Legend of the Gods - Part 1
Author: emmachase
Requested by: Everyone who took part in my poll
Title: Legend of the Gods - Part 1
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, some fluff, some myth-y type aspects
Pairing: HSB X HS7
Summary: Remember that little poll I had a while ago? Well, I finally got around to making a quick story about it! I hope you like it
Notes: Stay tuned for the next chapter folks!
Chapter 1 - The Legends of the Past, The Promises of the Future
Long ago, a pantheon of cruel and wicked gods ruled the world. In their supremacy they became cold and disimpassioned, forgetting their earthly origins. The world below was a playground to them, and on their whims, they plunged the world through an ice age, through the dark ages, and through much strife and war. People cowered as they offered prayers that went unanswered, and sacrifices that brought nothing.
Then one day, a challenge of five young boys appeared. Finding the prophecy of the elder gods, they decided to save the suffering masses, and by sacrificing parts of themselves they declared themselves as gods. The oldest, Yabu Kota, gave up his sense of fear; The second oldest, Takaki Yuya, sacrificed his sense of compassion; Yaotome Hikaru, the next god, sacrificed his serenity. Inoo Kei, the calmest of the boys, thought hard before he gave his heart, sacrificed his love. And lastly, Arioka Daiki, the youngest of the boys gave up his sense of joy.
In their noble sacrifices, they became the gods of the new pantheon, and with their new powers battled for dominion of the universe. The world raged with quakes as they clashed, the tides rose and drowned entire towns, even mountains were shattered as their powers threatened to tear the world apart.
After a thousand years of fighting, the world was left in shambles, with few of the mortals still alive, the new gods pitied them, and created a ball of clay, able to house and nurture the still fledging life left alive. They created a utopia known to some as Eden, and housed within it absolute bliss. From there, the mortals who had suffered the wrath of the old gods could bring forth the new generations and repopulate the world.
Under the new rule, the beings that came to be known as humans, flourished. Life populated the planet they named Earth and many years of peace passed.
Now, three hundred millennia later, the gods grew bored of governing a world that could govern itself. Few worshiped them, and their duties became less and less. All that was left to them was to protect the mortals from the demons below, a job tasked to their subordinates.
Each of the five gods, descended to earth, shedding their celestial armors and returning to their ageless forms….
-----Yabu-----
Yabu threw himself into the morning sunlight, and from it formed his body, he gathered the particles, and from them molded a body of a boy who appeared to be 20 years of age. He walked out of the mist, his naked form was no longer housed by the shimmering armor he usually wore. With bold and aware eyes befitting the King of the Gods, he looked at the challenge of the world before him and grinned. A quick wave of his hands, summoned a burst of red light that surrounded him and as it dimmed, a perfectly normal looking boy stood in his place, dressed in a pair of casual jeans and a collared shirt. He flicked his lightly red-tinged hair to the side and sighed. Confidently, he walked into the world that he had created so long ago, and started to find a place to live.
“He-Hey! You cant be here! How did you get into this valley! We’ve cornered off this part for filming!” Someone shouted as Yabu looked around to see a middle aged man charging towards him.
“Ainosuke-kun!” A woman’s voice followed and as Yabu turned a boy slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.
“CUT! Oi! Who is that!? Someone get him off my set! We need to finish filming before the sun sets!” Another man’s voice followed
“S-Sorry… ow…” the young boy who ran into Yabu apologized,
“Who are you to attack me?” Yabu asked challengingly
“N-No! I’m not attacking you… I’m… I’m sorry I just… ran into you, I wasn't looking…A-Ah My name is Ryosuke, Yamada Ryosuke.” The boy bowed deeply and Yabu thought the better of it. Standing, he sent a small breeze down his body, brushing off all the dirt that was on him.
“Yamada-Kun! Lets go! We have to finish! Get him off my set! We cant have anyone interfering!” The same man yelled as Yabu stared at him with a glare.
“Arrogant little…” Yabu mumbled as the boy known to him as Ryosuke turned and replied to “Director-san” that he would be there soon.
“G-Gomen…um…”
“Yabu Kota…”
“Gomen Yabu-kun, um… would you… let me take you to dinner or just coffee? To make it up to you I mean…if you’d just wait in my room….” Ryosuke asked
“….”
“A-Ah.. I will… try to finish quickly, please…. Excuse me Yabu-kun.”
Yabu stood quietly as a woman came up to him, asking if he would like to wait in “Ryosuke’s dressing room.” He nodded, a little puzzled, but his bewilderment turned into a scowl as he saw the director wave his hands, trying to scurry him away. Turning to follow the woman, Yabu smirked a little as he snapped his finger and the chair the director was sitting on snapped, landing him flat on the dirt floor.
