1 

    THE ATTIC

         On June 24th 2009 when I was 12 years old, I was walking down to the library to pick up some books for my summer reading program. It seemed like it was going to be a normal day in Tokyo, the cars were vrooming, the people in the cars were minding their own business, and the people on the sidewalk were murmuring. 

        Once I got to the library I checked in and headed towards the elevator to go upstairs. When I got on it was just me on it. The strange thing is that when I looked at the buttons to pick the floor I pressed the third floor even

        though that was the attic. I honestly didn’t know what came over me, it was almost like it was calling my name, “Hiro Hirooooooooooooooooooooh”. When I got to the attic I quickly noticed my mistake and rushed back to the elevator so that it wouldn’t leave me behind, but I was too late. Great, I was trapped in the attic until the elevator came back. While I was waiting I saw this box, it was in the shape of a large rectangle, dusty and very mysterious. Out of curiosity I opened it, and inside the box there was a sword, and when I touched it everything changed. 

    2 

    NEPTOR

        It felt like I was balancing a car on my head. After I touched that sword everything started to become a big swirl of colors, like in those art videos where they swirl paint globs around and it's very satisfying. Thankfully it stopped after what felt like a million years. When I finally did I noticed I had landed in this strange deserted alleyway. I held my breath due to all of the dust. I eventually found someone and asked, “where am I?” I felt silly because it was very childish of me to ask someone “where am I?” He turned around and     let out a very weird shreik “Eeeeeeeeiiiiiigrahhhhhhhhhhhhh” and then laughed and stated, “Neptor kid, get it

straight.” 

        This man was very strange, and had lots of weird features like, he only had one ear, the other ripped or bit half off somehow. He also only had one leg to the other replaced with a stick of some sort. He was blind out of one eye with a skull tattoo on the top left of his forehead. He was wearing a white tank top with jeans that almost looked bloody and a knife on his belt. Seeing his knife made me notice that I also had a sword in a case on my belt. It was the sword from the library attic that had started all this. The guy stared at me with a piercing eye, as if he was about to kidnap me.  

        The next second, he did just that.  In the blink of an eye a bunch of goons showed up and tossed me in a bag. Those guys had the strength of an 

        elephant, no wonder they could grab me so quickly. Once they had me they took me to this garage where there were a bunch of other kids locked up in cages. Each cage had a punching bag that was in the shape of a human with all of the weak points marked, and a wall with a ton of weapons lined up, including daggers, kunai knives, and even shurikens. After they put me in a cage, they warned, “Get ready! Your first fight is in a week”. 

         I didn’t scream. Not because I wanted to be brave but mostly because I was so scared and confused that I was frozen. Eventually I realized I needed to start practicing my fighting skills using the punching bag because they 

        would yell at us if we talked to each other, talked to them, talked to ourselves, or took more than a 5 minute break every hour. My stomach roared at the lack of food. They fed us three shrimp chips every three hours, but it wasn’t enough. 

        Luckily night time was different. While the guards were asleep, the kids would talk to each other. The big ones that looked like they were thirteen were a little less nice, but the seven to ten year olds were a little less hardened. Kids kept mentioning to me that since “Raiko” took over half of “Neptor” he made it legal to do “Gakusei Fighting”. I had no idea who or what they were talking about.  I knew Gakusei meant student, but I was pretty sure none of these kids were students. They said that different ages would be 

        put in groups and there would be a tournament. They would fight, not to the death, but until one gives up.  I heard about one kid who went to a fight, lost, and never returned. They also told me that after you fight, they pour the blood of a nine tailed fox on you. It makes you regain all the blood you had lost. The wounds heal immediately, almost as if nothing ever happened.  The scars remained, but it took away most of the pain, so that they could use you again in another fight right away. They said that if you win though, that you get to eat a whole chicken as your reward. Just the mention of a juicy, tender chicken breast made my mouth water.

         As the boys talked I noticed only one girl in the room, I asked them 

        why and they said that she is so good at fighting that “Raiko” himself made an exception to the boys only rules. As we fell asleep I thought about what was going on at home. I hadn't really thought of it because I was so consumed with what was happening here.  What is that sword? How did I get here? Who was this so-called Raiko? And why was he so bad?  I mulled all this over all night, not sleeping well at all.  Before I knew it, I was being rudely awakened to continue training for my upcoming fight.

