Allright, so everyone understands, im posting how to use this up here - I've devised a way to utilize the usual 'find' protcol in every web browser to my lazy advantage. to use it with my stories, one must know this - ive organized chapters by putting them IN ORDER AND PUTTING THE CHAPTER NUMBER BERFORE THEM! Thus, stfu, and read away. I'm a busy programmer, what're ya gonna do? When i get more time, ill make anchors, but for now, enjoy the fact that the stories are back up.

Chapter 1

"Amazing," Cuin silently said as he looked out the window beside him. Drawn across the horizon was an outline of Islands, the lights of Cities emanating the darkness of the night, as if guiding the plane's path. Stars littered the sky, and their reflections shown brilliantly off the sea.

            As Cuin was entranced by the scene, a voice came over the 747's speakers. "We will soon be landing on Japanese soil; be sure to have your passports ready to show your identification. Thank you for choosing International Airlines, and we wish you have a Merry Christmas in Japan this December."

            Cuin smiled uncontrollably, and began to pack his iPod and video games into his backpack. The flight may have been long, but he was too excited to sleep. Thus, he had brought many things to keep himself occupied; travel guides, Video Games, Anime magazines, the list goes on. Either way, he had always dreamed to visit Japan, to be able to visit many Otaku and Video Gamer Holy Ground.

            Placing some notebooks and pencils back in his bag, Cuin had to submit to the fact that this trip was more for education than anything else; He recently was allowed to study abroad in other countries, and his first and foremost country was Japan. Luckily, He was the winner of the trip, and thus has been temporarily transferred to a Japanese High School named Aijou Haisuku-ru, which he still lacks it's translated name.

            Zipping up his backpack, Cuin looked out the window, and clenched his fist, trying to suppress his urge to burst into joy. The Plane began to turn in awkward movements, trying to get to its specific landing-strip. His ears began to plug up, and Cuin pulled out a pack of gum, and popped a chip of gum in his mouth. He began to furiously chew the gum, the tension in his jaw preventing the unusual feeling in his ears.

            As the Plane hit the ground, the bump was felt thorough the plane, and the pilots skillfully began to slow the plane down at a gentle speed. A Stewardess stood up, "Remember to get you bags from the storage above, and to return all seats to their original positions. We hope you have a good time here in japan. Adiosu!"

            Standing up, Cuin followed the person in front of him. Grabbing his bag, Cuin walked off the plane.

As the passengers walked off the plane they were greeted by a Bus Driver on a Bus labeled "To Customs". Cuin climbed into the Bus, followed by the crowd of people. The Bus drove off, and entered an airport terminal, with about eleven lines of people waiting. Ten of the lines were lines for citizens of Japan, and the last was for foreigners. Cuin Entered the line for Foreigners, and was lucky enough to be the only in line.

He walked up to the clerk, "May I please see your Passport?" She said fluently in English. Tom pulled out his passport, and handed it to her. She looked at it a few times, and pulled out a stamp, pressing it against the book. She handed it back, the stamp's marking clearly brandished into the white paper of the Passport.

"What exactly did you come to Japan for, and where are you staying?" She asked again, typing on her computer.

"I'm a Foreign Exchange student; I'll be studying at the Aijou Haisuku-ru. I've also contacted a friend of mine, and I'll be living with him." Cuin Replied calmly.

She typed on the computer with unmatched speed, and then hit the tab button, and looked at Cuin, "How long will you be here in Japan?"

Cuin looked at some papers, and read aloud, "Cuin Manari shall be studying in Japan until his registered school years are over. Basically, I plan to become a registered citizen of Japan after High-School."

The clerk typed the information and nodded, "Okay, your items have been examined and no illegal objects were found. You may get them at the Baggage Claim." Cuin walked beyond the counter, and headed up some escalators labeled "Main Terminal".

 As he exited into the Main Terminal, a boy of Caucasian complexion came up to Cuin, and greeted him cheerfully. "Welcome to Japan, Cuin."

            Laughing, Cuin smiled, and pushed the Boy's shoulder, "Zen, it's been ages man. How's it going? I haven't seen you since you transferred over here to Japan!"

            Zen laughed, and smiled, "It's sukoi! The school's here are outstanding in their quality, and the nightlife here is almost as good as Eva! We'll, not that there are any giant robots.but it's very active, and tons of great clubs to hang at!"

            Cuin shouldered his backpack, and began to walk, Zen following beside him, "Sweet..hey, when were you ever social?" Cuin glared at Zen.

            "Since I came here, that's when! This is the land of Anime and Video Games, where Otaku roam the streets without prejudice. Plus, a lot of girls here dig us Americans.except for the whole 'We blow the shit out of everything, and blame another Country' Motto."

            Cuin laughed, "Who does like that American bias."

            Zen nodded, and they stepped onto the escalators, and began to ride their way down to the baggage claim. "So, what brought you to Japan Cuin? You seemed kind of rushed when you called me."

            Cuin Smiled, and put his fists on his hips, and imitated the hero stance he had Seen in the Game Fable, "I, Cuin Manari, have been granted authority by the School Administration to study abroad here in Japan."

            Zen laughed, and slapped Cuin's back, "You mean you won the Luck-of-the-draw competition, didn't you?"

            Cuin sighed, and looked at Zen with disappointed eyes. "You give me no joy."

            Stepping off the escalator, they walked toward the baggage claim, and began to scan the luggage. As the luggage passed by multiple times on the belt, Cuin pushed his way through the diminishing crowed, and grabbed a bag with a sticker slapped across the middle of it. It said Cuin's Clothes in bold, and Cuin placed it beside himself. He reached out again, this time for a large case labeled "Haruko". Cuin smiled and hugged the case, picking up his clothes. Turning around, he motioned to Zen to get going, and they began to walk out to the parking lot.

            "I see you brought Haruko." Zen said, looking at the case.

            "Hey, I don't like to be away from her. Plus, I know everything about her, unlike your computer." Cuin laughed, lugging the cases in a cheerful mood.

            They walked directly to Zen's Car, parked conveniently in a close area. Zen popped open the trunk and Cuin diligently opened it, and placed his bag and case in it. He slammed it shut, and headed to the right of the Car, opening the front door. Zen looked at Cuin puzzled.

            "You have a license to drive in Japan?" Zen said, and Cuin looked into his door. He realized it was the driver's seat, and he chuckled lightly while they exchanged sides, and sat in the car.

            "Well, I guess you could blame a force of habit." Cuin said.

            Zen started up the car and began to drive off into the city, while Cuin pulled out his GameboyT and began to play a RPG.
			
			
Chapter 2

"Cuin! Get up! We're going to be late for your first day of school!" Zen barged into the bedroom.
Cuin eyes opened slightly, and he yawned, and turned the other way, towards the bedroom window. "Five more minutes.." Cuin said, and raising his hand and waving it like Zen was a fly.
"GET UP!" Zen shouted, and began to lift the bed's Mattress. As it rose, Cuin began to roll downward, and hit the floor, "Iteh!" Cuin muttered, and sat up, rubbing his leg. Cuin Sighed, and stood up, grabbing his knee, "You ass! That hurt." Cuin rubbed his leg, where a bruise was forming.
"Well, it stemmed from your choices. Now get dressed, brush your teeth. I'm off to school." Zen said.
Cuin began to change as Zen left the room, grumbling and swearing under his breath. As Cuin was about to leave the room, he dashed to the bathroom, and brushed his teeth in a quick 30 second session. Cuin walked out of the room, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. As He exited the room, he remembered the fact that Zen had just left before him. "That Jerk!" Cuin Yelled.
 Running out the door, Cuin looked at his watch. School would start in approximately 20 minutes, and he was guessing it would take 15 minutes to bike there. He jumped onto one of Zen's bike, and pedaled madly, attempting to get to school on time.


As Zen got to the school, He jumped off his bike, and walked it to the bike-rack, pulling his lock and key from his backpack. Locking his bike up, he pocketed the key, and headed into the school. Being quite early, it gave him time to go to the school library, and he did so, and started to rummage through the Manga collection. He had recently founded a club at Aijou Haisuku-ru, and was quite glad- not only was he able to get the most up to date manga, but he was able to afford it within his and the school budget. He started to read Air, a classic among otaku, when Cuin walked in, a grim and cranky expression stretched across his face.
"Sukoi! Cuin, you have a expression that could rival Sousuke's from Full Metal Panic!" Zen said, getting up, and putting the book down.
 Cuin walked over to Zen, and smiled, a twitch under his right eye. "What about breakfast man?"
Zen shrugged, and picked his gear, looking as if he could care less, "You got up late. It's your responsibility to get up and get breakfast."
Cuin clenched his fist, but took a deep breath, and released his anger, "Damnit.I'm pissed, but your right."
They both dashed from the library toward their homeroom, which was in the A wing, room 7. As Zen entered, he was greeted by a barrage of "good mornings". Turning around, Zen said "Remember; your not supposed to enter until the teacher introduces you."
Cuin sighed, and turned around, leaning against the wall. "Whatev."
An adult in a lab coat was walking down the hall, and faced Cuin, and looked at him. While staring at his papers, and then averting his eyes to him, the adult said in rough English, "Are you the new student?"
Cuin sighed and replied, "Thank god, there are people speaking English here. Yeah, I'm Cuin, the new American transferee."
The adult raised his eyebrow, "yeah.anyways, I need to introduce you to the class. After I announce a new student, enter."
The teacher enters the classroom, and begins to say in Japanese, "morning! We got us a new victim.er, I mean," he says jokingly, "Foreign exchange student."
They all turn to look to the doorway, and no one entered. The teacher walks out, irritated lightly, and grabs Cuin's arm, dragging him in the class.
Cuin raises his hand, and waves, "Gomen, sensei. I'm not that great at my Japanese.yet."
The teacher looks to Cuin, and says, "Alright, get it over with."
"Aight, I sure hope as hell you understand this, because I suck with Japanese. I'm an exchange student from America, Illinois to be precise. Nice to meet ya. I like Video games, root beer, computers, and martial arts. My personal hobbies are playing FPS shooters and some rpg's, martial arts- I learned both karate and tae-kwon-do- and watching anime. I guess you could refer to me as an otaku. Well, hope to have a good year with ya!" Cuin said.
Some of the students seemed to understand it perfectly, others not so well. The teacher approached Cuin, "Sit in the back, by Zen. He's the only one you know, and thus, will be the best bet for helping you in class. Plus, he understands more English than our other students."
	Buying the teachers point, Cuin walks to the back, and sits beside Zen, who was sitting at the window. Zen had a wide-eyed expression on his face, as if amazed by Cuin's actions, and whispered to Cuin, "You know 'otaku' is more of an insult here, right?"
	Cuin's eyes widened, and he slapped his palm to his head, muttering incomprehensible curses.

During lunch, Cuin and Zen both got their bentos, and joined the others in the cafeteria. It was quite crowded by students. Cuin's eyes gazed upon the bento, curious. "Don't tell me you made the bento." Cuin said.
	"Bullshit!" Zen said, angry at his friend's accusation, "My sister, Sayuki, made the bento. Enjoy, because it's the only one you're ever getting from my precious sister!"
	Cuin sighed, opened, and saw Onigiri, well cooked and made to perfection. He drooled, and smiled, "You may be one protective bastard, but does that mean I can't hit on her?"
	Zen returned fire with a swift slap to the back of the head, and Cuin laughed, in pain and at his own joke, "I knew I had that one coming, but it was worth it. Either way, Itadekimasu!" Cuin began to eat the rice balls, savoring their flavor and wrapping.
	Zen was enjoying a nice Curry, with a side of rice, when Cuin poked his side. Zen looked up, swallowing his last spoonful. A girl was standing over Cuin, her long light brown hair propped up in a ponytail. Cuin raised his hand, trying to defend himself, but instead, she sat next to Zen on his right, and began to speak to him in Japanese, "Is there kendo-club today? Or was it canceled?"
	"oh, there's kendo club- its just I've got us a new member, and I have to help him get the ropes of the school, so just give me a day, and ill hang with you guys again tomorrow for lunch. He'll probably too; its just he's not good with Japanese. As in chronically bad. Exchange student. That explains it." Zen replies sarcastically at the end.
	Satsuki, replies, the conversation still in Japanese, " Alright. See you at the meeting." She stood up, and waved, and began to hurry off.
	"Who was that?" Cuin mumbled, half of an Onigiri in his mouth. 
	"A friend of mine. You'll meet her soon enough." Zen said, and continued to enjoy his lunch.
	
Chapter 3

As the last bell rang, Cuin leaned back, and stretched his arms, "All this history.is so freaking good!"
	Zen laughed, as he fastened his book bag closed, "And we haven't even hit the Meiji Era yet!"
	Cuin nodded, and closed his bag as well. Standing up, Zen motioned for Cuin to follow, and they began to head down to the school grounds. As they exited the front door, they took a left, and began to head to a small building still located on School premises. It was an old, traditional style Japanese building. Its walls were sliding screen doors, and the floor was made of Tatami Mats.
	"This that Kendo-club your in?" Cuin asked curiously.
	Zen nodded. "Hai. The teacher who uses the room is one you might know very well. At least remember from today. Keep in mind; we have a habit of going a little farther from kendo. As in we also teach each other hand-to-hand combat."
	Cuin shrugged, and slid open one of the screens. A tall man, wearing a Lab coat stood in the doorway, and waved.
	"Oi, Sensei." Zen said in Japanese, "Sorry to be late."
	"The teacher bowed, and stepped aside, letting the two take their shoes off. Zen and Cuin went into the back room, to change into their martial arts clothing. The Sensei, who stood outside began to get impatient, and yelled, "Hayaku!
	Zen exited the changing room, dressed in normal kendo attire. Cuin came after him, dressed in a Gi. "Ready, Sensei." Cuin said, bowing.
	Sensei was surprised by the outfit Cuin was wearing, but still held out his left arm, motioning for them to go into the main room. Entering as He willed, they noticed 4 other students practicing with each other, in traditional one-on-one duels. "They've got good footwork. If they put more strength into their blows, they could see how good they are." Cuin grunted.
	Zen glared at Cuin, "You insulting my fellow students? Keep in mind I'm captain of the kendo club!"
	Cuin picked up a staff from the rack on the wall, and smiled, "Nah, I'm just curious how good they are."
	Zen yelled a quick word in Japanese, and the students stopped their training, and made a single file line, "The Club's got its first victim in the form of a dojo challenger. Show him we mean business. There are no rules. Fight as if your life depends on it. "
	A Student stepped forward, and went to one side of the room, readying his kendo-stick. He looked about 6 feet tall, and had very large muscles. Cuin smiled, and held his staff overhead, and began to spin it in a clockwise direction.
	"FIGHT!" Zen yelled.
	Cuin rushed at the Student, holding the staff behind his back, the majority of the weapon upward. The Student made a quick strike towards Cuin's head with his kendo-stick, but to no avail- Cuin had quickly dodged the blow, ducking under it. As Cuin slammed his head into the student's stomach, he brought the short end of his staff quickly upward, striking in-between the legs. The student keeled over, and sounds of immense pain were moaned from him. Cuin stood there, and began to sweat, a scared look forming on his face.
"Fuck." Cuin said, in a moment of discomfort, "I thought you guys wore cups."
	"Cuin, you have one fault. Basically, it's like a negative to your point. I didn't tell you, but at least let them be able to have kids!" Zen barked at Cuin.
	"Gomen, Gomen." Cuin said.
	Zen smiled, and stepped forward, pulling out a steel kendo-stick. "I won't go easy on you. You should know that better than anyone."
	"What about the other student?" Sensei muttered, and another student answered.
	"We'll bring him to the Nurse." The Student said.
	Cuin smirked, and swung the staff so it was in his left hand as it was before, "Neither shall I.except for the groin move."
	Zen smiled, and they both stood there, motionless, and stared each other down. Finally, Cuin was fed up, and began to charge recklessly at Zen, spinning his staff above his head in a clockwise direction once again. Zen smirked, and did a quick thrust towards Cuin's head. Barely dodging it, Cuin smiled, and brought the Staff down while rotating, bending backwards. The staff struck Zen's face, and He staggered back, and re-gained his composure.
	With a quick retaliation to the staff, Zen hit the staff, causing a vibration in its momentum, and thus messing up its accuracy. Right after the swift blow, Zen made a side-swipe toward Cuin's ribs, and hit with a decisive blow. Cuin lost grip of his Staff, and dropped it, coughing a little. Zen smiled, and muttered, "Are you still going to go through with this?"
	Quick with a reply, Cuin parried away the kendo stick, "A martial artist always has a weapon." As they traded blows, Cuin would parry the strikes toward the head, and Zen would also parry strikes to the chest. After a while, Cuin finally gets tired of this charade. He Grabs Zen's hand and takes him down, twisting his arm until the kendo stick is gained from his grasp. Cuin tosses the weapon hand to hand, and then tosses it to the side.
	"Stop hiding behind your weapon, and Face me like a true combatant." Cuin said, and positioned his feet as if they were a giant letter L.
	Zen Made a quick strike at Cuin, and dodged, and vise versa. For about 2 hours, this hand-to-hand combat continued, and thus, they tired themselves out. The Members of the Kendo club were amazed, Surprised Cuin was able to go against their Sempai one on one, and be just as powerful. As the Club ended, Cuin and Zen sat in the middle of the room, both sweating to the very core. In the end, it was a draw.
"Sukoi! He was able to keep up with Zen-Sempai!" One of the dojo-trainees said as they began to exit the club.
Sensei approached the too, speaking in Japanese, "That was some of the best fighting skills I have ever seen! Despite its lack of ceremonial martial arts, I was amazed by some of the moves you pulled on each other? What did you two train in?"
	Zen replied, "I Trained in JuJutsu, Kenpo, Hapkido, and with some kendo."
	Cuin laughed, "If you're asking about my studies, I went into Tae-kwon-do, Karate, and a lot of self-teaching. I combined Karate and its focus on Hand-to-hand, Tae-kwon-do and its focus on kicks, and my specialty with Weapons .
	Zen said to the Sensei, "Basically, Cuin said he combined martial arts and self-teaching," Zen leaned in, and whispered, "Keep in mind, he quit martial arts both times during the middle ranks because he got bored with the focuses of the certain martial arts."
Sensei was utterly surprised, and stepped back, bowing to both of them for a great match.



