Chapter 12: The Technique of Speed: Lightning Stride.

  Taiyo put his head down on the table in front of him, completely tuning out the squad five members that were hurriedly attending to him.

  “Young master… Are we being a bother to you? Would you like us to leave?” one of the butlers asked as he gently shook Taiyo’s shoulder.

  “Ugh, get off my case, man. This entire place is insane.” His raging headache didn’t help his mood and his injuries slowly healed yet he just couldn’t stand the never ending torrent of pain that constantly affected him.

  “Oh, ignore him, he’s always like that,” Lyra said as she and Kendall approached.

  “I don’t think he can mentally handle an onslaught of kindness yet,” Kendall laughed.

  A blue haired maid stifled a laugh as she hid her face. Another maid flicked her in the forehead as she gave her a serious look.

  “Oi Tai, you have a guest, remember? We’re going to be taught lightning stride per Captain Takeoshi’s request,” Lyra said.

  “More like threatened,” Taiyo replied. “The guy’s a lunatic. He would’ve cut that girl down if it wasn’t for that doctor captain.”

  “The name’s Aria Ketta, Captain of squad four and the nurse of lightning. My lightning stride is something many would wish for. Well many except Takara, that girl’s a monster,” Aria said as she appeared next to Taiyo. Next to her, May Ashley stood. May was a short girl with short brown hair. Appearance wise, she looked like a pretty young Romanian lady. But, her main, dominant feature, was her naturally vibrant pink eyes that shone in the light.

  Taiyo looked up to see the nurse captain standing next to him. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, taking in his surroundings for the first time as he was lost in thought.

  “What are you doing back here? Weren’t you supposed to be trailing Takeoshi?” Taiyo asked.

  “Oh him? He got annoyed and ended up coming back here on his own. I think he’s in the captain’s quarters right now,” Aria said.

  “The captain’s quarters? What’s that?” Kendall asked.

  “It’s basically where all of the captain’s sleep and live together,” she said.

  “That seems… Unsafe…” Lyra said, embarrassed.

  “Don’t worry honey, we have Takara put up barriers during the night,” Aria smiled.

  “Excuse me Captain Aria, but I would like to teach the young master and his companions now,” May said.

  “Right right. You’re just as impatient as your captain,” Aria laughed. “You squad five members are dismissed now. Go help your captain with cooking.”

  The members of squad five bowed and proceeded to leave towards the kitchen. One of the maids passed May a note and whispered in her ear. A look of surprise lit up on her face before she quickly composed herself and nodded. May opened the note and smiled before sliding it into her pocket.

  “Every night, I will have some members from my squad four attend to your wounds. They are all very skilled in medical practices so it will be the least intrusive process. Some visits will be during waking hours, some can occur while you sleep. Don’t fret, you’ll be fine!” Aria smiled before lightning striding away, seemingly disappearing in an instant.

  May looked over at Lyra and grabbed her hand. She then looked down at Taiyo and put her other hand on his shoulder.

  “What are you doing?” Lyra asked.

  “Please grab your companions hand. I’ll have to carry all of you to our training grounds,” May said.

  Lyra held Kendall’s hand as May strengthened her grip on Taiyo’s shoulder. Taiyo looked annoyed at her but in a split-second, his breath was stolen from him. The sudden rush of wind as he seemed to travel through the room at a high speed. He looked over to see May in a complete state of focus as she elegantly glided through the room towards a door. At their speed, crashing was inevitable but she opened and closed the door so quickly to where it looked like she went straight through it.

  Inside the massive open space, Aria already stood there holding her giant scalpel. The room itself was still old and rotting yet giant pillars and beams curved upwards forming the room in a dome shape. Many different platforms stuck out randomly from the wall as many mafia members were already in the room moving faster than the human eye could follow.

