Jiro dashed through the Arena, leaving an array of tables on their faces. Vases crashed in his wake. Petals vomited their seeds, and blood of different colors painted the ground. “Wait! Hold up!” Kakashi trailed far behind. Something must be wrong. He kept running even though he had no understanding of why. He can’t be this anxious if there wasn’t a problem. Jiro swung the doors open, leaving the walls with angry marks. “There is a problem!” His voice screamed above his breath. Kakashi’s feet screeched, fighting the ground to halt at great speed. Master Yonda stretched his neck out to see who arrived. “Uh, I’m with him.” Kakashi said, his voice a blend of nervousness and struggle to control. Jiro nodded in affirmation. Master Yonda drew back to face Jiro. “This better be worth my time.” His words were stifled under his clenched teeth. “Horses approach. A great army is on its way here. We need to act fast.” Jiro uttered.What? That was a summary of what was happening!“You don’t
The words spread across the room faster than Kakashi and Jiro could deliver the instructions from door to door. “We can easily avoid all of this if only you just let everyone know about you.”“Know what, Zoa? What are you talking about?” “You know exactly what I am talking about, Kakashi. I can’t lose my only remaining family… for you. If you do not talk now, I will.”“Talk about what?” Kakashi’s face dropped. “Talk about what, Zoa? Tell me what you want.” Kakashi rushed after her. He pulled her by the elbow, halting her brisk walk away from him.“Yourself! The truth about yourself! You are a demo…” his palm tightened over her face, numbing her words. She mumbled into his palm, but the words clogged in her mouth, stopping at the palm of his hand. “Let me go. Stop!” She hummed. Kakashi glanced over his shoulders as he dragged her away to a corner. He surveyed the surroundings before dropping his hand. “What did you just do?” She extended her hand, and black chaos energy shot out, se
His feet fled on the ground, manoeuvring its soles to avoid the bodies lifeless and pouring out blood. “They are too much. I don’t think we will be able to take them all out!” He was still a few metres away from Master Yonda. “What?” Master Yonda squinted his eyes. Kokohashi jumped to shield the master from the charging soldier. “What is the problem?” His sword overlooked his head. “They—Master,” the soldier bowed. “They are far too many. We have no chance against them.” His breath rose and fell persistently, his chest displaying the motion. Master Yonda’s eyes passed his glance away from the reporting soldier to look wide into the crowded area. Are they that plenty? “Master? Master!” Master Yonda was brought back from his reverie. He blinked twice, recovering his reality. “We can take them on.”“But, sir—master, they are still trooping in. For every fallen soldier, there are two coming in through the gate. This is going to be impossible to overcome. They have taken the whole sch
The emperor twitched his nose. There was a lot more to lose than gain. Trust? No. Choice? A heavy sigh escaped the lips of the emperor. “Can’t you help me get out of here? I mean, if you can do it for yourself, you can do it for me.” Honda’s eyes darted around. “The governor is still here.” He closed in on the emperor. “You told me taking revenge for your family is the way to show the people of Yahuza how much you can fight for them. I still see him here, I know you are not a coward. You are a man of your word. This is the best time to take him out.” He took a step back. “But if you do not mean the words that come out of your mouth, then we can find you a way out.” A slight smile played on his lips. The emperor’s gaze fell. His head dropped. Choice? No.“Fine. Tell my daughter I love her.”“And your wife?” The emperor clenched his jaws. “Tell her… tell her I will die for her.” His eyes twinkled with a tear. Honda nodded.Honda dashed through the echoing sounds of steel clashing a
The scent in the air was a mixture of metallic blood and potions hanging heavy. Blood trails followed their sources being dragged away from the Annual Globe ground. Carriers paraded the ground with weapons picked up to be refined in the armory. “What happened?” Kokohashi rushed in. “Where have you been?” The emperor asked with a stern face matching the tone of his voice. “I… I was…”“He was with me. We had a few things to do.” Oz strolled in. “We may be victorious but much more work must be done. We have to follow the prophecy.”Master Yonda’s fist banged the table. Every eye turned in his direction. Silence reigned. His fist loosened. “They were never going to let us go scot-free. You were there.” Master Yonda shot at Oz. “You know them better than anyone. They were always going to come after us. Why did they choose now?” He peered at space, surveying the darkness that lurked in a corner for answers. “This is not about what just happened, master. This is about what is to happen.
“Yeah, Zoa has been asking me to confess. Tanya… Tanya, I do not know where she stands. She apologized about something but…”“But what, Kakashi? What did she apologize for?” “I don’t know what it is.”“What? She apologized and you have no idea what her apology was about?” “I don’t know.”“You have to be careful Kakashi. Where do you think you can run to? He is inside you.”“What if… what if I kill myself?” Kakashi raised his gaze. His eyes lit up.Jiro shot a glare at Kakashi. “Don’t be foolish Kakashi. Killing yourself is not going to change anything. Have you not learned anything? The trapped ashes of Zodiac entered you. No one ever survived it till now. Do you think he dies with you even if you kill yourself?”“At least it will take another one thousand years before it gets to survive in another host.” Kakashi’s head dropped with a heavy sigh. “That is not how it works. It could be less than a decade from now, but why would you even think of such? Why would you think of killing
“He is the one, Yonda. He is the one.” The Emperor’s footsteps pounced on the carpet of the master with gusto and urgency. His countenance carried with it a blend of happiness and refueled animosity. “The governor, he is the one.”Master Yonda nodded his head once to the soldier behind him. “Why are you so… energetic?” Master Yonda voiced. The emperor dragged out a chair to allow himself a seat. The doors closed, leaving The Emperor and Master Yonda alone in the chamber. The emperor took his eyes from the door and back to the master. “The governor, he is the one. He was my prime minister.” The words of the emperor raised Master Yonda’s brows. His eyes widened and a minute of lasting silence clouded them. “Are you sure?” The master covered his mouth to cage the thoughts he had but the words had slipped out from him. The Emperor twitched a side of his face, a visible disgust flashing his face. “What do you mean by if I am sure? Are you asking if I know the man that stayed in my king
Kakashi snapped his fingers as his eyes lit up. “What?” Jiro tilted his head, his face crossed with serious doubt about whatever Kakashi was about to say. “Maybe that is not a bad idea.” Kakashi crossed over the books in his way. “You said this half is in your hometown, right?”“Mm-hm,” Jiro agreed, his breath steadied. “Have you seen it?” Kakashi’s footsteps floated in excitement towards Jiro. Jiro shook his head. “Okay. But they must have. You were told about it, yes?” “Where are you going with this?” Jiro stared blankly at Kakashi.“They told you about something they have. This means they must have seen it. If they have seen it, which means…”“They know it.” Jiro completed Kakashi’s words half-heartedly. A grin touched each end of Kakashi’s jaws. Jiro turned his face to Kakashi. “When do we begin?” “We have to find a way to leave here first. That is going to take a lot of effort.” Jiro’s optimism resigned. He took a seat on the edge of his bed. “The gate is wide open.” Kakas