Ivory and Viper resided in the living room. Viper was spending her free-time watching a movie while Ivory was on her laptop, obsessing over a pair of shoes.
"Viper, look," Ivory turned over the laptop. Viper observed the black cut-out boots. "Aren't they nice?"
"Oh, Ivory, those shoes scream your name," Viper put a hand to her ear. "I can hear them."
The two laughed.
"How did going back to the strip club work out?"
Ivory looked up from her laptop, remembering what Chris told her. "Oh, the man couldn't help me. He told me to not go against Blue."
"That's strange. Well, it looks like we're back to square one."
"Not exactly. See, his name is Chris, and Chris knows something about Blue. He might come back," Ivory smiled quietly, remembering the phone that he gave her.
Viper looked at the time on the television. "I'm going to go to bed."
"Right now? It's only six o'clock. And your favorite show is on: Criminal Minds."
"I'm not feeling good. Besides, I have to clean my room," Viper then left.
Ivory thought about what just happened. Ivory knew that Viper was hiding something. Ivory closed her laptop and took out her first every credit card from her wallet. Blue gave her a blue, shiny, credit card. Ivory had been working hard, and she was happy to start making some money. Ivory didn't want to use her money recklessly.
Ivory heard Red calling her from the hallway, and she followed him into the vast dining room. She guessed it was dinner time. She was content; giant growls ruptured from her stomach. Everyone but Viper was grabbing pizza, talking, laughing, and pouring drinks. Ivory took a seat by the corner and ate her slice of pizza in silence. She heard someone sit next to her, the sudden movement causing a breeze. She glanced to see Spike but said nothing to him.
"Where do you think Viper is?" a maid asked another.
"Who knows, but Harley always tells me that Viper's nothing but trouble," the second one said.
Ivory knew that the one that had just spoken was Harley's maid.
"Maria," Harley called her maid over, and the maid made her way over to Harley.
"Ivory," Spike said, and she faced him, "Where's Viper?"
"She told me that she was going to bed."
"This early?"
Ivory shrugged, "I can't help you, Spike, I just hope that she isn't breaking any rules."
"Why would that be a problem for you?" Spike raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I don't want to get into trouble."
"Viper has free-will. If she gets into trouble, you won't."
Spike then got up to get more pizza. Ivory saw Blue and Hawks talking in the corner, and Ivory could tell that the conversation was serious. Hawks quickly glanced but said nothing as Blue handed him something. Hawks put the item in his pocket.
Ivory felt that Blue and Hawks were gossiping about Viper, but she wasn't too sure.
***
After a while, the gang members slowly left the room until only a few people were left. Viper eventually showed up, which caught Ivory's attention because she said that she was tired and had to clean her room. Viper really was acting out of character. Viper was able to eat pizza but had to wash all the dishes.
Viper was grunting to herself about all the dishes and was obviously annoyed.
Ivory volunteered to help her but was stopped by Blue.
"Go in the living room," he ordered her, "and stay in there. Hawks and Lucky will be watching you. Where Hawks goes, you follow. Got it?"
"Yes, Boss," Ivory raised an eyebrow but didn't question Blue demand. He'd been extra snippy for the last couple of days, but no one seemed to notice for some strange reason. It was only directed toward Ivory and Viper, really.
"And Viper, I want those dishes done in ten minutes, so hurry up! Quit complaining. You're lucky I even feed you!" Ivory heard Blue bark at Viper. Ivory jumped in fright at the booming voice.
Ivory saw Hawks and Lucky sitting by the couch, with cigarettes, a couple of wine glasses, and a red wine bottle. She sat toward the corner, hoping that they didn't speak to her.
"Ivory," Hawks grinned ear to ear like the Cheshire cat. He took her arm and pulled her over. He picked her up and sat her by the couch's end crease, trapping her between Lucky and him.
"Why do you always do that whenever I sit on the couch?"
"Does it annoy you?"
"No, Hawks, it doesn't," she replied sarcastically. "I love it."
"Don't be sarcastic, dear," he took a puff from his cigarette. Ivory covered her nose with her hand. "I do it because you hate it."
"And it's easy to pick you up, the other girls are taller," Lucky chimed in. "And stop covering your face, all you have are two holes for that excuse of a nose."
Hawks burst out laughing as Ivory blushed. Lucky followed Hawks' lead as the dark-haired-boy poked the tip of her nose. She swatted his hand away as if he were a fly.
"It isn't my fault that my nose is small," Ivory defended herself.
"I never said it was," Lucky peered into the kitchen, seeing Viper rush to get everything done. "Look, Hawks,"
Hawks turned to look into the kitchen. "She's been productive," he turned back around, "for once," he took a puff from his cigarette before discarding it.
He and Lucky snickered.
"Making fun of her isn't helping."
"Gosh, Ivory, you're so uptight," Hawks said. "You need something to wind you down a little bit."
"Yes, Hawks, something to calm her down and loosen her up," Lucky picked up a glass and poured wine into it. "Here you are," he placed it into her hands. "Don't drink it too fast, you'll get drunk. It is your first drink."
She stared at him, wide-eyed. "You're no older than me, and you're drinking wine?"
"Whiskey," Hawks corrected.
"Bourbon to be exact," Lucky said.
"Bourbon?"
"Besides, I've done worse," Hawks shrugged.
"Really? Like what?"
"I don't think you're ready for my stories, Ivory. I'm one of Blue's favorites for a reason, Little Lady," Ivory didn't take a liking to Hawks' tone of voice. He also never referred to her nickname.
"Is it just you and Red?"
"Harley and Red and his most trusted," Lucky said.
"Yeah, they seem to know things that others don't."
"That's because they do. I wouldn't trust those two, Ivory. Whatever you tell them goes straight to Blue," Lucky whispered.
Ivory could tell that Lucky disliked Red and Harley.
"So, what would we be considered?"
"His top workers."
"Blue has connections everywhere. His top and most trusted workers —but Viper— stay here," Hawks said. 
"I'm not part of the gang."
"Yes, you are," Hawks said.
"I wasn't at first."
"Your proved yourself trustworthy."
"But how come Viper hasn't?" Ivory asked.
"You really need to stop asking questions," Hawks said, his light eyes slowly glancing into the kitchen as Viper quickly disappeared.
"Hey, Hawks, I got the newest Playboy in the mail today."
"Oh, really? Did you?"
"You know what Playboy is, Little Lady?"
"Yes, I do," Ivory said. "The older boys' at the foster home used to sneak them in and look at them."
The two boys chuckled but said nothing further as they drank and smoked in silence.
After about five minutes, Hawks stood up and looked at Lucky. "I have to go. Remember your job."
Ivory wondered where Hawks was going.                                                    
"I remember, Hawks," Ivory went to follow, Hawks, but Lucky put his arm out, stopping her. "Hold your horses, Little Lady. Where do you think you're going?"                          
"What horses? And if you had ears, then you would have heard Blue from the kitchen earlier, but then again, who really knows what goes on in that small brain of yours?" she insulted.
Hawks turned away, trying not to laugh as Lucky sent her a light glare, but said nothing.
"Move out of the way, Joker," she snarled, "Hawks is in charge, so I'll pretend to be his puppet since that's what he and Blue want."                                          
"About that," Hawks turned to her, after rolling his eyes to her remark, of course, "I have some errands to run, so Lucky's in charge of you until I get back."
Ivory sat back down on the couch, sighed, and crossed her arms. "Why does he have to watch me?"                                              
Lucky looked at aghast like she offended him.
Hawks turned to face her. "Because I said so."
Lucky smirked. "Yeah, Little Lady, maybe we'll get to know each other a little more."
"Nah, I'm okay."                                                        
Lucky seemed hurt, but he just rolled his eyes as Ivory smirked in victory. Hawks stood there with his usual stoic expression. "Tell me if Ivory behaves, which I'm sure she will,�� Hawks said to Lucky, changing the topic. He turned to Ivory, "Just listen to Lucky. I'll be back at around midnight."                                                                  
