Nadehiko treks through the forest, treading the dirt path below his feet as he follows the path on his feet. Trees flank him on both sides and the thick shade only allows sunlight to shine through in sports. Wildlife shows up every now and then, but along the length of his trek he's the only man on it.
Unlike last time he's alone carrying nothing with him but questions. The eagle finally stops and so does he. Before him a man stands alone. The bird vanishes away, and he walks towards the stranger.
"So you're the one the eagle chose." The man with green hair says, his arms crossed over his otherwise bare chest. "Welcome, back."
"Who are you anyway?"
"Tsukasa, and just like the bird told you I'm here to explain what's happening."
"Why you of all people?"
"About that..." Tsukasa scratches the back of his head. "Remember what happened to you here last time?"
"Yeah, I thought I'd die."
"That... was an accident."
"You're the one who did this?!"
"The bird's already chosen you, but I made him give you the powers earlier than planned, stupid me. To make up for that I'm now tasked with directing your training arc."
"What were you doing then?"
"Fighting the sorta enemies you'll be dealing with. Let's get on with this, mister, uh,"
"Nadehiko."
"You brought anyone else with you?"
"No."
But footsteps from behind him say otherwise.
"Rina? How did you know I'm here?"
"Masato saw you leave the building, then we followed the thing you were following."
"She's got a point," Tsukasa interjects. "hard to miss a glowing blue bird."
"What's happening?"
"You guys just came in here, right? I don't really wanna repeat myself, here, lemme call someone. Hey, me!"
Another green-haired figure appears, this time a female. "Yeah? Wait, that's the guy?"
"Yep, and he's got some people with him, you take care of them while I get to teaching him."
"Who's that?" Nadehiko asks.
"My other self. Literally; we're the same person."
He watches the other Tsukasa interact with the group. "She doesn't seem to act like you."
"Yeah, that's a part of being in that body. But that's not what we're talking about, okay? Let's go."
The group start trekking into the forest until they arrive at a small treehouse. The female Tsukasa and group climb up to it while the two men stay down.
"So you live here?"
"Yeah, but it's more than that, I guard this place."
"You're an actual forest guardian?"
"Born with this job along with these trees. Until recently I only had petty vandals to deal with."
"I'm getting the picture now. Where do they come from, though?"
"They're not from this world. Sent out by the Evil One himself."
"Like the devil?"
"Yep, not only has Satan escaped from his place in Hell, there are cults taking advantage of it, summoning demons to wreak havoc, to say the least. What you have to do is put him back down where he came from."
"How long has this been happening?"
"Satan escaped some time during the war, but only recently are there so much of his legions that it has been too much for guardians like me to handle."
"That's where I come in?"
"The eight great guardians have chosen those who will carry their powers in this world, the blue eagle being the leader."
"That means there are seven more."
"And you're leading the group that's gonna defend this world from the demonic forces. But that's enough info, I gotta teach you those powers you don't know you have. I would really like for this to be longer, but the bad guys have been ticked off."
-----
And thus begins Nadehiko's crash course training. Forgive me for I am about to gloss over a majority of this montage; To no one's surprise I haven't covered all of our protagonist's powers as of this writing. I can make up for it with a few scenes for now, placed separately in this section.
"Let's start, you know how to summon your weapon?"
"Yeah." He summons his sword.
"Now charge it up."
He does so, and bolts flow from him to the sword.
"Now point that thing up and just focus it."
He raises it up, and it only took a some effort and a few seconds for a bolt of lightning to strike the sword and for the electricity to pass through him.
"You're getting the hang of it."
"Now what?"
"Yeah, I forgot about that, you're a walking capacitor right now... just go take it out on the ground."
While Nadehiko does that, Tsukasa addresses the audience.
"If you see him sparking, don't touch him, that thing will stay on him until he does something about it and he will affect whatever else he touches."
Someone raises a hand. "How much voltage can he take?"
"He can handle a lightning bolt, that's got to be a lot, but he can only carry so much excess. He's not really the best battery out there in terms of safety."
