The next morning, Hanzo opened his eyes to see another face staring down at him. Bewildered, he stared back into sharp cat-like eyes and gifted features. It was that crazy girl that attacked him the day he arrived. Her tightly woven braid hung along her jaw with the small diamond shaped blade swinging between his eyes like a pendulum.

“Oh.” He rasped, “You’re that lunatic from yesterday—Or was it the other day?”

The girl stomped on his chest. “It’s Naomi, you sleazebag.”

The pressure squashed his ribs hard enough to make him cough. He shoved her leg off, scrambled out of his blankets and jumped to his feet in defense

“What the heck is your problem??” He shouted.

“You’re in my yard.” She replied hatefully.

“Your yard???” Hanzo protested but when he turned around, sure enough he found her house standing right in the middle of the clearing.

“How in the—“ he pulled at his hair. “I know I slept on the beach last night!!”

Naomi dealt a spinning high kick to the back of his head, knocking him down .

“You lying cunt.” She grinded.

Hanzo dug his fingers in the earth, venting hatred as he picked himself up. As he tried to reach for his sword, Naomi had already grabbed it.

There was a flicker of marvel in her eyes as she studied the ravishing black blade.

“Nice sword.” She said. “Too bad it’s in the hands of a scumbag like you.”

Hanzo had enough of this nonsense. The people on this island seemed out on a limb to make him suffer. And for what? He did nothing wrong.

Unless, all of this was a secret revenge plot led by Odyssey for beheading his disciple. Still, it wasn’t fair at all.

“Listen, little girl.” He scowled. “I don’t know what your problem is but if you really wanna fight, we really gonna fight.”

“I dare you to fight me with no weapon.” She took the black sword in both hands, looking him dead in the eye. Her demeanor was daunting. She behaved like a spoiled princess but Hanzo knew the stature of a trained warrior when he saw one.

This girl could kill somebody.

In the back of his mind, he wondered if Uzai was responsible for this lean, flossy lass. In the front of his mind, he wanted to snap her neck, even if it meant getting cut in half.

He bucked forward, faster than she anticipated.

Hanzo’s sword attempted to betray him, driving toward his chest.

All he had to do was drift to the side and disarm her.

Unfortunately, Skeeter jolted out of the blue and sent the boy rolling into the bushes with a wild haymaker.

After a moment or two, Hanzo shot out of the brush at blurring speeds and ripped his sword from the girl’s hand.

He hurled a swift slash to the spirit’s face. The gemstone flashed and exploded, destroying a large portion of the empty yard.

The catastrophe left him completely exhausted barely able to stand and gasping for air.

At least this time around, he didn’t pass out.

But he could not understand why the sword kept exploding every time he tried to deliver a blow.

Before he could ready himself for another move, Naomi chopped him in the back of the neck rendering him unconscious.

“You stupid idiot.” She growled.

Skeeter spawned out of a breezy mist and walked over to Naomi.

“Doesn’t he look so at peace?” The spirit spoke.

Naomi was not concerned with how the boy looked.

“Go bring me a shovel. I’m gonna bury him.”

••••••••••••••••••••

Hanzo bucked awake and let out a sudden scream.

He sat staring wide eyed into the endless ocean, overwhelmed by the sudden dread of existence. He was covered in dirt. Dirt in his clothes, dirt in his hair, dirt in his boots.

“Hey, Hanny!” Uzai greeted. “Boy, you won’t believe this. I was walking down the road to get some beef jerky from Naomi and I found her and Skeeter shovelling dirt inside of this big hole. And when I looked, I saw you sleeping inside of it! Boy, I tell ya’. Y’all whippersnappers play the weirdest games.”

The old man shook his head and checked his invisible watch.

“Good grief. What’s taking her so long? Boy, I tell ya’ that girl is real hard headed. Take my advice, Hanny boy. Don’t have kids. Because, then they’ll have kids and you’ll have to watch over more kids. All they do is pee, poop and vomit and when they get older, all they wanna do is fight ya’. Oshira will tell you—Just ask him next time you see him. That man has been through some stuff.”

“Old man.” Hanzo’s voice had gone hoarse. “Could you shut up for at least five minutes?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, pal. I’m gettin’ old. Y’know us old folks like to talk. Anyway...like I said Hanny boy, be careful when you get in bed. Don’t be like me! Did I tell you about the time I met my girlfriend Patty? We’ll, let me go ahead and tell you about this cool story.”

At that moment, Naomi walked up with two bowls of grits and eggs and sausages in her hand and she did not look pleased.