  “Let me get started with a short explanation on the lightning stride,” May said as she leaned against the wall. “The lightning stride is a movement technique which allows the user to move faster than the human eye is able to comprehend. The user, who starts at point A, is able to use fast, precise, and effective footwork to get to their destination, point B, in the least amount of steps. To an outsider, the user of lightning stride will momentarily disappear from their sight and will reappear somewhere else. Your presence, your ability to be noticed, will also disappear. Take note that this technique is not limited to only Chikarai but saying that, normal humans will have to work a lot harder. Even then, a normal human has physical limitations to where you can only increase your movement speed.”

  Taiyo looked around the room and sighed. He scratched his head as he tried to think about the best way to learn this move in the least amount of time.

  “Master Vitale, there is no way to rush through this process. I promise I will do my best to teach you but you must put in the effort for all of our sakes,” May said, reading Taiyo as easily as a book.

  “She’s right young master. You have to surpass even Captain Takara and I in the Lightning stride so you can lead us,”Aria said sweetly.

  “If I have to surpass everyone, why is a fourth seat teaching me instead of a Captain?” Taiyo asked.

  “Tai! That’s really rude. Watch what you say,” Lyra said. “Please excuse him. He apparently hasn’t been taught any manners yet.”

  “It’s alright. As hurtful as they may be, I understand his concerns. I know it looked like Captain Takeoshi chose at random but he’s known for his split-second calculations and I have always looked up to him in secret. It’s an honor for him to recognize me and choose me based on my abilities in an instant. The way I see him as an unapproachable father figure.”

  “Seems like a pretty cold father to have. And you looked genuinely afraid of him,” Taiyo said. “Seems like a bad relationship to have but what do I know?”

  “Look I'm sorry sir but I’m not going to go into detail on my personal life or my relationships. I don’t think my master needs to know everything about me,” May said. “But I would never disobey you so if you must snoop, I will tell you anything.”

  “I don’t want to know about your personal life and I don’t care about it. If you’re so great and at captain level why are you only in the fourth seat?”

  “Easy there children. We’re a mafia family. You two are siblings here, at least until the young master becomes strong enough to lead and become the father of the clan,” Aria said as she pushed the two away. “May is only the fourth seat and not a captain of her own squad because her fighting skills aren’t completely up there yet. While her speed is captain level, her Vice-Captain is simply stronger. The third seat of squad three is May’s little brother who is one of the Four-Horsemen. Well technically he’s an unofficial member because he isn’t a Vice-Captain.”

  “People call him the Phantom Fifth Horse-Man. Our Vice-Captain is an official member of the Four-Horsemen so my little brother can’t move up.” May said. “I’m just fast. The three above me are both fast and strong.”

  “You seem strong enough. I trust you.” Kendall said while stretching.

  May smiled and did a quick stretch. “Let's start with the best exercise to learn it. I want you three to take these flags from me, Captain Aria, Captain Takara. I’ll hold three red ones and they’ll both hold a singular gold one. While the young master’s friends will only take one red one from me each, the young master himself has to take one from me, and the one from the Captain.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Aren’t you going to teach us how to do the technique?” Lyra asked.

  “Nope. Figure it out yourself. Sure there are some tips and strategies I could give you but every single captain learned it in their own unique way.”

  “What a pain,” Taiyo rolled his eyes.

  “Come on man! It’ll be fun!” Kendall said. He ran towards May and tried to snatch the flag. She sidestepped him, not even using the lightning stride, and kicked him in the back, knocking him to the ground.

  “First test! Take control and force me to actually use the lightning stride,” she smiled. “I can tell you now that you’ll never be able to touch any of the Captains if you can’t catch me. So, let’s get started.”

  ‘Master Taiyo. I have an idea,’ Fiamma’s voice called out in Taiyo’s head.

  ‘And here comes the other nuisance,’ Taiyo thought back. Even though he was being rude, he couldn’t stop a smile from forming on his face.

  ‘Like you’re one to talk, Mr. Pyromaniac. Now listen up. We’re gonna end this quickly and get to dinner. Launch fire from your feet as a boost. That technique is fast on its own. We don’t need lightning, we’re fire Tai,’ Fiamma said.

  ‘Okay. If it gets this over with quickly I have no complaints,’ Taiyo said. ‘I’m glad you’re okay by the way… You had me worried.’