Ivory wondered where Hawks was going; he was never out late.
"Bye, Hawks," Lucky dismissed, and Hawks walked downstairs.
Lucky took a seat next to Ivory and picked up a book. Ivory turned away and thought about why Hawks' been extra sneaky lately.                                                                      
"Where's Hawks going?"                                                      
"It doesn't matter"" Lucky said, not looking up from his book.                     
Ivory sighed. She knew that sooner or later, she'd figure out what's going on. That is when an idea hit her. What if Viper had been with Roxie because she was trying to leave the gang? It would make perfect sense since she wanted Ivory to go back to the club with Swindle H — the reason behind that was because Swindle H is sneaky. No one would suspect her. Since Ivory was told by Chris, the man at the club, to not tell anyone of the cellphone he gave her, how exactly did he know that she would come back? But what about when she was injured, and Viper was acting strange?
What if they planned this ordeal all along? Blue must know about it, but it wouldn't make sense as to why he would allow it to occur. Then again, he never liked Viper, to begin with. Swindle H must have caught on and played along — which may be why Viper recommended her. It would also make sense why Swindle visited Ivory in the computer room and willingly took her to the strip club. It all puzzled together.
Ivory knew that Viper would never succeed, but if she did, the Blue Dragons would never fall. The gang had ties everywhere. The Blue Dragons were a mafia gang, they will make sure they stand.
If Ivory as correct, she would be angry. Ivory knew that Viper wouldn't change her mind because Viper was reckless. If Viper said that she was going to do something, she'd do it.
Leech crawled into the blonde's head, and she wondered where he came from and why he was around one time. Ivory didn't trust him, but it seemed that the Blue Dragons felt the same way. Ivory rolled her eyes because no one ever told her the details.
Ivory broke out of her trance and looked at Lucky, who seemed to be reading very slowly. She could have sworn that she saw him try to hold his laughter. Why would he laugh over a romance novel?
"Lucky, why is it taking you forever to finish a page?"
He looked at her. "It isn't."
"Yes, it is," Ivory eyed him suspiciously and stood up. "Give me the book."
Lucky stood up and held the book high in the air. Ivory jumped up, trying her best to reach it, but Lucky being around six feet tall didn't help.
"Lucky, you're not reading," she accused.      
"Yes, I am. What makes you think otherwise?" He raised a brow.                                        
"You've been on the same page for about five minutes. It takes me about a minute to finish two pages, come one now."                                                                
"Hey, Little Lady, everyone reads at different paces."
"Okay, but you're laughing. Romance isn't funny."
"It's corny," Lucky shrugged, throwing the book onto the couch.                                         
Ivory grabbed the book and saw what he was looking at. Why was she not surprised? "Lucky, really?" she picked up the comic strip that was between the pages. "A comic book?" 
Lucky grabbed it out of her hand. "They're funny."                                                               
"Next time, try to be original with your jokes."                                                          
"Being the Joker is hard," he pouted.             
"Then don't be Joker, be Batman," Ivory said sarcastically. "I mean, it's not like you're funny anyway," she said.                                                   
He rolled his eyes. "I'll need a pair of batwings, which I don't have," He said comedically, ignoring the insult.
Ivory sighed and sat back down.
All of a sudden, Blue walked in, "What's going on here? I can hear you both from the other room."
"Well, I just figured out that Lucky reads comics instead of real books," Ivory said.
"Hey, I do read books. Its comic strip hour, that's all," Lucky sounded insulted.                  
"At ten o'clock at night?" Ivory asked, not impressed. "Wow, no wonder why you're always hyper."                                             
"I have nothing else to do," Again, Lucky ignored her insult.                                                
"You could read a real book."
"Ha — a real book?" Blue scoffed. "Please, we all know that Lucky isn't the smartest person on base."                  
"...Hey!"
"Besides, you could recommend books to him. You know that I have a... wide selection to choose from," Blue smirked.
Blue knew that Ivory was in the library.
Ivory narrowed her eyes, wondering if Blue was in the library, or if Hawks was. Maybe Hawks happened to bump into her, but if that were the case, why was he in the basement? Perhaps Hawks was searching for something.                     
"Comic strips are way cooler," Lucky argued back, missing Blue's condescending remark.                                                                                                                         
Ivory leaned back on the couch and sighed. Arguing with Lucky about comic strips wasn't fun; her intuitive psyche warned her that something terrible would happen. Ivory was nervous and had nothing nor the knowledge of what would take place.
That was when a thought came to her. Ivory saw Lucky follow Blue out of the room, proving that he was actually smart while Blue ignored him. Ivory made sure that no one was around or would sneak attack her, and slowly took the phone out of her hoodie pocket. Ivory flipped the phone open and saw a random number, realizing that it was Chris'.
She sent him a quick but urgent message: "Roxie's taking my friend out. I think the two of them are going to tell on the gang," sent.
Ivory wasn't sure that she could trust Chris, but she knew he was her only chance.
***
Meanwhile, Viper made sure that no one watched her, opened the back door, and snuck out. The young rebel hopped into a car and drove off, not knowing that someone was following her. The person stepped out from the bushes and unlocked their own vehicle. The person was about to get in until they realized that someone was with them.
"Geez, Spike, you scared me," the voice said.
"Sorry, just want to wish you good luck."
The voice let out a sigh. "Thanks."
"You don't seem happy about doing this job," Spike said as the light from the upstairs window hit his face.
"It's not that I'm not happy to do it. It's Ivory —"
"Ivory? What about her?"
"Blue is having me follow Viper because he thinks that she is going to the police."
"The police?"
"Yes. And if those accusations are true, I hope that no one blames Ivory. Blue had Harley spy on them, and he even had Harley spy on Ivory, but Ivory hasn't been doing anything except explore the base."
"Explore the base? Oh, I see."
"Harley doesn't see Ivory as a threat, so Blue isn't worried about her. Blue's purposely keeping Ivory busy. Ivory's smart; I know that she'll eventually figure out what's going on, and if she does, just make sure she doesn't leave. Look, I have to go. Just make sure that she's safe, okay?"
"You got it. I'll make sure nothing happens. Lucky seems to be doing well with that at the moment."
"He's my best friend, but he isn't the strongest. So, if something happens, make sure you're there."
"I catch your drift. Don't worry about Ivory, she's fine. Go — you have a mission to complete."
The voice nodded and hopped into his car. He sped off, hot on Viper and Roxie's tail.
The person was curious to know if what Blue assumed about the two was accurate. Roxie hasn't been her cheerful and docile self. The man was ready and couldn't wait to find out the secret Viper, and Roxie kept from everyone. The man knew that what they were conspiring wasn't beneficial. Like Blue, he also had the feeling that it was about the gang, but the man wasn't sure why. Blue sensed that Roxie never liked the connection she had with the group and didn't want the two orphans living a dangerous life. Roxie had her regrets and perhaps didn't wish Viper and Ivory regretting anything. Red added that Roxie's rebellion may be toward Fox.
The man turned the corner and found the familiar car and smiled because the women didn't know that he was touting them; the man was excellent at sneaking around. The man was finally going to find out what Viper and Roxie were hiding. He felt a smirk crawl onto his face; he smelled victory.
The man was like a hawk, indeed.

