Présage of Veracity

Chapter One

"Ren!"
I grabbed the pan behind the sliding door and threw it at him angrily. "You don't put hot sauce on rice!" Ren dodged the pan and looked at me crossly. "Watch it!" He snapped. I let out a huff and flopped down onto my pillow melodramatically.
    It's been over 3 years since I left Akira in that hellhole, and I regret it everytime I look back on that moment. Ren Makino, the mysterious Nekomata that joined the Présage of Veracity, had saved me from the flames but left Akira behind. A Nekomata is a Yokai that is oftentimes known for their cat-like ways and appearances. He just so happened to get it all with the long tail and pointed ears he has. His eyes are almost a perfect gold, giving him the black cat look with his darker hair.
I joined the Présage of Veracity after Ren saved me, knowing my goal was to find my brother again. I know he's not dead, he can't be.
    "Suzume." I heard Ren say, knocking me out of my trance. I looked at him, forcing a smile. "Can I help you?"
    He pointed at the salt next to my hand. "Can I have that?" I gave him an elongated sigh and leaned off my knees to hand it to him.
    "Ayo! Suzume, Ren! What's up?" I jumped, turning to see Tatsumi entering through the back door, a big grin on his face as he looked me up and down. I stifled the scoff that wanted to exit my mouth and turned back to my rice.
    Tatsumi has always been a little too easygoing. He's got a big head if he thinks- "Hey, Suzume!" Tatsumi grabbed my shoulder and leaned closer. "Wanna go on a-" He didn't complete his question, because by the time he finished that last word, Suiko smacked him with the back of her hand. "Enough, Tatsumi." She told him, opening her designed fan and covering the disgusted look on her face. "Pay him no heed, Susume. He will go wash his mouth with soap." She muttered, stepping on him like he was a rug. Tatsumi groaned and sat up, a disappointed look on his face. "Oh, come on Suiko." He said, his slitted green eyes looking at her as if pleading was going to change her mind.
Tatsumi is a moon serpent, his Dexterity is Thunder which is assigned to Leo's, so I assume that his Birthday is between July 23rd to August 22nd. Suiko is a water Kitsune, her Dexterity is Ocean, so her birthday is somewhere between January 20th to February 18th, since she's an Aquarius.
This whole Dexterity thing confuses me. I'm supposed to be a void user, but my Vystalythe; the weapon meant for activating my Dexterity, doesn't even work for me. There's a ritual performed called the 'Celestial Ritual', it gives me the perfect Vystalythe for my Dexterity, but the one I have won't activate.
Ren pushed off the floor and took his bowl into the kitchen, his black cat tail streaming out behind him. All I can say about him is that he's a Nekomata, a cat Yokai. But other than that, I know absolutely nothing about him. He's a jerk that makes fun of absolutely everything I do, but he does goes with the flow and never defies orders.   
"Oni-Chan! Get back here!" The twins, known as Hyousaku and Tora, raced in behind Suiko, making her flinch. "Hey!" She snapped, holding out her cup of coffee away from her.
Tora chased her older brother through the kitchen. Hyousaku skidded to a halt at the counter, and before he could even negotiate if he was going to jump, Tora had him by the ear.
"You stole her didn't you?" Tora asked him, her eyes burning into Hyousaku's face. He grinned and opened his jacket, where their little white tiger friend turned her beautiful blue eyes at them, clinging onto Hyousaku's shirt. Tora grabbed her and turned away. "It's okay little Mai." Tora coaxed her and turned toward the rest of us. "Sorry guys, I have an idiot brother."
The two of their Dexterities are Sound. Sound is assigned to Gemini so they were born between May 21st to June 20th.
I saw Hyoukaku peer at me from around the corner, his grin widening as I stared into his orange eyes. His eyes looked almost lifeless, his lips taught at the corners. Then he turned away and padded back to Tora quickly. A shiver ran down my spine. Hyousaku has always been this way towards me. I sometimes wonder if he wants me dead.
