Snow Sato, Ai Kagi [cat reading book TXT] 📗

Snow Sato Book 2: Darkness Always
By: Ai Kagi

Chapter I- Clan of Desperado

"Come on, Yuki! Hurry up!" Taizen called. "Uh! Why?!" Yuki yelled back. "Just follow me!" he said.
It was a sunny day in the Snow Sato. The white snow glistened as the bright sunlight struck its surface.
Yuki pushed back a snow-covered branch of an evergreen tree. She froze when she saw a giant ice castle. "Taizen? What...? Where...? Who built this?" Yuki asked. Taizen quirked an eyebrow and said,"Yours truly."
"What?! YOU built this? How?" "Heh, my secret." Taizen knew Yuki didn't like secrets and on top of that, she was impatient.
"Okay! Okay! I learned a new ability. Watch," Taizen explained. He stretched his hand out and the snow rose. Then, he clenched his hand into a fist and it turned into an ice crown. He set the ice crown on Yuki's head.
As soon as he put the ice on her head, Yuki hugged him. "Thank you, Taizen!"
Taizen was startled by Yuki's actions. Then, Taizen returned the hug. "You're welcome, Yuki. You're welcome."
"Let's go make a snowman like we did when we were kids!: Yuki suggested. "What? You really want to?" Taizen asked. "Mm hm," Yuki nodded. "Okay," Taizen replied, "It is your birthday."
Taizen and Yuki trudged through the deep snow towards the place they always built snowmen. Yuki suddenly fell over and went face first into the snow. "Yuki!" Taizen held her up by her shoulders. "Yuki, are you okay?" "Yes, I- OW!" "What is it? What's wrong?" Taizen asked, alarmed. "My ankle. I think I sprained it," she answered.
"What are we gonna do now? You can't walk. I'm sorry, Yuki, but-" "No, Taizen! We'll make it. I'll walk," Yuki stated. "No, I'll carry you," Taizen protested. "Taizen, I-" she was cut off when Taizen picked her up in his arms. He realized how light she was and asked, "Do you eat properly?" "What kind of question is that?!" she asked with annoyance in her voice. Taizen chuckled.
He walked through the knee-deep snow and saw a clearing. His eyes lit up, because he knew immediately that it was the clearing where he and Yuki made snowmen.
When they arrived at the clearing, Taizen brushed off a snow-covered, stone bench and set Yuki down. He noticed that she was blushing. "Are you cold or not feeling well?" Taizen asked. Yuki looked down and thought, 'He sure is sly; using my sprained ankle as an excuse to carry me.'
"Yuki?" he asked, waiting for a reply. "Oh, no! I'm fine!" Yuki smiled and waved her hands in front of her.
Yuki started making a round head out of snow and Taizen shaped the two, round snow balls for the body. When it was finished, they put the face and hands on. Taizen touched the snowman and it started to turn into ice. "Now it can stay here longer," he explained. "Yeah," Yuki said, as if in a a dream.
'I have to tell her how I feel,' Taizen thought. "Yuki, I-" he began, when Yuki stood up. Yuki had heard something in the woods and jumped up. She started running away from the clearing and into the woods. "Yuki?!" Taizen called in surprise. "I heard something!" Yuki called back.
'How am I running like this?' Yuki thought. She found herself running down a path that was lightly covered with snow. She stopped and listened; she heard a flute and realized whose it was. Then, a lighter flute joined it. 'Hoshi? Fox? What are they doing out here?' She walked a little bit more and the sounds faded away.
Yuki felt that someone was watching her. She kept walking, despite the suspicion, until she knew that someone was directly behind her.
Yuki turned around and in surprise, yelped when she saw Hoshi. He had a long kusanagi on his back and struck Yuki with his hand. She started to fall to the snow and thought, 'What's going on?!'
Hoshi bent down and checked to see if she was unconscious; she was. He picked her up and put her over his shoulder.
By now, Taizen was looking for Yuki. He found footprints. 'Yuki's...' he perceived. He followed them and stopped where they ended.
He was about to call Yuki again, when Hoshi sprung out of nowhere and jumped onto Taizen. Hoshi drew his sword and Taizen grabbed Hoshi's hand with his free arm.
Taizen began using his newly acquired ice power and the ice crept up Hoshi's arm. Hoshi noticed the ice and blinded Taizen with his power, 'Metsuki no Hi'.
The light from his eyes had flashed and Taizen's eyes were in pain. "GACK!" he screamed.
Hoshi was about to run him through with his sword when Kei intervened. "Brother, no!" Kei yelled. Hoshi hit Taizen in the head with the hilt of his blade and stood up.
"You've grown, little brother," Hoshi taunted. Kei was now eighteen-years-old and quite tall for his age, at almost six feet tall.
"Hoshi, why are you doing this" Kei asked. Hoshi looked over at Fox, who was behind him, carrying Yuki.
"Yuki! Why?! No, you can't think of using her for her power!" Kei lectured his elder brother in dismay. Hoshi had a blank expression.
"I don't care about anyone. I'm going to destroy all of the villages," Hoshi said, smirking. "No!" Kei shouted. Hoshi continued, "There's nothing you or anyone can do about it. Her power is all we need to complete the Clan of Desperado. Soon, nothing will be able to stop us. See you later, Kei." He blinded Kei and left with Fox and Yuki.
When Kei could see again, he was very angry. He saw a large, maple tree and punched its trunk. Black sparks flew off of it and Kei removed his fist. He was surprised that he had left a giant hole in the tree.
"They took Yuki. Didn't they?" Kei heard Taizen ask. He turned around to face Taizen. Kei hung his head. "Yes," he replied, "I wasn't strong enough!"
"August sixth," Taizen murmured. "What?" "August sixth; Yuki's birthday. She turned seventeen tody." "I know." "Why would it be on her seventeenth birthday? Hoshi obviously told them, but its strange...exactly seventeen days from her father's death. Someone has to like the number seventeen and that person is very crazy that's behind this." "Yes, you're right..." Kei agreed.

