Age of Darkness (38 page)

The sounds of Tobimaru cutting down the
rest of Yata’s comrades were drowned out by his memories of enjoying winters in
Bakaara. All of the children would come together and have giant snowball fights,
tackling each other in the snow. He always won, of course. He felt a jolt as he
remembered how Keimaro always watched them from a distance, knowing that if he
had joined, he would have been targeted. Oh, how he wished that they could’ve
been friends before all of this. That was something he would forever regret,
that he had never had a chance to enjoy a normal friendship with his best
friend.

***

After seeing Yata’s memory, Keimaro’s eyes
opened to find that the rain had stopped. There was nothing but silence as he
stared at Yata’s unmoving body. The last time that they’d talked, they had
fought. And all his friend had for him was pure intentions. He clenched his
teeth, water mixed with tears still running down his cheeks.
I wish we
could’ve had a normal friendship, too, Yata.
His hands were shaking at his
sides, and he heard shuffling behind him but didn’t bother to look.

Yuri had been thrown to the ground at the
gate of Z’s mansion. In his human form, the corners of his mouth were heavily
bruised and blood splotched his cheek. He gritted his teeth, glaring up at
Tobimaru, Hidan, and Junko. The three Bounts had ganged up on him and defeated
him soundlessly. The werewolf glanced over his shoulder to see Keimaro kneeling
at Yata’s corpse. Yuri stared at his fallen comrade in shock, incapable of
believing what had happened to the mansion and to Yata. He wasn’t given much
time to mourn because he was hauled to his feet and thrown to the ground beside
Keimaro. The Bounts dragged Aika along and shoved her down beside Yuri.

“Oi, Hayashi boy,” Junko said, tapping
Keimaro on the shoulder and holding his bloodied dagger in his hand. “Stop
crying. He’s gone, all right? What you should be thinking about is how you will
get him back. You see, if you help Kuro—”

“You’re still trying to get me to join you?”
Keimaro said, his voice deep and shaky. “You killed my best friend. My first
friend. He was always there for me. He always gave me hope that we would be
successful in avenging my family. He was more than just a friend; he was a
brother to me. And you killed him….” The boy sprang to his feet and swung
around, slamming his fist into Junko’s face with such speed that the other
Bounts weren’t able to react.

A crack sounded, and Junko spiraled through
the air, landing several meters away with blood streaming from his broken nose.
The Bount grunted as he twirled his dagger, chuckling nervously. “You’ve got
guts, Kei. You always have, even back then in Bakaara. But you’re foolish!”

“Am I?” Keimaro said, turning to face the
Bounts. His eyes were glowing an ominous red, but they weren’t filled with
hatred. They were apathetic. “I’ve made up my mind, Junko. I’m going to tear
you apart … and you’re going to know what it’s like to feel true pain.” He began
to make his way toward his opponents.

Tobimaru sighed, looking around for a
weapon since Gavin had shattered his blade earlier. He wrenched a stray sword
from the ground, pointing it at Keimaro. He frowned, looking at Keimaro in
disbelief. “Is he suicidal?” he muttered to his partner. “What could he
possibly—”

Keimaro swept his hand in the air, and
flames roared to life —but this time, something was different. The flames
morphed from their warm colors into a pitch-black, swirling around in the air
at Hidan. The Bount swept away with a gust of wind and vanished before the
flames were able to hit him. Still, the mere sight of this fire was enough to
make Tobimaru stagger back in fear. The boy moved on to Junko, who was staring
in awe.

Junko jabbed with his dagger at the boy,
but Keimaro saw everything coming. He grabbed Junko by his wrist, twisting and
snapping it like a twig. He ignored the Bount’s cry of agony and yanked the man
onto the ground, forcing Junko onto his stomach. “You’ve done nothing but make
me suffer,” he snarled, driving his foot down onto Junko’s back, rapidly
stomping on the man’s squirming body. “I’m sick of losing the people that I
love. I’m sick of everything!”

Tobimaru snapped to his senses and sprinted
at Keimaro to save his comrade. His eyes widened when Keimaro, with
unbelievable speed and power, drove a kick into his diaphragm. The man doubled
over, grasping his stomach, the air forced from his lungs.
What?
he
thought.
How is he able to read my movements so easily?
The Bount raised
his hand, using his telekinesis to choke Keimaro with as much pressure as he
could muster.