“Come and get your food, sea urchin.” She said, cutting her eyes at Hanzo.

Uzai was elated and went to retrieve the bowls. He bent forward and tried to kiss Naomi on the cheek but she punched him square in the mouth.

“Get the hell away from me, you slag.”

Hanzo snorted, unable to actually laugh on an empty stomach. Come to think of it, he was starving.

He had not eaten in several days now. The pangs of hunger were hardly noticeable since his entire body ached from fatigue and fatal injuries.

The old man handed him the bowl and he took it, staring at the contents. Everything looked good so far. It smelled delicious too.

He shot Naomi a suspicious glance before digging in and she glared back at him.

“Thanks for the meal!” Uzai chirped, already stuffing his mouth with buttery grits.

As the girl departed, Hanzo took just a small spoonful first to see what it tasted like. It turned out to be pretty good so he figured it’d be alright to eat.

After the two finished their meal, Uzai licked his chops and set his empty bowl aside.

“Alright, pal! Now that we’ve got some good food in our tummies, it’s time to continue our training!’

Hanzo was only slightly relieved, still concerned that he might be subjected to more inane activities.

He armed his sword, brushed the dirt off and followed Uzai to a more isolated area on the beachside and awaited further instructions.

“So.” the master began. The ocean waves lapped at his old straw woven sandals. He placed his jeweled palms together and shut his eyes for a moment. It was strange. Hanzo thought he glimpsed an air of seriousness surrounding the old man. Desperately as he wished for such a thing, a breeze of uneasiness swept over him like the clouds eclipsing the sun.

The weighty silence was short lived once Uzai returned to his usual self and began nodding incessantly.

“Alright, Hanny.” he said.

“My name is Hanzo.” the boy corrected in a rough tone.

“Yeah, whatever. Anyway, so let us start with some simple forms. I want you to relax your body entirely. Clear your noggin and let yourself relax.”

Relax?? Hanzo frowned. He hadn’t a moment to breathe without being in danger of getting smacked to oblivion by sociopathic females and water spirits. However, now that it was brought to his attention, he noticed that he was quite tense. Being such a ruffian, he was accustomed to using raw strength and thought little of easing his muscles. Especially, for the last couple of days.

He loosened up for the old man and practiced the breathing exercises he learned in school.

Uzai nodded in approval and moved out of his way.

“Now, Hanny,” he said, “I want you to look deep into the ocean and imagine yourself submerged it. Visualize, Hanny boy.”

Hanzo entertained the thought as vividly as possible, mesmerized by the infinite horizon and it’s brilliant colors.

“Now close your eyes and begin awakening your essence.”

The warrior let his eyes fall shut and summoned an energy from deep within. The instructors at the academy told him when he was young to visualize a glowing white sphere in darkness then surrender to it, allowing it to expand into a great flame that enveloped the body.

Some preferred to visualize a small trickle of water from the heavens that would eventually grow into an ice cold waterfall of colossal proportions. Hanzo found that realm of imagination to be appropriate for this scenario.

Meditation was taught often at the academy. He knew it quite well.

At nine years old, he awakened his essence, cultivating it until he could channel a great deal of spirit pressure.

First attempt, he nearly burned himself inside out, unable to put the lid on the overwhelming energy tearing through his veins. Painful as it was, he thoroughly enjoyed the experience and kept on practicing.

He sustained some serious rashes due to overexposure and his trips to the hospital to get them treated were frequent. The doctors warned him if he kept summoning his spirit pressure without proper guidance, he’d go into cardiac arrest, catch on fire and die.

He thought catching on fire was cool at the time and figured he ought to keep doing it until he was enrolled into the academy where the instructors really gave him some proper lessons.

There, Hanzo learned a great deal of sword forms, hand to hand combat, spiritual and firearm training but it was still a far cry from the stuff that the real schools taught.

Masters of the regions like Varsis, Jawdock, Marzun, and Jemlock ran some legendary schools, spawning powerful students that could compete with Ultimate Soldier.

Then, there were masters of the higher degree. Their existence alone struck fear in the hearts of men.

Hanzo had to wonder exactly what level the old man had achieved. It was difficult to say, since he had yet to do anything too spectacular besides stopping swords with his finger and such.

Odyssey’s sheer muscle and mass had to be more than enough to put him in the realm of master classes. The guy was a monster.

If only he was actually training him instead of this scrawny old man. The titan simply made more sense in comparison.

He looked like a master and behaved like one for the most part. Uzai on the other hand looked like a vagabond and behaved like a drug addict.

Hanzo shook the doubts out of his head, trying to stay focused.