Tags: #Scifi, #Romance, #Horror, and #Supernatural/Paranormal.
__
I. Bonded

Ivory McKay and Viper Lehmann are two orphans who are kidnapped by New York City's most dangerous mafia gang. The leader has a reason why he is interested in these girls but holds many secrets that he keeps unanswered. When Ivory realizes Viper's true intentions of betraying the gang, she is stuck choosing a vicious gang and her only friend. Will Viper and Ivory be able to save themselves or will their flaws lead to their downfall? 

***
II. Double-Dealing

Since Viper’s bitter fate, the Blue Dragons no longer consider her a threat. First, everything flows smoothly, but things slowly go downhill when coincidental stories and bizarre information are gradually exposed. As Ivory is trusted more and witnesses a realistic mafia lifestyle, an unexpected deed throws everything off-track. When processing the truth, Ivory is one step closer in discovering her captivity. When Ivory faces near death situations, which side will she choose: will she choose Blue and the gang or rebel like her former best friend? 

(Serializing)

***

Raymond Bundi is a person who loves doing art in general, among them being: drawing comic strips, motivational and creative book writing, carving and composing music. He is strong to serve and has a bachelor of science degree in Eco-tourism and Hospitality Management which he was awarded on 9th December 2016 after completing his four year studies at Egerton University, Njoro Campus, Kenya. Deva Cathu's Mythos is his first published short story. 
His email address is bundiray27@gmail.com

This super-short-story is about a deity named Cathu, His creation, and the trials of His creation in its journey to becoming a perfected image of its creator. The story borrows its deeper meaning from the mythologies of Indian, Norse, Greek, Egyptian, Hebrew and Sumerian scriptures. It has derived its imagery from comic books made by Marvel and Detective Comics companies.

Pusheen is a female cartoon cat who is the subject of codmic strips and sticker sets on Facebook. Pusheen was created in 2010 by Claire Belton and Andrew Duff for a comic strip on their website, Everyday Cute.

On the official Pusheen website Pusheen is described as being a female domestic shorthair which is grey and tabby. The original comic strip series included characters modeled after Belton, Duff, their dog named Care, and Pusheen, a chubby grey tabby cat based on Belton's cat that now lives with her parents in Oregon. Pusheen's name stems from the word puisín, which means kitten in Irish. Pusheen is sometimes seen with her sister, Stormy. Occasionally Pusheen and Stormy are drawn in different themes, such as Pusheenasarus Rex, where Pusheen is a dinosaur and Stormy is in a dinosaur egg.

Pusheen has become well known for appearing in Sticker sets on Facebook, which are images that can be attached to personal messages or comments. The feature, including a set of Pusheen stickers, was introduced to iOS in April 2013, and added to the main website in July of the same year. In an article for PC Magazine on emoji and unicode, Sascha Segan referred to Pusheen as Facebook's "proprietary emoji", being used as a form of Vendor lock-in.

In April 2017, the Pusheen Corporation acquired office space in the Park Ridge suburb of Chicago. The offices are used as a workspace for artists and photographers.

Pusheen is an example of the popularity of Cat's on the internet. An exhibition at the New York City Museum of the moving image examined the phenomenon, highlighting Pusheen alongside other celebrity cats such as Grumpy cat and Oil Bub. The Facebook page for Pusheen has over 9.4 million fans as of July 2017. The brand has expanded with merchandise including an app. Pusheen has expanded and moved beyond just Facebook and now takes part in multiple social media platforms such as: Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. This cartoon cat also has many fan pages within the platforms and blogs dedicated to celebrating the comic. Its popularity has even allowed the Pusheen Corp to create an app that is an expansion of their sticker collection that started on Facebook. Within each social media account that is officially owned by the creators of Pusheen the cat has gained over a million followers and counting. Due to this rise in popularity the company has started releasing GIFs on their website several times a month.

The Pusheen corporation started selling Pusheen merchandise after the popularity of the cat took off in July 2010. The first Pusheen merchandising was sold on the Everyday Cute website as a charm keychain, and necklace. From there the Merchandising expanded and now Pusheen Corp have teamed up with many brands to create and sell merchandise in stores such as Barnes & Noble, Hot Topic, and Petco. They have even expanded their merchandising to the website Hey Chickadee with merchandise collections dedicated to the cartoon cat, which range from plush toys by manufacturer Gund, clothing, accessories, knick-knacks, and much more. They even have a quarterly subscription box (which is a popular trend within online shopping) that is filled with Pusheen Products.

Thanks Wikipedia <3
~Jay

I have been awed by the mystery and the powers of the elements since I was a kid. I think I ought to give credit to all the anime cartoons that was available in our time, especially when it dominated the Philippine Primetime shows in the 90's. I also caught the Funny Komiks fever which is actually quite an integral part of my childhood as I've learned to read and associate the words just by looking at the pictures – all by myself and with my twin brother, KC. This culture pushed me to draw pictures and cartoon characters that led for me to be creative, ultimately finding out that I can make and invent stories of my own. 

As my skill advanced from the traditional stick figures, I needed a challenge and by the age of eight, I have started to make my own stories loosely based on the arena-type battles such as Dragonball Z, Pokemon, and Flame of Recca. We don't have much money then so we have to improvise to hone our craft. After the end of our school year, my twin brother and I used to pull the spring from my notebook and compile all the empty leaves to stitch 'em up together to form a thick notebook to make my cartoon stories – my very own comic book. We have made tons of it, usually strips of stories that ranged from ten to twenty pages at most, but by the end of my first year in highschool I finished a full length comic book story called "Pyrobot" – a robot created to protect the Earth similar to Combatron and Megaman. But this didn't make me happy though. The plot of the story is quite juvenile then, so I plotted a story – a serious one that touches topics of mystery and gives tales of adventures made by an entirely different civilization. That's when I conceptualized "The Omegatribe", which is the book's original title eleven years ago. I tried to plan it to fruition but then school made me extremely busy, it forced me to just put a pin on that project. 

