Kiyo Nakamoto

Spirit Beyond Saga

Spirit Guardian Arc

“Chapter Thirty-One:”

(Desert)

(It is midnight; Nissa, Serenade, and Zazu faceoff against, Jason, Kelsey, and Tyreese.)

Jason: You know what this is about, Nissa.

Nissa: I do, Jason. But right now, I need to save my strength for tomorrow’s battle. Our plan is to summon the spirit temple here to our location and steal the secrets inside. Inevitably, the Spirit Users inside will attack us so we must all be at our full power for when the massacre begins.

Jason: You and I fight right now, Nissa. It doesn’t matter to me what your morning plans are. Now stand up and fight!

Nissassa: I don’t think so. If you strike me right now, I will not fight back. That is your weakness, right? You won’t kill anyone unless they have a fighting chance or unless they choose to fight you back. I will not fight back, so therefore, we will not fight right now.

Tyreese: So is that it? We came all this way for nothing?

Jason: It looks that way, Tye.

Tyreese: Gee, what a disappointment.

Jason: Nissa, I will spare you this one time, but the next time you and I meet, I will kill you. (Runs away toward Borgias Town)

Kelsey: Oh well; it’s getting late anyway. I’m gonna go get some rest since there’s nothing better to do.

Tyreese: Hey wait, what’s your name?

Kelsey: What’s it to you?

Tyreese: “What’s it to you?” What a pretty name.

Kelsey: Don’t get smart, whoever you are.

Tye: I’ve always been smart; you’re just meeting me for the first time.

Kelsey: (Scoffs) Whatever! (Walks away)

Tyreese: (Thinking) The woman sleeping nearby… that’s Vexis. I know how powerful she can become, so perhaps I should Sly her out of the way…

(The next morning)

(Everybody wakes up in a living room; Aiko is staring blindly out the window with her clothing already on.)

Eli: Hey, Aiko, are you feeling alright?

Jiro: Let’s hope she is cause we had a visitor come to our door this morning and hand me a bill of what we owe the town. Kiyo owes the restaurant almost 1000 Gold for the food him and Nini ate. Kiyomi owes the spa for making customers cry and run away from the spa without paying. Aiko owes for the exact same thing except she owes a pedicure as well.

Aiko: (Pouting and crossing arms) That wrinkly old meanie lady said that was free!

Eli: That Wrinkly old meanie lady straight lied to you.

Jiro: Eli owes for eating almost all the candy in town and destroying the mayor’s office!

Eli: “Almost” all the candy in town? Oh no; that means I missed a few! I MUST FIND THEM NOW!

(Eli runs toward the door and Jiro grabs Eli by the back of his collar and lifts him up.)

Jiro: No more sugar for you.

(Jiro tosses Eli and he hits his back on the leg of the eating table.)

Eli: Hey, for once nothing too bad happened, alright!

(A bowl of oatmeal falls off the table and splatters on his head.)

Eli: I guess I spoke too soon.

(Nini and Mizuki both rush over to Eli and start eating the oatmeal off his face.)

Jiro: We need to start saving and earning money; not owing it to other people. We need to figure something out right now, guys.

(Brenda latches her arms and legs around Jiro’s body.)

Brenda: (Her eyes turn into hearts) You’re like the cutest boy I’ve ever seen; you know that?!

Jiro: (Blushes) I use to get that a lot actually but… (Stops blushing) Wait a minute, who are you, and where did you even come from?

Kiyo: Hey, Brenda! I didn’t know you slept here last night.

Brenda: (Stands up and gets nervous) Oh yeah (Laughs) Well uh… (Scratches the back of her hair) you see, my house was kinda destroyed you know… HAHA, by your friend here!

Kiyo: Huh? Oh you mean Elijah?

Brenda: Yeah the cute one, well… second cute one. (Brushes up against Jiro)

(Jiro blushes and looks away.)

Eli: Wait a minute, but I only destroyed the Mayor’s office; Jiro was the one that destroyed your house.

Brenda: Oh yeah… So then the cutest one hear destroyed my house.

Kiyo: So since your home is destroyed, will your parents ground you or something?

Brenda: Uh… what?

Kiyo: You know, your parents- the people who always boss you around and tell you what to do without ever hearing you out or listening to what you have to say; those guys.