He was beginning to feel a bit odd. What started off as a light dizziness grew more intense.

It seemed like a side effect of summoning large amounts of spirit pressure or just natural fatigue at first but he knew that wasn’t particularly normal.

Numbness started crawling up his legs and arms and he started to rock. Was he being gravitated by another essence? Had his spirit pressure become harmonized with the ocean? If that was so, then he was already one step away from controlling the water element but he strongly doubted that.

Then, it happened.

His body convulsed and blood sprayed out of his mouth.

Eyes spun to the back of his head, he dropped like a flagpole and spasmed a few times before losing all consciousness.

“Hanny, boy?” Uzai leaned over the boy, prodding him with his staff. “C’mon old pal! Ain’t the time to be goin’ to sleep! Boy, I tell ya. Y’all whippersnappers ain’t good for a cent!”

Again, he shook his head and checked his invisible watch. “Hanny, boy,” he exclaimed, “You got hot sauce all over your nose!”

Uzai bent down to wipe his face clean. The boy was beginning to look feverish so he checked his temperature.

Everything seemed fine. Being a master of the higher degree, Uzai would know if something was wrong.

The rolling tide swept in, waves passing under Hanzo’s body. His sword’s gemstone was radiating.

The old man frowned and looked around him.

The tide had not risen anywhere else. Now, he was a bit perplexed.

“Oh, mama.” He pulled a rope of juicy beef jerky out of his bag and began gnawing on it like a rat.

At that moment, the trees behind him parted like curtains. A whole flock of birds shrieked and sputtered off into the clouds and all kinds of other critters leapt into a frenzy as a giant hand grasped around one of the palm trees. All else was eerily silent.

Uzai watched the titan emerge from the forest and stand at full height, cold eyes marking the skyline as though an army of thousands marched in the distance.

He cut his gaze down at the old man and the boy lying unresponsive. His expression was unreadable.

Uzai’s knees snapped as he stood to welcome the giant.

Odyssey crouched above Hanzo assessing his symptoms with just a glance and placed one finger on his chest.

The old man wrung his hands nervously.

“Is he gonna be alright?”

Odyssey did not answer. He scooped the boy up, flung him over his shoulder and dipped back into shadowy forest without a sound.

Moments later, Naomi launched out of the woods brandishing a slayer sword and found Uzai gazing into the sea with his hands folded behind his back.

The girl’s eyes were wide and furious.

“What the hell was that??!” She scowled.

Uzai turned his head an blinked like an owl. “What was what?”

“Don’t play dumb!!” She shouted, combing the beach with her oversized blade in search of footprints or any other evidence that something large and ominous.

Uzai noticed the young lass looked very distressed. It wasn’t like her.

“Are you sick, sweetie?” He asked with concern. “If so I can hook you up with my good ol’ medicine ball. That’ll get you right in no time.”

“Shut up!!” She fumed, jabbing the sword in his face.

“I know it was here! I felt it! Who do you keep bringing to my island?!”

The old man’s eyes split in two opposite directions as he tried to think. He had no idea what she was talking about.

“Useless bastard.” She kicked the fool in the stomach and followed her instincts which led her into the woods where Odyssey had vanished. She found nothing there either.

“Where’s Hanzo?” She demanded, turning back to the old man who was doubled over vomiting heaps of slimy porridge.

She marched over to him, placing the sword against his scrawny neck.

“Where is he?!”

Hanzo woke up in a soft, king sized bed staring at a massive chandelier hovering beneath a majestically designed ceiling as high as the sky. He was covered in embroidered blankets, too tired and fatigued to move them off. By habit, he started looking around for his sword but came to find more stupendous architecture all around him.

He sat up, drawing his legs from under the heavy covers and slid off the bed barefoot.

The floor was made of marble tiles larger than he was, expanded through the circular building.

His boots were set near a carved table where his sword had been placed and a plate of food lie there as well.

His mouth watered at the sight of fine arrangements of grilled dragon beef decorated by herbs and carcatta oil and roasted asparagus and other delicacies that Hanzo didn’t bother trying to describe. It looked healthy and delicious, much to his preference.

Assuming the plate was meant for him, he pulled it off the table and stabbed his fork into the juicy meat and started chowing down. After the meal, he set the silverware aside and decided to tour this strange place.

The bed was actually placed in the exact center of the floor which was very odd. The building would have made quite a mansion if they’d put more thought into the interior, aside from the breathtaking designs crawling up the walls.

There were four massive doors on each side and rows of small geometrical windows between them.

