Meh, I may have moved it along too quickly, but... enjoy. o.o
Riku was already awake when Jian barged in his room, since he had been “sleeping” since the middle of the previous day when Thane smashed his head in, sitting up on his bed and looking forward. Riku put his hand on one side of his face, his eye partially squinting from all of the face-slams that Thane gave him and his left arm still in a bit of pain.
“Good, you’re already up,” Jian said as he walked in.
Riku nodded, and then felt around on his waist for Soul Eater, and then leaned over his bed to look under it and around the rest of the cabin, then he looked back up to Jian, “Where-“
The sage finished his question, “Is your sword?” and when Riku nodded, he continued, “Thane said that he thought he should hold onto it for a while. He wanted to check it out; apparently something weird happened during your battle.”
Jian, noting Riku’s uneasy stare, continued to speak, “Don’t worry, you’ll get it back soon enough.”
Riku shrugged, “So how am I training today then?”
“Well, you could still train without your sword, but I think that you should come to my region today. You need to learn the truth.”
Riku’s eyes suddenly shone with an intense excitement, curiosity, and the like. He had been excited for this since he first read the letter.
Finally, he would know why this was happening.
~
As Jian walked in the library, Riku following close by, Riku had noticed that there was another figure there. A peculiar one. He was a thin man who wore odd goggles over his eyes. The weirdest part, though, was that on his back there was some sort of... mechanism. It was like a disc that was strapped onto his back, and from that disc four giant spider-like legs extended out of it. The legs made his legs dangle from the air and allowed him to stand at a height of at least a five or six meters. He seemed to be strolling through the library to find a particular book, the spider legs shuffling sideways every now and then so that he could put a book back or take out another one. He was completely bald, though Riku somehow got the feeling that his baldness was a mistake, and not a choice.
Jian walked forward, past the spider legs and then turned, walking backwards as he spoke to Riku, “Sprocket, Sage of Technology, Advancement, all that good stuff.”
Riku was a little caught off guard by the simple introduction and the fact that Jian simply kept walking, but figured that he wouldn’t be doing much training with Sprocket in the first place, considering that Riku didn’t come here to learn how to be an inventor.
Jian walked past the table that they were at before on the upper level, and continued going until they came to another door. A simple wooden one. Jian opened it, and they both walked in.
The room was relatively empty. It was lit with candles on both sides, though still pretty dark, and at the very far end of the room, opposite of the door, there was something on the wall. Writing...? In both of the corners of the room near the back wall, there was a podium. On both of the podiums there was a single book, both of which were identical. Besides that, there was nothing else in the room. Jian walked up to the writing, it didn’t seem like normal writing, it was written in some sort of code.
“A prophecy,” Jian explained, “I slightly mislead you. We didn’t build this entire place, there were some things here already, but what I found was all in ruin. Except for a single shrine, this shrine, that had writing along its wall. The writing speaks of a prophecy. Rather vague, though. It states only that to achieve it, a person with each of the listed kekkei genkai of elements must be gathered along with the nine bijuu. The kekkei genkais are ice, wood, and lava. From there, it says that once all three are gathered, a great power will be unleashed. It is this very prophecy that drives Akatsuki to seek you out; it is the reason why they want to find you.”
Riku’s eyes widened as he spoke, and then began to formulate questions, “But... if they have Shinru, then why still go after me?”
Jian shook his head, “Like I said, the prophecy is vague in terms of what power will be unleashed and what requirements there are. It is more specific than it says. There is one specific person that holds the hyouten kekkei genkai and can fulfill this prophecy. As with wood and lava. It was discovered long ago that Shinru was not that person.”
“And why do they need the three elemental kekkei genkai? I mean... what’s so special about them?”
Jian shrugged, “Even I don’t have an answer to that.”
Riku nodded slowly, and through all of his questions, he decided to pick the most important one, “How... does Akatsuki know about this?”
Jian’s head dropped slightly in dismay, and then he walked across the room to one of the books in the corner, turning back to face Riku, he said simply, “Read. Everything you want and need to know is in this book.”
It didn’t seem like a normal reference or information text, or even an entertaining book. It was different than any of the ones he saw in the library. It looked more like a... journal. There wasn’t much of a cover page, just a tan square in the center, trimmed by the brown outline of a square. The book had to have been written numerous years ago, the pages frayed and the colors worn out a bit. Jian left as Riku opened the book.