Graduation came fast which made me happy for a bit thinking I could start the project in hiatus but lo and behold, college revealed to be my enemy too. I tried drawing slides and planned to color it in the computer by scanning it and rendering it on Photoshop but all was in vain as this takes too long a time to continue. This project is going down the drain and I could feel the urge of giving up but luckily, God has given me a window. He led me to our college publication, The Business Access Magazine, and this gave me the necessary foundation to make me adept in putting my thoughts into words. After gaining my bachelor's degree in Management at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, I finally vowed to finish the story I started on 2003 and turn this comic book into a novel instead. On January 2009, I started to write it all up. It's quite hard at first as I have been writing it while taking another degree in accountancy at the University of the East. Also, the challenge is the research and plotting the story to make it complete. This ate time that it took three years for me to finish it and another year and a half to revisit the story: to create a time table, assign the time frame, and identify the lunar faces on each chapter. I have finished writing it on the same time I passed the board last year on May 2013. I have to thank God for this miracle as I couldn't have done it without his blessing, guidance, and inspiration. It's quite a challenging adventure, one that I am really thankful to experience.

When Bathala created the world, He made sure that the Earth will be safe from the Mortals: the Men and Women of the Earth. Their potential for evil has saddened Him deeply. He has to go away to create Paraiso but He needs to protect them from destroying themselves.

To make sure that life will prosper on Earth, He has blessed three righteous tribes and mandated them to protect the Fountain of Life from being corrupted. The Fountain seeds green life on Earth. Without the fountain, life will cease to exist.

The three tribes that are led by Nagozul, Yagisiv Haya, and Daomagar, left their villages and created their dominion on Bathala's three islands collectively known as The Holy Lands. Their purpose: "Protect the Fountain of Life at all costs." They have been true in following their holy edict and have proven themselves to become the Holy Sentinels of the Lands of Bathala. They have maintained the secrecy and the anonymity of the Holy Lands with perfection as life continued on Earth.

Tens of thousands of years later, the Kingdom of Nagozul has now grown arrogant and has disobeyed Bathala's mandate. An impending doom now shrouds the Holy Lands. Extinction of the mortal race is upon them and the fate of the world is at stake. It is up to the brave Holy Sentinels, the young Princes of Nagozul, to complete the mission and save the souls that are inhabiting the islands of God.

Kimura Kazuki knew that Takeshi Rena was actually sent by Ryo Otake to start a scene.
Actually, there was no need for that. Ryo Otake, however, was attentive to detail, so Kimura Kazuki accepted his ideas wholeheartedly.
Nonetheless, she was thankful to Ryo Otake for sending Tadeshi Rena over. Looking at the warrior shadow behind Takeshi Rena, Kimura Kazuki asked calmly, "Are you here for the manuscripts?"
"Yup." Takeshi Rena answered honestly. "Miss Qingqiu, you have not updated your comics for a month... Based on the rules, you have to upload one new chapter per week to be published in installments. Otherwise, you might lose a lot of readers. If you still refuse to upload any new chapters, I am afraid Seikisha will cut your comics off their company..."
Seikisha? What a coincidence!
Kimura Kazuki was slightly surprised. She had not thought that Ryo Otake was the editor of Seikisha...
After some contemplation, she let out a friendly smile, "Do editors usually come to the comic artist's residence to ask for their manuscripts?"
Even Chiba Shiori could not resist Kimura Kazuki's smile, it was only natural that the same would apply to Takeshi Rena. She was in a daze for a while. After snapping out of it, she stuttered, "No, not exactly. We usually ask for manuscripts through phone calls since these comics strips are to be uploaded to the magazine. Only comics artists who are well-known in the industry would be visited by the editors asking for manuscripts." After speaking such statements, Takeshi Rena was also curious.
The comic strips of the girl known as Kimura Kazuko in front of her were not well-known. Why would the Chief Editor ask her to pressure Kimura Kazuko for her manuscripts? Was it because Kimura Kazuko was staying at the Weier apartment? Or was it her established family background, making it harder for them to cut off her comics?
Takeshi Rena harbored resentment toward the rich and famous in the past. However, she did not feel any resentment toward Kimura Kazuko.
Kimura Kazuki nodded her head. Then, she looked at the back of Takeshi Rena. The warrior shadow was still standing beside Takeshi Rena unmovingly.
The strength of this thing was... actually weak, it did not even reach the First Foundation State. However, it was similar to a ghost. Hence, Kimura Kazuki was attentive to it.
After being lost in her thoughts, Kimura Kazuki said, "I will resume uploading comics next week." She gave a smile and said, "This is the first time I am visited by editors asking for my manuscripts. I think this is a good experience. If you have anything in the future, you can give me a call. I can help you with any small matters."
Takeshi Rena was not good at concealing her emotions, so Kimura Kazuki could see how Takeshi Rena was feeling through one glance. So, she had acted the role of a young lady of high status. Kimura Kazuki knew that if she left a deep impression on Takeshi Rena, she would definitely think of her at the first second if she faces any trouble.
Kimura Kazuki gave his own personal contact number to Takeshi Rena instead of "Kimura Kazuki's."
"Sure!" Takeshi Rena added Kimura Kazuki's number into her phone contact list excitedly. At this point, she had willingly dropped all of her pride, ego, and dignity as it would be foolish to reject such an opportunity. The contact given was different from the one on the notes provided by her boss. Perhaps this was the private contact number of the young woman in front of her.
By asking for manuscripts from a comic artist, she had earned such a fortune.
Takeshi Rena might have exhausted half of her lifetime's fortune to meet such a young lady of high status right before her.
Subsequently, Kimura Kazuki and Takeshi Rena engaged in a conversation happily, and both got to know each other more. Takeshi Rena revealed her family matters bit by bit as Kimura Kazuki slowly led into it.
Takeshi Rena grew up in a single-parent household. She was raised by her father, and she had a younger brother. However, from Takeshi Rena's story, Kimura Kazuki felt that Tadeshi Rena's younger brother was a lost cause. From Takeshi Rena's description, her brother frequently cooped himself at home. If they weren't, she probably would not even interact with him at all.
However, from her description, Takeshi Yuta, Takeshi Rena's younger brother, seemed to be improving himself...
Upon hearing Takeshi Rena's words, Kimura Kazuki was deep in thought. If she guessed correctly, her main focus was on Takeshi Rena's brother.
Time went by swiftly as both women were conversing with one another. When Takeshi Rena was using the washroom, she glanced through her cell phone. She found out that it was already 5 o'clock in the evening and she was startled. She needed to go to her company for reports. Hence, she immediately bid farewell to Kimura Kazuki.
Kimura Kazuki did not try to ask Takeshi Rena to stay. He told Takeshi Rena that he would upload her comics next week. After bidding farewell to Takeshi Rena, he sat on a sofa and took out her cellphone and a notebook. Then, he started texting romantic messages written in the notebook to his seven "boyfriends."
After receiving news transmitted by Kimura Kazuki, Ryo Otake signaled the other seven police officers to start their romantic texting session.
The texting session was actually very significant. Based on Kimura Kazuki's assumptions, Natsuna Yamanaka filtered and picked her victims based on data messages. Or else, how would she be able to murder three women within two or three days? Searching for victims was a bothersome process. Natsuna Yamanaka's choices of victims were pretty strange. Her victims were women who were in a relationship with different men.
A case that was rare enough as it is. She could even find many cases as such. She was smart.
In the end, Kimura Kazuki stopped sending text messages after securing a dinner date with one of his "boyfriends." Of course, the dinner date was fake. The message was to lure Natsuna Yamanaka.
Later that night, he was standing at the french window of his bedroom. Kimura Kazuki gazed at the Tokyo Tower from afar and let out a sigh. It was good to be rich... All of a sudden, a greenish-black ghost face passed through his windows.
Kimura Kazuki turned his head rapidly with an expression of fear and panic. He shouted, "Who's there?"
Kimura Kazuki glanced twice and regained his composure. He did not think that Natsuna Yamanaka would come here so fast. It looked like she had a personal vendetta against beautiful women. He was only sending out his selfies to his "boyfriends" a moment ago, but he was actually trying to lure Natsuna Yamanaka out.
Indeed... Natsuna Yamanake was already searching for him in just less than an hour.
Even though Kimura Kazuki was sympathetic to Natsuna Yamanaka's plight, she should not become a ghost after her death and harm someone else.
While lost in thought, his eyes were fixated on the computer in her bedroom. The computer screen suddenly lit up. The whiteness of the light was as blurry as the old television and emitted a buzzing sound. It was horrifying in such a big bedroom. The next moment, the computer shone again, and he saw a big tree and a house on the computer screen. This made Kimura Kazuki had a flashback. This was Sato's house at Spirit District, which was also where Natsuna Yamanake was found dead...
As time passed, he could see that the ground underneath the tree was shaking gently.
Kimura Kazuki was speechless. Natsuna Yamanaka was actually emulating the classic scene from the movie, "The Ring." She was thinking of appearing out from the computer screen to scare him.
Moreover, Kimura Kazuki had to express emotions of fear to play along with her act.
Any normal individual involved in such a situation would probably be horrified and broken down. Even though "The Ring" was a movie, the movie alone had scared many people to death.
The emotions portrayed in a movie would be different than in reality.
Kimura Kazuki would play along with Natsuna Yamanaka. However, he still needed to confirm something.


