A boy around the age of fifteen would be resting on the side of the lake, he skipped rocks across the water with eagerness. This past time was something he did often to forget the monotonous nature of teenage life. That, and as a son of one of the strongest men on the planet, Raiden Otizawa. The King of the number one ranked country on the eastern hemisphere of the world. He wore earrings on each earlobe and had a sharp jawline, his skin was almost perfect like his mothers. Due to her dominant genes and Ceri cells that inhabited his young body, which regressed his skin's aging by at least two times. His hair was blonde just like his mothers. His eyes were blue like his fathers when he was younger, he stood up revealing a 5'7 height as his short shadow casted over the water. His body was slim and lean with noticeable muscle. Unlike his grandfather who was a true warrior and was at least twice the size of the average person, maybe even three times as large. This life was something he didn't choose but was forced upon by his parents and he knew his duty as one of the heirs of the Otizawa Bloodline and one of the last Dragon Kin Ceri, however he was just happy to be away from all that responsibility for once and continued skipping rocks to his own little delight, hoping to be unbothered with the little time he had.
Minutes passed as Raiden's sword-play mentor had come down to the lake, seeing his young apprentice and son of his own master. He spoke to Raiden from behind him. "So you've been down here? Nobody knew where you disappeared off to, your parents were worried about you."
Raiden clicked his tongue at the voice of his master. "Tch! Of course you found me..." He continued skipping rocks, throwing a smooth rock, skipping it all the way across the expansive lake. "Why can't I just be left alone for ten minutes?"
Aladdin looked at Raiden before walking to his side and sitting down next to him. "Well... at the end of the day your role as one of the children of the Otizawa line and by extension the last continuation of the Ceri clan- you will always be riddled with some sort of responsibility. There's a lot of people in this world that would kill to be in your position even if it came with a high amount of responsibility. You are the future Raiden, whether you like it or not."
Raiden shook his head at his Mentor's words. "My father always told us that our path is our own... no matter what ties you had or don't think you have." He picked up another rock and skipped it across the lake at high speeds. "I'm not that special, at the end of the day I'm just going to be another Soldier."
Aladdin stood up and put his hand on Raiden's shoulder. "You are your own person... Raiden, whatever path you choose you will always be special to your parents and me." He pat his back and turned around. "I expect to see you at the training ground tomorrow, I'll give you this time off now but no more slacking. We have work to do."
Raiden shook his head and let out a sigh of annoyance. "Yeah Yeah... whatever, I'll see you tomorrow." He continued skipping rocks, looking down from the elevated pond to see the bustling city of the inner sanctum roaring with people and chatter.
A familiar presence showed themselves in the reflection of the water. She was a bit taller than Raiden, her blue eyes reflecting and glowing off of the lakes reflection. She looked down. She resembled her mother so much so that you would think that they were the same woman, which annoyed her rather frequently because her mother was extremely popular, and she would get question after question. Still, she looked down on him. "I see..so this is how you're passing your time?"
Raiden sighed before turning around once again to see Mamba, he just looked at her with the same emotionless expression he usually had on his face, his eyes glistened just like hers. "Well I gotta get some peace and quiet somehow. Everything is always loud and obnoxious up at the palace..." He turned and skipped another rock. "You ever just sit by a lake and skip rocks before?"
"Maybe when I was younger..those times have since passed for me. I'm to busy with the school council and other things of sorts right now..You know who and how my father is."
He turned back to face her once again, he blinked a couple times to her answer. "So... does that mean you can't have fun because of your father?" He asked her as if he himself wanted the answer to his own undying question. "..Because my father is in the same boat as yours but I can't stand all that attention and busy work."
"That's not what it means..but at the same time i'm responsible for a lot of people's well being , It's not about the attention or busy work..it's about making sure the people are happy and safe. If we stop then hundreds of thousands of lives will be lost in the mix...Either way...I don't think skipping rocks is exactly fun."
Raiden realized the weight of her actions and attentiveness. "Oh..." He stopped skipping rocks and pondered on what she said. "Then we should do something fun, don't you think?"
"We can. There's a few shops that I like..Maybe some sweets might get you out of that state of mind..That look on your face doesn't scream I want to be friends with you."
Raiden looked at her with a confused expression before agreeing. "Fine I guess if you want to go shopping, but that look on your face says I look just like my mom." He said so knowing he himself looked more like his mother then his father in a lot of ways.
"Hey at least I don't look depressed and empty. Maybe occasionally. I don't even want to go shopping. I just want to see you smile or something. It brings me down that my cousin looks empty inside and he's only fifteen. Plus I want sweets..I have to many clothes already." Mamba knew that she had to many clothes in her closet. To much jewelry, accessories, amenities that she had bought over the years.
He winced at her insult as if it hit him deeply, but then he thought about the sweets and how they would most likely cure his own boredom. "I never really shop but if you want to get sweets we can..." He stretched real quick before continuing. "Wait, what?...What do you mean?..You always buy clothes.."
"Well I want sweets..You don't have to do anything..You can stay here if you'd like.."
Raiden stopped for a second. "Well i've got nothing better to do until tomorrow, my master says I got until then to rest and I kind of want sweets too." His expression changed to that of curiosity instead of the blank expression he was used to wearing, as if the idea of a treat intrigued his mind. He thought about the times his mother used to get sweets for him and his brother when they were young children. "Wait I think I know a place! It's actually down the street and my mom used to take me there when I was younger. They give us good deals down there too!"
"Alright but they better not stiff me on the prices...I am an expert..So if they're expensive they better be good.."
Raiden nodded, speaking up for the shop owners. "Well they're good people, they've always been nice to me and my family. They're just trying to make a living like most of the people in this city. I used to be good friends with their daughter when I was younger but she moved away to that city Shibuya to be with her grandparents."
"Hm? Who do you speak of?" Mamba looked at him with a curious look. "I've never met them. I've been in and out of this city though..Perhaps that's why."
Raiden thought for a second before putting his finger up into the air. "Her name was Ryuku Natagami, they own Natagami's sweets and she went off to Shibuya to go learn from the academy over there since, I guess it's more traditional? I don't know... I've heard bad things about that Shibuya place so I always wonder if she was gonna be okay or not."
"Traditional in what sense? Shibuya is an electronic wasteland nowadays...Infected by wires and other things of the sort..It's also got a massive crime rate...but for what it's worth I think if you're looking to keep some kind of gang or criminal enterprise it's worth investing in a spot."
Raiden imagined the electronic wasteland that Shibuya might be, almost terrified of what might've happened to his friend. "I didn't think she was the type...unless she was going there for business for the shop...Do you think anyone could've infiltrated the capital walls like that?"
"Most likely. I wouldn't say security is sharp by any means.." She reached into her pocket pulling out her cellphone, starting to type on it. Her nails made a small clicking noise for every single letter she typed. "I can probably get in contact with the Shibuya's school city council to see if she's okay..that's the best I've got...I don't see what business you would have in Shibuya though..Unless you wanted to get robbed."
Raiden thought for a second and looked at Mamba quickly and sounded worried with his voice as he explained. "Mamba can we go to the sweets shop and investigate then?
This doesn't sit right with me.…"
"Sure..Let's see whats up.."
Raiden led the way with speed by his side heading down the hill that led to the inner sanctum streets below the high rise lake, waiting to uncover the mystery of what had happened to his friend.