This is a message from the author of this story expressing his gratitude for the reader to take some time off to read my story. It’s much appreciated. First a little background information on the story.

Kouryu Sukuinushi started off as a manga comic series (known as blood feud) that I did when I was a young teenager (I’m 18 as we speak). Whilst the action in the series was tense and the character design cool, the storyline behind it was quite inadequate, and didn’t provide a solid backbone to the comic as a whole. This is mainly my opinion, because it wasn’t too well known at the time at school. It was also based on opinions from classmates on my other comics. I reckon the main flaw to the story was that it was inconsistent on theme; one moment it was a dark horror, the next it was a goofy comedy and it didn’t really do the artwork justice. It also had an unnecessary amount of violence and nudity, which again I thought this bogged it down. To give you an idea of it’s inadequacy, the story was about a half-human half-dragon creature killing vampires to save the nation of fairies (did I say that it had the inconsistent element of comedy?)

Over time as the comic became more and more well known, the story, now know as Kouryu Sukuinushi (dragon savior) got better with the increasingly improving artwork, but it still had a poor story as a backbone, and after all these years I was starting to lose enthusiasm for the comic. Last summer in 2003, when I was finally starting to give up I decided that it would a lot of fun to recreate the story now that I had years of experience in story development, hence why this is called Shin Kouryu Sukuinushi . Other than a very different story, this would come in the form of a written story with illustrations rather than a comic. So far it’s been a huge success amongst those who have read it and now I pass the story onto you; the reader

The general plot of the story is based around the travels of a lone warrior named Ryu (one of the few characters that has returned from the original), a man who bears many secrets, one of which is that fact that he is part dragon. Although planet Earth does exist within this story, the main planet that it centers around is Zaldros (a final fantasy 7 type of world), and Earth is occasionally referred to for this that or the other. Without giving much away Ryu fights all those who do wrong and tyrannical beings who seek evil domination over others. I must say at this point that Ryu is character that has been inspired a lot of rebels in anime movie, his a guy who stands up against the strong to protect the wicked, and does a damn good job at it too. There’s also some slight inspiration from Neo from the matrix, hence the black trench coat. In any case the story is now fully an action fantasy, the element of goofy comedy has now been removed.

I believe enough has now been said about the story. It’s time for you to read on. I hope that you have as much fun reading this story as much as had writing. It’s been a pleasure. :)

One final note, other than this story is divided into episodes. Since I’m constantly writing the story, the series is divided into sagas, much like DBZ. And keep a lookout for updates (ie new episodes on current sagas)

Artwork of the series can be found on my site on deviantart. My nickname there is bluesonnet. I would type the full website but for some reason fictionpress doesn't allow htmls in their stories. So if you can try this one in your search bar and catch my drift it should work: www(fullstop)bluesonnet(fullstop)deviantart(fullstop)com aka www(dot)bluesonnet(dot)deviantart(dot)com. Good hunting otherwise. The deviation "kiss from a rose" is the best so far.

Btw I’m sorry if my story doesn’t load so well. Fictionpress is to blame for some of the crappy paragraphing you may see. If you wish to have a copy of the original word documents, or give me tips on how to upload stories better then drop me a message via email and I’ll respond asap. Otherwise I hope this does little to hurt you reading my story.

Anyways, enough has been said. Behold the glory that is Kouryu Sukuinushi.

Current setting: Kaonyra a country in the Zuel sector of Zaldros

CHARACTER SELECTION (Beginning)

Ryu – A dark traveller who bears many secrets.

Genjuro - a sensei from the village of Katoyika. Is also one of the leading class in the village

Kotono – Genjuro’s daughter, about 15 years of age

Jin – Kotono’s little brother

Seiji, Rikimaru and Tenchi – Genjuro’s other sons

Harnchard – A fierce, humanoid ogre who leads his band of savages to enslave the village. Serves Shogun.

Shogun – The mysterious new ruler of Kaonyra.

Shin Kouryu Soukinoushi

Episode 1: The unexpected guest

True beauty can be found, if you look hard enough for it.

Across known space, at the other side of the universe, through a warp realm, there is a planet known by many names. The most distinguishing of names isZaldros. This planet is very similar to Earth in which it supports life, has oxygen, the same amount of gravity, and mostly has a blue sky. It is however the size of Jupiter. A planet that size would have an even greater amount of gravity than Earth, but not Zaldros. No. Zaldros is a planet not like many others. Beneath the crust and Mantle of this planet lies a core that differs from that of other planets. It is a core that consists of a fast-spinning molten-metal core that generates a magnetic field that encompasses the planet like any other planetary core. The main difference is that the metals that form the core are the type of raw powerful energy, which causes the magnetic field to work against the overall gravity of the planet. The gravity is still there of course but the magnetic forces of Zaldros’s core dramatically hinders the overall strength of the planets gravity. Thus life on Zaldros is just as easily maintained in this aspect as it is on Earth.

The effect of the core energy also affects the landscape and creates anomalies within the weather. Zaldros has it’s own sun and solar system, but there are no proper ice poles. This is due to the variable weather as this planet has a collection of different atmospheres (like the crust consisting of continental plates) with variable temperatures that orbit around the planet through the higher hemispheres. To some degree each atmosphere has a greenhouse effect that can be higher in some atmospheres, whilst very low in others. Thus, as the atmospheres orbit the planet, going over the lands and oceans different areas have seasons. There are also certain atmospheres that consist of a different colour sky, though most of the atmospheres have a blue sky.

The landscape, if not an ocean, consists of large mega continents that stretch across many miles, and families of countries and islands that are huddled together in various spots whether it be near a continent or in the middle of an ocean. The sceneries of the planet can be very variable, ranging from natural habitats to the bizarre, alien-like settings, mostly due to the effects of the core as well as the effects of climate and weathering. And of course the life forms that exist on this planet also play a large part in the planets ecosystem. Like a lot of Zaldros’s features, the amounts of life forms that exist are also variable. The life forms range from casual everyday species, as well as the supernatural. In fact about 85 of all powers and creatures described in mythology have originated from this planet. About 80 of them are still alive today. The monsters can range from Trolls to ogres, giants to dragons, and so on and so forth. With this in mind, there is obviously a great deal of human species out there. Without a shadow of a doubt the human race is amongst the most enduring and adaptable of all the species in the known universe. The civilisations of the human race on Zaldros vary in technology, ranging from highly advanced to the primitive. They are each divided into different sectors, each with a certain degree of technological advancement.