Time travelling from the majestic era after the Recuperation of Reiki, he became Kimura Kazuki, a 16-year-old high school student in Japan, one year before the Reiki Recuperation.

Tentatively, he set out to hone himself to the bone, burning candles at both ends to stockpile resources in preparation for the imminent Recuperation of Reiki. His goal was to be many steps ahead of all humanity when the time comes.

However, it seemed like fate had decided to play a cruel trick on him.

One year later, the Recuperation of Reiki... did not happen as expected.

Obligatory disclaimer: All the characters, world building, and story beats here that don't belong to JK Rowling belong to Jim Butcher (or their associated media empires).
The nightmare began to repeat again. I'd lost track of how many times it had played already. I was bound in a ritual circle, the first girl I'd ever loved barely looking at me as she painted runes on my skin. Not far away but out of the circle, my mentor, a man I didn't exactly like but had thought I could trust, was preparing for whatever they were about to do to me.
In the memory, or whatever this nightmare was, the walls of our rented house in the London suburbs faded away into smoke and darkness. All I could focus on was whatever they were trying to do to me, and the rest of the world was darkness. All I could feel was cold. As the old man who'd rescued me from the orphanage and taught me magic began to chant, something began to pull away from the background. Made of the same black smoke, it gradually took on the vague form of a person.
"I have prepared the vessel as promised. Claim him!" Justin shouted, as the wraith began to move toward me and the runes blazed. Pain seared through me, and the walls of my mind started to crumble. I shouted for Elaine to help, but she had retreated to the back of the room, her glassy stare on the floor. The creature reached out its arm and touched me, causing me torment I'd never felt before. It was up to me. Bound and without a focus, the trick my godmother had taught me was extremely risky, but not as risky as whatever this specter wanted to do to me.
With a painful twist and a thunderous clap I was across the room, hands free and grabbing for my blasting rod, discarded by Justin in the corner by my clothes. My blood was now freely mixing into the runes, random strips of flesh splinched off and drifting to the floor back in the circle along with the ropes that held me. It hurt, but not as much as Justin and Elaine immediately trying to react. To bind me back into the circle for this creature.
I dove behind the couch that had been shoved away to turn the sitting room into a ritual space. In the nightmare, pieces of the room were materializing from the shadows as they became relevant. I hit the floor hard, dust burning into my wounds but narrowly dodging the red light of stunners flying toward me. I didn't know how I was going to fight both of them and this spirit. I'd never even beaten Justin dueling by himself.
My only hope, I thought, was to try to apparate again, even though going ten feet hadn't worked out so well, and my blasting rod wouldn't help. Out of the house and I'd have a chance. But then the wraith floated above the couch, soaking up all thought and light in the room as it sought to finish whatever it had started. The very wrongness of it woke a powerful anger in me, and I could only think back to the other spell my godmother had so recently taught me, which the rod was basically designed for.
"Incendio! Pyroincendio!" I screamed, and willed my fear and betrayal into the charm, transforming it into a powerful curse. The purple jet of flame barely shed any light, reserving all of its power for scorching heat. When it had happened, it was the hottest thing I'd ever felt, but in this nightmare-memory it barely registered against the cold. I caught the wraith with the blast, and it flung itself away with a shriek, fleeing the room with a hole torn in its nebulous form. I tried to end the spell, but it had taken on a life of its own, flame still shooting from my focus, even when I dropped the blasting rod. I had no idea where it was still getting its power, but the borders of the room were going from nebulous void to intense, colorful flames.
As I peeked over the couch, I was shocked by what the flames had become. Coalesced into a beast of near-ultraviolet fire, it had already torn into Justin. I didn't even know if he'd had long enough to realize what was happening. His smoking corpse had fallen not far from where he'd attacked me. I couldn't see Elaine through the smoke and flame. I was about to charge into the burning house looking for her when something changed.
The burning house slowly faded into a stone cell, and the numbing cold became simply the clammy chill of a damp prison room. As I came out of my fugue, or dream, or whatever it was, I thought I saw the wraith that attacked me retreat down the hall as a big-eared cat made of silver light stalked past the door. As the lambent glow hit me, I was beginning to come out of whatever terrible fugue I'd been in.
"Did you even interrogate the boy before you brought him here?" a deep voice asked.
A raspier voice answered, "Interrogations always go easier after they know what they're in for." I couldn't see the speaker, but I was sure he was smirking. "Besides, he's an auror-killer. Trial's just a formality at this point."
"A formality we must uphold," answered the first voice, who I could now see was a dark-skinned man in robes styled to look like some kind of African formal costume. He gestured at the door while keeping his wand pointed down the hall controlling the silver lynx. Patronus my memory finally supplied: the spell used to ward off creatures of darkness. I wonder if that would have been a better choice for me than fiendfyre.
The other man slouched over and grudgingly unlocked the cell door with his wand. Between the ratty tan trenchcoat and the graying blonde hair, he looked like a guy that had read a Hellblazer comic and decided that was exactly the vibe he wanted to put out. Hell, he looked old enough that maybe Constantine's dress code was based on this guy by an incompletely memory-wiped comic artist. "C'mon, punk. Time for your interview."
I thought about being petulant and making them drag me out, but I needed the time away from whatever nightmare-inducing creature that was, and could barely put together a coherent thought of resistance. When we came to London, Justin had warned me the British prison system was harsh, but this just seemed wrong. I grudgingly levered myself standing, and had a bit of schadenfreude as the men did a double-take when they realized I towered over them. I'm not exactly physically overwhelming, especially given how I'm thin enough to read as all elbows and knees, but the only guys taller than me tend to have a giant in their family trees.
As I followed them out the narrow corridor, the rows of cells lit only by the light from the patronus, I couldn't see anyone else in the nearby cells, but I could hear screams of anguish and terror somewhere below me. We finally left through another gate at the end of the hall where some candles were burning. As the gate was closed on the room, I saw that the sign above said, "Wing 1: Minimum Security."
The wannabe-Constantine caught my glance and smirked, "That's right. You only got a taste. Once the Wizengamot nails you for killing Du Morne, you're going down into maximum security with the Death Eaters." Of the three proper nouns in that sentence, the only one I recognized was Du Morne.
It was Justin's last name, and meant I was probably screwed.
Author's Note: Year one is fully written as it begins to publish. Chapters average between 1k and 2k words each. The plan is to release twice a week (on Tuesdays and Fridays) until completion. This should hopefully give me enough time to get Year 2 completed before it begins publishing, and so on. It will hopefully also give me some buffer to make adjustments if necessary based on feedback.