" "Tadaima!" Zen said as they entered his house.
"O-kaeri!" Sayuki said from the kitchen, the smell of  food being cooked in the air.
Cuin, enjoyed the smell in the air, and Zen smelled the fragrance of his favorite food, "Spaghetti, eh?" Zen said loudly, while walking to his room, and throwing his bag upon his bed. 
Cuin did the same, but instead of going to the kitchen, he began to Hook up Haruko in his room. As he connected his computer, he heard Zen's loud footsteps enter his room, and Cuin grumbled, "Alright, what do ya need?"
"Nothing," Zen said, "Just curious about how your Work is going."
Cuin sighed, "Meh, Haruko's about hooked up.."
"Then you ready to finish our match from earlier?" Zen said with a smirk on his face." 
"Aight." Cuin smiled, and got out from under his desk, and they headed downstairs into the living room.
After hooking up the PS3, they began to play Armor Core 4, mauling each other. Cuin would take his AC (or Mech) in from below, usually using a tank-style build. Zen, on the other hand, would use a Speed-based AC. On the Screen, you could see a mass of Missiles launching vertically and horizontally, and Cuin and Zen's ACs beating on each other.
	"Dinner's ready!" Sayuki announced, and Zen and Cuin both put down their controllers.
Cuin walked up, counting the score, and cursed, "I knew I should have picked a First person shooter." Cuin grumbled, and turned off the PS3, wishing he had never seen the score.
Entering the kitchen, Zen sat, and smiled at his sister Sayuki, and another girl at the table. As Cuin entered, his eyes widened in shock, and he pointed to the other girl in disbelief.
"Oh yeah," Zen said, and chuckled slightly, "Cuin, meet my sister, Mizuki."
	Mizuki stood up from her chair, and bowed politely. Cuin, unsure what to do, bowed back, "You didn't tell me you had two sisters, and identical ones at that..." Cuin said, as he sat down at the table.
	"Mizuki smiled, and Cuin blushed. Seeing this, Zen smacked Cuin upside the head, and Cuin glared back, "Damn you.." Cuin muttered.
	"Well, you're the one who looks like your flirting with my sister." Zen said angrily.
	"I was just thinking that she was kawaii! What's wrong with that?" Cuin barked back.
	Mizuki giggled, and looked at her brother in fury, "It's alright, onii-chan." She said kindly.
As she said that, he smiled, and they all placed their palms against their other, and whispered, "Itadakimasu."

Chapter 4

After dinner, Zen left and headed towards his room. Cuin stood up, and helped Mizuki and Sayuki with the dishes. Mizuki smiled, and motioned her hand in a waving away fashion. "Don't worry; we take care of this part, so go enjoy."
Cuin sighed, and began to go back to his room, and finished hooking his computer up. As he booted it up, he entered his password, and the pop-ups from his programs began to bombard his monitor.

>Cuin Manari has logged online.
Zen saw the line pop up at the bottom right of his monitor, and messaged Cuin
>CowboyNWN- Took you long enough.
>Cuin Manari- Hey, I was busy -.- I did just literally finish hooking up my computer.
>CowboyNWN- Oh, I know that's an excuse. Whatev, lets go log in
>Cuin Manari- Which game?
>CowboyNWN-Dreadworld baka.
>Cuin Manari- > . > you're an ass
>CowboyNWN- Whatev, log on.
>CowboyNWN has logged into Dreadworld.


Cuin activated the program for Dreadworld, and he logged online. He put on a headset, complete with an external Monitor, Microphone, and headset.
>Your party is online. Currently they are in the dark woods. Do you wish to join them?
The words flashed onto his external screen, and Cuin pressed the key "Y".
As Cuin's screen began to load all of the area around his character, a laugh came over the headset, and a blast of dark magic's went flying by Cuin's head. A character named CowboyNWN had shot a dark spell behind Cuin, and killed a monster ready to strike him once he was fully loaded into the area.
>CowboyNWN- Damnit Cuin
Cuin looked around, and sighed over the microphone. "One sec, still getting ready. I just moved, so stop complaining. I need get my controller."
>CowboyNWN- turn your mic down moron. And what happened to the almighty "Cuin Manari" character?
"The Admins of the US servers are taking their sweet time transferring him. Remember, because we basically saved Dreadworld over 1 year ago, we basically have been reffered to as legends..and they don't want to make it such a big deal where we are. Who knows what that could cause. I'm using a temporary character for now. Cuin Manari should be fully transferred to the Japanese server by tomorrow afternoon." Cuin said over the microphone, digging out his wireless controller, and plugging it into USB port on the front of his towering computer.
>CowboyNWN- XD serves you right for lvling him farther for me.
	He checked the configurations of his character, and all were set correctly. Smiling, Cuin laughed, " So what lvl area we at?"
>CowboyNWN- 45
Cuin gagged, and looked at the name of the zone. It was the Dead forest. "Shit! This is a lvl 45-50 area? Damn, you've almost caught up to Cuin!"
>CowboyNWN- I've been watching a bit less anime though.
"Anyways, let's get going to town, and get another member. If you're planning to power level me, then we should do so with another party member."
>CowboyNWN- No need. Msged a friend of mine to come. You may like her :D
Cuin shrugged, and checked the corpse of a dead enemy. It had been wielding two pistols, weak in caliber but very accurate. Cuin picked them up, and equipped the weapons, checking their ammunition. Both clips held 16 rounds, and the only ammo he had for the pistol was limited to 16 rounds. "Damn..I need more ammo soon," He sarcastically fakes crying over the microphone, "I.I miss my partner."
>CowboyNWN- you mean your shotgun-claymore? I got a really shitty grey that dropped
>CowboyNWN- same style of weapon, but not as powerful.
Cuin smiled, and opened a trade window with Zen's character. The item was transferred to Cuins inventory, and Cuin equipped it as his close-combat weapon, and strapped it to his back. "Thanks."
>CowboyNWN- Np. Enemys inbound. Bout 3
Cuin loaded the shotgun mechanism in his sword, and put it on his back, grabbing the pistols wrapped to his side. The three monsters crashed into the clearing, creating a wave of devastation behind them.
>CowboyNWN- crud
"Wha?" Cuin suddenly noticed why he was surprised without needing explanation. They were all epic enemies. One was a humanoid creature, which height dwarfed Zen's tall creature in comparison. The other two were healer henchmen, both focusing on buffing the Humanoid.
>CowboyNWN- Shes almost here. We need to hold out until then. Just don't die! I don't wanna waste half my gold reviving your ass
"Got it." Cuin tapped a button on his headset, and smirked. On the monitor attached to his headset, the screen went from 3rd person to 1st person, swooping down into his characters point of view. Cuin laughed, and cocked his two pistols.
CowboyNWN looked at cuin, and laughed lightly. He pulled out a staff, and began to cast a buffing spell upon Cuin, which sent his Attributes soaring. Aiming one pistol, Cuin swiftly downed one of the healers with a clean shot to the head.
>CowboyNWN- Damnit! Cuin, stop cheating!!!!!!!!
Cuin laughed into the microphone, and shot at the other healer, immobilizing its left arm and right leg. "If they program it into a game, it's expected to be used. I'm just exercising my rights."
As Cuin said this, the humanoid beast raised its right arm in defiance, which held an immense hammer. Cuin had not seen this coming, and braced for death, closing his eyes. A large howl of pain erupted, and cuin opened his eyes, looking at the screen. An armor clad Human appeared before him, a sword in one hand, and a shield in the other. Behind the human was the beast, which was howling in pain, a wound recently inflicted upon its torso. It charged the human in rage, only to be defeated by a swift amputation of a limb.
>CowboyNWN- Your late
The armored human turned to CowboyNWN, and glared. Looking Closer, Cuin began to notice it was actually a girl character, and began to examine her stats. He also began to dig through her battle files, and Character History. "Hmmm.So you're the famous Hero of the East."
>Haru- Just call me Haru. Now, lets focus on defeating this mob.
>CowboyNWN- Hai
"Got it." Cuin said, and looked at the monster's stats. It was at half health, with an amputation of its main-weapon arm. They would likely be able to down this beast without the need of extensive battle.
>CowboyNWN- k, on my command.  Cuin, go in right, you know your job from there.
"Roger" Cuin smiled, and reloaded his guns, changing his viewpoint from 1st person to 3rd person.
>CowboyNWN- ill stay on heals and support, Haru, go in and tank for us. Keep as much hate as possible.
>Haru- Hai.
>CowboyNWN- NOW
First, Haru charged in front, holding her shield up, and shouting curses and taunting the beast. Thus, it began its assault upon her, bringing down judgment upon her defenses. Not only was she keeping her ground, she was holding fast, her shield never failing its duty.
 After 3 strikes to the opponent, Cuin came charging in behind Haru, jumping onto her shoulder, and off toward the enemies head. Pulling out the pistols, he began to make accurate shots toward its skull, almost 90% of the shots successful. As the clips emptied, Cuin tossed the pistols aside, still in mid air, and unsheathed his claymore. As he neared the creature, it made a strike towards Cuin, but to no avail. Dodging the attack, Cuin landed on its chest, and sheathed the Claymore into it, and pulled the trigger of the shotgun attached to the weapon. The beast howled in pain, and Cuin jumped back, leaving the sword within the beast. "NOW!" Cuin yelled.
CowboyNWN smiled, and began to mutter the arcane magic words of flame, and the sword, still attached to the beast, began to grow in heat. Increasing in temperature, it acted like a knife cutting through butter, melting its way down the creature, thusly splitting it into two, and destroying every remaining health point.
>CowboyNWN- Nice work. Anyways, Cuin, its about 10. we should crash.
Cuin sighed into his microphone, and smirked, "Aight. Haru, Hero of the East, Arigato! And 'night!"
>Cuin has logged offline.
>CowboyNWN has logged offline.
>Haru- well.they sure seem interesting. I heard about the Duo of the West, but I never thought they would be that effective, especially because Cuin is using a replacement character.

Chapter 5

 A loud noise erupted from Cuin's clock, blasting away the silence that had held before. Cuin rolled over, and attempted to hit the "off" button. Hitting the snooze button, he leaned up in bed and yawned. As he looked at the clock, he blankly stared at its screen. 5:45 it read.
 "Insane." Cuin muttered, and got up from his bed. Wandering through the dark, he began to blindly find his way towards the bathroom. After hitting a wall and two doors, he walked into the bathroom, and turned on the lights. It was a blinding moment, and in response to the light, he switched off half of the switches. Sighing, he enjoyed the pleasurable light, in its mellow ways. Inching his way to the shower, he began to turn it to his liking, cranking the water up to maximum heat, and got undressed.

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Zen woke up, and yawned, walking to the shower room as he usually did. There was a difference this morning- the shower was already running. He knocked on the door, "Mizuki, you in there?"
A loud yawn erupted from the bathroom, followed by a voice, "Ohayo gozaimasu, Zen."
"Amazing, sleeping beauty woke up before me! Howed ya do it?" Zen joked, leaning on the wall across from the bathroom.
Again, a yawn erupted from the bathroom, and the squeal of the shower handle being turned as well. As a result, the noise of water stopped, and only drips remained. "Remember? I went to bed before you. After we logged off, you went and played NeverWinter Nights when I was about to crash."
"Oh yeah.." Zen replied, and smirked sinisterly, ".Those poor, poor Newbs."
"Still god of that server huh? Even with your obligation to the Dreadworld Corp?" Cuin said, "Oh, I'll be out in just a sec. drying off."
"You know it." Zen said, and yawned lightly. The door to the bathroom opened, and Cuin came out, Holding his towel around his waist, and walked to his room. Zen grabbed a towel from the nearby Closet. When climbing into the shower after undressing, a loud yell of pain in scorn was released in the bathroom.
"Ah shit.he forgot I love warm showers." Cuin slapped the palm of his hand to his face.

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"Ohayo, Zen, and......Who is this?" A girl said in japanese, bowing to them as they exited their Apartment. It was the same girl from lunch yesterday, the one Zen was chatting with. 
"Ohayo gozaimasu, Satsuki." Zen said, and Zen followed with the introduction, Cuin still confused as to why she is there.
"Cuin, meet Satsuki. She's the friend that talked to me yesterday during lunch. She's our next-door neighbor." Zen turned to Satsuki, and introduced Cuin to her in japanese. Afterward, Zen smiled, "Now, you two get along, neh?"
Cuin bowed, "Pleasure to meet you."
"Same." She said in English, and bowed back.
Cuin laughed, and looked at Zen, "I always thought you were into Tomboyish girls, man?"
"Baka." Zen said.
Before Cuin knew what hit him, he was bashed in the head with a leathery-blunt object. "I'm more tomboyish than you think, moron!" She said well in English.
 Cuin sighed, and stood up, dusting off his school uniform. "Gomenasai." He bowed, and looked to the Zen. "We should get going, shouldn't we?"
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As the bell rang, Students sat in their seats, Cuin and Zen being no exception. Looking around, Cuin realized that Satsuki sat right behind Zen. He then returned attention to the front of the classroom. Moments later, the sensei walked in, placing his papers on the desk, "Yare Yare.." Sensei muttered, and looked up. "Once again, we have two new students.  Apparently the student Board went all out this year. Please welcome Yoko and..." the teacher read the roster again, ".Kitty?"
    As he said their alleged names, Yoko entered the room, and so did Kitty. Yoko was about six feet tall, and Cuin was appauled by her breast's size.  They were so small, you could hardly see any roundness. Oddly enough, though, her eyes were gray, a rare color, and she had long, beautiful hair. It was bright blonde, with strands of Pink hair scattered throughout its tapestry. Her appearance greatly differed from Kitty.
    Kitty was slim and a short girl, with was a great Antithesis. Her hair was short and black, with blue in the back. Her eye color was Brown. It looked as if both of them were made to contrast each other; their differences making them seem complimentary.
    "Would one of you please." Sensei said, and was interrupted by Yoko.
    Yoko stepped forward, and began speaking, "My names Yoko. School may be a bore, but what must be done, has to be done. I love Sushi, Manga, cosmetics, and cooking. I dislike Perverts, Nerds, Otaku, and Gamer Geeks." She then stood back, and smiled purely.
 "Oi, Cuin, I think she wont like us." Zen whispered jokingly.
    "That was..interesting. Now, Kitty, it's your turn." Sensei said. 
    Kitty stepped forward, and bowed. "I'm Kitty. It's an odd name, I know, but it fits me very well. I'm an exchange student from America. I like..well, too many things to list. And dislikes...well, nothing really. Hope to have a good year with everyone." As she steps back, she remembers one thing, "Oh, and I'm great friends with Yoko-sama. You anger her, you anger the Kitty!"
	
Chapter 6

The school bell rang, and many students stood up, and began the mad dash to the cafeteria. Cuin, and Zen smiled, pulling out their bentos, and began to eat in their classroom. "Why do they allow us to eat in the classrooms?" Cuin asked, although he enjoyed it thoroughly.
"Because, insane as it sounds, they trust us students. Plus, if someone makes a mess, the student is responsible for cleaning it up." Zen said, as he bit into a mouthful of Onigiri.
Cuin nodded, and bit into another of his cheese-sticks. They both sat there silently, eating their food, and looking outside. Outside the classroom was a large cherry tree. Although it was nearing winter, the tree looked amazing, despite bearing no blossoms.


"So, we finally meet in person eh?" A girl said to Yoko. The girl had short, brown hair, which fit her slender, attractive body perfectly.
"Yeah," Yoko said, "Harumi, right?"
"Hai," the girl said. "Yoko, I last heard you joined the local server. You know, on Dreadworld."
"Yeah. I heard the Duo of the West recently transferred here. I don't really give a damn about that 'CowboyNWN' Guy. I hear he's a real prick. The one that really interests me is 'Cuin Manari'; The Killer of over five-hundred player characters, and supposedly very heartless, yet daring. I think hes my type." Yoko looked at the girl, a tone of happiness in her voice.
Zen laughed, and turned around, "You know he isn't that bad. He just had some.issues back then."
"Oh really?" Yoko said in rough English, "How do you know? Do you know him?"
Zen glanced back at Cuin, who was zoned out, as if he was in his own separate world, "Yeah, but not well enough to tell you much about him." 
Cuin pivoted his head around, his mind finally reacting to his name, "What about me?"
Yoko looked at Cuin, confused. "You're shitting me. This.excuse of a man is the Human Virus? One of the Duo of the West?"
Cuin nodded, his eyes half open.
Yoko stood up from her chair, and walked over to Cuin. She struck him across the face, slapping him. Her rage was only thoroughly shown through her eyes. "How DARE you claim to be Manari-sama! You are nothing like him."
Cuin smiled, his left eye twitching. Zen saw this, and panic rushed through him, "Ummm-o.I highly suggest you stop that Yoko-san."
Yoko glared at Zen, "I don't give a damn what happens. This man is shit! He is not the Human Virus. He is a Otaku; One with no spine, no life, and nothing to call his great achievement. He. Is. Nothing."
Cuin put both of his hands on his chair, their grip tightening, and he stood up. His eyes were closed, but under his left eye, still, there was a twitch. He slammed his foot into the foot of the chair causing it to slid toward Yoko with gusto, and Yoko stopped it from slamming into herself. Cuin then dashed toward her, while her hands were stopping the chair, and with a grip of death, wrapped his right hand around her throat. She then moved her hands to her throat, trying to remove his grip, but it wouldn't falter. In fact, it only grew tighter. Everyone was frozen in their seats, staring at Cuin with astonished eyes, surprised he had even laid hands upon Yoko- even her beloved Kitty.
 After twenty seconds of this status quo, Zen stood up from his chair calmly, and slammed an elbow into Cuin's open underarm. Cuin's grip of Yoko stopped as he keeled over from the blow, and released. Yoko coughed up some blood, its sweet red color seeping from her mouth. As Cuin lied on the floor, Yoko spat some of her blood upon Cuin, and walked off, infuriated and Kitty followed her.
"Bipolar, arn't we?" Cuin muttered, wiping her blood from his face.

