Chapter Three I glanced around, my body tense. I knew what was going to happen next. I waited, then threw myself back. A punch whipped through the air where my head was. I landed, letting my right foot skid backwards, taking up a Taekwondo guard stance, my rear heel off the ground. In front of me, the same ugly-ass sonofabitch stood, and glared at me.
Ryou: “Who the hell are you? What’s going on here? Where are my friends?”
The man just kept glaring. Either he was deaf, or he was ignoring me, or he was just retarded. Either way, I was angry. The man growled, and charged.
Just like in the dream. In that case…
I ducked the man’s punch, then threw a straight punch towards his solar plexus. The man was as fast as I remembered. His hand blurred in and caught my punch. My other hand whipped through the air, heading towards his throat. He caught that one too. I kicked at his crotch, but he blocked with his knee. I head-butted him, but he didn’t seem affected. He twisted, spinning my body around, and let go. I flew through the air, and crashed through a booth. I landed, rolling instinctively. I stood up again. This was impossible. No one could be this fast.
Should have brought my weapons out.
The man leaped at me, and grabbed at my shirt. I jumped backwards, spinning at the same time to throw out a back kick. The man grabbed my leg. I jumped with my other leg, and lashed out with a hook kick. He grabbed that leg too. With a grunt, he threw me again. I went sailing over the railing.
Yep, just like in the dream.
I twisted in mid-air to put my feet under me, and, the moment I landed, I rolled to dissipate the force of the impact. Even so, the impact jarred my ankles. I stood up, wincing at the pain in my ankles. I glanced up just as the man jumped off. He fell towards me, and, just like the dream, I couldn’t move. The man landed inches in front of me, knees bending to absorb the force. He drew himself to his full height. I winced as I caught his scent. This guy smelled like shit. At that moment, I regretted honing my senses.
This guy’s even taller than Koike
He sneered at me. “Weak.”
I growled, and, suddenly, I could move again. I punched out with my right hand, index middle knuckle extended, aiming for his eye. He caught my punch. Again.
That is fucking annoying
I punched out with my left hand, but this time, I feinted. The man tried to catch it, but he missed. When his hand went past, I immediately threw a straight knife hand pierce. The man dodged, but he wasn’t fast enough. My hand grazed the side of his face. At the same time, I kicked up with my left leg, and got him between the legs. His eyes bulged. His grip on my right hand loosened. I tore my right hand free, and punched the man full in the face.
He staggered back.
Perfect.
I took one, small, turning step, which helped me add momentum to my spin, and hit him with a back kick. The back kick is a kick that gets most of its power from the spin. Generally, the faster the spin, the stronger the kick. As long as the spin can be controlled, that is. That was a modified back kick that added even more speed to the spin. I’d practiced that move at Fujiwara-sensei’s dojo until I could control the spin well
My kick surged toward him, but he leaped back. He growled. I could see a cut on his cheek where my knife hand pierce got him. I was glad I hadn’t cut my fingernails in a while.
So he IS human after all.
I closed my eyes, and let out a breath. I fought to calm myself. Fujiwara-sensei always said emotions affected the ability to fight. I opened my eyes.
Here we go.
The man charged, I waited until he’d committed to his attack, then stepped aside, dodging his punch. My right hand flicked out, grabbing his wrist, then my left palm crashed into his elbow. The man grunted in pain. I let go of his wrist, then moved my hand along his arm to crash into his neck in an inverse knife hand chop. It never made it. He caught my hand just before it hit his neck, then his arm hit me in the ribs, knocking the wind out of me. I landed on my back, gasping for air. The man stepped forward, his right foot rising. I guessed what he was about to do, and rolled aside. His foot smashed into the ground where my head had been. I got on my feet, and leaped backwards.
The man started walking towards me. I couldn’t seem to get air into my lungs. My vision was blurring. The man spoke
“Give up. You don’t stand a chance against me.”
Ryou: “Fuck you.”
