To say that Tanjo was perplexed would be a colossal understatement. As he was surrounded by a void devoid of light, the jet-black-haired teenager eyed a particular woman incredulously before him.
Suru Tassei, on the other hand, merely grinned. It had been seemingly ages for her; innumerable hours had passed since the last moment she had the chance to converse with the boy.
"Why did you force me here, Ms. Tassei?" Tanjo asked carefully, his eyes piercing the cyan-haired woman from behind his mask.
The woman playfully rested her head in the palm of her right hand, frowning. "Are you saying that you're not happy to see me again? You did ditch me after all."
"I was in the middle of something, Ms. Tassei." Tanjo spoke earnestly, his eyes glued to the woman before him.
Ms. Tassei arched her brow at the boy's words. "Oh, yes—your little scuffle with your 'guardian'? You were going to fail, Tanjo. If I didn't pull you in here, you'd be getting dragged back to Buraun and probably in big trouble."
It only took a second for Tanjo to reflect on his position. Ms. Tassei was correct: Old Man Nozomu would have eventually subdued him, and Buraun would most likely dish out some kind of punishment. Villages have a low regard for rogues who fled in the night. Tanjo doubted that his being a previous student of Buraunmajikku would alter anything in the slightest.
"Then I kindly ask that you let me escape—unless you had other plans for me, Ms. Tassei." Tanjo said, his mind running through millions of thoughts a second.
For one, it does not make sense for Ms. Tassei to simply rescue him so he could flee immediately after. Throughout each of their encounters, the woman always wanted something in return: information, more scheduled meetups, and anything else that not even Tanjo could comprehend.
Ms. Tassei sighed. "Can you calm down, Tanjo? I don't plan on doing anything that could hinder your plans. I merely want to ask a few questions, that's all."
"I don't have time for questions. I'm sorry." Tanjo apologized, shifting his body to face the opposite direction. "Now if you could, please drop me off somewhere outside Buraun's territory."
The cyan-haired woman's face became blank. "No. It's far too early for you to leave quite yet."
Tanjo's body tensed at the sudden declaration—Ms. Tassei did intend to obstruct him, even if she didn't hope to. Tanjo, however, needed to get back to Asami as soon as possible. He also didn't know if his old classmates were still trapped in the forty-mile-long dome of magic he had conjured.
Then, a thought flashed in his mind. 'That's right!'
"Sorry, Ms. Tassei, but I'm not playing."
Without warning, Tanjo allowed his Aura Sense to flare violently, sparking his Aura Amalgamation quite fiercely. With this act, the abyss that encompassed the two started to crack, with the desolate dimension of infinite darkness crumbling.
With wide eyes, Ms. Tassei's heart pumped wildly. "I nearly forgot what you were capable of…"
"I'm still grateful for your help prior to my departure, but I seriously need to get out of here—wherever we are. Goodbye, Ms. Tassei." Tanjo finalized his parting message, his blue eyes narrowly meeting hers.
The woman put her hand over her chest, feeling as her heart ran rampant. 'That boy holds the ability to shatter the constructs of dimensions, infinite or not… my abyss can't even stand a chance now.'
"Farewell, Tanjo—may your god-given powers blossom to higher heights."
XXX
In all honesty, Asami had no clue how to find Tanjo. The boy lagged behind, and now she was alone, scouting for her little masked companion with an annoying expression scrunching her face.
"Come on… I thought you worked on your speed a bit!" The blue-hair woman voiced with an aggravated tone.
Asami was not familiar with Tanjo's past friends, but if what he said were true about them being students at an academy, they had no chance against the jet-black-haired teenager. He could already scale up to High-Class warriors. But knowing the poor boy—and seeing how he reacted when surrounded by his old classmates—Asami highly doubted that Tanjo would lay a finger on any of those students.
Even if it did cost him.
"Eh, he's smart enough to work around them—the problem is if backup came around yet." Asami muttered, her eyes surveying the forest.
Not too long ago, on two occasions, Asami felt the ground shake harshly, with a few trees swinging from their roots. Though she could not see a thing, Asami had a sneaking suspicion that at least one of those earthquakes was in response to one of Tanjo's reckless attacks.
With a wave of her hand Asami craned her head to the side. "Blah! He's going to be just fine—!"
*CRRRSHH!*
Suddenly, the loud sound of cracking erupted behind Asami, prompting her to swiftly spin around and lock onto the source of the noise.
"What the…?"
To her surprise, a rift in the air had formed. Through the rift, Asami could only see darkness on the other side, as if the crack in the air led to nothing but an empty vacuum.
