Mask of Identity: Preparing For Disaster

Yukio pushed his bedroom door open and made his way toward the dining hall. He didn't understand how he was expected to be social when he wasn't allowed to have friends.

 

"Yukio!" he heard his mother cry, and before he knew it, she had her arms around him. "Every time I see you, you look more and more like your father." She brushed his hair from his eyes. "Smile, Yukio."

 

But he couldn't smile. The fact that he was about to put on some act made him feel far too guilty to even think about smiling.

 

She gave him another hug.

 

"Hi, Mother," he mumbled, and the second he looked up, he caught a glare from Master Anzai from over Mother's shoulder. When she pulled back, he forced a smile for her. She wiped a happy tear from the corner of her eye as she smiled back at him. Yukio's heart broke. "I'm glad you came to see me," he said, and it really wasn't a lie. He just couldn't stand to see her worry so much.

 

They joined Master Anzai at the table, which was laden with the biggest meal Yukio had seen since his eighteenth birthday.

 

Mother chuckled as she picked up her chopsticks. "You make it seem as though it's been forever."

"Two weeks," Master Anzai chimed in. He plucked a tekkyu roll from the dish and placed it into his mouth. Yukio followed suit, selecting a namazake nigiri. Mother looked between them, smiling. She seemed so happy already. Was Master Anzai worrying over nothing?

 

Yukio caught his master's eyes from across the table. He immediately looked down to his plate. Dammit, there was no way he was going to get out of this. Master Anzai was really serious about this stupid plan.

 

He swallowed the lump of salmon and blinked up at his mother. "Mother?" he said tentatively. "Guess what Master Anzai has set up for next week?"

 

Mother looked at him intently. "What is it, Yukio?"

 

"The other Isshin and their masters are staying over for a few days. We'll be working on training together. Isn't that great?"

 

She looked over at Anzai Master, and he nodded, confirming Yukio's words.

 

"I've had a little talk with both Juro and Tadao, the other boys' masters, and the three of us agreed that it's time for the young Isshin to test their skills," Master Anzai told her. "They can learn from each other."

 

Mother blinked at him and then stared back at Yukio, terrified. "You're going to let Yukio go up against those other boys?" she cried.

 

Yukio put his head in his hands. Master Anzai's stupid plan wasn't making things better, it was making them worse! "Mother, I'll be fine!" he insisted. "You're forgetting that I'm the oldest Isshin. I've had three more years of training than they have."

 

"Calm down, Hana," Master Anzai chimed in. "No one will be hurt. All of us know the rules, and from what I hear, they're nice, respectable boys. Just like Yukio."

 

"From what you hear," Mother scoffed. "You don't know them. You don't know what they could be up to!"

 

Yukio pushed his plate away and stood up abruptly. "I don't even want to be ruler!" he yelled at them. "You're all worrying for nothing! They can have the throne for all I care. Hell, they can SHARE it! As long as I don't have to deal with you people or deal with the crap that you're throwing at me, then I don't give a damn!"

 

"Yukio!" Mother cried as he stalked off. "Wait!"

 

He threw the front door open and put his foot over the threshold.

 

"If you don't get back into this room this instant, you'll be on punishment for three weeks," Master Anzai's voice boomed. "Do you hear me, Yukio?"

 

"I hear you," Yukio muttered under his breath. "And I don't care!" He exited the house and slammed the door behind himself. There was only one problem.

 

Master Anzai knew all of his hiding places.

 

Yukio walked down the front path and to the heavy iron gates that were almost always closed. He held out his hands and muttered, "Open, damn you!" A sharp light burst from his palms and hit the lock so hard that it cracked the metal in half. So what if he wasn't a graceful Isshin?

 

Yukio pushed the gates away and kept walking. He found a clearing in the forest a few dozen yards from the road and sat down, leaning back against a large rock. There was no doubt that Master Anzai would find him, but if he went back, he might as well just admit that he was wrong.

 

He had only been brooding for ten minutes when Master Anzai appeared before him, his arms folded across his chest and looking angrier than ever. He seemed to be fuming.

 

They stared at each other for a moment, and Yukio wondered if Master Anzai was so angry that he couldn't even talk. Yukio squeezed his palms together.

 

"Don't even think about it. Wherever you go, I'll find you. You know that."

 

"I can never get rid of you!" Yukio yelled at him. "Why won't you leave me the hell alone for five minutes!? Is that so much to ask?"

 

Master Anzai stared at him. "I leave you alone for far longer than you deserve," he said. "Did you know that your mother is crying right now? How does that make you feel?"

