The Will of Fire

48. Not Done Yet

Its been exactly three months since the war between Japan and China. Jared, Tristin, and Luisa are all residents of Japan now. Japan had been in harmony ever since. The siblings have been living wonderfully. Tristin spends a lot of time with Karui these days. It seems they're dating, although they never said it. Same with Luisa and Prince Sesshomaru. Except Sesshomaru has made it clear to Luisa and everyone else that he's interested in Luisa. Of course it makes her a nervous wreck.  Jared on the other hand has started to get really close with Kisara. Not in the romantic way though. Kisara serves more of a bestfriend relationship with him. Kisara's friendship with Jared has brought her out if her shell a lot. The two were hanging out regularly, even now. Although this was different. Kisara had to do some shopping for her father and asked Jared to tag along. Kisara and her father had reconnected. In fact, the entire Hano Clan has reconciled with Kisara, letting her back in and letting her live amongst them. Once they all heard if her feats in the war, they praised her. They offered her the title to have back her spot as Lady Kisara of the Hano Clan, but that had been her little sister's spot since she was exiled out of the clan. She would rather her sister keep that title.
"I'm actually nervous right now. Your clan is very intimidating." Jared said laughing.
Kisara chuckled softly.
"I can't say I disagree" she said with a soft smile. "But you'll be fine. Besides, you have yet to meet my cousins. They're here visiting."
"Your cousins?" Jared asked confused.
"Yes. The Shiryoku Clan are visiting from their  neighborhood, The Shiryoku District" said Kisara. "The Shiryoku Clan is my clan's cousin clan. It all started centuries ago when Yashiro Hano had two sons. One named Danzo Hano and another named Yokai Hano. Danzo eventually had a daughter named Daitami Hano, and Yokai had a son named Yozawa Hano. Well of course Yozawa Hano married when he got older and had children who continued to pass down the Hano name because they were all boys. However, Daitami married a man by the name of Jin Shiryoku."
Jared was a bit confused taking in all of Kisara's information. All the names were throwing him off following the timelines, but he was honestly intrigued.
"So then what?" He asked.
"Well, it's pretty interesting really" Kisara continued. "At that time, the Shiryoku Clan were average people. They weren't power warriors at all. But of course Daitami being a Hano by blood, she was a power warrior. So when Daitami and Jin had children, it meant their kids were only half power warrior. But then, something amazing happened."
Kisara continued to explain to Jared the history of the Hano and Shiryoku Clans. Daitami Hano had three children with Jin Shiryoku. Two girls and one boy. The son was born very special and unique. His name was Shinsuke. Shinsuke Shiryoku. It was assumed that Shinsuke would have his mother's Hano bloodline abilities the older her got. But Shinsuke showed signs of something different. The Shiryoku Clan were average and normal people with no abilities, but were known to have extraordinary clarity of vision. Shinsuke was born with his own set of abilities. Without any intention to do so, combining great eyesight from the Shiryoku clan with Daitami's Hano lineage abilities, Shinsuke was able to have an extended field of vision, and see through solid objects by activating an ability called "Shin no Shiryoku." (meaning True-Eyesight.) He could also manifest his power energy outside of his body much like the Hano clan could, but their energy is a pure white instead of the aura blue the Hano possess. With this they can paralyze the opponent's body overtime by stopping the flow of power energy in a opponent's body by striking the vital points seen by using the Shin no Shiryoku. This is now the ability and prowess of the Shiryoku clan after Shinsuke Shiryoku, finally making the Shiryoku clan Power Warriors. When Shinsuke had children and married, his children gained the abilities. They then passed the abilities onto their children and so on. That has been the legacy of the Shiryoku Clan ever since, making them cousins of the Hano Clan. The Shiryoku Clan is noted as one of the strongest clans in all of Japan. Jared was impressed. He thought it was the coolest thing ever. The fact that a clan that was once considered a normal clan of people with zero abilities and powers had become one of the strongest clans in all of Japan was truly great.
"There are four clans in Japan who were noted the strongest" Kisara followed up with. "My clan, which is the Hano Clan. The Shiryoku Clan. The Tanaka Clan. And lastly, your clan. The Dorahatō Clan."
Jared had heard from his father that his clan was one of the strongest clans in Japan. He heard the stories of how they were taught the abilities of fire by real life dragons. He had his doubts though.
"Yeah. I heard stories. But my clan is gone. Completely wiped out. Only ones living are my father, me, Tristin, and Luisa. My mom is married into the clan you could say too."
