In Mah Pants

My name is Adrian Gato. I am a ninja from a special village of people others commonly refer to as “nekos.” I don’t like being called a “neko”, but it’s better than the other names. The  ninjas that are trained in the village are trained under the strictest of disciplines. Our cat reflexes give us the advantage we need to be better than regular ninja. For years we’ve lived a peaceful existence, but the world is changing. Reports from the other villages bring bad news. Everybody is fearing that what is happening to the others will happen to us. Our defense personnel has nearly tripled and the training schedule for all ninja has been increased. It feels like we’re preparing for war. Other than the training, my life hasn’t seemed to have changed. I was born right before the change, so I only hear stories of time before the fear and paranoia. It seemed so nice. In these times, I’ve grown close to few people. The people who I’ve been extremely close to are my sensei and my two best friends and teammates, Ross and Miguel. It seemed like nothing could go wrong with life in the village. Then it happened….

I awake suddenly to the sounds of scream. The village has been set ablaze as I slept. None of the alarms were set off to warn any of the warriors. Fear begins to set in…

Being a young warrior of 8, I had yet to finish my proper training, but I, like everybody else in the village, knew the evacuation routes. I decided not to try and go against an unknown enemy that could sneak into the village and cause this much destruction. As I traveled through the blood-stained streets, I feared for the worst. Where are the elder warriors?

It’s been 10 minutes and I’ve yet to find a survivor. I stop at Ross’s house. I’m afraid to enter, but I open the door anyway. The only things I find are walls covered in blood. I can’t believe they got to Ross. I left and ran down the street. I found the same situation over at Miguel’s house. This is too unbelievable. I jet off down the street and turn a corner. There lay my sensei. There were no words for the sadness I felt in my heart. Tears began to fall as I dropped to my knees beside him. He was barely alive. Claw marks covered his entire body.

Sensei: Adrian… Come closer.

Adrian: Yes, sensei.

Sensei: I failed… I failed to save the village and I failed to protect you.

Adrian: Don’t speak that way sensei. It’s not your…

Sensei: IT IS MY FAULT!! You’re too young to understand now. I just wish I had more time. I haven’t taught you enough.

Adrian: You taught me well, sensei.

Sensei: I wanted you to learn on your own through my training, but now I have no choice.
Adrian: What are you talking about sensei??

Sensei: Lift me up, Adrian.

I slowly left up my sensei.

Sensei: Ok, I want you to close your eyes as I do this. It will definitely hurt, so please forgive me for the pain.

Adrian: What are you going to do?!?

Sensei: Don’t question me Adrian! Just listen and do as I say!

Adrian: Yes, sensei.

I close my eyes as he touches my face. I slightly flinch, but I have full faith in my sensei and his ways. Strange feelings overcome me. I scream with agony as my young mind is flooded with thoughts, memories, emotions….  The pain wouldn’t let up. It felt as if my mind would burst. Just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Sensei’s hand slides off of my face. I’m panting and dripping with sweat. It feels like my soul has been ripped from my body and violently shoved back in.

Sensei: I never wanted it to be like this… I’m sorry

Adrian: (A little dazed) Don’t be sensei… what did you do to me? What are these feelings?

Sensei: I’ve put all of my knowledge into you. I’m not long for this world and somebody needs to carry on the pride of the village.

Adrian: Am I capable?

Sensei: You’re more capable than you think. You had the potential to be the best and now is your chance to prove it. Take my sword as well. It will help you.

He began to cough blood as I take his sword.

Adrian: Don’t leave me alone Sensei!!

Sensei: You must go now. Leave me.

I hear a faint “farewell” as he dies in front of me…

I wish there was a way to give him a proper burial but I know what I must do. I get up and take off as fast as I can towards an escape route. I had no idea where to go, but I know that I needed to leave the village. All of these thoughts, feelings, and things I’ve ever known kep spinning around in my mind. I have to stop and throw up. I need to get moving before who or whatever got to Sensei, Ross, and Miguel finds me.

I find the escape tunnel and get out of the village. I turn back to stare at the flames. I can still hear the screams from the exit. It pains my heart to know there’s nothing that I can do. I take refuge in the neighboring forest. I’ll need my rest if I’m going to find help and shelter from the neighboring village. I miss my sensei…

Forward 7 years.

I don’t know what to think of my life. For seven years I’ve wandered the land, searching for answers of my life and my past. I still don’t understand most of what I learned that night. I get flashbacks of the incident on some nights. It haunts me….

As I entered another new village looking for food and a place to stay, I cam across a club named GZ. I went inside to take a look and took a seat in the back. It wasn’t the biggest or cleanest place, but it looked like he took pride in the club. I start looking at the patrons and notice a few members who seem to have the most respect. I stayed quiet throughout most of the discussion. The two patrons that stood out to me were two females. They controlled the conversation no matter what topic was being discussed.

The first, was Scotty. Scotty was a pirate with a heart of gold. I, as a ninja, would normally hate pirates, but she was different. She was caring and had a smile that could cheer up even the lowest of the lows. Her long brown hair, bandanna, and sense of humor were her trademarks. There wasn’t a single in the club that didn’t wait for her to walk through the doors every day. If ever an argument would break out, she’d stop it.

Then there was Emily. She was a fierce beauty. A sword wielding, winged elf with an attitude that could scare paint paint off of walls. People either loved her, or hatedher, but either way, when she talked, they listened.

As I sat back with a drink in my hand, a man sat next to me. He had a sense of trust about him, so I paid no mind until he spoke.

Man: I haven’t seen you around here before. You new here?

Adrian: Just came in today. I’m enjoying a few drinks before finding a place to stay for the night.

Man: Well, you seem to be a nice enough kid. Why not just stay here?

