Cluelessly Lost - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Stronger?

Leaves came swirling down from a tree, on top of a tree branch Train was leaning against the tree-trunk. It's been only a day since the incident at the sake party. He was polishing Hades and seemed lost in thought.

"Ricardo... Are you going to come out, or are you still going to hide?"

Ricardo laughed, but didn't reveal himself. "Dahahahaha! Not bad, not many are able to notice me when I'm hiding, after all... I was an assassin, long ago."

Train looked up at his smiling face. "That makes two of us then, so tell me... What are you doing here? Spying on me again?"

Ricardo only kept smiling. "Not at all, my dear Train… Spying isn't the right word for what I'm doing. I'm more... Keeping an eye on you, so you won’t get hurt." Ricardo winked. "

Go home, I don't need a babysitter." Train put away Hades and jumped off the tree branch to the ground.

"Dahahahaha! I never said you needed one. I'm keeping an eye on you for many reasons; perhaps I am a bit curious about you." Ricardo appeared in front of him with the same smile he always has.

"Why would you be curious?"

Ricardo laughed again. "Dahahahaha! Why wouldn't one be curious about someone who deserted love and hope, yet still keeps going on, determined and with a will equal to that of a mighty beast?"

Train shrugged. "What's your point?"

"My point is very simple... I want you to join the Vizards."

Train shook his head. "Why would I do something like that?"

"The Vizards is the oldest organization and probably the strongest. However, we need people like you, people with the will to move on even if it means that they'll have to cast away their lifes to achieve their goals, going on endlessly until death frees you from your desperate will to stay alive."

Train folded his arms and looked at Ricardo. "That's a reason for you to recruit me, not a reason for me to join you. Besides, I have not the slightest interest to go to an academy where they try to teach me how to fight."

"A reason for you to join is very simple, yet very appealing, to become stronger than you have ever imagined."

Train rolled his eyes. "Like I said... I am not interested."

Ricardo smiled. "I'll make you my apprentice, with that you can bypass the requirement to have to go to the academy."

Train hesitated, but recovered in an instant. "I’m still not interested."

"How can I persuade you then?" Ricardo’s lip curled when he heard the split-second hesitation.

Train grinned and his eyes turned red. "Fight me and I will join you if you defeat me."

Ricardo tucked his hair behind his ears. "I'd rather not fight, isn't there any other way?"

"What, are you afraid?" Train pulled out Hades and aimed it at Ricardo.

"It's not that... It's just that I'm quite tired, I think I drank too much sake yesterday."

"Black Claw!" Train shouted.

Four strikes cut through the air, towards Ricardo. He side-stepped, however, a slash grazed his arm. Ricardo sighed as he saw his blood drip towards the ground.

"It can't be helped, can it?"

Ricardo pulled out one of his blades. The purple-red blade shone brightly in the sun.

"Demon's Trophy... You've met him before haven't you, Train?"

Train nodded and grinned. "Black Claw!"

Another four slashes cut through the air towards Ricardo.

"Scream Havoc, Demon's Trophy!" Ricardo shouted, as soon as these words left his lips, a pure white aura started engulfing Ricardo.

The short-blade gained a shady color and black aura started evolving from it and flowing around the blade. The aura then started to surround Ricardo, like storm clouds that suddenly fill the heaven, the pure white aura that was engulfing Ricardo merged with the black aura.

The form of the blade changed into that of a big rectangular shield, somewhat looking like a large black demon-skull. The four slashes crashed into the shield, however, the shield was unscathed.

Dark particles were floating around a smiling Ricardo and his shield. 

"What's this?" Train looked at the shield with a surprised face.

"This is the shikai release of Demon's Trophy; this shield can either be used in a defensive way as well as in a offensive way." Ricardo winked.

"Offense? I'd love to-"

Before Train could complete his sentence, Ricardo appeared in front of him and slammed the shield against his face, sending Train flying backwards.

While Train was flying through the air, he quickly held Hades tightly and aimed at Ricardo's smiling face, and shot.

The bullet flew towards him, but Ricardo didn't try to dodge, he just grinned as his right eye turned blue and send blue ray towards the bullet. The ray went through the bullet and kept racing on towards Train without lowering its speed.

Train dodged it barely by shooting Hades towards the ground, which made Train go upwards.

"Well done dodging my cero! However, you won’t last long if you keep launching weak attacks like that." Ricardo smiled.

Train landed on the floor and grinned at Ricardo. "You seem so sure that you won't lose. Why do you think I have no way of winning?"

Ricardo tucked his hair behind his ears again, only to be blown away back due the particles flowing around him causing a wind. "Because I'm not even using one percent of my full power, and you can't even scratch me."

Train's face turned red of anger. "Stop mocking me!" Train shouted as he aimed at Ricardo.

"Black Claw Barrage!" Train shouted from the top of his lungs.

An endless amount of slashes started flying towards Ricardo; all of them were easily blocked by the shield. Train put Hades behind and shot, sending him flying towards Ricardo, at an extremely high speed, who was whirling his shield around him, forming something that looked like a ninja shuriken.

