Tsumi's History

Long ago, a small group of Wizards and Witches broke away from their homes to travel away from the world. All of these mages, each a war veteran, or a skilled warrior, with only one goal in mind: To raise their children away from the violence, cruelty, and anguish that the endless wars of the world contained. To this end, this group of elite mages traveled deep into the wilderness, past where legends and rumors say to never venture. Eventually, they came to a location where one could not hear the suffering screams of those who chose to fight, and slowly built up a village to support their children. Of course, no village they could find had achieved the peace they longed for, so they instead chose to forge their own. This Village came to be known as "The Village of Peace".

Several generations later, these ideals had been forgotten, and replaced with the worshiping of a god of war. The children of the village were taught to slaughter anyone they did not trust, and did so without remorse. This “god” was actually a group of three ancient demons: Zo, the demon of Magic, Kyn, the demon of power, and Rei, the demon of Trickery. This group of demons was named “The dark trinity”. Each demon passed a single spell into the hands of the village of peace. These techniques became known as the “Blackheart” fighting style , as it was said that your heart had to be blacker than the darkest shadow to even think of studying these forbidden techniques. In fact, the Blackheart Techniques were so amazingly strong, that the use of a Blackheart technique took a third of one’s soul, as payment.

Emyli Buredo lay on a hospital bed, crying from the sheer agony of giving birth (which will NOT be described in detail).Medical personnel rushed to her side to see that she was ok, and had not been harmed by the birthing process. “It’s a boy, you say?” She said, between exasperated gasps. “Yes, ma’am. One very pale… The doctor put his ear to the newborn’s chest. “…suffocating child.”

The doctor then realized the severity of his statement, and called his assistants over, quickly using a few simple spells to clear the baby's airways.

Within a few seconds, the baby spat up the fluids that had lodged in its throat, and was handed to Emyli. "I shall name you……..Tsumi. You shall be known as Tsumi Buredo.” The doctor stared at her, eyes wide. "B-but that means SIN! Are you seriously willing to name your own child SIN?!” Emyli turned, and looked at the doctor with sad eyes. “Yes. He was my sin, my mistake. Should never have been. Won't surprise me at all if he gets himself killed, doing something reckless.” The doctor pulled his head assistant to the side. “Expect this one in again soon.... and order a watch on that baby.”

An overjoyed Emyli danced into the Buredo household, carrying what looked like a ball of cloth. “And guess what I brought?” she said. Tsumi walked up to his dancing mother, and looked straight up at her. “What did you bring home, mommy?” Emyli ignored him, and danced into the master bedroom. “It's a girl?” Tsumi’s step-father said, excitedly. Tsumi's mother had told him that his real father had to leave, for a very long time, and wouldn't be coming back within Tsumi's lifetime. “Yep! Now we’re a whole family. Me, you, and our daughter, Shinrai.” Emyli sang.
Tsumi was used to it, by now. Sometimes, It was almost as if he wasn’t there at all. Tsumi walked out of the house, and went exploring.

He came back to the house at about 1:00 AM, greeted by a simple, “Oh, hello.” from his mother, as she walked to her bedroom, totally oblivious to his late arrival. The next day, he thought of a plan. While washing the dishes, he threw a plate down, and stomped on it with all his might. “TSUMI! Why did you break this plate?” Emyli said, a mix of angry and indifferent. She seemed more disappointed at the loss of her plate, than at Tsumi's actions. “So you would know I'm here.” “Yes, yes. That was VERY naughty of you. Don’t do it again.”

The next day, he did the same thing, and was given the same reaction. [color=violet]“You broke another plate. We’re going to run out of those, you know”.

Tsumi repeated this day after day, until they finally ran out of plates. “Why did you break all the plates?” his mom said, as interested as ever. Tsumi did not respond with words, now was time for action. Tsumi did what he deemed necessary which, in this case, was delivering a punch to his mother’s face. Emyli was dumbfounded. Y-you just hit me! How DARE you!?” Emyli screamed. In response, Tsumi merely stared into her eyes, meeting them with his own empty pupils, before running out of the house, and staying there for three days.

When he came back, one of his eyes had turned an iridescent green, and he seemed much more solemn than before. He could be seen talking to himself, engaging in full conversations, and developing a vocabulary that was uncommon in those three times his age. His voice seemed to deepen one minute, only to be replaced by a happy-go-lucky child's the next.