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"Now, the board is ready to hear your case. Say what you will, or say nothing at all." The teacher said, while they sat in the school's council room.
Cuin and Zen were sitting on the far end of the Room, and surrounding the table's length on both sides and opposite end were students and teachers.
"I said it before and ill say it again. I have a horrible, and I mean horrible rage problem. She kept on egging and egging me on, saying I'm a piece of shit, and what-not. I couldn't take it any-more. I snapped, and choked her for..meh, about 15-25 seconds." Then, Zen here," Cuin continued, "saved the situation by slamming his elbow into my underarm and stopping me."
"Allright.being as highly-decorated a student you are, and your many achievements outside school and in the real world, we shall reconsider our options, and talk to you again about this..confrontation. Until then, consider yourself and your actions in school being watched, and judged. You are dismissed." one of the board members said after a long period of silence.
Cuin and Zen both stood up and deeply bowed.

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"I swear to god, Cuin, if you do that again, i'll let you choke the poor victim to death." Zen said angrily as they biked home, "Not only that, but because of this spat, Satsuki wasn't able to come to enjoy lunch with us. You're an asshole."
Cuin laughed, and looked at Zen, "I guess this evens us up? You made me get a C in web design because you copied off my work a couple of years ago."
Zen glared back at Cuin, "Jack-ass. Alright, I guess were even. I swear, you really are a troubled child.by the way, I'm curious, why the hell are you able to laugh after getting in major trouble, and nearly killing a girl?"
Cuin looked ahead, as they sped by many pedestrians, and some slow cars. "I guess.once you have considered yourself crap in your life, and find something worth living for, things come into prospective," he said, and then turned a corner onto their street, "or something like that."
Zen sped ahead of Cuin, and braked before the apartment complex. "What is it you're living for?"
Cuin smirked as they locked their bikes up in front of the apartment, "A true meaning."
Zen shrugged, and they headed up into the building. He stopped, and then turned back to where his bike was, "Almost forgot, we're running low on milk. Mizuki will kill me if I forget. Ja-ne!"
"Ja-ne" Cuin said, still going into the building.

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As Cuin entered his room, he sat at his computer, and took it out of its sleep mode. Entering its password, the terminal lit up, and on the monitor at the bottom right was the "you got mail" message. Cuin clicked on it, and the e-mail popped up on His screen.

From: Anna_Weathers@---------.com
To: CuinManari@hotmail.com
Subject: YOU ASSHOLE!

Alright, what the hell! You Piece of shit! You cut off every way I have to contact you, and try to ignore my calls. You even changed your e-mail! You little shit. I told you, you meant everything to me, but what did I get in return? SHIT! Well? Guess what? I never loved you! I Cheated on you with a different guy EVERY SINGLE DAY we weren't together! Hell, I melted that ring you gave me down. That and I hacked into your main gaia-online account, and stole all of your gold, and changed much of your character into a dick-loving fag. Suck on that, cock-humper! Oh, and by the way- enjoy the virus I attached to your computer, ASSHOLE!



As Cuin read it, his eyes widened, and quickly, he started four virus scans, and three Trojan detectors. While they ran, He leaned back, in his seat, looking at the ceiling. "Why the hell do I bother?" He muttered to himself, "Why do I bother taking chances? Why do I let others in, only to get hurt? Why have I changed? I loved her.I was open.and all I got was hell."
Cuin sighed, and looked at the monitor again. The virus scanners found over 200 corrupted files, but nothing he couldn't fix. The Trojan finders came up empty, and he exited them. He clicked on the virus scanners, and told them to repair what they could of the corrupted files, and replace the un-fit.
"This is why I gave up on love- this is why I don't give a damn about myself. This is why I smile at those small troubles we call shitty moments." Cuin said, his face in a very cold, blank stare, with no smile, no joy, but a very empty look.

Chapter 7

Walking down the street, Zen looked around. Even though they lived in the city, the town was fairly nice, and many kind-hearted people lived here. Not once - so far - has he run across a shady person. Pulling out his Phone, he brought up the map of the local area. He noticed that some alleys would lead him easily to a local grocery store. Closing his phone, and pocketing it, he turned into the alleys, and started along his new trek.
"I wonder if Cuin's ok." Zen muttered to himself, ".he didn't seem that cheerful when he went inside.."
Zen shrugged, and turned at an intersection. While walking down the path, he saw something shining on the wall. It seemed to be like a sticker, but something about it seemed..interesting. Out of fascination, he stopped, and examined it. It appeared to be a sticker with the word, 'Lone Tiger' printed in bold English. In the letter o, it looked as if a cat had made a scratch, and behind the word tiger was a grand, white tiger. Its mane was a perfect white, but its teeth, which were being bared fiercely were stained in blood. In the background was a large, full moon.
Zen nodded in approval, "Good style- a great balance of colors. Probably just some company for a shitty product, but their logo is quite brilliant." He stepped back, and returned to his stroll. Stopping at another intersection, he pulled out his phone, and looked around. It seemed he had gotten lost in the backwaters of the stores. The phone couldn't pick up a signal, and Zen sighed, and still attempted to use his phone.
"So, the deal goes like this- You get off our turf, and me and my friends here will cut you some slack. We understand you're a new Yakuza Group around here, but putting your logo on every building, lamp, or mailbox makes it a problem with us." A boy said in Japanese, his voice emanating from the right pathway.
Zen, now curious as to what was going on, closed in on the voices silently. Peeking around the corner, he saw many Yakuza standing firm at ground level, while a gang of thugs leaned up against a loading dock to a Store. The apparent leader of the band of vermin appeared to be a boy, roughly guessed to be about 19. He was sitting on the loading dock, looking down at the Yakuza.
"You understand?" The boy said.
"Oh, I understand," One of the Yakuza, who stood out like a sore thumb, said, "I understand you all are scared to get the shit beaten out of you by an organized group."
The head Yakuza shifted his weight from leg to leg, his arms crossed. Even though Zen was viewing this event from their backs, he had an idea of how intimidating their presence was. The Man, who was apparently the head of the Yakuza group, was extremely tall: about 6' 7. His hair was green, and his muscles were easily noticable.
"You bitch," Said one of the thugs, as he stood up fully, and began to approach him. While approaching him, the thug was interrupted by their leader.
"No. For your own sake, I will not let you lay one finger on 'em. Instead, I plan to make an example of all of these shits. We have been having recent uprisings against our ways, and its high-time we show we mean business around here." The boy said, Jumping down from the loading dock, and approached The Yakuza group.
Zen sighed, and hid behind the wall. It would be better if he didn't interfere, so thus, he started to walk away silently. Just as his first step hit the ground, he realized he wouldn't be able to get away silently. He kicked a discarded mp3 player accidentally, its metallic skid heard loud and clear.
"Wait..?" The boy said, and one of the thugs came from the corner, looking first the other way, and then straight at Zen. Seeing Zen, the Thug grabbed a stick that was attached to his belt, and removed it. Pressing a button upon the stick, a blade popped out.
 Zen sighed, and held up his hands, "Look, I mean no harm. I just was going to the grocery sto." The thug didn't even listen to the rest. Charging at Zen, He jabbed the blade at his stomach. Zen easily grabbed ahold of the Thugs wrist before the blade even struck, and kneed the mans elbow, breaking it. As the Thug dropped the Knife, Zen finished the little tustle with a quick strike to the Thug's neck. The Thug keeled over, the attack having struck a pressure point, and knocking him out.
"You take care of it?" The boy called to the thug. Not willing to find out the boys reaction, Zen bolted out from the alley, and started to walk amongst a crowd.
"Well, that was unexpected." Zen muttered, and pulled out his phone again, looking as to where he was.

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"I'm home." Satsuki said as she opened the door to her Mom's apartment.
 Closing the door behind her, she received no reply. As she headed to her room, she saw a note posted on her door. 

Dear Satsuki,

I'll be home around 8. There's leftover Spaghetti in the fridge for dinner. Remember to feed Moonlight and check her water.

-Love, Mom


Satsuki sighed, and threw her bag onto her bed. Then, as she sat down at her bed, she turned on the TV, and began to go through her bag, pulling out her homework.
"..just came to our attention that the globally used game 'Dreadworld' was once again struck with awe, as over 100 players of the Japanese server were slain. This attack was the first in over five years, its culprit's character known by many names." The TV was apparently on a news channel, but Satsuki paid no attention. She turned off the Television, and began to start on her homework.

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"Yare Yare." Zen said, as he walked down the street from the Grocery store, "Sure hope Cuin gets used to eating healthy."
As he walked, he overheard the TV's in a electronics' store, and hearing the word 'Dreadworld', he stopped, and had a look at the news.
".Cuin Manari, known on American servers as 'The Human Virus', or as we at JNN liked to call him, 'The Demon of Fire'. 5 years ago, He and a band of player characters fought against a faction of Hackers, saving the game Dreadworld from Deletion. This band was made up of many Player Characters, but the most distinguished was CowboyNWN, another one of the Demons of Dreadworld; 'The Demon of Ice'. For over 3 years, the two have worked to restore balance to Dreadworld as the head American server administrators. Over a year ago, CowboyNWN had taken residence in Japanese servers, and is on break from his company due to his educational obligations. Cuin has recently taken upon the same choice. This attack upon the players of Dreadworld is obviously going to result in Cuin's pun." The reporter said.
Zen Sighed, and pulled out his cell. He called Cuin's phone, but all he received was his answering machine. "Yo.Cuin here. You know what to do after the beep."
 The answering machine made a beep, "Yo, Cuin, it's Zen. Congrats, you've made the news. I'm guessing that what Yoko said got to ya. Well, I'll talk to the superiors, and explain to them the details. Sure, well get a slap on the wrists, probably in the form of a scolding from the heads of the corp, but you know what to do to deal with it. Anyways, I'll be there soon, I got the milk." He hanged up, and pocketed the phone. 
Looking up at the sky, He saw on the horizon large, puffy clouds, "It's going to snow." He chuckled joyfully.

Chapter 8

>Haru has logged online.
>Haru: Hello, Fire Demon.
>Cuin Manari: Hey Haru, sup?
>Haru: nm. You've made the news you know.
>Cuin Manari: .
>Haru: What awoke the Human Virus? What awoke the Demon of Fire?
>Cuin Manari: .I Choked a girl today.
>Haru: Oh? And choking this girl caused your slaughter today?
>Cuin Manari: .Ya know, why do I bother to tell you? I don't know you. You don't know me. It's kind'a pointless to tell a bystander my problems
>Haru: Ma, ma.just tell me the problem. I may be closer than you think.
>Cuin Manari: > > Stalker
>Haru: No. just a friend.
>Cuin Manari: *sigh* Alright, what happened was this girl at school.

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THe Yakuza group began to walk out of the docking area. Many limped and ached, but were unharmed- for the other group, it was not so. bloodied bodies of the remaining gang members lied motionless on the ground. Not only did the 'talk' with the local gang go wrong, but the remaining gang members, including the leader, all teamed up on Them. They were outnumbered, and caught by surprise. Even though they beat them all, the thought that they were followed and had not noticed a hint of being pursued bothered their Leader. He felt as if he was loosing his touch.
The Leader spat some blood from his mouth onto the ground, and looked down. There laid the body of the gang member who had gone to check out the perpetrator who had seen their 'negotiation'. His right Arm's elbow was broke, and the Knife he was wielding was across the ground. He was still unconscious, and his brawny features made this scene even more hideous.
"Everyone, look around for anything of suspicion. Ipods, an ID, hell, even a camera will do." Said the Leader.
One of the other Yakuza nodded, "Got'cha, Sir."
He looked around, seeing if he could find anything that could help them find who had followed them. Scanning over the scene once more, They found nothing.
Thus, they continued out of the alley, heading toward Headquarters. If luck was on their side, the boss would have some knowledge of a Cop keeping tabs on the Yakuza's family.

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Kitty Sneezed, and looked up from her Manga.
"Oi, Miss?" A Woman said in Japanese as she walked toward Kitty, "The library will be closing soon. If you would like, you can check out that book."
Kitty stood up, and brushed off her school uniform. Since Yoko disappeared after school ended, and Harumi-chan headed home to clean her house, she had been alone. Thus, she went to the library, and began to read all of the manga they had.
"Thanks for telling me. Yes, I'd like to check-out these Mangas if you don't mind." Kitty said, as she picked up 4 manga. Handing them over to the Librarian, she followed her to the main desk. 

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"Tadaima!" Zen said, as he entered the apartment.
"Okairi..." Cuin said, as he walked sleepily toward the kitchen.
Zen placed the groceries down on the kitchen counter, and looked around, "Where's my sisters?"
Cuin yawned, and opened the fridge, and peered inside it blankly, "Dunno. They must've gone to their cooking club."
Zen shrugged, "I guess. So, how's it going?"
"Meh. Decent." Cuin leaned into the fridge, and pulled out a pitcher. It was labeled "Death juice", which was Cuin and Zen's favorite mixture of sodas. It was a combination of Rootbeer, Coke, and Mountain Dew in a smooth, bitter yet sweet blend.
"Heh. Not what my intuition is saying." Zen said, and he sat down on one of the stools in front of the counter, "What that Yoko-san said earlier really pissed you off huh?"
Cuin looked up at Zen while he poured the contents of the pitcher into a glass, "What? My outburst in school wasn't enough to show my anger?"
"I'm just saying, it must have gone deep, if you reverted back to your old ways for just a while." Zen said, motioning his hands for a glass of the stuff. Cuin obliged, and pulled out another glass.
"Well.yeah. It reminded me.of my father when he was an asshole. You remember the stories I told you, right?" Cuin said, pouring the drink into the glass.
"Yeah. It just got me a little worried." Zen said, as Cuin slid the drink to him on the counter. He took a long gulp, and brought the glass down.
"Well, don't. You know what happens when people worry about me. It's all for naught." Cuin said, leaning against the fridge as he drank.
Zen nodded, and drank, "But still...don't worry man. She's got nothing on you. Hell, she doesn't even know your name." He laughed.
Cuin chuckled, and then some of the drink shot out his nose, "FUCK!" He yelled, placing the glass down on the counter, and going for the paper towels.
Zen laughed, and Cuin grabbed a handful of paper towels, wiping up as much of the drink from his face as possible, "Damn this stuff burns like hell."
Zen shrugged, and finished his glass. "Anyways, you better? Oh, and did you get that message I sent you?"
Cuin nodded, and threw the paper towels in the trash, sniffling a little, "yeah. Don't worry, I'll deal with them. It's my fault, so I should take the blame."
Zen Nodded, and stood up, "Alright, if you say so. Well, I'm off to do some R and R in Armor Core 4."
"A'ight. Kick their asses for me." Cuin said, kneeling down and cleaning up the floor, 
Zen nodded, and walked off toward the TV.

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Harumi leaned back in her computer chair, looking at her screen. She read over the talk she and Cuin had 3 times, but still, she was surprised. She knew the legendary Fire demon - The Human Virus. At first, she brought it up to be pure coincidental, but none the less, she was amazed. Amazed at how soft he was, how kind he was. The rumors of Cuin Manari stretched far. Some claimed he is a heartless man, bent on the utter pain of others.  But she, she could see what he truly was, if what she saw was indeed true. A boy, wounded by society, tampered by his parents, and warped by his own view of himself- trying to control the very beast within.
She leaned forward, and looked at a select part of the conversation that spoke out to her like a fire in the night sky.
>Cuin Manari: Do you really want to know me? To be my friend? Your funeral. Tomorrow at 5pm, meet me at the Cosplay Resteraunt downtown. I'll even drag along CowboyNWN for kicks.
>Haru: Nah, I just want to meet you. Personally, I think CowboyNWN is quite.well, cold.
>Cuin Manari: *shrug* whatev. Anyways, meet me then. Later.
>Cuin Manari has gone AFK (Away From Keyboard)

Chapter 9

Harumi Walked into Class the next morning. As usual, she noticed Yoko and Kitty talking in their seats, and Zen and the foreign exchange student were nowhere to be found. They usually arrived with a few minutes to spare, but occasionally they were late. She walked to her seat, put her school-bag down on the desk, and sat with Kitty and Yoko. "Ohayou Gozaimasu." Harumi said cheerfully.
" Ohayou..." Yoko yawned.
"Late Night, huh?" Harumi asked.
"Yeah, some neighbor was yelling at his wife late at night. The Moron didn't quite down until 3 in the morning." Yoko said, wiping her eyes, "Anyways, you seem to be in a good mood today. What happened?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Plus, you'd be striken with rage if I did." Harumi giggled.
"Ok, now we have to know." Kitty said. In unison, Kitty and Yoko demanded, "Tell us. Now."
"Alright, alright," Harumi said, her cheeks flustering a light red, "I'm meeting Cuin Manari in a Cosplay café today after school. You know.The Cuin Manari."
"No. Freaking. Way." Yoko said, astonished.
"Uh-huh. It appears he's in the same town as us, in fact, he may be in the same school as us."
Kitty blurted out a thought, "You know, that kid from yesterday..The spacy one..he has the same first name. Think he might be him?"
Yoko laughed, "An airhead like him? No chance in hell. Manari-sama is cruel, heartless, yet kind..no way he would let himself be cooped up in a school all day."
The door opened behind them, and they all turned to look who it was. It was the two from yesterday. The one, which Zen claimed to be Cuin, walked in the room first, and headed toward them. Zen headed to his desk, but stopped to watch Cuin.
Cuin stopped in front of Yoko and bowed to her deeply. "I am extremely sorry about my actions yesterday. Is there anything I could do to make it up to you?"
Yoko smirked, and motioned her hand so he would look in her eyes, "Dont worry; your an Otaku. These things always occur because of Otaku. Consider it forgiven."
Obviously, he was angered by her response, but none-the-less, he walked away, and sat down with Zen at their seats.
Yoko returned to the conversation, "Do you guys know about any cops looking into recent gang activities?"
Harumi looked at Yoko with an eye cocked, "So you saw the news last night too, huh?"
"Yeah, a whole gang that had supremacy over the local area wiped out. Only one lived, and even he doesnt know the details." Kitty said smirking.
Yoko giggled, "I saw a little bit of the news as I was cooking todays bento. I was a bit suprized. I thought this part of Japan had the least gang activity."
"Yeah, Japan does have a good judicial system." Kitty Nodded.
While the three of them talked amongst themselves, Zen couldn't help but listen in. He realized that they were talking about that Yakuza's gang fight yesterday. He broke out in a light sweat. What if they found out he was there? He knew he would go through a living hell. Either way, He had to keep everyones suspicion of him on the down-low. Thus, he would act as he usually did.