* * *

After a long walk down the road, Taizen toppled over sideways. "Taizen, are you okay?!" Kei asked. Taizen didn't answer and his eyelids were barely opened.
Kei noticed a scratch on Taizen's head that was turning into a wound. 'Oh, no... The kusanagi's hilt had poison that decays flesh!,' Kei recalled that his brother had dipped his kusanagi hilt in that poison for a while.
A lady with blue, unkempt, shoulder-length hair and red eyes came walking down the road. She had a darker blue, robe-like dress on.
"Oh, dear. Is he alright?" the lady asked, rushing over to them. She bent down to look at Taizen's wound. Kei replied, "No, he has a poisoned head wound. Are you familiar with the poison that decays flesh?" The lady looked up at him, "Of course, medicines and poisons are my specialty."
The lady happened to have a brown supply belt on. She took out a small glass of green liquid. She poured some onto the wound and it appeared to heal instantly.
"He may stay in this state for some time. It's better to get him out of this cold," she said. Kei agreed and found a nearby hollow in the side of a hill.
The lady helped him carry Taizen inside and they laid him down. Kei took off his coat and put it on Taizen. Then, the lady touched Taizen's forehead and said, "He will be fine."
Kei was relieved and said, "Thank you." "My pleasure,Kei," she replied. "How did you know my name?" "Well, I've heard some people call you that. By the way... I'm Sardis Vagilis. I've been looking for my younger, Toby. His real name is Tobyus, but I call him Toby as a nickname."
Sardis stood up quietly and began to leave. "I'll look for your brother too and if I find him, I'll let you know," Kei said. "Thank you!" Sardis smiled sweetly, but not seen by Kei, she had a triumphant, evil smirk on her face when she finally left.
"Your face is red," Taizen spoke. "What? What?! Taizen?!" Kei touched his face in alarm. "Just kidding," Taizen chuckled.
"You were awake the whole time?!" Kei questioned. "Mm, maybe..." Taizen said. Kei sweat-dropped, "Are you feeling better?" "Yep," Taizen replied.
They left and started back towards the Snow Sato. They were going to tell the advisors what had happened to Yuki and possibly send out a rescue team.
Once in the Sato Square, Kei and Taizen started looking for Toby. "I give up," Taizen said. "Wha-?! So quickly! We just got here!" Kei growled.
Just then, a thirteen-year-old kid ran into Taizen and knocked him down. The kid, with shoulder-length, dark-green hair, helped Taizen up.
"You're pretty strong," Taizen told the boy. The kid looked scared and hid behind him. "Why're you hiding?" Taizen asked.

Chapter II- New Powers & New Enemies

The kid pointed forward at a very large man and a white-haired woman. The two people came walking towards them from a street.
"EEP!" the boy squeaked, hiding behind Taizen. "Are they your parents?" Taizen asked. The kid didn't get to answer, because the woman yelled, "Toby! Come Here! We have been searching for you everywhere!." "You're not my boss!" Toby yelled back.
"AH! You insolent child!" the woman screamed. "Are you his parents?" Taizen asked. "Of course not! His parents are dead," she replied. Taizen looked down at the kid, then, he turned back to the woman, "What do you want with him then?"
The woman was annoyed now. The man with her whispered, "Let's hurry and get him back to the empress, Marinta."
Marinta composed herself and snatched Toby's hand. She was so fast that Taizen couldn't hardly see her move. Her white, curly, moderately-long hair flashed like a streak of lightning.
"Let go!" Toby yelled. When Marinta only tightened her grip on his hand, he screamed, "Dageki! help!"
A giant, steel dragon fell from the sky and shook the ground when it landed. Marinta fell from the quake.
Taizen and Kei stood in awe of the dragon while Toby jumped onto it. "Heh! I'm not going back with YOU, Marinta!" Toby laughed in triumph. As she stood up, Marinta threatened, "Get down here now or I'll come up there and drag you off."
"Hey..." Taizen began to say. "Stay out of this," the large man said, throwing Taizen and Kei backward with one swipe of his arm. "You are not our concern," he said gruffly.
"Someone needs to teach him some manners," Kei said, pulling out his dual-edge katana. Taizen grinned.
Toby was going crazy now and he was destroying everything as he tried to defeat Marinta and the big man, Jakto. "He's destroying the Sato! We have to end this madness!" Kei told Taizen. Taizen nodded in agreement. Kei went to stop Marinta and Taizen went to stop Jakto.
Taizen walked up to Jakto. "Where are your weapons, kid?" he spat out. He charged forward and Taizen smirked. Jakto didn't see that Taizen's hand was gathering a mass of purple energy. 'What an idiot; charging like that,' thought Taizen. Then, a gush of wind blew up and Taizen's eyes turned purple. As Jakto had