In the past, before Yuurei was old enough to set sail he lived a life that was harder than his present lifestyle. He didn’t have stuff like beli, or food, nor was he able to get them with ease. Instead, he would steal on a daily basis to make sure that he would be able to help out on the household as best as he could. The island he lived in, Swordsman Island, was a beautiful island overall. Of course, there was always a part of the island that had the poor gathered together. It was like that for the little thief, which was okay because he had a group of friends that could relate to him. The sun was out and the birds flew around the island, they chirped together making a lovely noise that resonated from the sky. The market area was as lively as ever as people were conversing with each other and shouting out loud to get people to come to their shop.

Yuurei was in the kitchen area eating a piece of bread as he was looking outside the window. He had plans today, and he was waiting for his friends to arrive, so he could be on his way. While eating his food, his mother, Tenaga D. Jiyuu, had made her way to the kitchen to see her little boy staring out the window.

”You know you can go outside any time you want. I won’t be training you today, and your father is out in the back making god knows what today Yuu.” She said with a lovely smile.

”I know mom. I’m waiting for Shiro, and Kazu to come over, so I can go out with them.” He said as he looked at her with a smile.

She nodded understanding that he didn’t want to be alone.

”Let me know if you need change before you go.” She said to him.

When he heard that he looked up to the ceiling for a second. He was acting like he was thinking about it, but his decision was made already.

”I don’t need anything. Thank you, mom.” He said knowing all too well that they needed the money.

When he looked back to the window he could see both Shiro and Kazu waiting outside for him. They were waving at Yuurei nonstop as they were trying to get his attention. Yuurei stepped back from the window and tossed the last piece of bread from his hand into his mouth, and jogged out of the house. He had gone over to his friends chewing his food and when he got there swallowed everything.

”Hey Shiro and Kazu. Where are we going today?” He asked.

”Well I wanted to get some stuff from the market today before we decide to do anything today.” He said to Yuurei.

”Fine, but after we do that, I have something fun and excited for us to do, so let’s do that after.” Shiro brought this up to the group.

”Seems fine with me, I was waiting for you guys anyways to do something,” He agreed with everything, which brought the two to nod before walking away from his house and towards the market.

The three kids were running through the road that was leading towards the market, Shiro with his messy long hair and frail body, while Kazu had a more meat to him, he was not a big kid, but had potential to be a muscular guy when he got older. These two were the last remaining people in Yuurei’s circle as his other friends had stopped hanging out with them. It wouldn’t take long for the group to arrive, and they were in the corner of the market as they were looking to see who would be their victim. They had a system, which was simple, and it always worked unless they bit too much than they could chew. Yuurei noticed that there was a guy who was selling bundles of fruits, and bread, and it was then he knew who they were going after.

”Guys we got ourselves someone asking us to take the food he sells. They are already in bags, so it shouldn’t be hard to take from him.” He said to the two.

”It’s what I came down here for anyways. Dad couldn’t get money to buy us food, so I figured we could do our thing to get food.” He said to them.

They looked at each other with a smile on their face because this was really the one thing they stole around here.

”Okay same plan as always right?” Shiro said this in a question, but he knew the answer already.

Yuurei and Kazu nodded their head to show him that they knew what to do. With that Shiro split from the two, which brought them out to the open, and Shiro disappearing from their sights. The duo would walk towards the man selling bags of fruits, bread and much more. When they got there they would look at the food he had there as if they were thinking about what to buy.

”You have come to the right place kids. These bundles are on sale, and they are yours for a measly hundred beli a pack.” He said to the two.

They looked up to him with a frown on their face because they didn’t have that type of money.

”Mister, can we get them for free? My family is starving and we have a few mouths to feed. With a pack, you will be helping our family.” He said in a sad tone.

The merchant shook his head.

”If you don’t have money to buy, then why are you here kid? Get out of here before I make you regret being around my stand.” He said this warning the kids.

”But mister we are hungry, please help us.” Yuurei pleaded with him.

The man shook his head and started to move around to push the kids away from his stand until he noticed that there was another kid who was rushed towards his stand and took two bags of his stuff. The merchant’s eyes were filled with surprised as he ignored the two in front of him, and started chasing after the third kid. When they saw that he was far from his stand, Yuurei and Kazu started grabbing a bunch of the bags, or as much as they could and started running off to the distance, and away from the market.