After having sex a few times, they felt hungry and decided to have a simple brunch and laid back in the room while cuddling each other.
The two of them were still wholly unclothed, and neither of them felt awkward at all. Instead, they found comfort and peace when the skin of their bodies touched each other.
Cathy snuggled closer with a sigh of pleasure when she felt her husband stroking her back with a light touch.
"Vincent, do you remember our first meeting?"
"I remember. At that time, we met on the bus, right?"
Cathy shook her head at her husband's guess. "Not that one."
"Then, which one?" Vincent tried to dig into his memory with a confused expression to make his wife smile mischievously.
"You said you loved me, but you can't even remember our first meeting." she pouted her lips as if pretending she was sulking.
Well, he could recall nothing but the bus encounter as their first official first meeting. He knew he had seen her the first time in Green Park, but the girl didn't notice him. So that couldn't be count as their first meeting.
"Okay, I give up. Where did we meet for the first time?" Vincent realized that his wife was teasing him and would not give him an answer if he didn't give up.
"When I first came to Eastern Wallace to see my mother."
"..."
"Do you remember?"
How could Vincent forget it? Even though he forgot, those sweet memories came to the surface again when he drank the latest RM formula.
"I still remember it. Why?"
"Tell me about it. I only remember a little, but I wonder what we did when we were little."
"Hm..." Vincent tightened his arms to bring his wife closer into his arms. "Back then, you were a little monster who kept bothering me."
"Ha?? Little monster?"
Vincent gave an amused smile when he heard his wife's protest tone. Ah, now his wife wanted to hear about their childhood, making him couldn't help but miss those sweet, peaceful days.
(Flashback)
The year 1998.
It's been a year since Vincent got to know Chloe. Because he felt so pampered at Eastern Wallace, he came to visit often and even stayed overnight on weekends.
Unfortunately, just as he arrived, Benjie had already knocked him out. The room that should have been ready for him is now cluttered with girl toys.
A few weeks ago, Chloe hired an assistant and had lived in Easter Wallace since then. The assistant came with her fifteen months baby daughter.
The little girl had just learned to walk, and like a worm in heat, the girl dashed everywhere, making her babysitter tired of chasing her. Vincent called her a little monster because whatever thing the monster held was bound to break. Benjamin deliberately brought this little monster to his room with all her toys, and the result... his room became a mess like some devil brought chaos here.
Vincent was furious and immediately complained... to be more precise, he whined to Chloe. Lamentably Chloe burst into laughter at the little monster's act instead of defending him.
In the end, Chloe just told her maid to tidy up his room again because tonight Vincent would stay in Eastern Wallace.
While waiting, Vincent took out his textbooks and lined them up on the living room's glass table. Because the distance between the table and the sofa was not close enough, Vincent decided to sit on the floor to do his homework. Luckily there was a soft, fluffy carpet on the floor, so his butt won't hurt if he sits on the floor.
One minute... two minutes to ten minutes... the little monster came uninvited.
Somehow this little monster likes to bother him. The first time they met, this monster tried to climb onto his back, then clung to his legs and even crawled between with legs with a cheerful laugh.
Now she forced her way in and sat on his lap?!! What is this little monster doing? Why does she keep bothering his precious time?
"Shoo! Go away. Don't disturb me." It seems that this monster couldn't understand human language yet.
Vincent gave up and chose to pay attention to what this little monster was going to do. Vincent stared in horror as the girl faced his open textbook. He was afraid that she would tear the book, so he immediately took the book and held it up.
The little monster's gaze immediately followed the raised book and clapped her hands with laughter. Now, what's so funny to make this baby laugh? Vincent did not understand and lowered the baby from his legs and sat cross-legged on the sofa.
Incredibly, the monster followed him and tried to climb over the sofa he was sitting on. He doesn't know how many times the monster tried to lift her leg to go up but failed. Unfortunately, the little monster never gave up and kept trying.
"Rischa!" Vincent's patience line was broken. He couldn't concentrate on studying if this little monster kept bothering him.
After all, he never likes children, and he had limit patience handling a baby that couldn't talk.
"Yes, young master?" Vincent just glanced at the little monster who was still struggling to climb the sofa. "Rinrin, why are you here?" Rischa promptly carried Rinrin, and the child giggled.
"Mama... mama... tatatatatata..."
"Ah, I see, but currently, young master Vincent is studying. Rinrin must not interfere, okay."
"Tatatatatatatata..."
"Yes. Later. Come with me now. Let's accompany the first miss enjoying her tea time."
Vincent gaped wide at the interaction of the mother and daughter. Not knowing what language the little monster spoke made him not understand what she was saying. It seems that only the mother understands because now Rinrin was hugging her mother's neck tightly while waving her hand at him.
Hmph! Vincent hoped that the child never bothered him again.
One hour... two hours .. he's done most of his homework, then he decided to read superhero comics. After tidying up his books, Vincent sat back cross-legged and read his comics. Being too engrossed with the story, he didn't notice that someone had managed to climb the sofa and crawl over to him.
And suddenly, his comic strips turned into brown-reddish hair, and his legs felt heavy because something was pressing on them.
Ugh! Vincent sighed to himself.
Strangely, this child just sat there looking at the pictures in the comic and not moving or making a sound. Is this monster also interested in the comic?
Suddenly Vincent's mischief nature kicked in and directed the comic slowly up to the right. The little monster stood up while holding on to Vincent's right hand to see the comic. Then Vincent shifted the comic to his left hand, which Rinrin automatically moved to the left.
Then Vincent dropped his left hand out to the left. When he saw Rinrin crawling towards his comic, Vincent quickly took the comic and hid it behind his back.
A pair of light brown eyes stared confusedly at him as if asking where did the comic disappeared? Vincent put on an ignorant face as he shrugged his shoulders indifferently.
A second later, the girl's mouth curved downward, and her eyes glistened with tears. Oops... will this monster cry? This is bad.
Vincent often made Rinrin cry because he is very, very, and very impatient in dealing with this monster's bothersome attitude. Chloe always gave him an earful scolding because he didn't want to give in to a baby who was not yet two years old.
Finally, he gave up and took out the comic again before the monster could really cry, and Chloe would scold him again.
"Here .." Vincent gave the comic to Rinrin while preparing himself that this monster will tear his favorite comic book later.
Miraculously, Rinrin pushed his hands back and crawled to sit on his lap.
Does this monster want them to read it together?
For the first time since Rinrin's arrival, Vincent let Rinrin by his side for a long time.
Since then, Vincent was no longer annoyed when Rinrin always follows him. Strangely, he could widen his patience line when it involving this little monster.
Unfortunately, one day...
"Pinpin, Pinpin."
Vincent stroked his forehead and wondered since when his cool majestic name had turned into a laughable name. Because of that ridiculous name, Benjamin couldn't stop teasing him and laughing at him. Even so, Vincent still let the little monster approached him, and they were together for a year without realizing it.
Until one day, Chloe fired the mother of the monster Rinrin, making the two separate.
Gradually, both of them forgot about each other.
(Flashback end)
***
"I can't believe this. You call me a monster?"
"What can I say? I was too childish at that time, and you were the little monster that so cute I can't take my eyes off."
Cathy rolled her eyes to hear Vincent trying to ease her irritation. "How about now?"
"Now?" Vincent's smirk gave her a goosebump. "You're my sweet angel."
Vincent surprised her by hovering over her naked body and grind his hardness to her wetness.
Not long after, the two of them returned to their nth-making out session with laughter.
This is the best honeymoon!


