The Will of Fire

50. Dorahatō

The fog revealed more Black Panthers. Sitting in the treetops, emerging from the bushes, and some even behind the siblings. The one that approached them was now in front of them, snarling and growling lowly.
"That damn old man! He got it wrong! We should've taken the right after all!" Tristin shouted.
"What do we do now? We have nothing to give them!" Luisa screamed.
"We run" Jared said. "It's apparent that we don't have a choice do we?"
"Jared, we can't outrun a pride of black panthers!" Luisa shrieked. "Look around, there's at least 20 of them. On ground and above!"
The panther began to walk closer and closer. It then started to circle them along with the other panthers.
We're being hunted...
Without another word, Jared threw a fireball outward that startled the panthers.
"Run now!" He shouted.
Tristin and Luisa ran alongside Jared, looking over their shoulders as the pride of panthers chased them, roaring wildly.
"Damn it! Why does this happen to us?! The Sea Snake was enough you know!" Tristin shouted.
Luisa was terrified, but she kept a good pace with her brothers. She noticed that the ones in the trees were on ground, except one. She screamed as one pounced on top of her from above.
"Luisa!" Jared shouted.
Jared went to execute Flame Breath and couldn't release the flames. He held his throat and coughed vigorously, falling to the ground.
"Jared, no!" Tristin shouted.
My throat! Its burning even more now! I can't even do a basic attack now...I've damaged myself using Great Flamethrower earlier! I can't stop coughing!
The panther snapped at Luisa while on top of her, allowing the others to begin to close in on her as she struggled to get free.
"You are not eating my sister!" Tristin shouted.
He quickly punched the ground, causing a ripple of spiked rock to go at the panthers. The panthers dodged with ease.
"What the hell? How could they have such reflexes? They aren't companion animals!" Tristin shouted.
Jared writhed in pain, holding his throat while rolling around on the ground. The panthers now rushed at Tristin as Luisa was still being pinned down by one. As they lunged at Tristin, he knocked them back one by one with punches and kicks. The panthers were relentless, bloodlust filled their eyes. Tristin became overwhelmed as they latched onto him with their fangs.
Luisa struggled to get this panther off of her. She looked over and saw her brothers in peril.
"Luisa..lose your fear. You're a Dorahatō. You're the student of Mai Inukazoku. You can do this!" She thought to herself.
"Get off of me!" Luisa shouted.
She quickly ignited her hand in a flame and thrusted her palm into the panther's face, knocking it off. The other panthers left Tristin and ran at Luisa. She quickly drew her katana sword and slashed every single panther with amazing reflexes to dodge their lunges and pounces. She soon had slaughtered about five Panthers before the rest began to cower.
"Come on! Come at me! I dare you!" She shouted.
The panthers ran off, leaving them all alone. Luisa exhaled and dropped to her knees.
"I did it..." She said to herself.
Tristin had minor bites and scratches on his arms, but he was fine.
"Luisa! Jared's not doing good!" He shouted.
Luisa quickly ran over to inspect her brother.
"Jared, can you talk? What's going on?" She asked.
Jared continued to cough vigorously, not being able to answer.
"Ever since he used Great Flamethrower, he's had that cough. Now he's holding his throat." Tristin said, sitting Jared up.
Jared continued to cough and speak in between words.
"Let's keep going. I'm...okay" he struggled.
Tristin picked Jared up and carried him on his back.
"You just relax. I'll get you around, okay?" Said Tristin.
Jared continued to cough a bit, but rested in his big brother's back.
I feel weak. Useless...what did I do to myself? Tristin has picked up a lot of slack for me and Luisa. He truly has grown.
The road soon turned to sand as the siblings continued walking. They were now standing on Kage Seashore. Tristin put Jared down carefully and asked him how he was feeling.
"Better." He answered gingerly.
"This is where I was supposed to build that boat made of rock. But I don't know if I have enough power energy. We'll have to do it on boards again. Besides, I kind of don't want to be on water after what we went through earlier." Said Tristin.
Luisa agreed, stating that Genma said there's even more Sea Snakes that swim the Kage Sea at this team. So the plan was to now hover through the air, slightly above water to stay low enough not to be spotted by other villagers. Tristin created three new boards of rock and they began their travel to find the mountains.