Brenda: (Looks down in sadness and pokes index fingers together) Oh well actually… I don’t have any parents. I’ve been on my own the past year since my parents left me and decided to go out adventuring. Being the only black person in town sometimes makes me feel like a minority you know.

Kiyo: But you are a minority!

(Kiyomi elbows Kiyo in the shoulder.)

Brenda: It’s okay; I don’t mind; really I don’t. (Fakes a smiles)

Kiyo: (Angered) One thing I hate most is a fake smile.

Brenda: (Stops smiling) What?

Kiyo: If you’re smile isn’t real, then don’t put one on your face at all.

Brenda: But-

Kiyo: (Angered) No buts! When you’re in my presents, don’t you ever put on a fake smile like that again!

Brenda: (Looks down at the floor sad) I’m sorry.

Jiro: Wait a minute, the mayor told me that the house I destroyed with my sword was abandoned and no one wanted to live there.

Brenda: Well he lied to you.

Jiro: After I destroyed the house, there was no furniture inside. (Crosses arms) What are you not telling us?

Brenda: (Nervous) Well… I actually don’t have a place to live. I use to sneak into that abandoned house and use it as a place to sleep in. No one in this town bothers to take me in and the mayor won’t allow me to live in that house for free. I can’t afford the house on my own so I just have to sneak in whenever I need sleep or just need time to think.

(Kiyo slowly walks up to Brenda and gives her a soft hug.)

Kiyo: Welcome to the family, Brenda. From now on, you will be a member of Team Kiyo.

Eli: WHAT?!

(Eli tries to quickly stand and bashes the top of his head on the corner of the table.)

Eli: Owe, owe, owe!

Kiyomi: Kiyo, since when do we find strays off the street and welcome them into our family?

Kiyo: We all were homeless strays out in the street before we joined team Kiyo. Actually, we still are stays. We wonder the world, seeking a place to belong. She’s no different from us, so she’s a part of our family now. So shut your mouth because you sounded racist just now! Before we make things official, I’ll need to see a demonstration of your fighting skills, Brenda!

Brenda: Well actually, I really appreciate the offer but I’m not quite ready to join a family yet.

(There is a knock on the door. It opens automatically and both Tyreese and Kelsey walk in.)

Jiro: I see no one’s taught you guys any manners.

Tyreese: hey, at least we knocked before coming in.

Kiyo: (Gives Kelsey a dirty look)I see the beast has returned.

Kelsey: (Grins) Hey their sunshine; did you miss me?

Kiyo: NO!

Kelsey: Aw, you’re so cute when you’re pouting like a little brat.

Kiyo: You look cuter when you morph into a dying rhino than you do right now!

Kelsey: (Angry) Grrr, WHY DO YOU ALWAYS CALL ME UGLY!

Kiyo: I’M JUST CALLING IT AS I SEE IT!

Tyreese: That’s enough, Kelsey.

Kelsey: Hey, don’t think you can order me around just because I’m your traveling companion.

Kiyo: Wait, traveling companion?

Tyreese: Since when did we agree on that, uh…

Kelsey: You just said my name like 5 seconds ago!

Tyreese: … Uh?

Kelsey: NO NOT “UH” MY NAME IS NOT “UH”; IT’S KELSEY!

Tyreese: Oh yeah… Uh… I forgot what my original point was…

Kelsey: (Sighs) I can’t wait till we get back to my village so I won’t have to deal with you anymore. You’re almost as much of an idiot as Kiyo!

Kiyo: Take that as a compliment, buddy; she said “almost as bad”.

Tyreese: Speaking of buddies; the people in this room must me your crew?

Kiyo: That’s right, so where’s your crew at?

Tyreese: I don’t need a crew. I am and always will be a soloist.

Jiro: I was once a rogue warrior like you, but then I realized how important friendship and having family to back you up is.

Tyreese: Maybe someday I will have my own crew, but for now, I’m fine on my own.

Kiyo: (Smiles) So, Tyreese, I hope you’ve learned some new tricks since our last battle.

Tyreese: (Grins) I was just thinking the same about you. I promise, the next time you and I fight, I will be victorious. The last time you and I fought in the underground arena, we were both exhausted and were at less than half of our strength. Next time, we’ll both be at full power.

