Here is the story:

It was a simple village, small and peaceful. The wind would howl through the trees as we learned to sharpen our swords on the bodies of our enemies. I was young when my father put my first sword in my hand and told me to kill. I was from a clan of samurais that was feared throughout the village, the Red Crested Clan. We were powerful and our strength was unmatched in battle. During wars we were mercenaries and during revolts we were assassins. My families past was covered in the blood of many fallen warriors, and I was expected to follow that blood stained path.

The feeling of the sword in my hand was familiar to me as I cut him down. He was an emperor, once a strongman, but now he was nothing but a headless body. It was known throughout the land quickly that Empuror Tu and the imperial family was dead. The revolt was a success and as we watched the fires burn the imperial castle to the ground. Soon all that was left was the charred remains of a once strong empire. Yet news traveled a little too quickly, and in a matter of a few weeks Lord Visuko had raised his sword to our necks. He was ready to kill us all for hurting Tosea, the Emperor's daughter.

General Gensui, a boy no older then I had found Tosea, and was now watching after her, but we all knew what that meant. In a short span of a week we were all ordered back to the battle field to kill Visuko's samurais. However, his forces and abilities to lead were too much for us, and I could see the writing on the wall. I watched my brother's fall to the ground, so full of life but no longer living. I ran towards all my enemies ready to kill yet though my heart was full of hate and my hand strong I knew this would be my last battle.

You watch as the xweetok touches a sword lying on the ground. His eyes burn with anger and regret that he has failed his brethren. Looking up at you he clears his throat and continues his story. The wind blows through the field but you notice that his hair does not move like the grass when the wind touches it. You think this is odd but keep your questions to yourself.

He was a young boy, both of us were. He was dressed in a black and gold uniform, which was custom of Lord Visuko's armies. He had blue eyes, which were cold as ice. I saw him raise his sword and cut my arm, I swung back and blocked. The fight was short between the two of us. We were tired and waited for the other to make a fatal mistake; sadly it was I who did. My hands slipped from the blood that had gathered on my swords handle and I felt the enemies' blade cut into me. The pain was immense as I fell to the ground, I watched as the boy ran off to kill another. I could recall that feeling of triumph I use to have standing over my fallen enemy but now fear was welling up in my heart. I did not want to die. Death was a fate that followed each warrior but to me it was failure and that was all my people would see it as. Trying to pick myself up off the ground I noticed that I had lost control of my lower body. The damage was done and the ending result was fatal.

I never cried, I never screamed out in pain, I just let the darkness sweep over me. It was cold; my body shook as the icy touch of death wrapped its self around my neck. I waited for it and let my body succumb to the chilling realization I was dying. Yet, as the darkness of death surrounded me a voice screamed out my name. It was strong and powerful, full of life. The heat in the voice seemed to give me life, and so I listened to its words. "Itachei. Itachei come with me. Your time is not yet over; you are needed." Miraculously I awoke to find I was a ghost, or demon of some kind, standing over my cold mortal body. I placed my hand on my heart but knew I would feel no warmth or a rhythmic beating. I fell to my knees by my mortal body and beat my fists on the ground. So I was dead, yet somehow alive, sort of like a zombie. Angered by this I beat my fist harder into the ground, yet no feeling or pain occurred. I was dead, and knew it. No tears would fall from my eyes and no blood was rushing through my body. Yet, something was keeping me alive. I pulled out my sword and cut a gash into my finger. Instead of blood a bright almost lava looking substance leaked out. A drop of this strange liquid fell to the ground causing the grass to ignite. FIRE , or some demon substance was flowing through my being. I could feel power in it, and strength that was unlike anything I had felt before.

The grass began to burn until I was standing in fire. For some reason, fire could not hurt my body and made me feel warm, like life was inside me. I let the flames burn my mortal body, knowing this would give me a proper burial. It was hard seeing my flesh melt away like that, and see the fire lap at my face. I soon became nauseated by this sight and walked away, yet when I turned around the fire was gone and the ground was wet.

