Chapter 1: Takata's Challenge

"Takata! You received this in the mail. It's probably a chain letter or something. Sure you wanna read it?"

17-year old Naru Shirow playfully gave his little brother a noogie as he handed him a letter. Takata responded by grabbing the letter from his older brother, then before Naru could grab him, he darted off down the hall and into his room.

Locking the door, he sat down on his bed and looked at the letter. It was only addressed to Takata Shirow, no home address, or anything. He flipped the letter over and saw that on the back the letter bore a wax seal with an elaborate inscribed 'S' on it. He decided that he would open the letter later, and placed it on the bed. Then he opened up his workbooks and started doing his homework.

Although he was only 13, Takata was very adept at learning. He was in the top five percentage in his class at the Tanikayo Public Academy, and he was usually regarded as a bit of a nerd. Although he was very smart, he really didn't talk all that much other than talking to his family and close friends who knew him. He always appeared to be a shy loner, but inside of him was a strength that he himself never knew about. He wasn't a trouble maker, nor did he ever play pranks. But still, he had qualities that his classmates liked about him.

He was just finishing up his Algebra II homework when the phone rang. He picked it up on the second ring, and found himself talking to Nancia Rubelle, who was always professing her love of him. She was a very smart classmate of his, and she was appropriately dubbed "Takata's Shadow' around the Academy by their peers. She had an almost uncanny knack for being exactly in the same place where Takata was. He always tried to avoid her, but she still kept following him anyway. Takata never even figured out how she got his phone number. But he'd talk to her anyway, just to be polite. He asked her about why she called.

"Why I called? Why I called? You KNOW why I called!" Her voice sounded incredibly childish. "Did you open that letter yet?"

Takata closed his eyes. Of course. He should have known. The letter had probably come from her. No wonder it only had his name on the front. She must have sent him a card of some kind. He looked over at the letter, and picked it up.

"You sent me another card telling me how much you love me, right? Nancia" he began, but she cut him off.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I haven't sent you anything. My mother went to the post office and I convinced the guy at the counter to let me pick up your family's mail, too." She giggled on the other end.

"So that means you owe me one." A fact that she would gladly collect on.

Takata looked at the letter again. If she hadn't sent it, who had? He decided that he would open the letter after dinner and see what it was about. His watch beeped. He looked down at his wrist and took note. Nancia may not have sent this letter, but she probably had something to do with him receiving it. He knew that she would use such tactics to her advantage. Takata cleared his throat and got Nancia's attention.

"Ok, ok, it was nice of you to pick up my mail for me. Thanks. But can I call you back? It's dinner time over here and I'd like to get downstairs before my brother gets the good seat like he always does."

Nancia laughed. "Ok. You can call me. You probably won't but still, I can't afford to pass this up! Have a nice dinner. Talk to you later." And she hung up, just like that.

Takata placed the receiver back in the cradle and stood up. Then he walked over to his door, unlocked it and went back downstairs to the kitchen. He was just about to sit down at the table when his mother looked at him and smiled.

"So what did the letter say?" She continued to set the table.

Takata sat down and slumped in his seat. "I don't know. I haven't opened it yet." He said.

Mrs. Shirow looked at her young son. Then she sat down beside him and stroked his hair. She knew that he hated when she did that, and true enough, Takata started whining.

"Mom! Stop that! I hate when you mess up my hair like that." He carefully rearranged his hair again.

Mrs. Shirow mocked his movements. Takata looked at her. She smiled and kissed him on his forehead, then got up and finished preparing the kitchen table for dinner.

Takata was still sitting in the seat when Naru walked in and hugged their mother. Then he pulled up a chair and joined his little brother at the dinner table. Naru gave Takata a smile.

"Hey man, you DID wash your hands before you sat down, didn't you?" He made an elaborate show of his hands. Then leaned back in his chair. "Mine are ALL clean." He smiled at Takata again.

"How about you, little bro?"

Takata already knew where this was headed. He got up from the chair and headed down the hallway to the bathroom to wash his hands. He knew fully well that when he got back, Naru would be sitting in the chair. He gave a small sigh as he turned on the faucet, washed his hands, and then dried them. He headed back down the hallway and into the kitchen.

To his surprise, Naru was still sitting in his chair. Takata looked at Naru, who let loose a smile.

"You beat me to the chair today, bro. But tomorrow you won't be sooo lucky." And with that, he leaned back in his chair again.

