Revenge of the Akuma Clan

by Benjamin Martin

  “It doesn’t seem like much,” Tsubasa said, “but at least we have two references on our timeline already.”

  With the amount of homework they had, the group was limited in the time they had to search. Every morning they were up at four to start practice, then off to school. After school was badminton and their various evening training, then they had scant time for homework and the search. It was so bad that Yukiko began insisting they cut their evening practices shorter.

  Only David and Takumi were able to continue their evening patrols late into the mornings. Their ability to switch into their animal forms allowed them to recover even as they continued their work. The same ability did not help their virtual search. Kou had tried to use a keyboard but had sent a claw straight through. Reimi was still small enough to hop around on the keys, but she became so excited that she set the entire desk on fire.

  “The relics and history of this place are far too important to be destroyed in a fit of excitement,” Masao said scowling at the little bird.

  “I can’t help it. I’m a phoenix. Fire is what I do,” she replied.

  Masao summarily banned her from the Matsumoto Library.

  FITNESS AND FALLS

  She was like a young cross between Natsuki and Rie, yet so different. Since I looked a few years her senior, it was easy to impress her. There was no way for her to know how many years I had actually lived…

  Naoto chuckled from beside David as he stared out at the faces of the entire school. Takaeishi glared at him from behind the sitting students, which did not help the sudden nervousness that sprang into the pit of his stomach. With the Matsumotos’ training, he saw every look he got from the students. Some were bored. A few, Mizuki’s friends, were hostile. Another group of girls had odd smiles on their faces. David knew all of them were waiting for him. Tsukasa-sensei gave him a prompting hand motion.

  “Umm,” he began.

  ‘Great start. Epic.’

  “This year’s boys’ badminton team has been practicing very hard,” David managed despite Kou. “For doubles we have Takumi and I.” They stepped forward and bowed, then stepped back. As he called their names, his team members did the same. Somehow, he made it through the rest of the introductions and returned to sit with the rest of the team. The girl group AKB48’s song Heavy Rotation started to play and the students who had gone behind stage earlier came out cross-dressed. David stifled a laugh. The boys had all borrowed skirts and sailor tops from the girls, while the girls had on the boy’s slacks and white dress shirts. To finish off the spectacle most had drawings on their faces.

  Soon the entire student body was laughing at the group as they tried to follow Kenta’s choreography. They finished with a short shout out to the team then raced off in embarrassment.

  At lunch, discussions around David’s table focused on what everyone had done for Mother’s Day. The conversation seemed innocent enough until Hidemi caught his attention from farther down the table.

  “Do you have Mother’s Day in America?” she asked.

  “Yeah, we do,” David said. “It’s the same day as in Japan, but it’s a family thing. They don’t have events at the school like we had.”

  “Did you do anything for your mom?” Hidemi continued. She often asked David about cultural differences and was the best in English in their class beside him. When he asked her why she could speak English so well, she always dodged with a sly smile and returned to her book. David frowned at her question.

  “My mom died a long time ago,” he said, trying to keep the old memories at bay. “We made breakfast for Yukiko though.” With that conversation killer, the others backed away, yet Hidemi focused on him even more. She did not say anything, and David tried to think of something more to say, but when he looked back, she had joined a new conversation about a KPop group. David ignored Rie’s glances in his direction. That evening after practice, Rie met David alone outside the gym.

  “Natsuki and Takumi are going to stop by her house on the way back to the Estate,” she said. “Natsuki’s dad has something she thinks will help the search for the Jeong Brothers.”

  “The last time those two disappeared it was because you convinced them to go hangout so we could see the monk,” David said, letting his suspicion tint his voice. It was hard to keep from smiling.

  ‘She’s up to something.’

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said with an innocent grin. As they passed the grocery store, David could not help detouring around to look at the ruined warehouse. The whole area was clear, with weeds beginning to stick up among the foundation. The basement hole was still visible, with black scorch marks where the flames had licked out before the rest of the building had caught. “So what happened?”

  David sighed. ‘She wants to know about my mother.’

  “There’s not much to tell,” he said as they continued walking. “I don’t remember much and my father always had a hard time talking about it.” David popped open an umbrella for the two of them as a light rain began. It had rained every day that week.

  “You don’t have to tell me,” Rie said, huddling under the umbrella with him.

  “We had just moved, I don’t remember where. I think we had moved so my dad could work at a new laboratory or something. I remember being confused, sad, scared even, but even Kou can’t help me remember what happened. Afterward, she was gone. We moved back to Arizona. I feel like I remember some of the drive, that or I’ve heard about it so much my thoughts seem like memory. I guess my dad took a few jobs. Eventually he got the job with public television. He’s been doing that for a long time.”

  They walked without direction or hurry. Rie put her arm around his to guide him as he sank back into his memories. Kou stayed clear letting David deal in his own way. Rie led him down the Matsumotos’ drive where the rain had turned the tall pines’ bark into tall black walls, topped with green.

  “There’s no rain smell here,” David said a little wistfully. It was the first time in a long time he felt even a little homesick.

  “No rain smell?” Rie asked, confused.