-
The sun reaches its high point and Nadehiko couldn't stand the heat. He grabs his shirt to take it off but pauses to see if anyone else is around, nonetheless he makes himself unseen before undressing. Tsukasa turns around to see his invisible student wiping with his shirt.
"Is this okay?" Nadehiko asks as he turns visible.
"Sure. You didn't bring any extras?"
"Had no time."
"Right, the bird hates waiting. The convenience store has some undershirts if you want to change. By the way, that invisibility's a residue of what I did... it's not part of the powers the eagle would hand you."
"Do you at least know how it works?"
"Of course, so you already know about keeping an image of what you look like in your head cause you already know how to turn it on and off."
"Yeah."
"But did you know you can choose what parts to vanish?"
"You can do that?"
"Just do how you do it but only on what you want to disappear. Try it on your arm."
Nadehiko holds up the arm he's holding his shirt with and starting from his fingers he fades it out. He stops once his forearm's invisible, the boundary between the visible and invisible parts of him transitioning in a gradient.
-
"You're getting used to your sword?"
"Yeah, but I've never used one until this."
"You'll be using that a lot, that's for sure. It's got the same weight as a steel one, in case you're wondering."
"I was about to say it feels like I'm holding a real one."
"Let's go test how well you're handling it." Tsukasa summons a light weapon of his own: a scythe. "Okay, get ready."
Blades clash for a couple of minutes until Nadehiko's grip slips and the sword disappears.
"We don't want that to happen by accident. You do tennis, right? Pretend that's a racket and hold it tight, let's do it again."
They spar again, with the sword holder holding out better than last time.
"There we go, just like a rally."
-
"For this next one I'll need some targets for you to hit." the male Tsukasa looks at some of the guys watching. "Since you're not doing much how about you men help me get some wood?" A few men follow and the group treks out.
The remaining ones watch the female Tsukasa train Nadehiko. A loud whirr disturbs them as a loader comes in with a pile of timber.
"You cut all that?"
"This is from someone's tree farm here, already told the guy." The male answers, leaps off the loader and climbs up to the treehouse to get some tools.
After 15 minutes, the men have set up some wooden decoys, one standing tall waiting for its fate.
"Stab it real good." The green-haired male commands.
Nadehiko, sword out, sprints, leaps and shanks the dummy, adding a strong, visible shock through the sword that leaks off the wood.
"You didn't have to get extra."
-
"You're handling this well, gotta say."
"I did tennis back in school, practiced a lot."
"Anywhere close to this?"
"This is more intense."
"You're doing more than just hitting balls, obviously. Let's get back to making those bolts hit where you want 'em to."
-
With nobody else around, Tsukasa tells Nadehiko what's next on the agenda. "Try to hit those targets in one shot, and just those targets."
He starts hitting one of them, his next try gets him two, but there are five standing. He focuses some more and finally hits all five targets.
"That's the one! Again."
This time he hits them all again, but an extra bolt branched out, and he hears a thud.
"Stay there, don't do anything until I get this deer out." Tsukasa run and comes back carrying a dead deer.
"Where are you bringing that?"
"To the inn, can't waste good meat." He starts walking out. "Hey, me, cover for me."
-----
This section covers events outside training proper. The main chronology continues here.
The first day of training goes on for Nadehiko, but for those who dropped by it's a nice break from the usual as they spend the day in town. Not everyone who came has stayed: Rina left early to go to work with some joining her back to Tokyo while others spent their time looking around town, mostly settling at a small place with a few pool tables.
Later in the afternoon Masato and Rina return to the woods.
"Rina! Masato!" Koyomi waves. "Just in time for dinner, we're just about to go."
"Wait, I have to ask something. Rina looks for the green-haired guy, and goes to him. "How long is this going to take?"
"I'm trying to cover all bases as fast as I can, give it a few days. You guys gonna hang out till he's done?"
"We would, but we didn't really prepare for this."
"That's not a problem. Hey, me," the male calls for his female counterpart. "show them the place."
"So which of you are going to stay around in town?" The female Tsukasa asks the group.
A few hands go up.
"There's a inn you can spend the time in."
"Oh, you shouldn't have." Rina responds.
"It's fine, helping those who need it is part of what I do." She says with a smile.