Curious....

“Wake up, Tsumi!” a small, squeaky voice said, poking the cheek of a sleeping Tsumi. “Shinrai…” Tsumi’s mother, Emyli said. “You know that this month is his hibernation cycle…” said his dad, wryly. “Awww…LAST month was his hibernation cycle!” said Shinrai. “EVERY month is his hibernation cycle.” said Emyli, laughing. It was true, Tsumi loved sleeping. In fact, he slept so often, that many had stated he had managed to hibernate, such as an animal. “He’s awake! He’s awake!” shouted Shinrai, eager to feed her brother a breakfast she had personally prepared.

Tsumi rolled off his bed, and opened his eyes. Above him he saw the sun, in all its yellow glory. Except….he didn’t remember the sun being so flat. Tsumi then became fully coherent, and realized that this “Sun” was in fact an omelet falling towards his face. Tsumi reacted by opening his mouth, and catching the omelet between his teeth. Shinrai laughed, and said “Nice catch. Know what day it is?”

Tsumi thought for a moment, before saying “Well you made me breakfast, Mom knows my name, dad actually got out of the shop, for once …….is it worship day, already?” Emyli laughed, [color=violet]“No, silly. It’s your Graduation Day! We're going to have a mage in the family!” Tsumi yawned, “That explains why I’m up before lunch.” Everyone laughed, except Tsumi’s dad, who merely decided to kick him. “You're twelve now. That means that today is your manhood ceremony, which is gonna happen right after graduation! Get up, or we’ll just substitute you with a rock. I doubt many will tell the difference.” Tsumi got up, and ran out the door, nervous about the ceremony, and excited about the after party.




Tsumi stood in front of an altar, kneeling before the Village Elder, now an official Genin of the Village of Peace, getting ready to decide what his profession would be. He thought, allowing a tense silence to descend upon the crowd who watched. After what seemed like an eternity, he spoke. “I want to be a Guardian of the village.” He said.

The elder spoke “You are hereby accepted as a Guardian of-“ His words were cut short, as at that moment, a stranger had walked into town, and had stabbed a small child. As the child screamed, the stranger spoke over him, his voice booming across the village. “You have three days.” The stranger said, ominously. “Three days before I take what is mine. Any who flee will be killed, any who remain…..will be killed.... slowly.” after which, he turned, and walked away. The village elder, after a moment of stunned silence, sat down, and began to elaborate on this man’s words.

“Long ago, the village was attacked by a man, who carried only a small sword. The village was burnt to the ground, and only two children survived. A man tried to fight back, and was brushed aside like a flea. Those two children rebuilt the village, awaiting the stranger's next visit.” Tsumi looked at the ground in dismay. “So, what do we do about it?” he said. The village elder shrugged. “What CAN we do? Tsumi, you should go home. Enjoy the time with your family, while you still can.”

Tsumi stood up with determination in his eyes “I’ll be in the ancestor’s forest.” He said, before running off to the forest, that all were forbidden to enter, for good reason.

This Forest was inhabited by the lingering regret of every soul that passed through it. The chakra of those deceased was trapped by the forest, and was turned into a powerful curse. In many cases, people touched with these regrets would kill their families, before committing suicide. Not everything in this forest was evil, however. Some regrets were of not passing on knowledge, or the like. Now, most people couldn’t see the regrets, but, for those who could, regrets looked like large teardrops, containing the face of the one who created it. Tsumi looked for the face of a man whose regrets he had stumbled upon many times- an old blacksmith named Kurcet. Tsumi had seen so many of Kurcet’s regrets that, after looking into one, he could sometimes communicate with him. This time, he found a regret that seemed bigger than the others (the bigger a regret was, the more it had plagued that person, in life). This regret was about 16 feet tall and 12 feet wide. Tsumi stuck his head into the tear drop, and, when he took it out, he was shocked beyond belief. Tsumi watched Kurcet exchange his soul for a sword, which carried the hope of the world upon it. When Tsumi returned to the village, he hurried to tell the elder of his findings. He burst into the elder’s house, both eager and nervous, only to find the elder had taken his own life, in his pitiful fear of what lay ahead. Tsumi fell to his knees, and actually cried for what seemed like an eternity. Tsumi finally picked himself up, looking for the sun overhead to check the time. The sun was rising. “Only two days left” Tsumi said, before passing out on the floor.