Slowly, Asami ambled toward the rift, analyzing the oddity intently. Although the woman felt confident in her own abilities, she instantly scurried backwards the moment a hand shot out from the rift and pried it open wider, forcing the rest of their body through.
Agaped, Asami shouted with wide eyes: "Tanjo!?"
In seconds, Tanjo had managed to walk out of the rift in the air, one foot at a time, seemingly unscathed. The instant the boy exited the rift entirely, it disappeared without a trace.
"I'm here!" Tanjo perked up upon noticing his location, his eyes darting toward the cloaked woman standing a few feet away. "And I found you!"
Asami was stumped momentarily. "What the hell happened to you, kid!? What was that!?"
"No clue," Tanjo admitted, relaxing. "But it vividly reminds me of something else…"
Memories of the time Tanjo was cruelly tortured in Furusato returned, refusing to leave—it was like a stain on his mind. Every second of his flesh being brutally ripped from his bones was ingrained in him and will most likely be for the rest of his life.
The cloaked woman rubbed the back of her hooded head irritably. "Whatever it is, let's hope that neither of us encounter it again."
"Oh, I nearly forgot," Tanjo suddenly spoke, garnering Asami's attention. "Will I have any time to train once we get to Shanti?"
The blue-haired woman contemplated the boy's inquiry, folding her arms. "I suppose you will. We'll be there for quite some time—at least until I settle the business I have there."
"And what was that 'business' again?" Tanjo asked curiously, his voice rising slightly.
Asami laughed abruptly. "Grown up stuff, Tanjo. Respect my privacy and I'll respect yours."
The teenager stood there in bewilderment for a few more seconds before shaking his head loosely. It was a courteous request, if anything. Tanjo had no real reason to pursue Asami's personal life, especially since he had one of his own to chase after.
"All right, let's get going, then." Tanjo chuckled, turning around. "And this time I'll make sure to not get lost again."
XXX
Far away from Buraun, underneath the woodlands of Adonai, there was a dark room that harbored a pungent smell that would burn the nose of anyone nearby. Within the room, an old man wearing a white kimono fiddled with numerous items scattered across a table, his withered fingers passionately wielding each object with caution.
"It won't be long from now… where I'll rule these sorrowful lands. Eventually the three nations will fall back into one great nation, as it should be." The elderly man proclaimed weakly, his voice hoarse.
Within the next moment, the elderly man detected a particular presence drawing closer to him, warranting a devious grin to spread across his wrinkly face.
A door then opened, shedding some light on the room. Slowly, the elderly man turned around to meet the gaze of none other than Yuso, the crimson-haired male who possessed the Shirugto.
"I have procured the ring, Master." Yuso revealed, flashing a green-colored ring in the palm of his right hand.
The elderly man walked toward Yuso, stretching his arm out to reach the ring in the redhead's grasp. "I appreciate your loyalty, Yuso. With this, we're at the doorstep of transforming this wretched world for good. Perhaps we'll go beyond just the nations with our ambitions—how does that sound to you, Yuso?"
"You and I have vastly different ambitions, Master." Yuso responded tonelessly.
The old man's face fell. "I can assure you that they're quite similar."
Upon saying this, Yuso's eyes narrowed slightly. The elderly man noticed this but chose to remain oblivious, smiling and returning to the table of items. As the elderly man traversed to the table, he raised his left hand, the green ring between his fingers, and gently slid it onto his remaining finger, appearing to complete the set of rings on his hand.
'As I hold the power of every Aura Sense, I can now confidently wield the immense power of the green Aura Sense after it being lost for decades… there is not a power in the world that can oppose me—not even Yuso's pathetic Lucifer.' The master thought, looking down at the rings on each of his frail fingers.
The elderly man could feel the power rush through his hand into his body as the magic of the five rings poured their potent magic into him. The red, blue, yellow, purple, and now green Aura Sense was a deadly amalgamation of magic, and now he held it. In fact, the reaction of the five rings was so fantastic that the elderly man no longer felt the debilitating hindrances of his withering body, feeling as if he was in his prime once again.
'My plan is finally coming to a close…'
XXX
I wrote this quite late, so I hope that nothing seemed far-fetched! I want to push out the story from more than just Tanjo's perspective, even though it was pretty scarce not too long ago. Stay tuned as Tanjo and Asami proceed on their adventure to Shanti and find out what happens as Yuso's unnamed master wields the power of the five rings—what powers do they grant? Wait and see!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_