"Shouldn't be hard to find the mountains. There's not any others here." Said Tristin.
Jared rubbed his throat a bit, still affected. He had done more damage to himself just attempting to Flame Breath after using Great Flamethrower. The fog and the night sky was a terrible combination for these three. They couldn't see a thing just about until Luisa spotted a big structure coming up.
"That's got to be it. The mountain cliffs where the guy from our village said he saw her. The woman from our clan." Tristin responded.
The three made their way over to the mountains and landed on them carefully. They looked over the cliffs at the dark sea. One slip and they could fall in. They all looked around, but no sign of another person up there with them.
"How hard could it be to find a person on a mountain?" Luisa asked.
Jared felt weird. Uneasy to be exact. He peeked over his shoulder. There was someone standing directly behind him. He shouted and moved quickly out of the way. This scared Tristin and Luisa, but Luisa had slipped and fallen off the cliff.
"Luisa!" Tristin shouted.
Luisa held on to the edge of the cliff, kicking and screaming.
"Pull me up! Help me!" She screamed.
Thunder and lightning cracked the sky as rain began to fall hard from the sky. As if it wasn't enough going wrong, a Sea Snake emerged from the water under Luisa, and it's eyes were dead set on her.
"Jared! Tristin! Do something! It's another Sea Snake, and I'm losing my grip!" She shouted.
The Sea Snake flicked it's tongue and got in position to lunge at Luisa. Luisa let out an ear piercing scream. Jared and Tristin ran over to grab their sister, but as they pulled, their feet began to slip on the ground beneath them due to the rain.
The more we pull, the more we begin to slip. We're going to end up falling in with her! This snake is going to have us all! Damn this fog and rain!
Suddenly, the sea snake hissed loudly in pain. It was being injured. Jared saw sparks of flame hit the sea snake in different spots on its body. When they hit it, they stayed ignited on him. The person that was standing behind Jared was responsible for this. They then did something fast with their hands and became shrouded in flames. Flames literally surrounded this person's body as they went flying at the sea snake. Upon impact, it sounded like a bomb went off. The sea snake now had a gaping hole in its head. With no hesitation, it dropped under the water. There was no doubt that this person had just slayn it.
"Back up!" They shouted to Tristin and Jared.
They hesitated, still trying to pull Luisa up.
"I said back up! You're going to end up falling in! Let me get her!" Shouted the person.
Jared and Tristin looked at each other confusingly, but did what they were told. In one swift movement, this person had grabbed Luisa successfully. Luisa was now back on top of the cliffs of the mountain. She breathed heavily and huddled next to her brothers.
"Alright! Where are you?!" Tristin called out.
The mystery person revealed who they were once walking closer to them and out of the fog. It was a woman. She had flowing white hair, featureless light golden eyes that looked more like orbs, and a scarlet red line on each cheek of her face. It seemed to be more of a facial marking. She also wore scarlet eyeliner. Her clothes were black and red, and she wore a tuft of white fur that draped her shoulders.
This has to be her...our clan member
"Who are you brats? What are you doing here on the Doragon Mountains?" She asked.
Luisa and Jared stared in amazement.
"She's beautiful..." Luisa said out loud.
The woman rolled her eyes and flipped her hair.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now. You have no business being here on property that doesn't concern you." She said sternly.
"Uh..yes..sorry. We cam all the way from Hakuchō Village to find....you." Tristin said.
"You've gotta be the woman that man was talking about back in our village." Said Luisa.
The woman became intrigued, though the look of discontent never left her face.
"You three are from Hakuchō huh? Yet, you've come looking for me? You should turn around and leave now while I still feel generous enough not to kill you all" she said. "No one was to ever know of my whereabouts. Ever!"
"We're sorry! You don't have to be such a jerk! We came a this way to find out clan member, shouldn't that be good enough reason to at least respect us!" Jared shouted.
"Jared, chill!" Tristin shouted back.
The woman's face now changed to surprise.
"Clan member? Did I just hear you correctly?" She asked.
Jared scowled at her.
"That's right. We're Jared, Tristin, and Luisa Dorahatō." He responded.