Mrs. Shirow was busy placing the plates of food on the table, when they all heard the side door open and close. Dad was home. Mr. Shirow came around the corner, greeted everyone, and sat his briefcase down on the small table by the hallway door. He took his jacket off, and placed it in the closet, then he continued on down the hallway to the bathroom to wash his hands. When he was through, he came back into the kitchen where everyone was waiting for him, and sat down in his seat.

The food that Mrs. Shirow had cooked smelled simply delicious, and once thanks was given, everyone began to dig in. Takata was on his second helping of beef stew, when his dad interrupted him.

"So, Takata. I heard that you got a letter today? Who was it from?" Mr. Shirow asked.

Takata looked up and stopped eating. He took a sip of tea and placed the glass back on the table. Then he shrugged.

"I don't know. I haven't opened it yet." He dipped his spoon back into the thick bowl of stew.

Mrs. Shirow looked at her husband, and they both shared the same expression. Then she reached out and took the pitcher of tea to pour herself another glass. Mr. Shirow looked at Takata, then he said, "Maybe you'd like to show it to us?"

Takata put his spoon down and said, "Sure." He slid off the chair and went upstairs to his room. He grabbed the letter off of his bed and brought it back downstairs and to the kitchen table, where he set it in front of his father. Mr. Shirow looked at him with a degree of surprise. Then he picked the letter up and turned it over, noticing the wax seal on the back. He looked at the letter for a second, then he passed the letter to Naru.

"Give Takata back his letter. Time for him to open it and see what it says."

Naru handed Takata the letter and went back to eating his dinner. Takata gingerly took the letter and looked at his parents, then he broke the wax seal that held the letter closed. Naru looked up and stopped eating.

Reaching inside, he pulled out a large and well inscribed card that bore his name. It looked like an invitation to a party. Turning it over, Takata saw that on the back was written these words:

Today a great day has come. Your admittance to the Du'ells Sword Academy has been approved. Not only one of the most prestigous schools in the country, but one of the most outstanding schools in the world. The students who attend this school are well taught and versed in many things, which includes the age old art of swording duels. And our graduates are better prepared for their roles in helping to shape the future in building the world of tomorrow. See you at Registration Isle!

Beneath that was a handwritten message which said:

Takata,

Today is one of the greatest days of your life. And mine. You don't know just how proud your parents would be to see you now old enough to attend the Academy. I promised them that when the time was right, I'd send your invitation myself, and well, here it is. You're truly blessed, dear boy, and I hope that you realize it. We've not had a lot of time to talk and discuss the particulars of your life but I'm pretty sure we can make up for that when you arrive here. Trust me. You were assured a place of honor among these halls just by being born. And I also intend to hold up my other deal of the bargain, which is to meet you, face to face. It will indeed be an honor when you arrive at the front doors. So now that you have read this, know that your family, have not abandoned you. Take care, and good luck.

Takata finished reading the message and then he passed the invitation to his mom. She looked at it, but instead handed it to his dad. Mr. Shirow looked at the invitation, and then started reading the contents of the message. When he finished, he slowly placed the invitation beside his plate and folded his hands. He regarded Takata carefully.

"Well, Takata? Any questions?"

Takata looked at him. He wasn't really sure of why his parents were deciding to send him to a school such as this one.

"When did you and mom decide to send me there? To that Academy?"

Mr. and Mrs. Shirow looked at each other again. Naru leaned back in his seat, then got up and left the table. He didn't want to hear this part.

Mr. Shirow said, "We didn't. Your REAL family did."

Takata's eyes opened wide. He was surprised for only the third time in his life. Real family? Wasn't this his real family? He was confused now, and Mr. Shirow evidently understood, because he started explaining everything to Takata.

"You're not our real son. We adopted you. We've been your caretakers ever since your real family died."

Takata looked at his mom. She smiled and could only confirm what her husband had just said by shaking her head. It was true. But Takata couldn't accept that. He stood up and bolted from the kitchen.

Mr. Shirow looked at his wife, and she slowly relaxed her hands on her teacup. Then he got up from the table and kissed her on the forehead. As he left the room, he put his hands in his pockets and said something.

What he said was:

"Today is the day that I feared the most. Takata will probably have a very bad opinion of the Shirow family now, even though we watched him from the time that he was born. I hope his grandfather knows what he is doing to that boy."

Mrs. Shirow watched her husband disappear down the hallway, then she stood up and started clearing the dishes from the kitchen table.