When the two of them made a fair amount of distance from the marketplace, they had come to a stop. They had rushed towards an alleyway that they always went to after they were done stealing. It was their meet-up spot, and they looked back to see if Shiro was okay.

”You think they finally caught him?” Kazu asked him.

Yuurei hearing the question elbow Kazu right in his stomach as he looked at his friend with a serious look.

”Don’t joke like that. It’s just us three, we don’t need to be jinxing what is left from the group.” He said this.

Yuurei was looking in the direction where Shiro would usually come from and started to worried that his friend wasn’t going to come back. Kazu had put things into his mind, which made him worried. What was thought to last a lifetime only lasted a few minutes? Shiro would soon appear with a smile on his face, and empty-handed as always.

”See he’s alright, and I guess the merchant stop chasing you when you drop the stuff as always?” he asked Shiro.

”Yup, the man is going to be angry when he sees that he chased me for no reason.” He chuckled when he said this.

Their plan was simple. Shiro was the fastest of the three, so he was always playing decoy. He allowed his friends to grab the merchant’s attention and would sneak towards the table, and then rush in and grab whatever he could before running. It brought the merchant out from his shop allowing his friends to grab the food and run off without having a problem chasing after them. This was something they always did because it worked a majority of the time.

Yuurei approached Shiro to give him a few stuff for him to take home. He looked at Kazu wondering what they were going to do.

”I’m going to go home and put the food away. You two should do the same thing, and then we will meet at Yuurei’s house as always. That way Shiro can present his bright idea.” He snickered when he said this.

Shiro looked at Kazu and stuck his tongue out as he was taking his portion of the stolen goods.

”Trust me it will be fun, and safe.” He said this as he felt proud to say out loud.

”Okay let’s get it going. Everyone at my place when you are done.” He said this, and with that, they had all gone their separate ways.

It wouldn’t take long for Yuurei to arrive at his home, and when he got there he could see that his father was no longer in the back possibly making something for the house. He wondered where he was, but figured that he was okay and entered the house. He brought the bags of food on the kitchen counter and started putting things away, so that way they would be preserved to last longer. Soon enough Tenaga would enter the kitchen to see that her son was back and putting things away.

”You already back Yuu? I see you didn’t come back empty-handed either. You go back out?” She asked him, but never asked him how he got the food.

Yuurei was finishing up with putting everything away as he looked at his mom with a smile on his face.

”Yeah the guys are meeting up here, so we can go back outside. I just brought food for us, which should last us a while. I didn’t see dad out in the back.” He said to her.

Tenaga looked her son and smiled at him because he was very observant, but she knew that her husband had gone out to that place, but she didn’t ask why.

”He was in the back, but then he left a little bit after you did. I don’t know where he went through.” She said to her son.

The little thief looked at her and nodded understanding that she wasn’t lying to him. He got off the stool he was using to put things away, and headed to the door, but stopped as he opened it.

”You should go out to mom. It’s nice outside, and I know you won’t go anywhere unless dad is with you.” He said to her, and headed walked out of the house.

Tenaga smiled at Yuurei because he was so innocent and she hoped that he would never find out the dangers that this world would present to him.

Yuurei was waiting for Shiro and Kazu and he knew that they lived not too far from him. It wouldn’t take long for one of them to show up, and it was Shiro. He was the fastest of the group, so it was to be expected.

”Were they pleased with everything you brought to the house?” He asked his friend.

Shiro rubbed the back of his head as if he had gotten in trouble.

”They were happy, but they told me that I shouldn’t be doing these things. They are always on my case for taking things for the family. What about you Yuurei, did your mom finally hit you behind the head?” He asked his friend as chuckled at that idea.

”No, she looked happy that I brought food to the table, but she didn’t bother asking me how I got it. I think she knows but chooses to ignore it because she is okay with whatever I do as long as I’m alive.” He said with a smile on his face.

Shiro shook his head when he heard Yuurei’s words.

”I wish my parents were as cool as your mom. They just don’t understand.” He said as the two of them looked in a certain direction.

They noticed that Kazu had finally shown his face, and he had a big red mark on his face. They laughed at him because they knew what happened to him.

