Black Star

The Black Star Tournament

    For the past 10 years the world has been very quiet, less deaths occur, and has less violence. Everyone in the world has come together in peace rather in war, while that sounds good, it disrupts the natural balance of the world of the living, and the realm of the dead. Hell is starving for more death and destruction and grows weaker because of it; the Gates of Hell is becoming unstable enough to keep the very two different worlds colliding into each other and inevitably destroying each other. Knowing this, a very old and mysterious man named Moria decided to hold a special tournament to restore balance to the worlds and keep them from destroying each other.

A bird flies above the treetops as it drops a black scroll, falling into the hands of a boy named Rāshomon Kirigaya. "Huh? A scroll? Wonder what it says." Rāshomon says in confusion and curiosity. As he opens the scroll, there's nothing written into it. "WHAAAT?! THERE'S NOTHING WRITTEN!!" Rāshomon yells. The scroll begins to emit a dark aura, noticing this, Rāshomon gazes at the scroll as it begins writing in itself. "Attention warrior, there is a tournament being held at the Yamikage Island! This is your invitation, hope to see you soon, warrior!" The scroll read. "Hmmm... Yamikage Island, huh? Looks like this'll be fun!" Rāshomon says as a black flame disintegrates the scroll.

"Moria! You do know the risks of this tournament, right?!" A Kurisuke yells in anger. "Calm down, Kurisuke. I'm well aware." Moria responds calmly. "Then why would you host such a thing?! On Yamikage Island?!" Kurisuke asks. Moria doesn't answer as he stares out a nearby window. "Ah- Hellooo!?" Kurisuke angrily pursues. "Kurisuke, my dear boy... You must calm down, I've everything under control. I chose this island because directly below harbors the Gates of Hell as you know, with this in mind, if the fighters do kill each other, their sacrifices will save the world greatly." Moria explains while looking at Kurisuke. Stunned to speak, Kurisuke exits the room. Moria rubs his chin as he thinks, "The boy will learn soon how important this really is."

    A tall and well-built man had an axe over his shoulder as he walked to a nearby tree, as he began chopping the tree down a similar scroll dropped besides him. "Hmm.. What the hell is this?" The man said as he picked it up. Unraveling the tie that kept the scroll closed, a bird then flew off. The scroll began to write in itself, the same way it did for Rāshomon. Looking up into the sky after reading the invitation, the man then smiled proudly.

      Funky music played in the background as a woman was kicking a punching bag, sweat flew from her face and soaked into her headband. "Nojiko, there's been a letter for you." A woman ran in and said. "Leave it at the door!" Nojiko bluntly replied. "It looks pretty important though, it's a black scroll with a red tie on it. Still don't want it?" The woman insisted. "That does sound pretty interesting, bring it to me, Asuka" Nojiko said as she stopped punching and turned to Asuka. "Yes ma'am!" Asuka replied as she rushed to the front door and grabbed the scroll. "Hmm.. a black scroll with a red tie, I wonder what it's about." Nojiko thought as she patiently waited for Asuka to return. Asuka shortly returned with the scroll and handed it to Nojiko, "Thanks, Asuka." Nojiko said as she untied the scroll and opened it. They both stared at the blank scroll, "...eh?" They both said. "WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?! IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOK, ASUKAAA!?" Nojiko furiously yelled. Struggling to explain, Asuka stammered and held her hands up in defeat as Nojiko relentlessly yelled at her. The yelling came to a halt as a dark aura began to emit from the scroll. "Wait hold on, that's Ki." Nojiko said as she stared at the scroll. It began writing in itself, the same message as before. "Hmm... Yamikage Island, the most dangerous place in the world. The only boat that goes there travels once a year. I'll make it in time." Nojiko says after reading the scroll. "I'll prepare your bags right away!" Asuka says as she rushes off. "The Black Star Tournament... This sounds like fun!" Nojiko said as a yellow aura shrouded her clenched fists.

         The clock struck 2:35, the murky water gave off a eerie feeling. A giant boat drifted steadily onto the water, lots of people crowded together at the harbor. "Hey did you get an invite too?" One said, "I got this weird scroll thing yesterday and it told me to come to Yamikage Island to compete in some kind of tournament." Said another. "I wonder what the reward will be." The questions and comments came endlessly. Rāshomon chuckled quietly to himself, "I'm almost there! This'll be fun!" He thought as he gripped his necklace tightly. "A circus of losers, I see. This'll be easy." Nojiko thought to herself with a slight smirk. "All of these contestants, they must've gotten the invite too." The lumberjack man said. A ladder came running down the side of the ship as the Captain yelled from aboard the ship, "I take it you all must be here for the Black Star Tournament! Climb the ladders and get on!" Suddenly, people rushed to the ladders and climbed aboard the ship, others just jumped onto it like Rāshomon and Nojiko. A couple minutes later, the boat was fully loaded. Every contestant was onto the ship. The Captain chuckled as the ship let off steam and a crew mate from the dock cut the rope that held the ship in place. "Next stop: Yamikage Island!" The Captain yelled proudly. Hours later, many were resting, trying to save energy for the tournament, others sat quietly, trying to study their peers. The middle of the ship began to open up and a platform raised up, similar to a sparring ground. People batted an eye at it and wondered what it was for when suddenly a loud voice came from the intercom, "Hello, fellow warriors! I am Moria! The one who invited you all to the tournament! This platform is a fighting area where you all can test your power against one another and warm up for the big show! I hope you use it and try not to destroy the ship!" Moria says as the intercom shuts off. "Well, he heard what the man said, WHO'S READY TO BRAWL?!" A man yelled as others cheered him on. Two people stepped onto the platform, the air seemed to be tight as they stared each other down. "You're not stronger than me!" One of them yelled as they rushed towards each other, "Oh yeah?! Show me then!" He responded as the two tussled and sloppily fought like two pigs. "No form nor technique, how'd they even get invited?" Rāshomon obnoxiously questioned. Other men cheered them on and laughed. After a couple minutes of meaningless brawl, the fighters both tire themselves out. "WHO'S READY FOR ROUND TWO?!" A man yells as the previous fighters were being dragged off the platform. "Well then, I guess I'll go." Rāshomon thought as he walked onto the platform. "WHO'S GONNA FACE THIS KID?!" He yelled. "There sure are a lot of people here, I hope I get someone strong!" Rāshomon thought as he looked over all of the contestants. "I'll fight this child." A man said from amongst the crowd, as he stepped onto the platform his eyes never left the crowd and he smiled cockily. "This'll be a piece of cake." The man said as he stared at Rāshomon. Taken a deep breath in, Rāshomon asked, "Is it allowed to kill each other in this small event?" As he maniacally smirked.