"I don't know Noda, I think there's something serious that Pakuyo-san isn't telling us about your mark." Max finally said sternly.

He rested his chin in his right palm as he often did when he was thinking hard about something, I could tell he was really concerned. I sighed. I was too of course but I couldn't decide what I was more worried about, Pakuyo-san or my mark. Has Pakuyo been lying to us? I've always been extremely anxious to find out what my mark would awaken into or if it would even awaken at all, so it was demoralizing to see his negative reaction. My sword is so freaking cool though! It's huge, bigger than me but for some reason it feels weightless. The night of the training incident I practiced pulling my blade out at will when I finally made it home and I actually got to take a good look at it.

It stood at above 6 feet in height and radiates the perfect shade of grey from the tip of it's slightly curved razor sharp blade, all the way to the hilt that was slightly curved towards the wielder. When I looked closer I noticed at the base you could see 4 white slashes as if an animal had scratched the blade. When it appeared, the power I felt surging through me felt unlike anything I had ever felt before, my speed and attack power were increased and the battle seemed clearer to me. I'd say it's not too long before I catch up to Max.

"What should we do? I say we follow him after school steak out style!" I said half jokingly. Max snapped his head towards me, causing his hand to hit his desk with a loud thud.

     "Max that was a-"

Out of no where Max grabbed my hand and stood up causing people in the class to turn their heads and rushed towards the door.
"Max what are you doing?" I asked.

We emerged into the empty hallway where Max pushed me against the lockers and gave me a gaze that was full of life. He gave me that look that usually means he's going to do something dumb that I'll be forced to tag along with, that could possibly lead to our tragic and untimely deaths. I hate that look.

     "Noda you're a genius! You read my mind!" Max said finally.

     "Max you're being weird! What are you talking about?" I questioned.

"We definitely have to follow him after school!" Pakuyo-san has taken care of us since we were kids but think, we haven't been to his house even once."  he said.

He had a point. Even though Pakuyo was the legal guardian of Max, Kaori and I, we don't live with him. Miraculously approved by the government, we three share 2 apartments, one for Max and one for Kaori and I. Every Sunday Pakuyo-san comes and delivers groceries and any other necessities we may need, he's really a great man and better father figure which is why I feel dirty going behind his back and following him.

"We can't just follow him around like the police or something moron! Why do you even assume he's lying to us?" I asked.

"Noda it isn't like that, you know I idolize Pakuyo-san more than anyone but this is a serious matter that could spell trouble for you and Kaori." he said. "Let's just go ask Zee-chan what she thinks."  

"Fine, I haven't seen her today anyway." I decided.

Ms. Z or Zee-chan to us, was the school librarian and our best friend even though she was adult in her early 30s. I could tell her anything because she knew anything, she's the only person I know that's smarter than Kaori. She's helped me with countless issues whether they be school related, friends/guy related or even that one time when she started talking about the birds and the bees ugh. 

We made our way down the long hallway until we reached a set of large wooden double doors that appeared as if you could reach Hogwarts if you open them, with the large word LIBRARY engraved above it in a brownish metal. Max pulled the old creeky doors open with a forceful heave and I was immediately hit with familiar smell of thousands of old books. In the library there were bookshelves that soared at least 20 feet in the air, filled to the brim with books older than me.

"Ahhh if it isn't the wonder twins! What can I do for you today?" In front of us was the most beautiful woman I know, her golden brown skin glowed under the bright lights of the library. Her long pitch black hair was tied up in a bun with two metal pins stuck inside it in the shape of an X, while her curvy body was hugged in a violet pantsuit. She bent down and looked over her glasses to look in to my eyes.

"You seem to be distressed about something Nodachi, has Max been picking on you again?" she asked.

Max frowned.
"She's the one who does the bullying!" He exclaimed.

"No, actually there's something a little more serious I want to ask about." I said ignoring Max.

She gave me a confused look before she motioned for us to take a seat at a nearby table, where I proceeded to inform of her of all the events of our training session. I told her about the mark, but purposely left out what it looked like and the ability I gained since Pakuyo-san was so determined about hiding it. By the time I was done explaining, Zee-chan's concerned look grew into a more shocked and interested expression.

     "Show me your mark." She said sternly after she thought to herself for a short period.

"O-okay." Thoughts flooded through my brain wondering what could go wrong by showing her my mark, but Zee-chan has always been honest and there for me so I trust her. I gave in and reached down to pull up my sleeve and reveal my mark. Zee-chan watched eagerly and never took her eyes off my arm as I slowly pulled back the black fabric. Suddenly, I was stopped in my tracks by a firm warm hand. I looked over at Max.