”I guess they caught you bringing in the food you stole?” Yuurei said as he continued laughing.

”And I bet you lied on how you got it, so you got smacked right across the face.” Shiro said laughing at him.

Kazu looked at the both of them with a serious look on his face as he was rubbing his that side of his face.

”It’s not funny. I tried to lie, so they didn’t know the truth, but I get in trouble either way. The woman didn’t even look happy that I brought food, but she was able to take it away from me of course.” He said to them.

”Still, she let me go back outside, so I’m here. What is this plan of yours, Shiro? You always say it’s safe, but we get into all types of trouble when you bring an idea to the table.” Kazu said to his friend.

Shiro chuckled when he heard that and it was time to bring up the plan that would have them looking for secret treasure.

”There is a place on this island that nobody approaches. It is said to be cursed and in ruins. There was a disaster that happened around that area, so it hasn’t been touched in years. Still, from what I heard this story was told because they didn’t want to the locals to wander around there and possibly finding the secret treasure hidden there. We are going to find this treasure and become rich. That way we can support our families, and no longer have to steal.” He said with a smile on his face.

”So, how about it? You guys interested in this little adventure?” He asked them waiting for their answer.

Yuurei looked at Kazu who looked at Yuurei. They both stared into each other’s eyes trying to figure out what their answer was going to be. They both sighed at the same time as they knew what their answers were going to be. When that happened the two of them looked at Shiro with a serious expression on their face.

”Yes, I’m interested in this little adventure of yours.” ”Yes, I’m interested in this little adventure of yours.” They both said this to Shiro at the same time.

Shiro had a huge smile when he heard his friend’s decision. He was sure they were going to finally say no today, but that wasn’t the case. Yuurei would look up to the sky and hope that nothing bad happened today. Kazu scratched his head as he looked down on the ground as he had a bad feeling about this.

”Okay, so now that is settled, follow me guys I will show you where the ruins are.” He said as he started trailing off in a random direction.

Yuurei and Kazu looked at each other one last time before they started following behind Shiro. While they were walking, Yuurei wondered how his friend knew where the ruins were located.

”Have you been to these ruins before Shiro?” He asked his friend.

”No, I haven’t; I only got close enough to see that it wasn’t what the tales said it was. Why do you ask?” He said to Yuurei.

”I was wondering because I see you know where you were heading.” He let Shiro know.

It wouldn’t take long for the three to arrive at the location, and when they got there the two young boys that arrived at this place for the first time were amazed at what they saw. It was in ruins of course, as there were broken pillars all over the place. There were some on the ground, while others stood standing holding a piece of a rooftop. There was a lot of rubble on the ground, and it looked like the ruins could go on for a few miles.

”Here we are guys. I heard this used to be a holy place where people worship stuff. There has to be gold or some sort of treasure around here. I would say let’s split up, but it would be best if we stick together and make sure that one of us didn’t miss anything.” He said to the two of them.

”I’m okay with sticking together. This place gives me the creeps already.” He said to Shiro and Yuurei.

Yuurei just laughed when he heard Kazu, but Shiro had a point.

”Alright let’s go then.” He said as he pushed the two on their backs so that they could start walking.

They felt Yuurei pushing them and they started walking into the ruins. The three were looking around a bit nervous even though they all tried to act brave. They were hoping that nothing would pop out in the dark corners of the ruins, but at the same time, they were looking to see if they could find something that looked valuable on the floor.

Yuurei was focused to find something valuable, and the reason behind this was simple. The faster he had found something then they could get the hell out of here. They were walking through the ruins though and they saw different types of things that looked like creepy faces but were found to be paintings. There were structures broken up to look scary, which made them a bit nervous. While they were roaming around they noticed that there was something moving under the rock, but before they could find out what it was they trio would just run away from it screaming their lungs out. They would follow Shiro who was the fastest and made sure that they would do their best to follow him. It wouldn’t take long for Shiro to stop, which caused the other two to stop.

”What do you think that was?” He asked them.

”I don’t know, but Shiro said this place wasn't cursed, so it had to be an animal or something. It couldn’t have been anything else right?” He said to them.