I stepped forward, both my hands blurring. This was a technique I’d been playing around with. Basically, it relied on human nature. If I can flash enough punches at someone’s face, they’ll panic, and flinch. It even worked on Fujiwara-sensei, once. I was praying it worked now.
The man’s eyes widened, and he flinched back. Not wasting my chance, I stiffened the fingers of my right hand, and stabbed it into his neck. The man choked, and bent forward. I grabbed his head, and rammed my knee into his face. Still holding onto his head, I jumped and twisted, ramming my knee into his temple. I landed, and was going to ram him again, when both his palms slammed into my stomach. All the air in my lungs exploded outward. I fell to my knees. The man stood, and I could see two nasty cuts where my knee had hit him.
“You are annoying.”
I cursed, then turned and ran. There was a store here that sold camping supplies, including knives. I hated having to use a weapon against an unarmed opponent, but I needed an edge. I glanced behind me. The man wasn’t following me.
What’s he up to?
I reached the store, and went in. I ignored the knives on display. They wouldn’t be sharp. I went further into the store, and saw what I wanted. A selection of bowie knives were on the wall, under a safety glass cover. I grabbed a pole, smashed the cover, and grabbed two bowie knives. I winced. The last hit that man gave me must have cracked at least one of my ribs on the left side of my body. I tested the edges of the knives. They were sharp. Fujiwara-sensei had told us the basics of fighting with knives. I grabbed some duct tape, and taped the knives to my palms, with the knives in the reverse grip position. I opened and closed my hands. The knives remained securely fastened to my palms. Satisfied, I stood up, and walked out.
“Ready?”
I froze. The man was outside.
What the fuck?! He was WAITING for me?!
I gritted my teeth, then took up my combat stance. I waited. And waited. The man just stood there, arms crossed, that ugly face watching impassively. I had enough. With a roar, I charged towards the man. Suddenly, everything around me disintegrated, turning into a shifting mass of colors.
What the hell?
Shapes took form, and I was standing in a wooden room. I looked around. There were two women, one with long blond hair, another with short black hair, and a man with a tribal tatto on his right arm were standing in front of me. I raised my fists.
“Ryou!”
Emi?
I glanced behind me. Koike, Emi, and Asuka were there. I raised one eyebrow at them.
Ryou: “Where exactly were you guys when I was getting the crap beaten out of me?”
The woman with long hair stepped up and held her hand out towards me.
“There will be time for that later. First, let’s get those bruises looked at.”
I batted her hand away.
Ryou: “I’m fine. I’d like to know what’s going on. If you don’t mind.”
I said the last few words in a tone that dripped in sarcasm. The man stiffened, and moved forwards, but the woman who had stepped up waved her hand, and he sat down.
Hmm. That woman could be the leader here.
The woman sat down, and gestured for me to sit as well. I remained standing. The woman sighed.
“I can’t really blame you for your suspicion. You’ve been brought here, away from your comfortable world, with no warning whatsoever”
World? Say what?! Are we still on Earth? Or is this woman just crazy?
The woman was still speaking.
“I am Yuki. This” She gestured toward the woman with long hair “is Miharu.” She gestured toward the man “And that’s Masato. You are here because..”
The man named Masato cut in.
Masato: “I think it would be best if we disarmed him before we tell him.”
I raised my fists, with the knives still wrapped in duct tape.
Ryou: “I’m not dropping these until I know what’s going on.”
Masato: “Oh, really?”
Masato stood up, and faced me.
Seems Yuki isn’t going to stop him this time.
Koike moved to stand beside me.
Koike: “I’m with him.”
I glanced at Koike. His face was set. Emi and Asuka moved to stand behind me as well.
Thanks, guys.
I looked back at Masato and waited for him to make a move. He was unarmed, which meant that when he attacked me, I’d be able to cut him. His right hand flicked forward.
Fast!
I dodged, my right hand coming up and cutting his wrist. He jumped back with a curse.