The law and order of the planet is amongst the conflicts of survival. Whilst there are those who struggle to do the right thing, there are those who define existence through misery and suffering. There was once a time where there was nothing but peace. Now chaos has risen again, to the point in which the balance of good and evil has become unbalanced. Where there is not law order there are those in power that restrain the will of people in an agonising reign of terror in which chaos and turmoil reign.

But it’s not as if nothing can be done about. There are still those, whose concerns were not for personal gain, but for life itself. This is that tale.

Kaonyra: A country in the Zuel sector: Medieval, with some advanced technology.

The sun was high in the sky, as its light had cut a path through the mountain scenery. There below stretching for miles was a lush forest with trees as high as the hills. Flocks of birds flew above the forest seeking their destination. Surrounding the forest was a plain of grass and dirt. It was a peaceful atmosphere. It was mid-day and with the exception of the sounds of the river flowing through and the sounds of birds chirping in the trees, there was nothing but a peaceful silence.

The roar of engines in the distance broke the silence. From the bleak plains surrounding the forest approached vehicles. Motorbikes to be precise. Mounted on them were large men of the fiercest of nature. Each was garbed in menacing accessories. Two had body armour, some wore spike- embedded bracelets, all of them parts of their skin pierced with rings. They were all of them armed to the teeth with weaponry such as axes or short swords. As they approached the forests, they gritted their teeth and drove even faster into the dense wilderness. They wanted blood.

It was long since water had cut a path through the lush forest, forming a fast-current river. With its curves and varying routes it was indeed a striking feature of the forest if one was to look at it from above.

Somewhere along the river’s course was an old willow tree planted near the riverbank, surrounded by beautiful flowers. There were no flowers under the willow tree of course, because the flowers need sunlight to live and the long drooping branches and leaves of the tree prevent sunlight reaching the grass below it. As it’s shadow cast down onto the grass below a shadowy figure underneath the tree stood up after picking something off the ground. It was a dismembered orchid, a beautiful specimen. Much in contrast to the stranger who was secluded under the shadows. The stranger appeared to be human only cloaked with spikes protruding from the shoulders. The stranger sniffed it, taking in the flowery aroma before extending a hand outward. Slowly and literally, as if like magic, it floated off the palm of the stranger’s hand and into mid-air. The stranger’s eyes were glowing blue all along. Slowly but surely the orchid floated up and away towards the sunlight. The stranger’s eyes continued to remain focused on the orchid. Obviously the stranger was admiring its beauty. As it came into contact with the sunlight the stranger smiled. “Beautiful”

“Hold it right there!” A young teenager was cornered against a huge boulder. The motorcyclist thugs were approaching him, growling and smirking with satisfaction. The leader appeared to be the one who was in front of the others. He was cracking his knuckles that had black gloves around the hands. A spiked dog collar wrapped around his thick neck. Large hairy eyebrows were placed above his menacing eyes as they stared outwards at the trapped kid. His dark black hair was slightly bubbly whilst a fierce grin cut across his chubby lips.

“You’re that Sensei’s son aren’t you?” he growled. Behind him the other thugs were unsheathing their weapons.

“Yeah it matched the description!” spoke another thug. “There’s no doubt about it”

The boy said nothing. Nothing but the stuttering under his breathes.

“That damn Sensei should have given into our demands right from the start” They all began to crowd around him. “But his not the only one who needs to suffer” The thugs chuckled slightly.

“No please! I haven’t done anything wrong. Neither has my father!” cried out the boy “Why are you doing this?”

An eye-patched thug stomped forward and grabbed the boy by his shirt and lifted him up towards his face. The man growled as the boy could feel his warm, bad breath on his face. “You have no reason to live or die!” he spat “It all depends on what we want!” the gang cheered.

Nearby a wide, long path went through the forest towards the river. The coast seemed clear. For many yards not a single living soul could be seen. Except for one figure.

Slowly but surely, the figure became more and more clear. It was a dark, tall man walking down the path. He wore large black boots that reached more than halfway up the lower part of his leg towards his knee that had two rings hanging off the outer side of each foot. He was wearing nothing but black: black leather jeans, a long dark trench coat much like a normal trench coat only with large spikes pointing outwards away from the face, and black gloves. He wore no shirt and his chest had a necklace with the Ying-yang emblem hanging down from the neck, which had another necklace wrapped around it. His face was bearded blonde, not heavily, but enough to cover his chin, cheeks and upper lip. Shadows cast down from the eyebrows to the eye-sockets prevented his eyes from being clearly visible. Long blond hair was cast down from the head above. In general, he appeared to be human, but the most striking feature of him was the ears. Rather than having normal human earflaps, he instead had webbed ears like that of a frog’s flipper only less bulky. The overall appearance was somewhat mysterious, possibly threatening. The stranger made little or no sound as he walked up the path.

“Help!” the boy, cried out. The thugs laughed out loud.

The leader spoke. “What?! Do you think someone’s coming to save you? Do you really think that someone’s really coming to save scum like you?”

The stranger suddenly stopped walking.

The boy’s stare suddenly changed from fear to hate. “We villagers aren’t the scum. You are!” the boy literally spat in the leaders face. The other thugs stared in angered amazement. The leader closed his eyes and slowly opened them again, his hands wiping the saliva off his face. The stare from the eyes was the stare of a berserker as the leader was heaving with rage.

“Bad move, Kid! Bad move!”

The stranger turned his head towards his right, his eyes were glowing a fluorescent blue.

The thugs dropped their weapons and pummelled the kid.

The stranger was running through the forest, brushing past bushes, jumping over objects, hoping to get there in time. A trail of blue was emitting from his glowing eyes.

After jumping over a ledge he descended downward to where the thugs were pounding the kid to death. Bruised and cut, the kid looked upward to see the stranger descending down like a tiger stalking its prey. As the thugs turned around to face him, the glow from the eyes changed from blue to red.

Miles away from the area, across a desert, a band of savages road onwards on jeeps, buggies and trucks. One of them was a truck with a cage on the back. The main jeep was the large one at the front. The savages remained silent as they scrutinised their bloodstained weaponry or look outwards at the bleak plains around them. One of them in the main-jeep had some communication equipment with him that he was trying to work and configure. After a while he managed to get it working and made contact with the biker gang and lifted the speaker to speak.