He looked at the first page, taking a deep breath:
Though there was a title, this was written in the form of some kind of journal. And it was written in a handwriting riku knew all too well:
June 21
The summer solstice. I only have maybe an extra hour of daylight to waste, and yet I found myself twiddling my thumbs with impatience. Jian suggested that Lance and I should keep track of what we do in a journal. I don’t think I’m that interesting of a person, but Jian insists. Lance, my dearest friend, and I had been training with the sages for a year now, and Jian said that it was nearing our time to leave. Lance had perfected his powers as far as lava went, and I as far as hyouten, and we were nearly on the sages’ levels with everything else. Yesterday, though, he showed us the prophecy as a final act of friendship. As he told us, a look passed between Lance and I. I’ll never forget the look on his face. It was a look that told me the exact same words that were running through my own mind:
We have the power, two ingredients, and the time. What were we waiting for?
Riku stopped reading, his eyes wide, and walked out of the room, where Jian stood looking through books in the library, “Lance?”
Jian sighed, “He was our other apprentice. He came with Shinru, and they both trained together. But... we prefer to forget him. Hence why we told you that Shinru was the only other one.”
“Why...?” Riku asked.
“Because... he’s made unfavorable decisions,” Jian said indistinctly, then he continued, “Look, how about you go to your cabin and continue reading, ask me your questions tomorrow.”
Riku nodded slowly, wondering why Jian would want him to go, but complied.
~
Riku walked back into his cabin alone, sat in the chair in front of his desk, and started turned the pages until he was where he was before, and then turned it once more:
August 1
Lance seems to have become obsessed with the prophecy now, and... something else. The organization known as Akatsuki. They were rising from seemingly nowhere. They were beginning to make a name for themselves. We returned to Konoha rather unnoticed. It wasn’t too long after Naruto returned, so we were exactly the big talk of the village. They said that Naruto already left, though. Gone to help Sunagakure which seemed to have a run-in with the very organization that Lance couldn’t stop talking about. We started on the prophecy though, and we plan to wait until the whole Akatsuki thing plays out. They seem to have captured a lot of the jinchuuriki already, and there’s not much we can do about it besides help in the war and try to get them back. We’re searching for the other pieces now, we already have two, so now we just need the wood user. Tenzo... his name keeps coming back to mind.
February 23
It’s been nearly two years since I last recorded anything in here, and much has happened. I didn’t think I’d ever write in here again, but something compels me to. Akatsuki had been taken down two months ago, though what became of a few of their members remains unknown. However, Lance uncovered something amazing yesterday—Gedo Mazo. But... how? Where? When? Lance refused to tell me. I would think that Akatsuki hid it after they were defeated. But... it was clear what he wanted to do. We would revive the very thing that we were once taught to fear. Then, Lance suggested the craziest thing that I ever heard him say.
He suggested that we should revive Akatsuki.
May 20
Much has happened, yet again. Lance and I have built Akatsuki yet again, only a matter of months after its downfall. Yet, I find something even more pressing. Hazel, the women that I had loved for almost all of my life, and hope to soon marry, is having a child. It has only been a month since this was announced to me, and yet I feel a mixture of trepidation, joy, and most of all, guilt. Lance and I have gone to great lengths to keep the organization secret. From everyone, even her. Is this a mistake?
Riku thought for a moment. There it was in black and white. This was Shinru’s fault, all of it, well, for the most part anyway. He couldn’t believe what he was reading. And... who was this Hazel lady? And a kid!? As much as Riku wanted to throw the book to the side, or rip the papers into confetti, he found himself turning the page.
March 4
Today was wondrous. A child was born today, my child. I still haven’t figured out what his name should be. It must be perfect, and it was at that moment, when I looked into his eyes that I realized...
April 7
This is wrong... Somewhere... I realized that this was wrong. Lance had somehow managed to convince me that we were doing the right thing here, but... we can’t be. How could this be right, any of it? If this was right, then we wouldn’t be trying so hard to hide it. Perhaps it was as I looked into the newborn’s eyes, my child’s eyes. It must have been then that I knew that this wasn’t right.
Forget it, Akatsuki means nothing to me anymore. It is a target now, not an ally. I’ll find my own way. But this isn’t it. I fear for Lance, and I hope that he will open his eyes. But if he does not, then there’s nothing I can do.
Now... what should I name my kid? It’s a pressing concern, really, but I think that Hazel and I have settled on a name.
Riku... yes... that’s a fine name.