  “In the desert, the creosote bush sends out a smell whenever it rains,” David said. “It’s fresh and clean, and though now I know it comes from the plants, when I was younger I thought that was what rain smelled like.”

  They reached the Estate and headed to their own rooms to put away their bags. David headed to the computer to see if there were any new news stories for the day that might point to the Jeong Brothers. Instead, there was an email waiting for him from his sister.

  I know it’s been all of a day since I wrote, but Dad told me you are in a badminton competition this weekend. Good luck! Have you started dating Natsuki? Is that why she hasn’t written me back yet? Anyway, it’s all good. I have my own boyfriend now. All my girlfriends are just dying of jealousy. Take care big bro. I’m off to the movies! YAY!

  -Jess (duh!)

  David smiled as he typed a reply. He told her all about the embarrassing speech he gave that morning and the subsequent performance. He figured she would get a kick out of it, and it was something he could talk to her about without having to hold anything back. David scowled a bit at the mention of a boyfriend. For all his faults, David had prided himself on being a decent older brother. His mind conjured images of using whoever was after his sister as a target for his practice sword. Kou purred contentedly as the images rolled through their minds. With a chuckle, David smiled and sent the email.

  That night David worked out the aggression thinking about his mother and sister had caused on a length of steel. Rie methodically pounded out a rhythm with a small hammer, showing David where to hit with the giant sledge he wielded. It was their night to work in the forge. Out of all the Matsumotos’ training, sword making was taking him the longest to master. It was something that had to be beaten into every muscle by repetition, and a skill Kou would not, could not, help him with. Still, it was giving him a way to center himself, learn more about Rie, and wa
s even strengthening his body past what the normal Matsumoto training had already accomplished.

  That weekend, David and the badminton team met early at Nakano Station with their bags and rackets. Natsuki, Takumi, Rie, Tsubasa, and David walked together after an intense morning practice. Yukiko had decided David would focus on bone toughening. After basics, she had sent him through a series of exercises meant to fracture his bones slightly so they would regrow stronger. Even without his Jitsugen Samurai powers, this would have been safe enough, yet it was painful. She had him punch lengths of wood covered in rough rope to build callouses over his knuckles and strengthen the bones of his hand. He had to bang his arms and legs into various objects to build those up too. She kept him going so fast that the bruises outdid his body’s advanced healing.

  Like all the other things the Matsumotos taught him, it was another integral part of their martial art. The twins, however, were observant enough to realize David was not enjoying this new part of his training. As they walked to school, they split to either side of him.

  “You broke your hand that first time you punched Koji, right?” Takumi said. “It took you out of the fight.”

  “You have to build your bone density and strength,” Rie added. “Even with your powers, a break could cost you your life.”

  “Oh, I know,” David said. “It’s just too bad super strength and bones of steel aren’t part of Kou’s repertoire.”

  “Right?” Takumi said, laughing as they arrived at the station.

  “This feels weird,” David said as the rest of the team arrived. “I feel like we should be off hunting Chul Soon, even if he is out of the country. Instead, we’re going to a badminton competition.”

  “If we stop living our lives, then whatever it is that is bringing the clans back out of isolation will have won,” Rie answered.

  “There’s a cheery thought,” Tsubasa murmured.

  Before the team left, there was the usual round of speeches. Naoto ended up having to speak for the boys with Tsukasa and the head of the PTA also giving a quick word. After loading onto one of the train’s cars, they laughed and joked about the upcoming match. The ride to Himeji was short, but once they were in town, they had to navigate a stream of smaller trains to get them to the junior high hosting the competition. For David the trains were still new enough to be interesting. Arizona had little in the way of public transport, though Jessica had gone on at length about the new tram in Mesa he would never see.

  Himeji East Junior High was a crush of humanity. Hundreds of students had arrived from the surrounding schools for the daylong competition. In addition to the students, teachers, and even a few parents, roamed around, finding seats on the second floor gallery in the immense gym. Unlike Nakano, which only had three courts, Himeji East had two gyms with six courts apiece.

  David stood with his teammates through the welcoming ceremony and the subsequent explanation of the rules. As soon as it was finished, they began to warm up. David and Takumi’s first match was the second game on court three. The girls waved goodbye and headed to the second gym for their doubles games.

  Their first game was against a local team of third years. They made a show of yelling before every serve. David could not help smiling. Their shouts of “Hai!” in Japanese translated for him as “Yes,” though Kou’s presence within him enabled David to understand its meaning as closer to “ready.” The difference in phrases was still entertaining. There were often instances like that, where the phrases used to express an idea were completely different between the two languages. Most of the time he did not even register them because he always thought in Japanese, but with the adrenaline pumping through him his mind was buzzing with intensity.

  ‘Cut it out, they’re about to start,’ David thought as he realized the buzzing was just Kou showing his annoyance at having to stay cooped up all day just because David wanted to hit a shuttle around the court. ‘You know I have to keep up appearances. It’s not my fault you don’t have thumbs.’

  ‘I prefer my own kind of badminton, thank you,’ Kou said as he played a memory for David. He had to struggle to pay attention as the game began since Kou insisted on playing out the entire memory of the bird he had caught the previous week. David had his own memories of that particular meal.