    3 

     THE FIGHT

        As the week passed by I met a kid in a nearby cell who knew a lot about other planets.  He said there is another planet called Earth that is parallel to this one, and that every day on this planet (Neptor) was only two minutes on mine (Earth). I did the math and it turns out that if I were allowed 3 and a half hours at the library, then I had 3 months to bust out and find a way back to my earth. This now became my main focus.

         Once the day of the fight came I was shaking so hard and fast that my body

moved but my clothes stayed still. I got up to meet my competitor, and realized I stood no chance. He was about 5’ 6” with beady eyes and with over a hundred scars on him. I was a purple belt in karate, but since we had weapons like kunai knives and shurikens, I was as dead as a doornail. I got a refresher on the rules: there was a 30 minute timer and if no one gave up by then, whoever is the most beat up is eliminated. The fighting area was a 50’ by 50’ square with glass surrounding it, with one door on both sides for the contestants. The arena sorta looked like a hockey rink but a metal floor. We each were given, 3 shurikens, 2 kunai knives and a large weapon of our choice. I kept my sword because it could be the way back home. 

They started the countdown, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, FIGHT!!!” My heart went from a quick beat to a buzz. The  other guy lunged at me like a tiger pouncing on its prey. The first thing I did was run away like a coward. Who was I some scaredy cat? He grinned an evil smile like the devil, but I turned around and stood my ground. I couldn't get my heart to stop racing,but I tried to remember that I had shurikens, my specialty. I took out my kunai knives so I could save them for later. I think that made him remember them also because at that moment he took them out. He charged at me like a bull with a knife aimed right at my heart. But I was ready for him. When he was less than an inch away from me, I countered it by ducking, then grabbing his arm and twirling it behind him. The kunai knife was now directly behind his head so 

        that the sharp end pointed toward him. If he tried to get away then he would end up stabbing himself in the head.

         I had won. If you get them in a kill position and the timer runs out then you win even if you're more beat up, so to speed up the time I made the knife get closer and closer to his head till he squealed “I give up” his voice surprisingly sounded like in those cartoons were someone gets shrunk. It was over. The crowd of over a hundred guys roared. Some cried out in anger, probably because they had bet so much money on the other guy. Then all of a sudden I heard a voice yell out from the crowd “One million units, for the boy!”. And that's when I met my sensei.

    4 

    MASA

          “One million units?”said the guy that kidnapped me. “Yes, one million.” said the man. “Sold!” Then he handcuffed me like it was no big deal, handed me and the keys to the cuffs, to the stranger, and put his hand out for the money. 

        The guy buying me was wearing long black robes and holding a staff that looked like it opened at the top. He was Japanese and looked like a younger version of the guy in my favorite movie, The Karate Kid.. He handed my kidnapper a fat stack of gold plates and walked us out of the room. We headed for his truck outside. When we got out there, the sun  hurt my eyes due to the 

fact that I haven't seen daylight for a week.  They had brought me to the fight in a crate that only had light bulbs to light it. He threw me in the back and drove to a tall building way taller than any I've seen. He grabbed me, and took me to his apartment. It wasn't big, just a kitchen, A 10 by 10 foot living room, one bedroom, and a small bathroom with a tiny shower, sink, and toilet. It wasn't much but I guess it was enough for one guy. 

        To my surprise he didn’t throw me in a crate, and even unhandcuffed me. For no reason he made me a cup of tea and asked me, “Where did you get that sword?” “Why should I tell you?” I asked “Cause I can help you get back home.” he said, in a voice that said “I'm your friend.” “How can you do that, and what does it have to do with the sword?” I replied. “Do you want the whole story?” he asked. I nodded my head because I really did. “1 hundred years ago, a group of 

        warriors fought against a dragon. This dragon sucked out people's souls to live, so these men fought against it and sacrificed their lives to save others.  They trapped the dragon in a cave but they knew that it would take 500 years for it to fully die.  By sacrificing their lives, they combined all of their strength and power into that sword you have there” He pointed at the sword still on my belt and I looked at it. “They knew that someday the sword would choose someone worthy to take down the dragon.“

I was in shock.  I couldn’t fathom that I was chosen for anything….“But if it is already trapped in a cave, why do I have to take it down?” I asked. “Woah, woah, woah! Who said that it chose you?” he exclaimed.  “Well, when I discovered it, it was literally calling my name! Not to mention,  when I touched it, I was teleported to this planet!” I answered.  The man’s face slowly turned to a smile, “Well, it's a good thing I bought you!  I assume the reason why it chose you now, is because Raiko has found the dragon and is using it to take over Neptor. It seems you’ll have to stop him.” he said.  I didn’t know what to think. “Ok,” I said, “three things. First of all, I’m just a kid, and I gotta get back home for dinner.  Second, where is my home? And third, how do I get back there?”

