A young girl with voluptuous features and obsidian black hair in an orange kimono, knelt in front a samurai, who was holding her brother.
As tears streamed down her rosy cheeks, she begged: "Please! Take me in his place! He is a cripple from birth, he can barely do any fighting."
The gray haired Bushi, with a scar on his face, crouches. Looking in her direction, his gaze turns to her slightly rotund behind pared with perfect hips. Forthwith, his brown-eyes speak a lot of his intentions —impure.
"What makes you think I would agree?"
Before the girl could reply, the Bushi places her chin into his palm tightly, stopping her from talking. A second later, he lifts her, grinning on his square shaped face.
"Well, aren't you a rare beauty? With such a body and face, maybe we can reach a deal," he said, licking her cheeks like a dog.
Meanwhile, the little brother limped over to them, yelling, "Let my sister go! I will go with you! Please don't do anything to her!"
"Tsk." Frustrated the Bushi slapped the little brother, sending him spinning further into the kitchen.
"Now, you have done it! You're coming with me; to teach you your place, I'm going to defile your sister, right in front of you!"
»»»That was his initial plan.
Instantly, the girl was thrown on top of the wooden table with a thud, while she whimpered in fear... she had to pay the price of being born weak.
The Bushi was quick to remove his armor, as the lust in his eyes sharpened. The moment he was done, however, a bang echoed in his head —someone had hit him with a brick, knocking him unconscious.
The young beauty's gray-eyes trailed in the direction where the brick came from —outside—: a silhouette of a young man, about 5 feet 9, walked slowly to her, brick in hand.
Although she couldn't disclose his facial features, since they were hidden by his wet long, beige locks, nor his physical ones thanks to the pile of clothes hidden underneath his haori, she knew this man.
—It's him! He came to rescue me again!
Delighted, she was. Nonetheless, her heart couldn't stop pattering like a broken, diesel generator, as if, the man had another agenda today. The moment he arrived, he conformed her queasy by extending his brick to her.
...Tsukino knew what he wanted her to do.
However, she couldn't bring herself to accept it. Killing, was something she wasn't willing to do; her trembling figure said it all.
Sighing, the man placed her forehead on hers, speaking in a deep voice, which was turned to sound different:
"Sometimes, we need to take matters into our own hands. Let's say, he did what he wanted, when you report him, would you be satisfied with the outcome?"
Tsukino remained motionless. She was oblivious to what the Bushi was going to do, but she was positive, she wasn't going to like it. Nonetheless, after six seconds, she nodded. It's still better than killing!
The figure sighed. Raising his head, he wiped her tears.
"Look at him. Right now, you want to let him go, because he is unconscious and the wound on his head is enough, right?",
Tsukino nodded.
"When he wakes up, who knows what he will do? How long has he been pulling such a trick on oblivious, young girls? How many more are going to have their lives destroyed, because Tsuki couldn't finish him? And, obviously, he is going to take your young brother to the age regiment camp."
Tsukino's mouth moved, but couldn't say a thing, inciting the man to add: "The world is stingy; take chances when they stand before you. Some people need to die. Would you be happy to see such a hypocrite walking around with a smile, when he has toyed with you?"
A few seconds of silence passed. Tsukino's body couldn't stop trembling from fear. It was lives for a life —any great leader knew which side to take. However, she knew her principles: every life matters.
Noticing how naive she was, the silhouette clicked his tongue. "At one point in this life, you have to kill. Don't you want to go to the age regiment in place of your brother? There, you're going to kill innocent lives —people who are doing their best to survive. Better, finish off this feces first, to prepare yourself."
Tsukino wanted to deny it, but the figure was right —she had to kill at some point.
Seeing the girl finally taking the brick, the figure showed a faint smile behind his locks.
On the other hand, Tsukino trembled ever so lightly, walking to the samurai's location. Her thoughts told her to stop what she was about to do, but she had already taken the murder weapon.
Reaching, she crouched toward the samurai's head, raising the brick with all the strength she could master.
Bringing it down, tears came, as a sad mutter escapes: "I'm sorry."
Bang!
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry...!"
She repeated the process again, and her, "I'm sorry," got louder and frantic in the process —she had lost her mind.
When she wanted to bring the brick down for the 56th time, a hand touched it, before reaching the minced broken bone pieces on the ground.
In the process she faintly noticed a pink birthmark similar to hers on the man's left wrest:
[קדושה—אפס]
"You should stop now. Don't loss yourself; your brother is watching."
At that moment, her eyes wide opened to what she had done: the head, looked like it was chewed by rats and spit out; the eyeballs sticking to a piece of flesh didn't make the sight any more pleasing.
Tsukino wept.
On the other hand, the young man's expression didn't change, carrying her in princess style to her brother, who was trembling like a sea weed —he had seen everything. Dread filled his eyes, and he wanted to throw up in disgust. However, he held himself back: how would that make his sister feel? Worse! —she did this for him.
Receiving Tsukino with trembling hands, the man's voice echoed in his small ears, "She is strong."
When he looked in the direction, the figure was walking toward the corpse, before putting it in a sack, like it was something he had done numerous times. Once done, he mopped the place, leaving it spotless clean.