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As the lunch bell rang, Many students rushed the doors to the hallway. Cuin and Zen left the classroom this time, and headed to the Dojo. Satsuki waved to them as they approached the Old Dojo, "Finally felt like coming to hang out for lunch?"
Zen shrugged, "Something like that."
They took off their shoes, and sat on the edge of the dojo, with their food beside them. Outside the screen door was a Beautiful Cherry tree. Although it had finally snowed last night, the weather was oddly warm. They ate their Bento's rather quickly, and with the time remaining, attempted to make Snow-men. In the end, Zen and Satsuki made a Snowman with their leftover food. When they weren't looking, Cuin dropped kicked the snowman, and both of them laid waste to his organs with pressure-point strikes and various punches and kicks.

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As the school bell rang again, the students stood up, and began packing their bags.
"Yo, Zen, I gotta be somewhere today, I'll see ya later." Cuin told zen as he walked past him.
"In a hurry, huh?" Zen called out, though by then, Cuin had already vanished into the mob of students vacating the premises, "Yare yare, ok, don't invite me along."

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As Harumi approached the Cosplay Café, she took a deep breath. What if he was as Yoko-san had said? What if he was a cold hearted man.
Harumi snapped her moral back into position. She had talked to Manari-sama. He was not a bad person; Just a very troubled one. Harumi took another deep breath, followed by a relaxing exhale. "Gambaruzo." She muttered under her breath, and entered the café.
"Irasshai, Ojo-sama."  Said a waitress dressed up in a maids outfit.
"Is there a table taken under the name 'Manari'? I happen to be part of his group." Harumi asked the Waitress.
"Hai, He's in the corner booth over there." The maid pointed to a far corner, which had one side lined with windows, and the other side against the wall. There was someone in the booth, but their back was turned to Harumi.
Harumi walked up to the booth, and sat down across from the person, "Gomenasai about being late."
"Meh, your right on time." Said the boy in japanese with an American accent.
 Harumi looked at Manari-sama, and stuttered, "Yo.You!" She realized who it was. It was the classmate that choked Yoko yesterday. It was the boy who claimed to be Cuin Manari!
Cuin looked at her, puzzled, "Huh? Have we met IRL before?"
Harumi stared at Cuin, dumbfounded. How could this boy forget so easily? "Aijou Haisuku-ru, Class 7-A, Harumi. I'm friends with Yoko-san."
"EH! No way!" Cuin leaned in surprised, "I thought you didn't know what caused me to snap yesterday."
"Well, after you told me, it seemed kind of.familiar. Once I saw you here, I was a bit suprized really." Harumi said, smiling.
 "So..do you now believe I'm The Cuin Manari?" Cuin chuckled jokingly.
"Hai, Hai..but really, was it necessary to choke Yoko?" Harumi asked.
"Ye.no. I am extremely sorry about that. I just..I snapped. She was.she was just like her..them...all of them. I've been stressed for a while.with school, my past, and whatnot.and that.that just made me snap. I am extremely sorry about it." Cuin said silently, but still comprehensively.
"Ma, Ma..it's alright. It happens." Harumi said.
As they talked, the waitress that directed Harumi to the table walked up to the booth. "Gomenasai about the wait. My names Kitty, how may I serve you two, Ojo-sama, Shujin-sama?" Kitty was at first opening a pad and paper, and then looked at Harumi, and then Cuin.
"Kitty-san!" Harumi said, "I didn't know you worked here!"
Cuin looked at Kitty blankly, muttering under his breath, "Neko.chan?"

Chapter 10

Harumi Walked into Class the next morning. As usual, she noticed Yoko and Kitty talking in their seats, and Zen and the foreign exchange student were nowhere to be found. They usually arrived with a few minutes to spare, but occasionally they were late. She walked to her seat, put her school-bag down on the desk, and sat with Kitty and Yoko. "Ohayou Gozaimasu." Harumi said cheerfully.
" Ohayou..." Yoko yawned.
"Late Night, huh?" Harumi asked.
"Yeah, some neighbor was yelling at his wife late at night. The Moron didn't quite down until 3 in the morning." Yoko said, wiping her eyes, "Anyways, you seem to be in a good mood today. What happened?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Plus, you'd be striken with rage if I did." Harumi giggled.
"Ok, now we have to know." Kitty said. In unison, Kitty and Yoko demanded, "Tell us. Now."
"Alright, alright," Harumi said, her cheeks flustering a light red, "I'm meeting Cuin Manari in a Cosplay café today after school. You know.The Cuin Manari."
"No. Freaking. Way." Yoko said, astonished.
"Uh-huh. It appears he's in the same town as us, in fact, he may be in the same school as us."
Kitty blurted out a thought, "You know, that kid from yesterday..The spacy one..he has the same first name. Think he might be him?"
Yoko laughed, "An airhead like him? No chance in hell. Manari-sama is cruel, heartless, yet kind..no way he would let himself be cooped up in a school all day."
The door opened behind them, and they all turned to look who it was. It was the two from yesterday. The one, which Zen claimed to be Cuin, walked in the room first, and headed toward them. Zen headed to his desk, but stopped to watch Cuin.
Cuin stopped in front of Yoko and bowed to her deeply. "I am extremely sorry about my actions yesterday. Is there anything I could do to make it up to you?"
Yoko smirked, and motioned her hand so he would look in her eyes, "Dont worry; your an Otaku. These things always occur because of Otaku. Consider it forgiven."
Obviously, he was angered by her response, but none-the-less, he walked away, and sat down with Zen at their seats.
Yoko returned to the conversation, "Do you guys know about any cops looking into recent gang activities?"
Harumi looked at Yoko with an eye cocked, "So you saw the news last night too, huh?"
"Yeah, a whole gang that had supremacy over the local area wiped out. Only one lived, and even he doesnt know the details." Kitty said smirking.
Yoko giggled, "I saw a little bit of the news as I was cooking todays bento. I was a bit suprized. I thought this part of Japan had the least gang activity."
"Yeah, Japan does have a good judicial system." Kitty Nodded.
While the three of them talked amongst themselves, Zen couldn't help but listen in. He realized that they were talking about that Yakuza's gang fight yesterday. He broke out in a light sweat. What if they found out he was there? He knew he would go through a living hell. Either way, He had to keep everyones suspicion of him on the down-low. Thus, he would act as he usually did.

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As the lunch bell rang, Many students rushed the doors to the hallway. Cuin and Zen left the classroom this time, and headed to the Dojo. Satsuki waved to them as they approached the Old Dojo, "Finally felt like coming to hang out for lunch?"
Zen shrugged, "Something like that."
They took off their shoes, and sat on the edge of the dojo, with their food beside them. Outside the screen door was a Beautiful Cherry tree. Although it had finally snowed last night, the weather was oddly warm. They ate their Bento's rather quickly, and with the time remaining, attempted to make Snow-men. In the end, Zen and Satsuki made a Snowman with their leftover food. When they weren't looking, Cuin dropped kicked the snowman, and both of them laid waste to his organs with pressure-point strikes and various punches and kicks.

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As the school bell rang again, the students stood up, and began packing their bags.
"Yo, Zen, I gotta be somewhere today, I'll see ya later." Cuin told zen as he walked past him.
"In a hurry, huh?" Zen called out, though by then, Cuin had already vanished into the mob of students vacating the premises, "Yare yare, ok, don't invite me along."

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As Harumi approached the Cosplay Café, she took a deep breath. What if he was as Yoko-san had said? What if he was a cold hearted man.
Harumi snapped her moral back into position. She had talked to Manari-sama. He was not a bad person; Just a very troubled one. Harumi took another deep breath, followed by a relaxing exhale. "Gambaruzo." She muttered under her breath, and entered the café.
"Irasshai, Ojo-sama."  Said a waitress dressed up in a maids outfit.
"Is there a table taken under the name 'Manari'? I happen to be part of his group." Harumi asked the Waitress.
"Hai, He's in the corner booth over there." The maid pointed to a far corner, which had one side lined with windows, and the other side against the wall. There was someone in the booth, but their back was turned to Harumi.
Harumi walked up to the booth, and sat down across from the person, "Gomenasai about being late."
"Meh, your right on time." Said the boy in japanese with an American accent.
 Harumi looked at Manari-sama, and stuttered, "Yo.You!" She realized who it was. It was the classmate that choked Yoko yesterday. It was the boy who claimed to be Cuin Manari!
Cuin looked at her, puzzled, "Huh? Have we met IRL before?"
Harumi stared at Cuin, dumbfounded. How could this boy forget so easily? "Aijou Haisuku-ru, Class 7-A, Harumi. I'm friends with Yoko-san."
"EH! No way!" Cuin leaned in surprised, "I thought you didn't know what caused me to snap yesterday."
"Well, after you told me, it seemed kind of.familiar. Once I saw you here, I was a bit suprized really." Harumi said, smiling.
 "So..do you now believe I'm The Cuin Manari?" Cuin chuckled jokingly.
"Hai, Hai..but really, was it necessary to choke Yoko?" Harumi asked.
"Ye.no. I am extremely sorry about that. I just..I snapped. She was.she was just like her..them...all of them. I've been stressed for a while.with school, my past, and whatnot.and that.that just made me snap. I am extremely sorry about it." Cuin said silently, but still comprehensively.
"Ma, Ma..it's alright. It happens." Harumi said.
As they talked, the waitress that directed Harumi to the table walked up to the booth. "Gomenasai about the wait. My names Kitty, how may I serve you two, Ojo-sama, Shujin-sama?" Kitty was at first opening a pad and paper, and then looked at Harumi, and then Cuin.
"Kitty-san!" Harumi said, "I didn't know you worked here!"
Cuin looked at Kitty blankly, muttering under his breath, "Neko.chan?"

Chapter 11

Harumi yawned loudly, as she walked toward the school. As usual, her father woke her up rudely early-at about 4 or 5 - When he was heading off to work. She usually rose at around 6, and ran to be just barely on time. Sadly, recently, her father had received a new job in Tokyo, and thus, he had to regularly wake up at such a horrid hour and trek to work.
 As she walked, once again, she yawned, closing her eyes instinctively, and bringing her right arm up to cover her mouth as it was widely open. Instantly, a swift slap to her back woke her up swiftly, which was followed by a familiar voce, "Ohiyo, Haru-san!"
Harumi gagged, and turned angrily toward the assailant. "Ugh.. I almost thought I was going to swallow my Tongue.wait, why the hell are you up so early, Yoko?" Harumi said to Yoko, who was the one who had struck her.
"Isn't that obvious? So you wont be able to tell Manari-sama to avoid me.or so you can introduce me to him as soon as possible, I can't really tell." Yoko said cheerfully, her strands of pink hair glinting in the ascending sun.
".Ha.Hai," Harumi nodded, as she looked up at the sky. It was an amazing blend of red, orange, and some blue, "Sukoi."
Yoko looked up as well, and giggled, "Kajitsu."
After a while, as they entered school grounds, Yoko turned to Harumi, "So, What class is he in?"
"A-7," Harumi said, slightly blushing.
"Oh?" Yoko looked at Harumi, "Neh? Is he cute? Or do you have a crush on him? Or..don't tell me..that I already know him?!?"
"CHIGAW! I don't have a crush on him! And like hell I got to tell you, you will be meeting him soon enough!"
Yoko looked ahead, and they entered the school, and began to change into their school shoes, ".Fair enough."
After they changed into their appropriate footwear, they walked toward class. They passed by the cafeteria. Through the corner of her eye, she spotted Zen, who was inserting money into a vending machine. "Kuso," Harumi thought, "He's here..so Cuin should be in the Classroom."
They ascended the stairs, and headed to their classroom. Before entering the door, Yoko said to Harumi, "You know, you never did answer my last question."
Harumi opened the door, and there sat before them a boy, at a height of about 5'7, who was wearing the school's uniform and a hoodie with a zipper over it. The Hoodie's zipper was undone, exposing the schools shirt, and the hood was up over his head. Apparently, the boy was reading a manga, SOMEDAY'S DREAMERS: Spellbound, which, from reviews, often was referred to as 'Riveting.' Harumi walked up, and tapped on the boys back, and was responded to with a somewhat laid-back English slang, "Hey, Fucker, if you claim they didn't have Root beer one more time."
The boy leaned his head back over the restraint of the chair. His hoodie fell off, and revealed his face. It was Cuin, obviously, with his school-widely famous 'Half open deep-blue eyes, and brown hair.'
"Ohiyo, Ma." Harumi was saying, and was swiftly pushed aside by Yoko.
"You have no idea how much of a honor it is to finally meet you!" Yoko bowed, in an unusually formal fashion, and spewed words out of her mouth as if they were on fire, "I Mean, it is not every day you meet the great Manari-sama."
Cuin, still with his head upside down, yawned, and still stared at Yoko blankly. He turned his head to Harumi, "What. The. Hell. Did you drug her? Or. did you tell her?"
"I.I told her earlier, before we met." Harumi stuttered as she explained.
"Well, I guess it can't be helped. " Cuin looked at Yoko. "Yeah, Cuin Manari, at your service." Cuin got up from his chair, and turned to Yoko. She looked at Cuin, and Realized who he was. Her mouth was gaping open, as she pointed wordlessly at Cuin.
"Oh yeah, I remember now, you weren't here when I transferred to this school. No wonder you don't know my Real name. It's Cuin Manari." Cuin said, again yawning. "Damn, mornings aren't my thing.where the hell is Zen?"
"Oh, I saw him in the café, getting something from the vending machines." Harumi remarked.
"You..you really are Manari-sama? Cuin Manari? One of the Duo of the West? The Human Virus? The Demon of Fire?"
"Well, its about time you figured it out. I told you once, but I guess you needed further proof." Zen said as he entered the room.
"You! The one that claimed he was Manari-sama!" Yoko said bluntly.
"Yeah. This fucker here is the one and only Cuin Manari, the Demon of fire. You probably won't believe me either, but I'm CowboyNWN, the Demon of Ice.
"EH!?" Both Harumi and Yoko screamed, while Cuin stole a drink from Zen. They both stood still, in shock by what Zen had just said
"Yatta! Rootbeer!" Cuin drank it joyfully. He finished the drink in the time the four were silent.
"You know," Harumi finally broke their silence, "From the way you two act online, you would expect your personalities to be switched."
"Phht," Zen spat, "Most of those rumors you hear online is after 7 years of alteration. No one really wrote down our story. Thus, because of the rumors, we have become to look like both saints and devils. It all depends on who you're getting your information from."
"Yeah," Cuin said, "My problem is I think too much. Hell, I'll admit, I have a high IQ, but like I said, my problem is what causes me to over think things, and get into bloody rages. I think about past, future, and present. It ain't a real pretty mixture, If I do say so myself. Back then, I would let my rage control me, and unleash it upon digital things. Data has no feelings, and thus can be cut, burned, altered, and destroyed, without much fallback. Basically, my gaming is a release, an escape."
Zen nodded, "For me, gaming has always been my life. I'm cold by nature. Long story short, some things happened in my life that made me this way. I won't be as revealing as Cuin, but my gaming is what makes me feel alive. Thus, me and him," Zen prodded Cuin with a finger, "have always made a great team. He goes into a bloody rage; I stay back, and calculate what I should kill, who I should kill, how I should kill it."
Harumi and Yoko Nodded, and then Yoko bowed. "It was a pleasure to finally formally meet you both."
Cuin laughed loudly, and held his hand down to her. "No need to bow- were unsophisticated Americans. Plus, you said yourself at the beginning of this year- you don't like otaku, do you?"
Yoko looked at Cuin's hand and leaned up. She smiled, and then out of the blue, hugged Zen, "SUKI!" Yoko Cheered as she jumped on Zen.
"EH!?!?!?!?" Cuin and Zen yelled surprised.
"Heartless, cold, yet caring in your own way. I LOVE IT!" Yoko Said, still hugging Zen.
  As Yoko still hugged Zen, the door opened, and another student was standing in the doorway. It was Satsuki, and she was beat red as soon as she saw Yoko hugging Zen.
"Its not what it looks like!" Zen said, but wasn't heard, or even listened to. Satsuki slammed the door, and her footsteps were heard as she ran through the hallway.