Yuki: “Don’t underestimate him. This boy managed to give Kazuma three minor cuts on his face. Without the knives.
Masato seemed surprised. Then he smiled.
Masato: “Impressive. I didn’t think any human could injure Kazuma. Even one of the Four.”
Four? Does he mean us? Wait. “Human”?
He smiled, and licked his cut. Next moment, he was right in front of me, with his hand an inch from my throat.
Oh. Shit.
He leaped back, and smirked.
I watched them a moment, then lowered my hands and started to cut off the duct tape.
Emi: “What are you doing?”
I glanced at her.
Ryou: “You saw that. He could’ve killed me with one hit. I’m guessing the other two here are at least around his
level. I’ll listen to their story.”
I finished cutting off the duct tape, and looked at them.
Masato grinned, but then something changed. His eyes turned yellow, his fingernails grew longer and sharper, and
he grew slightly bigger and more muscled. But the most frightening thing was his mouth. It widened, the teeth turning into huge fangs.
He licked his teeth with an impossibly long tongue. I leaped back, pulling the others with me.
Holy shit!
Ryou: “You’re vampires?!”
Masato laughed, the sound of it not sounding human at all. I started to regret dropping my knives.
Yuki: “Not exactly. We are…well, in your world, I suppose you would call us demons. But we’re only half demon.”
Ryou: “Gee, that makes me feel so much better.”
Great. I’m in the same room as three half-demons, all of whom can probably kick my ass with one hand.
Great.
Chapter Two I was on the top floor of one of the local malls. I looked around. Something was bothering me about the place, but I couldn’t place it.
What the-?
Something hit me in the jaw. Instinctively, I twisted, absorbing the blow. I landed on my feet, and looked up. The ugliest person I had ever seen stood in front of me. He was big, too, and well muscled.
Ryou: “The hell is your problem?!”
The man growled, and charged again. I ducked his punch, then, pushing up with my legs, I struck out with an uppercut. The man dodged it, then kicked me in the chest.
He’s damned fast..
By now, I was throughly pissed. Adrenalin pumped through my body, numbing the pain. I roared, and charged at the man. At the last moment, I jumped, and kicked out in a side kick. The man dodged it again. When I was passing, I punched out with my right hand. The man grabbed my hand, and spun me around. I punched out with my other hand, but he caught that hand too.
This isn’t possible!
I pulled back both my hands, kicking out with my foot at the same time. Without letting go of my hands, he dodged my foot, and threw me through a booth. Then I realized what was bothering me. There was no one in the mall. There was only me, and that ugly sonofabitch that was attacking me.
What the hell is going on?
The man jumped at me, and grabbed my shirt. I brought my hands together with all my strength, and hit at the sides of the man’s head. Again, the man dodged it, and threw me again. This time, over the railing. My eyes widened.
Shit!
I landed on the ground floor. Somehow, my legs didn’t break from the landing. I looked up, and saw the man jumping down. I froze. I watched the man descend toward me.
Move! Damnit, MOVE!
I couldn’t. My entire body was frozen. Just before the man landed on me… I woke up.
Geez. That was one weird-ass dream.
My radio was on. I sighed, staggered over, and turned it off. I stretched, yawned, and fell back onto the bed. I lay there for a while, then rolled off the bed and went to the toilet. I splashed my face with cold water, and brushed my teeth. I put on my school uniform on, picked up my school bag, and went downstairs. I grabbed a bread bun, then left for school. The cool morning air greeted me. As I walked to school, I thought about the dream I just had.
That was strange. A few times, I definitely should have hit him. It was as if he wasn’t really there, or my reach had become shorter..
I shrugged, then put it out of my mind. I got to school early, sat down at my desk, and got ready for boring school day. At least it was a Friday, which meant only half a day of school, and no school for the next two days.
After school, Koike and a few of the guys waited for me at the front gates.
Koike: “Hey, wanna go hang out at the mall today?”
Ryou: “Sure man.”