”Yeah basically what Yuurei said. It was an animal and nothing more. Let’s keep going through before that animal catches up with us if it followed us of course.” He said to the group.

They all nodded agreeing with his words and started pushing forward. While they were moving around they continued to scout the area, but they couldn’t find anything that was out of the ordinary or rare for them to sell. Yuurei’s eyes were just looking at everything they passed by and he saw some nice pictures that were still intact. He wasn’t sure what this place was, but he knew that it probably had some good history before its fall. His attention had turned from the ruins to Kazu, however, as his friend had rushed over to something.

”Look what I found guys.” He grabbed a hold to whatever it was as he reached where the item was.

When he went to show it to the guys, the item had disintegrated into dust. Yuurei and Shiro looked at Kazu with a confusing look on their face.

”Well looks like whatever it was turned into dust but your touch. What kind of evil hands do you have Kazu.” He joked around with his friend.

”Maybe this place is cursed and Kazu’s touch turns things and people into dust.” He said in a creepy voice.

Kazu looked at the two of them annoyed with what they were saying. He didn’t find it funny, and at first, he believed he was cursed, but then he touched the pillar, which just stood there. It allowed him to reassure himself and stop being nervous.

”You guys play around too much. Let’s get going, so we can find treasure and be on our way. I don’t know what is in this place, and I don’t like that.” He said to Yuurei and Shiro.

They looked at each other and shrugged before started walking around again. After fifteen minutes of walking through the ruins and such Yuurei had heard something not too far from them. He looked in the direction towards his right and stopped moving. He was doing his best to see what he could hear, and then it happened the sound that he heard, were that of people talking to each other.

He looked at the two as Kazu was busy ranting to Shiro and he shook his head.

”Quiet Kazu. I hear something.” He said this while waving his hand, so they could come towards him.

The two looked at each other as they were confused with what was going on right now. They didn’t hear anything, but they trusted Yuurei as he barely joked around. When they got there, they made sure that their face was close to Yuurei, so he could speak to them without making too much noise.

”What is that you hear?” He asked curiously.

”I hear two people talking right now, but I can’t hear exactly what. I guess they are close to the treasure that we are also looking for. If that is the case then how are we going to do this? If they are adults, then I doubt we will be taking them on.” He said to Shiro and Kazu in a low voice.

Kazu shook his head as he knew there was only one thing for them to do.

”We get closer and listen to what they said, and we follow them. And when they least expect it we take it from them like we always do.” He said to Yuurei.

”You sure look nervous now that there are people here Yuurei.” He joked around as he was nervous as well.

”For once Kazu is right Yuurei, so let’s get closer. We will follow you.” He said to Yuurei.

The little kid nodded as he started walking slowly and making sure to use the things around him to hide him and his friends. The voices got louder and he could hear them clearer than before. It wouldn’t take long for Kazu and Shiro to hear them as well. Yuurei slowly got close to them, and when he peeped his head out a little bit he could see the two men that were talking. One of them was a marine, while the other one just looked a regular person. He moved his head back, so they wouldn’t spot him and looked at his friends.

”One marine, and one random person.” He whispered to the two of them.

”We are close to taking the treasure out. When the time comes we will give you a portion of it for you and your men’s help. Still, for now, I need you to make sure that nobody finds this place.” The marine said.

”Fine, but I honestly don’t see the point in this. There is nobody who would dare come to this place. Everyone thinks it's cursed and they choose not to go near it.” He said to the marine.

”I don’t care, anybody, you see make sure that you capture them and bring them back to me. I would deal with them personally.” He ordered the man.

The random person grunted when he heard these words because he didn’t like to be told what to do, but he had the manpower to get the things he needed to become rich. When that was said and done the marine and the civilian walked off in a direction. Yuurei heard the footsteps and gave it seven seconds before he started moving.

”Look down and in front of you. Make sure you don’t step on anything that will make noise. We will be spotted if that happens, and I don’t want to be captured.” He said to Shiro and Kazu.

They both nodded when hearing Yuurei’s words, and with that the person leading the group starting moving. He didn’t know where these guys were going, but he heard treasure, which meant they were on the right path.