Taking the samurai armor, the figure glared over to the raising moon —still gray— on his way out.
"This might be the last time I help you two."
***
Tsukino jerks up from her nightmare, as sweat beads track down her body. Immediately confirming her surrounding, she takes a deep breath.
"It was just a dream of past events."
Standing, she notices that she is on a giant eagle profound beast. Before long, she catches on to the site of the Tama-Artist controlling the beast, glaring intently in the direction of it's back —close to her. Following her line of sight, Tsukino meets an odd sight... Lucien and Shinji playing renju.
—Are they friends? I only saw them talking during first day.
She shakes her head at that thought.
—There must be wasting time...
That is the only possible outcome for the two being together. As her gaze turns over to Sora who is looking the other way, she thinks:
—Should I ask to join. I'm bored myself.
This way, she can end her blood dripping, beef with Shinji.
As she nears them, her eyes are taken by Shinji's left wrest. Forthwith, Tsukino blinks a few times to confirm if she isn't dreaming; covering her mouth from making loud noises.
—It's that fuchsia-pink birthmark similar to mine! Is he the one?!
During the previous year, she searched for the figure who made her kill that samurai with a pink birthmark written, 'קדושה—אפס'. However, among the teens she asked, none agreed to seeing it — Shinji, himself, called her crazy when asked.
In spite of her having many questions to ask, she composes herself, acting like she didn't see a thing —a time for answers is going to come.
Seeing Lucy place five stones in a row on the grid, beating Shinji, Tsukino asks politely:
"Can I play with you guys?" She cringed at her own words —she sounded like a child.
Lucien isn't the one to mingle with her, and pushes over to Sora's side, leaving her space to sit. However, during the process, Tsukino notices a silver birthmark on his left wrist with the same weird symbols as hers and Shinji's.
—This can't be a coincidence!
Her thoughts scream, but she immediately shakes her head.
—No, no, no. They would never get along: they're opposites! The crazy man doesn't bad talk the man smasher because he is a coward, not because they have a special relationship. It's just a birthmark! I have the same!
Pulling her from her thoughts is Shinji's deep voice.
"Stop wiggling your head like a fish out of the water. I need to beat you once and for all."
Snickering, she sits down ready to beat the pretty boy. She will get her answers eventually...or not.
The two played a few times; they are evenly matched —frustrating both to their cores. Also, everyone who woke up went to their direction, as they can't stand the female Tama-Artist's poisonous glare.
Breaking them from their concentration is a tune, coming from below the eagle there are riding:
Up in the clouds, deep into the waters,
You're my heart, my source of heat,
stand with me as I work,
I work for you to be a better place,
When I die, you're my resting place,
Forever till the end, we are one...
Tsukino casts a mocking gaze at Shinji.
"Looks like you'll have a lot of friends: there are a lot of bad singers in the world."
Shinji returns returns the glare.
"Don't embarrass yourself, it's the village anthem."
Tsukino feels like she is slapped square in the face. She doesn't know that Kurenai village has an anthem... it's such a shocking embarrassment to her.
To save her, is Salt-Salt who exclaimed:
"This place is more crap than where we were living!"
Everyone scatters about to look at the place. Below, there are residential houses, at the far age of the training camp —for Tama-Artists together with cooking staff. Near the other end, is a huge soccer stadium sized tent for sleeping, without walls. Also, there is no place to bath, or to relief oneself. Furthermore, the mortals training in the camp are being whipped by the Tama-Artists here and there.
Dread sinks into them...they're going to live at such a place until they are 40.
Worse, the eagle is coming down to their horror... slowly, yet surely.
The sight of the Bushi who picked them up kneeling on the ground, soon enters their vision.
Meanwhile, Lila gives the six an emotionless gaze, sneering:
"You useless bunch. You can't even manage the people you picked. They killed the Hill Cat, while you were playing around. You 6 will write a report and pay a fee of 75 Kuns(1) each, for your insubordination. Are we clear?"
Her voice was soft like a joyous melody, yet her words were cold as ice, making the Bushi bow their heads against the ground.
"Yes, ma'am!"
Hearing their reply, Lila clicks her fingers, and the mortals on the eagle are teleported to the ground, leaving them puzzled about this miraculous phenomenon.
However, as the eagle flies toward the sunset, the situation changes completely.
Wapa!
A whip cracked through the air, and some of them got violently lashed at their tender behinds.
"You idiots! Who told you to kill that beast? You were supposed to hunt the beasts on the hill and survive, not slaughter the whole hill! All of you lay on the ground, right now!"
The group wants to refute the accusations and curse him for not explaining in detail... well, in their dreams, since they know who has power here.
They can only lay on the green grass, and enjoy the flogging.
After a few minutes, the whipping ceases. The group slowly gets to their knees, following the Bushis' orders, prompting them to ignore the throbbing pain on their backs.
Seeing this, Girashi smiles coldly.
"You will train here, hunt profound beasts, and kill Kushi village scum. Furthermore, you will be pushed to your limits, and beyond by our whipping, if you slack. But if you survive, you will be sent back to your homes. Also, if you lose a limb, we'll impale you with our spears from your behind to the head"
___
1 — kuns is the currency.