Sword in the Stone

"Oi, Yamamoto!" One guard posted inside the fence waved. She turned towards Kazuo–her smile turning into a frown. "What did the boy do?"

"H–He's from the Soil... I caught him trying to climb the inner wall."

"Tch," said the lady officer, spitting on the ground. "Not another one of those..."

"Y–Yeah..."

She swung the gate open. "Put him in the cells." 

As Yamamoto and Kazuo walked inside, the latter moved ahead this time.

Ishigami street lanterns paled in comparison to those within Iwa prison. A dozen officers also patrolled the yard and buildings with their batons at the ready. For a moment, they all seemed to pause–glaring at Kazuo with piercing gazes.

Kazuo ignored his spectators and his eyes wandered about the yard. A few metres away stood a huge boulder with a blade shoved halfway into it. The white cloth bandaged on its hilt waved in the cool, night breeze like a flag. 

☯

Takumi, Mikoto and Kaito had reached a tall structure with two storeys and a flat roof. They approached the Hasegawa warehouse, sneaking through the cover of dark alleyways and fewer street lanterns.

One yakuza sat on a chair by the front door, a flintlock pistol holstered on his waist. His head faced upwards and his snores were audible at a closer distance.

The trio glanced through a few openings, checking to clear the ground floor.

Afterwards, Takumi drew a baton and gestured for them to take the gun. 

They tiptoed towards the man, maintaining silence–save for their loud heartbeats.

"Huh?" said the yakuza when he felt a tug at his holster. "What the f–"

Takumi sent him back to sleep with the baton.

"Phew," said Mikoto with a sigh. "That was close."

They took the pistol, bound the yakuza to his chair and entered the warehouse. A mixture of spicy and sulphuric aromas filled the empty ground floor. Two stacks of wooden barrels were packed on either side of the opposite wall.

Takumi followed the scents and opened a barrel where the sulphur was more pronounced. He placed a hand inside and noted the black soot on it. "Perfect!" he said, unable to hide the excitement in his whisper. "Let's head upstairs."

Takumi led the way–pistol in hand as they tiptoed on the steps.

In one of the rooms, a yakuza was asleep on a tatami next to a courtesan.

The lady woke just as the trio walked in and tried covering herself. "Aaa–"

Mikoto placed a finger on her mouth and gestured for her to leave.

Suddenly, the yakuza jolted upwards and grabbed his pistol on the floor. Bang! Blood shot from the man's head and he fell back on the mat–dead.

"Aaaahhhh!" The woman screamed, her face now drenched in red.

Mikoto rushed forward and covered her mouth. "Get out, and don't say a thing."

The courtesan did as instructed and got up before fleeing from the warehouse.

Meanwhile, Takumi stood frozen–heart thumping out of his chest. He dropped the fired pistol but his hands were still shaking. Had he hesitated or fired any second later, one of them would be lying on the ground instead.

The trio left the room with two pistols in their possession. They cleared the rest of the first floor and proceeded downstairs. They toppled a few of the barrels and made a black trail leading outside. Afterwards, they dragged the sitting guard to a safe distance.

Takumi ignited the trail with a lantern and darted away. "Run!"

On command, Kaito and Mikoto took to their feet. Takumi followed the two into an alleyway as fast his legs carried him. Suddenly, there was a deafening eruption followed by an immediate shockwave. They halted for a moment as the earth shook.

"Don't stop!" said Takumi, staring at the black cloud behind them.

The trio resumed with Kaito leading. A number of houses lit up along the way as residents were awakened by the noise. Soon, the streets would be filled with officers.

"Intruders!" one resident shouted.

"Catch them!" said another voice.

Kaito made a sharp turn and skidded to a halt. Takumi and Mikoto were right behind him when they were stopped by angry mob of Stone residents.

"Scatter!" said Takumi, dropping a smoke bomb on the ground.