How does it feel to see a colorless world every day? 

That's how Catherine felt through her eyes. She is a strong-willed 25-year-old girl who never shows her weakness to other people. 

She lost her ability to see color ever since being slapped by her father. Her soul was shaken. Her heart hated the beauty her father showed before her mother was gone. 

Catherine thought that her life would continue to be trapped in the black and white world until one day, someone came into her life to give her some colors.

He is Vincent, a thirty-two-year man, the son of a wealthy family. His presence gradually colored Catherine's world. 

Time continues to flow; the lovebirds finally tied the rope of love but suddenly... Vincent avoids Catherine? 

What happened to him? Why did he go away from Catherine? Could it have something to do with Catherine's mother's death? 

Catherine, who is finding out the truth behind Vincent's attitude.... surprisingly, meets her twin brother, someone she never knew before! Moreover, her twin brother is the sole heir of one of the influential figures in this country.

Was everything she knew a lie? Even her identity? Who is she really? Is it true that Vincent caused the death of her mother?

Would the two lovebirds reunite after learning the truth? Or will the past grudges separate them?

Expert:

"I think white suits you best."
 
The topic of color discussion was quite sensitive for Cathy, who cannot distinguish colors. But why did she feel calm when Vincent said it?

"Why?"
 
"Because only white could affect other colors while no color could affect it. For me, you are like that too."
 
"I am?"
 
"Hm. You never let other people influence you while you can easily influence others. You could make others happy, sad, or excited with you."
 
"I'm not like that."
 
"It's like that for me. Besides," he lowered his head to close the gap between them. "When you wear a white dress like this, you look mesmerizing like an angel descend to me."

Cathy: *blush*

***

A year later,

Before the kidnapper could see her, Cathy's arm had been pulled into a room concealed by a safe. Her mouth was sealed by a big hand, and her body was held tightly by a muscular arm. Cathy tried to struggle to break free.
 
She felt unfortunate, as scary things always happened to her. Even though she was only a weak, fragile average girl, she was ready to fight to survive.
 
"Shh, don't move." whispered the person who caught her, making Cathy froze.
 
This voice... the fresh fragrant she smelled from the hand that was covered her mouth…

Vincent!?

***

Come to talk to me in
https://discord.gg/a7ypnYw7TF

***

Second Identity series:

My Only Love: The Targeted Heiress (complete)
The Flame Queen and Her Sly Lover (complete)
Ice Prince: Rewrite the star (new)
Watch Out, Dad! Mom's Here To Kill You! (coming soon)
The Heir's Beloved Is Not A Human (coming soon)
The Prodigy Boy Is Actually A 25 Old Girl!? (ongoing)

Each book can stand alone, but it will be more fun if you read it all.

If you want to read unique fantasy realm, feel free to check my other work called Elementalist: Time Controllers

Or some thrilled a cross-dressing and funny scene where FL disguised as a teenage boy, check out 'The Prodigy Boy Is Actually A 25 Old Girl!?'

