Friends Forever

Feudal Era: How it all began

Author's POV

"Makoto! Emiko!" Kiyoko ran into the makeshift camp, frightened.

"What happened?" Makoto, hurriedly approached Kiyoko.

Emiko got up from where she was sharpening her sword blade and quickly shielded it. "Yeah what happened Kiyo?"

"I sense a bad aura around here, one that of a very strong demon!" Kiyoko shuddered.

Emiko and Makoto exchanged a look and Emiko burst into laughter.

"Oh that's Ryouta, he has been assigned to our team, and he isn't a 'powerful demon', he's a half-demon in training, like me." Emiko corrected her.

"Kiyoko-chan, a part of our training is to train out senses properly so as to be able to detect danger and protect our country. If you make mistakes like this, then you've to work harder to sharpen your senses." Makoto scolded Kiyoko who hung her head in shame.

"Sorry Koto-san, I guess this strong aura made me go overboard.."

"It's okay Kiyo-chan," Emiko smiled "This is just the beginning, all of us have just started this training. So we all will make mistakes now. A while ago o got scolded by Makoto-san for wielding the sword wrongly."

"Ah, he's here." Makoto said, as she nodded at the two girls and left the camp motioning for them to follow her.

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Emiko was a half wolf demon, or a hanyou, a mixed breed between a wolf youkai and human. Her mother was a human, who had died when she was born, due to the extreme stress of giving birth to a youkai.

Emiko's father had been a powerful wolf youkai, who recently became a martyr during the famous war between the two demon lords- Lord Akihiko of the Golden Dog Empirical clan and Lord Shiro of the Empirical Wolf clan.

Lord Subaru, Emiko's father, was the younger brother of Lord Shiro. After her father's death, Emiko cut off all connections from her clan, and decided to join an academy where she could properly train her skills like a warrior and not be just trained about the etiquettes of a princess.

She wanted to avenge Lord Akihiko, with whose sword, her father had been killed, also be one of the guardians of the country to protect the people. Hence, her desire to join the Kanshisha, the Guardian.

Kiyoko, on the other hand, was a priestess. She was born of the highest ranking officials. Her parents, had abandoned her when they found that it was a girl. The Chief of the Kanshisha, while patrolling, had sensed extreme powerful aura emanating from the Ayakashi forest, and thus found the few days old Kiyoko, left all alone cuddled up in a blanket, fast asleep.

Out of curiosity and sympathy for the child, he had taken her under his guardianship. From childhood, Kiyoko knew about her original family and it bothered her to the utmost that she hated her family.

Emiko, escaped from her home in the Fukushima mountains when she was 10. While wandering alone, fatigued and helpless, she had come across a 10 year old Kiyoko who, at that time, had been playing with Makoto, the blood daughter of the Chief in the outskirts of the secret headquarters of the Kanshisha.

Makoto had almost killed Emiko as she approached them. But Kiyoko, being a kind and considerate girl, had stopped her when she noticed that it was a harmless fatigued child. Makoto had been hell-bent on assuming that it was either a spy or a intruder but before they could decide, Emiko had fallen unconscious, only muttering "help...." with a raspy voice.

Realising that she need immediate treatment because of dehydration and blood loss, they took her in and treated her.

That night, the Head of the Shugorei sent a letter to the Chief of Kanshisha stating that the Great Future Teller of the Spirit World had foreseen that soon a powerful team will be formed in the Kanshisha, which will destroy all wrongdoers and help restore the peace among youkais, hanyous and humans in the Human World.

The Chief was confused about the letter, he sent a reply back asking for further explanation. Soon, the messenger returned with a letter saying that he'd only have to wait till the correct time came and then he'd himself understand what it meant, the Spirit Fortune Teller could say no more now.

Emiko had started living there, after getting the approval from the chief. She had professed her desire to become a part of the Kanshisha, and Chief Fukushima had readily agreed to let her start training along with Kiyoko and Makoto when they turned 13.

Now 16, the girls had been posted to the Ayakashi Forest, as a part of their training. They'd have to live on their own for a year, travel around the forest, report things to the Heads and use and sharpen the skills they had learnt so far. They were a team of 6:- 3 girls and 3 boys. But the remaining 3 boys had not arrived yet. Oh well, one had. Apparently the boys were from the Kanshisha West headquarters.

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Sorry this chapter is shorter than the previous one.