Sei

Darkness

       Satoru's eyes began to open as he regained consciousness. He was laying on his back near the edge of the clearing in some grass that had been lightly singed and blackened by his flames. His body and clothes were covered with the wear of training. Satoru lay gazing up at the brilliant night sky, hundreds of stars shining down on him. He lay there silent for a while recovering, the moonlight illuminating one half of his face. The torches he lit had all burned out, but the sky was producing enough natural shine that the clearing was not completely shrouded in darkness. Satoru lifted his hand into the air in front of his face.
       "Toki."
       Lights began to shine from his hand forming into a projection of what appeared to be numbers. The numbers read 02:34:12 and the last number was counting upwards with the seconds.
       "Damn, I was out for nearly two hours." Satoru said to himself, closing his hand into a fist and causing the projection to disappear in a sparkly blue dust.
       He dug his hands into the ground and pushed himself forward so that he was sitting up. He felt a sharp sting in his upper left abdomen and gripped it tightly nearly falling back down.
       "I guess I really overdid it, it feels like I probably did some damage to my Sei Plexus." He theorised through gritted teeth.
       Using his hands to claw the dirt, he dragged himself over to a nearby tree propping himself up against it for support. He noticed a puddle to his right and caught his own reflection.
       Satoru was only sixteen years old but his eyes had the dark coldness of a man who had seen many horrors. They were emotionless apart from a hint of pain and hatred. A dark, deep, icy blue. His hair wasn't long but neither was it short and it was worn in a well-kept but still somehow messy style. He had an attractive face that remained deadpan and cold without any hint of a smile. He had a very serious look about him. He was quite tall for his age at about six foot two and he had a thin, well-toned body. He donned a black t-shirt and black skinny jeans, as well as a thick black jacket with dark blue patterns all over it and a hood, that had puffed out fur at the cuffs and around the hood.
       "I better heal myself before I try and go back."
       Satoru's hand began to glow a dark blue and he applied it to the area on his stomach where he had felt the most pain, after this he gradually moved his hand over the rest of his body and as he did so, his cuts and bruises began to heal, with the less deep cuts and all the bruises completely disappearing when the blue light crossed over them.
       Once he thought he had sufficiently healed himself he rose slowly to his feet, resting his hand against the tree for support. He took a few steps wincing a little but after a while adjusted to the now far more manageable pain, until he was able to walk normally and leave the clearing.
       Satoru emerged from the forest and found himself in a dimly lit alleyway that led to a main street. It was late so there were no people around and the wind was calm leaving the streets almost silent. They were so quiet that Satoru felt he could even hear his own heartbeat. As he emerged from the alleyway on to the main street he jumped in one leap from the ground on to the top of the roof of the shop beside him so he could get a better view of the city. The shop he stood atop was on a hill in the upper middle ring which was called Kaminaka.
       The nation of Soralia in which the SoraYashu existed was essentially made up of four cities which presided in rings carved into the sides of a huge mountain called Sorayama. Despite being referred to as rings they were not full rings, merely part disks which protruded from the side of the mountain. The rings moved further and further up from just above the cloud line. There was the lower ring Hikui, the lower middle ring Ikawa, the upper middle ring Kaminaka and the upper ring Kizoku. Each ring was considered a city and the lower rings were bigger than those above them with Hikui being the largest ring.
       Being a trainee SoraYashu, Satoru lived in the upper middle ring Kaminaka which housed the academy where all registered SoraYashu would train in the ways of Sei to become full-fledged SoraYashu.
       Satoru stood atop the roof of the shop he had climbed on to. The shop was placed on the outer part of Kaminaka and so was in a higher place than most of the ring giving Satoru a great overview of the city. All was seemingly quiet in Kaminaka and it most houses lights were off with the residents sleeping, however as he looked around he could see in some parts of the city bright flashes of light that would burst with brilliance before quickly dissipating and being replaced by more equally bright bursts of light.
       "Hmph, I guess everyone else is training hard too." Satoru smugly smiled to himself. "Well, they can train all they like... It doesn't matter to me... Because I... Will destroy them all!" He shouted the last words out into the quiet wind and heard his words echo around Kaminaka.
       Satoru jumped down from the building and began walking home through the streets. As neared his home he passed a fruit and vegetable shop which caught his attention. Surprisingly, it was still lit and there was a tall, aged man, asleep in a rocking chair on the front decking just outside of the shop. Satoru smiled a little and walked towards the man picking up a blanket that had fallen to the floor in front of him and placing it gently to cover him up. As Satoru was placing the blanket the man began to wake with still tired and dreary eyes.
       "Satoru... Is that you?" The man asked with a faint and ashy voice.
       "Mr. Yasana, what are you doing out here at this time? I hope you weren't waiting for me." Satoru said with a faint smile. The man was more fully awake now.
       "Of course I was, and how many times do I have to tell you boy? Drop the honorifics and just call me by my first name, Hiroshi." The man lectured.
