Crash Course In Destruction

Shindo found himself laying on a white bed in the school infirmary when he regained consciousness. "Guess it was a dream," he said to himself sounding relieved. "You bloody idiot," a voice said. Shindo sat up and started looking around vigorously. "What did I tell you about thinking you were imagining things? Just look at your arms and everything will explain itself," the voice said while Shindo was still trying to find the person talking to him. He stopped and looked down at his arms and saw two black tattooed chains with a little scythe coiled around his arms from the top of his shoulders to his wrists. "And que screams," the voice said just before Shindo let out a frightening yell. He tried rubbing it off but it didn't seem to be working. This triggered more yelling. "Jeez kid, pipe down," the voice commanded. Shindo stopped and started taking steady breaths.

"Hey Shin, you okay in there?" Yoshido asked from the other side of the door. "Yeah, I'm fine," Shindo answered. "Can I come in?" Yoshido inquired. "Sure," Shindo said while heaving himself upwards to a sitting position. As Yoshido entered, he stopped abruptly and pointed at Shindo. "Shin. When did that happen?" he asked, referring to the new tattoos on Shindo's arms. "It's a really long story. I'll tell you about it in the mess hall," Shindo replied. "Sure. Anyway, I have bad news," Yoshido said sounding down hearted. Shindo leaned forward, wondering what was so bad that it saddened his usually joyful brother.

"It's about Haku," Yoshido began, "He's gone missing. The guys at R&D say he may be dead." Shindo said nothing. "You're lying! Haku isn't dead!" he shouted with tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry bro," Yoshido said calmly. "How are you not fazed by this?! He's your brother too! How can you give up hope so easily?!" Shindo yelled with tears now running down his cheeks. "I am fazed! It's killing me inside! I made a promise to mom and dad that I wouldn't let either of you two die as long as I was alive!" Yoshido yelled back. "If you want, try prove everyone wrong. And just so you know, your little stunt back at training could've killed everyone," he continued, after regaining his composure. "But they're okay right?" Shindo asked, looking for reassurance with tears still in his eyes. "Yeah, they're all fine. Anyway, just rest a bit," Yoshido said, patting the top of Shindo's head. "You're going to have a power assessment for your new abilities tomorrow," he said as he walked towards the door. "Hey Yoshi," Shindo began, "I'm sorry about the outburst."

Yoshido turned back to face his little brother. "It's alright. Just rest for as long as you want," he said before leaving the room. Shortly after that, Hachi and Oda came running through the door. "He's alive!" Oda said with his hands in the air. "What's up guys?" Shindo said with his hands laying bulk on his chest.

"Nothing really. We just came to check on you," Hachi said, now standing by the window. He quickly pulled out one of his daggers and threw it straight at Shindo. Without thinking, Shindo caught it just before it hit his shoulder. "Bro! What the heck?" he said before throwing the dagger back at it's owner. "Just checking something. Anyway, that chick Akane was looking for you," Hachi said before jumping out an open window. "Are you trying to end up hospitalized too?!" Oda shouted out of the window at Hachi, who was fully aware of the four story drop. He landed gently before looking back up at the window he jumped from. "I can control space remember?" he yelled before walking off. "I guess I'll leave too," Oda said just before running out the door.

"That was rather odd, dont you think?" the bodiless voice said. Shindo just ignored it and continued processing Hachi's words. "Stop ignoring me!" the voice protested. "Oh, sorry about that Kami. I just thought that if I didn't answer you'd just shut up," Shindo replied. "How rude. Does no one have any courtesy these days?" Kami-gatta complained. "Cut it out already. Isn't there something better you have to say?" Shindo thought back. "Yes actually. If you're going to have a power assessment tomorrow, I better get you up to speed with how I work. Now, let's get going!" Kami-gatta yelled with a burst of excitement.

Shindo had no complaints. He got out of the infirmary bed and got dressed before leaving the room. When he got out of the infirmary building, he didn't know where to go since he never asked for directions to get to Akane. "This can be our first lesson," Kami-gatta said calmly. "Oh yeah? And how does this help?" Shindo thought back. "Simple. First, close your eyes and stretch out your arms," Kami-gatta instructed. Shindo did as he was told. "Now take slow steady breaths while keeping your mind empty," Kami-gatta said. Shindo followed the instructions. He began to feel a warmth throughout his body again. But this time, it was different. It was more controlled. "Great! One last thing, I'm about to give you a little portion of my power. It might tingle a bit," Kami-gatta warned. Tingle was an understatement. Shindo felt as if he had made contact with a live wire. The feeling was hard to explain but if he could use one word for it, it would be 'unnatural'.