Broken Trust
Riku was already awake when Jian barged in his room, since he had been “sleeping” since the middle of the previous day when Thane smashed his head in, sitting up on his bed and looking forward. Riku put his hand on one side of his face, his eye partially squinting from all of the face-slams that Thane gave him and his left arm still in a bit of pain.
“Good, you’re already up,” Jian said as he walked in.
Riku nodded, and then felt around on his waist for Soul Eater, and then leaned over his bed to look under it and around the rest of the cabin, then he looked back up to Jian, “Where-“
The sage finished his question, “Is your sword?” and when Riku nodded, he continued, “Thane said that he thought he should hold onto it for a while. He wanted to check it out; apparently something weird happened during your battle.”
Jian, noting Riku’s uneasy stare, continued to speak, “Don’t worry, you’ll get it back soon enough.”
Riku shrugged, “So how am I training today then?”
“Well, you could still train without your sword, but I think that you should come to my region today. You need to learn the truth.”
Riku’s eyes suddenly shone with an intense excitement, curiosity, and the like. He had been excited for this since he first read the letter.
Finally, he would know why this was happening.
~
As Jian walked in the library, Riku following close by, Riku had noticed that there was another figure there. A peculiar one. He was a thin man who wore odd goggles over his eyes. The weirdest part, though, was that on his back there was some sort of... mechanism. It was like a disc that was strapped onto his back, and from that disc four giant spider-like legs extended out of it. The legs made his legs dangle from the air and allowed him to stand at a height of at least a five or six meters. He seemed to be strolling through the library to find a particular book, the spider legs shuffling sideways every now and then so that he could put a book back or take out another one. He was completely bald, though Riku somehow got the feeling that his baldness was a mistake, and not a choice.
Jian walked forward, past the spider legs and then turned, walking backwards as he spoke to Riku, “Sprocket, Sage of Technology, Advancement, all that good stuff.”
Riku was a little caught off guard by the simple introduction and the fact that Jian simply kept walking, but figured that he wouldn’t be doing much training with Sprocket in the first place, considering that Riku didn’t come here to learn how to be an inventor.
Jian walked past the table that they were at before on the upper level, and continued going until they came to another door. A simple wooden one. Jian opened it, and they both walked in.
The room was relatively empty. It was lit with candles on both sides, though still pretty dark, and at the very far end of the room, opposite of the door, there was something on the wall. Writing...? In both of the corners of the room near the back wall, there was a podium. On both of the podiums there was a single book, both of which were identical. Besides that, there was nothing else in the room. Jian walked up to the writing, it didn’t seem like normal writing, it was written in some sort of code.
“A prophecy,” Jian explained, “I slightly mislead you. We didn’t build this entire place, there were some things here already, but what I found was all in ruin. Except for a single shrine, this shrine, that had writing along its wall. The writing speaks of a prophecy. Rather vague, though. It states only that to achieve it, a person with each of the listed kekkei genkai of elements must be gathered along with the nine bijuu. The kekkei genkais are ice, wood, and lava. From there, it says that once all three are gathered, a great power will be unleashed. It is this very prophecy that drives Akatsuki to seek you out; it is the reason why they want to find you.”
Riku’s eyes widened as he spoke, and then began to formulate questions, “But... if they have Shinru, then why still go after me?”
Jian shook his head, “Like I said, the prophecy is vague in terms of what power will be unleashed and what requirements there are. It is more specific than it says. There is one specific person that holds the hyouten kekkei genkai and can fulfill this prophecy. As with wood and lava. It was discovered long ago that Shinru was not that person.”
“And why do they need the three elemental kekkei genkai? I mean... what’s so special about them?”
Jian shrugged, “Even I don’t have an answer to that.”
Riku nodded slowly, and through all of his questions, he decided to pick the most important one, “How... does Akatsuki know about this?”
Jian’s head dropped slightly in dismay, and then he walked across the room to one of the books in the corner, turning back to face Riku, he said simply, “Read. Everything you want and need to know is in this book.”
It didn’t seem like a normal reference or information text, or even an entertaining book. It was different than any of the ones he saw in the library. It looked more like a... journal. There wasn’t much of a cover page, just a tan square in the center, trimmed by the brown outline of a square. The book had to have been written numerous years ago, the pages frayed and the colors worn out a bit. Jian left as Riku opened the book.