When he next woke up, the sun was close to setting. Tsumi walked out of the elder’s house, and back into the forest of regret. “KURCET!” he shouted, repeatedly. “Where are you?!”
Eventually, Kurcet responded. “Child, what could you possibly need at a time like this? Go spend time with your family, while you still can.” Tsumi simply replied “Where’s the sword you made for that warrior?” Kurcet looked Tsumi in the eye, and said “That sword was meant for killing the stranger.” To which Tsumi replied “I know. That’s why I want it.” Kurcet was taken aback. “You can’t kill him! He’s invincible!” Tsumi smiled, not in a happy way, but in a vampire way. “No, it’s not that he was too strong, it’s that the LAST man to hold that sword was a bit overconfident, and paid the price. I won’t fail, I swear.”
Kurcet sighed. “Very well. It’s in the chamber of the Dark Trinity. If you can survive whatever they have in store, I’m sure you’ll come out just fine. The chamber is behind the elder’s house.”

Without another word, Tsumi turned, and ran as fast as his legs would carry him, into the chamber of the Dark Trinity.

Inside, there were voices everywhere, as if the whole world was speaking at once, all trying to call for help. He continued deeper into the chamber, clutching his ears to dampen the horrific screams, until finding three Altars, inside a giant room. On the first altar, on the left side of the room, was engraved “Zo”, On the second altar, just ahead of where Tsumi was standing, was engraved “Kyn”, and on the final altar, on the right side of the room, was engraved “Rei”.

Tsumi spoke their names “Zo. Kyn. Rei. Please, if you can hear me, please help me.” The Dark trinity themselves acknowledged his plea. The three altars burst into flame, all at once. Instead of demons, however, he saw three humans, each in a black cloak, with their hoods up. They spoke “WHO DISTURBS OUR SLUMBE- Oh. It’s YOU.” Tsumi became confused. “I’ve never met any of you in my life. And why are your hoods up?” he said. Zo chuckled “He can see us now. Little Z has grown up.” Tsumi looked to see any sign of deception from her. He found none (though, with her hood up, he couldn't make a definitive decision). “M-My name is Tsumi. Not 'Z'.” he stuttered.

It was Kyn who spoke this time, “Defeat that stranger, and we will tell you more, little Z.” Tsumi nodded, before remembering what he had come to ask for. “I need the Stained Soul.” All three laughed. “The Stained Soul? The blade that the old blacksmith traded his soul for? Very well.” The ground began to shake, and a large rock, in the shape of a mirror, detached itself from the ground, and floated in front of Tsumi. “...But on one condition. Should you fail, your soul belongs to us.”

Tsumi, after but a moment's thought of the potential consequences, flattened his hand against the rock.


On the flat surface of the rock appeared the words “Let this deal be sworn with blood from both parties” The dark trinity now stood on the other side of the mirror-rock. They all put their hands on it, and a sharp, needle-shaped point cut into each person’s hand. Judging by the grimaces on the faces of the dark trinity, it had been a very long time since they had suffered pain. The mirror then shattered, leaving only the Stained Soul in its place. “Go, little hero.” Said Rei, fondly.

Tsumi spent most of the time before the stranger came back training, though he spent the last hour sleeping, though when the time came to fight, he was nowhere near rested. Tsumi met the stranger in front of the village, sword in hand. “You wish to fight? Very well, but loss of life will be your own accountability.” the stranger said. Tsumi smirked, “Especially yours.” The stranger drew his katana, which grew to twice its length, and a horizontal blade now sat between the middle and the top, forming a cross.

“Let’s see what the Stained Soul is capable of…” Tsumi mumbled.

Tsumi swung his blade in an overhead slash, which was blocked, and parried the stranger’s attack, barely managing to bring his blade up in time. The stranger smirked. “Looks like you’re not completely incompetent, like the last one.”

\Tsumi landed an uppercut, saying, “I’d like to think so.” The stranger, not to be defeated by such a young warrior, decided to step it up a notch. “Blackheart Technique: Metallic Embodiment!”