  ‘Too many feathers.’

  David caught a high clear and sent it smashing back at his opponents. Even with Kou trying to distract him, David was able to concentrate enough on the game that he and Takumi won by a high margin.

  They progressed through the competition at a steady pace. Takumi was near perfect. David was good, but had room to improve. Takumi had been playing badminton for years and was in peak physical condition. He had fine control over his muscles, hard won from his martial arts training. He could put the shuttle exactly where he wanted it. When he smashed, he jumped over a meter into the air. For his part, David was almost as fit, and although he had far less experience, had gotten to know Takumi rather well. David could move around the court without thinking, and while his return shots were not always perfect, they were strong. His height gave him an advantage as well, even though he could not jump as high as Takumi.

  Yuji and Ryu were the first Nakano team eliminated. Since both were first years it was no surprise they did not make it to the finals, though they did make the top thirty-two. Tsubasa’s team lost in the next round to a team from Kobe. Shou and David’s teams both made it to the top eight. Students and teachers crowded around the last two courts for the top four competitions after Shou and Yuki lost by the barest two points.

  David saw Natsuki and Rie enter the throng as he prepared for his match. They both had radiant smiles.

  “We got second,” Natsuki crowed. “We’re going to the regionals in Kobe!”

  “You lost?” David asked.

  ‘I thought they would have it in the bag. They’ve been killing during practices.’

  ‘I agree. It is odd they did not succeed in the hunt.’

  David tried to catch Rie’s attention but she pretended to be interested in the floor.

  “Don’t worry about it, Rie,” Natsuki said. “It was completely understandable. We did well enough.”

  ‘That must have cost her a lot to say. Natsu is so competitive.’

  The announcer called the boys’ game, and David put aside his concern for Rie. They were in the finals.

  Later that night, Rie explained what had happened during the competition. With the intensity of the game, she had summoned a cockroach, thankfully not the giant kind, which had freaked out the other team. She had felt so bad that she had thrown the game.

  “But it was an accident,” David said. “Takumi and I won the competition. Does that mean our win was unfair because Kou is within me?”

  “No! Of course not.” She smiled as she tucked her legs into a tree branch and flipped over to meet his gaze. They were in David’s favorite tree after a long stint in the workshop. “Your improvements have all been your work. Sure, maybe you can heal faster, but you still get tired. Kou hasn’t started to affect you physically, so it’s still a fair fight. Distracting them with a magical animal wouldn’t be right.” She sighed as she swung a little on the branch. David smiled as her hair dangled in front of him. “I have to find some way to control this.”

  Her yellow eyes seemed to glow in the dim light of the tree. At first, a pang of regret surged through him as her eyes reminded him of his failure to stop Chul Soon before they changed her. Then he noticed the slight curves at the corner of her mouth, the subtle smile that always seemed there ready for him. David noticed other things about her he never had before as well. Something shifted within him, and David saw past his familiarity, taking in every detail of her face as if for the first time. It sent shivers racing through him.

  ‘No ideas, nothing in all that ancient wisdom of yours?’ David asked Kou, a strange need growing in him to find a way help her. David could sense disapproval from Kou, but could not lock on its source.

  �
�I’ve never met any other majo,” Kou replied aloud. “It seems like you summon the animal spirits when you are emotionally charged. I’m not an expert on human emotions. All I have to go on is my memories and David. My guess is that until you can find a way to focus your power, you will have to learn to use your emotions to smash through the barriers between layers.”

  “But how do I control my emotions?” she said with a sad sigh. “Maybe we should have kept Manami around. She was good at pissing me off.”

  As he saw the idea spring into Kou’s mind, David tried to clamp shut their mouth, but it was too late. Kou sensed the shift in David, and unlike his other half, Kou was all about action.

  Kou took full control of David’s body. As Rie swung in, Kou did something more embarrassing than anything David had managed on his own, and given his history that was incredible.

  Kou made David lick Rie’s cheek. Inside, David just about died from humiliation as Rie’s face froze in shock. She was so surprised her legs loosened and she tumbled out of the tree. A very confused rat fell alongside. Kou reacted with lightning reflexes. David’s body jumped out of the tree and bit into the rat before David could re-exert control. As they fell, David caught Rie with one hand and flung the other against the trunk. His fingers ripped into the bark, slowing them as his legs flexed beneath him. There was a resounding crack as his right leg broke under their combined weight and speed as they landed.

  David staggered, spitting out the rat with disgust as the pain sped up his spine and ripped fingers. Rie laughed high and clear. Rie grabbed him before he could fall, helping stretch out. When he settled, she started checking his legs.

  “This is going to hurt,” she said. Before he could steel himself, Rie grasped his leg just above his ankle and jerked. A scream caught in his mouth as she set the leg. He just managed to avoid blacking out as the painful healing process began. Rie adjusted his torso, so that his legs were flat, and then sat against the base of the tree. She tilted his head up and placed it in her lap. David was just conscious enough through the shooting pain in his leg and hand to see Rie wipe her cheek above him.