This story is of my own creation. All the characters are fictional and not based on anyone. Some vocabulary may be taken from other fictions. Don't be stealing, ka?



PROLOGUE ~ SHORTENED VERSION

It was five, no, was it ten years ago when it all happened? The memories escaped Drake every time he tried to think about them. Anyways, it was getting late, so he decided to go to sleep.

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The Past
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"Hey! Hey!"
"Drake, wake up already! You'll be late for class!"

Drake opened his eyes, and there his brother was as always. Today was the first day he was to take lessons under the clan's best teacher. He got up and got dressed for the day, then went out to get breakfast. Through breakfast, his father and brother continually reminded him of "remembering to take it easy in class" or to "not be late". After finishing up, he headed out towards the dojo. It seemed only like yesterday he won the opportunity to come.

Arriving at the dojo, he had saw three of the other four students. "Drake! You're late!" the teacher called. He quickly ran up to position with the other three. "Now," the teacher said, "you five have been chosen to learn under my watch. It seems the other one of you has gotten sick today and will not be participating." He turned to Drake. "Now you. You seem to not have respect for a teacher as the other students here." He turned and grabbed something. "I'll make you give me that respect!" The object in his hands was a sword. Not just a practice sword, but a real steel sword.

What happened next? Did I fight him? I can't remember that far back...

Being only 10, Drake was in fact scared. Not knowing any better, he ran away. Where to? He didn't know. But he ran. After going far, he didn't know how far, he arrived at a wide field at the edge of the village. "I remember this place," Drake said to himself, "this was where I first got to play with that Damascus Sword-thing..." The field was a wide area, and no one would be able to find him here. He decided to stay in the field that night, for he didn't want his brother and father ridicule him when he got home.

After checking around the area, Drake saw no one, except for a girl who instantly ran when he found her. "Hey, aren't you one of the..." He stopped and decided to worry about his own problems first. Maybe he wouldn't grow up to be as strong as the legendary warriors... Maybe... It was now almost evening and Drake began to worry about his survival outside that night. But what really got him was the idea that "It's only going to be one night."

Drake had found a spot under the trees where it seemed like someone had already prepared shelter for him. "Strange," he thought. But he wasn't one who would complain. Laying down, he slowly drifted off to sleep...

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It was the next day already. Drake decided that he would go back and try to see if he could not learn under that dojo. As he left the field for the village, he noticed a girl hiding behind a nearby tree, but he decided to just forget about her. He knew, however, that he could never be able to gain the respect of the others now that he had left the dojo.

Upon re-entering the village, something seemed wrong. Although he did not have a great sense for this type of thing, he could feel the spirit level in town was un-expectantly low. After traversing the town to get back to his house, something was definitely off. No one could be found anywhere. He was scared. He knew what had happened the night before. A few days before Drake had left, there began rumors of a demon pack which was traveling through cities, killing everyone they could find. This must of been it.

Drake quickly rushed to his house to see if his father and brother were all right, but he knew something like that could never be true. Once opening the house door, he was shocked and scared more than ever. The house walls were painted with blood, dripping down, with what seemed to be his father's naked remains in the center of the floor. All of the muscles and guts were spread across the room, in a perfect circle, as he saw it. But what about his brother? Running across the entire town, looking through all the corners, and through every house, his brother was no where to be found. What was strange was that in every house he had went into, every person could be found torn up with the same circle of organs around them...

The last building to check was the dojo. Even though he hated this place and the master who lived in it, he still had to check. Entering, there was no surprise of what he saw. The dojo master, one of the eight Legendary Warriors, was dead. This meant that only one Legendary Warrior, by prophecy, remained. Drake stepped into the dojo and looked around. It had seemed as if a fight had issued in the building. There was black blood everywhere, too. But through all this carnage, he could not find any trace that his brother even ever existed. At the last room in the dojo, there was a case positioned in the middle of the room, as if it was put there just for him. As he walked closer, a note could be seen stuck on top of the sword. On it, said,

"Dear Drake,

This sword was intended for me to pass on to you. I am sorry I cannot be with you right now, but I hope I can still see you soon.

-Your brother, Leon"

It was his brother's penmanship, alright. But the sword? It had looked familiar. Upon closer studying, Drake knew what it was. This weapon could be called the Misamura Clan's ultimate weapon. It was indeed the Damascus Sword, nicknamed as, "The Sword Which Never Bleeds". What to do now? He didn't know. All that was apparent now was that he was the only remaining Misamura... or at least he hope he wasn't.

CHAPTER 1 ~ SHORTENED VERSION
- Aftershock - Beginning -

Drake tripped as he ran across the plain ground of the city he used to live in. It was now a week after the massacre of the Misamura clan, but it only seemed like it was last morning when he found the bodies of all the people ripped to shreds and dead. At least some of them had the 'Gigai' trait of the Misamura clan. Today, his agenda was to collect the final materials he needed to make the trip to the neighboring village, where he could find more members of the Misamura clan, under the Akamure branch. Or at least he hoped he could find them.

After grabbing the last thing in town which he found useful, he went back to the shelter out in the field. There, all the objects which he had salvaged were neatly organized so that he could quickly find an item which he needed. The Damascus Sword was now strapped to his waist, almost too low, as the tip of the blade almost nearly touched the ground whenever he walked. Throughout the past week, though, he could notice strange things around wherever he went. It seemed as if someone was helping him find his way. Leaving his trail of thought, he began to pick up the items he could carry in the small bag which he had found in town.

It was now nighttime, and Drake decided to go to sleep one last time under the tree shelter before he left. The materials needed were packed neatly into the bag next to him, and the rest of the items were just dropped into random places on the field. It still seemed, though, that someone was watching his every move. As he drifted back off into sleep, Drake knew that things wouldn't be the same anymore...

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Today, a week after he had run away, Drake would be traveling across the river bridge, which spanned 5 miles in length, to the village where he would be able to find the Akamure branch. He gathered all of his things and began his journey.