Chapter 12

"Hey, Zen." Cuin said as he knocked on Zen's bedroom Door, "You cant lock yourself up in your room all day. Just because some misunderstanding happened doesn't mean you should place yourself under a protective barrier."
"Mmmfff..." A noise echoed from Zen's room, followed by the door unlocking. As Zen opened the door, Cuin laughed at what he saw. Before him stood Zen wearing nothing but his boxers, his room around him littered with empty Coke Cans, "What do ya want? You woke me up early."
"..Well, yeah, for two Reasons. One: to get your ass out of the house and to have a good time. Two: The anime series based off Chu Chu Aishte has its release today in Akihabara."
"But we got school." Zen yawned.
"Nah. Its Christmas Break. We're free for now." Cuin chuckled, and yawned himself, "Damn, its contagious."
Zen looks into his room at his Clock, "Five in the morning? Are you mad?"
"Well, Dude, there will be one hell of a line. Plus, It takes us about an hour to get there via train from where we're at." Cuin yawned again, "God Damnit..now I'm yawning again..mornings, as usual."
Zen and Cuin slowly got dressed and ready to go out. As they passed Zen's Sister's rooms, Zen took a peek inside. To his amazement, they were still soundly asleep. As they inched their way toward the front door, the Duo of the west exited the room without a trace of noise. Before walking away, Cuin locked the door, and turned around, his eyes a fourth open, half of how wide they usually were. While yawning, He walked forwards- straight into the neighbor's front door.
"ITEH!" Cuin fell back onto the floor, and whispered in immense pain, grabbing his forehead.
"Aho," Zen muttered, "Look before you walk."
While the two argued amongst each other, the Neighboring door made the sounds of a lock being removed, and was opened. Before them stood Satsuki, drinking a tea. She was wearing Pajamas of a normal type, decorated with bunnies and carrots across its white exterior. "Ohiyo Gozaimasu."
"o-Ohiyo Gozaimasu, Zen replied in japanese, "Gomenasai, Cuin's a bit blind in the morning."
"Well," Cuin said, holding his forehead and regaining his composure while standing up, "I was meaning to ask Satsuki if she would like to come along as well."
"Honto?" Satsuki said in a surprised manner.
"Hai, "Cuin nodded his head.
"Well.one second, let me get myself put together." Satsuki said, closing the door behind her as she went back in.
"You..planned this from the very beginning, didn't you?" Zen said silently, glaring at Cuin suspiciously.
"Ma, maybe, maybe not." Cuin muttered, as he cracked his knuckles, by applying pressure on the knuckles directly, snapping them from side to side. While they still waited during this time, Cuin snapped his elbows as well in the movements of stretching them, as he also did with his neck. "Yo-ish-o." He muttered as he did this. Zen yawned once again, and looked at his watch. It was only 30 minutes past five. They still had enough time to get there before the mob of fans appeared.
"Arigato." Satsuki said, as she emerged from her room. She wore a beautiful Long, Red coat, outlined in a white fur. She also wore heeled Boots. 
"Kawaii," Cuin said instinctively. Swiftly, Zen smashed the palm of his hand into Cuin's lower right kidney. After kneeling for several Minutes, Cuin rose from his wounds, and chuckled.
"Simimasen.." He breathed lightly, and they departed from the apartment into the cold, Snowy weather.

Chapter 13

As they walked on the snow-covered sidewalk, Zen sneaked glances every now and then toward Satsuki. He screwed up the relationship over one week ago with a big misunderstanding with her, or so he thought. He sighed, and looked upward at the weather, "God I love this weather..." Zen said to himself.
"I don't know how you can like this damn temp," Cuin said bitterly, "...it's like nature wants to freeze a piece of meat off your ass for itself."
"Well, It does come with this part of the Hemisphere," Satsuki said in English to Cuin. He nodded back, shivering still.
"I still don't like it..." Cuin muttered.
"OH! There's a coffee house! Lets get something warm to help Cuin out." Satsuki said, pointing out a nearby Coffee shop.
"Something warm?" Cuin looked at the coffee house. They all entered it instinctively, the warm air rushing over them as a relieving breeze.
"Yo-Ga-ta!" Cuin said, walking into the line of customers.
"Satsuki, is there anything you would like?" Zen asked.
"A Cappuccino." She said, her face slightly flushed. With that, Zen joined Cuin in line.
"Alright, spill the beans. Why is she being so nice to me all of a sudden? Why did you invite her to come along? Especially when were going to go get an Anime based off that game..." Zen question in English, and Cuin laughed lightly, "...Whats so funny?"
"The news. Its amazing what they would report about. Politics, education, Popular Video Games, and any dirt they can dig up about Heroes in Games." Cuin said, looking up at a TV above the cash register. On the TV was JNN, the Japanese News Network.
"Wait, what are you getting at?" Zen glared at Cuin, "Use that famous direct approach of yours."
"Well," Cuin said, "Remember what happened 3 days after the misunderstanding?"



"Oi, Zen. Cuin here. Whats wrong man? You haven't exited your room during the break so far." 
Cuin spoke to Zen's room door, after knocking for a little.
Cuin waited for a little bit, but heard no reply. Cuin clenched his fist, and opened Zens room. He turned on Zens Computer's Sound system, and turned on the monitor. Sitting down on Zen's computer chair, he brought up Windows Media Player. He turned on Na Na Iro, and Maxed out the volume on both the stereo system, and the program itself. 18 seconds after the entrancing beginning, the guitar blasted through the stereo system, causing Zen to rustle under his covers.
"You asshole..." Zen mumbled, uncovering his face from under the sheets.
"Phht. You had it coming, pulling something as Emo as this." Cuin replied back, as he turned down the sound. "Now get up. We got some orders from the Main Administrators in the Japanese branch of Dreadworld. They want us to come down to the HQ in Japan in Akihabara."
"Umph....Why?" Zen said, stretching around in his bed, looking upward.
"Well, because were such Idols in their industry, they want to see what we think would improve their lovely income." Cuin said, walking over to Zen's bedside.
Zen yawned, and stretched again, squirming around under the covers, "Eh....alright, I guess I'm in. If were able to help make online games go as the players want it, I'm a little better."
"Get your ass up..." Cuin said, glaring down at Zen.
"I am up...Zen said, looking at Cuin while still in his bed. Cuin grabbed Zen's covers, and tossed them off the bed. A breeze of cold air came over Zen, and he barked at Cuin, "What'd you do that for?"
"You ain't up. Get your ass ready to move. They want us down their soon." Cuin said, looking at Zen blankly. "Up."
"I swear, your worse than your mom...or my mom for that matter. At least they let me sleep till Twelve." Zen glared at Cuin, and started to get ready. Cuin got out of the room, heading for the kitchen for his Morning dosage of the 'Death Juice'.



As Cuin and Zen approached the Japanese branch of Dreadworld, Cuin yawned loudly. They approached the front door wearing their every-day clothing. Cuin wore his 'Tanks: your welcome' T-shirt, and Jeans ripped around the hems. Zen, on the other hand, wore a more acceptable attire, wearing a Dress Shirt, and some nice pants. They walked up to the front of the building, and walked in, Cuin's clothing capturing the eye of the building's guard.
"Sir, would you show me some identification." The guard said in Japanese, approaching the two while having his hands on his belt, which also held a firearm. 
Cuin reached into one of his jeans pocket, and pulled out a Paper obviously printed from a computer. The guard looked over the Subject of the email, and his eyes widened in bewilderment. "Yo-you are cleared. Sorry for holding you up." The Guard bowed, and Cuin and Zen started toward the elevators.
"Excuse me," The guard interrupted them before they entered it, "My Son is a big fan of you two. Is it alright if I have a autograph?" Cuin looked at Zen, and Zen looked at Cuin. They shrugged, and flipped over their meeting papers, wrote their names on a empty piece of paper, and handed it to the Guard.


"So..." A boy said, as he looked from across the street to the Dreadworld Japanese Headquarters, "You're sure this is where The alleged Duo of the west are?"
"yes, sir." Said a muscular man.
"Alright," The teen-aged boy said, his Black coat and formal clothing hiding most of his features," Then this must be where we hackers must assault. Tell the Digital Squad to launch the virus.
"Yokai." The Man said, as he donned a cell phone, using its quick-dial.



"Welcome, you two." Said a Middle-aged Japanese man in English.
"No prob," Cuin said, "It's better timing than you think actually."
"Well, then let us be introduced. I am Hibeki, Head of the Japanese Division. Nice to meet you." he bowed deeply.
"Cuin. Cuin Manari of the Duo of the West." Cuin Bowed as well.
"Zen. CowboyNWN of the Duo of the West." Zen bowed.
"Well, then let us get started by showing you our Main servers, where we keep an eye upon the Asian based server networks." Hibeki nodded, and showed them toward the VIP elevator. 
Entering, they descended in the building, and ended up on the first floor. As they exited, they were surrounded by wires upon wires, and stacked around were Modems, Computers, and Hubs.
"Ahh...feels just like home..." Cuin said, wandering into the level.
"So, you two impressed by our work?" Hibeki said, motioning his hands for Zen t absorb all of their hardware.
Zen nodded with approval, "You have great equipment, and enough tech support to uphold the disorder following a server meltdown. Nice work."
"Arigato Gozaimasu." Hibeki said, bowing.
Cuin wandered into the server room, looking at some of their administration computers. The Administers were all outside of the room, save for one.
"Lunch break." One of the Employees said to Cuin in Japanese. Cuin nodded with approval, and looked at the computers. The Comps were top of the line, and appeared to have firewalls that could stop nearly any virus.
"Sukoi..." Cuin muttered, and as quick as his amazement came, he noticed a error within the commands of one of the Administration Protocols. He fixed it swiftly, and as a seemingly result, the computer crashed.
 "Eh?" Cuin said, rebooting the computer. As the Bios first popped up, the Text image of a Syringe emptying into a computer.
"Shimata!" Said the employee, the same image appearing upon his monitor, and the next, and the next.
As quickly as the virus had come, another event arose. An explosion rang through a side of the wall, Plaster and Drywall flying throughout the room. Hibeki and other employees ran for cover. Cuin and Zen, as well as various guards, on the other hand, ran toward the chaos.
"UTEH!" A boy's voice yelled from the smoke generated from the explosion. Operating with maximum efficiency, Cuin and Zen kicked over empty desks, taking cover behind their metal exteriors. Some guards took cover with them, others were torn to shreds by the hail of Bullets.
Zen stood his ground after the bullets ceased, occasionally using a piece of glass to look at the attackers. Cuin, on the other hand, took a more direct approach, sliding his desk toward his attacker. Zen looked around for a weapon, and found various shrapnel of glass and metal. Cuin did the same before doing his insane  plan, which Zen could already guess what it was. Cuin grabbed a long metal bar, and used it to look around the table. Using his other hand, he motioned to Zen that there were 5 men, and 1 kid. Zen nodded, and waited for the men to search. As they began to walk into the building, brandishing 5 Automatic guns, Cuin tripped one with his metallic 'staff'. Zen took the opportunity, and threw his 'daggers' into the legs of two other men. 
Resultantly, the other two men turned to Cuin and Zen, pointing their arms at their heads. The guards got out of their cover, and shot a round into each of their right shoulders. The boy behind the Armed assailants ran off, leaving his 'friends' behind him.
A little drywall fell, colliding with one of the attacker's stomach.
"Heh, well, I never though I would actually use my ideas IRL before..." Cuin muttered, getting up from his cover.
As Cuin observed the area, Zen dashed by him, heading off toward the direction the boy Fled. The guards had the area under control, so Cuin took flight after Zen and the boy. While running, Cuin's phone rang. He pulled his Cell phone out of his pocket, and opened it. "Moshi Moshi?" He said into it while running.
"Cuin," Zen's voice spoke through the phone, "The kid stopped over by me. Use your GPS system I programmed into our phones to get to my position."
"Hai, Hai." Cuin said, hanging up the call, and clicking on the 'GPS' application Zen had programmed before.  On the screen, an arrow pointing to Cuin's left, leading into an alleyway.  Cuin returned to his search, and not soon after, saw Zen hiding behind a wall, looking into the alleyway behind.
"Sir, we have finally found them." The boy said, with a small cellphone to his ear.
The boy nodded, listening to the person on the other line.



"We here at JNN news have a horrible, horrible announcement to make. Dreadworld's Asian servers have been attacked with a horrible virus which spread throughout the system. Apparently, the supposed Cuin Manari, and CowboyNWN have fled after a suspect, leaving behind  the guards to clean up the mess caused by this act of terrorism. Currently, we are engaged in hunting down the Duo of the West, seeing if we can finally get them on camera in person." Said the Japanese reporter as she was running, the camera shaking as well.
"Sukoi," Satsuki said, watching the TV, "I've heard of them, and heard rumors and Yoko saying that they went to our school...but that is nearly impossible."
As the camera focused on the News reporter and began to cease its shaking, they silently approached a corner. From the other side of the wall, the sounds of pain and bones breaking were heard. The news reporter motioned to the Camera man to move around and focus the video on the fight. The camera man apparently obliged, moving and placing the camera on the ground, showing two foreigners and one boy dressed in full black duking it out.
As one dressed in clean and nice clothing attacked, He was quickly counterattacked with a fist to the stomach, and the boy he was assaulting used his other hand to flip the nicely clothed teen onto his back. Another, wearing a 'Tanks: your welcome" T-shirt walked toward the young Japanese boy, cracking his knuckles. He took a swing at the boy with his foot, using a round house kick. The boy blocked the kick, grabbing the American's ankle. Grabbing it with both hands, he flung the American into a pile of trash. The boy wiped off his clothes, and walked off, opening his cell phone. The camera still focused on the Two Americans who were completely obliterated in the fight. After two minutes of the News crew's silence, and several coughing noises coming from the Americans, Both of them got up. First, the boy in the nice clothes got up, using his knee to get up. "Oi, Cuin, you alive?" He said, looking to the trash.
"Hai, Hai..." Cuin said, getting up from the trash, "...we sure got our asses kicked, Zen."
Satsuki, as she watched this on TV, coughed, her eyes widened. "ZEN!?! CUIN!?!? She yelled out. Her mom came running worried sick of her.
"Whats wrong, honey?" Her mom said, looking at Satsuki. Satsuki didn't answer, only staring at the TV. Her mom averted her eyes to the screen, curious as to what worried her so much as to blurt out names before the TV.
"Yeah," Zen looked around, leaning his his head back, and looking up. "But who was that kid? And why did he do this?"
"Two theories," Cuin muttered, brushing off rotten food from his clothes, attempting to clean himself. "One, they're remnants of the Hackers group, attempting to get back at us. Or two, The kid's just like us....and how we were."
Zen looked around, and a drop of rain hit his head. He looked at his own hands, dirtied with gravel, and riddled with scrapes. He looked around, seeing only Cuin, riddled with wounds, and bleeding in various spots. He looked at his hands again, and looked back up at the sky. The rain began to get harder, blanketing the ground and their bodies. " Its...just like then. Back before we met."
"Eh?" Cuin said, looking at Zen.
"Before Dreadworld. Before we met. When all I knew was...Despair." Zen said, some tears forming in his eyes.
 Cuin looked at Zen for a moment, and nodded lightly, grabbing two nearby Trashcans. He slid one so Zen could sit on it. Cuin sat on the other, leaning back. Zen sat down, still looking up.
"Satsuki....I.....I love her." Zen said, looking up at the sky. Cuin only looked at Zen with his famous blank stare, doing nothing more than absorbing any information Zen said. "I love her...but now...now Yoko has -beep- it up. I don't like Yoko. You know this. She just has this...obsession with the famous."
As Satsuki heard this from the TV, she fell back onto the Couch. Her mother looked at her, and the TV. She was about to speak to her daughter, but ceased, thinking "Just....wait until I can talk."
She returned her view to the screen, watching the Dramatic News unfold.
"Uh, no shit buddy." Cuin said, leaning back.
"But...you understand, I want it fixed, right?" Zen said, looking at Cuin, their clothes drenched in the rain.
"Yeah. Same thing happened to me and....her. Just don't make the same mistake I made man. Don't avoid the problem. Don't....escape beyond hope."
Zen nodded, absorbing everything that had happened to him during the past week. "Alright," Cuin said, getting up, "Four things we gotta do. One, Get Yoko off your ass. Two, Get Satsuki to see how you feel for her. Three, Find out who that....asshole was that attacked us, and take him out. Four....." Cuin ran on, "...Four...I forgot what four was."
They nodded, and got up from their Seats, heading off back to the Dreadworld HQ.
The camera of the TV averted from The alley to The face of the news reporter shown earlier before. "This is the first time we have gotten the two on Video! By Avoiding direct contact, as you see, we were able to acquire more deeper, direct information about the Two Heroes. We found of ones Directness, which was easily Identified at Cuin Manari. The other, however, seemed to be more reserved, a trait well known for CowboyNWN. We will continue to dig up any information we can about the two....Hold on...I'm getting a message from Our sponsors....Sadly, this live show has to be brought to an end. Apparently, Dreadworld wants to keep some things confidential. This is JNN news.." The reporter said to the Camera, but the TV was turned off before she finished. Satsuki sat in the couch, looking at the Blank TV. Her mother sat down beside her, and put her hands on her daughters. "Now, tell me everything, and lets see what your mother can do." She said, smiling.

Chapter 14

"Wait, so you're telling me that...I told everyone in Japan that I have a crush on Satsuki?" Zen's eyes widened.
"Yup," Cuin nodded, " Not only that, but it was also shown on CNN News later. You wouldn't believe the amount of email sent to us by our friends and fans back in the states."
"I can guess."
They walked up to the nearest register being used. "What would you like?" The teenager operating the register asked.
"A Frappuccino, and a Cappuccino." Zen said.
"I'll take a warm root beer." Cuin said casually in Japanese.
"Sorry, we don't have root beer." The Registrar said.
"Ah, dammit. All right, then how about some...hot Chocolate?"
"Wakata." The Registrar nodded, punching in the order.

The Two of them walked out of the store, carrying the drinks with them. Satsuki took the Cappuccino from Zen's right hand, "Arigato, Zen."
"Domo." Zen said back, smiling.
Satsuki saw his smile, and blushed, taking a sip from her drink, "Umai!"
Cuin nodded as he sipped his hot Chocolate, "Ain't it?"
Zen nodded, drinking his Frappuccino. He looked over to Satsuki, who was still red in the face. Zen took his lips from his beverage, and looked up at the sky. He took a deep breath, and then nudged Cuin. "So, to the train?"
"Yup, to the train!" Cuin said, his famous one-sided smirk brandished across his face. They began to walk to the train, talking about everything they could think of-except the news. Zen was to embarrassed, and Satsuki was being extremely shy. Cuin was appalled by this stalemate. The utter fact that they both liked each other, yet avoided the very subject infuriated him. He sighed, and leaned his head back. It would take a while for them to start showing their feelings. He knew that much. He just was too impatient for his own good, and luckily, he knew this. Thus, He kept his thoughts to himself, following their lead in the conversation.