Keimaro glared at Tobimaru and swept his
hand, sending black flames that forced the Bount to disengage, staggering away
before the dark fire could engulf him. The boy heard Junko’s whimpers of pain,
and Keimaro drove his sword down into the Bount’s leg, skewering his flesh and
pinning him to the ground. Blood splattered across the earth as the bald man
screamed out in agony. His eyes were wide with fear, never having experienced
such pain before. Tears streaked down his cheeks and mucus ran out of his nose
as he raised his hand in an attempt to cast magic, but Keimaro knew exactly
what he was planning. He brought his boot crashing down on the man’s second
wrist, breaking that cleanly as well. “You look like you’re in pain, Junko,” he
said, bringing his hand upward. Black flames began to coat his fingertips, and
his eyes gleamed with malice as he brought his arm down. “Let me help you with
that!”

His arm sank into flesh, cutting through
Junko’s back as if it were nothing. In silence, Keimaro yanked his hand from the
flesh of the Bount’s corpse, blood coating his skin as he staggered back. He
swayed slightly, feeling everyone’s eyes upon him. His heart was pounding, and
he felt his stomach giving way. His fingers tingled with an unknown sensation
surging through his veins. His vision blurred, and he stumbled over the corpse at
his feet.

Tobimaru shifted nervously and gripped his
sword in front of him tightly, not quite sure what to do. He extended his hand
and grasped Keimaro’s body with an invisible force, yanking the boy in his direction.
Tobimaru’s grip on his blade loosened as he slashed his sword sideways as
Keimaro was dragged toward him.

Keimaro blinked as he felt the abnormal
tugging, as if the air itself were yanking at him. He grunted as he found
himself staggering toward Tobimaru, and then he saw that the Bount’s sword was
cutting at him. He raised his hand, hitting Tobimaru on the inside of the wrist
in order to prevent the blade from reaching him. He swung his fist, catching
the Bount in the cheek with a loud crack. Tobimaru took a step backward, his
head snapping to the side forcefully. When he turned his head back to face
Keimaro, his eyes were filled with a glowering hatred. He roared as he punched
at Keimaro.

Keimaro’s eyes widened as he was thrown
backward as if a cannon had slammed into his stomach. He rocketed several feet into
the air before he felt something invisible grasping at him again. He gasped as
his trajectory was completely changed while in mid-air. Defying physics, he was
dragged back toward Tobimaru with incredible speed. His face met the Bount’s
fist at full-force. The blow knocked Keimaro onto his back, and he slid past
Tobimaru, groaning. Despite his audible response, the punch hadn’t exactly
hurt. Normally he would’ve at least had a bloody or broken nose from such a
direct hit, but it felt as if the entire blow had been muted, numbed somehow.

Tobimaru turned to look at Keimaro and
raised an eyebrow. “It seems you have benefitted from your friend’s death.”

Keimaro held out his hands and saw that,
although they looked normal, they were solid steel, reminiscent of Yata’s
metallic powers. Was it possible that when the light had struck him in the
chest, it had been similar to how the meteor’s energy had transferred to him
four years ago? It was quite possible. He looked at Yata’s unmoving body and
gulped. Even after death, Yata was still with him, helping him to the very end.
He clenched his hand into a tight fist and was suddenly gusted off of the
ground by Hidan’s wind magic and was hurled across the entire courtyard,
smashing into the dirt like a skipping stone.

***

Hidan appeared out of thin air beside his
partner and whistled, brushing back his hair with a swift motion. “Wow, looks
like he’s even more frightening, huh? Black flames and increased stamina from
his friend. You could say that we are in a bit of a predicament, Tobimaru.”

“More than you know,” Tobimaru said,
rubbing his wrist as he twirled his sword and watched Keimaro, who was
beginning to get up. “Our attacks don’t do much damage to him anymore. He isn’t
like Yata. Yata was incapable of avoiding or blocking our attacks, so he was
practically a punching bag. We just waited until his stamina drained out.
However, Keimaro will be harder to hit, and his flames are the ultimate
offensive.”