“Arrogant…” He muttered as he held back a chuckle
“Maybe tonight…. Will be interesting.”
-----Takaki-----
Yuya sent himself into the heart of a raging volcano, and took from its molten core a form molded to his own ageless frame, and from within the all consuming flames of the volcano, a tall boy appeared from the lava, he extended his hands as two ribbons of liquid flame rose from the chaos and swam under his feet, lifting him out of the mouth of the volcanic crater. With a push, he jumped off the flames and through the air of the smoking volcano. As his bare form passed through the smoke, the ashes of the raging volcano swam around him and when he emerged, his pale skin contrasted to the ash grey clothes that appeared onn his body. He landed at the foot of the high mound and smiled devilishly as with a breath of air, he calmed the volcano and thanked it for giving him his clothes. Walking slowly, he came across a small band of boys fighting the smallest of them flipping back and forth, dodging punches thrown to him by the six boys that surrounded him.
“Now that’s not fair…you cowards…” Takaki spoke quietly, but his words carried weight.
“Whats that kid? You think you got what it takes to fight us? All six of us?” The leader of the boys asked as he branched off from the group and laid his hands on Yuya’s shirt.
“I think you should fight fairly, maybe you six against me…. “ The boy screamed as his hand burned when the bundle of clothes he held in his fist rose with the power of the volcano it had come from and he backed away.
“Heh, Chinen-Chaaan…. Looks like you’re lucky today, this kid is going to join you in your beating today..” One of the other boys, smiled as they widened their circle to include Takaki. Carefully, Yuya backed into the shorter boy.
“Hello Chinen-kun, my name is Takaki Yuya, and for these boy’s cowardice, I will punish them.” Yuya said confidently.
“T-Takaki-kun..yoroshiku.”
“Let me take care of everything..”
Chinen could barely form the words in his mind before the crowding circle tightened and he felt the older boy’s back slide away from his own and the sound of a fist landing rang loudly through the air. He felt a hand push him down as he squatted on the ground and he felt the swish of air above him as Yuya flipped over him, his legs kicking back two of the boys that charged. His eyes could barely follow the stranger who introduced himself as “Yuya” as his feet danced along the ground and the sounds of the boys falling to the ground followed every step. The stranger was a great fighter… in the blink of an eye, the circle was reduced to a group of cowering boys, crawling along the ground.
“Cowards.” Yuya spat at them as he turned to look at Chinen.
“You should learn to be stronger. You should learn to use your acrobatic skills to protect yourself, in combination with martial arts.” He lectured with authority from his title as the God of War. His lack of compassion made him perfect as a general, ruthless and willing to follow his sense of justice, no matter what.
“A-Ano, I have a gym, or… my father.. owns a gym. Where he trains.. but… w-would you… teach me?” Chinen asked sheepishly as Yuya stared down at him.
“Ask me confidently, or not at all.” Came the reply.
“P-Please teach me..”
“BRAVELY.”
“PLEASE! TEACH ME!” Chinen shouted as he felt himself get caught up in the moment.
“What is your name, Chinen-kun?”
“Yuri… Chinen Yuri.”
“Then, Yuri, I will find you here tonight, and you will bring us to this gym of yours where you will learn to defend yourself.” Yuya commanded more than asked, and Chinen could only nod.
“Those who would prey on the weak, will find no solace in my presence. Of this you must learn.” Yuya walked away quietly as he stared at the grim world before him.
“Of this…. you must learn.”
-----Inoo-----
Kei dove into the depths of the sea, From the crashing waves of the ocean, a form appeared, from the swirling waters he endowed his form with flesh and gave himself the face he had long forgotten. He watched as his body formed around his eternal soul and he opened his eyes as the soft foaming oceans curled around him and solidified into a pale blue and green shirt with gentle white shorts that accented his beautiful moon white legs. He walked out onto the sands of the beach, all the liquid that had been on his clothes vanished into the air as the most beautiful boy emerged from the waters. His eyes were a cool and collected brown, given to his status as the God of Academia and Logic. He was not swayed by emotions of the heart and knew only the pureness of the mind. Quietly he walked along the beach, politely smiling at the people who passed him. That was, until he found a small gathering of people crowded around what seemed to be a boy, hitting what he remembered was called a “drum set.” Kei weaved his way through the crowd to find a boy happily playing the drums. Somehow, his face seemed so familiar to him,
“Gooooo! Yuto! Go Yuuuuuuto!” The crowd cheered as Kei watched on, fascinated by how the boy seemed to glow, steadily brighter as each stick hit the drum. The boy behind the drum was covered with sweat from performing in the sun, but he shined with the sun as his smile grew brighter and brighter.
