Kitsune Inferno

They took out the Ant?! What the hell? Oh, well. Quotas still blow up nicely.

English and a little bit of Spanish. I want to learn how to "squeak" Japanese, though.

Then again, hardly anyone has a headset on PSO.

I finally figured out why I got suspended. It's because I used "fuck" in my bio twice. Well, if that word's supposed to be inappropriate, why the fuck did it let me use it in the first place?!

Spybreak! - Propellers AKA the music from the lobby scene in the Matrix.

Chapter 6 Atop an isolated hill on the outskirts of town sits a lonely house, long abandoned by the previous inhabitants. In the yard is a large willow tree with a grave under it. The tombstone is almost bare except for the deceased's name: Misaki Ryujin. The twins stand in front of the grave and mourn their mother. Kai hangs his head low with his hands cupped at his waist while Kasumi crouches down to lay a bouquet on her final resting place. She stands up and joins Kai in a short prayer. After they're done, the twins sit down and reminisce about the past. Kasumi grins and tosses a fireball up in the air, catching it as it falls back. "Remember when Mom used to get on us about playing catch in the house?" she asks. "I remember the time we almost burned down the house doing that," Kai replies with a chuckle. "Man, the 'lecture' we got was a little harsh, don't you think?" "'Lecture?'" "Mom said there'd be more 'lectures' if I told people the truth. Luckily, I didn't." "That didn't stop me...." Kai stops, aghast at what he had just admitted. "Kai?" Kasumi starts to shake him, but she's only shrugged off. "Kai, did you tell people we were whooped for almost setting the house on fire playing catch? That we can literally play with fire?" Kai slams his fist against his forehead and falls onto his back. He looks at the town behind them before finally responding. "Ten years ago, I told Hiro we were half-demons. Shortly before he was attacked by that enisru." He rolls onto his front side and pushes himself up. Kai hurls a fireball in the direction of the town and screams, "It's all my fault! If I hadn't run my mouth..." "...We would've had happier childhoods," finishes Kasumi. She turns away and tends to Eni, who had been sleeping until now. Kai looks at her and then sits back down, guilt-ridden and ashamed of what he had done long ago. Something he was glad to have forgotten until now. A full hour passes in silence, the twins not even taking a quick glance at each other. Finally, Kai musters up enough courage to ask, "You're angry at me, aren't you?" "Why would I be?" Kai looks back in shock and replies, "I...I told you how Hiro found out what we were. How could you not be mad?" "Because you weren't the one making our lives miserable," assures Kasumi. "You may have been the reason why Hiro knew what we were, but it was his choice to use that against us. Being mauled by an enisru doesn't excuse destroying two lives." She puts her hand on Kai's shoulder to comfort him. "Don't ever blame yourself for our troubled childhood." Kai nods his head in agreement and looks forward at the tombstone. Meanwhile, Ian is searching all over town, hoping the twins haven't left yet. Concerning demonic powers, Ian realizes he's inexperienced and needs to find a suitable teacher. However, he doesn't know of any demon that would associate themselves with a demon slayer and doubts his mother is able to help him. Thinking they might have gone to mourn their mother, he runs to the cemetery and searches extensively, but only finds the grounds keeper. "Whaddya searchin' fer?" asks the grounds keeper. "Have two teenagers visited today?" "Nah, you're the first to show up." "Where is Ms. Ryujin buried? I need to find her kids." "Y'mean Misaki Ryujin? Last I heard, she was buried in her backyard and her youngsters disappeared right after." "Thanks, that's all I needed to know." Ian makes his way to the Ryujin's former residence and catches Kai and Kasumi leaving the grave. "Ian, what are you doing here?" Kasumi asks. "I need to ask you two a favor." Ian bows and asks hastily, "I need you two to help me with my new powers." The twins stare at him, wondering why he went to them for this. "Why don't you get your mom to teach you?" "There's no way she'd train me. Aside from this morning, I've never seen her use her own powers. She prefers to live like a normal human and doesn't have any need to use them. Please, I'm begging you!" Eni wakes up and starts to cry. As Kasumi tries to calm the infant demon down, Ian gets an idea. “Hey, do you need help with him?” “Him?” “Take a look at the discolorations around the skull, torso, and legs. That indicates where armor is going to grow, and only males have that.” “I guess demon biology is a required course in demon slaying,” scoffs Kai. “Can you excuse us for a second, Ian?” Kasumi grabs Kai aside and whispers, “We don't know anything about how to take care of an enisru. Ian might be able to help us.” “But we can't help him! We only have a basic grasp of our own powers. How can we teach him when we're still learning about ourselves?” “I dunno, improvise?” “You could say that with a little more confidence.” “Okay, we'll wing it. Now, come on.” Kasumi and Kai walk over to a hopeful Ian and accept his deal. The three take one last look at the town before leaving, not knowing what the future or the past holds in store for them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After numerous delays, I finally got Chapter 6 written! I would've liked it to be longer, but it gets the plot moving in an efficient way IMO. You're crazy. Or maybe it's because one of my characters is named "Hiro". But in all seriousness, I've never watched Heroes or even looked up the plot on Wikipedia.