The three stooges followed the two grown men. They were in over their heads, but all they could see was the prize at the end. Shiro knew there was something valuable here, but they had competition. It was not going to be easy, and they all knew that. While they continued to follow the two they would come to a stop a couple of time. They didn’t want to get to close to them and tried to be as stealthy as possible. The group couldn’t talk either because it would ruin their chances at this, so they continued following them. The walk was a long one, but one that would eventually end. The three of them noticed where they had stopped and could see that there was still a building that was standing. It was small, and it did have pieces of it missing, but it was overall standing.

It wasn’t just that, but there were more people around here, which made things harder. How the hell were they going to get inside and steal what needed to be stolen when they had so many people surrounding the place. The civilian looked behind him but didn’t see anybody around. They were hiding right now and the three were trying to figure out what their next move would be.

”Well this got a bit more complicated now.” He whispered to the two.

Yuurei and Kazu squinted their eyes at him as they were a bit disappointed in the situation they were in. They had a feeling this was going to happen, but they went with anyway.

”I knew we shouldn’t have listened to you. Now, look what we got ourselves into. I think we should try our best and leave this place while we still can.” He was whispering, but his tone showed that he was scared.

”It’s too late now the best thing we can do is make sure that we come out this alive.” He whispered to his friends.

”Any ideas Shiro?” He whispered to the man with the plan.

Shiro stared at the two as he was thinking about what to do, which didn’t take long for him to come to a conclusion.

”Yeah, but I don’t know if it’s going to work. I would cause a distraction having them focus on me and you two go in and see how it’s like in there. Hopefully, you guys can get the treasure.” He whispered to the two of them.

”Nope I don’t like that plan at all, if we go in there, and it’s impossible for us to get the treasure, then how do we plan to get out of there. I think we should wait for them to come outside of the area with the treasure and we test our luck there.” Kazu whispered.

Yuurei was more in line with Kazu’s plan than Shiro’s plan.

”I say we wait and watch our perimeters and make sure that nobody sneaks up on us.” He whispered.

Shiro sighed because he was thinking passed getting them inside of the building, and they were right, but for now, they got into position and watched each other’s back. At the same time they were doing this they were paying attention to the door, waiting for the marine to come back out with their soon to be the treasure.

The time had passed, and it felt like the marines were never going to come out. It was dreadful for the group, but it gave them time to talk about what they were going to do when the Marines came out. They had the ideas that the marines wouldn’t shoot them because they were kids, so Shiro was planning on using himself as a decoy. The two found it crazy for him to do that, but they decided to allow him to do what he wanted after he argued with them and threaten to yell if they didn’t say yes. When they had their attention on him, it was Yuurei and Kazu’s job to grab whatever they could and make a run for it. It sounded crazy, but that was their only idea and Shiro reassured them that he could outrun the guys were presented.

Yuurei face twitched when he heard footsteps coming from the building. He noticed that there were people coming out of it, which was amazing.

”Guys it’s time.” He whispered as he saw that there were a few things being carried out.

There was a chest that was being brought out by several marines. Another marine came out with as much gold trophies as he could in his hand, and another with a few bags of unknown matter. They watched as they couldn’t believe all the things that were in there. He also noticed that there were a few of them that were hurt.

”What the hell happened in there?” Kazu asked the guys.

”There was probably some traps that they had run into. Then it was good you guys didn’t go inside. I could only imagine what would have happened if you guys had gone in there.” Shiro said to them.

Yuurei knew this was going to be a bad idea, but Shiro insisted on this idea, and he wasn’t hearing no for an answer.

”We are going for the guy with the bags. Shiro, I don’t know what kind of distraction you are going to use, but now is the time.” He said to his friend.

When he went to look in the direction, Shiro wasn’t there. He did hear Yuurei, and he went to carry out the plan. He rushed over to the man with the bag as everyone was surprised and caught off guard with the sudden appearance of the kid, and he punched the marines straight in the balls before running away. He stopped after widening the distance between him and everyone and looked at the group.

”You guys shouldn’t be touching things that don’t belong to you.” He said as he continued to run.

The marine who was in charge of this was surprised but gained his composure when he saw the kid take action. He looked at the civilians that were helping the marines out.

”Get that kid and bring him back to me! Do not kill him, but make sure he doesn’t escape!” The marine shouted out loud.

