. We'll be waiting as you did for us." She assured me.
Those words made me calmer. A smile came at my face. But my spine riddled a chill again as I try to maintain it. "Thanks Rebecca...but...you're holding the wrong arm." I said in a jittery tone. Rebecca looked where she was holding. Her face turns red and lets go. She then stands and looks away. "Anyways, whenever you're ready. We'll be waiting." She told me in a monotone voice.
Rebecca heads back in the diner where I soon follow. The medicine finally took in effect and just in time. We were at a briefing on what was going on. But before we can start, there was still some talking to go around. "As it turns out the diner is a few kilometers away from the clay deposit." Sakuya says, "But even if the deposit is found, there are still a couple of issues we need to settle upon."
Richard then takes over and tells us to look at the map. "From what I can get from the scouts, we still need to survey around the area." Richard tells us, "Some of our guys at Hanami have disappeared along with some people from other guilds."
"Does anybody know what's the cause of these disappearances?" Gram asked.
"That's what we wanna know. Even if we put a quarry here we still have to be worried in regarding to safety." Sakuya said.
"So we're not here to dig up some clay but to check the area?" Tyrell asked.
"We will get some as a sample but if you wish to collect some for yourself then don't take too much." Richard replied.
"However we need exercise caution along the way. How the first scouting squad disappeared is quite odd." Magna addressed.
"Why? What happened?" I asked.
"According to our sources, just disappeared out of thin air." Sakuya replied.
"How exactly?" I asked once more.
"That's the problems...one point they were behind them and the next thing you know is that they were gone by the moment you started to check on them." Richard replied.
"So there were no tracks, folded grass or any signs what so ever? Are you sure the monster wouldn't have hidden under a cave or something?" Gram asked.
"From studying the maps, there aren't any caves anywhere. The location is all grassland. There wouldn't be a place for anything around here." Mr. Williams replied.
"So an invisible enemy? That seems strange." Gram commented.
"Anyways we have to keep close tabs with everybody. For now we will need to secure the area. Once we got that in place we will set up teams in which we need to scout or prepare the base." Sakuya told them.
"But do we even have the materials to make a fort?" I asked.
"A few miles away there's a small forest around here. We'll just be maintaining the fort until the other squad comes here." Magna said.
"Fearsome Willows guild and Gentle Hand has agreed to work with Hanami and Oak Cinders to make the fort." Mr. Williams says, "They're figuring on making this a new outpost for hunting and gathering natural materials."
"So what are you planning to make out of this then?" Rebecca asked.
"We put out a proposal on the council to put a satellite colony here. We've been eyeing on this location for awhile for the abundance of resources." Sakuya says, "If we play our cards out, then the guilds would be able to put a few more contract jobs."
"So the real plan was to put a satellite colony? I thought the reason why Rin is here is to get stronger." Rebecca questioned.
"Sorry for being sneaky but I still had things to do here." Sakuya says, "But Rin can still be trained by this situation."
"How? Won't we be a busy scouting?" I asked.
"Not necessarily. Maybe you can explain this to them, Mr. Williams. After all you did help in consulting us with this plan." Sakuya asked Mr. Williams.
"Well...there are still several monsters that we still have to deal with and it might be a good time to see how far we as a team has progressed." Mr. Williams said.
"We haven't been training with each other for awhile now. How are we going to be able to fight as a team?" Tyrell asked.
"The monsters here are pretty low level. Mostly of goblins, wolves, slimes, etc. You'll be able to take them on." Richard says, We'll just see how you guys fight then take it from there on what kinds of tactics you guys can use in order to fight the monsters."
"But I'm not even a fighter." Tyrell told him.
"But you are a capable weapons smith. I did tell you to bring some of your creations in your bag. Rebecca has been doing good with your crossbow, all we have to do is test the rest." Mr. Williams said.
"Then it's settled. We'll be leaving now." Sakuya commands, "Everybody outside on fifteen minutes."
Just like that, the veterans started to prepare their stuff and hit the road. Us newbies were still getting used to it. But there were a few other changes going on. Tyrell will be assigned to drive the second car. Since he's given the position of quartermaster, he would be the one who will keep track with all the items. As for me I'm stuck with my bike.
For some strange reason, I was starting to get attached to it. It felt good to be on this thing. But even if this was my first time to handle these things, it felt familiar. However when I was starting the engine, something went on. Another memory surged into my brain. This time it was me in a motorcade with a motorcycle gang. The only problem was that I was the only one without any gang colors. Somebody then rives next to me. It was a guy in a ponytail. But it was one of those memories again. This time it was a censored face in mosaic. "You know, aniki...even we aren't related, I see you as my own blood! Thanks for joining us!" The biker shouted in a buzzy voice. As he revved up his engine, the screen turns into static to show a guy covered in a full body cast and in a coma.
Once the vision ended, I fell in my back. My breathing became slow and fearful. Cold sweat dripped from my body as I was having a slight anxiety attack. But I snapped out it and slapped myself at the face. Trying to calm down, I maintained a good breathing speed and try to think of something else. Mr. Williams did a loud whistle and called my name. "Rin! Everything alright?" He called out. I gave him the okay sign to sure I was alright.
From there I started the motorcycle and began to rev it up. Our group was all set. By the call of my guildmaster, we began our trip to the location. The longer I was on that bike I couldn't shake the feeling of something. Behind me I felt someone was supposed to be there. There was a feeling of something missing. It felt like an embrace around my arms. The sensation of a sudden weight in my back was missing and the warmth of foreign body heat wasn't present.
Only when I looked behind me that I saw nobody. There was nothing. Something felt missing. But I didn't know what it was. But whatever it was... I missed it. Longing came to into fruition. What was this absence?
That was when a memory came in. Going up a hill with somebody with that person on my back. A smile should have been there but it was already done. I was still confused on what was going on. Just what did I smile about?