“Yeaaaaaah!” The crowd surged forward as the drummer finished and Kei felt himself carried along the wave of fans until he run into someone and he winced. Finally opening his eyes, he found himself standing face to face with the drummer boy.
“Sorry.. are you okay?” The boy asked, as their eyes locked on. There was something so familiar about this boy….
“Yes. Thank you.” Inoo replied calmly
“Guys! Break it up! You’re crowding the sidewalk!” A pair of men in uniforms came and broke the crowd, and Inoo backed up a bit.
“Um… Hi… do I know you? Have we met? I’m Yuto… uh.. Nakajima, Yuto Nakajima.” The boy extended his hand.
“Kei Inoo.”
The pair shook hands, and as they did tingles spread up and down their bodies.
“You look…. Really… familiar..” Yuto said sighing as he frowned cutely and Inoo could only blink as he had a familiar sense of déjà vu but nothing beyond that.
“As do you.”
“Uh… we-were you watching my performance?”
“Yes.”
“What did you think?”
“It was.. sufficient.”
“Sufficient..?”
“It was.. good..”
“Oh”
Truth be told, Inoo was fascinated by the drum set, how was it that such a ordinary set of materials could make someone glow like that….. how was it that something so… simple could make those sounds.
“Would…. You like to learn?” Yuto asked as he noticed Kei looking at the drums.
“That… would be interesting.” Inoo replied calmly
“Um… maybe… if you’d like you can come to my house.. I mean…. I’m not a good teacher yet but I mean… I’d like to try.. and you-you don't have to pay me and I mean uh-oh I just… invited you to a stranger’s house and Im sorry and-“ Yuto stumbled and tripped over words
“That would be.. nice.”
“G-Great… Um… you… w-would you… like to come with me o-or do you have plans for… um… I mean… drink?” Yuto stumbled still and he smiled awkwardly, secretly smacking himself for sounding so stupid.
“What is this… feeling?” Kei wondered
“Who is he?
-----Yaotome-----
Hikaru ran into a twirling hurricane, he summoned the galling winds and compressed them into a body he could inhabit, and when the winds finished forming his model, he breathed himself into it and smiled as the silken air wafted around his form, creating silken cloth that formed a shirt and a pair of shorts, complete with a flowing coat. When the hurricane was exhausted, it dissipated, dropping Hikaru onto the ground.
As soon as his corporeal body felt the firm earth beneath him, he wanted to jump to run to scream and have fun. He felt the winds blowing past him and he smiled as he traced along and skipped through trees and open fields. The air felt so different here on earth, and he took a deep breath feeling all the world around him.
Somewhere in the breeze, a few notes came to him and he stopped. Hikaru wondered who was playing…. The..
“Guitar?” He finished aloud.
Gently walking up a small hill, Hikaru found a boy laying against a tree, his eyes closed and his hands gently strumming a beautiful dark rosewood guitar. Somewhere underneath all the notes, the boy was humming too, the softest melody he had ever heard. Everything was so different than what he was used to, no longer active, no longer wild, things were…. Peaceful, calm. Something Hikaru hadn’t felt in many millennia.
Soon the song ended and Hikaru sat down in front of the boy.
“That was beautiful..” He said calmly
“Huh!? Oh!”
Hikaru giggled as he watched the boy jump a little in surprise, almost letting his guitar slip onto the ground.
“Hi!” He said brightly
“H-Hello…”
“My name is Hikaru Yaotome, Whats yours?”
“Keito Okamoto.”
“Nice to meet you”
“Nice to meet you too”
“Could you…. Teach me how to do that?”
“Um… sure… do you… have one?”
“Huh? Oh! Guitar! Um… one second.”
Hikaru ran to the small tree behind Keito and making sure the other boy wasn't looking, he guided the winds around him and compressed them in his hand, and with a nod, a flash of blue light shined out and a guitar in the purest of blues appeared.
“Yes! Here it is!”
“Wow… I’ve never seen that one before…..”
“Uh… yeah..” The older boy nodded quickly, as he took up a position similar to Keito’s.
“Well… this is an chord….”
“Uh huh….”