Yuurei and Kazu knew it was their time to take action as they saw a bunch of men running after Shiro. They moved from their hiding spot and towards the man who was on the floor grabbing his own golden treasure.

While the men around the area were chasing the child, Yuurei and Kazu made their way to the treasure. The marine had let go of them when he hit the floor, which made it easier for them to grab it. They both grabbed two bags each out of the many bags that have been dropped to the ground. When they did that they were both running away for their lives. It wouldn’t take long for the Marines to see that there were two more kids running around, but this time these two had a bag of treasure in their hand. This irritated him because his hands were full, and he couldn’t drop it to go after the kids, nor his men.

”I need a few of you men to go after these two kids as well! They are stealing your treasure, so after them!” He shouted from the top of his legs.

Some of the civilians who were chasing after Shiro had stopped running and changed their direction in the area where Kazu and Yuurei had run towards. The two were hoping that Shiro was okay, but they knew how good he was at running away. They were running as their life depended on it, and to them it did. They moved through the rubbles around the ground and did the best their tiny legs could do with the extra weight on them. While the two were running for their lives, Yuurei could hear noises coming from behind them, and when he turned around he could hear the sound of footsteps running towards them. His head turned back to the direction where he was running as he tried to move faster.

”It looks like there were some people who were able to turn around and chase us in time. We have to move faster, or they are going to catch up to us Kazu.” He said to his friend.

Kazu heard Yuurei, but he couldn’t move any faster than he was already.

”This is bad, they are going to probably catch up to us soon. I think we should find a place to hide before that happens.” He said to Yuurei.

The little thief thought about it for a second and then figured Kazu’s suggestion was the best that they had right now.

”Alright, we will do what you want for now and it's only because we can’t outrun them.” He told Kazu.

The two would nod at each other, and quickly make a left towards one of the destroyed buildings nearby. They were running around that area now as they were looking for a place to hide. They searched for a few as the sound of stampede got louder as they spend their time looking for a hiding spot. Yuurei would spot one and look at Kazu.

”Right here.” Yuurei said.

Kazu turned to see that the hiding spot was in between rubbles. It was dark inside, and it was big enough to fit people of their size. They both entered their hiding area hoping that within the time the men would no longer chase them.

The two stood in the hiding spot quietly; they did their best to breath slowly as they were scared that the men that were coming around here would be able to hear it. They looked at each other, but nothing was said because of how cautious they were. They did their best to get comfortable in their little dark hole, and soon the rumble of people running around this area got louder. These steps had soon come to a stop, but it wasn’t because they left the premises. These guys were looking around because they lost sight of Yuurei and Kazu.

”Where could they have gone? I can’t believe we lost sight of them. I want everyone here to check around the area. They couldn’t have gotten far, or maybe they are hiding.” One of the guys said to the rest.

They all made a noise of agreement, or that was what it sounded before they started searching. Yuurei and Kazu looked at each other, and if they were able to see each other they could see the fear in their eyes. Still, they could only hope that they wouldn’t find this place and that they would be safe. A half an hour pass, which then turned into an hour, but the search didn’t feel like it would stop. They were after the money that the two had taken from them, so it only made sense they wouldn’t give up. Kazu’s eyes closed a bit as he was getting tired doing nothing, but that stopped when a new person appeared.

”We have captured the other kid. He was quick, but after we trapped him into a dead end there was nothing he could do. Let’s deal with him and find out where the other kids live.” He said to the group.

When they heard this, they were excited to be able to stop and started walking away from the scene. Yuurei wanted to let out a chunk of air, but he felt like he should give it a few minutes. The time they stood in their hiding spot after the men left was about thirty minutes, and when it felt like forever Yuurei decided to let out a large sigh of relief.

”Let’s get out of here and think of a plan to rescue Shiro. We can’t let another one be taken from us.” Yuurei said to Kazu.

”Yeah, but how are we going to be able to rescue him with people who can take us out without a problem?” He asked Yuurei.

”That is why we are going to think about it, so let’s get out of here.” He said to Kazu.

Kazu would come out first followed by Yuurei. When the two got out of their hiding spot, they would stretch and pat themselves off any dust on them. They were holding onto the bags they had stolen, and started walking towards a house that was kind of intact. It wouldn’t take long, but soon enough a huge shadow would hover over them causing them to see who or what it was.

