Chapter 11: Sacred Gear

Why am I doing this?!

"Don't stop running Kid, If you feel like you're about to collapse, just start running faster!" The god of seas and storms yelled as he watched me run laps around an empty training field, my body drenched in sweat.

I wanted to ask him why he was making me do this, but I was too busy trying to gulp air and breath to ask.

"I told you ya' got promise Ken-chan! Any other kid your age would have collapsed already!" Susanoo-No-Mikoto cheered from the sidelines, sitting under a beach umbrella.

I kept running, Ignoring his cheers as my legs ached and my lungs burned.

I promptly collapsed from exhaustion.

.......

Staring at the child on the ground in front of him, Susanoo-No-Mikoto wondered where he could have been misunderstood.

"I told ya' to run faster, not collapse." He sighed as he picked up the boy and moved him to another area of the training yard, before laying him on the ground and taking a few steps back.

"Clear!" He yelled before shooting a finger-sized lightning bolt at the kid, jolting him up, awake and energized.

"Now," Susanoo pointed at a training dummy, "Punch that guy,"

The boy blinked, before looking down at his hands and exhaling a sigh of exhaustion, promptly picking himself from the floor and walking to the wooden dummy.

"See, Training others is easy," Susanoo thought to himself as he watched the kid try, and subsequently fail to awaken his Sacred Gear by punching the dummy.

.......

"Okay, None of this is working," I stopped as Susanoo started speaking.

"We still don't know what your Sacred Gear is," He said.

"Maybe it would be easier, If I knew what a Sacred Gear was," I told the god of storms, recieving a thoughtful nod in response.

"You know what? Sure! Sit down Kiddo, I'll teach you what Sacred Gears are," I did as he asked, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Before we start, I need you to know, that you should blame the Abrahamic religions for this," He told me before clapping his hands together, the sound of thunder rang out.

"Okay, Sacred Gears, yes." He nodded as he thought of what words to use, "Sacred Gears are magical powers that are bound to the soul, given by Yahweh to Humans as a way to give Humanity a chance to survive in this chaotic world," He nodded again, satisfied with his answer.

"You, have one of those powers," He told me, "One of these Sacred Gear, it awakened when you were in Kyoto, but you probably never used it since."

I thought for a moment before realizing something, The Moth Tattoo!

"I see you have a thought, keep it for a moment," He told me, "In order to pull up a sacred gear, you need to think of power, of a sudden rise in power, like the mantra a Samurai says before unsheathing his blade, or something like that," Susanoo Shrugged at his own example.

A sudden rise in power...

I thought about the moth tattoo, about being tied on that roof in Kyoto, about the fear I felt as that monster, that Yokai started to cut the rope holding me.

I even remember what he said, word for word.

"I'll be taking your mother for myself,"

And The World went white

............

Susanoo-No-Mikoto smiled as the kid in front of him exploded with magical power.

His body was covered in tattoos, almost like roots or vines, all glowing a bright white light, illuminating the shaded area the kid sat in as if he was a beacon.

And as soon as the light covered his body, it was gone.

And the kid collapsed in exhaustion once more.

Susanoo looked at the body of the child laying on the ground in front of him, and he sighed.

"So the sacred gear is too powerful for your current body to handle, huh? Gonna' have to do something about that,"

..............

When I woke up, It was to find myself back in Sano Koto's car, Getting parked outside of my house.

"You're awake, good," The god of seas said as he turned to look at me, "I'm ending your day here, don't try and awaken your Sacred Gear by yourself, I'll have an agent train you here during weekdays,"

"Now go home kid, you need some sleep," I nodded and left the car, tiredly stumbling my way to the door.

............

As Susanoo watched his new apprentice leave his car and head home, a voice asked him a question.

"Do you really think this kid is worth the effort?"

Susanoo smirked and turned his head to look at the new person in his passenger seat, the guest's long silver hair tied in a ponytail as he sat with arms crossed, a white kimono on his body as his purple eyes stared at the god of storms.

"Oh, this kid is worth the effort and more," Susanoo told him, "If you were there in Kyoto, you would agree with me,"

The silver-haired man nodded his head calmly before his body seemed to fold into itself like origami, before the man was gone from the seat, replaced with a paper crane.

Susanoo smirked as he watched him leave, "Always have to exit with style, huh Tsukuyomi?"

Sano Koto placed his foot on the gas and drove away.