"Actually I think it's better if we know more information before we let anyone see the mark. If he was that adamant in hiding the thing it's possible it could be dangerous to let anyone see yet." Max said.

Zee-chan glared at Max for a while as if she was deciding what to do next. The look on Max's face gave me chills. Why was he so worked up about this? I decided I would make him tell me later. Zee finally sat back in her chair, and let out a bored sigh.

"As you kids already know, Spotted Ones in general are feared by the public due to the near overthrow of the government in the famous Project SOR. There are certain families that possess power that garner the attention of S ranked officials in the government such as our Emperor Tuzo Daizen." Zee-chan explained.

"These marks, known as X marks, are labeled as too dangerous for a human to possess or have been previously used in a Project SOR level crime."

Daizen. A lame excuse for an Emperor and the man I hate the most in this screwed up world. He's the reason we have to live life chipped like animals in some type of sick experiment. His deeply rooted hate and fear for us Spotted Ones inspires him to perform many cruel and discriminatory acts against us, one in particular that put Kaori and I's lives in danger. I swore I would take him down at any cost.

"But let's hope that's not the case." Zee said yawning.

An X mark? This was the first time I had heard of such a thing, and it turns out I may have one? Just my luck. I reached up to play with my necklace which was always something I did when nervous, which gained me a concerned look from Max.

"What if she does have an X mark?" He asked.

"Then it's possible you'll be targeted and neutralized by the government." She answered bluntly.

"Don't you have any empathy!" Max exclaimed.

"As a librarian i'm simply the bearer of facts and on occasion, a good story!" Zee-chan let out her signature cackle that caused people nearby to lose focus for a quick second.

Max grabbed my hand once again and started to move back towards the huge wooden double doors and forced it open with firm push. I could still hear Zee-chan cackling in the background. She's a librarian, but sometimes she gave me mad scientist vibes. One time I caught her in full conversation with a street rat before school, wondering what they were talking about still haunts me to this day.

"We don't need her help Noda, but is that not enough reason for us to follow Pakuyo-san?" Max said finally.

"Yeah. He definitely knows something we don't and i'm really worried it could effect Kaori." I said.

"Listen, Pakuyo-san stays at school everyday until around 7pm grading papers and doing other old man stuff. So I say we meet back here at school at 6:45." I planned.

"Yeah!" Max exclaimed with a grin that was a little too big for my liking.

"This isn't a game Max, we have to be serious or we'll get-"

"Okay i'll see you then!" Before I could even respond Max had jumped out of the second story window and was now running with his arms out across the schoolyard. Max was somebody who couldn't be controlled, he's the freest person I know and only listened to people he respects like Pakuyo-san. He's probably been itching to do that since he stepped foot in school so I just let it be.

"Good you almost got it!"

As I walked back up to the door to our classroom I could hear Kaori confidently tutoring the students who were all at least 3 years above her age. I walked in and tapped her on her shoulder.

"Sorry to interrupt guys, but we have to go." I said to the class.

"Noda-chan! Where have you been and where's Max?" She asked with a small frown. "I had to run this class alone all day!"

I looked up at all the diligently learning kids in the classroom. They all seemed to be focused on learning whatever Kaori was trying to teach them, she had a way of capturing brains like that.

"You did great. Now let's go, grab your bookbag." Kaori reluctantly grabbed her bookbag, said goodbye to all the students and followed me out of the classroom into the cold hallway.

Now all I have to do is take Kaori home and hope she falls asleep before 7, I would hate to be hit with a famous Kaori Inquiry Barrage which is where she assaults her victim that's usually me with millions of questions until you just die. Not really but it feels like it.

Kaori and I made our way out the school and started west towards our apartment complex that was just a few blocks away from the school. 3. The sunlight reflected aggressively off of the bronze number plastered on our door, I walked in and threw my bookbag in the corner followed by Kaori doing the same. I looked at the time on the stove clock that read 4;30pm. I can do this. I can get Kaori to fall asleep before 7 all she needs is a bath, some food and a couple episodes of our favorite show One Piece.

*6:30PM*

It's almost the rendezvous time I gave Max earlier and I was thinking about leaving early even though I know I can count on Max to be late. I managed to put Kaori down with a bath and some pizza, she was sound asleep while One Piece was still playing in the background, I walked over an paused it so she wouldn't lose her place. Thriller Bark huh? Cute.

I looked down at my outfit. I had changed into a more covert ninja-like outfit, black tight fit sweatpants, and black hoodie that read "Plus Ultra" across the back and the same black converse. I had my hair tied up in a bun which is usually how I prepare for a fight, not that i'm expecting one but I can never be to sure in this city. I gave Kaori a quick kiss on the forehead and exited through the front door tightly locking all the locks behind me.

