'Well, Kaminari wasn't much help.'
After briskly sneaking out of the village of Buraun, remaining undetected by any of the local warriors, Asami quickly returned to the woodlands of the nation, completely empty-handed and Tanjo-less. The blue-haired woman had instantly clung to the idea of Nozomu snatching the boy up from under her nose, but the accusation strayed Asami into a very different future.
With the hood of her gray cloak draped over her head, concealing the lengthy blue hair that fails to blend in with nature, Asami ambled into the depths of numerous forests with a pensive expression coming into view. She had never expected to run into Tanjo's father, or a guardian to be more precise—and never in a million years would she presume that it was a Tansu vessel like her, much less Kaminari Nozomu; the white-haired man was previously known to be callous and empty to most—but for multiple years on end, Nozomu had successfully raised a kid who was not even of his own blood.
Times were certainly different, and Asami had to grasp the concept fairly well.
'But, if it wasn't Kaminari's lightning… who else could have practically kidnapped Tanjo?' Asami's mind brushed on the past once more, a solid mental image of the miniscule sparks she had found before she had lost the boy.
The wispy wind delicately pushed against Asami's cloak, the fabric swaying slightly. Even now, the blue-haired woman could not lock onto Tanjo's Aura Sense, the boy being too far gone to sense.
It did not leave a benign engraving in Asami's heart knowing that the first person she had openly accepted to be near had disappeared off the face of the planet—whether it was Tanjo's choice or by force, the woman had no option but to be alone once more.
Asami sighed, forlorn. "He was so promising, too…"
"Who was?" A teenage voice rippled through the area, alerting the blue-haired woman in less than a second.
Whipping around swiftly, Asami's eyes fell on the form of none other than Tanjo Nozomu, her apprentice. He was adorning a peculiar gaze that was fixed on the woman, his blue eyes appearing as bright as ever.
"Tanjo?" Asami reached for a reply subconsciously, blinking repeatedly.
The teenager craned his head to the side as he replied, "Yes?"
The blue-haired woman crept forward, subtly closing the space between her and Tanjo. Then Asami stretched her left arm outward, her hand poised to make contact with the boy.
*SLAP!*
"AH!"
Tanjo hurried to placate the burning sensation in his cheek the second after Asami's palm had slapped his face, forming a red discoloration in his skin. Using his own hand, the boy slowly rubbed the stinging pain away.
"I guess I deserve that…" Tanjo said with a hushed tone, removing his hand from his cheek.
Asami huffed and said, "You think!?"
Nodding gently, Tanjo ultimately met Asami's piercing glare.
"Seven hours!?" The blue-haired woman screeched, flashing her teeth angrily.
The teenage boy noticed the time span that Asami just mentioned, briefly running a quick recap of his excursion through his head.
'That's right… I was gone for a day and did not leave until noon.' Tanjo thought to himself, temporarily departing from the conversation at hand.
As Kronos explained before he boldly transported Tanjo into the alternate universe, time greatly narrowed when they were gone. A day in the other universe was a mere five hours for everyone in Tanjo's original universe.
"You're not foxing yourself out of this, Tanjo! Where were you!? Be detailed!" Asami shouted, her hood flying off of her head.
Tanjo mentally panicked, gulping saliva that had pooled within his throat due to the anxiety he currently felt. As the boy was pondering what to say, trying to formulate an improvised answer, his eyes had washed over the village of Buraun in the distance, staring at his old home with an odd look.
The boy raised a finger, jabbing it in the direction of Buraun. "Why were you here?"
Asami's eyes quickly flickered in the direction of the village, understanding what the teen was referring to.
"I came here looking for you after you left." Asami answered with brevity. "But it appears that you were off elsewhere."
Tanjo narrowed his eyes. "It wouldn't take you seven hours to search one village. You discovered something here."
"I ran into your joyous old man. I assumed he knew where you were." Asami was not late to retort, folding her arms.
The teenager's eyes broadened. "How did you know who he was?"
"Because," Asami started, "we were almost considered siblings at one point."
XXX
Solitude was, in its own right, one of the many methods of torture that could plague the mind of anyone. Whether it stems from the abandonment of others or from experiencing a total change that soon develops to ostracize someone from society, the mind undergoes malignant transformations, twisting how the world is perceived through the eyes of many.
But, for someone like Yuso, isolation was long overdue for him.
The male with crimson-red hair that extended down to his waist, his Shirugeto eyes retaining their intimidating flare, stood atop a ruined mountain—more specifically, one of the many mountains he had destroyed during his battle with a particular jet-black-haired rogue who could not be out of his teen years.
Yuso held an attentive watch on the lands of Adonai, his Aura Sense magnifying his vision immensely. In scope, the red-headed male could see a bug on a tree in another forest, but he was not hunting for such a tiny being in this case.
In truth, he was looking for the teenager he had battled. It was a fight that Yuso still held contempt for. The redhead could not help but be strung up by the fact that he failed to subdue a rogue warrior who could be easily deemed a rookie. However, said rookie had outwitted him in some instances, learned how Yuso fought, and even created plans in the midst of battle that managed to stump the Shirugeto user. And, when Yuso had finally trapped the rookie rogue with a seemingly inevitable death, a Tansu vessel that manipulated liquids appeared and rescued him.
'The Tansu vessel was close to the rookie. If he is still around, so is she.' Yuso inhaled deeply, his chest rising underneath his newest black kimono.
Killing Ryouiki, Yuso's previous master, was a grandiose achievement in the scheme of things for the redhead—Ryouiki impeded everything Yuso desired: eradicating all that was holy along with the insolent.
Without Ryouiki in the way, Yuso could purge those holy things, including beings like the Tansu vessels. The redhead would kill two birds with one stone: find the boy and manage to kill both him and the vessel that accompanied him.
It was not a haughty goal for Yuso. A Tansu vessel would obviously contend with Yuso in terms of power, but the redhead could not fall so easily. He would ensure the death of the Tansu woman, driven by the motivation to wring her throat out like a wet cloth. The same could be said about the rookie rogue.
The Shirugeto proceeded to whirl rapidly in a clockwise motion, the pentagram embedded in the redhead's eyes glowing ominously.
"Whether it be god or man, all will fall when matched with the imperium I hold." Yuso declared, brimming with vainglory as his red hair flowing in the wind.
*BRRRM!*
With those final words, Yuso vanished into a fleeting red light, not leaving a single trace upon departing.
XXX
Muy corto, but I also no longer feel the need to apologize for the length of these chapters when I am putting out the amount of action I desire. I will not dip down too low in chapter length, with this being about the shortest I will fall, but just know that even with this six-to-seven minute segment of story, I added what I wished to develop the story to fit my needs. What will happen next? Stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_