"You know, my father used to tell me stories too" Said Kisara. "Your clan truly was great. Although no one in Japan besides the elders have stories of experience with them. The last time they lived amongst everyone before becoming extinct was back when my father was a kid. And my dad is sixty years old. His father grew up having Dorahatō Clan members as his friends."
Jared shook his head. He couldn't believe it had been that long. A huge part of him wanted to meet at least one member from his clan that wasn't his father and siblings. It bothered him. But there was nothing he could do about it.
"So how are you? Still thinking about Alisa?" Kisara asked.
Jared gritted his teeth together. He couldn't stand hearing her name sometime.
"Sun-mi. Remember? Her name is Sun-mi..." He said. "And no. I don't care anymore."
A blatant lie, and Kisara could tell. She had a look of sorrow on her face, feeling guilty for irritating Jared.
"Right. Sun-mi. Sorry." She said.
The two walked past several Hano Clan members as they made their way to Kisara's home. Sitting outside on the bench in front of the house was a girl who looked liked Kisara, and another girl who didn't look like her at all.
"You're finally back! About time!" Said the girl similar looking to Kisara. "Hey, Jared. Good to see you again!"
Jared was hugged by the girl tight.
"You too, Lady Kasumi. Been a few weeks." Jared responded.
"Oh cut that formal crap out. Just call me Kasumi." She responded.
"Kasumi, you need to take your title a lot more serious" Kisara sternly said. "Your heir to the throne. Once dad is gone from leading the clan, it will all be on you. You're practically a princess."
Kasumi rolled her eyes.
"I'm literally thirteen years old. This "princess" stuff is a drag. I'm not even a princess, I'm just next in line because Dad is charge of only our clan. Any choice he makes has to be respected by Empress Teikuya, so what good is it even being heir to the throne when truly I'll have no deed anyway?" Kasumi exclaimed.
Kisara sighed and shook her head.
"Please forgive my kid sister, Jared. She just doesn't quite get it yet." Kisara said, completely embarrassed.
A part of Kisara understood Kasumi's frustration. Having it all the pressure on you because you're the heir is a lot to handle. The council leave you no room for mistakes. Even though their father was the new leader, he still expected nothing less than perfect from Kasumi.
"You completely gave up your spot as heir. You're the first born, Kisara. By blood, it should be you. It used to be until you were casted out. You just had to come back and pass it on to me." Kasumi said with another eyeroll.
"Well, Kasumi you've always been more experienced than me. That's the whole reason I was casted out, remember. If it wasn't for our uncle at the time hiding me out I would probably be dead from living homelessly on the streets of Japan." Kisara explained.
Kasumi quickly negated what her big sister said. Kasumi never cared about her strength being stronger than Kisara's when they were kids. She wanted them treated equally. Besides, she believed Kisara had surpassed her after hearing what she did in the war.
"Oh, Jared! You have to meet our cousin!" Kasumi said.
The girl that sat with Kasumi stood up and smiled softly at Jared.
"Jared, this is our cousin. Riho Shiryoku. Riho, this is my bestfriend, Jared Dorahatō." Said Kisara.
Jared froze a bit. He stared at Riho's features. Her soft pink skin tone. Her amber colored eyes. Her pure white hair as it flowed elegantly as the wind blew.
"Pleased to meet you." She said with a smile, reaching her hand out to shake his.
Kisara and Kasumi stared at Jared, waiting for him to respond.
"Well say something, Jared Dorahatō. Don't make me stand here like a fool." Riho joked, still keeping a smile that caught Jared's attention.
Kasumi nudged Jared and Jared shook his head a few times to come back down to reality.
"I'm so sorry!" He quickly said, grabbing her hand and shaking it.
"Wow, firm grip huh?" Riho said with a smile, gingerly grabbing her hand.
Jared wanted immediately punch himself in the face with how much of a fool he was making out if himself.
Get it together, Jared! This isn't the first time you ran into a pretty girl! Why am I so socially awkward sometimes in front of pretty girls?
"Nice Jared, you're trying to break our cousin's hand!" Kasumi joked, nudging him.
"Its fine really, don't heckle him." Riho said laughing a bit.
Kisara asked Jared to follow her into the house to put the groceries away in the house.
"Father, I'm back home with the groceries. Jared Dorahatō is with me!" Kisara announced as she walked in.
"He isn't here" said a voice familiar to Kisara. "The council called for some type of meeting. I'm here watching the house while he's gone."