         “You don’t! Not Until you defeat the dragon!” I got the chills as he continued to tell me that he would be my Sensei and train me over the next month to become a master. Then, I would face the dragon.  He set me up with a blanket and pillow and said, “get your rest. Your training begins tomorrow”.

    5

     NOT READY YET

        It had been about a month, but on earth 1 hour on earth.  I admit it, training was harder than school. Sometimes it felt like torture. My Sensei, Masa, made me learn how to hold my breath, stay quiet for over an hour, and knock someone out (he showed me that by doing it on me). Then came the fun part. He taught me how to throw shurikens with awesome aim. I can literally chop yarn in half right down the middle. It was awesome. Other than those training exercises, there was also just normal karate, balance beams, 

        wooden dummies that I would practice throwing shurikens and kunai knives at (I can hit the head every time from 300 feet away by the way), and there were these holograms that I practiced my Karate moves on.  By the end of next month he said that he thinks I will be ready soon.

        Two days later I woke up to Masa yelling at me “get up Hiro, he’s here. Get up!” “Who's here?” I groaned. It was 3 in the morning and I could hear yelling outside. “Raiko has come to this part of Neptor” He answered

        “WHAT!!!!!” I said as I sprang out of the bed that he pulled out of the couch for me. “Well then I better fight him.” I took off my pjs, and rushed to the door with my ninja suit and weapon pack.  I was stopped by Masa saying “are you sure that you’re ready?” “I don't know” I answered. I really wasn’t sure if 

        I was. It felt really nerve racking that I had to fight him now. But without much hesitation, I opened the door and looked outside. 

        The sky was red as blood with little black things falling out of the sky. There was the dragon. It was as tall as three blue whales stacked from end to end and had a wingspan of over two football fields. It also had six wings, and six feet. Worst of all, it would spit out those black things and before they hit the ground they would spread out their wings, and suck the souls out of people that can’t get away in time. They were just miniature ones of the big one. Black scales, red eyes, and completely creepy. 

        As one drew nearer to me ,it snatched up a woman's baby and started to suck its soul. But don’t worry, I threw a shuriken at it.  I hit its head, and it died. Before the baby could fall, I caught it, and returned it to the mother. 

        There were many more though, and it wasn’t going to be an easy fight. I noticed there was a small figure on the dragon's head where twelve spikes stuck out. I knew immediately that it was Raiko. Only Raiko could control the dragon because of his blood type. I know Masa had explained that to me, but I couldn’t remember the details in all the chaos.

        As I thought about what to do next, I began to tie a rope to the end of a kunai knife. I threw it right at the dragon.  It hit its mark directly in the dragon's side.  I told Masa to keep things under control. He nodded and darted to the roof tops. Using my newly trained ninja skills, I dashed like a monkey, up the rope to meet Raiko. The dragon was so big it didn’t even 

        notice my kunai stuck in its side. Once I arrived on the beast, I struggled to keep my balance, but made it to the dragon's head without Raiko noticing me (Masa always said to not let your enemy be behind you). I had a huge advantage, or at least I thought I did. 

        As soon as I approached Raiko, he turned around and said “Wow I’m honestly surprised that you're good enough to get up here.” His voice was so ugly and I could tell he meant to intimidate me, but I wasn’t falling for it. “Oh really, well it sounds like you're scared to me.” I replied, trying to taunt him. My technique was to annoy and aggravate this guy until he strikes out of anger. That is when I should strike because he lets his guard down and focuses on killing you.  I taunted him by saying “You’re just a guy that has no other purpose in life so you do dumb stuff like this…”

 Raiko had a red face with black tattoos that went diagonally from the side of his eyes to the top of his mouth. His hands were all black, and he was wearing a black cape with black boots. I thought in my head “this guy doesn't look that tough.” I was wrong. Raiko yelled at me “That's enough!!!!” in a way that said he was angry but that he didn’t lower his guard. Then he threw two shuriken at me. Of course I dodged them,  but then he growled “DODGE THESE!!!!!!!!” He threw 5 kunai and 5 more shuriken. I took out my kunai and deflected 9 but one of each weapon hit my left arm. The pain felt as if twelve dogs had bit that exact spot. My heart skipped a beat. I realized I was standing on the one spot on the dragon's neck that if stabbed just right, the dragon would begin to cough and sputter and die.  As I put my kunai up to deliver the stab, Raiko saw what I was about to do, and yelled “NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” In the ugliest voice ever.  Whatever you're thinking his voice sounded like, it's way worse. Then he threw a lot of 

        shurikens at me, more than I could count.  But he was too late, I had already stabbed the dragon in its weak spot. It wouldn't die, but at least it would weaken.