I smiled and stood up, shaking the thought off and was taking my bowl to the kitchen when I heard another familiar voice. "Is everyone here?" Said the deep, wise voice of none other than Rori Takeda, the leader of the Présage of Veracity. I turned and looked at him. His long, braided, silver hair looked messy and his golden eyes pierced the room with the authority to make everyone fall silent. If anyone has the audacity to speak, I bet those eyes themselves could shut them up.
"G-good morning." I said, bowing down respectfully. I heard Rori laugh, his eyes tearing up as he snickered. "Suzume," He began, wiping his tears. "You don't need to be so formal." Rori said, amusement showing on his face.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, embarrassment heating my cheeks. "Right."
The awkwardness was immediately shrugged off when Tatsumi spoke: "What do we got going today, boss?" He asked, picking at his teeth with his pinky finger as he sat on the pillow I had previously sat on before.
Rori grabbed the spoon and scooped some of the rice out of the pot and into his bowl, grabbing his chopsticks in a silent, almost disturbed manner. Everyone fell silent and leaned forward, waiting for him to tell us what we needed to do.
After Rori took a couple of bites of his rice, he set his bowl down, wiping his mouth and taking a sip of his green tea. I couldn't help but admire him. He had this way about him, like he knew everything and we were just stupid.
"The Royal Capital has heard a threat recently." Rori began, clearing his throat. "Izanagi and his Ace's are once more on the move. They're going to attempt a village raid at Tsukhaiddo."
I growled from across the way, my eyes glowering with anger. "What do we do then?" I asked. I've wanted to kill Izanagi since I left, and he's been building his army since then with the same treatment me and Akira got. He abuses people then once they get a Dexterity, he calls them his 'Aces'. Izanagi wants to override the government so that he can achieve world domination, and he's willing to tear down everyone in his path to get it.
Rori closed his eyes. "I will send in a plan approval request tonight. Our answer should be given to us be sundown tomorrow."
The Présage of Veracity fights for the government to keep creatures like demons at bay. I joined knowing full well that I could be of use to them while I searched for my brother. I'm still learning more about the Dexterities of this world, which one day could be changed to something more, maybe the Primordial Kitsunes can see that they're hurting people, not helping them.
Rori's eyes found mine in an instant as he spoke, addressing his plan. "Suzume, Ren, you both are nimble and good with speed. This plan consists of three parts. Tsukhaiddo is surrounded by dense woods, with your agile speed I want you to keep an eye out for any groups hidden that may contribute with Izanagi's plan. You will get radios so you can communicate any suspicious information." Once he finished with me and Ren, his focus found Tatsumi, Tora, and Hyousaku. "You guys can guard the front gates of the village, making sure no one can get in through." Rori looked at Hyousaku, narrowing his eyes as he spoke. "Keep your ears open and inform us if anything sounds suspicious."
Hyousaku nodded, smiling with his usual sadistic grin. "Sure." He said, sitting on the stool at the edge of the living room.
Finally, Rori gave a long sigh, putting his arms into the sleeves of his yukata calmly. "Then me and Suiko will be the ambush party. With our brute strength we should be able to ward off his Ace's." He concluded his speech by turning around and exiting the room, leaving us in silence with our thoughts.
My heart raced as I stood there, staring at the spot Rori had just stood.
I'm the lookout? I can't believe he would just leave me out of this after all these years of yearning for Izanagi's death.
Ren grinned at me as he passed by, which made me even more angry. I followed him out into the hallway and snarled, blocking his path. I bared my teeth at him as I spoke. "What do you think is so funny? I seriously don't get you." I snapped, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed.
Ren just laughed, shaking his head at me like I was just some dumb little kid as he spoke. "You really thought you would be able to be apart of the ambush team? I'm literally not either." Ren said shamelessly.
I stared at him, clearly taken aback and deprived of words as he walked past me and headed down the hallway in a nerveless manner. He then called over his shoulder curtly: "Meet me at the training grounds by sun-down for our training." And with that, he disappeared around the corner, leaving me under the dim lighting of the shrine. I rolled my eyes and padded away in the opposite direction towards my room.
"Stupid Ren, I'll show you an ambush."