  ‘Save that for later,’ a tinge of happiness in her voice. ‘Let’s do it, loser.’

  Taiyo smirked and grabbed his biceps. He opened his hand wide and aimed it at the ground.

  “May. Watch out for this move. Even though I was only with Takeoshi for a bit, I had the time to develop three new moves. I’m going to use one of them here. You’ve already seen my Commandment, but the other two are still hidden. It’s still a bit shaky so if you get hurt it isn’t my fault,” Taiyo said as his arm started to heat up.

  “What is that idiot going to do now?” Lyra asked as waves of heat spread throughout the room.

  “Oooh. This looks like it’s going to be fun! Go for it, bro!” Kendall cheered.

  “Take over from here, dummy. If you don’t, I might hurt myself,” Taiyo smirked.

  “I don’t see how that’s my problem but sure. I know you’d be helpless without me,” Fiamma said, her voice now audible by all.

  Fiamma’s slender form rose from Taiyo’s body. She looked like a goddess the way she emitted an eerie white light. Her apathetic face was apparent as she silently bent down and wrapped her hands around Taiyo’s.

  “How much are we using?” she whispered gently.

  “All of it, idiot,” Taiyo rolled his eyes.

  “Wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said with a sly smile.

  “Holy Fire,” Taiyo started. “Python,” Fiamma finished.

  Two twin white snakes spiraled from both of their arms. Their obsidian gem-like eyes darted around the room as their crystal-like scales glistened. Their tongues of fire flicked into the air. The snakes darted towards May as they slowly expanded. They bit onto her legs and exploded, fire enveloping her completely.

  As the smoke from the explosion dispersed, May stood unharmed with a drawn shield. In her hand, she held the heads of the two snakes. She smiled as she threw them to the ground and stepped on them.

  “This isn’t a fight, Young Master,” she said as her shield dispersed into a bright light. “I don’t plan on letting you in particular leave until you catch me.”

  “Tch. Then you better be prepared to be here for hours then.”

  “I am.”

  ***

  The mafia base was alive and filled to the brim with hungry and chatting people. They all sat and ate together as squad five members walked about serving everyone. While they all dressed differently because of their different squads, it was easy to see they were all a family. All of the captains were back and were eating together silently at a rounded off table. The atmosphere the eleven captains had surrounding them was extremely tense. Even the cheerful Mash was silent as she poked at her food restlessly.

  Jeison smiled as he stood up, drawing the attention of the rest of the captains.

  “Ahh I’m full! Great meal again Mila! This table is killing me so I’m going to go now!” he sneered.

  “Sit down, snake,” Selene closed her eyes and sighed. “Can’t you read the room?”

  “P-Please calm down Selene! It’s fine,” Mila said.

  “Ah that’s the coldest you’ve been in a long time! I’m flattered,” Jeison smiled as he sat down.

  “I’ve always been cold. I’m an ice witch, remember?”

  “So what’s going on here? You guys look dead. Gasp! Don’t die on me yet! I have to be the one to kill you!”

  “Captain Jeison Beelzer. Please be serious,” Edward said sternly. “We need to talk as captains. Away from our squad members so we don’t worry them with private matters.”

  “Right right. It can’t be that bad! Hit me with your worst!” Jeison smiled.

  “With pleasure,” Drachen said through gritted teeth as he stood up.

  Takeoshi drew his rapier and used his gravity to force Drachen back into his seat. The captains looked at him surprised but didn’t question it.

  “Today’s topic of discussion is of the utmost importance,” Takara stood up from her chair and slammed her hands down on the table. “It is crucial that you all listen attentively.”

  “Easy there, Takara. Just calm down and tell us what’s going on,” Edward said.

  “My apologies, but this is serious! The Head Captain has sent a report back to HQ and what it says is really alarming,” she shouted.

  “Well don’t leave us hanging! Just tell us!” Caelum said.

  “Right. One of our Vice-Captains… was killed in action…”

  The other ten captains were taken aback and sat up in their seats immediately. The sly smile disappeared from Jeison’s face almost immediately. An expression of shock and anger taking its place.