The woman became immediately tense. She walked up to them, making them all tense. She looked them directly in their eyes, staring intetly.
"Impossible..." She said. "By the heavens...I never thought there could be more of us out there that we didn't know of. Please. Forgive me. We are family."
It was all confirmed to the siblings now that they had done the unthinkable. They've found a living member of their said to be extinct clan. They all smiled at each other, causing the woman to smile a bit.
"So it's true? You're a living Dorahatō?" Tristin asked.
"I am" she responded. "My name is Suzaku. Suzaku Dorahatō. I am your relative by blood. I can tell you aren't lying to me. A Dorahatō knows by looking each other in the eyes. This is magnificent. Please, you all must come with me."
Without questioning a thing, the siblings followed Suzaku. She safely led them to a cave. It was dark but it was a huge difference from the fog and rain.
"I know you all are afraid. Don't be. You can come out. They're our family." Suzaku announced.
Jared, Tristin, and Luisa looked around and saw many glowing golden eyes similar to Suzuaku's all around them.
"You guys seeing this?" Jared asked.
Soon, people that looked like Suzaku emerged from the darkness. All were white haired with scarlet face markings and simar clothing.
"Suzaku? Did I hear you correctly? You said these people are our family?" Asked a man.
"How can that be? Look at them?" Asked a woman.
So many of them surrounded the siblings, examining them. The siblings looked around, overwhelmed with so many emotions.
"These three are our family. They are of the Dorahatō lineage." Suzaku said with a smile.
"Let me look at them." Said a wary voice.
An old woman walked up to them. She had white hair tied into a topknot and scarlet face markings and eyeliner. She had scarlet eardrops hanging from her ears, as well as a tribal nose piercing of some sort. She looked Jared, Tristin, and Luisa in their eyes. Her look of angst quickly turned to joy as she bared a smile.
"They are one of us!" She cheered.
She hugged them all close to her, praising the heavens for them. The other clan members rejoiced with her.
Woah, this is amazing. There's so many of them...we found our family.
"We had no clue there were more of you out there." The old woman said.
"We didn't know about you all either. We were told our clan were wiped out...dead." Said Jared.
"That's what we wanted everyone to think" the old woman replied. "We once lived amongst everyone in of Japan's six villages, Tora Village. That's where the Dorahatō Clan originates from. I am Kanako Dorahatō, leader of the clan. Please, refer to me as Chief Kanako." 
Leader of the clan? Similar to the Hano Clan. Just like Kisara's father Koshi is leader of the Hano Clan.
It was explained to them all that the Four Great Clans of Japan all traditionally have leaders. The Dorahatō Clan, The Hano Clan, The Shiryoku Clan, and The Tanaka Clan. Kanako explained to them that the Dorahatō Clan left the village after the events of the first war between China and Japan 50 years ago. She stated that she herself was young and in her 20s, and that her father was the chief at the time. When the first war happened, Emperor Tskune's father was the Emperor and he allowed The Dorahatō Clan's district to be attacked first.
"What? Why would late Emperor Tskune's father do such a thing?" Luisa asked.
"I heard Emperor Tskune was a great and honorable Emperor of Japan during his time. But his father wasn't" Kanako explained. "Emperor Tatsu was his name. He's the reason the Deathmatch Tournament even existed. Putting people together to fight until the death for the greed of fame, fortune, and following. That is the nothing but pure evil. Something the Dorahatō Clan didn't want to be involved. At the time of the very first Deathmatch Tournament, Emperor Tatsu wanted my son, Ichigo Dorahatō, to join in the tournament. Ichigo wasn't even of appropriate age, he was thirteen."
Jared, Tristin, and Luisa couldn't believe what they're hearing. From experience they knew Emperor Tskune was an amazing man. For his father, Emperor Tatsu, to be so creul and unyielding was hard to believe. It was clear Empress Teikuya inherited her father's will instead of her grandfather.
"Ichigo was a prodigy already at his young age, graduating from the academy one year early than normal. Its why Emperor Tatsu wanted him in the Deathmatch Tournament. And after graduating from the academy he was placed on a 4-man squad with warriors that share similar skill. That was a rule back then" Said Kanako. "Two male warriors, and two female warriors. I remember them vividly. The team consisted of Ichigo Dorahatō, Hoza Akamine, Arai Inara, and Kurenai Koizumi."