We headed over to the mall, and ate lunch at McDonalds. Personally, I prefer Burger King, but everybody wanted McDonalds, so I was pretty much overruled. After that, we went to the arcade, which was on the top floor. I looked around, remembering my dream, then put it out of my mind. Just a dream, after all.
Koike and the guys went to a racing game. I went to my favourite game in the arcade, Silent Scope 2. It was a sniper game, and somehow appealed to me. I can usually finish at least the first two missions with 100% accuracy. I put in a game token, put my eye to the scope of the rifle, and started shooting. I had almost finished the first mission, and was lining up a shot to the boss’s head, which would give me an instant kill, when somebody poked me in the ribs. I jumped, and missed the shot. I turned around to glare at the person who poked me.
When I realised who that person was, my glare turned into a surprised look.
It was Sagami Emi. I smiled, reached over, and ruffled her hair. She glared at me. I smiled wider. She hated it when I did that. Which was exactly why I did it.
Ryou: “Where’s Asuka?”
Emi: “ She’s buying some game tokens.”
Asuka walked over, and smiled at me.
Asuka: “Hi, Ryou.”
Ryou: “Hey Asuka. You guys gonna watch a movie later?”
Emi: “Nah, we’re just here to kill some time.”
Ryou: “Oh, ok. You wanna go for a drink or something later? Koike’s here, and I think Kumiko’s coming by later.”
Emi: “*makes disgusted face* As long as they don’t make out in front of me.”
Ryou: “*laughs* You could just look away.”
Emi glared at me. I smiled, and raised my hands, palms out, in surrender. Emi tried out the sniper game I was playing, and I watched, giving her a few tips here and there.
A few hours later, Koike, Asuka, Emi and me walked out of the arcade. I glanced around, noticing the absence of a certain someone.
Ryou: “Hey, Koike, where’s Kumiko?”
Koike: “She had to go for church.”
Ryou: “Aww…Your girlfriend ditched you so she could go listen to some old guy preach.”
Koike glared at me, and I laughed. He knew I was joking.
Emi: “Hey, guys, where’d everybody go?”
I looked at her, and started to say something. The words never left my mouth when I noticed that she was right. There was no one in the mall. The usual noise was gone, leaving only an eerie silence. I glanced back at the arcade. The machines were all off, as if there was a power cut. The guys from my class who were supposed to be in there, racing each other at a racing game, were gone. In fact, the entire arcade was empty.
What the hell?
This was wrong. I was reminded of my dream. Except, Koike, Emi, and Asuka were here with me. I couldn’t remember them in my dream, but then I wasn’t looking around much. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I glanced over, but there was nothing.
Ryou: “Guys, lets get out of here.”
There was no response. I looked back. They were gone. I was alone. I felt a tinge of fear.
Shit.
Any and all names and stuff in this story are purely coincidental. Hesitation Chapter One My name is Matsuo Ryou. I have black hair, and brown eyes. I’m a 16 year old student studying at
BRRRRIING!!!
And that, was the bell signaling the end of school for the day.
“Alright class, that’s it for today. I want you to finish the rest of this chapter, and pass it up tomorrow.”
The entire class groaned.
Well, I’m getting a late night today.
You could just copy from somebody tomorrow morning, you know.
That would mean waking up early.
....Never mind then.
Yes, I talk to myself in my head. Live with it.
I packed up my things, and shoved them in my bag. My best friend and rival, Saruwatari Koike, walked past.
Koike: “Hey, shortie.”
Ryou: “What? Stickboy.”
It was a long running joke between us. See, I’m about 5 feet 5, and relatively well-toned. He’s 5 feet 8, and closely resembles a bamboo plant. His hair is black, but not as dark as mine.
Koike: “You going to the Dojo?”
Ryou: “Whaddaya think?”
Koike: “*chuckles* Thought so. C’mon.”