"We are arriving at Akihabara. I repeat, we are arriving at Akihabara." The Announcement rang throughout the train as they began to decelerate. Zen, Satsuki, and Cuin were surrounded by various stereotypes of Japanese and Foreigners. To their left were a group of Otaku, Clad in various anime products. To their right, a group of Heavy video gamers. One was even wearing a costume of the revered Cloud, from Final Fantasy 7.
To their front were a group of NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training.), and behind them was a group of Suits. Though often not seen, many governments and weapon development companies often come to Akihabara to look for hardware and software. As Cuin explained to Satsuki after the other groups diverged from theirs, "It's not that unheard of, but it's not that public either."
After walking for several minutes through Akihabara, they happened upon a small store. Although small, the releasing of the anime series 'Chu Chu Aishte' had skyrocketed in popularity. Not only did this store sell anime, but it also sold video games. Thus, many new fans of the series were flocking to its doors, hoping to get a copy of both the anime series, and the H-Game.
 "Its odd for them to release the anime series in a DVD set right off the bat." Satsui said as they waited in line.
Cuin nodded, "Well, this series was one of the oddballs in the first place."
"Nani? How so?"
"It's based off an H-game this 'hentai' here has been obsessed with." Zen said coldly.
"H-game? And Chu-Chu Aishte? I thought the Chu-Chu Aishte Series was going to be a good love story...without hentai material." Satsuki said.
"Oh, the director of the anime wanted it to be a more beautiful and loving story, with a more generalized audience. The difference is, though, that the original Manga-ka of the series was more perverted, as seen with the manga, so he first signed a deal to make it into a H-Game." Cuin said, his knowledge of the subject unrivaled by surrounding fans.
"Ah, Naruhodo." Satsuki said, nodding her head.
"I Thought you weren't into anime that much, Satsuki." Zen said curiously.
"Oh, I'm not into it as much as you and that Otaku," She pointed at Cuin," but I still do like anime."
"Ah. So-ka." Zen said, smiling. Satsuki smiled back, but their gleeful bliss was cut short, while the line began to move forward. They flooded into the building, raided the shelves of 'Chu Chu Aishte', and found soon enough that there were two lines leading to two opposite registers.
"Let's split up. You two pay for Satsuki's copies of the series, and I'll go pay for mine." Cuin stated, and separated from their group. 
Zen and Satsuki stood there for a moment, surprised that Cuin would ditch them so quickly and efficiently. "I swear, sometimes I don't even recognize him any more." Zen said, as the line slowly inched person by person.
"What do you mean?" Satsuki asked.
"He used to almost never come outside of his house, even if the weather was great, or there was a girl to visit him. Ever since five years ago, he finally started to get through his past.  Oh, sorry, I started to talk about some things you don't know about."
"Oh, you're talking about the Dreadworld incident, correct?" Satsuki said, smiling innocently.
"Eh? So, you were watching the news that day?"
"Hai. I even heard you say you..." She wandered off the subject, her cheeks flushing with redness.
Zen realized what she was talking about, and blushed as well. The line was still advancing, slowly but surely. As they neared the counter, Zen smiled, and nudged Satsuki. "Yo-You know, what I said back there...It's true."
"Really?" Satsuki said, looking at Zen, amazed by his honesty.
"Ha-hai. I never have been that good with talking with girls. It's a downside with being a NEET. But, if you wouldn't mind....w-would you... mind..." Zen started to mumble.
"Would I mind...what?"
"Would you mind going out with me!?" Zen said, his face beat red.
"...Come again?" Satsuki said, surprised.
"Would you go out with me?" Zen repeated himself.
Satsuki was breathless- She didn't even think he would approach her this soon.
"So...I'm guessing that's a 'no'..." Zen nodded.
"Ie! I would love to date you!" She blushed, holding her hand in a fist against her heart. This was it, she thought. Her prayers to Kami-sama have finally been answered.


"Heh", Cuin chuckled, listening to his headphones, "Thought he would be more assertive with the info I gave him, but I didn't expect this much of a result."
Cuin looked around to make sure no one from school were around, and returned to his own world, imitating an exaggerated version of Zen and Satsuki, using a quote from Futurama, "Oh, compress Calculon!" He said sarcastically. As he did this, other Otaku and NEET around him glanced. Some laughed, getting the joke. Others just shrugged him off as referring to another series they have yet to see.
"I see you like to make sarcastic comments about him, too." A girl said behind Cuin.
"Eh? Who the hell..." Cuin said in English, ready to rip off the girls head, stopping as he saw her face.
"Yo!" Harumi said, moving her hand from her head like Asa Shigure from 'Shuffle!'.
"EH!?! Tank in training!" Cuin blurted out, pointing at Harumi.
"Hai, hai," Harumi responded sarcastically, "And the Genius has once again stated the most obvious. Anyways, so, You finally did what the whole school has been rooting for, eh?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. Do you know how many people have tried to get those two to go out, with both direct and indirect methods?"
"Lemme guess," Cuin said, "Those that tried a direct method were beaten the crap out of by either one, and those that tried indirect methods were avoided?"
"Bingo."
"So, what brings you here?" Cuin asked bluntly. Harumi held up her copy of the 'Chu Chu Aishte' series.
 "Ah. 'nuff said." Cuin nodded.
"So, how you liking it at Aijou Haisuku-ru ?" Harumi asked, poking Cuin in the ribs.
"Liking it a lot. Meeting new people, going to new places, meeting hot girls, and the rare breed of girl Otaku." Cuin said, poking Harumi's forehead.
"So, which one am I? 'rare breed of girl Otaku', or 'hot girl'?" Harumi asked, nudging Cuin in the shoulder. Cuin blushed, turning his head away from her sight.
Harumi pouted at this, and smirked as she looked ahead. "Your up. And its a hot girl, too."
Cuin's eyes gleamed, and he leapt into action. He strided up to the counter with pride, placing the anime Merchandise by the register. He looked at the registrar, "So, how's your day going, etoh..." Cuin read her name-tag, "Yoko-san?"

Chapter 15

"Cuin-kun?" Yoko said, surprised by Cuin's introduction. "What are you doing here?"
Cuin held up the DVD box of Chu Chu Aishte."I am an Otaku after all." 
Cuin handed Yoko the Product, and she scanned it, "So, are you two dating?" Yoko said, grinning.
"Eh?" Cuin looked behind himself, remembering Harumi was behind him. "Well..." Cuin's face returned to a beat red.
Yoko laughed, "I'm guessing thats a yes. Thats 6330 Yen."
Cuin swiped his credit card, punched in the security number silently, his face still deep red. Cuin went through the procedure so fast, he didn't even bother to grab his Receipt- He picked up his Anime and left the register.
"What was that all about?" Yoko said, picking up Harumi's copy of the Anime.
Harumi giggled, her left hands index finger placed on her bottom lip in contemplation, and a grin across her face.



"Ramen, Miso Soup, Curry, and Pocky are my favorite Japanese foods." Zen said, and returned the question, "And what are your favorite Japanese foods?"
Satsuki Giggled, "Pocky isn't a food. Its a treat."
Zen smirked, "Well, I treat it like a food."
Satsuki leaned back on the bench, "I like Curry, Miso Soup, and Ramen also."
"Ooh, Curry! My mother used to make some mean curry back in the States." Zen said proudly.
"Not as good as a local resteraunt I know of." Satsuki smirked.
"Then lets all go to it later tonight. Cuin will pay for everyone." Zen chuckled.
"Won't he get angry?"
"Nah. The Bastard already owes me a lot of money since the last Anime convention in the USA" Zen sighed.
As the two of them laughed at the joke, Cuin stopped running in front of the Bench, leaning on his knees and Panting, "Damn...Asthma..."
"Well speak of the devil!" Zen said, getting up, and patting Cuins back. "You are gonna finally pay me back the money you owe me."
"EH!?" His eyes widened, looking at Zen, "NAN-DATO!?"
"I don't expect you to pay me all 200 buck right now. I just meant for tonights dinner." Zen placed his hand on Cuin's shoulder, and whispered, "Or else I'll tell Harumi about your little crush."
Cuin pretended to be a chibi anime character crying, "Wakata, wakata." He reverted back to normality "Where to anyways?"
"Ikuzo!" Satsuki said, motioning the other two the follow.
 Cuin and Zen shrugged, and followed her lead. While walking, Satsuki slowed down, and wrapped her arm around Zens, and leaned her head against his shoulder. Zen blushed, deciding on how he is supposed to cuddle with her. Cuin, watching this, chuckled behind them. His laughter was interrupted when he felt an arm wrap around his own, and  a head lean against his right shoulder. Cuin stopped in his tracks, and looked to his right. There, leaning against his shoulder, was Harumi.


"Ya know, I haven't heard from Cuin for a while." Zen said, the read tint in his face less aggressive as it was earlier.
Satsuki and Zen looked back, seeing a blushing Cuin behind them, with Harumi attached to his shoulder. "...Ara?" Satsuki said, surprised at what she saw.
"Uso." Zen said, letting Satsuki go and approaching Cuin. He waved in front of Cuin's eyes. No response.
 "...Apparently Cuin, in his extreme embarrassment and entrancement, has apparently become dazed with the feeling of Harumi attached to him." Zen looked down at Harumi, "Don't tell me he told you, because thats almost impossible for him to do."
"Nope, I figured it out though." Harumi smiled, snuggling even closer to Cuins arm.
Zen thought for a minute, and shrugged. "Well, hes paying for the dinner. Not a bother for me."
Zen re-attached to Satsuki, and the four returned to their walk to the restaurant.

Chapter 16

The Four of them stopped in front of a local Cosplay Cafe. It was the same one Cuin had met Harumi in real life for the first time.
"Welcome to the best curry in town." Satsuki said proudly, opening the door, "Sa, Dozo.~"
Zen half-heartedly smiled in appreciation, and walked through. Satsuki smiled, and let the door close, Cuin walked into the shutting door. "Iteh!" His face slammed into the wood, and he fell back, colliding with Harumi. Landing in the snow, their fall was padded.
"Kusoh..." Cuin muttered, rubbing his head, and opening his eyes.
 Pink dots on white. Harumi screamed, "Iee!" Followed by a loud thump noise.
Zen looked out the window, to see Harumi holding her skirt down, and Cuin lying next to her, losing immense amounts of blood via his nose.
Harumi took a second to realize what happened, and brushed her skirt off. Standing up, she helped Cuin onto his feet. She opened the door for Cuin, and he calmly walked into the building, holding onto his nose to nullify the bleeding.  Cuin walked straight past Zen, and into the Mens bathroom.
"Etoh, Satsuki-san, Could you get us a table? I'm gonna check on Cuin." Zen walked off toward the Men's room.

The first thing Zen saw was Cuin was hunched over the Sink, the blood from his nose flowing freely. Even though Cuin was likely in immense pain, a smile was strewn across his face. Realizing what this probably meant, Zen silently closed the bathroom door, and walked to their table.
"He's doing just fine, Harumi." Zen sat next to Satsuki.
"Yokata..." Harumi said to herself, "I was worried I traumatized him by the beating."
"Oh, Trust me, "Zen thought silently, "He probably loved that."
"Eh? What did you say?" Harumi queried.
"Eh, Nandemo-nai, nandemo-nai." Zen defended himself quickly, and attempted to change the subject.
"So, if you know that he likes you, why not take the initiative?" Zen asked Harumi.
"Yeah, its obvious you like him too." Satsuki added.
"Well," Harumi blushed, "I guess I'm just a little afraid. Of him rejecting me."
"There are only two reasons he would reject you. Ichi- If you reminded him of his Ex. Ni- hes in a depression. Seeing as he hasn't been pulling anything emo, I'd say its none of the latter." Zen opened the menu and flipped to the Curry page.
"So..." Harumi muttered, opening the menu as well.
 Cuin returned from the lavatory, sitting beside Harumi. He thus opened his Menu, and flipped directly to the fish page.
"Daijobu-des-ka, Cuin-san?" Harumi asked moe-fully.
Cuin blushed, attempting to hide it, "Ha-hai."
 "Konbawa, de-arimasu. I'll be your waitress tonight, de-arimasu. I am Wirhelmina Carmel, de arimasu."
Everyone put down their menus, and realized who was standing before them.
"Neko-chan?" Everyone said instantaneously.
A neko-chan clad in a dress and apron stood before them, donning a headband too. "What are all you doing here? ...de arimasu."
"We're here to try the famous curry. Unless, Our waitress Wirhelmina-sama is cooking it." Zen joked.
Satsuki giggled, and nodded, "Sa, sa."
Cuin looked at Neko-chan, mentally rating if she did justice to the character. "...Actually, without the dyed hair, you do a good job. It has to be bright pink."
"Anyways, would you like to order? De arimasu. My boss will get angry if I stand around and talk too much, de arimasu."
"Hai!" Harumi said cheerfully, "I'll have your Green Tea with a nice bowl of Miso Soup.
"I'll Have your curry dish, with some Tea as well." Satsuki requested.
Neko-chan wrote all of this down as they continued to request foods and drinks.
"I'll have what Satsuki is having." Zen said politely.
"Give me the root of a beer, Udon Noodles, and some water."
"O-kay! De arimasu. Your order will be up shortly, de arimasu." Neko-chan bowed, and walked toward the kitchen. An awkward silence loomed over the four's table.
"Th-That was a pleasant encounter." Cuin stuttered.

Chapter 17

A few weeks had passed pleasantly after Harumi and Satsuki's first double date. School went by normally, however there were some oddities during those few weeks. For one, Yoko was absent from school, as was the school's famous duo, Zen and Cuin. Harumi and Satsuki had attempted to contact them, to only be answered by unconscious muttering on the phone. When attempting to see them at their apartment, Cuin and Zen wouldn't emerge from their locked rooms. Sayuki told them that the boys were doing 'vital research', but had no more information about it. Even Mizuki was left out of the loop. To top it off, Cuin and Zen even neglected Dreadworld, which was highly unusual for such gamers.
When it had hit 4 weeks of NEETness, all four of the girls agreed; Release Cuin and Zen from their own room.
 The four girls entered the apartment, and split up, knocking on each boys room at the same time. They pressed their ears against the doors. Only the clacking of keyboards, and occasional fizzing noises of a pop can. The girls looked at each other, and nodded. With their numbers divided amongst the two portals, they slammed into the doors with all their might. Breaking through, they were astounded by the filthy rooms. As their eyes adjusted to the dark room, both groups realized that it had been transformed into one room, apparently via a sledge hammer by Cuin's desk. The rubble had yet to be cleared, and the rooms were filled with empty soda cans and instant noodle bowls.
They walked over to Cuin and Zen, whose desks were connected. "..." Each of the girls were speechless by the chaos and disorder.
"Well," Cuins voice cracked, and he cleared his throat, "Well, its about time you barged in."
"You were expecting us?" Mizuki yelled at Cuin, and grabbed the collar of his shirt.
"Yeah." Zen smiled.
"What have you two been doing?" Harumi said, climbing over the debris.
"Well, we thought some research was in order. We need information about this Yakuza were against. Thus, we pulled a Hikikomori, and locked ourselves into our rooms, did a little remodeling, and dug on the net."
"...Why...did you have to break the wall down?" Satsuki said.
"Well..." Zen started, and was interrupted by Cuin.
"You see, to do such dirty digging through the net and its slums, we needed an extraordinarily powerful computer. Thus, we put our minds together, and assembled this computer." Cuin proudly stood up and extended his arms in a showcase form at a giant tower in the middle of the room. It at first looked to be a support beam, but had various DVD-RW, CD-RW, Blue-Ray Drives, and a mass of wires and cables connected to its internal body and exterior as well.
"We assembled the most advanced computer known to man. However, it would an insult to refer to this as a simple "Super computer" Thus, we have deemed it , or Data Acceleration Integrator Kollector (With a K) Analysis Mechanical Intelligence, Or Dai Kami. It isn't a true AI, for it only calculates and guesses, but doesn't evolve unless it has human involvement. Zen programmed the main systems, I helped with the search engine system and..."
"We get the idea, you guys went on a nerd spree. Now why?" Satsuki glared at Zen
"Remember that Yakuza that kicked our ass? With some pictures taken from the News, we were able to search, quite literally, the entire web. This was including FBI, CIA, and some of the most protected files on the known and unknown web." Zen summed up. "However, we came up with nothing."
"So...you locked yourselves in for four weeks for nothing?" Sayuki said, starting to burst into tears.
"Not fully. We have done something with this time other than search. We hacked the schools schedule system." Zen smirked.
"Say what?" Cuin was surprised by this statement.
"Well, you did say, ' If we cant find this fucker, why don't we train and let him find us?' "
"I didn't expect you to put my joke into a plan." Cuin muttered to himself.
"Basically..."  Paper printed out of the system, and Zen ripped it from the roll. "We leave tomorrow morning to Mt. Fuji. We found a secretive martial arts dojo known to only few. To top it off, they specialize in both My style of martial arts, and Cuin's custom style."
"If its so secretive, how did you find it?" The girls said in unison.
"Every school has a website. You just gotta know where to dig." Zen smirked.