Okay, now I can get back online and I still have my gamerscore. But I'm still pissed off. Maybe the recent news about Tekken 6 being released for the Xbox 360 next fall will help me relax.

At least it'll be hours of fun. Y'know, unlike some other sandbox games where if a car barely nudges into you, you're left stumbling like an armless drunkard for 15 seconds while cops bum-rape you with shotguns. Or whose gameplay completely dies after the story is finished. Ahem.

If it turns out like that, I might as well record my call to Microsoft and post it on YouTube. There's gonna be an F-bomb every other word and I'll be screaming my head off until this problem is fixed. Hell, even if I'm not labeled as a cheater, I might as well raise hell anyway; I've got nothing better to do.

If I'm flagged as a cheater, I'm gonna spend the entire night raising hell at Microsoft because I didn't do shit. It's not my fault bitter assholes abuse the complaint filing system.

BUMP. What the fuck? I've been suspended from Xbox Live! I'll be able to get back on in two hours, but this is royally fucked up! I haven't cheated or anything. Xbox Live needs to get their shit straight on who to fucking suspend. Last thing I did was go into a free roam last night and start running over people. Are you telling me these fuckers can get me suspended or even banned for PLAYING THE FUCKING GAME? Oh my God, that's how 90% of the people online on GTAIV play, are you gonna suspend all of them, Microsoft?

Imaginary - Evanescence

Fired Up - Hush Rap rock is making a comeback, bitches.

Wasteland - Trapt

Vibrating Illusion - Asian Kung Fu Generation

Take a Look at My Life - Fat Joe

Avi: 8/10 Sig: 7/10 Person: Pretty kickass member.

Kai - Future Sound of London

The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. A Dr. Pepper for $3! I bought a large slushie and some gum for that same price at a gas station later that day.

Maybe in the UK, but not here. Happy birthday, Spaz!