"Oh, hey Kuroro. Didn't expect you to be here. This is my bestfriend Jared Dorahatō." Kisara said.
Jared gulped hard. Kuroro looked exactly like Kisara. Same reddish-pink hair, same salmon colored eyes, same pale skin tone. His hair was even long. It was tied in two low ponytails that reached to the small of his back.
"Nice to meet you, Kuroro. I didn't know Kisara had a brother." Jared said.
"Oh, we aren't siblings" said Kuroro with a chuckle. "We're cousins. First cousins. Our fathers are brothers."
"His father. My uncle. He is the one who hid me away and  trained me when the clan casted me out years ago when I was a kid. Kouichi Hano." Said Kisara.
Jared had been told the story of Kisara's childhood. He always resented his father for holding back on him and his siblings powers and potential growing up, but he couldn't imagine being exiled from his family just because he wasn't strong enough. Although,  the Hano Clan is the most disciplined of the four main clans of Japan.
"My father was a great tutor and mentor" Said Kuroro. "He taught me and Kisara everything we know. He's missed dearly."
"What happened to him? How'd he pass? If you don't mind me asking..." Jared said, unsure of the question.
Kisara looked at Kuroro with a sad look on her face. She put a hand on his arm to console him.
"Don't worry, Kisara. Its fine" He responded. "My father died in battle. He fought defending Lady Kasumi."
"Kasumi? What did she need defending from? I thought she was considered stronger than Kisara? Isn't that why the clan casted Kisara out?" Jared inquired.
"Of course. Although, Kasumi is still a child. She was even younger when my father died" Kuroro explained. "She was nine years old then. A warrior from China had snuck into Japan and infiltrated the Hano District, then attempted to abduct Lady Kasumi. My father stopped him immediately. He stalled enough to let Lady Kasumi escape and run home to her father, but my father stayed there to finish the job. They both ended up killing each other."
"Wait a minute" Jared said quickly. "That's weird. I thought the Japan always had guards of the royal army that always watched at the Hakuchō entrance gate? They cover low and high ground, so how the hell did he get in past them and make it into the Hano District?"
"That's just it. The royal army guards the gate now. They didn't at that time. That incident made it crucial for Emperor Tskune to appoint his guards to watch the gate" Kisara explained. "But that's what makes it strange. The Chinese warrior that snuck in was completely unseen. It was almost like he was invisible."
Thinking of all the types and classes, Jared couldn't think of any that makes a warrior go invisible. It seemed taboo, but all of this made Jared a little leary. He hoped he never had to up against a foe who can do that.
"Isn't that impossible?" He asked.
"Ultimately, yes. Unless it was an illusion." Said Kisara.
"The Inoichi Clan is known for their illusions" Kuroro cut in. "It could've been an Inoichi Clan member that did this. Putting on an illusion to make the guards at the gate see no one sneaking in. They sleuthed right by being unseen."
"So technically the invader wasn't invisible then. It was all an illusion. He was there the entire time. Just created an illusion to make things seem like it was all normal" Jared said. "But wait a second. The Inoichi Clan are from Japan. You said this invader was Chinese."
"Exactly. As we know now, Kîn Inoichi sided with Japan. But at that time, she was still a loving member of Hakuchō Village. She would've never did that back then. Her father was the only member of the Inoichi Clan to have a wicked heart. Its what makes what happened such a mystery." Kuroro said.
"When Uncle Kouichi and the invader was found by my father, no one had ever seen him before. His face was unrecognizable" Said Kisara. "But we knew he was Chinese due to the fact that he wore a chinese kanji written on the sleeves of his garb. No one knew Chinese, and we had no Chinese allies to translate it. So we were out of luck."
"Still, this makes no sense. I thought an Inoichi could only make you undergo one of their illusions if you looked them in the eyes? How could they have looked him in the eyes if he was never seen?" Jared responded.
"That's how it takes effect, yes" Kisara said. "But a highly skilled warrior from the Inoichi Clan knows how to cast an illusion without eye-to-eye contact. Kîn demonstrated that when she put that barrier up during the war, and not everyone looked her in the eyes then."
Suddenly Kasumi walked in a bit in a rushed manner.
"What's wrong, Lady Kasumi?" Kuroro asked.
"Jared. Your brother and sister are outside. They're here for you" Kasumi responded. "And if I were you, I'd get out there quick. They said it's urgent."