Hoza Akamine? That's Hanzo-sensei's father right? And Kurenai Koizumi has to obviously be related to Karui...could she be Karui's grandmother?
"So your son, Ichigo. He was a highly skilled warrior?" Tristin asked.
"One of the best at that time. One of the best Fire Type Pyromancers there was" Kanako continued. "His entire team was highly skilled. He and Hoza Akamine were the Fire Type Pyromancers of the squad, Kurenai Koizumi was the healer due to being a Water Type Medic, and Arai Inara reigned from the Inara Clan. The Inara Clan is not a main clan like the four I named earlier, but they were known for being highly skilled in Scroll Weaponry."
"Scroll Weaponry? What's that?" Jared asked.
"The proper term is Makimonobuki. It is where the user stores a numerous amount of weapons inside of a scrolls, unleashing them to bombard the opponent" Kanako said. "Those who use Makimonobuki are only ever from the Inara Clan, making them Weapon Types of the Scroll Class."
Kanako continued to explain the Emperor Tatsu initially wanted Hoza, Arai, and Kurenai in the tournament. But he much preferred Ichigo over the rest. Once Kanako and her father (The Chief at the time) declined for Ichigo to enter the tournament, Emperor Tatsu lost all regards to protect the Dorahatō Clan. So when the first war between Japan and China took place, he purposely didn't appoint guards to the Dorahatō District. Many of the Dorahatō Clan members were slaughtered that day, including Kanako's father. But many escaped without any of Japan knowing, hence the fact that the legend states that all of the Dorahatō Clan is dead. Kanako also stated that no one knew that Emperor Tatsu did this, so all of Japan really is clueless on how the Dorahatō Clan died off. The only ones knowledgeable of the truth is the elders in all of the villages in Japan, but they choose to not discuss it. Jared was enraged learning that his clan had been left for dead. Some died for no good reason at all. All because of Emperor Tatsu's greed.
Emperor Tskune would've never been as wicked as his father...Empress Teikuya would never do what her grandfather did! I'm so pissed off...my father could've known our family had it not been for that...me, Tristin, and Luisa could've known where we came from!
Jared, Tristin, and Luisa began to tell the clan about how they all entered the tournament, and how China invaded which led to third war between Japan and China. The Dorahatō Clan was pleased to hear how well they all did in the war, praising them continually. Jared began to cough excessively again.
"Sorry..I'm sorry, I don't mean..to be rude." Jared said, struggling between coughs.
"He's had this really bad cough ever since he did this high level attack called Great Flamethrower." Luisa said quickly.
"You already know how to use that power attack? That's impressive" said Kanako. "Here, drink this."
Kanako handed Jared a small gourd with liquid inside of it.
"Drink it now. It'll stop the coughing." Said Suzaku.
Jared drank the red liquid from the gourd, feeling it slowly pour into his mouth. It was a consistency that reminded him of molasses. The burning sensation in his throat had began to stop. His coughing stopped as well.
"Wow. That helped. Thank you." He said with a smile.
"That's Flame Throat Syrup. It was concocted by The Dorahatō Clan ourselves" said Suzaku. "We give this to the children after they burn their throats releasing a mouth based fire attack that was just a little too much for them to handle. You should really stick to what you can do and not what you struggle with."
"It took only three days for me to learn that, I thought I was good. I should've listened to Hanzo-sensei, he knew better. He said it would take a month of constant practice for me to master that without self harm." Jared responded.
"Who is this Hanzo-sensei you speak of?" Kanako asked.
"Well Hanzo is none other than Hanzo Akamine" said Luisa. "He's one of The Legendary Hakuchō Three, along with Natsu Shimura and Mai Inukazoku. Hanzo trained Jared, Natsu trained Tristin, while Mai-sensei trained me."
"Akamine" Kanako said with a surprised tone. "The Akamine Clan were always the only clan possessing fire type abilities that can keep up with our clan. My son teamed with Hoza Akamine as a child. I wonder if Hanzo is his son."
"What's this Legendary Hakuchō Three you mentioned?" Suzaku asked.
Wow. They really have been away for a while, huh?