 

"You're just upset because your plan didn't work!" Yukio shot back at him.

 

"I asked you a question."

 

"I know you did!" Yukio exclaimed. "Ugh, I'm so sick of you, Master, you have no idea!"

 

"You're still not answering my question."

 

"I don't want to have some sort of conference with those other Isshin. I don't know what you were thinking!"

 

"Dammit, Yukio, your mother is in tears, and you're sitting here complaining about something trivial!" Master Anzai's arm flew out, and he pointed in the direction of the house. "I want you inside the house and comforting your mother in two seconds."

 

"Two seconds?" Yukio echoed, but his master only stared at him. Yukio closed his eyes, and squeezed his hands into tight fists. He disappeared into the air, and reappeared back in front of the house. He threw the door open and walked to the room that Mother always stayed in when she was visiting. When he pushed open the door and looked inside, she was sitting on her bed and wiping her eyes with a tissue. He sat down next to her.

 

"I'm sorry, Mother," he mumbled. "I didn't mean to upset you."

 

Once again, she brushed the hair from his face and looked at his eyes. "You look so much like him," she whispered. "But you're really nothing alike."

 

Yukio blinked at her. What was that supposed to mean?

 

She pulled him into her arms. "Everything's going to be okay, sweetie," she said as she stroked his hair. "Anzai is only looking out for you. He doesn't mean to be so harsh."

 

Yukio stared across the room. Was she… feeling sorry for him!? He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

 

"I have faith in you, Yukio. If you keep trying, you'll be better than those other Isshin, I know it."

 

"No," he sighed, pulling away from her grasp. "You don't understand. I don't want to be an Isshin. I don't want to be better than them. All I want is to be normal! And I want out of this damn house! Master Anzai won't let me do anything!" He quickly lowered his voice just in case Master Anzai was outside listening. "I just want to be left alone."

 

She looked at him with sadness in her eyes. This was it… he had upset Mother, and now Master Anzai was going to be really angry.

 

"I guess I don't understand," she told him. "Many people would love to be a powerful Isshin and one day rule the kingdom. You have that chance, and yet you want nothing to do with it… Yukio, think of your father. He lost his chance, and here you are, with the power to make him proud! Show him what a great Isshin you are, and prove to the kingdom that you're worthy of being ruler!"

 

Yukio blinked at her. When she said it like that, it really didn't sound so bad, but when he thought of everything that Master Anzai expected of him, all of the pressure and the responsibility, he just wanted to scream! He definitely wasn't ready for people to be counting on him yet. He wasn't even worthy! He looked down at his lap in shame. "It's not that I don't want to make Father proud," he muttered. "It's just that… this doesn't feel right. I'm not meant to be an Isshin, and I'm definitely not meant to be ruler."

 

"That's not true!" Mother exclaimed. "If you weren't meant to be an Isshin, then you wouldn't be one! Isshin don't come into this world by accident… but it's up to you to achieve the rest. How can you do that if you don't try?"

 

"Why would I try if I didn't want to be one?" Yukio countered.

 

The door flew open and Master Anzai stepped in. "We need to talk," he said to Yukio.

 

"I'm talking to Mother!" Yukio shot back at him.

 

"Follow me to my study."

 

Mother grabbed Yukio's arm and held him back. "This is getting old, Anzai. Can you just leave him alone for two minutes? Let me talk with my son. You can have him tomorrow."

 

Master Anzai stared at her. "Fine," he agreed. "Yukio, meet me in my study at seven AM, sharp." And he turned around and exited the room.

 

*****

 

At seven am, Yukio drug himself to Master Anzai's study. He hadn't slept much at all, and his eyes stung from the bright morning light. The thought of testing his skills against those other Isshin had caused him to toss and turn all night. Sluggishly, he raised his fist to Master Anzai's door.

 

"Come in."

 

Yukio dropped his arm to his side and glared at the door. How in the hell did he keep doing that?! He pushed the door open and sat down on the chair in front of Master Anzai's desk.

 

"The other Isshin are arriving tomorrow morning. We will spend the entire day preparing for their arrival."

 

Yukio leaned back into his chair. "I thought you wanted to talk to me. I thought you were going punish me for what happened yesterday."

 

Master Anzai looked away from him and stacked some books on his desk into a pile. "I can't punish you for your feelings," he admitted. "I can only help you to understand where it is I'm coming from."

 

Yukio stared at the books. Maybe mother was right… maybe Master Anzai was only trying to help.

