London, a city of beauty seen by the human eye everyday, but where there is beauty, there is also ugliness, the heart of many citizens of the place is dark, dark as the darkest night and the longest night, why this darkness? Because of: Oni, Kitsune, Yōkai, and many other demons from many cultures that feed on hatred, killing and trickery, but one night, everything got to change.
Midnight struck London, a boy walks home, a teenager not younger than 15 walks alone in the very bad luminated street, the boy hears a scream of a woman, he goes there sees 4 men aggressively take advantage of a woman in a alley of a bad part of the town, the boy screams a them.
"Enough, scumbags." On of them turns around and looks at him with disgust
"Go fuck around in other places mate" The boy pulls up a badge and say with a firm and rough voice
"I will probably reconsider what YOU are doing, I called for backup no long ago so in about three minutes from here, now they will be here so you better scram till you are still not in cuffs... mate"
The men did not think more than a second and ran off.
"You got lucky, madame..." The woman got up and hugged the boy.
"Thank you!" The boy push her away softly,
"Go home, next morning go to the nearest police department and tell 'em what happened"
The girl runs off as he walks in the alley way forward to see if everyone fled from the scene, but gets backstabbed when he tries to pick up a knife. The boy is in shock, he did not check the corner on his right.
"Sorry kid… It had to be done…" The boy falls down on the walkway and the man runs away. The boy woke up in a blank place, he was wearing a kimono…
"Where am I?" he said to himself and, a voice with a somewhat Asian accent responds:
"You are nearly dead, on your way to hospital..."
"Who said that? God?" The boy asks, a bit scared thinking God is Asian…
"No... I am just a spirit, that was like you, a loyal man to the society, and did what it was meant to be done... A samurai..." The boy gets up and sees blood coming out of his back and stomach but does not feel any pain
"Didn't the samurai do everything for a price?"
"Sadly yes… But I was not like those foolish men, I was chosen by goddess Amaterasu to fight for the people, against DEMONS! Now you're nearly dead… You shall seek my aid in a collaboration"
"Oh God... Oh GOD!" The boy was scared, he had all his life in front of him and just because one hero move wrong and now he is nearly dead!
"Listen! I got an offer to make, I will save you from death, but you have to use me to help others and kill criminals and evil creatures." the boy thinks for a second
"If it is death or becoming a hero? I think that deal is more than perfect!" A man with a long beard in a samurai armor appears in front of the boy
"We forgot introductions, my name is Lord Genji Hashimura, what name you posses child?" He said that while pulling his arm on the handle of the blade
"Paul Rose" The blade turned into a tattoo and prolonged itself along from the neck till the end of the abdomen. After that Paul woke in a hospital bed, there he sees his brother
"What the fuck are you doing here Dan?" Paul said, he also seems fine, like the blade did get into his body.
"Work... You? What were you doing there anyway?" Paul sighs starting to realize he lost his brother's badge… The same badge he used in the alley.
"I was helping a woman to get away from some rapists." Daniel feels worried about this since it is not the first time his brother does heroic things.
"You are no hero Paul! You're no guy with super strength or magic or any other superpower those heroes have! You're not like them you are" Daniel get interrupted by Paul
"Shut the fuck up! You're a detective, but what you do all day is to slack off! I did more than those small fry heroes, I do what is civic, if I get beat up by mobsters fine, if I nearly get killed by a roadman fine, I don't want to be depended on superheroes, they can do an 180 and turn on us doing shit against us, we need to defend ourselves not to let others protect us!" Daniel leaves Paul's bed and say
"You've been in a coma for less than a week, I paid the hospital bill, I don't know when they'll let you out, but please stay put, and allow me to take you home, do it for mom and dad if not for me"
"Fine, no more heroic doings till I get better" a moment of silence filled the room "The badge is in my possession now Paul…" After saying that Daniel leaves the room with tears flowing on his face, thinking he failed to take care of his brother.
Paul goes to sleep and wakes up in that blank reality, now filled with a table with two pillows one on each side.
"Sit..." Paul hears that voice more clear than last time, he sits and from behind he hears footsteps, he turns and dodges a blade
"What the fuck?"
"Good reaction, young Paul, better than last time" Paul gets up and looks at Genji
"So we start training now?"
"No!" Genji said in a serious tone, like those masters in bad karate movies
"I got a question?"
"Say it child.."
"How the hell do you speak English fluently?" Genji put his hand on his forehead in disappointment
"That's the question?"
"Yes!"
"I've been here, in the United Kingdom for 50 years and cooperated with a man named Lucas Anvil not long ago" Paul's eyes grew wide as he heard the name of the biggest tech merchant in the world worked with Genji.
"Oh, so you're somewhat of a bigshot are we?" Genji Ignores that and changes the subject to the main course
"You need to learn how to hold a sword first" Lord Genji summons a book in his hand and search something in it than screams:
"By a duel!" he said with a strict tone.
"With the guy that backstabbed me"
"Stop asking needless questions son! Well you'll fight me" Genji gives Paul a sword.
"When you defeat me than you can train with me, child" Genji Takes a stance after saying that, the wind filled the room but it wasn't getting in Genji's way. Paul takes a stance, not knowing what to do
"NOW STRIKE!" Genji screams. The swords start to clash, Paul try his best in defeating the master but his lack of skill does nothing but withhold his true potential, he got hurt, but still fought with Genji, till he lost his arm when Genji cut it of, he seen and feel the arm falling but he still fought, in an attempt to cut Genji's neck, Genji dodges but still get his ponytail cut and there Genji said
"Stop!" Paul stopped looking at his arm and somehow appears intact.
"Lesson one finished, no matter the opponent's skill, with the best mindset you'll alway win." Paul looks at Genji
"I didn't win…" Paul said not understanding what his master said
"You see, no one beat me in their first try, but no one got as close… For me you've done this one" Genji smiles to comfort Paul, but Paul wasn't satisfied with the answer Genji gave….
"You've said this was a battle if I win! I did not win…" He looks at the ground ashamed because he did not even touch properly with the sword.
"For your Knowledge I cheated… I can't be harmed in this state, but you somehow did, so if I was cut properly I would probably die for real…" He smiles, hardly fakeable "You're good at this Paul… Just unskilled!"
Paul still looks a bit disappointed but can deal with that…
"From now on you've got to train daily! 100 pushups, 200 sit ups, 300 squats, and a 50 kilometer run! You can't run yet because you're not discharged, so do the first thing"
Paul looks amazed by the task "I've watched a Japanese animated series with similar requirements." He starts to try recreating the main character from the show's voice " 100 pushups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats and a 10 kilometer run, every single day" He laughs, and then a smirk on his face appears "I guess you Japanese people love this type of training. I guess I'll start when I wake up!"
Genji looked amazed, but also confused "See you later Paul!"
The end of chapter one