013: Kurai Ju I

What happened?

The masked man thought.

Where am I?

The last thing I remember is that kid.

I'll get back at him for that.

Thank God I'm still alive.

Ha!

What am I saying?

There's no God out there, if there was then he would have saved me a long time ago.

The masked man rose to his feet and immediately checked his pockets.

DAMN THAT KID!

HE STOLE ALL MY SHIT!

After realizing his "shit" was gone, he began to look at his surroundings.

Just like I did, he too saw the rock off to the side of the clearing, and just like I did, he used it as a high vantage point.

A forest that spreads for a few miles, and at the center there was a large gold tree.

As he looked at this tree, he remembered everything he had been told.

Memories of his entire life thus far began to swarm in his head as he figured out what to do next.

"Here he is, alive and kicking. A wonderful baby boy, our baby boy. What should we name him?"

A man, with dark, rough skin and long, dark black hair that was just short of his shoulders, asked his wife.

They were in a run-down park.

The woman, who had pale skin and bright white hair, had just given birth to a healthy baby boy on one of the park benches.

"How about Kurai Ju?"

The woman responded.

"It sounds wonderful."

And thus, Kurai Ju was born.

His parents left him at an orphanage when he was born.

They didn't have enough money to take care of a child.

They couldn't even pay to give birth to him at a hospital.

Kurai Ju made himself at home in the orphanage.

He had friends.

He went to school.

His life was quite decent, however as he grew older, he felt that the orphanage was growing stranger and stranger each day.

"Hey, where exactly do the caretakers go during the day?"

Kurai Ju asked one of the kids at his orphanage.

She was a year younger than him.

Her name was Olympia Dark.

"I don't know, nor do I really care all too much."

She replied.

Kurai Ju chose to ignore it, but he couldn't get the idea out of his mind.

One day, when he was fifteen, a woman he had never seen before showed up.

She watched the children with a certain intensity.

She was looking for something special, and it just so happened that Kurai Ju fit the bill.

"You, boy, are quite special. Yes, quite special indeed."

She said to him.

"I'm sorry, what?"

He replied.

"I said you have unmeasurable potential."

"Thanks, I guess."

His potential energy is off the charts, I've never seen such potential.

The woman thought.

Although, he also already possesses some light and dark energy.

Just what is this kid?

I need to recruit him.

"It is nice to meet you, my name is Olivia Dark."

"Dark? You mean you're Olympia's relative?"

Olympia?

The woman thought.

Oh yeah.

That failure.

She wasn't strong enough, so I abandoned her here.

I almost forgot about it.

But that doesn't matter.

Olympia could rot in Hell for all I care.

What's important right now is this boy.

I cannot sell this opportunity.

"No, I've never met an Olympia Dark. It must just be a coincidence."

"Meh, oh well."

"So, what do you think about my offer?"

"What offer?"

Does this kid just not listen or something?

"I would like to help you realize your true potential."

"And how exactly will you do that?"

"I cannot tell you that."

"You know, you're acting mighty suspicious. I refuse to take your offer unless you give me more information."

"I apologize, but I cannot offer more at the moment…"

"Then get the fuck out of my face."

Kurai Ju walked off, and Olivia left soon after.

That night, he spoke to Olympia before she fell asleep.

"I can't take it anymore. I don't understand any of it."

He said.

"What's wrong with you recently?"

Olympia replied.

"Olympia, I can't live here anymore, I just can't take it anymore. I'm running away."

"YOU CAN'T! WHERE EXACTLY DO YOU PLAN ON STAYING THEN?"

"I don't care about that, right now I just have to leave."

"Fine, you can leave, but I'm going with you."

"No, I cannot force you to do that."

"You're not forcing me, I want to follow you everywhere you go."

"What are you talking about?"

"YOU IDIOT!"

She knocked on his head with her fist.

"TAKE A HINT WILL YOU?!"

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"

"I LOVE YOU, YOU IDIOT!"

Kurai Ju's face became beet red, and he couldn't voice any words out of his mouth.

He was so taken aback that he couldn't even respond with his true feelings.

That night, the two of them fled the orphanage.

The next morning, when one of the caretakers noticed they were gone, she called Olivia Dark out of panic.

"WHAT?! KURAI JU IS GONE?! HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?!"

"I'm sorry, my lady."

"FIND HIM!"

She hung up the phone, and the caretaker immediately went to search the streets.

"KURAI JU, YOU INTEND TO DEFY YOUR FATE?! YOU CAN RUN AWAY FOR NOW, BUT WE WILL FIND YOU, IT IS FATE FOR YOU TO JOIN US! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE FOREVER!"

Kurai Ju and Olympia wandered through their home city.

They slept in parks, alleyways, and many more awkward places.

They both got jobs, and after a month of working their tails off, they were able to buy an apartment.

