Hitsu's eyes slowly opened. To his surprise, he awoke naturally and not to his usual early alarm. Hitsu slowly rolled onto his side, his body still sore from the battle just a few days ago. Through tired eyes, Hitsu was able to read the small note left over his phone.
"We turned your phone off so you could sleep. Don't worry about breakfast, we can handle it. :)
-Nox
Hitsu chuckled to himself after reading the note, he knew that they had good intentions. Hitsu picked up his phone and turned it on. As he waited he nearly dropped his phone onto his face but he managed to catch it before it made impact. With his heart beating a little faster Hitsu check the time that read 8:12 a.m. It was only a little over an hour later than Hitsu normally woke up. Hitsu carefully stood from his bed and walked to the window. He looked outside at the bright and sunny day that awaited him and smiled.
"A lot has changed since Master Takeshi's return."
Hitsu quickly changed clothes and made his way down the second-floor hallway. Halfway to the stairs, he was greeted by Juno. The small cat moved like she was retreating from battle instead of casually walking. Upon seeing Hitsu Juno quickly ran to him and jumped up onto his shoulder.
"Hey girl," Hitsu greeted, "how's it going down there?"
Juno responded by fearfully nuzzling closer to Hitsu's neck.
"That seems about right," Hitsu said before he sniffed the air. The smell he expected filled his nostrils. "I better hurry."
"It seems since that shadow showed up everything has been moving so fast and it doesn't seem like it will slow down anytime soon."
Hitsu made his way down the stairs to the first floor where an unsurprising sight waited for him. Takeshi sat in his usual seat at the head of the dining with a newspaper in his hands. The smell was burnt food that originated from the kitchen. Through the opening, Hitsu could see Nox, Sel, Enai, and Jinsuke arguing and struggling to make breakfast. The same sight had greeted Hitsu yesterday and the day before. Nox quickly noticed that they had an audience and got the attention of the others. The four looked in Hitsu's direction and smiled awkwardly.
"Good morning Hitsu," Nox said with a forced chuckle.
"You guys want me to take over?" Hitsu asked.
...
"As I said, a lot changed around here."
Thirty minutes later Hitsu placed six plates of food on the dining table, in the window sill went a small bowl of cat food for Juno. Everyone said their thanks and hungrily began devouring their food. Out of everyone, Takeshi seemed the most relieved that the kitchen struggles were over.
"So how is it, everybody?" Hitsu asked as he took his seat.
"Name - Hitsu Chosokabe
Age - 18
Hero Name - Vansu
Power - Neon
Guild Mark Location - Back of Left Shoulder
Goal - Make the entire world smile
Likes - Cool stuff
Dislikes - Negativity
Hitsu was already a member of the Future Veins when I arrived. All I know is that he has been here for a pretty long time and has been pretty lonely. Hitsu always has a smile on his face and has his heart pointed towards the greater good. With the four of us here it looks like his lonely days are over."
"I don't know why you ask anymore," Nox replied, "You get the same answer every time."
"Name - Nox Etena
Age - 17
Hero Name - Queen
Power - Creation Dances
Guild Mark Location - Side of Left Shoulder
Goal - Make her family proud and be happy
Likes - Sweets
Dislikes - Failure
You know me. At one point I was the newest member of the Future Veins. I'm still getting used to the whole hero thing but I think I can handle it. In a short time, the guild has started to feel like home and all the new faces and friends help. I'm already happy, now I just have to become a hero my Dad and Hope can be proud of."
"I still don't know how we keep messing breakfast up so much," Enai said with a sigh.
"Name - Enai Furuya
Age - 18
Hero Name - 206
Power - Bone Manipulation
Guild Mark Location - Left Wrist
Goal - Defeat Villians and Criminals
Likes - Reading
Dislikes - Criminals
"Enai's trail was an interesting one, she had to withstand one punch from Master Takeshi. Enai didn't underestimate Master Takeshi and surrounded herself with a giant cocoon of bones covered with thorns. One punch from Master Takeshi shattered it like it was nothing but luckily Enai was still standing... Barely. I'm glad to have another girl in the guild, especially one so smart and strong like Enai... Even if she does have a little temper."