Hikaru’s hands mimicked Keito’s and soon he learned the basics. After a while though, he wasn't paying attention to the lesson anymore, but rather found himself transfixed on Keito’s soft eyes and the way the boy’s touch made the strings sing in harmony. At one point Keito reached over and gently dragged his hand down the strings. In that one moment, Hikaru felt the soft touch of the boy’s hand send shivers down his spine, and at the same time he felt something he hadn’t in such a long time…
“peace….”
-----Arioka-----
Daiki set himself within a budding seed, and as he drove himself into the seed sprouted and grew, his body grew from the ground as what would have been a tree grew into from bark and softened into flesh. He opened his eyes and smiled as he lifted his hands as the fallen autumn leaves swirled about him making a deep green shirt and dark brown earthy pants. He smiled as the leaves did their last few dances before leaving him in the maze of trees. Daiki turned as he heard a twig snap behind him.
“Whoa! Where did you come from?” A boy asked as he jumped out from behind a shrub.
“I…. live near here.” Daiki replied quickly,
“Oh! We’re sorry! We’ve been camping here for the last two days…Um… My name is Ryutaro, Ryutaro Morimoto, and this is my brother….hey! Where’d he go!?” Ryutaro looked around to see no one near him.
Daiki reached out to the trees their roots serving as sensors.
“He’s… that way.” He pointed out to Ryutaro and the other boy gave him a puzzled look.
“I have…. Really good ears.” Daiki lied again. He grinned as Ryutaro nodded his acceptance and ran down the path Daiki had indicated. While he trailed behind Ryutaro, Daiki thanked the trees that had helped him and they in turn bowed silently at the god of nature that had graced their presence. He ran carefully, making sure not to step on the budding seeds that hid underneath the ground.
“Shintaro!”
“Nii-Chan! I fell and… and.. my ankle…..” Daiki watched as Ryutaro knelt next to his brother and nursed the ankle that looked as if it were a bit swollen.
“Wow… it looks…. Really bad…. We-we need to get you back to the camp. Let… let me go get some water from the lake maybe we can use that to help ease some of the pain. Could…. You please.. stay with him um… “
“Arioka Daiki”
“Dai-Chan?”
Daiki nodded, a bit taken aback at being referred to in such a way. He saw Ryutaro run off into the distance and he knew he was headed in the wrong direction, but he set a few trees in front of the boy to cross, making a path to the lake.
“Are you okay?” Daiki asked as he knelt down and tended to the boy’s ankle.
“It.. it hurts..”
“If only Inoo were here… oh well… lets see what I can do.” Daiki sighed. While they did share the same powers, he and the other four gods of the new pantheon had their own specialties, and his was definitely not healing.
Gently Daiki brushed the ankle feeling the bump that was quickly growing. He picked up two large brown leaves and breathed a bit of life into them, making them cool and flexible again. Then he pulled out some water and solidified it with a bit of sap he drew from a tree and made a poultice.
“Unh!” Shintaro winced as Daiki applied pressure, making sure the cooling medicine soothed him.
Daiki frowned as he realized he needed something to bind the leaves together around the boy’s ankle. After thinking for a moment, he reached into the ground with his powers and grew from the soil two short vines that at his whim became flexible and curled themselves around the ankle, tying themselves neatly into a knot before uprooting themselves and binding together.
“I’m back Shin-Chan… and.. eh? Wow…” Ryutaro put down the small rag of water he had brought.
Daiki felt Ryutaro look at him with puzzled eyes.
“Thank you…” Daiki nodded as the younger boy bowed.
“Um…. We don't have a lot of things up here, but… if you’d like you could come back to our tent and we have some really fresh fruits.” Shintaro added.
“Ahh… we’re out of peaches, I wish we had brought more….” Ryutaro sighed as he nodded for Daiki to follow.
Grinning as he watched the two brothers hobble back to where he sensed a campfire, Daiki summoned a seed from a flash of green light and dropped it into the ground. From it sprang a small tree, and its growth sped up as it bore fruit and six large peaches begged to be picked.
Gingerly he picked the fruits and thanked the tree which quickly shrank back into its tired state and returned to sleep inside the seed.
“Ryutaro seems to be such a caring brother…. Its rare to see someone like that ne?” Daiki thought to himself.
“One who follows nature’s nurturing cycle….hm, humans are way different than I thought…”
-----Everyone-----
The five gods of the pantheon found themselves on earth, for the first time interacting with the mortals that they presided over, and each found their own discovery more fascinating than anything they had seen before.
“Maybe….. this would be worthwhile…” They thought in unison, and each boy smiled as they felt through the commonality of their beings the satisfaction each and every one felt.