Kiyo: It’s a deal, brother.

(A fat man wearing brown boots, blue jeans, a white shirt with rose designs on it, and short curly blond hair walks into the house.)

Jiro: Wow I guess walking into random peoples’ houses is what’s cool in this town.

(The fat man has a cool, smooth, deep, sexy voice. His voice is almost as cool as his attitude.)

Toshi: The name is Toshi. I was told I could find the one responsible for getting my favorite restaurant closed here.

Kiyo: (Picking nose) You must be talking about me?

Toshi: You fool! (Clenches fist) I didn’t get my fried sushi burrito this morning. My appetite for food grows strong, but my hunger for blood grows even stronger. You and I will go outside and fight right now! You will pay for making me miss 1 of my 3 favorite meals of the day.

Tyreese: 3 favorite meals of the day?

Toshi: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Tyreese: Oh, okay…

Kiyo: Am I gonna have to outrun another fat guy? Gosh, this will be too easy. You’re even fatter that the chef was. (Laughs) See ya!

(Kiyo runs the opposite direction of Toshi and jumps out of the window. Toshi sighs. 2 seconds later, Kiyo crashes through the wall and leaves a giant hole in it. Toshi walks through the hole and into the house. Everyone is shocked and looks toward the front door where Toshi was just standing 2 seconds ago. He’s not there. Toshi stands over Kiyo, popping his knuckles Nini jumps in front of Kiyo and hisses at Toshi.)

Toshi: Get outta her varmint; you wouldn’t even do for a proper snack.

Kiyo: There’s no way anyone can move that fast. (Stands up)

Toshi: I may be fat, but I’m one of the world quickest men.

Eli: (Thinking) It’s impossible. Not even I detected his movements. Who is this guy?

Toshi: Now hurry up and fight; I prefer my meals warm and fresh; not still and cold.

Kiyo: Hah. I’ll show you warm.

(Everything is in slow motion. Kiyo punches a fireball at Toshi. Toshi waits till the last possible second to appear in front of Kiyo, grab his collar from behind, pull him forward, and then jamming his knee into Kiyo’s face. Everything moves fast again. Kiyo flies trough the other side of the house and slams into a cart of tamales.)

Tamale Merchant: MY TAMALES!

(Toshi stands in the house holding Kiyo’s fireball in his palm. Toshi squeezes his palm and the fire ball blows away.)

Jiro: (Thinking) This guy was able to dodge Kiyo’s attack at the last possible second, land a hit, and was able to catch the attack all in less than a second. I feel sorry for whoever fights this guy in a serious battle.

Toshi: Come on! I haven’t gotten my fill yet.

(Kiyo walks back into the house and pops his knuckles.)

Kiyo: One of my few weaknesses is speed, so this fight won’t be easy to win. But no doubt I will win this.

(Kiyo’s skin turns red and his body begins to steam all over.)

Kiyo: Let’s see how quick you are after this next attack, husky!

(Kiyo Dashes at Toshi’s face. Everything moves in slow motion. Kiyo’s fist get’s 2 inches away from hitting Toshi in the face. Toshi disappears.)

Kiyo: (Thinking) Gotcha!

(Toshi appears behind Kiyo and Kiyo quickly doess a twist kick at Toshi. Toshi sees the kick at the last minute and blocks it with the back of his arm. He quickly disappears again and appears again when he elbows Kiyo in the chest and sends him flying across the room. Everything moves fast once again. Kiyo’s redness and steam goes away.)

Toshi: Not bad… for a little guy.

Kiyo: (Says with intense tone) I will win this fight!

Toshi: You gotta catch me first! Do those words sound familiar?

Kiyo: Yeah that’s what I said to that fat chef guy!

Toshi: You were faster than a guy of more mass and you were able to out run him with ease. But now a guy with more mass is faster than you, and he’s not letting you escape. Oh and one more thing… I’m awesome… (Smiles and shows a twinkle in his smile.)

Kiyo: (Stands up and dusts himself off) I’ll admit, the irony here is pretty intense, but I’m still not one to lose this fight!

Toshi: Go ahead and hit me then! Show me your full strength!

Kiyo: You asked for it!