They lived together and worked perilously for the next five years.

They were 20 years old when Kurai Ju just barely made enough money for a ring.

Olympia, who had been living with him for almost her entire life, broke into tears at the sight of it.

Even though she was angry that he spent about half of their life savings, she still said yes, and they were soon married.

She took on the last name of Ju, her new name was Olympia Ju.

Ten years then went by in a flash.

"Mommy, why is Daddy never home?"

Their elder daughter, Jessica Ju, who was nine years old, asked Olympia.

"That's because he works hard for all of us."

Olympia responded.

"Aw, I want to play with Daddy more."

Jennifer Ju, the younger daughter, who was seven years old at the time, said.

"I'm sorry Jenn, but I'm sure Daddy will play with you when he has time."

Olympia responded.

After their first child, Kurai Ju got another job, bringing his total up to four current jobs.

He did this because they decided Olympia should stay home to raise the kids.

Because of his countless number of jobs, he was rarely home.

One day, he returned home to find his wife bedridden sick.

She was in a trance-like state, unable to awaken.

"What happened?"

He asked his daughters.

"She was making dinner and just kind of fell."

Jessica said.

"What's wrong with Mama?"

Jennifer asked.

"It's nothing sweetie, Daddy will handle it.

He said to them.

Throughout his working years, Kurai Ju saved up quite a grand sum of money.

He did anything he could to save money.

Jessica and Jennifer knew that they would never go to doctors because of the hefty price of medical bills in their area, but when Kurai Ju saw Olympia's condition, he immediately called a hospital.

A few hours later, they got the results.

"Sir, I hate to break it to you, but she has terminal cancer."

The doctor alerted him.

The results hit him hard.

He couldn't comprehend it all at once.

The only thing he could do was scream out one word:

"WHAT?!"

"I'm afraid there is nothing we can do. We have been working to develop a cure for this specific type of cancer, but I am afraid the cure is not quite finished yet. We can try and keep her alive, but it will not be finished for another six months, and then it will need testing, and it will be pricey to keep her alive until then, but if you want to, we can try our best for her."

"I'll do it."

His response was instant, without any thought put into it.

He realized at that moment that he couldn't live without her.

He would do anything, ANYTHING, to keep her alive.

"Daddy, will Mommy be okay?"

Jennifer asked.

"Yeah, she'll be fine, but she'll have to stay here for a while."

The next day, Kurai Ju looked for another job to satisfy the needed amount to pay the medical bills.

He was walking home from one of his jobs when he stumbled upon a place called "The Dark Bakery".

There was a sign saying:

"We need full-time employees, and will pay a hefty price"

Kurai Ju went in, and he was greeted by two employees.

"Welcome to the Dark Bakery, my name is Olalla, what can we do for you?"

One of the employees asked.

She was a woman with dark black hair and eyes.

Her hair was straight and went down past her shoulders.

She looked to be in her late twenties.

"I'm here about the job."

Kurai Ju replied.

"Oh yes, wonderful, we are in dire straights right now. My name is Trevon, by the way"

The other employee said.

He was a man, who also had dark black hair and eyes.

His hair was short and slicked back.

He looked to be older, maybe 35.

"So, what are the requirements?"

"Nothing really, we just need you to work full time."

"I cannot do that, I have three other jobs."

"We'll pay you five times more than your highest-paying job."

"You have a deal."

"Good, then you start tomorrow."

Kurai Ju left a happy man.

He was going to be making more money, so he figured out a way to fix his problem, not only that, but he also went from having four jobs to having one.

It was a load off his shoulders.

He went home happy, for he now was making more money along with being able to spend more time with his children.

"Did you feel that?"

Olalla said to Trevon.

"Yes, I did. He is very powerful and would be a perfect candidate to join us. Send the information gatherers, we need to entice him in any way possible."

Trevon replied.

"I'll give Mom a call."

*RING-RING-RING*

"Yes, what is it?"

The woman on the phone answered.

"Mom, I have found a man worthy of joining our cause."

Olalla replied.

"What is his name?"

"Kurai Ju."

"Send him an invitation to join us, and use force if you have to."

Their mother said.

She hung up the phone.

It seemed as if something was wrong with her.

A tantalizing excitement came over her.

"Kurai Ju, huh? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I TOLD YOU BOY, FATE IS A FICKLE THING! YOU MAY HAVE ESCAPED ME YEARS AGO WHEN I SPOKE WITH YOU AT THE ORPHANAGE, BUT YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE NOW! YOUR FATE IS SEALED! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I SWEAR ON MY NAME OF OLIVIA BLACK, I WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE AND UNLOCK YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL! YOU CAN RESIST AT FIRST, BUT I WILL WIN IN THE END! ARE YOU READY, KURAI JU?! YOUR LIFE IS ABOUT TO CHANGE FOREVER!"