The stranger’s sword melded into a large, living dragon, which coiled around the entire village, and breathed a stream of flames into the center. Tsumi, in a focused rage, was now entirely determined to annihilate this stranger. Tsumi jumped right into the dragon’s mouth, and, as soon as he was sucked into the digestive tract, he began to destroy the dragon. Now, the dragon’s digestive tract moved anything inside it slowly backwards. Realizing this, Tsumi held his sword straight up, and began spinning head-over-heels, which, effectively, formed a sort of poor man’s buzz-saw. This, eventually, cut the dragon in half, due to it’s own digestive tract. Due to sheer momentum, however, Tsumi also managed to wound the stranger, having wound around the dragon, through the sword, and right at him.

The stranger laughed, which caused blood to splatter on the ground in large pools. "You haven't won yet. Not by a long shot!" It was obvious that he was fully immersed in, and loving, the feeling of battle.

Tsumi replied not with words, but by cutting off the stranger's right hand (as lucky as Tsumi was, the stranger was left-handed). The stranger was smiling, now. He trembled, in what seemed to be pure hatred, combined with absolute bliss. His eyes drifted to the Birthmark on Tsumi's chest. "So, it's true. Z has returned."

Rather than grace his baiting with continued banter, Tsumi merely ran his blade through the stranger's stomach. "I don't know why people call me that, but i do know one thing: I win." he said, before ripping the blade straight upwards, effectively cutting the stranger in half.

Not bothering to rest, Tsumi ran into the burning village, determined to save anyone and everyone he could find. Everyone he found, however, had already abandoned themselves to the flames. He searched and searched, before one person, the only one so far still coherent, told him that his family had taken refuge in the forest of Ancestors. Tsumi, now afraid for the lives of his family, ran into the forest.

Dodging regrets here and there, he called for his family. "SHINRAI! MOM! DAD!" he shouted.

"Tsumi...." said Shinrai, from behind him, sounding more like a zombie, and less like his sister. "Tsumi..." Said his mom, also talking slowly and deliberately. "Tsumi...." Said Tsumi's dad, also slowly (not too different from the way he talked, actually...). He turned, and saw each one holding a kunai in each hand, and walking toward him, slowly and ominously.

Tsumi knew what was happening- his family had attempted to flee from the village, and had been affected by the Regrets in the forest.

Emyli threw her kunai directly at Tsumi's head, before rushing at him, hands in a position to choke. Tsumi's reaction was automatic- he didn't react as fast as his hands did. He looked down, and saw his sword through the heart of his mother. He pulled out the sword, an expression of shock on his face, though his mother continued to rush at him. He had a sudden realization: This was not his family, not anymore. His arms shook, as he lifted his sword up, and began to, limb-by-limb, completely dismember his family.


Later, back in the Blackheart's cave...

Tsumi returned the Stained Soul to the Blackhearts, stabbing it into the blood-seal stone. “Why did you call me Z? That’s not my name.” said Tsumi, to which Kyn replied “Not in this life. Let me tell you a little story. In a different universe, you were regarded as a hero. That hero’s name was Z; however, that hero was ALSO a man reborn. The very original went by the name of Project Z. Project Z’s soul was cut into 26 pieces, with each piece being put into a separate being. Each carrier of these fractured souls was supposed to develop their skills as much as they could, and then, once they had reached their full potential, their portion of the soul was put into a super powerful being, known as CHAOS. The rest of that story, however, is for another time. The SECOND Z created the Blackheart fighting style, and, as his final act of heroism, used all three to save the girl he loved. However, during his dying minutes, he found out a horrible truth: Project Z’s soul was doom to continually reincarnate, all the while doomed to repeatedly fail.

Anyway, Z created us so that the Blackheart Techniques would not be misused, but he himself had to abide by the rules. We, as thanks for bringing us into existence, put him back together, moved him to a different universe, and renamed him Tsumi. You are Tsumi, the sin who will break the chain of failure. The birthmark on your chest is not coincidence. That kind of mark usually ends up as a scar, unless it happened on a large scale, or more than once. Now, BOTH of those instances happened to you, and thus, your Z-shaped birthmark was created.” Tsumi looked surprised. “That's.... a lot to take in. Anyway, thanks for everything. I had better be going…” he said.

“Well done child, come back if you need any help. Oh, and by the way...don’t come back.”

They disappeared, leaving Tsumi to wander away from the Village of Peace, eventually finding his way back to civilization, and joining up with the Lamia Scale guild.