  “I’ll kill them… Whoever did it is getting sent straight to hell…” Jeison said as his snake-like eyes glinted. For once, no one protested. In fact, it was as if the room got actively colder. All of the mana of the captains became physically tangible and visible for a moment, their magic power seeping through the room. All of their eyes glowed different colors, brimming with their respective magic power.

  “My fellow Captains… Please restrain yourself and look around you,” Takara said carefully, suppressing her own anger and magic.

  The captains looked around and saw that many of the tables through the large amphitheater-like cafe hall had gone silent and were looking anxiously at the captains. Obviously, they didn’t hear what important matter was being discussed at their far off table but the shift in the atmosphere was enough to shut everybody up.

  One by one the captain’s started to suppress their rage before Takara turned to everyone. “Please excuse us and continue your supper.”

  With that the noise slowly returned to the room. “As I was saying, we believe the Vice-Captain was severely tortured as the Head Captain found numerous half-cuts and bruises through their body.”

  Mila put her hand over her mouth as her eyes started to water. Aria gasped and could feel herself also holding back tears. Mash slumped down in her chair and covered her face. Only making small and quiet noises as she sat there. Selene and Caelum immediately looked towards each other with a grim look. It was the kind of reaction where close friends would just look at each other and silently exchange a thousand words. Rio stood up silently and walked away. The captains looked at him as he punched a hole through the solid concrete wall. Edward sighed and stared up at the ceiling.

  “I really didn’t need another reason to take up smoking again…” he whispered to himself.

  Drachen slammed his fist down onto the table and dug his claws deep into the wood. He silently swore under his breath.

  “Who was it,” Takeoshi said, bringing the attention to himself as he lit a cigarette and handed one and the lighter to Ed who hesitantly accepted it in defeat.

  “What…?” Mila asked quietly.

  “Who died? We need to know which squad is down a member so we can fill the spot,” he said.

  Mila stood up and walked over to Takeoshi. Tears were now fully streaming down her face. Her cheeks were bright red and she shook violently. Takeoshi sighed and knew what was about to happen. He slowly took out his cigarette and mashed it against the wall behind him. He looked up and met Mila’s gaze as she slapped him as hard as she could.

  Although she looked like a harmless maid, she was captain level for a reason. The side of Takeoshi’s cheek bruised instantly and blood started to drip down from his right nostril. He hadn’t moved from his spot but many could feel his indifferent glare from that position.

  Caelum pulled her arms behind her back and held her steady as she moved in to hit him again, reeling back her hand.

  “How can you be so heartless?! Do you not feel anything? One of our family just died and you don’t feel anything?!” she yelled.

  “Calm down, Mila. Breathe before you lose yourself,” he whispered.

  “Why should I?! He’s a monster!” she cried out.

  “Please look closer before you say anything. Captain Takeoshi is the angriest one here,” Caelum pleaded with her. The situation really did leave a bad taste in his mouth. It was a familiar feeling, the same one from eight years ago that he could steadily feel creeping back up on him.

  Mila looked back at Takeoshi and her eyes widened in shock. Upon closer inspection, she realized he had been increasing the effect gravity had on him, stopping him from moving and doing anything he’d regret. The very ground he stood on was dented in from the weight of gravity. She looked down at his leg and realized he was also stabbing himself in the foot with his rapier. The added gravity even pushed the blade deeper through his flesh and bones.All of this while his face stayed completely composed.

  “T-Takeoshi… I’m so sorry… I-”

  “Move on. It’s over already. Takara. Who died?” He said, masking the pain in his voice a lot less effectively.

  “Vice-Captain Korra Nguyen of squad eleven. She was the one and only death in this mission before the Head Captain sent all of the Vice-Captains back,” Takara said carefully.

  The chair under Takeoshi broke as he stood up against his own gravity. He ripped out his rapier from his foot. Takeoshi turned away quickly from the other captains and lightning strided away. Before he left, the captains could clearly see his enraged face.