When they turned to see what it was their eyes would open up and they would look shocked, nervous and disappointed all at the same time. Their bodies reacted as fast as possible, but it was too late. When they tried to run, the shadowy figured grabbed both of their arms stopping their escape. The figure revealed itself to be one of the civilians from before. They struggled to try and get free, but it was no good.

”We figured you two might still be here. They wanted me to be the lookout just in case you guys came out your hiding spot. They figured you two would come back anyways after you realized your friend didn’t reunite with you too.” He said as he was laughing with this accomplishment.

Yuurei and Kazu were scared and they continued their best to struggle, but knew it was a useless attempt. They didn’t know what was going to happen and soon enough the man started moving off to the direction in where they had come from.

”They are going to happen when they see I found you two. I cannot wait to get paid. Who knows maybe I’ll get paid more than the rest.” He said to the two with a smile of victory in his face.

Yuurei didn’t want this to happen, and he figured they had one last chance for hope right now.

”Someone! Anybody! Help us! He is taking us away! We’re being kidnapped!” Yuurei shouted at the top of his lungs hoping someone would find the two.

The man looked at Yuurei’s fail attempt to cry for help and he could only laugh.

”Nobody is coming to save you two. Remember everyone thinks these ruins are cursed and hazardous. That is why finding treasure wasn’t so hard to do.” He said to them.

Yuurei bit his lip angry to what to he said, but knew he was correct on the matter. They were being dragged now to the marines and Shiro. Still, something weird happened; footsteps could be heard running straight towards them from behind. All three of this heard this, and when the man turned to see who it was, he saw nothing. The running had stopped, but neither of them knew how, or why. He looked around to make sure he didn’t miss anything, and when he figured everything was clear he turned around. When he turned around he was met by a man with a mask and a cloak over his head as he took a hook straight into his stomach. It would cause the man to release both Yuurei and Kazu, and stumbled back before falling to the ground. The two of them looked at the mysterious figure with excitement and happiness.

”Thank you sir, but now we got to free our friend from the Marines. If they keep him they might torture him and find out where we live.” Yuurei said as he started walking away from him.

”Speak for yourself Yuurei. Shiro has never come over to my house, so he doesn’t know where I live.” Kazu said as he started following Yuurei.

The mystery person heard these words, and could not allow the two to move forward. He rushed towards the two and chopped them on their neck and knocking them both unconscious. He would place them both over his shoulder and walk away with them and the bags at hand.

When Yuurei woke up he was on his own bed. He looked around a bit confused on what was going on, but then remembered that Shiro had been taken. He had gotten out of his bed, and rushed out of his room and towards the living room. When he got there he noticed that his mother and his father were packing a bunch of things as quickly as they could. Tenaga looked up to see that her son was awake.

”Yuu, you finally woke up.” She said to him.

He was more confused than he was a few seconds ago because he didn’t know what was going on.

”Why are you packing? How did I get to bed? Where is Kazu? Shiro has been captured.” He was worried and had a lot of questions.

Yuurei’s father stopped packing and looked at Tenaga and smiled at her. She nodded at him and continued to pack on her own while he approached his son.

”A man in a mask had you two and handed you and Kazu to me when I asked him to release both of you. He surprisingly listened to me and even gave me the bags that he was carrying. I gave four to the Kazu family when I brought their son to them, and told them the situation, but they said they had nothing to worry about. I brought you home, but we have to go. We can’t have the marines come to our home. Shiro knows where we live and that is bad.” He explained to Yuurei.

The little boy hoped that it had all been a dream, but reality kicked in. Still, he couldn’t leave Shiro behind.

”Dad please we got to go and save him. I can’t allow another friend of mine to be taken by the marines. The other guys don’t even talk to us anymore.” He tried to plead with him.

Yuurei’s father shook his head with disappointment.

”It’s too late for that Yuu. You have been sleeping for two hours. I’m sure the marines and the other men that were there are long gone by now. they haven’t gone to the house yet because your friend is possibly being loyal and holding out for as long as he can. Your mom packed up a few of your things, but go finish that quickly because we need to go.” He said to his son.

Yuurei wasn’t happy with what he had heard, and it bothered him a lot.