        Raiko’s shurikens hit all my limbs. Luckily not any major arteries.  But he got several good deep stabs into the tissue. As I took what I thought would be my last breath the only thing I could see was the dragon coughing out babies into the ground and seeing them hit the ground splattering blood. Immediately Raiko grabbed me by the neck and started choking me. I could taste blood dripping out of the sides of my mouth, as he did. All of the pain I was in right then made me feel as if I was drowning in a pool of blood.  After Raiko cursed at me, he threw me off the side of the dragon. All I could see was the silhouette of the dragon wheezing. Despite the height that I fell from, 

        I didn't die because Masa caught me before I hit the ground and threw me in the back of his truck. He poured nine tailed fox blood on me and drove off. 

        After I got all of the weapons out of me, my bones seemed to moan and groan, and while I looked out of the back window I saw people. Not alive but dead, soul sucked. It was the saddest thing I've seen; men, women, boys, and girls, who had their souls stolen by Raiko. I thought to myself how badly I failed. Yes, many had survived and had already evacuated, but the pain from seeing everyone who died was all I could think of.

    6 

    THE SERPENT’S TILE 

    We’d been driving for about two days. We finally got to one part of Neptor that was taken over by Raiko, but he wasn’t there currently so we just had to avoid Raikos goons. Eventually we found a nice old woman and rented an apartment from her. It wasn't much different from Masa’s old place other than there was no bathroom so we had to go downstairs, and go to the bathroom down the street.  I pulled out the bed from the couch that I was going to sleep on and layed down. I couldn’t sleep because I had a lot to think about. How I was going to beat Raiko, and how I was going to get home? Luckily Masa answered both, and I could get some sleep.        

It had been about two and a half months since I touched that sword, and Raiko was getting stronger with his dragon. We had to stop him.  Masa had finally explained that there was only one thing that could really slay a soul sucker dragon: the Serpent of Justice. Apparently, there was a mythical tile that you can use to resurrect an ancient snake. The snake was huge, and only the ones who yielded it could take down a soul sucker dragon. So that's what we needed to find. Legend had it that the serpent was sealed in a tile, and sent to the bottom of the ocean by Raiko’s great great great great great great grandfather. He had hid it so no one could use it to take him down when he had the dragon.  Many, including him, had searched for the Serpent’s tile, but failed.  Until now. I had to do it. Masa had also told me that the only way to get home was to kill Raiko.  I needed his blood on the sword, then and only then, I could go home. I don't know how the sword even knows that he is actually dead but somehow it does.

    Honestly it was such a drag that after two days of driving we had to take a week to go to the spot where the war of Raiko’s great great great great great great grandfather and the serpent was.  It was off the Coast of Shi, so there would also be an hour boat drive with Masa’s old friend.  He was even more of a drag. When we got there, I thought I was going to pass out, because something felt so strange about this place. When we got out of the cove I felt deja vu.  Almost that I had been there before, but even more, that some presence of something unseen that I knew was there. “Hiro, the tile is down there,” Masa pointed to the ocean. “You have to go get it” he exclaimed 

    “What, me? Go down there!?” I shouted, pointing to the ocean. “It must be at least a mile down and you want me to swim!?”

“Look Hiro” said Masa handing me a miniature heart shaped lump, “this is an

    two headed eel heart, it will make it so you can withstand the pressure of how deep it is, and you’ll be able to breath underwater for five minutes.  It will also give you webbed hands and feet so you are faster.” As he said this, all I could think was this place had so many weird creatures and things that give you special abilities. 

        “Ok” I shrugged “so I have to swallow that?” Masa nodded his head. I took it from his hand, put it in my mouth and slowly gulped it down. It felt like one of those gummy bears when you soak it in water overnight and it expands. I didn’t hesitate,  I jumped in the water and I could immediately feel myself changing. It felt like rats were inside of me trying to escape. Soon I had webbed hands and feet and I could breathe underwater.  It was amazing, I felt free. I took off into the deep ocean, Masa said that it would last five minutes so I was in a rush.