"Done. You can now sense everything," Kami-gatta said before going silent. Shindo could indeed sense everything from the birds in the sky to the ants on the ground. It was like he had just received a new sense. "Kami-gatta, what the heck is this?" He said out loud but in a low tone. "It's nothing special really. Just a little gift to prevent you from becoming an easy target. I was thinking about calling it 'Enlightenment'. What do you think?" Kami-gatta responded. "I love it. Any drawbacks or disadvantages though?" Shindo thought back. "None that I know of. Just know that it's always activated so you dont have to worry about it. Now, if you're done, track down that Akane girl so that we can get moving!" Kami-gatta exclaimed. Shindo closed his eyes and focused, keeping Akane in mind.

When he finally tracked her down, he found her sitting on a bench by one of the many ponds located around the large school campus. Shindo couldn't help but stop to admire her appearance. Akane was an girl of average height with a lean build. Her hair was tied in a braid that hung behind her back. She had changed out of her uniform into clothes that made her look like a visitor. When she turned and saw Shindo, she gave him a warm smile while signalling him to come take a seat beside her. Shindo was hesitant to approach her when he saw a bandage wrapped around her left hand. He then remembered that she was one of the students who were part of the battle royale leading up to the shockwave.

He finally decided that it wasn't that bad as long as she wasn't seriously injured and went to join her. He shuffled his legs to the seat, still wondering what she had to say to him. After sitting down, he kept his head down with his hands in his pockets. "Does it hurt?" He said to break the silence. "Not really. It's nothing, I promise, " Akane replied, forcing a smile. "I'm sorry," Shindo said abruptly before she could speak. "Don't be. I've told you already, it's nothing," she replied. Shindo didn't fully believe her but chose to remain silent. "I know about him. The thing inside you," she said to get his attention.

"I'm sorry, but who the hell are you calling a 'thing'?" Kami-gatta asked, sounding irritated. Shindo kept quiet, not knowing who to reply to first or what to say. "It's ok, you dont need to lie to me," Akane said while holding her bandaged hand. "Sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about" Shindo said with a blank expression on his face. "Don't play dumb Shindo. I know about him. I know someone who can get rid of him and put everything back the way it was," Akane said, looking Shindo dead in the eye. "If I know the person she's talking about, we have a problem. Go now!" Kami-gatta commanded. "I dont think that will be necessary. Thanks for the concern though," Shindo responded, moving away attempting to leave. "I can't let you leave," Akane said before putting both of her index fingers together. Shindo's body went numb before he could realise what had happened.

"Why you little!" Kami-gatta said sounding pissed off. "Shin, unless you want to meet one hell of a hypocrite, follow everything I tell you starting now," he said. Shindo made a humming sound in agreement. "Just wait here with me until he arrives," Akane said with her fingers still together. "Like hell we are! Shin, remember the portion of power I gave you? Try concentrating it into your legs," Kami-gatta instructed. Shindo closed his eyes and started focusing on moving it downwards to his legs. "Now, when I say go, just do whatever you see fit as long as it breaks the paralysis," Kami-gatta said. Shindo remained silent, patiently waiting for the signal. "Now!" Kami-gatta yelled with fury. With impeccable speed, Shindo delivered a kick to Akane's midsection that sent her flying to the other side of the pond.

"Jeez, I think you over did it with the kick," Kami-gatta commented as Shindo stood up panting. "Hey you! In the hoodie!" Shindo shouted to a first year who happened to be walking past. "Me?" the boy asked looking a bit confused. "Yeah, you. What's your name?" Shindo asked. "Toshiro, " the boy replied sounding nervous. "Well Toshiro, you see that passed out girl over there? Take her back to the infirmary and if they ask what happened, tell them Shindo Nakajima takes responsibility for his actions, okay?" Shindo instructed. Toshiro simply nodded before carrying out the task assigned to him.