Me and Koike both go the the same Dojo. The master there teaches a style that is mainly based on Taekwondo, but with a little bit of Judo thrown in for good measure. In terms of skill, I’m better than Koike, but his legs are long, and pack a lot of power, so we’re quite closely matched.
By this time, we’d left the school, and were walking past our sister school, us, or to be specific, Koike. I tapped Koike on the shoulder.
Ryou: “I’ll see you at the Dojo.”
Koike: “Sure. Later man.”
I raised my hand in acknowledgement, and quickened my pace. I smiled slightly and nodded at Kumiko as she ran past. She returned the smile, then went to Koike. I turned a corner, and breathed out slightly.
Jealous, ain’tcha?
Shut up.
Suddenly, I felt a need to run, fast. To feel the wind rushing past my hair. So I did. Ignoring the stares of the people around me, I ran as fast as I could, losing myself in the steady rhythm of running.
When I reached the Dojo, I was panting hard. I took a few minutes to catch my breath, then walked in. My master, Fujiwara Tadayoshi, looked up from teaching an intermediate class as I entered, and smiled. I bowed, and headed to the back to change into my training gi.
Me and Fujiwara-sensei go way back. When I was little, I was a real crybaby. That, combined with my small size, and hot temper, made me a target of bullies. The first time I met Sensei, I was getting my ass handed to me by a few bullies. Sensei chased them off, and treated my wounds at his Dojo. The next day, the same thing happened. After that, Sensei offered to train me. I went to his Dojo immediately after school, and stayed until past dinner, everyday, for a week. The next time those bullies found me, I left them dazed, bruised, and bleeding. Ever since, I’ve spent as much time as I could training at the Dojo.
Y’know, when you think about it, Sensei’s been more of a father to us than our own father.
Gee, ya think? My real father thinks being bullied builds character. Just how does being beaten up by a few guys bigger than me “build character”?
Yea..Sensei’s the one that got me interested in martial arts too. He’s a good man. You remember what he said when we asked him whether we could train under different masters?
Haha, yea. I still can’t believe it. He actually encouraged us to go learn. Something about gathering more knowledge about martial arts. Knowledge is power and all. You know what?
I agree with him.
I stepped out of the changing room, and tossed my bag into a corner, and looked around. Fujiwara-sensei had founded this dojo twenty years ago, and he’d named it the “Fujiwara Martial Arts Dojo”. During his time here, he’d trained several martial artists that went on to become some of the best in the world. He’d asked them not to tell anyone about this dojo though, something about not wanting the fame that would bring. I asked him about it once, and he’d said that the fame would bring lots of students, but most of them would expect to become expert fighters without putting in any effort. Fujiwara-sensei hates students that don’t put in any effort. I’ve seen him expel lazy students. Of course, those students were really REALLY lazy. He respects people who put in effort though, even if they’re not very good. Me and Koike train under him for free, in return for helping out around the dojo and with some of the beginner classes. Obviously, we put a lot of effort into both our training, and teaching. The dojo itself was fairly simple. The floor was covered in tatami mats, a few punching bags, chin up bars and e.t.c lined one wall, some trophies from the local competitions were mounted in a glass cupboard, there was a male and female locker room, complete with showers, and a storeroom where the equipment and weapons were kept. Not many weapons though. As far as I know, the only weapons Fujiwara-sensei uses and teaches are the nunchaku, staff, one-handed sword, and two-handed sword.
I went through my usual stretches, then did a front split. I pushed as low as I could, ignoring the protests from my legs, but still remained a few inches above the ground.
Still got a bit more to go.
I held that position for about thirty seconds, then switched legs, held it for another 30 seconds, then a side split for another thirty seconds. I stood up, and bounced on my ankles to loosen my legs. By that time, Koike had arrived, and changed. Fujiwara-sensei beckoned us over.
Fujiwara-sensei: “Boys, this class will be over in about half an hour. In the meantime, you boys can either do some light sparring, or practice.”
Me and Koike both bowed, then walked over to an uncrowded area. I glanced at Koike.