(Kiyo dashes at Toshi and punches him in the gut. The impact from the punch makes Toshi’s fat giggle with waves. The waves travel all the way to Toshi’s fist and Toshi punches Kiyo in the face and sends him flying through the wall.)

Toshi: I hit you with your own attack… Toshi style.

Kiyomi: Alright, enough of this! (Jumps in front of Toshi) I can’t watch this anymore; you leave my brother alone right now!

Kiyo: (Angry) Kiyomi!

(Kiyomi turns around and Kiyo walks up to her angry.)

Kiyomi: Brother, are you okay?

Kiyo: You stay out of this, Kiyomi! You too, Aiko! This is my fight, and I will win this on my own!

Kiyomi: Remember we always have your back.

Kiyo: Well don’t! At least not right now in this fight! This fight is personal to me.

Tyreese: Despite his speed, I could take this guy out with ease, Kiyo. It looks like you’re slacking.

Kiyo: Shut up, Tye! I can take this guy out if I really wanted to; I’m just trying a different method of fighting, that’s it!

Tye: Is it get your butt kicked kwon-do, Cause I must say, you’re pretty good at it.

Kiyo: (Smiles) Kiyomi, stand back; cause I’m about to end this fight!

Toshi: Ooh, for a small fry, you sure do pack a lot of tricks.

Kiyo: How about I fry you?! Actually, why don’t I burn off some calories… Or your face instead?!

Toshi: (Intensity in his expression) Alright then, no more games! I’ll end this fight right now!

(Kiyo uses Signature Identification to see the body heat of Toshi. He makes his body turn red and steam once again.)

Kiyo: Alright, time to end this little game!

(Kiyo uses a flamethrower to throw at Toshi. Toshi of course dodges it at the last second and disappears. Kiyo quickly creates 4 walls of fire which surround him. Toshi gets startled and stops a few inches away from the wall behind Kiyo. An arm comes out of the fire and grabs Toshi’s collar. The four walls disappear and Kiyo is seen grabbing Toshi’s collar.)

Kiyo: I hope you can fly!

(Kiyo uses his Jetfire to push him and Toshi all the way through the roof and up in the sky.)

Eli: Do you think we should tell him, Kiyomi?

Kiyomi: Tell who what?

Brenda: So you noticed that too, huh, kid? I thought it was just me.

Kiyomi: I don’t get it; what are you guys talking about?

Tyreese: (Crosses arms) Toshi wasn’t using his full strength in this fight. When Kiyo reached out and grabbed Toshi’s collar, Toshi could’ve easily dodged. But Toshi knew that Kiyo couldn’t beat him and so Toshi purposely let Kiyo get this last hit in.

Jiro: Kiyo may be powerful and he may be our leader, but one of his major weaknesses is speed. Toshi won this fight from the very beginning, and he knew that, so to prevent Kiyo from having any hard feelings, he deliberately lost this fight.

(Toshi and Kiyo come crashing down into the house and shatter the entire floor. Dust flies everywhere around the room. Once the dust clears, Kiyo stands over Toshi with a smile on his face.)

Toshi: That fall was pretty radical, but as you can see, I’m still alive and well.

Kiyo: (Happy) I know you are, Toshi. You are a pretty strong guy, and I know I can’t beat you in a serious fight. I’ll just need to train more and work on my speed.

Toshi: So you admit you’re much weaker than I am?

Kiyo: I admit you’re the true victor in this fight. (Reaches out hand)

Toshi: (Stands up on his own) I hope to see you again someday, small fry. For now we part ways. I need to figure out how I’m going to reopen my favorite restaurant.

Jiro: Oh that reminds me, the house you two damaged during your fight will eventually be added to our bill.

(A random woman walks in, hands Jiro a piece of paper, then leaves the house. Jiro looks at the paper a few seconds.)

Jiro: Never mind; it’s already added. Hey, wait a minute, why do we have to pay the whole bill for the house? Toshi was mainly responsible for most of the damage!

Random Girl: (Jumps back into the house) Well, you already owe a substantial amount of money, so why not just add more?! (Giggles and runs away)

Jiro: That makes no sense!

Tyreese: Listen, Toshi, I’m finding competition for underground brawling. I’m pretty sure you’ll do fine if you enter. If you beat all the competition, I guarantee you’ll make enough money to reopen the restaurant.