“Hey Dugz! This is squad 1. Do you hear me? Have you killed the Sensei’s son yet?”

The only response he received was a set of death screams and bone crunching sounds before he lost contact. Disturbed, he slowly put the speaker down.

“Well?” the disgruntled booming voice of the leader made the communicator almost jump out of his skin.

“Uh it looks like we lost them… um…sir! It looks like they were wiped out!” he stuttered.

“What do you mean wiped out!?!” The leader stood up in the jeep and turned around to face him, revealing his giant size and ogre appearance. A shadow was cast down over the communicator making him cower in his presence. As the ogre gritted his teeth and growled, the communicator gulped.

“I m-mean the only response…t-t-that I could g-get is screaming and death moans, as if t-t-they were killed off. Then I-I-I couldn’t establish contact with them again.

The ogre snarled. He was generally human like in appearance only he had huge fangs protruding from both his upper and lower jaw that went over his lips. He was dark skinned, with brown, sand-coloured trousers and a black, studded strap that went in a cross pattern over his chest and back. The ogre had a long face with large, almost afro-like hair covering his head. Rings pierced his ears, nipples and his lower lip, putting emphasis on his fierce, evil nature. He clutched his fists in anger, tensing his muscles.

“How in hell could that grungy, little tramp kill my men!? He would need the strength of god to take them out!” he snarled as he looked upwards into the distance.

“M-Master Harnchard, sir” The communicator got up trembling with fear. “Harnchard. Maybe it was someone else. M-M-Maybe we should turn back now in case we get killed too” The ogre Harnchard’s blood boiled with rage

“What?! You damn traitor!” he raised a fist in anger. The communicator’s eyes widened with terror. “Shut it!” he smashed his huge fist into the man’s head, shattering it like a melon. His body fell back from the blow and over the rim of the truck. It fell off, where it was run over by the jeeps and trucks behind it. The previously silent savages on the trucks around them raised their heads to the scene. After a few deep heaves of anger, Harnchard cocked his head up to notice this.

“We’re going in no matter what happens. No surrender! No mercy! All those who oppose Shogun will answer to me” he shouted. There was some cheering from those who were confident whilst others remained silent, fearing that what they say will end up with them meeting the same fate as the communicator. Harnchard sat turned around towards the direction of the forests that were approaching. He pulled out some large, brutally curved hand blades from a bag to arm them. He looked again towards the forest.

A fierce grin was cut across his face. “That damn village doesn’t stand a chance. Not a single damn chance”

Over the mountains laid a small village of a few houses and cottages, a farmyard area with nearby fields, but the main feature was the small palace that sat near the river, surrounded by a bamboo fence. Its architecture was that of a feudal Japan, with a main path to the entrance in stepping-stones and raised boarded veranda with an outer rim of bamboo above the ground. A garden surrounded the house with the occasional pond near the wildlife as well as several stone lanterns and water basins. The roofs that were at each floor of the house were covered with circular plating with a few rooms with Hijikake-mado (window with low sill) opening out on the upper floors. The windows and some of the doors inside were pasted with Shoji paper and could slide open vertically. The ceiling inside the house was coffered with floral paintings though there were some rooms where the ceiling was interwoven with strips of wood. Throughout the rooms there were pottery and statues scattered on shelves or the floor. One of the rooms included a chair and table, facing away from the window. There on the chair, sat a Sensei in a kimono and sandals. His appearance was mid-50s with whiskers and tied back hair. His left hand that held a cup of sake was jittery: shaking in occasionally in a jittery manner. The eyebrows were fixed in a nervous position with a twitchy eyelid. He was nervous.

“Oh dear…oh dear” he began to speak. “I’m in deep trouble”

He was looked over his chair to look out the window in case someone dangerous was approaching. Not a soul to be seen.

“Maybe I should have given in to their demands straight from the start. Now they just keep terrorising the village, killing at will.” For a brief moment he stopped being jittery.

“But maybe that’s not the way I should be thinking” he raised an eyebrow. “Maybe I should continue to fight back”

He stood up with the effort of courage and walked towards the window.

“HAH! As a Sensei and expert of fighting, I have nothing to fear! Bring it on Shogun!”

“Father?”

“Waah!”

He hid behind the chair at the sound of the sudden voice. He poked his head above the chair realising that it's just his daughter. “Oh, It’s just you Kotono. Heheheh!”

The girl sighed. She was roughly 15 to 16, wearing a mini-skirt and kimono. She appeared to be that of the martial art type, with a headband covering her forehead and another band to tie back her dark hair and bandages covered her forearms and calves. A worried expression was cut across her cute face.

“Father, I am worried about Brother Jin. I told him not to go far, and he’s been out for hours”

The sensei stood up and put his hand to his chin in concern. “Well maybe he’s just taking a little longer than usual. I don’t think you should be worried.” He said in a nervously dismissive manner. He smiled “He can take care of himself, especially if he was trained by me”

The sound of distant birds from the window made him turn around in fright. Kotono sighed with disappointment before exiting, muttering “Weirdo” under her breath.

Outside her three brothers were training, all of which were wearing kimonos and headbands. One was tall and lanky. Another was short, stout, fierce and fat lipped. The third was average size with a round face and more slant eyes than the other two. They were training with fighting staffs. Kotono came outside from the entrance and noticed them fighting away.

“Hah! You’re not as good as me Seiji!” the tall one dashed forward to strike with the staff, only to be tripped by the readied short one. He stood over him with victory

“Oh c’mon, Rikimaru! Surely you can do better than that?” he smirked before being bowled over by the third brother. He turned around with a long grin across his face and pointed a thumb at himself “Surely you haven’t forgotten about your brother Tenchi?” the short one Seiji groaned as his tall brother Rikimaru lifted him off him. Kotono smiled, as the worried expression slipped away.

Seiji stood up with excitement. “Man. I can’t wait till those Shogun minions show up” he cheered. “Yeah! I wanna kick some ass!” spoke Rikimaru. Tenchi approached them

“I wish one of them was here right now. So I can bust his pasty face in”

“Someone’s approaching the village!” shouted the watchman from the distant watchtower. All of the brothers and sisters raised their heads in surprise. The brothers readied their staffs. There was no sound of fighting from the distance but the roar of the notorious motorcycle engine could still be heard. “Why isn’t anybody stopping them?” asked Tenchi as the sound of the motorcycle became louder as it came nearer to their house. The brother’s eyes went tense as the vechile drove nearer and nearer.