 

"Your mother doesn't understand the life of an Isshin. She cannot even begin to contemplate what's best for you," he went on, as if reading Yukio's thoughts.

 

"And you do?" Yukio wondered, looking up at him.

 

"Of course I do!"

 

Yukio glared at him. Yeah right. Master Anzai knew nothing about how Yukio felt. And if he did, he sure didn't act like it.

 

Master Anzai stared back at Yukio for a moment, and then stood up. "Practice starts now," he declared. "By the end of the day, you will be up to speed on all of your studies."

 

Yukio gaped at him. He hadn't been caught up in two years… Talk about unrealistic expectations. Maybe Master Anzai needed some mental help.

 

*****

 

"Stop twitching."

 

Yukio opened an eye and looked down. It was at that moment when he lost concentration and went falling to the floor. Luckily, Master Anzai broke his fall. He pulled Yukio up and pushed him back into the middle of the room.

 

"Try again. And this time, stay perfectly still. The more you move, the harder it will be to keep your concentration."

 

Yukio plopped down onto the floor and closed his eyes. "It was you who made me lose my concentration in the first place," he muttered.

 

"Didn't I tell you not to speak during Furyoku training?"

 

"Fine!" Yukio agreed, gritting his teeth and trying not to lose his temper. If he was going to get through this training to appease Master Anzai, then he was going to have to listen to everything Master Anzai told him to do.

 

He took five deep breaths, letting each one out slowly. Once he'd calmed down, he pressed his palms together, and concentrated on the energy flow that moved between his hands.

 

Furyoku training could be dangerous. If an Isshin was too caught up in it, then he could float very far, and very high. If he lost concentration at an inappropriate moment, then he would go flying to the ground. By using the correct amount of concentration, he would be able to stay in control, and be aware of his surroundings at the same time. Master Anzai considered it an intermediate skill, yet Yukio still had not mastered it. Perhaps it was his inability to keep his mind clear…

 

"Agh!" he cried when his head hit the high ceiling. His eyes flew open, and he went plunging to the ground. Just before he hit the floor, a shining blue aura surrounded him and he stopped a few feet short.

 

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you," Master Anzai sighed, looking over at his student. "You're going to get yourself killed one of these-" he stopped short. "Never mind. We'll finish practicing Furyoku training later tonight. Right now I want to show you something I should have shown you months ago. Stand up."

 

The blue aura disappeared and Yukio crashed into the floor. As he pulled himself to his feet, he had a feeling that this new training would be just as fun as the last.

 

"Noritoru is the practice of possession," Master Anzai began. "As you know, any Isshin can easily possess an object, or even a human being, but the most difficult type of Noritoru is the possession of another Isshin. It's a show of strength. The Isshin can try to occupy each other's body at the same time, and the strongest Isshin will succeed. However, there's also the skill of defense. It's very draining to be possessed by another Isshin, especially when that Isshin is very powerful, or he stays for a good amount of time. There's also a factor of control. The more he controls you, the more drained you will be. If an Isshin can prevent another Isshin from Noritoru, then he wins the battle. However, defending off an Isshin is also a very draining process. The main key is to hang onto your own energy, and if you can, try to steal some of your opponent's."

 

Yukio stared at him. Everything Master Anzai said sounded beyond his power. "And just how am I supposed to learn this in a day?" he wanted to know.

 

"Hold out your hands," Master Anzai ordered, and Yukio did so. "I want you to concentrate on keeping me away, but you must stay where you are."

 

Yukio nodded, but he didn't like the idea of Master Anzai trying to possess his body.

 

Master Anzai held out his hands as well, and came at Yukio slowly. For a while, he didn't feel anything. He had succeeded in keeping Master Anzai away for a few seconds, but then, when their hands connected, everything changed. A cold surge spilled from Master Anzai's hands, into his arms, and then his chest. It flooded his veins, spreading throughout his body. He could see Master Anzai's hands reaching through his hands, and then, he froze. He could no longer move his muscles. He tried to yell to Master Anzai to stop, but nothing came out. The next thing he knew, he had fallen to the floor, his face pressed against the cold stone, and he felt like a large bag of bricks had been thrown onto his back.

 

"Are you okay? I told you to concentrate."

 

Yukio rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. "Don't EVER do that AGAIN!" he yelled at his master, who stood above him.

 

Master Anzai frowned down at him. "Just don't be surprised if one of the other Isshin tries to use Noritoru on you. I didn't want you to be completely in the dark."

 

"I'm running away," Yukio announced. "And I'm never coming back here!"