And so… began their journey.
Requested by: Everyone who took part in my poll
Title: Legend of the Gods - Part 1
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, some fluff, some myth-y type aspects
Pairing: HSB X HS7
Summary: Remember that little poll I had a while ago? Well, I finally got around to making a quick story about it! I hope you like it
Notes: Stay tuned for the next chapter folks!
Chapter 1 - The Legends of the Past, The Promises of the Future
Long ago, a pantheon of cruel and wicked gods ruled the world. In their supremacy they became cold and disimpassioned, forgetting their earthly origins. The world below was a playground to them, and on their whims, they plunged the world through an ice age, through the dark ages, and through much strife and war. People cowered as they offered prayers that went unanswered, and sacrifices that brought nothing.
Then one day, a challenge of five young boys appeared. Finding the prophecy of the elder gods, they decided to save the suffering masses, and by sacrificing parts of themselves they declared themselves as gods. The oldest, Yabu Kota, gave up his sense of fear; The second oldest, Takaki Yuya, sacrificed his sense of compassion; Yaotome Hikaru, the next god, sacrificed his serenity. Inoo Kei, the calmest of the boys, thought hard before he gave his heart, sacrificed his love. And lastly, Arioka Daiki, the youngest of the boys gave up his sense of joy.
In their noble sacrifices, they became the gods of the new pantheon, and with their new powers battled for dominion of the universe. The world raged with quakes as they clashed, the tides rose and drowned entire towns, even mountains were shattered as their powers threatened to tear the world apart.
After a thousand years of fighting, the world was left in shambles, with few of the mortals still alive, the new gods pitied them, and created a ball of clay, able to house and nurture the still fledging life left alive. They created a utopia known to some as Eden, and housed within it absolute bliss. From there, the mortals who had suffered the wrath of the old gods could bring forth the new generations and repopulate the world.
Under the new rule, the beings that came to be known as humans, flourished. Life populated the planet they named Earth and many years of peace passed.
Now, three hundred millennia later, the gods grew bored of governing a world that could govern itself. Few worshiped them, and their duties became less and less. All that was left to them was to protect the mortals from the demons below, a job tasked to their subordinates.
Each of the five gods, descended to earth, shedding their celestial armors and returning to their ageless forms….
-----Yabu-----
Yabu threw himself into the morning sunlight, and from it formed his body, he gathered the particles, and from them molded a body of a boy who appeared to be 20 years of age. He walked out of the mist, his naked form was no longer housed by the shimmering armor he usually wore. With bold and aware eyes befitting the King of the Gods, he looked at the challenge of the world before him and grinned. A quick wave of his hands, summoned a burst of red light that surrounded him and as it dimmed, a perfectly normal looking boy stood in his place, dressed in a pair of casual jeans and a collared shirt. He flicked his lightly red-tinged hair to the side and sighed. Confidently, he walked into the world that he had created so long ago, and started to find a place to live.
“He-Hey! You cant be here! How did you get into this valley! We’ve cornered off this part for filming!” Someone shouted as Yabu looked around to see a middle aged man charging towards him.
“Ainosuke-kun!” A woman’s voice followed and as Yabu turned a boy slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.
“CUT! Oi! Who is that!? Someone get him off my set! We need to finish filming before the sun sets!” Another man’s voice followed
“S-Sorry… ow…” the young boy who ran into Yabu apologized,
“Who are you to attack me?” Yabu asked challengingly
“N-No! I’m not attacking you… I’m… I’m sorry I just… ran into you, I wasn't looking…A-Ah My name is Ryosuke, Yamada Ryosuke.” The boy bowed deeply and Yabu thought the better of it. Standing, he sent a small breeze down his body, brushing off all the dirt that was on him.
“Yamada-Kun! Lets go! We have to finish! Get him off my set! We cant have anyone interfering!” The same man yelled as Yabu stared at him with a glare.
“Arrogant little…” Yabu mumbled as the boy known to him as Ryosuke turned and replied to “Director-san” that he would be there soon.
“G-Gomen…um…”
“Yabu Kota…”
“Gomen Yabu-kun, um… would you… let me take you to dinner or just coffee? To make it up to you I mean…if you’d just wait in my room….” Ryosuke asked
“….”
“A-Ah.. I will… try to finish quickly, please…. Excuse me Yabu-kun.”
Yabu stood quietly as a woman came up to him, asking if he would like to wait in “Ryosuke’s dressing room.” He nodded, a little puzzled, but his bewilderment turned into a scowl as he saw the director wave his hands, trying to scurry him away. Turning to follow the woman, Yabu smirked a little as he snapped his finger and the chair the director was sitting on snapped, landing him flat on the dirt floor.