"What about Nadehiko?"
"He'll go there after today's finished."
The group arrives at the inn, the unassuming entrance featuring only a sign telling its purpose.
"Hello?" Tsukasa calls from the front lobby. An old man appears.
"Oh, Tsukasa, hello! You have guests with you?"
"Yeah, here they are.
"Welcome to our little town, visitors, and to my inn. I'll show you your rooms."
They're given a modest room, consisting of a table, cushions, a desk and table and a TV. The main bedroom has two futons on the floor and a couple more small rooms have their own mattresses, all in all there's room for everyone.
Per Tsukasa's request, tea arrives to the girls as they start to unwind; the boys went out for another round of pool.
"So the locals know you two?" Rina asks.
"Of course, we're the guardians of their forest, after all."
"But you guys just go to town and interact with the people? I always thought forest guardians are more mystical than that."
"You expected someone who appears with a glow talking fancy? That's not how it always goes, you know."
"If you're always around," Rina asks, "how come we didn't see you last time we were here?"
"We probably just missed each other. You guys didn't do anything that would make either of us have to teleport and we don't really go out of our way to greet visitors. Where are you guys from, Tokyo?"
"Yeah, Akihabara."
"So you're one of those tourists that had a hiking trip for some peace and quiet, huh?"
"If you put it that way..."
"The forest is a favorite of hikers, that's most of the people we deal with. What do you do in your day-to-day?"
"I work at a restaurant, I recently got promoted to manager."
"Congrats!"
"I'm a bartender at my own bar." Koyomi answers next.
"And I'm part of an e-sports team." Kitsutsuki follows suit. "The other guys are part of it."
"That's the thing with the computer games, right, What about Nadehiko?"
"He's an electronics guy, but he also plays for the team."
Tsukasa giggles. "Of course the guy who works with electric gadgets gets electric powers." She then looks at Rina. "I'm also guessing he's your boyfriend."
She is taken aback. "You know?"
"You're most concerned for him than anyone else, is all. How long have you been dating?"
"Two years. I'm just worried about all this cause it all happened so suddenly."
"I understand, it's not an easy task, but I know he can do it. There's a reason why the eagle chose him."
-----
The town falls a bit more quiet a night, even the places still open like the billiard bar. The remaining girls are either watching TV or sleeping; Koyomi had left to tend her bar. There is a knock on the door that Rina answers.
"Ah, you're finished for today."
"He's a quick learner," Tsukasa comments. "just gotta have to keep practicing. I have to get back to patrolling." He leaves.
"Do you need anything, Nadehiko?"
"A bath sounds nice."
"It's over there."
"Finally."
He enters the bathroom, takes his clothes off and climbs into the warm bath. The outside view is the forest, as still as he is under the moonlight. The breeze sways the trees a bit but not a creature stirs. He gets too deep thinking about the day that passed that the door creaking startles him. He quickly turns invisible and watches a sleepy teammate looks around. "It's in the other door." She yawns and comes back in. He turns visible as he relaxes and stays still in the bath for a bit.
On his way back, he wraps a towel around him and invisibly enters the main room, where a few people still hang around by the TV. They notice his towel and and flinch a bit. Rina gets up.
"I brought some of your clothes." She approaches him. "I'll get them."
"Thank goodness you're wearing a towel." A guy comments.
Nadehiko gets into a pair of shorts but hasn't put on a shirt yet. He's back at the bath, this time with Rina.
"How did the rest of training go?" She asks, looking at him leaning out.
"I did okay, Tsukasa got me good during a sparring session, but I'll get the hang of it soon."
"That's... great." She looks out at the forest again. "This is such a nice place, we don't get this kind of quiet in Tokyo."
"Really makes you stop a while and think about stuff, like this new undertaking."
"You really want to do it, huh?"
"Yeah, who am I to say no? You're okay with it, right?"
"I'm... just not sure I can bear to see you hurt."
"Don't worry too much, I'll be okay." He says with a smile.
Rina embraces him. "I love you."
"I love you too."
They lock lips for a while. After the kiss Nadehiko finally puts on a tank top and the two return inside.