He looked at the first page, taking a deep breath:
The Chronicles of Shinru
Though there was a title, this was written in the form of some kind of journal. And it was written in a handwriting riku knew all too well:
June 21
The summer solstice. I only have maybe an extra hour of daylight to waste, and yet I found myself twiddling my thumbs with impatience. Jian suggested that Lance and I should keep track of what we do in a journal. I don’t think I’m that interesting of a person, but Jian insists. Lance, my dearest friend, and I had been training with the sages for a year now, and Jian said that it was nearing our time to leave. Lance had perfected his powers as far as lava went, and I as far as hyouten, and we were nearly on the sages’ levels with everything else. Yesterday, though, he showed us the prophecy as a final act of friendship. As he told us, a look passed between Lance and I. I’ll never forget the look on his face. It was a look that told me the exact same words that were running through my own mind:
We have the power, two ingredients, and the time. What were we waiting for?
Riku stopped reading, his eyes wide, and walked out of the room, where Jian stood looking through books in the library, “Lance?”
Jian sighed, “He was our other apprentice. He came with Shinru, and they both trained together. But... we prefer to forget him. Hence why we told you that Shinru was the only other one.”
“Why...?” Riku asked.
“Because... he’s made unfavorable decisions,” Jian said indistinctly, then he continued, “Look, how about you go to your cabin and continue reading, ask me your questions tomorrow.”
Riku nodded slowly, wondering why Jian would want him to go, but complied.
~
Riku walked back into his cabin alone, sat in the chair in front of his desk, and started turned the pages until he was where he was before, and then turned it once more:
August 1
Lance seems to have become obsessed with the prophecy now, and... something else. The organization known as Akatsuki. They were rising from seemingly nowhere. They were beginning to make a name for themselves. We returned to Konoha rather unnoticed. It wasn’t too long after Naruto returned, so we were exactly the big talk of the village. They said that Naruto already left, though. Gone to help Sunagakure which seemed to have a run-in with the very organization that Lance couldn’t stop talking about. We started on the prophecy though, and we plan to wait until the whole Akatsuki thing plays out. They seem to have captured a lot of the jinchuuriki already, and there’s not much we can do about it besides help in the war and try to get them back. We’re searching for the other pieces now, we already have two, so now we just need the wood user. Tenzo... his name keeps coming back to mind.
February 23
It’s been nearly two years since I last recorded anything in here, and much has happened. I didn’t think I’d ever write in here again, but something compels me to. Akatsuki had been taken down two months ago, though what became of a few of their members remains unknown. However, Lance uncovered something amazing yesterday—Gedo Mazo. But... how? Where? When? Lance refused to tell me. I would think that Akatsuki hid it after they were defeated. But... it was clear what he wanted to do. We would revive the very thing that we were once taught to fear. Then, Lance suggested the craziest thing that I ever heard him say.
He suggested that we should revive Akatsuki.
May 20
Much has happened, yet again. Lance and I have built Akatsuki yet again, only a matter of months after its downfall. Yet, I find something even more pressing. Hazel, the women that I had loved for almost all of my life, and hope to soon marry, is having a child. It has only been a month since this was announced to me, and yet I feel a mixture of trepidation, joy, and most of all, guilt. Lance and I have gone to great lengths to keep the organization secret. From everyone, even her. Is this a mistake?
Riku thought for a moment. There it was in black and white. This was Shinru’s fault, all of it, well, for the most part anyway. He couldn’t believe what he was reading. And... who was this Hazel lady? And a kid!? As much as Riku wanted to throw the book to the side, or rip the papers into confetti, he found himself turning the page.
March 4
Today was wondrous. A child was born today, my child. I still haven’t figured out what his name should be. It must be perfect, and it was at that moment, when I looked into his eyes that I realized...
April 7
This is wrong... Somewhere... I realized that this was wrong. Lance had somehow managed to convince me that we were doing the right thing here, but... we can’t be. How could this be right, any of it? If this was right, then we wouldn’t be trying so hard to hide it. Perhaps it was as I looked into the newborn’s eyes, my child’s eyes. It must have been then that I knew that this wasn’t right.
Forget it, Akatsuki means nothing to me anymore. It is a target now, not an ally. I’ll find my own way. But this isn’t it. I fear for Lance, and I hope that he will open his eyes. But if he does not, then there’s nothing I can do.
Now... what should I name my kid? It’s a pressing concern, really, but I think that Hazel and I have settled on a name.
Riku... yes... that’s a fine name.
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