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You're on your merry way to the Deserted Fairground to get your daily scratchcard. You dawdle along, taking in the sights of the Haunted Woods while you're at it. It's not that great of a time to be out. You glance at your wrist watch. It's 3:30.
SCHOOL'S OUT! You hear a crowd of neopets scream joyfully. Yup. Haunted Woods High lets out at this time. You manage to get out of the stampede of teenaged neopets, but the downside is that you've found yourself lost. You glance around nervously, eyes darting from side to side. You're startled by a sound. A voice. Get out of my way. The speaker is a light brown aisha, with long white hair wrapped in a red ribbon. His eyes - rather, eye, as one is hidden behind bandages - narrow as he looks at you, before shoving you, lightly, aside. Wait, mister! Please- The aisha stops in his tracks and sighs. You eye him hopefully. What do you want? I-I'm lost... He sighs again, and points in some vague direction. Before you can protest, he turns and runs away. What to do now? Well, you have no choice but to follow him, unless you want to be eaten by some wild neopet on the loose. The aisha doesn't even seem to know that you're following him, and soon enough, you see him in front of a house. He knocks on the door. You dart up behind him just as the door opens. WELCOME HOME, BROTHER DEAREST! A pink aisha with rainbow-streaked blonde hair exclaims cheerfully, pulling the light brown aisha into a hug. Get off of me, you freak! The brown aisha struggles, and worms his way out of the hug of death. As he attempts to push the pink aisha out of the way, she notices you. Eh? Riri brought a friend home? EVERYONE! RIRI BROUGHT A FRIEND HOME!!! She calls excitedly. What are you on about, Aitoko? I didn't bring no fri- He pauses, turns around, and sees you. Uh oh. What are you do- Fortunately, he's cut off. The pink aisha's announcement has drawn a crowd. What? Atorii has friends? Are you kidding? H-hey! I wanna see too! Out of the corner of your eye, you see Atorii squeeze out and escape... somewhere. The pink aisha comes up to you, a friendly smile on her face. Hi there, Riri's friend! I'm Aitoko. Do you have a name? She's really nice, and you feel at ease. Oh, it's guest. Alright then, guest, why don't you go out to Atorii's garden? It's that door on the right. I'll bring some food over later, mmkay? You can't really say no or anything, so you let her usher you through the door. You gasp in awe as you step into a beautiful garden, filled with grasslife and everything. Aitoko sits you down at a table. Atorii's just training at the moment. I'll make him sit after I've gotten the cookies out of the oven. See, I knew I had to make extras today! As she waltzes back into the house, you have a strong urge to call for her, but you know it would do no good. You glance around the garden, and that's when you notice him. It's the aisha from before, but now he looks... different. He's wearing the same clothes and everything, but in his hand is a wooden practice sword - a bokuto. His eyes are closed, his movements graceful. He exudes an aura of serenity, so different from the hostility he displayed before. You lean on your chair, trying to get a better view, when you come tumbling down. The crash startles the brown aisha into opening his eyes, and when he spots you... DEATH LOOK. Here's the food! Saved by Aitoko. Again. She puts a plate of cookies and a glass of milk in front of you, and for the brown aisha, there's some waffles, a bottle of maple syrup, and a strawberry milkshake. What a surprisingly... cute choice of food. Thanks... Aitoko. The brown aisha offers. Now, Riri, please entertain your guest. Have a nice chat, mmkay. Or- Or you'll have no more waffles and maple syrup! ...Fine. Aitoko takes her leave, and Atorii turns to you. So what d'ya wanna know about me? .
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Once upon a time, a newborn aisha named Nakamura Hatori was born to two happily wedded aishas by the names of Sasaki Hideo and Nakamura Akemi. Hideo and Akemi soon divorced a year after - the marriage wasn't too happy, apparently, with Akemi taking Hatori with her. How she gained custody was a big mystery. Perhaps Hideo just never wanted Hatori to begin with. Akemi soon dropped the baby on someone's doorstep. Hatori was not wanted there either, and whoever it was sent him off to an orphanage.