Now that we're back to mundane matters, Nadehiko sleeps in a solo room and Rina in a bedroom where other girls are also sleeping. And so the town sleeps along, save for those who have to stay up throughout the night, like the convenience store, the younger inn staff and the two forest guardians, though the male has taken opportunity of the peace to nap.
-----
Nadehiko wakes up to a clear dawn. Everyone else is asleep, even Rina. He leaves early to continue training, starting with breakfast in the inn's small common dining room(usually the workers' mess hall). He asks the front desk to tell them on his behalf and walks back to the forest.
The arrangment agreed on is for Masato to ride everyone back to work then bring anyone who wants to come after team practice is done along with Rina once she's done with work, then he brings Koyomi to work. The only invariant in this setup is Rina wanting to see how her boyfriend is doing as soon as she can.
"Hey," A member from a different team approaches Masato at a match venue's mess hall, "Masato Matsuoka, right? That guy, the one who killed a monster at a con, he's in your team, where is he?"
"He's out, for training."
"Training? What, to be a hero or something?"
"Yep."
"You gotta be kidding, we play people with powers in our computers while he get to be one, that can't be real."
"The powers are all real, I'm telling you." He sips his drink. "So are the monsters."
"Having powers is pretty cool, I gotta admit, even if it also means getting into bloody fights."
"I really can't imagine the sort of responsibility that entails; it's nothing like running this team."
"Is he still gonna be part of the team?"
"He's a good guy, he'll manage."
"Managing between this and saving the world, that's a lot."
"Yeah."
-----
Training started Monday, and Nadehiko went through a crash course in how his powers work. He never left town during the time period and kept honing his skills. His friends watch him in support, and always close by is Rina.
"Looks like you're ready." Tsukasa says with a smile. "Stuff's rushed a bit but you know enough to fight." The eagle appears and perches on Nadehiko's arm. "See, even the bird thinks so."
"Thanks, man." Nadehiko smiles. "We should commemorate this."
"There really ain't anything I have to mark this occassion, you probably don't need one." He laughs.
"But this feels like the real start of this quest, I think I want a remembrance."
"I got an idea, let's go to the billiard bar."
"Hey, you still got a place in your wall for this guy?"
"How big do you want it?" Asks the bartender.
"Let's have a picture of him; today marks the start of his new adventure."
"Do you really have to be so lould about it?"
"Why not? Soon enough everyone in Japan will know about you."
"Smile for the camera!" Another server points its lens at Nadehiko. Click. "Let's have a group photo!"
The staff also prepare a small lunch for the team. The photo hangs at the corner where the pool tables are. The group says their goodbyes to some of the locals and drive back to Tokyo.
-----
"Is there anything else for today?" Asks Kitsutsuki while they exit the car.
"To be honest, I'd just love to get some rest." Nadehiko answers.
"You deserve it, big guy." She smiles. "So the usual?"
"Of course!"
"The bar won't be open till later, though, let's take a pit stop at HQ."
Nadehiko takes this time to nap, with everyone else doing their work. The internet café went about as usual during his absence; with all the stuff they've seen happening with him him going out to train seems like an obvious next step. The ringing of his phone wakes him up; Rina texted that her shift's done for today. The group quickly head to the restaurant and fetch her. They find her waiting outside.
"Welcome back to Tokyo, Nadehiko!" She embraces him. "Sorry I couldn't be there."
"It's fine, it wasn't anything flashy, just lunch."
"So where are we going?"
"To the bar."
The bar is about a ten-minute walk away from the restaurant. The group stumbles upon a small museum with a sign at the front advertising an exhibition of ancient objects. Out of curiosity they enter the venue and it turns out that the front area of the museum only has part of said exhibit, most of the area dedicated to an artist's first show. The rest of the objects on display is in a room at the back of the building. They approach the room and see a ribbon barrier blocking the door.
"It's closed."
"I don't think so." He slowly opens the door. "It's open, I'll check." He whispers. He turns invisble and takes off his shirt, then extends himself as much as he can to get a better look.