Sliding on his socks and boots, arming his sword and donning his old jacket, he took to one set of doors and tried to shove them open. As expected, he couldn’t budge them.

Agile and creative, he scanned the sculpted walls for a route which he could climb up and blast one of the windows out so he could escape. There was no reason for him to be sitting here in this strange, deserted structure especially since he had no memory of how he got here. All he knew was that before he woke up, he was on that forsaken island practicing useless techniques. Then, he passed out. Why, he didn’t even bother to ask himself.

Suddenly, a loud groaning noise reverberated through the empty mansion. Hanzo whirled around.

The doors had opened and in stepped Odyssey wearing his swooshing black cape. Extreme winds throttled his long hair in many directions until he shut the door behind him and faced the startled young warrior.

For one long moment, they just stared at each other.

Hanzo was the first to speak. “What happened? Where am I?”

“You were poisoned.’ The giant’s voice echoed like thunder throughout the majestic chamber. He shook a small vial of red serum for the disciple to see.

“Poisoned?” he frowned. “How the hell was I—” The warrior abruptly fell silent and his face darkened at the thought of something that should have been obvious. It was the bowl of grits he ate.

Odyssey’s mouth formed a dull grin. “She made it very clear that she was your enemy but you went ahead and ate food that she prepared.”

Hanzo bit his lip, scowling at Naomi in his mind. That little witch. To think she’d go that far.

“Not to mention,” Reigonasz continued, “You also ate the food on the table which could have easily been poisoned as well.”

“I mean…” Hanzo scratched the back of his head, trying to defend his actions. He knew he screwed up. Yet at the same time he believed that these masters should have taken better care of him. Especially Uzai, for God’s sake. “Consider the rules of war.” Odyssey revealed a huge, ravishing sword from under his dark cloak and set it in front with his hands resting on the pommel. “You must remain on guard at all times. Never allow the enemy to gain the advantage.”

“Pfft.” Hanzo scoffed. “Easy to say that when you ain’t the one going up against a psycho chick and an immortal water spirit that slaps the hell out of you just for breathing.”

“Then you’d best implement those rules immediately.” The giant said. “As a warrior, you must be prepared for even the sun to collapse.”

Hanzo crossed his arms and blew hot air through his nostrils.

“Alright, whatever you say.” He muttered. “Although, I still don’t see why you aren’t the one actually training me.”

“Uzairok is no less capable of the task. Don’t get caught up in his old games. They’re only there to distract you, to test your will. Bear with it long enough and you’ll soon understand why I placed you under his wing.”

Uzairok? Hanzo frowned. He shook his head, sighing. “Whatever, man. Just don’t be surprised if I hop on the next ferry and dip off that damn island for good.”

“Well, if you do,” Odyssey remarked, gesturing to the black blade harnessed to the boy’s waist. “I want my sword back.”

Hanzo glanced at the badass slayer weapon and grinned mischievously.

“You’ll have to fight me for it, big boy.”

Odyssey’s brows arched in mock surprise.

He took his own sword in one hand and scraped a crescent into the floor.

A curtain of flames rose along the scrape and burned strong, although quietly. The giant’s eyes became deadlier than his blade and his frame seemed to expand while the background shrank, causing Hanzo to go weak in the knees.

To his own surprise, he continued to hold the man’s terrifying gaze.

This sucker could kill me by accident. He chuckled nervously, reaching for his sword.

A heavy silence fell upon the chamber, only listening for the sound of Hanzo’s heartbeat and the thread of flames.

Try as he might, he couldn’t even summon his spirit pressure.

“Alright,” He breathed, throwing his hands up as if he were under arrest, “I surrender.”

He wouldn’t dare to try this behemoth in a match. Not in a million years. But for some reason, that mischievous grin was still crawling across his face. The old thrill was getting to him again.

Odyssey merely blinked and that was enough to quiet the air of strength surrounding him. With a flick of his cape, the flames on the floor withered and vanished without a trace.

“That was kind of exciting.” Hanzo admitted.

“Only if you’re an idiot.” The colossus replied, facing the doors from which he entered. He pulled them ajar and a strip of sunlight spilled over him followed by gusts of wind from the desert.

Hanzo was stunned as he peeped the flawless dunes and ashy sky in the background.

“Wait—What the—??!” He cried.

Before departing, Odyssey cast a sidelong glance toward the young man.

“You’re the first weakling I’ve ever met to engage me face to face without pissing your pants. Think about that.”

Having said those words, the titan left the building and shut the towering entrance behind him.

Hanzo was enraged. “Are you kidding me?!”