"Let me explain" said Tristin. "Hanzo Akamine, Natsu Shimura, and Mai Inukazoku saved Japan from the wrath of Koga Inoichi twenty something years ago. Koga had threatened to destroy Hakuchō along with all other five villages just so he can rebuild them all and claim rule. He had to kill Emperor Tskune and Empress Kokoro at the time, but failed of course. Hanzo, Natsu, and Mai all banded together and took him down with no extra help. They almost died. All of them. But they were able to outsmart him, then banish him to The Subspace for violating The Bushido Accords of course. They became living legends in Japan. Hanzo with his fire abilities, Natsu with his earth abilities, and Mai with her incredible skill with the kodachi blades and companionship with her battle hound, Hana."
"This can't be" Kanako said with an uneasy tone. "The ancestors showed me this would happen and I negated them. Now what I fear will come to fruition."
"But Chief! You can't possibly be talking about-"
"Yes, that's what I'm referring to" Kanako said, cutting off the clan member. "Before you three arrived, the ancestors revealed to me that a specific warrior will come to us. We are to help that warrior, leading up to them being the new savior of Japan. I strongly believe that they warrior lies within one of you three."
Jared, Tristin, and Luisa all looked confused.
"Wait, what? What're you talking about?" Tristin asked.
"She's saying that the ancestors revealed to her that a new savior of Japan would be coming to us. All this time we expected only one, not three. So she's saying that it's one of you that is the chosen one." Said Suzaku.
"I know exactly which one it is" Kanako said walking up to the siblings. "It is you. Jared Dorahatō."
Jared became tense.
What is the old lady talking about? The chosen one and savior of Japan is me?
"I think there's some kind of mistake. There's no way that can be true. What's this ancestor stuff about anyway?" Luisa inquired.
"The ancestors warned us. We didn't listen. Please, Suzaku. You know where to take them." Kanako said, walking away.
"So the time has finally come. Yes, Chief Kanako. At once." Suzaku responded.
Suzaku signaled the siblings to follow her as the rest of the clan watched intently.
Just what the heck is going on here? Where is she taking us? I'm almost scared to ask seeing how serious they all just got. This ancestor crap is freaking me out. 
Suzaku had brought the siblings to a part of the cave a distance away from where they just were. She stood in front of a shadowed area of the cave.
"What you three are about to see...I need you all to be calm as possible. Make no sudden movements. And most importantly...don't run." She said.
The siblings looked at each other, becoming more tense and confused. Luisa stood in between her brothers, already grabbing their hands.
"I don't like this." She whispered to them.
"Shh. Just hush, Luisa. Me and Jared will protect you." Tristin responded.
How can Tristin be so sure? Don't speak for me! Aw man, my stomach's in knots...
Suzaku inhaled and exhaled deeply before speaking out loud.
"I come before you as Suzaku Dorahatō. Daughter of the late Danzo and Asuka Dorahatō. Granddaughter of the late Doramaru and Kayako Dorahatō. Grandniece of Chief Kanako Dorahatō. Allow me to state the true Dorahatō law..." Suzaku said. "The will of fire that once belonged to every predecessor before me is within me. The burning of my fire will scorch those who threaten my clan and the ones I hold precious to me. The virtue of your fire has led us for centuries and will teach the many after us. And I will always cherish the bonds of our fire shared together for an eternity. With that being said, please....reveal yourself!"
A deep groan echoed the cave. Movement was heard in front of Suzaku, causing the siblings to back up a bit in fear of what was emerging.
Just who the hell was Suzaku talking to? What the hell is going on?!
A single green eyes revealed itself from the shadows, sending a chill down the siblings' spines. Another eye appeared. A rush of wind ejected from the shadows as the sound of an exhale of breath echoed the cave. It was so mighty that it blew the clothes and hair of everyone. The siblings became even more full of fear. What could this be? What could be transpiring?
"Remember what I said you three" Suzaku said sternly as the mass in front of her grew larger. "No worked up responses. No sudden movements. And do. Not. Run."
Red scales. Green eyes. An earth rumbling growl. Revealing itself from within the shadows, stood a 35foot dragon. Peering down in the four Dorahatō members, freezing them in place....