"If we're done here, go back to your dorm and grab a change of clothes. Things are about to get messy," Kami-gatta said as if he had something up his sleeve. Shindo didn't bother arguing and did as he had been instructed. He changed into what passed for his pyjamas before heading out again. "Alright, now head to the forest behind the administration block," Kami-gatta commanded. Shindo ran as fast as he could so as not to be stopped concerning the early incident with Akane. When he reached the forest, he ran straight in until he arrived at a clearing with a large stone cylinder stationed at it's center.

"Great, we're here," Kami-gatta said with great joy. Shindo was a bit confused up to this point. "So how does this help with anything?" he asked. "Simple, you're going to cut that pillar after you learn how to draw out the Kusarigama," Kami-gatta replied like he had been teaching this his whole life. Shindo inspected his new tattoos as if looking for a button that released the weapons. "Stop being stupid, stupid," Kami-gatta complained getting impatient. "If you dont know how to do it, ju..." he said before two scythes appeared out of nowhere in Shindo's hands. "Did it. What's next?" Shindo said proudly. "What? How?" Kami-gatta asked. "I just thought that if I focused the power you gave me into my arms, the tattoos might change. Speaking of which, how much of your power did you give me?" Shindo thought back to Kami-gatta.  "Nothing much really. If I had to rationalise, I'd say it's the equivalent of 0.9% at most," Kami-gatta replied.

Shindo thought back to the kick that knocked out Akane. "Wait a minute, so you're telling me that 0.9% is strong enough to knock someone out?" Shindo asked out loud. "Yeah, pretty much. Anyway, I think this is the part where you swing the scythe," Kami-gatta said. "Oh, right," Shindo replied. With all the strength he had, he threw the scythe while holding on to the end of the chain attachment before swinging it horizontally toward the cylinder. The blade of the scythe passed through the cylinder without leaving a single mark. Shindo pulled the scythe back not knowing if he had hit the target or not.

Suddenly, a thin line appeared right on the spot that the Kusarigama had cut through. "I did it?" Shindo asked, not sure of what he was seeing. "Holy cow, I did it" he said still sounding surprised. "Of course you did it," Kami-gatta said to confirm. "You performed the 'slice of transparency' perfectly. And on your first try," he said sounding impressed for the first time. "I did it!" Shindo yelled with joy.

The joy was short lived however as a deafening blast came out of nowhere, accompanied by a gust of powerful wind. When the dust cleared, the cylinder had disappeared without a trace. In it's place, stood a tall muscular man in a white suit. "Oh, sorry. I was looking for someone. It appears he isn't here," the stranger said while looking around. "Shindo, run now. You can't handle this guy, not yet," Kami-gatta instructed sounding scared. "There he is. I knew he was here," the stranger exclaimed joyfully.

"Sorry, no one's here except me and you. So you can go now," Shindo said sounding as courageous as he could. "Is that so? Then who did I hear just now?" the stranger inquired. "Like I said before, it's just you and me. So unless I stuttered, you can leave now," Shindo replied, gripping his released weapons tightly. Before he could blink, the stranger disappeared from Shindo's sight. He reappeared behind Shindo before attempting to kick Shindo's head. Thankfully, Shindo anticipated the move and rolled forward out of the man's reach.

When he caught his bearings, he threw both of his kusarigama in opposite directions before swinging them from their chains toward the stranger. The man managed to catch both scythes with ease. "No need to get violent now," he said calmly, still holding on them. "No need? And this is coming from the guy who nearly kicked my head off!" Shindo yelled with anger. "Hey Kami, is this the hypocrite you were talking about earlier?" He asked aloud. "Yep. Shindo meet Sheeva, the guy who took my job," Kami-gatta responded sarcastically. "I didn't take it away, you gave it away Raijin," the man chimed in.

"Zip it!" Shindo shouted, "Now give me my scythes back!" The man let go as Shindo pulled the weapons back. "Kami-gatta can't speak to you right now so why dont you just buzz off and die in a ditch," Shindo said in an attempt to piss the stranger off. "Kami-gatta? Is that what he said his name was? Disgraceful. But I do have some time to kill so I guess I'll play with you," the stranger said with a smile on his face.