“Arrogant…” He muttered as he held back a chuckle
“Maybe tonight…. Will be interesting.”
-----Takaki-----
Yuya sent himself into the heart of a raging volcano, and took from its molten core a form molded to his own ageless frame, and from within the all consuming flames of the volcano, a tall boy appeared from the lava, he extended his hands as two ribbons of liquid flame rose from the chaos and swam under his feet, lifting him out of the mouth of the volcanic crater. With a push, he jumped off the flames and through the air of the smoking volcano. As his bare form passed through the smoke, the ashes of the raging volcano swam around him and when he emerged, his pale skin contrasted to the ash grey clothes that appeared onn his body. He landed at the foot of the high mound and smiled devilishly as with a breath of air, he calmed the volcano and thanked it for giving him his clothes. Walking slowly, he came across a small band of boys fighting the smallest of them flipping back and forth, dodging punches thrown to him by the six boys that surrounded him.
“Now that’s not fair…you cowards…” Takaki spoke quietly, but his words carried weight.
“Whats that kid? You think you got what it takes to fight us? All six of us?” The leader of the boys asked as he branched off from the group and laid his hands on Yuya’s shirt.
“I think you should fight fairly, maybe you six against me…. “ The boy screamed as his hand burned when the bundle of clothes he held in his fist rose with the power of the volcano it had come from and he backed away.
“Heh, Chinen-Chaaan…. Looks like you’re lucky today, this kid is going to join you in your beating today..” One of the other boys, smiled as they widened their circle to include Takaki. Carefully, Yuya backed into the shorter boy.
“Hello Chinen-kun, my name is Takaki Yuya, and for these boy’s cowardice, I will punish them.” Yuya said confidently.
“T-Takaki-kun..yoroshiku.”
“Let me take care of everything..”
Chinen could barely form the words in his mind before the crowding circle tightened and he felt the older boy’s back slide away from his own and the sound of a fist landing rang loudly through the air. He felt a hand push him down as he squatted on the ground and he felt the swish of air above him as Yuya flipped over him, his legs kicking back two of the boys that charged. His eyes could barely follow the stranger who introduced himself as “Yuya” as his feet danced along the ground and the sounds of the boys falling to the ground followed every step. The stranger was a great fighter… in the blink of an eye, the circle was reduced to a group of cowering boys, crawling along the ground.
“Cowards.” Yuya spat at them as he turned to look at Chinen.
“You should learn to be stronger. You should learn to use your acrobatic skills to protect yourself, in combination with martial arts.” He lectured with authority from his title as the God of War. His lack of compassion made him perfect as a general, ruthless and willing to follow his sense of justice, no matter what.
“A-Ano, I have a gym, or… my father.. owns a gym. Where he trains.. but… w-would you… teach me?” Chinen asked sheepishly as Yuya stared down at him.
“Ask me confidently, or not at all.” Came the reply.
“P-Please teach me..”
“BRAVELY.”
“PLEASE! TEACH ME!” Chinen shouted as he felt himself get caught up in the moment.
“What is your name, Chinen-kun?”
“Yuri… Chinen Yuri.”
“Then, Yuri, I will find you here tonight, and you will bring us to this gym of yours where you will learn to defend yourself.” Yuya commanded more than asked, and Chinen could only nod.
“Those who would prey on the weak, will find no solace in my presence. Of this you must learn.” Yuya walked away quietly as he stared at the grim world before him.
“Of this…. you must learn.”
-----Inoo-----
Kei dove into the depths of the sea, From the crashing waves of the ocean, a form appeared, from the swirling waters he endowed his form with flesh and gave himself the face he had long forgotten. He watched as his body formed around his eternal soul and he opened his eyes as the soft foaming oceans curled around him and solidified into a pale blue and green shirt with gentle white shorts that accented his beautiful moon white legs. He walked out onto the sands of the beach, all the liquid that had been on his clothes vanished into the air as the most beautiful boy emerged from the waters. His eyes were a cool and collected brown, given to his status as the God of Academia and Logic. He was not swayed by emotions of the heart and knew only the pureness of the mind. Quietly he walked along the beach, politely smiling at the people who passed him. That was, until he found a small gathering of people crowded around what seemed to be a boy, hitting what he remembered was called a “drum set.” Kei weaved his way through the crowd to find a boy happily playing the drums. Somehow, his face seemed so familiar to him,
“Gooooo! Yuto! Go Yuuuuuuto!” The crowd cheered as Kei watched on, fascinated by how the boy seemed to glow, steadily brighter as each stick hit the drum. The boy behind the drum was covered with sweat from performing in the sun, but he shined with the sun as his smile grew brighter and brighter.