Jared hesitated for a bit.
Tristin and Luisa need me urgently? Just what is going on here...
Jared hurried outside as Kisara, Kasumi, and Kuroro followed behind him. When he got outside, his siblings stood before him with serious looks on their faces.
"Bro...you ain't gonna believe this." Tristin said.
"You have to come with us. Now." Luisa said.
It freaked Jared out a bit. He had no clue what they could be talking about. Kisara asked Jared if everything was okay, but of course he didn't know. After telling her to stay there, Jared followed his siblings.
"Can one of you tell me what the hell is going on?" Jared asked, annoyed.
Tristin nudged Luisa.
"I'll tell you" she said with a momentous tone. "Me and Tristin think... we've found a member of our clan."
Jared froze in his tracks. Tristin and Luisa looked him in his eyes. He could tell that they weren't joking. With tension rising in Jared's body, he immediately began to crack a smile. His brother and sister did the same.
"Really? How? Where?" Jared asked.
"Empress Teikuya recieved information from a Hakuchō village member who went on a voyage. During that voyage he was out on sea fishing. It was then when he saw what he thought was member of our clan. A Dorahatō, alive and in the flesh." Said Luisa.
"He said that the person was a woman. She was some distance away, hard to tell" Tristin cut in. "But she was seen on cliffs of what seemed to be a mountain that grew from the Kage Sea somehow. He also said that her clothing and hair color was similar to that of a Dorahatō Clan member."
Jared became very intrigued. He wanted to tell his father immediately, but he wanted to be sure.
"So how can we go about this? We have to go see for ourselves obviously." Jared exclaimed.
"We've been prohibited by Empress Teikuya. We were given instructions not to go." Luisa said.
Jared clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.
"Relax, Jared" Tristin said quickly. "I can tell you're heating up. We were told not to go. But we're going to anyway. And you're coming with us."
This was just what Jared wanted to hear. It was enough to calm his nerves. The three siblings had made it out of the Hano District and were in the center of Hakuchō Village. Tristin explained that Empress Teikuya had stated that the man who saw the said to be Dorahatō woman was the Kage Sea. (Pronounced KAH-GEI) Kage Sea is a large body of water in Unagi Village, one of the six villages of Japan. Unagi Village is pretty much deserted. People from the neighboring villages only go there to fish for the exquisite yet dangerous puffer fish. Fishermen also catch the eel as well. Both reside in the Kage Sea. Empress Teikuya had no recollection of mountain that grew out of Kage Sea, which is why she didn't want Jared, Tristin, or Luisa going. The woman the man saw could be anyone. He could be wrong and she's an actual threat. And to travel there alone was risky and lengthy. You needed a boat just to get there.
"So here's the plan you guys. After doing research of my own, this is what we have to do to get to Unagi Village" Tristin began. "First, we head to Hakuchō Docks. From there we sail to the Midori Ocean and go pass Kujaku Village. At that point, we should see a arc made of stone. We go under that, continue sailing for about 10 minutes, then that's when the fog should start to appear."
Jared and Luisa listened well to their big brother as he gave them the proper instructions. Everything had to be done just right. Getting lost at sea was a huge possibility if you don't sail the right way with proper directions where to go.
"Once the fog starts to appear, we aren't far at all. We'll know we're there once the fog completely surrounds us" said Tristin. "At that point, we dock at Unagi Docks of course. Get off, and we're officially in Unagi. Our next step after that is heading to the Kage Seashore. We then sail out on another boat to sail onto the Kage Sea. The rest is in us to then look for the mountain."
"Where are we getting a second boat from, bro?" Asked Jared.
"That parts on me. I'll make a boat out of rock. We sail out on that." Tristin replied.
"Also, wouldn't that mountain be hard to find considering all of the fog in Unagi Village?" Luisa asked.
"Exactly. That's why we better get going now before it gets dark. If night comes before we get there, we're screwed. It'll be the darkest night we ever experienced." Tristin said, voice heavy with urgency.
Jared and Luisa grew a little tense. Still, they nodded and listened.
"It was good to meet with Karui before coming to do this. Karui gathered intel from her mother and gave it to us. Of course Kikyo had no clue Karui was gathering that information so we we could do this though" Tristin said. "Kikyo used to travel all over Japan, healing people with her incredible medical abilities before she left the village and completely stopped, leaving all of Japan to use basic medicines to care for people."