But to their surprise what came around the corner on a motorbike wasn’t what they were expecting. They raised their heads in surprise at the sight of the dark figure riding one of the savage’s trademark bikes. As it approached their house the rider slowed down, before coming to a complete halt just by their opened gate. There stared at the dark figure before them.

His appearance was dark and sinister, wearing a black studded trench coat that covered him like a cape, his eyes hidden in shade from his eyebrows. But what particularly startled them was none of these but the webbed ears that protruded from the side of his head. Kotono and the brothers stared and wondered what he was going to do. He then raised his head, where his red irises became visible.

The stare from the brothers intensified as they readied their staffs for a fight.

Slowly, like a cat going into stealth, he dismounted off from the motorbike, continuing to stare back at the family. He paused for a moment as his long blond hair swayed from the wind that breezed past the back of his head. No one said a word.

He took a few steps forward before standing still, a ying yang logo dangling from a necklace around his neck. No one said a word.

He began to look from left to right at the family before him before turning his red eyes at Kotono’s. She took a step back, feeling threatened. As if on cue he looked away, noticing the disgruntled brothers giving him a hard stare. He eyed Seiji in particular, whose left eye twitched with anticipation and whose chubby lips were partially raised, revealing gritting teeth. They exchanged a glance before he turned around towards the motorbike. No one said a word.

It was at the point that he reached the bike that the brothers and Kotono noticed that the bike had a second passenger, an unconscious one lying over the back seat. The stranger lifted the figure up, cradling him in his arms. He stood there for a moment, before turning around and walking towards the brothers. Standing still again as the breeze gently blew his hair from side to side. The brothers gasped whilst Kotono shrieked in shock. There, battered and bruised in his arms was their missing brother Jin.

Instantly the brothers lashed out and charged forward, Tenchi yelling “What have you done with our brother?!?”

They swung their staffs forward at him; only he disappeared before they could hit anything.

“Hey where did he go?” their heads looking left and right. They heard the sound of someone landing and they turned to see the stranger standing in front of Kotono, who just stood still.

The stranger looked over his shoulder. “You can at least let me put the kid down first!” he spoke. He turned again to Kotono.

“He needs help” he said before handing Jin over to her. She held him putting an arm around his back to support him. Behind the stranger the brothers were once again attacking. He raised his head before leaping backwards, over the brothers who again almost struck him. He landed gently. The brothers turned around growling aggressively. Suddenly the tips of the staffs split open as if something sharp had hit them from the top.

“Hey! What gives?” said Rikimaru as he, like the other two stared at their now useless staffs.

“Please give me a chance to explain myself.” The stranger requested. “The boy was attacked by savages, and I came to his rescue, and then stole one of their bikes to make my way to here!” Rikimaru went to the aid of Kotono to help with Jin.

“He needs attention but otherwise he’ll be OK” he continued. Kotono looked at her bludgeoned brother before looking back at the stranger.

“I think he’s OK guys” she said, “I don’t think he’s one of Shogun’s men” Seiji wasn’t convinced, and marched towards the stranger.

“Nonsense! Of course he’s one of Shogun’s men! If he isn’t then what’s with the city clothing? You don’t get black leather from around here!” he pointed accusingly at the stranger.

“For your information, I didn’t get my clothing from this sector.” The stranger replied, raising his head slightly at him.

“Ah, you must be from outside this land. Yeah, a more advanced country.” Kotono raised her head in interest. “Not a good point” Tenchi chuckled behind him. A sweat of drop slid down Seiji’s worried face.

“OK, then what’s with the motorbike, and how come you knew where to find this village? They’ve been here before. Explain that!” Seiji once again accused. The stranger said nothing. A smile cut across his face. “I have my ways.”

“Oh yeah and what’s with the ears and bad case of pink eye. What kind of freak are you?” the smile disappeared.

Servants began to slowly pour out of the house, to find out what’s going on. As soon as they noticed Jin injured they immediately tended him and took him inside to treat his bruises. Kotono also accompanied. The brothers also went inside, their concern turned towards their unconscious brother. The stranger paid particular attention to how Jin got beaten up wasn’t as important as getting him back on his feet as soon as possible, a sense of love, so to speak. Within a moment the Stranger was alone at the front of their house. With idle curiosity, he slowly walked into the house to see if everything was all right.

Soon he was inside, noticing the feudal Japanese architecture and the occasional statue of a warrior standing near a door. Somehow knowing where to go he made his way into the living room. Before him, were the servants tending Jin with medical equipment whilst the Brothers stood by him to see if everything was all right, their eyes being cast down in a melancholy fixture. The lighting was cast across them from the lit fireplace at the far end of the room. It was a rather harmonious atmosphere, as the stranger understood completely.

Standing at his right was Kotono, observing the situation from a distance. Her hand was raised to her mouth as a worried expression had cut across her face, an almost familiar look on her face. The stranger approached her.

“Something tells me this is a common sight in this town” the stranger spoke. Kotono made a small gasp noticing how he had suddenly appeared beside her. She turned around quickly to meet his eyes.

“Would you mind telling me what exactly is going on in this town?” She simply nodded in reply.

“A while ago, within Kaonyra’s capital, the emperor of this kingdom was overthrown by someone known simply as Shogun. Since then this kingdom has been plunged into chaos as his minions have taken control over the civilisation of the kingdom, as well as its resources. His greed knows no bounds. He’s recently enforced this policy of collectivisation in which farms are subject to join the system of the capital city of Barda. Those who refused this collectivisation policy were destroyed” she took a slight break, as she looked downwards in despair.

“Our village, Katoyika refused to give in to their demands as we did not want to suffer by their harsh conditions. They decided not to destroy us however as we have such a valuable farm. Instead they are trying to terrify us into submission, regularly plundering and slaughtering villagers at will.”

She walked towards the nearby window slowly, the stranger eyeing her movements. She stopped looking out into the distance. “Maybe we were better off giving into their demands, or maybe even better if they wiped us all out from the start. That way we wouldn’t have to put up with so much pain and misery.” She spoke bitterly.

The stranger raised his eyebrows in a concerned manner. He was aware of how miserable people were in this town. “You can’t blame yourself. Someone has to stand up to the likes of them.” He spoke. “But what could we do? We can’t stand up to his entire army. I mean we’re not just talking about mere men, were talking about monsters, ogres and trolls, a powerful army of many sorts of creatures. We wouldn’t stand a chance against such might.” She shouted back. Some of the servants turned around to notice her anger.

