The Village Disciples

*SMACK!*

Shototsu was sent spiraling through the sky after receiving a mighty punch from Imawashiki, correcting himself by utilizing his newly sprouted wings. The amethyst-haired vessel exhaled exasperatingly. 

"Moeru! What are you doing!?" Shototsu shouted at the fiery abomination that hovered in the sky before him.

Imawashiki's fists grew hot, a new flame encompassing his knuckles. His Furusato Unit cloak and mesh shirt underneath were slightly tattered, with minuscule holes scattered throughout the articles of clothing.

"Don't act like you haven't always wished for a better world, Shoto! I'm doing us a favor! Our family a favor!" Imawashiki hollered, his one yellow eye shimmering in contrast to the remaining brown one. 

Shototsu clenched his teeth as he said, "You aren't a part of our family, dragon! The boy you're manipulating is!"

"You're speaking like the people who disowned us! Tortured us!" Imawashiki yelled at the top of his lungs, the flames on his body flaring. 

*WHOOSH!*

In an attempt to quell the intense flames from Imawashiki, Shototsu expelled a barrage of wind outward. Unfortunately for the amethyst-haired vessel, the fiery abomination shifted his entire self into fire and transported closer to the wind user. 

"Perhaps I wasn't exactly clear to you, Shoto!" Imawashiki reached out and gripped the wind user's neck tightly, his hand bursting into flame. "You have no place in this world! You're as much of a beast as I am! As Kaminari is!"

Shototsu flinched from the immense heat placed on his bare skin, inhaling through his teeth. "That's… how I know you're not him… Not the boy I grew up with!"

Imawashiki adorned a perplexed visage, his yellow and brown eyes flitting back and forth. 

"You wouldn't dare call any of us beasts... and you wouldn't dare ever to say Kaminari's full name! You gave him his nickname, after all!" Shototsu exclaimed with a brave breath, flapping his feathery white wings fiercely to silence the fire that burned brightly.

Imawashiki quickly became intangible, his arms turning into pure fire to detach himself from Shototsu. The fiery abomination picked up a labored breath, his mind racing faster than it ever had. After a few moments of reflecting on the current situation, Imawashiki locked eyes with the amethyst-haired vessel.

"...I should have ended you all first… to make this whole process easier."

After those few words, Imawashiki darted toward Shototsu with determination and rage, not giving the amethyst-haired vessel enough time to react to the fist that collided with his face. 

*SMACK!*

Punch after punch, Imawashiki was relentlessly throwing fists at Shototsu, knocking the wind user throughout the stratosphere. Eventually, the skin on Shototsu's body began to break from the onslaught of punches, with blood seeping out of the lacerations.

Between each punch, every time Shototsu had the chance to look at Imawashiki's face, small glimpses into his memory would surface—an image of a small boy with midnight-black hair and brown eyes that glimmered with nothing but exuberance and hope. The boy that once existed all those years ago is now tarnished by being known as 'Imawashiki'.

*FWOOSH!*

Imawashiki reeled his right arm back, his hand flat as fire covered it entirely. 

"Goodbye, Shoto. Kaze." 

The fiery abomination thrust his hand downward, his flaming hand poised to impale the wind user upon impact.

A shadow suddenly blacked out the sky.

Imawashiki halted his arm, paranoid as to what could intervene from above the Earth. 

It was the moon and its entirety getting pulled closer to the surface of the planet. Once the giant celestial body had closed enough distance between it and the Earth, massive spikes shot out from its outermost layer and penetrated every layer of the planet's atmosphere.

*SLICE!*

Without warning, Shototsu cut through Imawashiki's left arm to free himself.

"Where are you going!?" Imawashiki called out to the wind user, only to silence himself upon first glance at the ground. 

The moment Shototsu flew out of view, a massive wall of ice crashed into Imawashiki violently, freezing the fiery abomination's body completely. The ice was much colder than before, preventing Imawashiki from dispersing into fire and escaping swiftly.

'...The moon!' 

Once Imawashiki was frozen in place, the spikes that emerged from the moon imminently struck down on the ice.