Chapter 18

"Where are they?" Harumi muttered, and Satsuki impatiently looked at her watch, only to find Cuin and Zen 15 minutes late. They stood outside the apartment complex, waiting for Cuin and Zen to appear. All the girls had packed backpacks, full of clothes, food supplies, and tenting equipment.
"So, how are we going to get to Mt. Fuji anyways? I wasn't expecting this to be so...sudden." Sayuki said, and Mizuki nodded.
As the three talked about their own perception of the current issue, Cuin and Zen exited the building, their presence drawing the attention of the entire cast. Zen was dressed in a traditional Kimono, decorated with a kanji symbol on the back meaning Despair. He wore Hakama pants over the Kimono, much like historical Samurai, and the entire outfit was black, except for the kanji, which was blood red. On his left hip were two Katana, both in pristine condition.
Cuin, however, was dressed in a more informal manner. He wore a white long-sleeved martial arts Gi, black leather gloves with the fingers missing, and white martial arts Pants. For shoes, he wore hiking boots, which were brown.
"A little...unusual, don't you think?" Sayuki giggled at Zen's outfit.
"Hey! I earned this outfit, and you know it!" Zen came down the apartment steps, his cheeks slightly red.
Laughing, Harumi looked at Cuin, "And what are you going for? The wanna-be martial artist award?"
Cuin sighed, and followed Zen, " I love these clothes. They're nice and comfortable. Plus, I grew up in Arizona, and I love these gloves. That should be a good explanation for my attire."
As the girls giggled their hearts out, Cuin and Zen started walking directly toward Mt. Fuji, which was visible in the distance. "Wait." One of the girls called out. Zen and Cuin stopped, looking back at them casually.
"What?" Zen asked bluntly.
"Aren't we going to get a cab, get in your car, or take the train?" Asked Mizuki.
"You kidding me? This is a quest for enlightenment in martial arts. To truly grasp all of it, you have to do everything traditionally....though Cuin slightly doesn't get that, especially with the gloves and boots," Zen finished, and began to walk, "Follow us if you want. But we are not going to take a ride."
The girls looked at each other, and returned to the two, the Duo of the West.


"Oh, looks like they're actually going through with this," Kitty said to Yoko as they watched the group walk toward Mt. Fuji, "Are you sure you want to follow them the entire way?"
Yoko nodded, "I have to. Not just as an Onee-san, but also because I want to see the end of this damn thing."
Quietly, the two followed the Duo and their group, making sure to not be noticed.


"I'm beat!" Mizuki breathed heavily, collapsing onto her bag of necessities. Zen looked back at his sister, and stopped walking.
"Okay, We'll make camp then."
"Yatta! Arigato, Onii-chan!" Mizuki exclaimed, beginning to pitch up her tent. 
"Cuin, go get us some firewood." Zen said, gathering various rocks he could find, placing them in a circle.
"Yokai." Cuin joked, and started to head out of the camp. Harumi followed him, grabbing various sticks she could find.
"Sayuki, would you mind making us food tonight?" Zen asked his sister.
"I'd love to!" She said politely, pulling out of her bag various cooking utensils.
Everyone else began pitching up tents. There were four large tents for each of the girls. Zen and Cuin only brought portable futons, which were already laid out under the night sky.


"Man, you really like to stick around me, huh?" Cuin said to Harumi, grabbing a handful of tree bark and logs.
"Well, what can I say?" Harumi blushed, picking up a twig that was snapped in half. "I kind of feel like a twig. It has a meaning, but it is missing where it originated from."
Cuin looked at Harumi, astounded by her sudden poetic nature. "It once had a home, but it was lost. It lays on the ground, ready for someone to pick it up and give it use, even if that use may be its own end." Harumi put the broken twig into her arms, and saw Cuin with slightly watery eyes.
"Wari." Cuin sniffled, wiping his eyes. " I just... I loved that explanation. It is so cruel yet so true."
Harumi walked up to Cuin, "I know its probably obvious I like you. It's hard not to. Your kind, but not too much, you help others even when there is no need to. I guess It's about time I tell you. I-"
"I know." Cuin dropped his gathering of supplies and wrapped his arms around her. Gently, he kissed her lips with his own. She dropped her supplies as well, her cheeks red, and lips touching Cuins. "Aishteru, Harumi." 

Chapter 19

"Wonder what's taking them so long..." Zen muttered to himself while he was looking at some papers printed from the Dai-kami. While sitting in front of the fire pit, Sayuki was preparing for the supply of wood to be brought back. His sister dissipated from view, and appeared behind him.
"Whats this?" she whispered, looking at the papers. "It's in English, but I can't quite make it out..."
"It's in Leet." Zen corrected, looking at his sister. "A Language developed by gamers and hackers. Used mainly to encrypt codes and information."
"Ah, so thats what Cuin-san mutters in occasionally." She nodded, and noticed a rustling noise from the outskirts of the camp. Zen grabed his katana and unsheathed it, readying for a wild beast to appear. Out of the woods comes a very cheerful Cuin and Harumi, both snuggling together.
"Huh. Looks like a wild beast has come to enjoy dinner with us. You bring the firewood?" Zen sheathed his weapon.
"Don't I always?" Cuin piled some wood in the pit, and placed the excess by his futon.
"Efreet." Zen muttered jokingly to himself while striking a match and tossing it into the fire. The fire pit began to smolder, and fire erupted from some of the branches.
"You know, I was thinking - It's still winter, so why are you so determined to trek up to this dojo in the middle of winter?" Mizuki asked Zen and Cuin.
"Well," Zen responded, "If your house was burning, would you wait for it to burn down before you rescued your favorite possessions?"
"Not really..."
"The same thing goes with saving people and things you hold dear, such as you and Sayuki, and protecting Japan." Zen concluded.
"Awww..." Satsuki began, "Kawaii! Now I know why I fell for you!" She snuggled up by Zen. Mizuki began to show signs of a jealous rage pending, and Sayuki was panicking in embarrassment. 

"YOU SON OF A B****!" A yell erupted from the camp. Neko woke up immediately, and looked in all directions in fright.
"Kowaii..." She muttered to herself, "The forest is Scarier than most say it is at night."
"Neko-chan, go back to sleep..." muttered Yoko, who was snuggled up with Neko for warmth.
"Wakata..." Neko yawned, and laid back down.


In a dojo not far from where the camp was stationed, a monk meditated calmly. As he meditated, he heard the footsteps of another member of the dojo. He opened his eyes to find Master Yukihana sitting beside him.
"Nice to see you out of bed, sensei." The monk said, looking over the mountain landscape.
"You too, Zero." Yukihana joked, joining Zero in meditation.
Zero sighed, looking at his sensei, "Why does everyone call me that?"
"Zero, you are so much like it. You have no definite way of life, but you always live with a harmonized balance. You have no extreme significance, yet everything you do is based on wise decisions. Thus, you are Zero." Yukihana said, and they both observed the beauty of the snow-covered mountain. The silence of the mountain gave more of an awe-striking appearance. From the room, they could see where Japanese soil met the ocean.
" YOU SICK SON OF A B****!" The phrase echoed throughout the mountain, disturbing the calm serenity of the landscape. Both Master Yukihana and Zero looked at each other dumbfounded.
"What....was that?" Yukihana whispered.
"I have no idea." Zero responded, and returned to observing the mountains beauty, noticing where smoke was rising, and a cloud of birds scattering away.

Chapter 20

Cuin grabbed Harumi, and kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her slowly, and they were unified as they kissed affectionately. Slowly Cuin reached for Harumi's...

Ice-cold water splashed over Cuin's face, and he instantly sat up, slamming his head into Zen's face. Staggering back, Zen swore, "You always sleep like a rock, but you wake up like a rocket. What the fuck is with you?"
Cuin thought back to the dream he was having, in it were illustrious explanations of his love for Harumi, and its mixture with his perversions. "I just had the most awesome dream." Suddenly, Reality hit Cuin, "YOU JERK!"  Cuin glared at Zen.
"Wha...what did I do?" Zen looked slightly curious as to the cause of Cuin's sudden outburst of anger.
"You...woke me up." Cuin yawned, and sighed. "I almost got there too."
"Got where?" Zen leaned down again.
"N-nevermind." Cuin blushed, and got up, getting dressed. He threw on his outfit from the day before, as had Zen. As Cuin wrapped up his camping gear, Zen helped the girls with their necessities. After an hour, they had finished packing up, and began their hike to the Dojo.


Neko-chan woke up sleepily, and yawned, extruding her arms. Looking over to where the camp had been. Neko-chan saw the group packed up and leaving. She grabbed hold of Yoko and shook her violently until she woke up.
Neko, don't worry, the forest isn't..." Yoko realized that sunlight was beating down on her face, and slowly got up from her winter camping gear. "What's going on?" 
Neko-chan quickly began to pack her gear, "They're going on ahead! Hurry up!"
Yoko nodded, joining Neko-chan in a furious attempt at catching up to the group.


"...Are we there yet?" Mizuki asked childishly.
"Dame! Yamete, okay?" Cuin answered her in an annoyed tone.
"I'm just curious. We've been at this for over an hour..." Mizuki slowly began to stop her words as a large gate emerged in the frozen forest before them.
Cuin looked at the Leet paper, and at the Dojo sign, and nodded. "NOW. We're there."
The six walked into the Dojo, the four girls enthralled by the beauty of the snow against the Dojo's ancient architecture. Cuin and Zen looked around, noticing the grounds were devoid of signs of life. There were no footprints in the snow. No signs of students. No signs of any Sensei or creatures in general.
Cuin couldn't stand the silence any longer. "Oi!" Cuin yelled, " Dojocho! Sensei! Kancho! Kohai?"
"I think it's abandoned." Satsuki muttered. A branch of a nearby tree rustled slightly. The sudden movement was registered by Zen. Zen tensed up his fist, and turned in the direction of the tree. Cuin turned his back to Zen's, readying himself as well.
Out of the trees ascended twenty beings, clothed in black martial art uniforms, ten from each side. Cuin immediately rushed into the group before him, as Zen waited for his side to move first. While charging, five opponents pulled out bows and arrows, aiming at Cuin. They released, and the arrows went true and straight, heading directly for Cuin. Holding still, Cuin parried 4 of 5 shots, one puncturing his fist. Grabbing a hold of the arrow, he held onto it like a scythe, with the blade heading out the back side of his fist.
The other side did the same action, this time aiming towards the girls. Zen saw this threat through, and kicked into the air, throwing snow into the opponents eyes. Their shots missed completely, and Zen unsheathed a katana. The other five martial artists unsheathed their swords as well, and began charging Zen like trained Shinobi. The first one to arrive made a horizontal slash at the girls, but the attack was blocked by Zen's blade. In a flowing motion, Zen parried the blade out of the warriors hand, and felled him by simply tripping him head-first into the ground. The Second and third warrior attacked in unison, one doing a rising slash, the other doing a diagonal. Unsheathing his second sword, Zen blocked both attacks, sliding his blade across theirs, cutting through the cheap katana and slicing into their skin. The opponents slid from their stance, dropping their blades and gripping their wounds. Two more martial artist remained bearing swords, supported by 5 bowman.
The girls looked at both sides, aghast by the efficiency and lack of caring for the opponent. Harumi was overjoyed, seeing the stubbornness of Cuin, blushing at the thought of him protecting her. Satsuki was attempting to fight out of the group, trying to get aside Zen to help him in the fight. Zen's sisters wouldn't let her do so.
Cuin threw the arrow into a nearby artist's hand, which he gripped instinctively. Jumping and turning backwards in the air, Cuin slammed his foot into the opponents face in a flying back kick. The victim flew back four feet, slamming into a nearby tree. The Tree dropped some snow into the eye of one of the bowman who was readying his bow again. The bowman let go of his arrow, and it shot right past Cuin, missing the girls and nailing one of the bowman on Zen's sides shoulder. Cuin took this opportunity, and grabbed the blind bowman. Five martial artist unsheathed their katana as well, charging Cuin. Cuin smirked, and threw the Bowman into their path. Attempting not to injure their fellow attacker, three of them jabbed their swords into the ground, as they collided with the bowman. One more continued the charge, and the remaining four bowman aimed their readied bows at Cuin.

Chapter 21

The Martial artist stabbed his accomplice, and fell over in agony, realizing he had killed his fellow man. Others realized what he had done, and looked at Cuin and Zen in despair. They began to run, the occasional drop of a weapon seen as they panicked away. Two remained, however. A tall, muscular woman with excessive cleavage stood in front of Cuin, pounding her fists together, and taking a calm stance. The top of her uniform was undone, giving full reign of sight to her cleavage wrapped close to her body by a gauss like cloth.  The chest of her uniform was clad with a symbol, much like the Manari symbol, and under it was her name in Kanji.
"Yukihana?" Cuin muttered, squinting at the name.


In front of Zen stood a man wearing a white martial arts uniform, with only one logo on his uniform - a white circle, much like the Zen circle, but void of any color differences. His belt was a high black, and under the circle was a name in Kanji.
".Zero?" Zen chuckled slightly, and burst into laughter, falling onto the ground. Zero stood completely still, watching Zen roll on the ground in complete hysteria.
"Zero no Tsukaima?" he wheezed out, continuing his reign of laughter, "Zero Louise?" 
"My name may be Zero, but you, sir, I have yet to know your name. It would be dishonorable if I did not know yours."
"My name," Zen gained his footing again, slowing down the chuckles to a bare minimum, "Is  Zen."
Zero nodded to the name, and took an L stance with his feet, holding his palms up. With his forward one, he motioned for Zen to strike. "Come, Zen. Let me see if you are worthy of the name."


"Yeah, my name is Yukihana. And your name is." Yukihana trailed.
"Cuin. Cuin Manari." He finished, smiling broadly.
".never heard of you." Yukihana released herself from her ready stance, and turned around, beginning to walk away.
"Oi! Aho! You never heard of the Duo of the West? Dreadworld? The Fire and Ice Demons?" Cuin shouted angrily.
"Daaame. Another thing I haven't heard of ever was two single kids," Cuin winced at hearing her stinging words, "barging into my dojo and taking out all of my students save for one." She pivoted, showing a large grin on her face.
"You are definitely worth a fight. Let's dance, Manari." Yukihana threw her body into a L stance, her fists relaxed and slightly open.




Zen charged Zero, unsheathing his katana, making a quick slash at Zero's legs. Zero calmly jumped over the attempt, bringing down his foot onto Zen's Left shoulder. A large crack ensued, resulting with Zen falling forward. During the fall, he swiftly changed his body into a rolling position, rolling onto his feet. Stabbing his katana into the ground, Zen grabbed his left shoulder. The entire arm had gone limp, and Zen felt pain surging throughout his body. He gripped it tightly, and yanked the bone upward.  Again, a large snap was heard, and Zen let out a deep sigh of pain and relief. 
Zen looked at Zero coldly, his expression caught between anger and excitement. He took up his sword again, and positioned his feet in a forward striking position. His sword fell between his body, and he gripped the entire handle with both hands. Zero leaned down and picked up a sword, holding it at his side like a samurai ready for battle.
"They say kendo increases one's strength. After all, you are using two hands instead of one." Zen told Zero calmly. He took a deep breath, and a whiff of the air. His nose became cold due to the harsh weather they were dueling in. Exhaling, he changed his stance to a L stance again. Unlike before, he sheathed his sword, and placed his hand on the sheath, his thumb pushing against the metal hand-guard. "However, I don't think so."
"Ah. Looks as if you watched too much Rurouni Kenshin." Zero chuckled, and threw the sword in the air, catching it in his so the blade was pointing out of his fist as one would hold a dagger. He adjusted the blade in his hand so it would point the edged side outwards and follow the flow of his body.
Once again, Zen charged, but not alone ; Zero had joined the struggle of attacking as well. As Zen unsheathed his katana, Zero swung.

Chapter 22

Cuin charged at her, knowing she had baited him into taking the first move. He didn't care - he wanted to wipe the smug grin right off her face.  Jumping, he flew at her with a flying side-kick; his boot aimed at her head. Yukihana pivoted her feet so they were parallel, which moved her body to dodge the attack. She grabbed Cuin's extended leg as he passed, swung him in a circle for two revolutions, and attempted to throw him at a tree.
"Shit!" Cuin realized her intent on not letting him go unwounded. As she let go, he looked up to see his head was fast approaching a large tree. Using momentum he made midair, he did a 180 with his body, positioning his feet so they would hit the tree. They did successfully, as he slammed into the Bark. Splinters flew off the tree, and Cuin pushed off the tree, jumping down to the ground. His feet sunk into the deep snow, soaking his shoes.
"Nice move, Yukihana. Your turn." Cuin laughed, taking an L stance as Yukihana had done before, with the exception that his left foot was perpendicular to his body instead of his right.
She smiled, and rushed at Cuin, her speed increasing exponentially. Cuin cracked his neck side to side, and clenched his left fist. A large cracking noise erupted from Cuin's fist as he clenched, the knuckles cracking automatically. Approaching, Yukihana made a round house kick, aiming for Cuin's stomach. He grabbed her leg with his right hand, and brought his left hand down swiftly. Realizing his intent, Yukihana jumped into the air, twirling her body to get it out of his grip. Her foot slipped out of Cuin's hand gracefully, but his stubbornness took over him. Cuin grabbed her foot again, yanking it closer. The jerk of her momentum had moved Cuin slightly, but very little.
The change in leveraged stunned Yukihana for a moment, unable to grasp the fact of Cuin's insane grip. She was brought back to reality as her foot echoed in pain. Cuin smiled manically, and pushed her foot back at her. She fell onto her back, her fall cushioned by the snow. She got up, realized what Cuin had done - he popped her leg out of it's socket. Extending her leg, her leg made a large cracking noise as it popped back in place. She stood up, cracked her neck, and smiled.
"Enough." She smiled, looking at Cuin. " I think I understand why you came here."