*the cover isn't mine so the credit belongs to the owner*

Join me in IG @vorstinstory or my discord server https://discord.gg/a7ypnYw7TF

Support: paypal.me/vorstinstory

During his childhood, the young Elliot James Cawthon spent most of his free time like he usually did, losing himself in fantasy books and comics instead of spending time making friends or watching TV. In his teenage years, Elliot was raised by his grandparents after both of his parents died in a car crash when Elliot was ten. Ever since then, Elliot distanced himself even more from people and avoided most social interactions until he went to college, where he found a few friends and partners. After the end of his sophomore year, Elliot returned to his hometown to visit his late parents grave and the house, only to have a surprising encounter with someone…
-----------------------
The Prologue.
-----------------------
Setting his feet up on his desk, Elliot James Cawthon leaned back in his old desk chair with the typical squeak of an old recliner rotating back and forth. The sound of his feet hitting the desk made an unusually loud thud, echoing through his bedroom. Elliot glanced at his old bedroom which was left untouched for years, the room was the same as he remembered, the walls were still a light blue, the ceiling which was sloped on one side following the line of the roof was painted a darker shade of blue. His old bed still stood intact, beneath the closed window on the side of his room. On the far right, stood a slightly open closet with bright blue strips running along the edges of the door. Elliot smiled wryly turning his attention back to his desk, grabbing a comic book on the side of it. Naruto, was titled the Japanese comic book, Elliot read the book fondly, with all his childhood memories came rushing back to him. Letting his imagination flow, Elliot spent hours reading the comic book until he realized the amount of time he spent. Letting out a small grumble under his breath, the young man closed the manga and set it aside on his desk, glancing around his room one last time before standing up and walking out of his bedroom. The teenager who had finished his sophomore year of college not long ago, walked through a crammed hallway leading from his room to the sloping stairs connecting the second floor of the house to the first.  Descending the lightly grey colored stairs, Elliot shook his head, only noticed now, how depressing the place was when people were gone. As the house was of his late parents.
Heading out of the old house and locking the door behind him, Elliot hesitated pondering whether he should go back to his empty apartment for the evening or visit the town center. Elliot shook his head again, he wasn't in a hurry to get back to his place, since it was empty, so he decides to spend more time outside and visit the town first.
After a good half hour of walking alongside the pavement, Elliot promptly arrived at the town center. Ten years ago, when Elliot was a kid, there had been stuff to do here, a movie theater, a game store, an ice-cream shop with the most amazing waffles, an arcade. But arriving there, the young man was disappointed, nothing was there anymore. Nothing, in ten years everything was gone and had changed from his memories, the cafés and bars that used to be flickering with people cheering and laughing was gone. The bright lights which used to be bounding off the edges of windows glittered around the town center was gone as well. The town itself seemed to be asleep. Elliot sighed and glanced at his wristwatch, 8:12pm the needles indicated. Feeling hungry, Elliot entered one of his old favorite restaurants and had dinner and ordered coffee. The taste of the meal and coffee was bland, nothing like the amazing meals he used to have.
Time passed slowly, and it was already 9:30pm when Elliot walked out of the restaurant, still not wanting to go back to his empty life, the college student decide to visit his old tree house, in the woods in the outskirts of the town.
---------------------------
Arriving to the woods.
He went and arrived at the Woods at precisely 10pm. Observing his surroundings, Elliot smiled fondly and walked along a small trail leading into the woods. Entering the woods, Elliot watched as the trees moved slightly as they seemed almost alive, the flocks of birds flying over the forest chanting and whispering. When suddenly, Elliot felt a shiver down this back, as if a barrage of strong emotions were crashing against him, he felt something was off, something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Turning his head back, Elliot looked over at the night sky with an eyebrow raised. "Why aren't there any stars?" Elliot questioned himself while picking up the pace of his walk.
Not wanting to dote over the question any longer, Elliot continued his endeavor to find his old tree house. After an hour of trotting along side the trail, Elliot, failing to find his tree house anywhere, decide to head back to his apartment, for a good night of sleep. But there was one problem, during the walk, Elliot had lost all track of time and the sky was now filled with endless black clouds instead of stars. Glancing at his wristwatch, Elliot panicked, he didn't bring his phone and now his only indicator of time was not working. The needles of the watch seemed to be frozen at midnight and the watch itself was dead silent, not a rustle of sound in the air nor a click of the gears.
The birds he could hear were gone, the trees seemed completely out of life, unlike when he first entered the forest. The dark sky surrounded the forest, he never saw a night so dark, it was like an abyss. A vault of clouds, as thick as the universe, had drowned all light form the stars and seemed to be coming down to earth at rapid speed. Not wanting to stay a second longer, Elliot rushed back the way he came paying close attention not to trip, only to hear a baritone voice with a hint of surprise seemingly coming from the dept of the forest, saying "Hooo… you shouldn't be here."
Overcome by fear at the appearance of the voice, Elliot charged with all his might back to town, no longer paying attention to his direct surroundings, he had one goal at that moment, to get out of the woods as fast as possible. He didn't know the grave mistake he made that moment, the very mistake that would cost him his life. While running through the woods and jumping over barks of trees and exposed roots, all the while Elliot didn't notice the figure following him in the shadows.
---------------------------
Arriving to town.
Finally arriving at the town, Elliot dropped to his hands and knees gasping for air, almost collapsing onto the middle of the road. He had made it, not knowing whether whatever he met in the woods was behind him or not, Elliot continued to run a quick paced jog to the town center. He didn't know how much time had passed since he first entered the forest, for all he knew, it could have been a minute or hours, yet it felt like days.
Elliot abruptly stopped in the middle of the road, jaw hanging wide open, the town seemed asleep, in a deep, frightening sleep. Not one passerby, not one beggar, no caterwauling of cats on the make, not even the rustling sound of leaves could be heard. Nothing.
"I'll yell like a madman, then somebody must come." Elliot reassured himself and yelled. No one responded. He proceeded to called out more loudly. His voice fled away, without an echo, weak, muted, crushed by the night, by this impenetrable night. 
"Help! Help! Someone Help!"  shouted the young man.
To his desperate call there was still no answer. Until one very familiar voice replied to his call whilst clapping its hands.
"You impressed me, I don't know how you aren't under my genjutsu but I'll let you live, in the world you want to live." Said the baritone voice.
"Who are you ?!" cried Elliot, fearing the worst.
"Who I am… is not important." Answered the figure, stepping out of the shadows. Elliot could now see the figure, it resembled a man, wearing a dark blue robe and an orange mask with a ripple effect on it. A red shining eye could be seen pocking through a hole of the mask.
"What�� the hell…" Said Elliot confused.
"Ah, this is interesting, you seem to already know who I am." Continued the man with a hint of surprise in his baritone voice.
Elliot shaking with fear, turned around and ran as fast as he could. He didn't understand what was happening, he had left the town for only a few hours and now everyone was gone. Nothing was left. And a masked man appeared out of nowhere.
Running away from the man, Elliot turned his head, seeing a bright light appearing through the dark clouds, the moon was shining down to the earth, but it was a crimson red color with black patterns to it. Elliot confused at the bright source of light, stared at the moon while running only to suddenly feel his body slump over, paralyzed.
He wanted to know what was happening, where was everyone, he wanted to live a bit longer… He knew what was going to happen as he closed his eyes. Elliot felt... cold... he could feel the piercing cold to his chest... he felt nearly frozen... nearly solid... nearly dead. 
And he was quite aware that he would never have the strength to get back out... that he was going to die there...
As his life left his body, Elliot saw the man walk up to him saying, "The true measure of a shinobi is not how he lives but how he dies. It's not what they do in life, but what they did before dying that proves their worth. So I'll give you a chance, to live in the world you want, not in this reality riddled with pain and suffering, so let me show you the power of the infinite Tsukuyomi."
As the said those final words, Elliot who laid on the ground, stared at moon and said while drawing his final breath, "To dream world, I go…"
-----------------------------------

*Disclaimer: I do not own any work from Naruto nor do I own the artwork for the cover*


One night, as the moon turned a crimson red. Elliot James Cawthon, a sophomore college student on his summer break, has a strange encounter with a masked man. And wakes up only to find himself in the Shinobi World a few years before the Nine Tails attack. Now, what will he do? Will he save the world and become the greatest of heroes? Or will de bring an end to it? After all, even the greatest of Ninjas weren't heroes. So now, here starts the Tale of Satoshi Nakamoto, the greatest of Shinobi.

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