--- The orphanage was where his earliest memories took place, still a bit fuzzy. The orphanage was not, typical of sob stories, a horrible centre where they mistreated children. In fact, it was a well-run, happy, cheery orphanage. The workers there often tried to find an adoptive parent for Hatori, with no luck. He was just... "too plain" "too naughty" "too rough". Living in the orphanage for 9 years, little Hatori got a bit bored, and decided to go out and explore one day. Unfortunately, little Hatori was just too little to have a developed sense of direction... And got himself lost. He cowered under a tree, sobbing quietly. --- Are you alright? Blinking tears out of his eyes, Hatori looked up at the face of a fairly young male aisha, in his 20s or early 30s. There's no reason to be scared, you know, the stranger smiled kindly, sitting down on the grass so he could be at almost-eye level with Hatori. I'm not a bad guy. B-but... you have a sword... If the bad guys have swords, good guys need something to defend themselves with! The stranger reasoned, chuckling lightly. What's your name, little one? Hh... Hh... 'A-Atorii... Atorii, huh? Where do you live? Hh... Home. Not knowing how to find Atorii his home, the stranger finally offered, Would you like to stay with me for a little while? Atorii merely nodded at this. B-but what's your name? The stranger smiled mysteriously, only saying ...You may call me Shishou*. You'll have to learn some things if you're going to be staying with me. He took the wooden sword that was strapped onto his back and presented it to Atorii. This is yours now. *Shishou (師匠) - a title reserved for martial arts instructors. Not a name. --- Atorii embraced his new name and new lifestyle with 'Shishou' happily. He resolved that he would become strong, and never revert back to the crying helpless aisha Shishou saw initially. He studied martial arts - with swords and without - for five years. Shishou and he moved from forest to forest, never staying at one 'camp' for too long. They didn't really have a destination, it was just that they felt it would be nice to see more of the world. Atorii had come to think of Shishou as his father, and he thought that he would care for him forever. That hope was crushed one morning when Atorii had woken up to an empty camp. Where's he? Atorii wondered, scanning the campsite. A lot of his belongings were gone too. Did someone rob us? Did they kidnap Shishou? No -- he's too strong. They couldn't have... Shishou? Shishou? SHISHOU!!!! He called out to no avail. He looked around the campsite again. This time, something gleamed as it caught the sunlight. Shishou's sword! He's still here! Atorii thought happily, dashing over. And then he saw the note under it. Dear Atorii,
Though he had vowed to himself never to, Atorii found tears spilling out of his eyes. ...And I never even knew his name... --- Atorii lived on his own for a while, doing the same forest-to-forest lifestyle he had been doing with Shishou. He had little possessions, often carrying only his bokuto and Shishou's wakizashi with him. He lived like that for a year, until one day, he was approached by a tall aisha. This is my territory. The stranger stated. Atorii probably shouldn't have been that confident. He unsheathed the wakizashi and pointed it at the stranger. Fight for it. The stranger had an odd smirk on his face. He pulled his own sword out. Let's go. Why was I so overconfident? Too weak. The stranger stated. Atorii held his own for a decent amount of time, but the other aisha was stronger in the emotional sense. He slashed his sword around mercilessly, aiming to kill. You won't defeat me if you don't have the will... The aisha sliced right down the right side of Atorii's face, leaving a bleeding wound from his brow down to his cheek. Atorii clamped a hand over the wound, his other hand shakily pointing the sword at the stranger. Now, now, what good will that do? Just... run. And he did. Atorii surprised himself. He fled, seeking refuge in a clearing, a trail of red dripping behind him. And there, he broke down. Hey... What happened? A stranger's voice sounded, from behind him. LEAVE ME ALONE! Too weak... Too weak... Too... weak... It faded to black. --- Atorii awoke to see a pink aisha bandaging up his hand. Feeling his face, he found that the right half was bandaged up too. You're awake. Thanks. He offered ingratefully. I have to leave now. Wait. Do you... know a Nakamura Hatori? Have you met anyone called that around here? You're speaking to him. ...What's left, anyway. The girl's eyes lit up. Hatori! I'm so glad! ...I'm your sister! Well, half-sister, bu- Atori glared at her. Go. Away. Brat. No, no, it's true! Your father was Sasaki Hideo, your mother was Nakamura Akemi, right, right? She continued. He's not my father, Atorii snapped. Stop lying! Here, you should meet him! Leave. Me. Alone. And she did. But not for long. She must've told her father, because the next day, Atorii found himself being kidnapped by a bunch of people in suits, and shoved into a limo. --- It's been a long time ...Hatori. The speaker was a fairly old aisha. So this was him. Sasaki Hideo. ...It's Atorii. He snarled, That's what my father calls me. Hideo nodded, understanding. I truly am deeply sorry for what I've done, Atorii. Would you like to stay here for a while? As part of my apology? The pink aisha suddenly barged in. Obviously she had been eavesdropping. Ohh, he'd LOVE TO! But I- The- Who- stammered Atorii, too consumed by anger at that pink twerp to form coherent sentences. Very well, I will make arrangements. --- After two years, Hideo had passed away. Surprisingly, he left no money for his children, bequeathing it solely to his wife. Aitoko and Atorii were off to find their own home. Not being able to afford much, what with Aitoko being a waitress and Atorii being a high school student (he was put back two grades on account of missing school for six years, which is a pretty good deal, really) they moved in with a bunch of eccentric neopets and made their own life. .
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Tch. Who needs more acquaintances?
(He does, really! Neomail thestr4ngeone if you're interested.) . |
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