Ryou: “You wanna spar?”
Koike: “ Nah, man, I wanna practice nunchaku for a while.”
I sighed. Me and Koike started learning nunchaku at about the same time, but Koike had always been better at doing tricks with the nunchaku. Those big hands of his probably didn’t hurt too.
Koike grabbed his bag, and pulled put a pair of nunchaku. I went to my bag and pulled out my nunchaku too.
When Koike and I had finished the beginner kata for nunchaku, Fujiwara-sensei had given us both these nunchaku. Until then, we’d been using the beginner nunchaku, which were shorter, silver-colored, and made of a softer type of alloy. The nunchaku Fujiwara-sensei had given us were black, longer, harder, and had our names engraved on the both sides in elegant kanji.
Koike started twirling his nunchaku immediately, drawing stares from the intermediate class. I rolled my eyes.
Ryou: “Show off”
Koike just laughed. I put my nunchaku aside for now. I did a few cartwheels, butterfly kicks, crescent kicks, and rolls to loosen up my entire body. I finished up with a handstand, holding it for a few seconds.
Koike: “Now who’s the show-off?”
I smirked. Koike might have been better with the nunchaku skills, but I’d always been more agile than him. I picked up the nunchaku, then went through the beginner kata. When I finished, I put the nunchaku beside my bag, then started hitting one of the punching bags until the intermediary class was finished, and the other members of the advanced class arrived.
After the training session, me and Koike showered in the locker room, changed into street clothes, and left. Koike went straight home. I glanced at my cell phone to check the time(I don’t carry a watch). It was 6pm. I shrugged, then started for home. When I reached the front door to my house, I stopped and listened. I could faintly hear my parents arguing. Again. I sighed.
Home, sweet home.
I unlocked the door with my key, slipped in, locked the door again, and went upstairs to my room. I find both my mum and dad annoying, plus they fight a lot, so I try not to spend too much time with them. I slipped into my room, and closed the door. I listened. They were still arguing. I winced when I heard a particularly loud thud. The voices ebbed, then they started arguing again. I sighed, and looked around. My room is pretty much a typical teenager’s room. A pile of used clothes in the center, a radio, a wardrobe, complete with mirror, a desk with a few photos on it, and a bed. I walked over to my desk and looked at the first photo on my desk. It was a Filipino girl, with long, black hair, and me. Meet my pet sister, Hamano Michiyo. She used to go to my school, and we’d gotten pretty close. More than friends, but never romantically involved. She moved back to the
The second photo was a picture of me, Koike, and some other guys from my class on a class trip. I passed over that one. The third photo was of me and two girls. One was short, with shoulder length black hair. Saruwatari Asuka(no relation to Koike). She’s one of my closest friends. The other girl was almost the same height as me, with big, soft, brown eyes, and short black hair. In the photo, she was grinning madly at the camera, her right hand in a “v” sign. Sagami Emi. For the past year and a half, I had a crush on her. When I realised she’d never love me the way I wanted her to, I slowly started to get over her. It’s been a long, painful process, but I’m mostly over her now. Still have to be careful not to let myself fall back into love though. But, with all the pain I’ve felt because of her, I’ve never once regretted it. It’s mainly because of her that I developed most of my better traits. I stretched, then started doing my homework. About 7pm, I went down for dinner. My mum and dad seemed cheerful, but I noticed a new dent in one of the walls, like someone had hit the wall with something hard. I ate, then went online for a while. About 10pm, I went up to my room. I changed into a sleeveless shirt and boxers, then opened one of the drawers of my desk and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a glass. I looked at it for a moment, debating whether I should drink some. See, a few months ago, I started having trouble sleeping. So far, a glass of this stuff is the only thing that helps. But I hated having to depend on artificial means for anything. I mean, I don’t even take aspirin unless it’s really serious. I sighed, then put the whiskey and glass back in my drawer.
Not yet.
I turned off the lights, then climbed into bed. And lay there, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the night to pass.
short