The stranger walked up to her side to observe the distance with her. “Better to go down fighting than be slaves to their whims.”

Kotono relaxed a little before turning around to meet his face. His eyes turned to meet hers before he turned around. Someone was coming.

The Sensei entered the room, having finally gathered the courage. “Oh my goodness what’s going on here?” he wondered out loud, before noticing the scene with his son Jin being tended. “Good heavens!” he cried out loud, running towards Jin on a Futon. Within a few minutes the brothers informed him about what happened, before Kotono told him about the man who saved Jin.

“Say where is the man who you informed me about?” the Sensei asked.

“Standing here by the door the whole time whilst you ignored me” the stranger relaxed with his arms folded against the door edge. Suddenly realising him there, the Sensei screamed before ducking for cover under the table. The stranger bat an eyelid at the shivering sensei underneath the table. “Is something wrong with him?”

“Oh don’t mind our father.” groaned Kotono “ He’s always like this. Bit of shame though. Before Shogun’s men started pillaging this village he was once brave and mentally strong. Now the constant amount of stress has reduced him to a nervous wreck.” She frowned. The stranger turned back to the Sensei, a drop of sweat sliding down the side of his face.

“So I see” he replied as he continued to eye the Sensei, wondering either how awful these savages must be to reduce him to this state or how in the world was this pathetic shell of a man was once the complete opposite. He stood up properly and advanced towards the table. The servants, the brothers and Kotono glared his movements with a morbid curiosity. The stranger crouched down at one end of the table. The Sensei raised his head above the table, still shaking. The stranger waited for a moment before extending his two middle fingers towards the Sensei’s forehead. Upon contact, the Sensei took a sharp intake of breath.

Everyone raised his or her heads towards the stranger. “Hey! What are you doing?” questioned Tenchi. The stranger was making direct eye contact with the Sensei through the fingers. The Sensei was still trembling with fright.

“Don’t worry” smiled the stranger “This will make you feel better”.

He then tensed his eyebrows as he drove a small amount of blue energy from his fingertips into the Sensei’s forehead. Instantly the Sensei stopped shivering, blinking in confusion, as if he was waking from a dream, before standing up. The others could not believe their eyes.

“Now hold on a minute! What did you just do there?” asked Rikimaru. The Stranger said nothing, but only stood up in reply.

“T-that’s weird” the Sensei spoke “I’m….not afraid anymore…..”. Everyone took a sharp intake of breath. His children were particularly surprised. It had been a while since he had spoken like this.

He looked at his appearance, eyeing his arms and hands. He was the same person, and at the same time he was a different person, as if a side to his personality had vanished of the face off the earth. He brushed his hand past his flat hair towards the knot of hair at the back of his bony head as he looked at everyone around him, before looking down at his hands “It’s as if a huge weight has been taken off my soul.” He continued, feeling mentally drowsy, as if he had awakened from a long sleep. “I’ll never carry such weight again” he whispered whilst closing his eyes fiercely. He then turned to the stranger, who was observing his actions. Again he made eye contact with the stranger replying with a strong, noble glance.

“What is your name?”

There was a moment of silence, with the brothers leaning forward with waiting anticipation.

“Ryu……Hirashima Ryu” the man spoke. The Sensei bowed at him, thanking him for his service. Ryu bowed back out of respect. Behind them, the brothers looked at each other in amazement, whilst a wide smile grew across Kotono’s face.

A while later the Sensei shared tea with the visitor Ryu. They both sat around the table in the living room, with the brothers and Kotono eavesdropping on their conversation behind the corner. The Sensei poured some tea into a cup and gave it to Ryu.

“Thank you for your hospitality Sensei Genjuro.” He said, sipping the tea with his eyes closed.

“How long has this village been terrorised by savages?” he asked.

“About 5 months” he replied.

Ryu opened his eyes “A shame. This is a nice village you have here.” Ryu answered.

“Well, before the revolution we profited much from our farms. It’s no wonder Shogun’s men find it too valuable to destroy completely.” The Sensei sipped his tea whilst scrutinising Ryu’s spiky, decorated trench coat.

“You are strangely dressed for a common traveller, if I may say so myself.” Genjuro commented. A slight smirk cut across Ryu’s bearded face.

“The modern world differs a lot to a country such as this one, particularly if it’s primarily an agricultural one.” Genjuro nodded in reply.

“This is boring” groaned Seiji behind the corner, with Rikimaru leaning over his head. “They’re not talking about how he does those tricks” Kotono shushed at him as she continued to listen to their conversation.

“So what did you do to me exactly? How did you cure me?” asked Genjuro, putting down his saucer. “I’m not at liberty to say “exactly” what I did back there, but I can put it metaphorically. Think of a common man such as yourself as an assortment of many different men in the same person; Man of anger, man of happiness, man of sadness, and so on and so forth. In this case, the significant men were a man of cowardice and a man of wisdom.” Genjuro was engrossed in his words.

“I simply told the cowardice man to go away whilst calling for the man of wisdom to make a return, so to speak.” Ryu continued

“Under the constant stress of the past 5 months, a side of your mentality had simply shut down, leaving only the side that wasn’t particularly beneficial. What I did back there was simply cure you of this shutdown.” He finished. Genjuro felt tempted to ask him again, but remembered that even he had to keep some secrets with his knowledge of martial arts. He therefore understood clearly Ryu’s general silence.

“Well that answered a lot!” whispered Tenchi sarcastically behind the corner. Again they shushed.

Genjuro prodded on with his questioning. “Was it hard?”

“To do what?”

“To fight those savages?” he asked without asking more about his abilities.

“Not really. They maybe fierce but they are too obvious when attacking.” He replied

“How did you manage to find your way here? How did you know.”

Ryu again sipped his tea “I have my ways” he replied, proceeding to change the subject. “I see how you all love Jin.”

“With all our hearts” Genjuro smiled.

“I’ve noticed how his brothers are protective over him.” Ryu insisted

“They’re mother died whilst they were still young. Since then they’ve grown to be self-reliant look out for each other strongly. They generally don’t take nicely to strangers, Seiji in particular.”

“I’d bet” Ryu joked. “They attacked me earlier when I brought Jin to their safety. I wonder what sort of things they get up to when a stranger is invited as guest to this house.” Outside the brothers and Kotono and raised an eyebrow at each other.

