Seven Crow Cry

Seven Crow Cry

Arc 1: Moon & Fox

I always loved the moon, there is something about it that makes my mind wonder and wander. People see it as a orb of rock that can influence the Earth’s oceans even though it is tens of thousands of kilometers above and away from us. Other see it as romantic, to be with the one you love under the ivory full moon. Others see it as a mythical being.

I see it as symbol.

A symbol of human nature.

Prologue

It was the Year 2054 on Terra Firma. Where the technological advances had been on a constant line because magic has advanced humanity so far that improvements may lead to the downfall of mankind. So they stopped. Race didn’t matter in this age or this universe to be precise, what mattered was whether you were part of a Clan. This was emphasized no louder than in Japan. Where Seven Clans occupied seven cities: Tokyo, Sapporo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Sendai and Okinawa. The Shogunate reign superior within these cities and rule fairly and with honour, protecting those within its boundaries.

But in Tokyo lived a boy, the boy was called Koike Tsuki. He was a weak looking boy, with a kind heart but a reluctance to fight those within his Clan during training exercises. He was the heir to the Leadership of the Clan but his father: Watanabe Shigeru disagrees and is convinced his son is a bastard. Thus Tsuki is beaten to the point of near death. His mother, Watanabe Hoshi was more understanding and cared for Tsuki teaching him more methods of fighting other than brute force.

“Brute force is good and all but what about finesse? Listen Tsuki-kun, a strong man may be fearsome but a swift jab of a knife could fell him quicker than 50 strong strokes” his mother would tell him.

“You worthless piece of shit!” Shigeru roared kicking the frail body of his unconscious son across the training room. Tsuki laid there still and unresponsive. Shigeru was about to go for another blow when a fierce grip caught his leg.

“Don’t. touch. Him. Unless you want to lose that foot” Hoshi said darkly, she had appeared out of nowhere. The disciplines hearing the commotion all stopped as the recognized the wife of the Crow.

Crow was the term used for clan leaders. It was a meaning of both life and death and the fact they were rumored to be messengers of the city god. Shigeru was the Crow of Kohonosakuya-hime, the Goddess of Life and the Princess of the Sakura. Tokyo had a massive sakura tree with branches splitting off in many directions, covering most of the central city with protection of violent storms and such. This is where the Hohonosayuka-hime Clan reside.

“I can do what I like! I AM THE CROW OF THIS CLAN!” Shigeru roared at his wife. He loved her more than the world and all its wealth but his son was another matter. He was too weak. He didn’t live up to the standards of all his Clan members, “Strength is Beauty”.

“Shigeru…do you really want me to fight you?” Hoshi asked darkly her usual pretty and sunny face clouded over by a dark shadow of anger and violence.

“Ack!” Shigeru recoiled and grunted before leaving with his other Clan members. Leaving Tsuki and Hoshi alone.

4 years later…

Tsuki woke up, he was 10 now. He looked into the mirror and frowned. He touched the right side of his face. It had a mark on it, black and emitted a dark power from it. He grabbed a bandage and began to wrapped it around his face covering the mark. He looked back again and heard the thundering kick of his father kicking down his shabby door to the little lock away. Shigeru opened up the bathroom door and picked up his son and threw him across his room smashing into the wall.

“Get up you good-for-nothing bastard!” Shigeru roared and Tsuki obeyed, his tears stopped falling when he was 8. He stood up shakily and his eyes widened as he crossed his arms over his head as he blocked the killing kick from his father. Tsuki ran away now, fleeing as his father went for an overkill swing. He ran across the thin branch of his room and jumped off the edge looking up at his ferocious father.

‘Remember, fleeing means you can survive anything’ Tsuki remembered his mother saying. His left eye glowed faintly and he grabbed a smaller branch with his hands from the 10 metre fall and spun around before releasing and landing on the balcony of another room. The armory.

Tsuki walked in. For him, this was a forbidden room. He walked inside and gaped at the lines of weapons he could choose from. He stopped being amazed and focused on grabbing weapons.

‘Never take something you can’t wield’ his mother always said to him. His mother left him 2 years ago, which is why his father could waltz into his room and beat him early in the morning. He wanted to leave but why was he so afraid of? He clenched his teeth and grabbed a bag and some clothing his size (Clan Member’s his age would learn to fight). He grabbed them and stuffed them in the bag. He grabbed a weird looking knife, knuckledusters hybrid and placed them in sheaths. He nodded once before he heard his father’s voice along with members of his clan.

He opened the door to the balcony and he jumped.

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