*CRASH!*

XXX

[MANY YEARS AGO]

It was night, with the moon still intact. 

"What do you think it's like up there?" A young voice queried innocently.

Lying on a grassy hill, two boys gazed at the night sky with wonder in their eyes. 

"Cold, and boring." A monotone voice rang out through the area in response to the earlier question. 

A boy with black hair and brown eyes lifted his top half upward from the grass. "No need to be so dull, Kami! Think about how the view is up there! How far away you'd be from any walls or doors!"

The second boy, who had a full head of white hair with a smidge of black at the end of each strand, tilted his head. "Think about how depressing that is—to have to go so far just to live freely, especially when the planet we live on is much bigger than that floating rock."

The brown-eyed boy sighed. "Kami! If you keep getting stuck on how everything is now, how will you ever see the fun side to things that can happen later!?"

The white-haired boy hummed. "And if those current problems aren't solved? How are we supposed to grow?"

The more energetic boy groaned and let his head crash back down into the grass below. 

"I never said those problems couldn't be solved, just that you have to appreciate what you have or can have! I mean, why are you always so mopey? You have Asa, Rebbie, Heiki, and me!" The brown-eyed boy spoke firmly, grinning toothily.

The boy named Kami remained silent, looking up at the moon with his royal blue eyes. 

"The world isn't against us, Kami… it just doesn't care that much. You have to make do—at least that's what someone told me a while ago!" The brown-eyed boy giggled, smiling at the night sky. 

Kami folded his arms over his chest, tapping his index finger against his other arm. "I'll hold you to that, S—"

XXX

[PRESENT TIME]

"Yes! We got'em!" Manabu cheered as she stared at her's and Asami's work in the sky. 

The principal of Buraunmajikku Academy resorted to pulling the moon downward and reforming its surface into long enough spikes that could reach the Earth without causing mass amounts of collateral damage. Asami, on the other hand, erected a gigantic wall of ice to stop Imawashiki from fleeing and escaping the attack.

"Do you think Heiki is okay?" Asami inquired to her friend, craning her head to the side. "...Eh, he's fine—I hope."

Manabu looked at her blue-haired friend. "He did grow those nice-looking wings. With his reflexes and mobility, I'm sure he made it out in one piece!"

"What about Kaminari?" Asami asked next, blinking repeatedly. "I didn't even see him move."

*SPLASH!*

A stream of water suddenly emerged from Asami's arm. 

"Kanden's vessel is warming up!" A snake made out of water informed both Asami and Manabu, only having half of a body. 

Asami slapped the top of the water snake's head. "Suijin! What the hell are you doing out!? You hate being outside! Especially unannounced in an open area!" 

Suijin the Tansu Beast grumbled and said, "Is this how you treat the Serpent of the Sea, Asami!?"

The blue-haired woman glared at the snake made of water, making Suijin recoil in fear. 

"Fine! You win!" The Tansu Beast conceded, exhaling despite the lack of need for oxygen. "Is Kesseki awake, other vessel?"

Manabu perked up. "He is, but I wouldn't disturb him! He's crabby when he gets no sleep."

Suijin lowered his head and murmured, "Damn turtle…"

*BOOM!*

In the sky above, a massive shockwave was sent outward in every direction, shattering the copious amounts of ice and moonrock. Asami and Manabu assumed fighting positions as they observed the flame that spawned in the air. 

"I didn't expect Moeru to go down that easily anyway!" Suijin shouted with an annoyed tone, retracting back into the blue-haired woman's arm. 

Imawashiki's form could be seen hovering in the sky, a cyclone of flame keeping him elevated. 

Asami and Manabu glanced at each other.

"No better time to end this than now."

XXX

And that concludes this chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading it and I also hope you remember The Serpent of the Sea—Suijin! Yuso had mentioned him after he and Tanjo had fought back on the mountain range, shortly after Asami had to quickly rescue the boy from being killed by the redhead! Stay tuned for more!

Have a Great Day!

Peace - Cr1ticalz_