“They probably go to the extent of eavesdropping on other people’s conversations.” Ryu said suggestively, casting an eye at the corner of the doorway. The siblings gulped as they realized that he knew that they were there. They quickly ran off.

Genjuro laughed. “I was about to invite them to share some tea with us too!”

Ryu simply smirked as he took another sip of his tea. As Genjuro laughed he looked back at Ryu and noticed those webbed ears. After the laughter had died down, he proceeded with another question. “Forgive me for asking you this question, but it really strikes my curiosity. Why are your ears like that?”

“Oh?” Ryu’s ears twitched in response

“Did something happen to you back from where you came from?” Genjuro asked.

“Nothing happened to me at all. I was just born that way” Ryu said with a slightly more firmer tone. Genjuro hesitated with the following question, fearing that he might insult his guest.

“It’s just that, it could just be me but your whole appearance…and your abilities…i couldn’t help but notice but….”

Genjuro was trying to put together a sentence. Ryu leaned across the table slightly towards him.

“.and with your ears……well, you look a bit like.….like…”

“Like?” Ryu raised an eyebrow in anticipation.

“Like…. well…” Genjuro made eye contact with Ryu

“Like what? A dragon?”

Genjuro relaxed slightly. “Yes. A dragon”

Ryu was in a moment of thought, then shrugged and leaned back. “Well you know what they say, we all have a little animal inside of us” Ryu replied humorously.

“Indeed.” Genjuro finished off his tea. Ryu was also finishing off his tea as he looked out the window and noticed something in the far distance, a small building on top of the hill. Instinctively he got up and walked towards the window, staring outwards.

“Is that a shrine?” he asked

“Yeah it is. No one goes to that shrine anymore. I’m kinda surprised that the savages haven’t destroyed it yet. Even more surprised that no one in this village has made plans to get it rid of it either”. Genjuro said in a dismissive manner.

“Mind if I take a look at it” Ryu asked. Genjuro simply shrugged in return. “Be my guest. Not much to see in it though, just a few old statues and tapestries.

“Thank you”

Ryu quickly made his way out of the house and out of the village towards the hill, going through the dense wildlife. It was a fairly long walk to the shrine, half a mile at the most, with a path that went past trees and over a river stream. Nevertheless Ryu made it to the shrine, walking past the Torri gate and standing outside the entryway. He firstly scrutinised the entrance, with its tall columns and Japanese architecture covering the walls. The shrine was generally small, nothing particularly fancy as such. After a few moments of staring, Ryu proceeded into the shrine.

The inner chamber of the shrine was dimly lit in a dull manner, with cobwebs dangling off nearby corners. Genjuro was right when he said that no one visits this shrine. Perhaps the people had simply lost faith, in time of chaos and turmoil. Ryu surveyed the scene slowly, noting the eroded architecture as he did. It was obviously built quite a while ago. It had to be centuries, if not a few millennia old. Around him were inscriptions written on slabs of rock, mentioning various people, if they had not been already covered in dust that is. Around Ryu were several statues, of different figures. One of which was a monk sitting down with an outstretched hand, religious symbolism so to speak. The other two pictured brave samurais posing in their armour and with their swords. Were they statues of famous samurais of the past or were they simply statues showing the ideal nature for those who followed the samurai code? One could wonder questions like this in such a place.

After a few minutes of studying the scene Ryu began to loose interest and walk away. That’s when he noticed something hidden behind a large vase. It at first looked like a large cloth rolled up behind the vase but Ryu noticed it that it appeared more decorative than just a mere cloth. Instinctively he walked towards it to pick it up. As he picked up the cloth, he realised that it was in fact a piece of patchwork. From what he wondered. He then looked ahead, in front of him and noticed a large patchwork image hung on the wall in the dark. Part of it had been torn off, which explained what Ryu was holding in his hand. It pictured a violent storm, formed by wind rain and thunder with huge waves covering the sea below the sky. It was a very interesting and visually beautiful piece of patchwork, untouched by age, but the main feature of the patchwork was the long dragon that was whipping up the storm. This is what caught Ryu’s attention. He walked towards the patchwork, studying the dragon. Its thick-scaled body was snake-like and bulky with large spines going along the spinal cord of its back towards it’s frilled tail. Sharp claws were extruding from its lashing, small fingers as they swung back and forth to whip up the storm. Large wings expanded outwards from its curved back as the creature flew in the air. Large horns and webbed ears sprouted at the back of its long head as long whiskers from its bearded nostrils dangled past them. Fire roared forward from it’s jaws as the shun fiery light on it’s pointy teeth. What Ryu found particularly interesting at this point was those eyes. Those menacing, circular, hypnotic eyes staring straight back at him. He stood there, fixed to those eyes, like a cobra ready to strike. It almost as if he was in a deep trance, as those eyes became a feature of obsession. Something about that dragon was strangely familiar, very strange.

Ryu smirked and looked away as he made his way out. As he made the exit he stopped suddenly. He felt something from the distance, deep feelings of fear and anger. Instantly he knew it came from the Katoyika village. It was under attack. Rather than charge towards it, trying to cover half a mile, Ryu simply moved his hands into a prayer position and concentrated hard. His eyes went red again and within a blink of an eye he shimmered, and then vanished completely.

In the village the savages had already attacked and shattered the defences with cold-blooded ease. Their vehicles had simply mowed down the walls and the guards of the village. One of these vehicles rode Harnchard, an evil laugh booming from his mouth. It was an attack, but not exactly a slaughter. True those who fought back were being killed but the other villagers were rather being grabbed and dragged away to be thrown into the back of the trucks.

“Why are you doing this?” screamed one woman being dragged away by a Mohawk savage.

“Shogun needs more slaves! You’ll do just fine!” the punk replied “And don’t worry about the farm. We’ll take good care of it!”

Another man cried, “You can’t do this!” before being punched in the face before being carried off “Oh but we can!”. The village was quickly filled with a cacophony of screams, children’s cries, and the laughter of evil men. Soon the villagers had been rounded up or killed if they fought back. Except for four, Sensei Genjuro and his sons.

The savages quickly cornered and surrounded them, laughing mockingly. The sons were armed with fighting staffs, whilst Genjuro had a Wakizashi (short sword), blood dripping of the blade.

“Prepare yourselves my sons” whispered the sensei. They had already taken down a few of their men but now they were surrounded and cornered. The mob gritted their teeth as they approached only to stop approaching as the mob leader, Harnchard cleared a path through them towards the Sensei and his sons.