"Really?" Jinsuke asked with a raised eyebrow, "You don't know?"
"Name - Jinsuke Sone
Age - 19
Hero Name - Earthshaper
Power - Earth Control
Guild Mark Location - Right Side of Chest
Goal - Uphold the Sone family name
Likes - Sleeping
Dislikes - Spiders
"For Jinsuke's trial, he had to endure Sel's trial. Jinsuke had to sit in the backyard training field completely surrounded by rocks that he controlled. The rules were simple, if any light got into the dome he made around himself he would fail. Every once in a while Master Takeshi would throw some food at the dome. A rock hand would catch the food and pull it into the dome without letting any light in. There's no way Jinsuke could have slept during that time which feels cruel somehow."
"I just wanna know where Hitsu learned to cook," Sel said as he ate.
"Name - Sel Delmine
Age - 18
Hero Name - Hellflare
Power - Fire Control
Guild Mark Location - Back of Neck
Goal - Make up for his crimes
Likes - Heavy Metal Music
Dislikes - Enai
"Sel's trial was probably the hardest in guild history. Master Takeshi didn't make the choice for Sel's acceptance, instead, the man Sel had tried to rob would decide. Sel spent three days searching the streets of New Faith in hopes of finding the man and apologizing for his actions. Knowing that Jinsuke was depending on him caused Sel to search non-stop, he barely stopped to eat or sleep. He eventually found the man and brought him back to the guildhall. The man seemed hesitant to even be involved with the situation but after seeing Sel's heart and desire to make up for his past mistakes the man decided that Sel belonged with us."
"Don't ask me," Takeshi said from behind his newspaper, "I'm still trying to figure that out."
Juno meowed from the windowsill but nobody other than Hitsu could understand her.
"Of course Master Takeshi and Juno are here as well. It's amazing to see that in under a month the guild that had remained the same for years had four new veins."
"So," Takeshi said after everyone had finished eating, "did you guys get your team thing figured out?"
"Oh yeah," Hitsu said excitedly. "Let's show him," Hitsu said the others.
Quickly the five moved to the end of the table. Takeshi watched with a raised eyebrow as they whispered amongst themselves and got into position. After a few seconds, Hitsu spoke up.
"The five of us will work as one!" Hitsu announced with a wide grin, "Five different people, five different heroes, one team!"
Hitsu held his right fist out in front of his body.
"This is our adventure!"
Nox, Sel, Enai, and Jinsuke followed suit. Each held their right fist in front of them without touching one another.
"This is our journey!" They said in unison.
All at once, the members of the team pushed their arms forward and gently bumped fists with the rest of the group.
"This is our voyage!" They all said at once.
The five were all smiles as Hitsu finished off their little show.
"Together... We are The Voyage!"
Takeshi didn't say anything at first, he simply stared at the five teens before him. After what felt like a lifetime he closed his newspaper and gently placed it on the table before him.
"Alright," he said calmly, "you guys are the Future Veins first official team."
Immediately the five began to celebrate. They had just become a team and they had already made one dream come true. As they happily cheered and celebrated Takeshi sat in silence, his mind filled with less happy thoughts.
...
Takeshi's Room - 10:57 p.m. On the day of the Giant Shadow's attack
"Speak to me kid," Takeshi said in a serious tone, "This could be a big problem."
"Yes sir," Hitsu said before he took a deep breath. "I think that something very bad is coming."
"Why is that?" Takeshi asked. He knew the answer, he just needed to make sure Hitsu knew just as well.
"The pack of shadows that attacked Twindawn, the amalgamation shadow that took Nox's sister, and now the giant shadow, these are not natural. They act too intelligent and in the case of the amalgamation required somebody to exist. The giant shadow had to be moving at an extremely slow pace, likely only inches a day, to get to the center of town without causing earthquakes. There is no way these things would happen naturally, especially so close together."
"I think we both know who is causing this," Takeshi said with a grim look.
"Yes..." Hitsu said, the fear and anger visible by his clenched fist.
"...It's him."
...
End of Episode 51
End of The Voyage Begins Arc