Toshi: Sounds… awesome. I’m down for some good fighting.

Tyreese: (Grins) Good. Now you’ll be traveling with me for awhile, so get use to having a partner. I think you should come with me too, Brenda.

Brenda: Sorry, but Kiyo’s already offered me to join up with him.

Tyreese: If you join up with him, you will be guaranteed to die. Kiyo’s team is wanted by so many powerful enemies. The Assassins Guild wants them all dead. And they are close by.

Kiyo: (Thinking) So that’s what’s wrong with Aiko.

Tyreese: Come on, Delores; let’s go find a place to eat.

Kelsey: MY NAME IS KELSEY!

Tyreese: (Walks away) Right, sorry, Tammy.

Brenda: Thank you for the offer, but I think I’ll stay here with Kiyo and his friends!

Tye: Alright, when you die by bloodthirsty assassins, don’t come crying to me.

Brenda: (Confused) I’ll try my best not to…?

Jiro: So, brother, you knew Toshi was too powerful for you, didn’t you?

Kiyo: (Smiles) Jiro, sometimes you win fights and sometimes you lose fights, but at the end of it all, your attitude and the smile you put on your face during the flying fists is what really matters. (Smiles at Jiro)

Kiyomi: (Thinking) Brother… what’s going on in that head of yours? What are you thinking right now?

Aiko: (Continues to daydream out the window) I know exactly what you’re thinking, Kiyo. During your fight with Toshi, you were training yourself mentally. You were envisioning Toshi as Phantom while the two of you were fighting. Phantom too is a fat guy, so it wasn’t very hard to do so. (Stares at Kiyo) Also, you were testing your attitude during the fight. You were testing your feelings toward Phantom and simulating them.

Kiyo: You’re right, Aiko. If I was fighting Phantom right now, I would be angry, sloppy, my speed and reflexes would be slow, and I would be blinded by my emotions. By pretending Toshi was Phantom during the fight, I was able to discover my true feelings for Phantom, and once I discovered my feelings and my battle flaws, I was able to conquer them by the end of the battle with Toshi. All my anger and hatred toward Phantom is gone now, but I did train 10 long years to defeat him in battle. Phantom is close by and I think the time has come for us to finally do battle.

Aiko: I feel the same way about Nissa right now. Just being in the presents of your heated battle, made me realize the truth of how I feel about Nissassa. I want him dead for what he did to my parents, and I’m ready to take him out now.

Kiyo: You’re mentally ready, but you’re not physically ready, Aiko.

Aiko: (Angry) NO! I don’t care! He was mean to me and killed my mommy and daddy! I want him dead! I wasn’t strong back then, but I am really strong now and I can beat him up silly! If you don’t wanna have my back, then just leave me alone!

(Kiyo instantly wraps his left arm around her body. Aiko stays silent for a few seconds.)

Aiko: (Amazed) But you were just on the other side of the room a second ago.

Kiyo: Shh… Aiko, stop acting like a child.

Aiko: But-

Kiyo: But nothing! You’re not ready to face him yet, so don’t you dare get yourself involved in a bout with this guy. I am your leader, and I am giving you the order to keep your emotions under control and don’t do anything foolish to get yourself killed. If anything happens to you, anything at all, I could never forgive myself for letting one of my family members get killed.

(Aiko buries her face in Kiyo’s shoulder and she slowly wraps one of her arms around Kiyo.)

Aiko: I’m sorry, Kiyo. I should be learning from you; not disobeying. I won’t let anything fooling happen. I promise to not get myself killed.

Kiyo: Good. Now I think it’s time you reunited with someone who loves you just as much as we all do. He probably loves you even more.

Aiko: (Startled) What?!

(Kiyo and Aiko stop hugging. Kiyo stands beside Aiko and Aiko sees Jason standing in the door way.)

Jason: (Grins) I see I was wise to trust you with her.

Kiyo: Not enough trust if you ask me. Since my team first met Aiko and Jiro, you’ve been tailing us; a bit overprotective, are we?

Jason: Other than my murdered immediate family, Aiko’s the only one I really care for, so yeah, being overprotective is one of my traits.

Kiyo: Tell Aiko why you’re here, Jason. Tell her the truth about everything.

TO BE CONTINUED…