Their blades met in the middle, and bright orange sparks filled the air. Zen continued to press, sure that his blade would succeed. Zero, with his unchanging expression, thought otherwise. He tilted his sword so Zen's blade would slip off of the deadlock. As Zen lost his balance and the blade scraped clean out of the duel of strength, Zero slammed the hilt into Zen's back. Zen approached the earth as to fall, but rolled in the snow, standing up swiftly and again sheathing his katana.
"You really think you can beat me with such an overused trick?" Zero stated in a bland tone.
Zen took a deep breath again, releasing all of his inner rage through his calming breath. He gripped the blade again, this time with determination and will, instead of with an attempt at calming his angst. This time, Zero attacked, making a downward swing. Zen blocked the attack quickly, and pushed his own feet out from under him. Zero pressed harder on Zen's sword, the pressure feeling more and more real to Zen. Doing a sweeping motion with his foot, Zen cleaned Zero's feet off of their places. Zero fell onto the snow, and Zen gained the upper hand. He thrusted his katana at Zero's face.
"STOP!" yelled a woman's gentle voice. Zen ceased his swords will at spilling blood, and both the attacker and nearly-dead looked at their savior - Yukihana.
"I will not have you spill blood unnecessarily. You, Zen, stop." Yukihana told Zen angrily.
"Who says I should believe you? You nearly killed me!" Zen barked back, the tip of his blade near its target.
"Me." Cuin stepped forward, "Yukihana here is the Dojo master. She agreed to let us learn here."
"They attacked us, remember that you forgetful moron!" Zen again barked, his blade steady.
"That was a test, baka! Anyone who gets here must be tested. This Dojo is only the thing of legend. Its styles are as deadly as they come. Of course we would kick any morons ass that would get up here, and if they live long enough through the beating, they deserve to be trained. Killing my prized pupil wont account for nothing." Yukihana yelled at Zen, disgusted at his obliviousness.
Zen stood for a little longer, and relaxed, sheathing his sword. Zero extended a hand, and Zen grabbed it pulling him up. Zero smiled, "Arigato." Zen didn't respond, his face expressing his anger.
"Unnnoo." Mizuki raised her hand, her face completely dazzled, "Whats going on? Are you going to kill each other or work together?"

Chapter 23

They sat in the Dojo's main room. Sitting on the floor, Zen had his legs under him in good posture, his back straight and knees in a forward position. Beside him sat Cuin, sitting indian-style, and cross-legged. The students of the Dojo looked in the room with disgust at the two, finding it appalling that two gaijin were sitting in their hidden school. Zen held a tea cup calmly, sipping occasionally. Cuin sipped some tea as well, enjoying the bittersweet taste it had within it. They sat across from Yukihana and Zero, who were also sipping tea with a peaceful look upon their faces.

Cuin took a look around the room, curious as to how they lived out here. The building was a classical Japanese style, built out of wood and rice paper. It had sliding doors instead of the English traditional door. This made Cuin feel more at ease. If they would attack again, he could defend himself much easier. However, he did feel uneasy- the girls were out in the garden, enjoying the scenery. Cuin glanced at Zen, who looked at him, and nodded slightly. Zen didn't seem disturbed, so Cuin assumed he shouldn't be either. However, one thing bugged him the most, out of everything in the entire building - there was no reception. It was a dead zone for satellite reception, and cell phones were out of reach of the nearest cell tower. Cuin felt deprived of his blood, technology. This showed in his face, for he was slightly pale, and occasionally touching his phone.

Yukihana finished sipping at her tea, finally, and placed it gently in front of her. Placing her hands in each other, she laid them on her lap, and looked at Zen. "So, thats the story? You an' Cuin here are lookin' to learn from us the ways of masterin' your martial art styles to fight against these villains?" She bluntly summarized what they had just informed her.

"Hai, sensei. That is our intention." Zen bowed, "but why did you want to know our reasons?"

"To know if they are pure. An' damn right they are." Yukihana smiled, and whispered into Zero's ear. Zero nodded, and walked out of the room.  An awkward silence ensued. Cuin fidgeted every so often, his impatience and discomfort showing through easily. Zero returned into the room, bearing two white linen clothes. Sitting down again beside his master, Zero handed over the cloths for Cuin and Zen to hold. They were made of a linen, and quite clean from the looks of it. Zero held out his hand, requesting for them back. Cuin and Zen complied, placing them both in his hand. He handed one to Yukihana, who tucked an end of the cloth under her belt. It was loose, as if it could fall out easily, but fit in snugly between her waist and belt. Zero did the same with the second cloth to his own belt. Both of them bowed, and Cuin and Zen returned the bow with their own.

"I, Zero, will teach you Zen, in the ways of the Falling Sakura. It's a swift and deadly style, and your test of this style will be to take this cloth from my belt." Zero stated in a ceremonial manner.

"I am honored...when do we start training, sensei?" Zen said to Zero, bowing.

"We? There is no we. You must train yourself. When you think you are ready, you must attempt to get this cloth." Zen was dumbfounded when he heard these words uttered from Zero's calm voice.

"As is the training method here, you must train yourself Cuin, to take this cloth from my belt. When you do, you can truly master the style of the open fist." Yukihana stated as well. Cuin just stared at her for a moment, and raised his left hand.

"Hai, sensei. Whats the point of coming up here if we were going to be forced to train ourselves?" Cuin rudely muttered. The students outside the door clenched their fists in fury, as if the desire to pound Cuin's head in grew much more after the brawl outside the Dojo.
"You will see it is much harder than you may think." Yukihana chuckled, flattening the cloth against her belt, "well, now since the formalities are over with, lets party!" Yukihana chuckled, and waved for the students to enter. They obliged, bowing before entering the room. Some entered with sake bottles in their arms, others with delicious foods.

The girls entered as well. Harumi sat beside Cuin and poured herself a glass of sake. Mizuki and Sayuki sat near their brother, who, to their dismay, was accompanied by Satsuki, who was pouring him a glass of sake graciously. Zen leaned his head back and sighed, "this is the life," he whispered to himself. In the back of his mind, he wondered what Neko-chan and Yoko were up to...



"Should we try to sneak in?" Yoko looked at Neko, both of them still traumatized from seeing the bloodbath that had occurred earlier. They nodded their heads, walking back down the mountain - this definitely wasn't their lifestyle. Plus, they both reeked of dirt and plants, and their look now, from running wild from a lack of bathing ruined their plans of following Cuin and Zen. 

Chapter 24

Moans erupted from his mouth, and he rolled over, wrapping his arm around the nearest thing in bed. He pulled to him something soft and cushioned, which emanated warmth. He burst into consciousness, rose to a sitting position, and scrammed back into the wall. What lay before him in his bed was Harumi, sleeping carelessly by his bed with a glass of sake in her hand. She was wearing a tank-top, with one strap off, and pink pajama pants. Her delicate hand was gripping a sake bottle, and the other was resting now on Cuin's bedding, wrapped around him while they were asleep.
The first thing that popped into his mind was where he was. In a bedroom, probably one of the dorm rooms for students. How Harumi was allowed to stay with him, though, escaped him - tough teenage boy, lots of sake, and a young Japanese girlfriend usually don't end well in the long run, especially if hes a student at a martial arts Dojo.
Cuin laid his head back, and took a deep breath. His heart, which was pounding ferociously, slowly began to calm down. He sighed, and tried to take longer, deeper breaths. This action seemed to slow down his heart beat, which it effectively did. He lowered his gaze to ground level, and fixated his eyes on Harumi. Why did she play with his emotions? Sure, she was giving a definite response to his feelings, which was a plus. However, she didn't seem to notice Cuin was shy with girls. Either that or she was trying to confront his shyness with such bluntness.
"Harumi's....sugei..." Cuin muttered to himself, a tear flowing down his left eye. He tried to keep the crying silent, but couldn't contain himself. He slowly moved to the right, and grabbed some of the wall. He silently slid the door, opening it only enough to fit his body through. Sliding the door behind himself, he began to let some of the sorrow free. Harumi was amazing...she was able to openly fight for what she desired. He, on the other hand, wasn't. Sure, he pulled the bad-ass look well, trying to not think twice about his actions, or even think once about his previous actions. But he couldn't help it.  No matter how many times he avoided his problems, they would come back to haunt him. Just like Anna, and just like his emotions.
"What's the problem?" Cuin looked up at Zen, his eyes read like a book.
"I.every time I look at her, I see her.you know, her." Cuin muttered, glancing at the room, and then looking back at Zen, "The same amazing skills, the same whit, charm..and I'm afraid. Afraid of it happening all ov-" Cuin was cut off as Zen brought a fist across Cuin's face. Cuin stood there dumbfounded.
"Aho!" Zen barked quietly as to not wake anyone, "you don't need to think."
"Demo." Cuin looked at his hands, and chuckled, ".guess that was a close one, eh?" Cuin smirked.
"Remember - what's in the past is in the past. The future is where you are heading." Zen smirked, and placed a hand on Cuin's shoulder, "and you better make yours a good one, or I'll kick your ass myself."
"Osu!" Cuin joked silently, imitating how Naruto said it.

Chapter 25

"Cuin, come at me with all you got, ya usuratonkachi." Zen took a deep breath, and placed  his left hand on his katana's sheath, pushing the hilt out so the blade would be easier to unsheath. Cuin chuckled, cracking his neck side to side, and held up his fists, readying himself in an L-stance. 
"Koi, Aho."
Hearing these words out of Cuin's mouth, Zen unsheathed his sword and brought it down in a kendo-fashion, aiming for Cuin's head.
"Men!" Zen yelled.
Cuin shot his right hand into the air, and parried the blade away from its path, stepping forward with his left foot, and slamming the back of his left fist into Zen's face. Using the momentum, Zen rolled to his right, dropping his katana and unsheathed his second katana. As he stopped his rolling momentum with his right foot, he brought out the sword in a style similar to Battojutsu, swinging for Cuin's hip.
 The blade struck solidly, cutting into his leg. Cuin rolled backwards, and reached into his martial arts Gi, pulling out two kama. Standing up, he smiled, and swung them in his hands, gripping them tightly as the handle stuck out from the front of his fist, and the blades extruded by the sides of his arms. 
"And this is the training hall..." Yukihana's voice came from behind one of the screen doors to the outside. Cuin and Zen continued to spar, their strength seemingly on par with each other. "Well, it looks like the two morons are already using this room."
As Yukihana entered the room, Harumi, Satsuki, Sayuki and Mizuki followed. They were all wearing yukatas, and maneuvering well in their outfits. Sayuki stopped, and looked at Cuin and Zen's skirmish.
"Isn't it reckless of them to use real weapons in training?" She asked Yukihana indirectly, watching the battle with unwavering eyes.
"Yes, but that is the way of this school. One needs to train the mind AND body, and thus must be ready to take injury. Thus, like the Shaolin monks kick each other in the family jewels until it is painless, we train ourselves to injury, learning how it's treatable, and avoidable if at all possible." Yukihana stopped, and watched it as well. Cuin thrust his arms at Zen in a curved fashion, the blades parrying Zen's katana both ways.
Harumi leaned against the wooden railing, resting her head on her arms as they lay across the wood. "I get it...after all, I read a lot of manga and watch a lot anime that do this stuff...but I never expected it to be still in practice. Something about human rights or safety." She mumbled, watching the two battle it out.
"This deep in the mountains? Who are they gonna call if they get heavily injured? We don't even get cell phone reception." Yukihana laughed, and slammed her fist onto the railing. Cuin and Zen stopped their battle, turning to Yukihana's direction, and bowing.
"Wow, you train them fast." Mizuki joked.
"Oi! aho genki-domo! If your gonna fight, don't hold back, even if your friends. Your not even aiming for each others vitals!" She barked at them.
Cuin opened his mouth, "Simimasen, Sensei, but if we do hit each others vital organs, that will kill us!"
"Urasai, Cuin-Aho! We got you covered. Even when your injured, we can heal it, be it terminal or not!"
"Sweet! Secret eastern healing techniques!" Cuin cheered, throwing his fist in the air. Zen sighed, and did a lower backfist into Cuin's stomach. Cuin keeled over over, "ITEH!"
Zen bowed, "Gomenasai, Sensei, for his disrespect."
"Ii yo." Yukihana chuckled, waving her hand in the air as to say 'Don't worry about it.' , "Now, continue!" 
Both of them bowed, re-equipped the weapons they discarded in their first exercise, and went at each other again, this time aiming for each others neck and vital organs.
"You....weren't kidding about being able to heal vitals, were you?" Satsuki asked, her eyes slightly in fear for Zen's safety.
"Nah, we got our ways. We have tons of painkillers, anesthetics. We also got some old healing skills not known to the modern medicine system. Ways they would kill to get their hands on. Luckily, we can kick their ass if they ever try to get a hold of them." She stated bluntly, and looked at the girls with crazed eyes and a freaky smile, "Ya won't tell anyone, will ya?"
"Ie-des." The girls all said, bowing repeatedly.

Chapter 26

The girls walked out of the room, following Yukihana. Cuin sighed, and leaned to his side. Stretching his leg muscles, he looked at Zen as they both stretched their leg muscles.
"What exactly do you think they want us to get from this exercise? I mean, here we are, trying to kill each other." Cuin switched to the other leg.
"Sa. I mean...just doing this alone, we wont be able to acquire the skills we need." Zen sighed, and he stood straight up, now pulling his arms to their limits to ease the tension on the muscle.
Rising from the ground, and popping his knuckles, Cuin stopped all motion of his body. He sprung back into motion, looking at Zen. "I just had a crazy idea."
"Most of your ideas are crazy."
"Zen, what if...we pulled an old Anime trick?" Cuin walked to the side of the area, chuckling.
"What...the hell are you thinking now?" Zen stared at Cuin, raising an eyebrow.
"Weights." Cuin chuckled, his back turned to Zen. Cuin bent over to pick up some objects.
"Wha-" Zen wasn't able to finish his sentence as Cuin turned around, and tossed two pairs of weights at Zen's feet.
"Two leg weights and two arm weights for both of us. We have to wear them at all times." Cuin smiled, picking one up and wrapping it around him, right above his wrist.
"Cuin...I love you." Zen stared at Cuin in awe.
"I love me too, now strap up." He finished strapping his own weights on, and looked at Zen.
"If only you would go along with the joke right now, it would have been so perfect..." Zen sighed, and strapped them around himself as well.
"Lets see how we do with the weights on." Cuin chuckled, slowly walking towards where they were just fighting. He picked up his kamas, and readied himself in a fighting position.
"We should probably start training our muscles, body, and mind to deal with the new weights...but this could be fun." Zen smiled, and walked back to the middle of the room as well, re-sheathing his katana, and taking the stance of a Batou-Jutsu.
Cuin started...horribly. He started off running, but as he raised his left hand which was gripping the kama, he fell face-first into the ground. Zen took this opportunity to unsheathe his blade - to only find himself losing balance as well, falling onto Cuin, burying his face into the ground.
"God...dammit..." Cuin muttered, his head buried in the dirt. "This fuckin' hurts..."
"Maybe I was right. We should probably, ya know, EXERCISE first."


Neko sighed, looking outside the school window. Her head was resting in the palm of her hand, which was propped up with her elbow. She yawned, looking out the window. At first, she was admiring the clear sky. She looked around the school grounds, seeing some of her friends. It didn't take her long to spot Yoko getting yelled at by a gym teacher.
"Yare yare..." Neko-chan muttered to herself. "She really doesn't learn."
"Neko-san? Neko-San?"
"Ara?" Neko took her droopy eyes out of the window, and looked at the front of class. Sensei was standing by the board, and he sighed as well.
"Is my class really that boring?" Sensei asked Neko. The question wasn't specifically towards her, however. Indirectly, it was aimed at the entire class. "First Cuin and Zen disappear into NEET-ness, then they just start skipping school...and nearly half the damn class disappears. You and Yoko go along with the crowd during a couple of days, and come back as if nothing ever happened. Am I really that boring?"
"HAAI!" The class clown raises his hand, and the present students burst into laughter.
"Alright. Since you voiced your opinion, melon-head," the teacher walked to the clown's desk, "you will be helping me with our schedule...and writing up a 10 page essay on exactly what you find to be boring in my class."

Chapter 27

"Hey, Zen." Cuin laid on the ground, looking at the stars.
"Yeah?" Zen laid beside him, looking up as well. Both of them were still wearing their weights. They both looked as if they hadn't slept for ages. 
"Can I sleep yet?" Cuin rolled onto his stomach, and stretched out his arms and legs, wiggling them.
Zen sighed, and back-fisted Cuin's side.
"No, aho."
"Why not?" Cuin whined.
"Not until we get our strength up." Zen sighed, getting back on his feet, and falling back to the ground.
"Come on. We've been fighting each other at full strength for at least four days...I kinda lost track at the fourth..." Cuin started to get back on his feet as well, staggering a little, and then getting into a sloppy fighting stance.
"Maybe...your right..." Zen began to daze off, his eyes closing, and opening, and closing again, "I am getting...somewhat sleepy..."
"See? Any martial artist knows one needs sleep to improve..." Cuin fell over again, and began to snore immediately.
"Cuin?" Zen asked with a raspy voice. Cuin didn't respond. Zen sighed, and looked back up, closing his eyes. "Okay...maybe a 5 minute...break..." His eyes blurred, and he fell into a deep abyss known as rest.


"Sir." a man in a black suit entered a dark room, and kneeled before a chair.
The room was entirely black, aside from the moonlight entering through a roof window. In the center of the darkness a chair stood, and on it, a young boy. His face hidden by the darkness, but the moonlight shined over him. It looked as if a man was at a dark throne. 
"Speak." The boy said. His voice had a dark sound to it, as if it carried the burden of many lives. 
"Sir, we have reports of the one's known as Cuin and Zen having left their..." The suited man started. The boy interrupted, throwing an empty glass at him. It bounced off the grown man, and landed beside him, shattering into thousands of glittering pieces.
"I know this already, fool!" The boy yelled at the man.
"My sincerest apologies!" The man bowed deeply. The boy glared down at him, his body figure showing through. He was young, height around 5'4", and despite his size, had an aura of control about him. The boy sighed, and looked up to the window on the roof. 
"Hm. See to it that this man is.... rid of." The boy muttered to another in the room. The other man emerged from the shadows, grabbed the well-clothed man, and dragged him to the door. The suited man did not resist.
"We must let them both know. Daruin is back. And do it...with showmanship." The boy smiled, wildly, a grin of insanity stretching across his face.