“What’s with the black flames, though?”
Hidan muttered. “He killed Junko without any effort. Should we be worried?”

“Black flames are infamous and are
typically used only by demons. The flames are called the Kuroi Homura. They are
the fires that burn within the depths of hell,” Tobimaru explained, watching as
Keimaro slowly pushed himself to his feet. “They can burn through anything,
even water. The only thing that can douse them is holy water. Other than that,
the flames burn for eternity. But what intrigues me most about this is that the
flames can be used only by pure demons. Keimaro and I are both half-human. How
he’s managing to use them doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s because we have someone before us
with quite some potential,” Kuro’s voice echoed. Kuro stepped from behind Keimaro
as if appearing out of thin air. He tapped Keimaro’s shoulder with a light
chuckle before vanishing.

***

The boy saw nothing over his shoulder, but
he was sure that he had heard Kuro’s voice just behind him. He glanced to his
right and saw Kuro walking forward with his hands folded behind his back. “What
the hell do you want?” he snarled. “Did you come here to die like your friend?”

Kuro looked past Keimaro at his fallen
comrade, Junko. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. Soon his
sullen look was replaced with a small smile. “I suppose this is something that
I had not anticipated. You have surprised me. You do have talent, Keimaro. As
the creator of the Hayashi clan, I can assure you that what makes you stronger
is your hatred. But, to think that your anger and hatred can reach such an
extent that you can transcend your own humanity … now, that truly is something.
What is it that triggered this?” His eyes scanned the area and locked onto the
lines of dead bodies behind Yuri. “Ah. Friendship, bonds that were forcefully
severed, I presume?” He began to walk forward and came between Tobimaru and Keimaro.
“This magic is making you incredibly strong, I agree. We could use you.”

“Use me?” Keimaro scoffed. “After all that
you’ve done to me? You killed my family, destroyed my village, kidnapped my
younger sister, and killed my best friend along with all of my other comrades.
They are lying here as corpses before our eyes. How dare you offer me a
position to work beside you to accomplish your sick, twisted desires!”

“My desires, actually, are the same as
yours,” Kuro said with a laugh. “You see, everything here is so simple. I left
Junko with a simple set of instructions. Create a monster. Make the monster
suffer to the point that he lost his reason to live. And he created a monster,
you.”

Keimaro cringed at the word. He gritted his
teeth, glaring at Kuro.

“I wanted to transform a tranquil and peaceful
life into a world of hell. You see, such a sudden twist of events, such
forceful yanking of loved ones from one’s life can cause traumatic changes.
Simply from looking into your eyes, I can see the type of person that you were
before all of this happened,” Kuro said. “What happened to your family and your
village—the Bakaara massacre, was it? That was what made you into a monster. A
killer, one bound to revenge. However, we can give you back that life of tranquility.
Everything that you’ve ever wanted can be given back to you. You see, that is
the point of everything that we have done to you.”

“You’ve tormented me in order to force me
to join you so that I can get everything back?” Keimaro snarled.

“In order to open your eyes to the cruelty
of the gods. Your family was doomed from the very beginning. Whatever Junko did
to your family was going to happen either way. The Hayashi clan is doomed to be
extinct. There is no way to exist in a world created by gods who want us dead.
It is us or them, don’t you see?” Kuro exclaimed, growing louder as he spoke. “The
objective of the Bount organization is to destroy the gods and take our place on
their throne to govern over this world. With the power of the gods, we can bring
anyone that you want back to you. We can help you achieve anything that you desire.
Anything that you’ve ever wanted will be given to you. You can see your mother
again, your father. If you join us, your younger sister will be reunited with
you immediately.”

Mai.

Keimaro closed his eyes at the very thought
of having everything that he had ever lost returned to him. Yata would return,
his mother, his father, the people of his village. Everything could go back to
normal. He wouldn’t have to keep seeking revenge. Wasn’t it the gods’ fault
that the Hayashi clan was to be executed? If the Faar Empire hadn’t cooperated,
they would’ve had some other force carry out their desires to burn down
Bakaara. It was a hard decision. Join the people who had taken everything from
him in order to get everything back, or fight against them because it was the
right thing to do. His eyes opened.