"Shishuriken! Do you think you can handle this one, Train?" Ricardo laughed as he threw the shuriken towards the approaching Train.

He reacted quickly and shot Hades at the ground, sending him upwards, above the shuriken. While the shuriken passed beneath him, Train continued shooting himself towards Ricardo, as soon as he was close enough, Train aimed a kick towards his face, which Ricardo easily blocked with the palm of his hand.

"That's it? Is that all you got? You’re disappointing me Train!" Ricardo grabbed his leg and threw him upwards. Ricardo appeared behind him and struck his knee against his spine as a follow-up.

"GAH!" Train screamed in pain.

"Your spine broke, you won't be able to move anymore. You lose, I win."

Train fell on the ground, still in pain, Ricardo landed next to him, smiling.

"I will never give up!" Still not accepting defeat, Train tried to get up; however, he could barely move.

"You won't be able to move... Give it up, Train. You're only going to make it worse for yourself. It’s over…”

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Train shouted as he stood up and aimed Hades at him, his breathing was abnormally heavy, his legs could barely hold the rest of his body and his eyes were teary from the pain.

Ricardo looked surprised. "You can still move?"

Train's eyes turned red. "Hades... Second form… Railgun!" Train bellowed.

Hades merged with his arm, completely covering it with metal, his arm becoming a weapon. Train's right arm completely turned into a cannon, the mark XIII was clearly bigger and was glowing on his upper arm. He twisted his arm a bit and then aimed the cannon hole towards Ricardo.

"Interesting... Is this your shikai?" Ricardo inquired in a surprised, yet excited tone.

Train was still breathing heavily and didn’t have the strength to ask him what a “shikai” is.

"Plasma cannon!" He shouted with his last breath.

A green liquid shot towards Ricardo. Ricardo barely dodged it by quickly somersaulting backwards. The green liquid landed on the ground in front of him, and the earth under it started melting, creating a huge deep hole.

"Very interesting!" Ricardo laughed.

"Plasma cannon!" Train bellowed again.

Another green liquid flew towards Ricardo, who dodged it easily by side-stepping.
“Railgun!” Train almost screamed.

A laser shot towards Ricardo, he couldn't dodge it fully and it grazed his other arm, burning off the flesh of his arm.

"That hurt!" Ricardo grabbed his left arm with his right hand, trying to make stop the blood from spilling. "I'll better end this before we hurt each other more."

Train could barely keep standing. "STOP UNDERESTIMATING ME!" He managed to bellow.

Ricardo smiled. "I'm not, your just not strong enough yet to beat me, and you let your guard down too much."

Train looked at Ricardo as he nodded behind him. Then suddenly Train realized that the shiruken still hadn't come back to Ricardo, he turned around to see it not so far away from him, racing towards him at an extremely high speed. He jumped in a last effort to dodge it, yet he was too late.

The shuriken was stuck to his red-colored back; blood flowing from the deep wound. Train fell down forward on the ground with his eyes open and face utterly shocked.

Ricardo sighed and pulled the shuriken out. "You’re quite the eccentric guy, aren't you? Barely going down after all those attacks." Ricardo smiled broadly.

"S-shut... up..." Train uttered while coughing up blood.

Ricardo looked surprised. "I thought you was unconscious."

Train laughed slowly; the pain was unbearable. "As if those weak attacks would hurt me, I barely felt them."

Ricardo laughed. "Dahahahaha! You really are eccentric. Now stay still and I'll heal you."

Ricardo walked towards Train and pulled out the Shishuriken stuck to his back.

"Arghh!" Train screamed.


The Shishuriken started to reform into a blade; back to its normal form. "Don't worry; this will only hurt a bit." He proceeded and stabbed Train with his blade into a random spot on his arm, Train didn’t make any noises and bore with it.

Reiatsu started flowing around Ricardo and through the blade stuck in Train. Slowly the wounds closed and Train could move again. Ricardo pulled out Demon's Throphy and sheated it again.

"I'll never accept this!" Train bellowed.

Ricardo smiled. "You don't have to, just join us. Join us and I'll make you stronger, I'll train you so you'll be able to achieve your goals."

Train hesitated again. "I want to defeat the top fighters."

Ricardo nodded. "I'll train you to surpass me... Do you accept?"

Train closed his eyes and nodded.

"Alright!" Ricardo laughed.

"However... I do not want to join the academy."

Ricardo nodded. "No problem, you don't even need it."

"So what now...?" Train stood up.

"You're my student from now on." Ricardo smiled broadly.

"You're not my teacher!" Train's eyes started to flash red.

"Fine... I'll be your guide. How does that sound? I'll guide you through your training."

Train nodded approvingly. "Much better."

"Good. Then shall we get going?"

Train looked up. "Where-to?"

Ricardo raised an eyebrow. "To the Vizard Castle, your new home, ofcourse. I need to assign you to a suit."

Train nodded as he scratched his head. "Will I really get stronger?" Train thought as he followed Ricardo to the Vizard Castle.