The siblings finally made it to Hakuchō Docks where the worker informed them that the current time is 5PM. All of Japan begins to get dark around 7PM. They had two hours to get there before nightfall. With a quick lie to the dock worker that they were heading off to Kujaku village, the three sailed onto sea. This was a feeling all too familiar to them all. Thinking of when they sailed Midori Ocean to get to Kujaku Village for the Deathmatch Tournament months ago. Luisa worried about Maxi, who was left at the Hano District where Kisara said she will look after him until they return.
"I still don't think it's smart for me to be gone without Maxi. I'm a Companion Type for a reason, you know?" Luisa said with fear in his eyes.
"I know. But he wouldn't have been able to fit on this small boat. I could only afford to buy a wooden boat of this size" Tristin responded. " Making a boat of rock now and later on for Kage Sea would use so much of my power energy. Besides, you're also a Weaponry and Fire Type as well. You'll fair well without Maxi."
Jared felt himself becoming seasick. He was sure that he'd never get used to this. Time passed and they had already passed by Kujaku Village on the Midori Ocean.
"Its been about 30 minutes. It should be 5:30 right now." Said Luisa.
"Good. Keep tracking the time like you are. It comes in handy" said Tristin, continuing to paddle. "Now where is that arc of stone we have to pass under?"
Jared looked over the boat and into the water. He became slightly startled by something.
"What is it, Jared?" Luisa asked.
Jared hesitated a bit.
"I thought I saw something in the water. Maybe I'm imagining things." He responded.
Luisa's sudden shriek made Jared and Tristin both become alert.
"What's wrong with you now?!" Tristin asked in a irritated tone.
"Jared wasn't imagining things! Something definitely just moved in the water!" Luisa said, backing up and moving closer between her brothers.
"Its probably just a dolphin you two. Relax." Tristin said, brushing his siblings off.
Jared and Luisa both looked around, now paranoid of what it could possibly be in the water. The idea of a dolphin wasn't weird. But still, they all knew better.
"The dolphins love people! They would've greeted us by jumping out and doing tricks! You know that, Tristin! Don't lie to us to protect our feelings!" Luisa shouted.
Tristin stopped rowing the boat. He groaned and closed his eyes in guilt. Jared looked at his big brother, knowing that Luisa was right about Tristin lying to them.
He must have saw what we saw then. Tristin is always doing this. He's always trying to keep us calm while he knows there's something going on. I wish he'd stop treating us like children!
"Look bro" Jared said. "Be straight up with us. What's going on here? You saw something too...right?"
Tristin opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder at his brother and sister.
"I didn't want you two to freak out. We don't have time to sit in fear and not think clearly" Tristin said with an unyielding tone. "Luisa, your job is to keep track of time. I couldn't risk you losing that by being startled. Jared, your job is to keep us warm while it turns to night. The air has already became a bit chilled. Keeping a calm mind is what will help you produce the flames necessary to warm us. You could burn this entire boat along with us if you have an anxious mind. You know that."
Jared and Luisa looked at each other and knew their big brother was right. They all had a duty on this voyage. They weren't done yet. Jared nodded his head, then ignited his hands and held them close to them all.
"Warm up you guys. Be careful not to get your clothes caught. And hair, Luisa." He said.
"It should be 5:50PM rightnow. We have a little over an hour before it gets pitch black out here." Luisa followed.
"Thank you you two." Tristin responded.
Some more time passed and it was 6:15PM. The siblings finally reached the stone arc.
"Alright. Here it is." Tristin said.
Right as they were about to go under the under, something shot up from out of the water, startling them all. Luisa bumped into Jared who fell forward and his hands ignited half of the boat.
"Oh no, the boat!" Luisa screamed.
Damn it! What the hell is going on?!
Jared and Luisa frantically crawled to the front of the boat where Tristin sat, avoiding the flames.
"Tristin, what do we do?! What the...hey what's wrong?" Luisa said, looking at Tristin.
Tristin was stuck as a look of fear came over him. Luisa then noticed what his eyes were fixated on, and she immediately froze as well. She began to shake in fear. Jared turned around and was stunned. The three siblings were face-to-face with a massive snake.
A snake?! What the hell...why it's so big?! Tristin and Luisa froze up!
This snake was a deep purple color and was massive. It hissed and wavered about as it flicked it's tongue at them. Jared quickly fired a fireball at the snake, singing it's nose. This sent it into a fit if rage.
"Look out!" Jared shouted.
The snake slammed it's body on top of the boat, smashing it to smithereens....