He had a friendly smile and kind eyes. I trusted him for some odd reason.

Adrian: I would have to talk to the owner first.

Man: Friend! You’re talking to him!”
He laughed.

Adrian: You’re the owner of this place?

Man: Yep! What do you think?

Adrian: It’s a nice place. I guess I will stay.

I let out a little laugh as I hold out my hand.

Adrian: The name’s Adrian

He grabs my hand and shakes it.

Man: You can call me Sid.

Adrian: Alright, Sid it is.

I down my drink as Scotty and Emily sit at the table. Scotty sits right next to me and Emily sits across from me.

Scotty: Who’s the new kid?

She puts her arm around me and shakes me a little. Emily just sits there quietly studying me and my character.

Sid: His name is Adrian.

Adrian: Hey.

Scotty: My name’s Scotty!! Nice to meet ya!

Adrian: I know who you are. You don’t have to be here long to know your name. It’s the same with Emily.

Emily raises her eyebrow. Scotty laughs.

Scotty: You’re a quick learner, aren’t ya?

She pinches my ears and smiles. I can’t help but feel happy with the gesture of acceptance and smile. I just hope it doesn’t change once I begin to question everybody about the situation going on around the world. Hopefully they know something that could help me in some way.

I was only there a week before I got a nickname of my own. If only they had more information for me…

Scotty: I’m going to call you..um… Kitty Man!!

I laugh at the thought…

Adrian: Well, it makes sense.

Sid was in the back getting some more drinks when somebody walked through the door I had never seen. His appearance made me reach for my sword. He was a dragoon. He was tall and wore blue armor. His lance was of the best quality. Could he be a part of the attacks? Sid came from the back and placed the drinks on the bar.

Sid: Kain! You’re back! How’d it go buddy?

Kain? I’ve heard that name before. He once saved a small village all by himself. He can’t be a bad guy. I pull my hand from my sword.

Kain: I still haven’t found anything good.

Could he be searching for the reasons behind the attacks as well?

Kain: I’m running out of leads. I need to figure this out before more villages are destroyed.

He is! I must ask him about everything he knows!

Adrian: Dragoon, sir, please tell me of what you’ve learned about the attacks during your travels!!

Kain looked over at Sid and Scotty. They both nodded in approval. Kain then stepped towards my table and took a seat.

Kain: What’s your name kid?

Adrian: Adrian Gato, sir.

I hold out my hand to shake his. He firmly grabs my hand and shakes it.

Kain: My name’s Kain Highwind. You can just call me Kain though.

Finally! Somebody that might know something. We spend the rest of the day discussing our travels. It turns out that he had been there the day my village was destroyed. He didn’t make it in time.I don’t blame him. We didn’t even react fast enough to save ourselves. The information we exchanged was extremely beneficial to both of us. After a few hours, we decided to go out and adventure together. We stayed at the GZ for a few more days before heading out again. Kain needed to rest.

Two days passed and I’m beginning to gather our supplies when the earth trembles. A large explosion echoes throughout the village streets. Is it another attack? Here?!? I drop the supplies I’m carrying and run towards the sound of the explosion. I scan the area and notice that I’m not the first to react.

A large section of the village wall was destroyed and the enemy was pouring in. There weren’t many. Maybe a platoon of troops or so. I see Emily and Scotty fighting side-by-side. Emily’s fighting style primarily sticks to traditional sword fighting and magic spells. Scotty had a reckless, but graceful, fighting style. Scotty uses her sword and gun in a slash and shoot manner. Emily and Scotty have obviously fought together before. Their movements are like water. They’re as deadly as they are witty.

I’m still too far away to be of any help. I notice something out of the corner of my eye. I look up and see a small blue dot. It’s falling like a comet! It’s Kain! He falls with great speed into a group of enemies. He swings his lance as he hits the ground obliterating a handful of enemies. They were all amazing fighters. Now I see why attacks here are so infrequent.

I arrive in time to still get a few of them myself. I reach into my pouch to grab some shuriken. OH SHIT! I forgot to bring them with me. I feel like such a fool. Oh well, I have the sword. I unsheathe my sword and engage the enemy. It feels odd not worrying about all of the enemies again. The last time I had allies in the battlefield was during training. I miss those days…

I slash at the enemy just in time to stop it from attacking Scotty. This is turning out to be quite enjoyable.

As I pull my sword out of another fallen enemy, four gunshots ring out in the distance. Four enemies fell in succession. I look towards the origin of the sound to see Sid way off in the distance on top of a building.

Adrian: Sid can handle a sniper rifle?

Kain: Heh. That guy is full of little surprises.

I look around to see that all enemies had fallen to us. It ended fairly quickly. I see now how this village is so well protected. I’m sure this village won’t need me for quite some time.

I walk over to where Kain, Emily, and Scotty were gathered.

Kain: haha! I’m glad I don’t have to worry about you in our travels.

Scotty: Ya did good out there kiddo!

Emily: I have to say, you proved yourself here today. Good job.

Adrian: Heh. Thanks!

I turned to see Sid running towards us, sniper rifle in hand.

Sid: Hey guys1 I’m glad I wasn’t too late to join in the action.

Adrian: That was excellent marksmanship!

Sid: Well, it IS my choice of weapon. I don’t like being in immediate danger.

Kain: It’s slightly cowardly, but it gets the job done.

Sid: Ok guys, shut up now.

Scotty: You know we’re just messing with ya! Haha!

Emily: Ya, don’t take it personally you coward.

Everybody but Sid began to laugh hysterically.

Sid: Alright assholes, pay your tabs!

Everybody: Awwww!

Kain: You suck!

We once again begin to laugh. I’m going to miss times like this too..


(To be continued at a later date...)