The sons took a step back. The leader was far larger than they had imagined. “His……b…b…..big!” Seiji murmured, showing fear. Harnchard chuckled under his breath, cracking his knuckles as he did. “You think you’re stronger than me?” he asked mockingly. He crouched to their level and extended his hands in an inviting manner. “Try and prove it!”

Instantly the sons dashed forward to strike, yelling as they did. As they swung their staffs forward, Harnchard simply swung his hand to one side, and then swung it back to knock the sons to one side against the wall. Genjuro gasped in shock. As they got up from the ground the other thugs simply picked them up and held them captive.

“You’ve lost everything, Sensei! Why don’t you just give up while you’re ahead?” laughed Harnchard. Genjuro simply charged forward and jumped up in the air to slice him. “How dare you hurt my sons!” he yelled. Harnchard simply grabbed him by his skull and tossed him over his shoulder. “Shut it!”

As the savages dragged the sons and Genjuro off to the storage trucks, Harnchard looked around in wonder.

“I could just swear that we’re forgetting someone.” He wondered. Suddenly he heard something brush past the leaves of a nearby tree. He quickly turned his head around and jumped back as a sword whizzed past his face, cutting his cheek. Instinctively he swung his huge arms forward to grab and hold whoever tried to attack him. It was Kotono who got grabbed and squeezed in his powerful bear hug grip. The force of the grip made her drop her sword.

“You……monster!” she yelled as he tightened his grip.

“You know, I could just crush you in one go. But I won’t let you die just yet. I’ll make your death slow and painful!” he smiled as he tightened his grip. She tensed her back under the shear amount of pain. She tried to cry out but the tension on her ribs prevented from saying anything. Harnchard smiled sadistically as she was dying slowly and painfully.

Suddenly a rock flew from the distance and smashed on Harnchard’s head. Instantly he dropped her and rubbed the back of his head in pain, growling as he did. He turned around angrily, bloodshot in his eye. “Who did that?” He yelled out loud. The savages looked around each other, before turning their eyes towards the shadowy figure a couple of yards behind them. The dazed brothers and Genjuro looked up towards the figure. Kotono dragged herself up from the ground and looked behind Harnchard to see the figure. It was Ryu.

“I did.” Ryu spoke insistently “And I demand that you let the villagers go and leave this village”

The savages smiled in evil reluctance. Harnchard on the other hand was snorting, like a raging bull. “Heroes…………… I hate heroes!” he snarled. “Take him down!”

The savages marched towards him, readying their weapons. Ryu simply swayed his head from side to side to click the bones in his neck. The first savage to approach him was a fat, bearded, chuckling, biker, cracking his knuckles. “OK Hotshot. Lemme show you the ropes!” he smiled as he extended his hands in a fighting stance. Ryu simply looked him in the eye, anticipating his move.

The thug threw one fist forward, but Ryu dodged it. He threw another forward. Ryu moved his head to one side to avoid the blow. Angered the man raised his fists in an overhead-smash manoeuvre before Ryu howled and high-kicked him in the face.

The savages behind them chuckled slightly. “It’ll take more than that to take him down”

To their horror the thug turned around with the teeth of his horribly dislocated jaw embedded in his face, before dropping dead. Ryu, still in a fixed position, lowered his leg and made a fighting stance.

“What the hell?” yelled another savage, not convinced with Ryu’s super strength.

“Alright you!” more savages charged towards him wielding weapons, wanting to tear him apart. Ryu jumped towards them, unleashing a spinning kick that disembowelled their heads. Ryu landed as they slowly fell to the floor, before punching two savages in front of him aside and kneeing a savage right in front of him. The savage flew back from the force of the blow as his back shattered on a tree stump. Harnchard observed him in disbelief. The strength of this stranger was extraordinary.

Two more savages approached Ryu from the sides wielding large axes. In return he extended his fingers to each of them. Small electrical sparks flew from each of his fingertips, flying straight through the attackers. Instantly they stood still. The others, including Kotono, still recovering, gasped in amazement.

“What the hell are you two waiting for?” bellowed Harnchard “Kill him!”. The attackers just simply fell to the floor, bloodily perforated from the finger sparks. Now the savages around Ryu were hesitating, too afraid to attack him. This aggravated Harnchard. “Why are you flinching maggots?” he yelled at them, but they ignored him. “What the hell are you waiting for?” Instinctively he picked up two of the savages by their shirts and chucked them over the others and towards Ryu. “Go get him”

The poor savages never got a chance to strike him as they waved their arms frantically in the air and descended downwards. Ryu quickly grabbed them by the neck before they could land and held them up. They looked down his arm at his face, whimpering like babies. Ryu’s eyes glowed red as he charged a huge amount of electricity into his hands to fry the thugs. He unleashed the electricity into their bodies as they screamed with pain. The light from the blast shined on those nearby as they looked in amazement. Ryu simply chucked the corpses back at Harnchard. They went over his head, hit the wall behind him and slumped to the floor, liquefied brains oozing from eye sockets and ears. Kotono recoiled in disgust. Harnchard exchanged a fierce glare with Ryu’s red eyes, electricity flowing through his hands.

“Fine, I’ll take you out myself!” bellowed Harnchard as he pulled out and equipped himself with his curved hand blades. He charged towards him screaming, the other savages jumping out of the way, towards Ryu. Harnchard swung his blade again and again as Ryu dodged his every blow.

“Stand still you bastard!” he yelled as he swung both of his blades forward missing. Ryu countered with a twin palm attack to his stomach. Harnchard backed off, grunting with slight pain, before jumping high in the air to come down slashing. The brothers, Genjuro and Kotono looked in amazement as Ryu just simply jumped up towards him. Harnchard smiled “You think you’re stronger than me? Prove it!”

Ryu extended his arms to meet the incoming blades. He charged some energy into his fingertips and touched the tip of the blades. Upon impact the blades just shattered. He then brought his knees up bashing Harnchard in the face before spinning over him and kicking him in the back sending him flying downwards to the ground. He crashed to the ground as Ryu landed softly nearby, retaining his fighting stance.

SPIRITUAL DRAGON FLYING WING ATTACK

“Whoa…” said Tenchi.

“Amazing!” admired Kotono.

Genjuro simply gasped in confusion. “What is he!?”