       Hiroshi had an extremely kind face, he was old but not frail, a gentle man whom was revered throughout his neighbourhood as wise, helpful and caring. His hair had greyed and began to fall out with age and his skin had begun to wrinkle, but despite being at the age of seventy-four he looked very much younger than he was. He generally wore a simple white, kimono like robe and sandals as well as an undervest and silk white bottoms, he wore such loose clothes, he said, because he liked feeling the free breeze run through his clothes, it made him feel free. He still ran his vegetable shop almost solely by himself save for one person that helped him. Satoru had met the Hiroshi when he was six years old and desperate for some means of money to survive. At that point, Satoru was all alone and Hiroshi had stumbled upon him crying and hungry, begging people on the street for food. Satoru had run up to Hiroshi, begging him to help, and Hiroshi had made him a deal that if Satoru came and helped run his vegetable shop, he would pay him a decent wage and provide him three meals a day. From that point on Hiroshi and his wife Mayu had taken a caring role over Satoru. Despite Satoru living on his own and choosing not to stay permanently with Hiroshi and Mayu (even though he had been offered), he was there a lot of the day, nearly every weekday after his lessons at the academy finished, so the two played a very large part in his life growing up. After a while Satoru's Noryoku grew strong enough that he could easily feed himself, however he continued to work at Hiroshi's vegetable shop out of an admiration for the two who had cared for him. Satoru was generally emotionless and cold, and rarely smiled but when he was with Hiroshi and Mayu he put on his best fake smile because he truly valued them and didn't want them to see how unhappy he really was. He had gotten used to this charade over his life and even rarely shared some real laughter and smiles with the two of them, as such whenever he was around them he always at least appeared to be happy, whether he was or not.
       "As you wish Hiroshi" Satoru replied. "So why were you waiting for me all this time?"
       "Well I know it's your graduation exam tomorrow, and I wanted to wish you good luck, not that you need it with your ability" Hiroshi smiled warmly.
       "Thank you Hiroshi, that's very kind of you." Satoru responded with a respectful tone.
       "You know if you graduate tomorrow, you'll be a fully realised SoraYashu, on your own team, with your own missions." Hiroshi had a touch of sadness in his eyes. "You won't have time to help me around the shop anymore, and we'll see each other a lot less."
       Satoru sensed the sadness in Hiroshi's voice and tried to think of how he could comfort him best. Hiroshi noticed the sympathetic look on Satoru's face and perked up a little regaining his smile.
       "Of course, that is part of growing up, and I'm happy to watch you grow into your own, I can't help but feel proud, even if I'm not your real guardian. You've changed so much from that scared boy I met all those years ago, begging for food on the streets, you're so much stronger now, but don't think I don't notice all your fake smiles and that profound anger and sadness in your eyes." Hiroshi said sternly.
Satoru's eyes widened a little, he had been sure that no one could see through his charade and he felt at a loss for words that Hiroshi had know all this time.
       "You may be able to fool Mayu and the others in this city, but I can see the pain you feel, I only hope that your new journey through life as a SoraYashu will help you find the answer to all that anger and hatred you're hiding away, so that you can begin to move past it." Hiroshi advised comfortingly.
       "I hope so too." Satoru replied looking at the floor, almost as if talking to himself. Then he regained eye contact with Hiroshi. "Please keep it between me and you Hiroshi, I wouldn't want Mayu worrying." He pleaded with a calm voice.
       "My lips are sealed don't you worry, if you've been trying to hide it for this long you must have your reasons and I respect them, but Satoru, in life you don't have to carry all your burdens by yourself. Your friends and those around you will always be there to lend a hand." Hiroshi lectured.
       Satoru paused, instead reflecting on Hiroshi's words and for a while there was a silence, then Satoru looked up at Hiroshi.
       "Some burdens are too dark to let others carry them with you." Satoru replied coldly.
       "I think one day you'll meet someone who will change your mind about that, and when you do, I hope that you follow them down a path of light instead of stumbling blindly onto the path of darkness." Hiroshi said with a concerned tone. "Anyway, enough lecturing from an old man who's past his time anyway" Hiroshi smiled. "Good luck tomorrow, and don't forget me and Mayu when you're some important well respected SoraYashu." He chuckled.
       "I will never forget the kindness that you and Mayu have extended me Hiroshi, you will always hold a place in my heart." Satoru responded with a serious tone.
       "I'm glad to hear it, make sure to visit as much as possible in between missions, there will always be a hot meal for you here." Hiroshi said kindly.
       "Thank you Hiroshi." Satoru replied.
       "Well, I'm going to get inside now and get some rest, an old man like can't stay up much later than this. Goodnight Satoru and good luck." Hiroshi said encouragingly.
       "Goodnight Hiroshi, I'll visit again as soon as I can, bye." Satoru smiled.
Then Hiroshi walked back into the shop and Satoru continued down the street on his way home.