Chapter 5 At the clinic, Hiro tries to rest. Unfortunately for him, he is frequently being pestered by the staff who are wondering why he's still checked in for a few simple fractures. Other patients are waiting to be treated for more serious injuries and ailments. "Shouldn't you be home by now?" the nurse attending Hiro asks. "I'm gone as soon as you guys get me some crutches," he replies. Pointing at the casts on both of his legs, he continues, "I can't exactly walk out of here on my own." "We're trying to find a pair available, Sir. In the meantime, what else would you like?" Hiro tugs on the blanket covering him and comments, "Well, it's a little cold in here isn't it?" "Do you want another sheet?" "No, I want you to climb in with me, doll face," he chuckles. The nurse only glared at him before laughing sarcastically. "That's so funny, kid. Sure, I'll do that. As long as you agree to let me make you a quadriplegic." "I'm not sure what that is, but I'm guessing it's not good?" "You got it.” At that moment, Ian walked into the room and noticed Hiro's behavior with the nurse. “Hey, nurse. I'd smother him with one of those pillows if I was you. He knows what that is.” “Well, Look who it is. I'm glad we didn't gamble on who'd win in a fight between you and Kai. I would've lost that bet.!” Hiro exuberantly exclaims. “Glad to see you aren't here as a patient.” “When are you gonna check out of here?” “This place wants me gone now, but I think I'll stay for a few more hours. Just to piss them off.” Hiro reaches for his prosthetic arm which he had put on the other side of the bed the night before. He finds it cumbersome to sleep with it attached. Staring at the fake arm, Ian sighs and says, “Remember how you got that thing?” “You know I do,” Hiro replied as he reattached the prosthetic arm. “When we were six, you dared me to go out into the woods.” “And we were attacked by an enisru.” “Is that what that thing is called?” “Yeah, and we were lucky we weren't killed. Most people who meet one become its meal. It's incredible we survived.” “You're lucky. You were only knocked out. My arm ended up as a demon's midnight snack.” “Well, you'll be glad to know that thing is dead now,” Ian remarks. He grabs a nearby chair and sits down. “You don't know what it's like to look her in the eyes and then give her some well-deserved payback.” “How did you know it was the same one or even its gender?” “She had the same double-X scar on her left front leg. And to answer your second question, male enisru have armor plating while female enisru don't.” “Right, just like the one from before.” After a few minutes, the nurse comes back into the room with a pair of crutches and an over-excited look on her face. As she was pointing towards the door, Hiro says, “I guess I have to leave now or they'll throw me out.” “Good, because there's a few things I need to talk to you about and this place is way too public for me to do that.” Within half an hour (Hiro was intentionally moving as slow as he could before a doctor literally kicked him out), the two had finally left the clinic. Neither of them know that Kai is now tailing them. “Maybe I can find out why I had to pay the price for Hiro's attack,” wondered Kai as he followed them. As Ian and Hiro walk down an empty alley, Kai hid behind a corner, so as not to be seen. When they finally came to a stop in the middle of the alley, Kai looked around the corner to eavesdrop. “Y'know, I never fully understood why we bullied the Ryujin twins,” says Ian. “Can you tell me why?” “Because they're half-demons.” “Yeah, that's what you always said.” “Something wrong with that?” “It's just that we never had a problem with Kai or Kasumi around the time they told us they were half-demons. We only started to screw with them after you recovered from the enisru attack.” Hiro puts his fist to his forehead and lets out a deep sigh. He finally replies, “Okay, the enisru attack had a lot to with why I started to bully those two. Blame me, I was angry and scared of them.” “Scared of them? As I recall, Kasumi was peace-loving and Kai was insanely shy. Those two would've never started a fight.” “From what I've experienced and been taught, you can't tell with anything with demonic blood. As a demon slayer, you know where I'm coming from.” “As a demon slayer, I also know that being a demon and being a pacifist aren't mutually exclusive from each other. I'm only trained to kill demons who are a threat. I'm not gonna go around and slay anything demonic just because you were almost killed by one.” “Why'd you even become a demon slayer?” “Because I always thought one of the twins would come back and try to kill one of us. I wanted to protect myself.” “With some big sword because you're too weak to do anything else.” Hiro's comment angered Ian enough for him to slam Hiro against the building and grasp him by the collar. “Yeah, I was too weak. I was too weak to say exactly what was on my mind. How I didn't feel right terrorizing two innocent kids. How you always guilt-tripped me into doing it. 'If you hadn't dared me to go into the forest, I wouldn't have a fake arm, boo-hoo-hoo.' Not to mention you treating me like your little slave!” “Please, if it wasn't for me....” “I'd be happier with myself!” Ian interrupts. “You're no friend to me and you never were. And what I'm gonna show you next will make sure we never speak again.” Ian lets go of Hiro and forms a thin wall of ice between them. As a shocked Hiro stares through the translucent barrier, Ian only whispers, “I'm part-demon, too. See ya, Hiro.” He walks away in the direction he entered the alley from. “It took a lot to reveal that,” Kai declares. “Kai, when did you...” “I've been following you since you two left the clinic. Wanted to find out why my life had to be hell. I swear, I would've done worse to the guy.” “I'm just glad it's over. By killing that enisru, I liberated myself. I'm not indebted to that asswipe anymore.” "Well, good luck with the rest of your life. Me and Kasumi are leaving town today after we get done with a few things. See you when I'll see you.” Kai nods and they both walk away in opposite directions. Ian arrives at his house and finds that his mother had gone to work and Kasumi had left with Eni. He goes to his room and relaxes for a few hours. However, a disturbing thought enters Ian's head. “Oh, crap. If Hiro blabs to everybody I'm part-demon, I'll be facing the same stigma the twins had to deal with back then. I already have no friends and if my secret gets out, I'll never be able to show my face again.” Ian yanks on his hair and screams, “Dammit! I'm screwed! Not to mention I have no idea how to develop my powers. Argh, and I don't even know what to do with my life!” Ian grabs a pen and a piece of paper and quickly scribbles down a note. “Mom, if I'm not home by the time you read this, you're probably not gonna hear from me for awhile. Don't worry, I promise I won't get myself killed. But then again, nothing's guaranteed. Love you, bye.” He throws the letter onto the counter, grabs his sword, and dashes out of the door in search of the twins. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No, it's not. I just chose that name because I needed to name him right before I had to post this story. You'd probably think I'd have my shit straight by thinking up of a main character's name well in advance and maybe make it a reference to their personality/power/etc. Not with Ian. Well, at least his last name (Aicnu) sounds like "ice". I guess that counts.

3. Burn it and say you're part of some whacked-out fire department from the future.

Wish - Nine Inch Nails