He looks up at you and sees the fear in your eyes as you understand you are talking to a dead man. He smiles and you, and picks up his sword as holds it in his hands. Confused by how this is possible you decide to sit still and let the ghost finish his tale.

Rushing back to investigate what happened I saw her. Her long silvery blue hair was flowing around her, and she was wearing the most elegant blue and purple kimono I had ever seen. Waves were patterned all over it and her dark blue eyes glistened. Two Golden koi were swimming around her, guarding her. She seemed to float on the burnt grass as she walked over to me. My body would not move as she edged closer and closer. Before I knew it she was standing inches away from my face. Her pale face was marked with light and dark blue markings. She smiled at me as she touched my face. Her hand was cool but once her fingers touched me I heard a sizzling sound. Quickly, she pulled her hand back and stared at her burnt fingers. She held them up to the two koi, who touched them with their tails and healed them. I quickly apologized for hurting her but she just waved me off and began to walk away. I ran after her, I don't know why but something pulled me to her. "Wait please. My name is Itachei and I need help." I pointed to my charred mortal body.

The girl turned around to look at the black face and feet. "What do you need me for?" Her voice was soft and sweet like a cold drink of water on a hot day. She started to walk away again but I yelled out to her. "Please I am so confused. I think I died but for some reason I have not left this world. What am I?" The girl turned around on hearing this and smiled as she brushed her hair from her face. "You are a spirit, like me. You have died but something has kept you here. I can see you were a soldier, which means that you stay here because you feel too closely connected to the mortal world of battle." A spirit? My mind began to race, how could this be? Well, I knew I had died but what would make me a spirit that wished to stay in a mortal world. I looked back at the girl, she was petting her golden koi, as if waiting for me to say something. "Who are you?" The question needed to be asked but I was not sure if this was the right time. She turned away from her koi and gazed at me. "I am Xelchrisha, a water spirit. I was once a girl, a merchant's second child and only daughter. I fell in the river one day and drowned and so I died and became a spirit. It may be hard for you to understand right now Itachei but trust me this life will make sense to you. "Her eyes seemed to see past me and understand the questions that were coming to my mind. "Trust me Itachei you just have to find the spirit that saved your life, like my koi here, and you will be able to understand this new existence. Each person that dies has two choices. One is the afterlife, a world of darkness or light depending on who you were as a person. The other is one rare souls are given, and that is this form; a physical body that contains powers of a certain element, such as fire, water, and many others. The spirit of the river, these koi, granted me this new life. Now something out there in this battle field offered you this gift and you must find it or you will disappear."

With those words she left, I yelled for her to come back but she just walked away. Annoyed and bitter I started to walk away from the battle field. How dare she leave me here with so many questions, and so few answers to them? The moon was coming up over the horizon leaving me completely isolated and alone. I looked off in the distance but Xelchrisha was gone. I began to walk back to the field feeling that something was calling me back. I searched among the bodies but nothing, or any spirit came out. This was starting to become absurd and my fierce warrior nature was not ready to listen to Xelchrisha's words. I was stubborn and chose to sit on the ground and ignore looking for this spiritual being.

Closing my eyes I began to fall asleep, it came too easily. The darkness surrounded me like a blanket until nothing could have woken me up. Yet, the voice that had woken me before started to speak, "Itachei come to me. Follow me into the flames of a new life." I could feel heat all around my body and quickly opened my eyes to see a large biyako like tiger with flaming eyes glaring at me. His voice was quick and annoyed. "I have been calling for you for a while, what made you not listen?" He hissed as flames lapped at his feet. I stood up shocked by this strange creature, but a feeling of safeness began to surround me. Was it possible that this beast was what Xelchrisha had been talking about? Was this creature the spirit that revived me and gave me this existence? "I am Kah, and you Itachei are mine!"