Inside the room are men clad in black, three lookouts guarding a single thief trying to steal a jewel off a stand. Nadehiko signals with his gloved hand for the group to back away as he watches the thief successfuly grab the gem and walk to the front door. He takes stance just before the getaway and shows himself and his sword. The robbers have their weapons ready as well and a fight ensues.
While the battle rages on clash the guy holding the jewel uses this distraction to sneak away, but Rina chases the perp and tackles him to the ground. The gem flies off his hands but is caught by Kitsutsuki, who runs to the nearest employee. The frontrunner escapes Rina's fists and the gang continues to fight Nadehiko all the way to the streets, less interested in the item and more interested in eliminating the man with the lightning sword. The leader summons a being and commands it toward Nadehiko's direction. This makes things more difficult for him as the creature is relentless and hits him a few times. Nonetheless, he continues on and shocks it enough to render it immobile for a good while until he can eliminate it. The follow-up attack is a number of agile demons that almost overwhelms him, but one by one the demons suddenly fall dead to the ground from arrows, the cultists look for the source but end up receiving them on their person.
The police arrives and arrest the thieves, an officer commending the group for stopping the crime. Nadehiko slips into his shirt just before the mediamen rush into the scene and fling their microphones unto him.
"We didn't get to see the other artifacts."
"How long is it gonna run, till next month? We'll come back."
"But if they fold the whole thing because of this?"
"Don't worry about it," an employee approaches them. "we'll try to reopen the exhibit with better security as soon as possible. Once again, thank you for stopping the thieves; the jade is one of the centerpieces of the show and is too valuable to lose."
"Is there anything else special about it?" Nadehiko asks.
"I don't really know, I'll ask the experts for you, but for now the item will be in storage. If you want you can give me some contact details and I can contact you once it's back on display."
As they are about to return to HQ, a stranger stops and bows before Nadehiko.
"My liege." He gets up, wearing the hat he held to his chest. "So you're the one chosen by the eagle."
"Yes, that's me. How did you find me?"
"Honestly, I didn't mean to, but I saw on you a sign that he had told me, that and the sword you were holding."
"Who are you?" Rina asks.
"Toshiro Yumiya." He answers with a smug smile.
"Nadehiko Izuki." He extends an arm, which the other accepts with a shake.
"Uh," Kitsutsuki interrupts. "can any of you at least fill us on what's happening? You guys barely just met."
"This is indeed our first meeting, but I am also one of the eight stewards of the great guardians. There's eight of us in total as you know, the new generation of a group keeping order between the realms. Nadehiko here is to lead this task."
"What's your... thing?"
"I carry the bow of the Green Archer, who appeared to me when I picked up this magical bow and quiver."
"So those arrows came from you?"
"Yes, the first of many."
"There's six more of you, where are they?"
"That's the thing, they're scattered throughout Tokyo, maybe even the country."
"And you don't know where they are?"
"We are guided in some way, though Nadehiko ought to be able to find them all with the help of the eagle." He looks at the time. "It looks like I have to go, where could I see you again?"
Masato pulls out a calling card and hands it to Toshiro.
"Matsuoka's... Spitfires..."
"He's a member, and the address is where you can find him most of the time."
"Interesting." He looks at Nadehiko again. "Pleasure to meet you, I'll see you tomorrow." Then he puts his hat back on and leaves.
"I thought that hat died centuries ago." Masato mutters.
"I heard that!"
-----
Koyomi greets the hero at the bar and in celebration it's one on the house for everyone.
"Whoa, can you handle that?" He asks suprisedly.
"It's about a dozen beers, it's cool." She hands him a pint. "Good luck with your new adventures."
"Thanks."
"Too bad we couldn't invite the other guy with us." Kitsutsuki says. "I wonder what he does."
"Other guy?"
"We met him during the fight. He had a bow and wore green, he even wore the Robin Hood hat."
"Really?" Koyomi chuckles.
"Really. It's as ridiculous as it sounds."
"Hey, you'll be seeing him often." Nadehiko says to Kitsutsuki.
"Who's this new friend?"
"His name's Toshiro, he's one of the other stewards like me."
"Allies already, your new adventures really have begun."
"Before all that, let's raise a glass." He raises his first. "Fight!"
Cheers fill the room and the night has indeed begun.
-END
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