The streets were seemingly empty at this time of night, the only people you could find were, teenagers, weirdos and night crawling drug addicts. I made my way through town silently keeping my head down and trying not to look anyone in the eye until I walked past our NNM or "Neighborhood News Monitor" which was basically what it sounds like a huge screen that's set up in the neighborhood that displays news. The news was usually different but there was one thing you could expect to see everyday: the Spotted Ones Most Wanted List. That punk Emperor Daizen has placed a special sense of urgency around certain spotted ones that he finds especially dangerous. The monitor started to blare interrupting my thoughts.

"ATTENTION, THE FOLLOWING ARE THE  MOST WANTED AND DANGEROUS SPOTTED ONES TO MANKIND, IF SEEN CONTACT YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITIES IMMEDIATELY."

The monitor then started to list off dozens of names some familiar some not, but one always caught my eye in particular.
    "Hitoki Zero."

I didn't know to much about him other than the fact that he apparently broke out of a government prison by biting out his own Viacomb chip and taking down a vast number of guards on his own. He can't be that much of a bad guy, if the government imprisons me i'll be the next one on this most wanted list for breaking out. I finally approached the big empty school and decided to steak out from across the street and wait for Max who was of course late. I looked around for any sign of Pakuyo-san before I spotted his long silver hair at the front steps of the school engaged in what seem to be a heated argument with a women in a purple dress. Is that Zee-chan? It is! What is she doing here? Are they- no it can't be that. I silently tip toed my way across the street with hopes of being able to hear this mysterious conversation, I found a patch of bushes that was perfect for a little snooping and strained my ear to listen closely.

"Pakuyo are you lying to me? You know what we'll have to do if we find out she has the mark." Zee said firmly.

"She did not develop the mark! Even if she did she is just a child, she has no ill intentions towards the government!" Pakuyo exclaimed.

Are they talking about me? I never thought my mark awakening would cause such an uproar. This must mean what Zee-chan said earlier came true and I actually do have an X mark.

"Hello young lady." I was snapped out of my thoughts by an eerily cool breath trailing down my neck. My body froze out of pure shock and fear. The voice sounded slimy and evil as if the words were spoken by a snake. I slowly turned around to see a pale faced man who looked to be about 25 years old with long dark hair that covered his ears and eyes. He was dressed in a black suit with a purple sash that read "Blade".

"Wh-what do you want?" I managed to ask.

He smiled revealing a row of razor sharp teeth in his mouth that sent chills down my spine. What is this guy's deal sneaking up on a young girl like that with that menacing of a demeanor.

"You must be Torodami Nodachi." He said maintaining his menacing grin.

"T-Torodami? You've got me mistaken, I-I don't have a last name." I stuttered. As I said this his face grew from a grin into a gut wrenching frown.

"You dare lie to me!" He flung his arm out in an attempt to grab me by the neck but I was able to crouch and activate my technique in time.

"Ketto Maneuver, Momentum Burst!" I bursted out of the bushes and into the street where I started to run for my life using the Ketto Maneuver Pakuyo-san taught us. I bursted to the hood of a car and leaped as far as I could and landed on top of the drug store that me and Kaori buy snacks at after school. I looked back down to the bushes I was previously hiding in expecting to see a confused Snake guy but instead saw nothing.

"Who taught you that technique, you little brat!" I heard from seemingly directly behind me. How did he move so fast, has he mastered the Ketto Manuever too?

"You'll die here girl." he said cooly. At that moment he produced a blade from the palm of his hand and raised it in the air above his head. I recognized the blade. It was small, black and sharp with a ring like finger hole at the bottom I think it's called a Kunai , often used by ninjas and samurai of sorts.

He swung the blade down but I had no intention of letting it hit me. "Okami!" I screamed and my beloved blade appeared. I winded up and prepared to swing the blade as hard as I could and braced for contact with his, when suddenly something or someone appeared in a flash of yellow light.

"Zeus's Judgment!" A visibly angry Kiyama Max spun threw the air and landed a lightning packed punch that caused Snake guy to fly back a few meters without leaving his feet. Max landed gracefully on his feet next to me with a determined look on his face.

"Dang it Max! I didn't need your help!" I exclaimed.

"Look Noda, you're strong so you can choose to stay or leave but-" Max paused for a second and clinched his fist.

"I'm gonna kill this guy!"

What's going on with Zee & Pakuyo?

Who is this mysterious man that suddenly appeared?

Why was he calling her Torodami?

Don't forget to leave a comment or a vote if you enjoyed!
Let's get it, Max 💡
-Cam

To be continued in Chapter 3!