“Yeaaaaaah!” The crowd surged forward as the drummer finished and Kei felt himself carried along the wave of fans until he run into someone and he winced. Finally opening his eyes, he found himself standing face to face with the drummer boy.
“Sorry.. are you okay?” The boy asked, as their eyes locked on. There was something so familiar about this boy….
“Yes. Thank you.” Inoo replied calmly
“Guys! Break it up! You’re crowding the sidewalk!” A pair of men in uniforms came and broke the crowd, and Inoo backed up a bit.
“Um… Hi… do I know you? Have we met? I’m Yuto… uh.. Nakajima, Yuto Nakajima.” The boy extended his hand.
“Kei Inoo.”
The pair shook hands, and as they did tingles spread up and down their bodies.
“You look…. Really… familiar..” Yuto said sighing as he frowned cutely and Inoo could only blink as he had a familiar sense of déjà vu but nothing beyond that.
“As do you.”
“Uh… we-were you watching my performance?”
“Yes.”
“What did you think?”
“It was.. sufficient.”
“Sufficient..?”
“It was.. good..”
“Oh”
Truth be told, Inoo was fascinated by the drum set, how was it that such a ordinary set of materials could make someone glow like that….. how was it that something so… simple could make those sounds.
“Would…. You like to learn?” Yuto asked as he noticed Kei looking at the drums.
“That… would be interesting.” Inoo replied calmly
“Um… maybe… if you’d like you can come to my house.. I mean…. I’m not a good teacher yet but I mean… I’d like to try.. and you-you don't have to pay me and I mean uh-oh I just… invited you to a stranger’s house and Im sorry and-“ Yuto stumbled and tripped over words
“That would be.. nice.”
“G-Great… Um… you… w-would you… like to come with me o-or do you have plans for… um… I mean… drink?” Yuto stumbled still and he smiled awkwardly, secretly smacking himself for sounding so stupid.
“What is this… feeling?” Kei wondered
“Who is he?
-----Yaotome-----
Hikaru ran into a twirling hurricane, he summoned the galling winds and compressed them into a body he could inhabit, and when the winds finished forming his model, he breathed himself into it and smiled as the silken air wafted around his form, creating silken cloth that formed a shirt and a pair of shorts, complete with a flowing coat. When the hurricane was exhausted, it dissipated, dropping Hikaru onto the ground.
As soon as his corporeal body felt the firm earth beneath him, he wanted to jump to run to scream and have fun. He felt the winds blowing past him and he smiled as he traced along and skipped through trees and open fields. The air felt so different here on earth, and he took a deep breath feeling all the world around him.
Somewhere in the breeze, a few notes came to him and he stopped. Hikaru wondered who was playing…. The..
“Guitar?” He finished aloud.
Gently walking up a small hill, Hikaru found a boy laying against a tree, his eyes closed and his hands gently strumming a beautiful dark rosewood guitar. Somewhere underneath all the notes, the boy was humming too, the softest melody he had ever heard. Everything was so different than what he was used to, no longer active, no longer wild, things were…. Peaceful, calm. Something Hikaru hadn’t felt in many millennia.
Soon the song ended and Hikaru sat down in front of the boy.
“That was beautiful..” He said calmly
“Huh!? Oh!”
Hikaru giggled as he watched the boy jump a little in surprise, almost letting his guitar slip onto the ground.
“Hi!” He said brightly
“H-Hello…”
“My name is Hikaru Yaotome, Whats yours?”
“Keito Okamoto.”
“Nice to meet you”
“Nice to meet you too”
“Could you…. Teach me how to do that?”
“Um… sure… do you… have one?”
“Huh? Oh! Guitar! Um… one second.”
Hikaru ran to the small tree behind Keito and making sure the other boy wasn't looking, he guided the winds around him and compressed them in his hand, and with a nod, a flash of blue light shined out and a guitar in the purest of blues appeared.
“Yes! Here it is!”
“Wow… I’ve never seen that one before…..”
“Uh… yeah..” The older boy nodded quickly, as he took up a position similar to Keito’s.
“Well… this is an chord….”
“Uh huh….”
