Kenneth and Justine were becoming nervous as they walked to Dean Schiller’s office. When they came up to the secretary, she left her desk to inform the dean of the students’ arrival. Moments later, the secretary came back and said, “He’ll see you now.”
Justine and Ken held hands as they made their way to the door and opened it. To their surprise, not only were Dean Schiller and a Japanese translator in the room, but Eliza too!
In surprise, the students exclaimed, “Ms. Geneve!”
Eliza gave a smile, “Surprised?” She gestured them into the room as she beckoned, “Please, come inside. We would like to tell you something.”
At first, Ken and Justine were afraid that Eliza had snitched on them, but the smile on her face and her warm invitation eased the students a little.
Once they settled into the seats, the dean told them, “We have brought you here today because Ms. Geneve believes that you two are the perfect candidates for an important mission.”
Justine asked, “A mission?”
Schiller nodded, “Yes, but I’ll let Fukuzawa Yukichi explain what is happening.”
When Fukuzawa stepped forth, he said, “My homeland, Japan, is in great peril. Something of great evil has sprouted pointed black trees that have begun to spread through our villages. Many people have died because of them. Our wise men have foretold that a witch of great power would come and save us all. We have requested many sorceresses to come to Japan, but all have died.”
Eliza added, “So they came to me about it, but I had predicted that my daughters and I would perish in the forest before even coming close to the source of the evil. So I suggested to both Fukuzawa and Dean Schiller that you – Justine – would be the best witch for the job. Top student in my witchcraft course, one of the best in my Lavenza Defenders class, and I can’t think of anyone more qualified than you to take on this mission.”
Justine blushed at such compliments.
Dean Schiller then said, “Of course, this means she’ll need to have an escort with her. Ms. Geneve has suggested Kenneth for the job.”
Eliza told the dean, “Since she won’t want any other man to accompany her.”
Justine chuckled, “It’s true.”
Dean Schiller asked, “Then we are all in agreement?”
Ken said, “Yes, except for one thing. What about our upcoming finals?”
“I will notify your teachers and tell them that you have been given a great task that will require your absence for the rest of the semester. I’m sure they’ll let you off with the grades you’ve made at this point in their classes.”
Eliza reassured them, “They’ll know how important this is for the people of Japan. A whole nation needs you more than this very university. Now get out there and be the legends you are meant to be.”
Justine smiled, “Thanks. We need all the support we can get.”
It had taken Justine and Kenneth many days to travel to Japan. Despite the fact that it was such a long trip, they discovered many things that could help them with their research. One of the things they had discovered was in China. While staying in an inn, they saw a doctor administering acupuncture on a fellow patient. During their short time in China, Kenneth and Justine learned much about the art of acupuncture. Another thing they discovered shortly before they arrived in Japan was a common magical item called a star stone. They learned that it enabled the body to be in harmony at all times and even granted magical powers.
When they had reached their destination, they were shocked by the devastation and ruin the evil had caused. Many black trees had pierced through homes and their roots left none of the green that had coated the plains before.
Fukuzawa spoke for one of the despaired villagers, “The trees came three days ago. There has been nothing but grief and fear since.” When he talked to his people in his native dialect, expressions of joy replaced their sadness and excited chatter filled the air. He then turned to Justine and Kenneth and said, “Come. I will take you to the emperor.”
When they arrived at the Kyoto Imperial Palace, Ken and Justine were filled with awe as they took in the beautiful surroundings of the grounds. Finally, they arrived in the throne room and bowed before the emperor.
Fukuzawa and the emperor then spoke in their native language before the translator turned to Ken and Justine and said, “The emperor is grateful you have arrived. The trees are becoming very dangerous for the people of Japan and must be exterminated before –“
He was cut off when a guard ran into the throne room, shouting anxiously in Japanese. Suddenly, a black tree sprouted from where the guard had been and an anguished cry filled the air for only a few seconds. When a crack started snaking towards the four people in the throne room, Fukuzawa said urgently in two languages, “Kiretsu kara nigemasu! Get away from the crack!”
Just as the emperor, Ken, Justine, and Fukuzawa ran out of the throne room, more black trees sprouted abruptly along the crack. The crisis stopped shortly after a tree split the throne in half.
By now, Justine and Kenneth understood the magnitude of the situation. They could not turn their backs on Japan now. Even with their very lives at stake, they had to muster up the strength to complete the mission and destroy the abomination once and for all. At the request of the emperor, the two of them were given custom-made armor to wear for when they would venture into the forest of evil trees.
Just before they were ready to go, a monk came up to them with a blue container and spoke in Japanese. Fukuzawa grabbed the item and said to Kenneth and Justine, “This elixir is created for you to extinguish the devilry that plagues us all.” He said as he gave them the elixir, “Please save Japan and the rest of the world.”
Justine smiled, “You can count on us.”
An hour later, Justine and Kenneth rode out with the army. Ken was sitting behind his lover on their horse as they led the troops into the forest. The trampling of hooves was the only thing that could be heard in the desolate woods. They were in the forest for only a minute when –
“YAAAAGGGHH!”