☯

Kazuo's eyes moved around and past the patrolling keisatsu. His gaze landed on a majestic object at the centre of the prison yard. The Sword in the Stone. More than half of its blade was shoved into a huge rock. The white bandage on Dōjin's hilt swayed in the air with the cool breeze. The sound of an explosion in the distance brought him out of his trance. That's the signal...

The officers started racing around the yard as panic filled them.

"So, is this also part of your doing?" said Yamamoto.

Before Kazuo answered, a keisatsu with a few badges rushed towards them. "Officer..." he said, pausing to catch a breath. "Get this lad in one of the cells and head to the Hasegawa warehouse immediately!"

"Yes, Sergeant." Yamamoto saluted and took Kazuo's hand.

"Are you also with the Hasegawa syndicate?" asked Kazuo when the Sergeant left.

Yamamoto shook his head. "N–"

"Then that's perfect..." Kazuo freed himself and raced for the Earth blade. "Cause this is… an uprising!" When he touched the hilt, Kazuro's memories with the sword flooded his mind. He looked upwards, pupils rolled back and started trembling. "Aarrgh!" he groaned, facing the sword as summed up all his might.

"Hey! What are you doing?" said Yamamoto running towards Kazuo. "No one has ever pulled it out. Not even the strongest Hasegawa–"

The blade nudged.

"Uh–huh…" Kazuo grunted as he squatted on top of the boulder. "Come on!" He tugged even harder and the blade moved further until the tip was out of the rock.

Yamamoto's jaw was on the ground. "No... Way..." he muttered.

"Yeah!" said Kazuo as he stood up, struggling to hold Dōjin with both hands.

The Earth sword was heavier than Raijin. Its design resembled a huge cleaver instead of the standard katana. It had two curved blades–a bigger and smaller one connected together by a black chain link. The shorter blade looked like an axe and the longer one had a bandaged handle on it.

Suddenly, four keisatsu emerged from one of the buildings and were shocked by what they saw. "Put it back!" said one of them, pointing a baton at the prisoner.

Kazuo detached the two blades and advanced. He sliced their batons, running past them before heading towards Yamamoto.

"Sound the alarm!" said another keisatsu. "An inmate has escaped!"

"Hey..." Kazuo pointed the longer blade at his captive. "Lead the way!"

Officer Yamamoto had no choice but to oblige. They raced to the prison entrance with three unarmed guards hot on their tail. "You asked… if I was one of those… corrupt officers," he said, gasping for air. "I'm not. There's a few of us in the force who actually want to take down the Hasegawa Syndicate but are unable to do so."

☯

Takumi, Mikoto and Kaito rendezvoused at the Ishigami gate. Whilst waiting for Kazuo, they heard a loud bell toll in the distance. Soon afterwards, thirteen armed men approached and encircled the trio. With nowhere to run to–they were cornered.

A sweat trickling down on Kaito's temple. "Oh... crap..." he said in a mutter.

Six of the men were keisatsu carrying batons. Another six–each with a pistol wore black kimono suits. The leader of the group wore a black haori and baggy, white trousers. Embroidered on the back of his jacket was the Hasegawa crest. He appeared to be in his late teens with long, spiky black hair. His forehead and hands–each carrying nunchaku were bandaged with a white cloth.

"Lord Dai," said one yakuza. "These must be the guys who blew up the warehouse." He aimed his pistol at Takumi. "But... they look like just any ordinary kids."

"You fool..." said Dai before turning to the trio. "There's nothing ordinary about them."

The two Lightning ninjas stood in front of Kaito and took aim.

"Yo... If you ninjas are thinking of starting a shootout with my yakuza!" Dai's voice sounded more frantic. "You won't make it outta here alive, got it?" he said before letting out a sigh. "Where are you from?"

"They're from Kaminari!" said Kaito in a scream. He trembled as his trousers dampened. "Please don't kill me, I'm just a kid from the Soil district."

"Quick to rat out your friends, boy? Hahaha… you'll be the first to die." Dai turned to his men. "Take them to the palace, I'll be with you shortly. I first need to check on the goods at the warehouse." He glared at Mikoto and grinned. "Leave her in my room."