Stardust Soul

9

[A/N: I'm practically super pissed right now. I tried running JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle on my RPCS3 emulator but DAMNED HELL it doesn't work. I tried downloading other games as well, but nope - I just wasted time. Sigh, I'm just going to watch the gameplays on YouTube while I slowly die from jealousy. :<]

"What are you doing back here?" Tekuto asked as he brushed his clothes off.

"Didn't dad tell you that I was coming back?"

"He's not here. He left a week ago for a business trip," he replied, "Your mom didn't say a word either, nor your siblings."

"What about grandma and grandpa? Are they alright?"

"They're alright, I think," he sheathed his katana, "I apologize for attacking you. I didn't recognize you, you look different!"

"What gives?" I asked sternly, "We're just students in a school trip!"

Tekuto gave me a lugubrious look. He sighed, "There are threats in Heiwana. Our crops keep getting destroyed nowadays so there's a guard watching over them and our food supply is getting low because the farming grounds were reduced. We're also running low on money since we didn't have tourists coming for almost 2 months."

What the hell is happening to my home?

"And people started going missing! That's when Grandpa implemented a curfew." His expression turned hesitant, "And your little sister..."

"Jitsuko?!" Out of shock, I grabbed Tekuto by the collar, "Don't tell me she got into this mess!"

He grabbed my wrists, slowly making me release my grip, "Well, almost. That little sister of yours escaped in the middle of the night to the forest. Luckily, it was my shift that night so I followed her. I don't know what she's up to, but suddenly a shadow grabbed her arm and about to pull her somewhere. I charged right at it and tried slashing it with my sword, but no attack worked. And then, Mississippi Queen appeared."

"Mississippi who?"

"Ah, never mind, you'll never be able to see it anyway." He shook it off,  "All I'm trying to say is that your sister is fine. She begged not to tell your parents about what happened, but I guess you have the right to know."

I sighed, "Damn that Jitsuko."

"Anyways, I have to make sure that you guys arrive in the village safely. Follow me," he said as he started walking forward towards the path.

~*~

We have finally arrived in Heiwana village after another 10 minutes of walking. From what I remember, the village was filled with a lot of people – among them are some foreigners. The residents would always smile a lot to the tourists, selling food and souvenirs; and there are a lot of ninja's scattered all around, guiding the tourists and entertaining them with their skills as they tour them around the training grounds.

Right now, the streets were left bare and there were hardly anyone selling goods outside. It does look clean, but rather empty. Only a few stands were left scattered about the village, probably hoping that they would gain profit even just a little bit. Few of the residents were walking all around rather gloomily, passing by each other without a word. The children however, were still in their jolly old state; playing on the streets, while others climbed the trees.

I'm finally back home, but things have changed.

We continued walking through the village, going through swivelling paths until we ended up far away from the village proper. At the end of the path was a wooden gate with the name plate, 'Matsui (松井).' Tekuto approached the gate to knock, but I rummaged past him and pushed the gate open.