Hikaru’s hands mimicked Keito’s and soon he learned the basics. After a while though, he wasn't paying attention to the lesson anymore, but rather found himself transfixed on Keito’s soft eyes and the way the boy’s touch made the strings sing in harmony. At one point Keito reached over and gently dragged his hand down the strings. In that one moment, Hikaru felt the soft touch of the boy’s hand send shivers down his spine, and at the same time he felt something he hadn’t in such a long time…
“peace….”
-----Arioka-----
Daiki set himself within a budding seed, and as he drove himself into the seed sprouted and grew, his body grew from the ground as what would have been a tree grew into from bark and softened into flesh. He opened his eyes and smiled as he lifted his hands as the fallen autumn leaves swirled about him making a deep green shirt and dark brown earthy pants. He smiled as the leaves did their last few dances before leaving him in the maze of trees. Daiki turned as he heard a twig snap behind him.
“Whoa! Where did you come from?” A boy asked as he jumped out from behind a shrub.
“I…. live near here.” Daiki replied quickly,
“Oh! We’re sorry! We’ve been camping here for the last two days…Um… My name is Ryutaro, Ryutaro Morimoto, and this is my brother….hey! Where’d he go!?” Ryutaro looked around to see no one near him.
Daiki reached out to the trees their roots serving as sensors.
“He’s… that way.” He pointed out to Ryutaro and the other boy gave him a puzzled look.
“I have…. Really good ears.” Daiki lied again. He grinned as Ryutaro nodded his acceptance and ran down the path Daiki had indicated. While he trailed behind Ryutaro, Daiki thanked the trees that had helped him and they in turn bowed silently at the god of nature that had graced their presence. He ran carefully, making sure not to step on the budding seeds that hid underneath the ground.
“Shintaro!”
“Nii-Chan! I fell and… and.. my ankle…..” Daiki watched as Ryutaro knelt next to his brother and nursed the ankle that looked as if it were a bit swollen.
“Wow… it looks…. Really bad…. We-we need to get you back to the camp. Let… let me go get some water from the lake maybe we can use that to help ease some of the pain. Could…. You please.. stay with him um… “
“Arioka Daiki”
“Dai-Chan?”
Daiki nodded, a bit taken aback at being referred to in such a way. He saw Ryutaro run off into the distance and he knew he was headed in the wrong direction, but he set a few trees in front of the boy to cross, making a path to the lake.
“Are you okay?” Daiki asked as he knelt down and tended to the boy’s ankle.
“It.. it hurts..”
“If only Inoo were here… oh well… lets see what I can do.” Daiki sighed. While they did share the same powers, he and the other four gods of the new pantheon had their own specialties, and his was definitely not healing.
Gently Daiki brushed the ankle feeling the bump that was quickly growing. He picked up two large brown leaves and breathed a bit of life into them, making them cool and flexible again. Then he pulled out some water and solidified it with a bit of sap he drew from a tree and made a poultice.
“Unh!” Shintaro winced as Daiki applied pressure, making sure the cooling medicine soothed him.
Daiki frowned as he realized he needed something to bind the leaves together around the boy’s ankle. After thinking for a moment, he reached into the ground with his powers and grew from the soil two short vines that at his whim became flexible and curled themselves around the ankle, tying themselves neatly into a knot before uprooting themselves and binding together.
“I’m back Shin-Chan… and.. eh? Wow…” Ryutaro put down the small rag of water he had brought.
Daiki felt Ryutaro look at him with puzzled eyes.
“Thank you…” Daiki nodded as the younger boy bowed.
“Um…. We don't have a lot of things up here, but… if you’d like you could come back to our tent and we have some really fresh fruits.” Shintaro added.
“Ahh… we’re out of peaches, I wish we had brought more….” Ryutaro sighed as he nodded for Daiki to follow.
Grinning as he watched the two brothers hobble back to where he sensed a campfire, Daiki summoned a seed from a flash of green light and dropped it into the ground. From it sprang a small tree, and its growth sped up as it bore fruit and six large peaches begged to be picked.
Gingerly he picked the fruits and thanked the tree which quickly shrank back into its tired state and returned to sleep inside the seed.
“Ryutaro seems to be such a caring brother…. Its rare to see someone like that ne?” Daiki thought to himself.
“One who follows nature’s nurturing cycle….hm, humans are way different than I thought…”
-----Everyone-----
The five gods of the pantheon found themselves on earth, for the first time interacting with the mortals that they presided over, and each found their own discovery more fascinating than anything they had seen before.
“Maybe….. this would be worthwhile…” They thought in unison, and each boy smiled as they felt through the commonality of their beings the satisfaction each and every one felt.
And so… began their journey.