Harnchard got up with a bloody nose, snarling like a beast. Instinctively he turned around towards Ryu who also turned around.

“I’m gonna crush you like an insect,!” he bellowed whilst raising his left fist. Ryu turned around fully to meet him. Harchard threw his fist forward bellowing. Ryu didn’t flinch a muscle. Kotono covered her eyes with her hands, so that she wouldn’t see Ryu get hurt. She heard a scream of pain as she lowered her hands from her eyes. The others were staring in amazement.

Ryu had embedded his two middle fingers on his right hand between Harnchard’s middle knuckles of his left fist. Harnchard was on his knees screaming from the surge of pain in his hands. Ryu simply stared back at him firmly. Still persistent he swung his right fist forward, only Ryu did the same to the right hand with his left middle fingers. Again Harchard screamed in pain as the others including the other terrified savages stared in amazement. “What is this guy made of?” cried one. Because of the fear, the savages holding the brothers and Genjuro instinctively let them go as they stared in amazement. Kotono stood up staring “My god!”.

Harnchard, now terrified, exchanged a glance with Ryu’s red pupils. “What are you? You’re not normal!” he asked. Ryu smirked. “Who said anything about being normal?” Ryu’s entire eyes went red again as he howled.

Ryu pumped hundreds of thousands of electrical volts into Harnchard’s body, making him shake spasmodically. He screamed out loud as the volts were frying his body, making his skin emit smoke. He continued to shake, partly to break the grip, but the pain consumed him. Soon the electricity was being focused to his head as Harnchard’s head shook like a rattlesnake’s tail. His eyes were going blue from the flow of electricity as volts flowed in and out of his nostrils, ears and mouth. Ryu simply increased the voltage as Harnchard screamed even louder as the village around him was lit up by the light. Soon the screaming turned into a bloody gargle, as the huge force from the electricity blew his eyeballs and teeth out. Shortly, Ryu stopped, and pulled his fingers from Harnchard’s knuckles. He fell to floor, blood finely spraying from his ears. Ryu looked down on his slain victim before instinctively turning towards the fearful savages, some of them urinating themselves. “Leave now.”

The thugs gulped before turning around and quickly made a run for it, stumbling over and pushing past each, other frightened of what he might do to them. Some of them yelled “Let’s get the hell oughta here!” whilst others shouted “But what about the captives?” followed by “You heard what he wanted! Let’s go!”. Within minutes the village was free from any of Harnhcard’s men as they made their way back to where they came from. Ryu stood there for a few minutes staring at the distance as the brothers, Genjuro and Kotono came to their feet. Ryu then relaxed and sat down on a public seat in the village, the others slowly gathered around him.

“Whoa man!” said Tenchi.

“That was some awesome stuff!” said Seiji ironically

“Can you teach me those moves?” asked Rikimaru

Ryu simply turned an eye at them and said, “I didn’t exactly go through all that just to get compliments. I just did what I had to.”

“But you saved our village.” Praised Kotono cheerfully. “And I strongly doubt that they are going to send reinforcements anytime soon after what you did.” Insisted Genjuro “We are very fortunate to have our lives today. We are forever in your dept.” Again Genjuro took a bow. Ryu gazed at their faces. They felt very lucky and cheerful to be alive and that those men would not bother them for quite a while. Ryu at last allowed himself a smile. He then got up and walked towards one of the dead savages, scrutinising his clothing.

“Hmm…these clothes…those trucks…” Ryu pondered

“What is it?” asked Kotono

“I’d say that these guys came from my land. It could explain why they found it easy to take over an agricultural country” Ryu mentioned, pushing the body with his foot to study it.

“Is this important?” asked Genjuro.

“Quite.”

“I did say that you two have quite similar clothing.” Seiji smiled. At that very moment Ryu also noticed a tattoo on the thug’s arm. It was a tattoo of a two pairing swords with a samurai helmet just below the blades. Around the swords was a long brown dragon. Ryu tensed his eyebrows, then relaxed.

“Is that shogun’s emblem?” he asked

“Yeah…why?”

“Just curious.”

Kotono on the other hand had walked up to Harnchard’s still smoking body and spat on it with disgust. Suddenly she turned her head towards the door of her house. Someone was emerging from the doorway, moving in a somewhat dazed manner. It was Jin, having recovered enough to get off his feet and walk. “Wha…what’s going on here?”

With overwhelming happiness his family quickly charged towards him to give him hugs and praises, though he still hadn’t fully recovered, nor was he fully ready for this pampering. Ryu observed from the distance, smirking.

Soon dusk had fallen on the village as the villagers were making their repairs. Ryu again was sitting on a public bench, observing the scene before him with Kotono. Some of the villagers had thanked him saving the village. Others were a little frightened of him, his powers had scared them too, they even eyed him with suspicion Others were making repairs for the damages that the savages had done or getting rid of their bodies. Some of them mourned for their dead loved ones. An old lady for example was crying over her dead son. Ryu took particular notice of this, feeling much sympathy towards them. He even went up to some of them to say a few words of comfort, before sitting down again with Kotono.

“It’s such a shame. All this mindless slaughter.” Kotono spoke

“Considering their carnivorous nature, those savages had merely given them a taste of what would happen if they were slaves to Shogun’s whims.”

“Yeah…….Shogun’s a real tyrant for letting this happen.”

Ryu tensed his eyebrows. “Which is why his got me to deal with now!”

Kotono looked up at him as he stood up.

“I do believe that Shogun lurks in this country’s capital, Barda.”

Kotono nodded

“I was heading there originally for a matter of business. Now Shogun is my business.”

Ryu clenched his fist in his hand.

“Tommorow, I leave for Barda.” Ryu began to walk away.

“Where are you going?” asked Kotono.

“Back to the shrine.” Ryu replied, leaving the village towards the shrine that he had visited earlier.

Again Ryu walked the path going through the dense wilderness. Again he walked half a mile along a path that went past trees and over a river stream. Again Ryu made it to the shrine, walking past the Torri gate and standing outside the entryway, and again he proceeded into the shrine. Again he studied the architecture as well as the statues and again scrutinised the Dragon cloth on the wall. After half an hour he made his way out of the shrine, and stood still for a moment. From the distance he could see the village, standing out by the lights. His gaze then rose upwards towards the distance landscape, and upwards again, towards the night sky, in deep thought, observing a shooting star.

“Better watch out Shogun.” he thought. “You’ve got a dragon savior to deal with now.”

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