The shout that followed a soldier’s disappearance gave Ken and Justine alarm. They knew that a tree had gotten to him and left his horse still trotting on. Even though fear gradually filled their hearts, they and the troops kept going. Soon, more screams and sounds of ruptures followed until Justine and Kenneth were the only ones in the forest. When their horse slowed to a stop, they could sense the eerie silence that accompanied the wind blowing and the leaves rustling. Suddenly, cracks snaked towards them.
Kenneth cried, “Get away from the cracks!”
Justine urged the horse to run and they galloped away from the growing cracks. Soon, they stopped and gasped at the sight before them. It was a huge, bubbling tar pit with large, jagged cracks branching from it.
The witch told Ken, “I really don’t like the looks of this.”
Ken said as he dismounted, “We’re lucky we made it here at all.”
Justine sighed, “The others weren’t.”
He said as he grabbed the container, “Come on. Let’s get rid of this thing once and for all.”
Just as Justine dismounted, cracks appeared from the edge of the tar pit. She put her arm across her lover to protect him as she cried, “Ken!”
Kenneth told Justine, “We have to be quick about it.”
Ken had been studying the Japanese language to perform the spell, so when Justine put the container on the ground, he read from the scroll Fukuzawa gave him. As he kept reading, Justine opened the container and dipped the tip of an arrow in the elixir. She then aimed the arrow at the tar pit and held it for a while until Ken finished reading. When she angled the arrow towards the sun, she released it. The arrow flew up very high until the potion-covered tip caught on fire and then descended into the tar pit. After the arrow sank into the tar, a deep rumbling was heard. To Ken and Justine’s amazement, the black trees began to disappear into the tar pit.
Justine said with a growing smile on her face, “We did it, Kenneth! We did it!”
Ken chortled, “I can just see it now! ‘University Students Become Heroes’! Nice ring to it, huh?”
“To us!”
“To us!” They laughed as Ken spun her in the air until he set her down and said, “We’re making history!”
Suddenly, two small fires ignited in the pit. Seconds after, the earth shook violently.
Justine asked in fright, “What’s happening?!”
Ken answered, “I don’t know! Whether this is good or bad –“
Abruptly, a new black tree larger and taller than any before it shot up from the tar.
Justine said, “Yeah…I’d definitely say ‘bad’!”
The horse ran away in fright of the growing tree. The tree then slowed when its tip seemed to reach the sun. After a few tense moments of silence, its branches started to shape themselves into what appeared to be limbs.
Ken asked quietly, “Do you suppose it’s…Oh, no. Oh, no…”
The cracking stopped after the tree had shaped itself into a tall, black figure with two horns on each side of the head and a stinger-like appendage accompanying each pair. When the two fires appeared again, the figure turned itself towards the couple with its eyes closed. Justine and Kenneth drew in their breaths when they saw the green face, the curved canines bookending the teeth, and the red beard dangling from the chin.
Justine said, “I think it’s a male, judging by the beard.”
Ken asked, “How can you know for sure? It could have a feminine voice.”
At that moment, the demon opened his black-and-white eyes for the first time. He then stretched his limbs while yawning in a deep, masculine voice.
Justine smirked to her lover, “Feminine voice, you say?”
The couple just stood in silence while the demon blocked out the sun with gray clouds. After the figure tried out his voice, he began to open his hands.
Ken suggested, “Maybe we should talk to him nicely.” But as soon as the demon opened one hand to reveal pointed fingers like claws, Ken added in an intimidated tone, “Okay, forget nicely!”
The demon’s eyes then scanned the surroundings until they fell on Justine and Kenneth. In utter delight, he pointed at them and said, “Oh! You! Thank you!”
Justine protested, “Wait! You’ve got it all wrong! We were supposed to destroy you!”
“Oh?” He gave a hearty laugh before he explained, “But it was your poison arrow and your hocus-pocus that set me free.”
As the demon was laughing, Ken asked his lover, “What do we do now?”
Justine said as she formed a light raspberry-colored ball of magic between her hands, “I guess we do this the hard way.”
“Justine –“
Before Ken could stop her, Justine blasted a continual ray of magic at the demon. The sudden attack surprised the creature and it seemed like he was surrendering to the magic until he deflected it back to Justine. The force of the counterattack threw her back violently and she landed near the bags that had fallen off the horse.
The demon shouted in anger, “Fool! Nothing of this world can harm me…for I am Aku, the Shogun of Sorrow, the Deliverer of Darkness, your new master, and you will bow to me!”
While he was monologing, Justine grabbed a glass bottle out of the bag. She then stood up and said, “Oh, yeah? Let’s see you try to get out of this!”
Her hands then glowed light raspberry and a strong wind sucked Aku into the bottle. He shouted in surprise and fright, “What – What is happening?! Nooooo!”
Once Aku was in the glass bottle, Justine sealed the cap on tight. She taunted, “And you can’t ever get out of there.” With that, she threw the bottle back into the tar pit.
Ken said in amazement, “I can’t believe you did that.”
“Which part? When I used the ‘Genie in the Bottle’ spell on him or when I threw him back in the tar pit as a prisoner again?”
Ken shrugged, “Pretty much both.” He looked at the elixir container and picked it up. “So if this created life instead destroying it…”
The two then looked at each other in realization. Justine then asked with a smile spreading on her face, “Do you know what this means?”
Ken nodded, “Yep. We’ve just discovered the key to our experiment’s success.”