”But da.” He was about to say something but was cut off.

”No, we will not be having any more discussion. If you want our family to stay alive and together please pack your stuff we are leaving soon.” His tone when he said that was much more serious and dark than he had ever been before.

Yuurei was shocked, but he listened to his father and walked towards his room to start packing as fast as he could.

The family of three had been packing up everything they could, and when they were all done, they had met outside in the back of the house. Yuurei looked at his father and noticed the open wagon with two horses in the front of it. He moved his stuff into the wagon, and then jumped into the back and into the corner. His heart hurt because he wasn’t able to help his friend Shiro out, and knew that things weren’t going to be the same from now on. His mother would follow soon after this and then his father. His mother would be in the back with Yuurei while his father was riding in the front to navigate on their new destination.

”Don’t worry we have another place to live in. It’s not close from here, but you will at least be able to hang out with Kazu still. But you will have to stay in the house for a month, so things can calm down with these Marines.” He said to his son.

Yuurei wasn’t happy with that because he usually went out to steal for them to be able to eat.

”What will I be doing for a month?” He asked his father.

”We will continue our training with swords Yuu. That will give you a time to master a few more things.” She answered instead of his father.

”Fine mom, we can do that, but only because I want to make sure I don’t lose any of my friends.” Yuurei said to his mom.

She smiled at him and knew that he was going to go through a lot when he grew up, but she knew that she couldn’t always be there for him.

It would only take about an hour and a half, but the three of them would make their way to the new house. Yuurei looked at his father wondering how they were able to get another place when they didn’t have a lot of money.

”Dad how did we get this place.” He asked curiously.

His dad looked at him with a smile on his face.

”I used some of the money that was in the bag, and I took out a few that could help us throughout the year. Of course, I left some for you, but you can’t touch it until your older.” He told Yuurei as he didn’t want to know what he did to obtain the amount of beli he had in those bags.

Yuurei was okay with this because he was planning on using the money for his mom and dad anyway. Still, he was bothered that he left Shiro behind, but knew now there was nothing he could do about it. He grabbed his stuff and moved towards the house. He was going to have to readjust his life, which he knew wouldn’t be too hard to do. His mother followed behind him, and soon his father as they entered their new home.

*Two months later*

Since the incident in the ruins had happened, two months had passed. Yuurei didn’t leave the general vicinity of the house for those two months. They agreed it would be a month at first, but then the young boy decided that it would be best to take two months in training to be sure. It was a good two month as his body had toned out a bit more and he looked like he was doing really well. Still, he was excited that he had his freedom back and he was going to go to see Kazu. His parents were busy their own thing, but they were okay with him leaving the house. His mother was sure he would be able to fend for himself against anybody around his age, so she had no worries. As for his father, he was trying his best to gather materials to create a sword but was having a hard time doing so.

Yuurei would make his way towards the Kazu resident, which wasn’t big at all. It would take him about three hours to get to this place, but it was good for his legs. He was quick to approach the front door, and knock without hesitation. It wouldn’t take long for someone to open the door, and it was an elderly lady. She looked at Yuurei and was surprised to see that this boy would show up.

”What is that you want Yuurei?” She asked him as she knew the answer.

”I’m here to hang out with Kazu. Can I see him?” He asked her as he was looking up to her.

”No, you cannot see Kazu. I banned him from playing around with you. You two always get in trouble together, and I’m starting to believe the problem is you.” She said this and with that, she closed the door in front of Yuurei’s face.

He was about to say something, but he couldn’t, which made him upset. He scratched the back of his head because it wasn’t his fault. He looked up to see the windows and figured he would climb up to his friend’s room. He shrugged as he figured he didn’t have anything to lose.

Yuurei would make his way towards an area he could climb and started making his way up on a fence like structure. He was moving slowly, so he didn’t make too much noise, and so he didn’t put too much weight on something. His climb was going well, and he figured his friend was just hanging out in his room right now.

”What are you doing Yuurei?” Someone said from the ground behind Yuurei.

It made him Yuurei lose his balance as he was shocked and surprised, which brought him falling to the brush that was there. He would fall into it and all you could hear Yuurei say ‘Ow’ multiple times as he was getting out of the brush rubbing his butt as he wanted to see him who surprised him like that.