Just like the wind, Landon’s body vanished in thin air! "Dah!" Sen
staggered forward from the might of his punch. Landon reappeared with his
back to his opponents. He spun with the wooden sword outstretched and
drove the side across Sen’s back. "Aiiiyeeeee!!!" He fell flat on his face,
holding his back in pain. Landon’s footwork beat swiftly across the floor as
he traveled lightly towards Ren. Another quick swish sounded as the wood
beat against the Darkhorn’s stomach. Ren’s eyes shrank at the pain and he
grasped his gut, falling to one knee. "Are you okay, Mr. Birch?" Landon
helped Professor Birch up to his feet. Suddenly, the sound of clapping
echoed through the silent laboratory. Miru leaned against the threshold,
clapping his hands with a look of approval on his face. "Bravo, Landon, bravo;
I never would have guessed you were a boy of such strength and skill." "Don’t
patronize me!" Landon shot him a dangerous glance.  "Oh, I didn’t mean to
offend you. I was merely complimenting you on a job well done. If you so
wish, I’ll grab my thugs and leave your friends alone." Miru snapped his
fingers again. Immediately, Sen and Ren jumped to their feet and joined his
side obediently. "Yes, Master Miru" They echoed. Miru started to walk away when
he stopped to glance back, "But Landon, we will meet up again and I can’t
say it’ll be as easy-going as today." With that, he walked out calmly
with his hands in his pocket and his cronies behind him. Landon watched
them for a brief second before glancing around the lab. The overturned
shelf had set off a chain reaction of messes; the desk was toppled, papers
littered the ground, and chairs buckled over. Pencils and pens rolled onto the
shiny floor in a wild manner and several photographs were trashed. "I’m
sorry about the mess, Mr. Birch--" "That was amazing!" May suddenly
grasped Landon about his neck in a one-armed hug. Within the fraction of a
second, his eyes calmed back to their gentle sapphire color again. "I don’t
know how you did that, but that was incredible!" May started to dance
around with him.
        "That was incredible!" Professor Birch said, though his astonished
gaze hadn’t fully subsided yet. "That was amazing! I’ve never seen that
kind of mobility in anyone, let alone a seven year-old boy. Well, that’s
Himura’s son all right." He cleared his throat and snapped back to reality.
Landon and May lifted the chairs upright and traveled across the room,
picking up the stray papers. While May sorted the different folders, Landon
replaced the poke’balls on the shelf. Each time he touched one, he felt a
strange pang of anxiety shoot through his body. He imagined that it was the
feeling that Poke’mon trainers often got when they were about to release
their Poke’mon for battle. One day, he’d be one of those trainers entering
the heat of battle.
       
        There was a rapid whishing from Landon spinning the wooden sword in
his hand. He followed May down the sidewalk as they toured the rest of
Littleroot Town. Landon recognized the area he was in; the park was
constructed near his new house, so he had to pass it at some point. "Hey,
May, since we’re over in this area, do you want to stop by my house? I could
make us some cookies or something." Landon finally spoke up. "That sounds
tasty. I’m all up for cookies." May agreed without burden on her decision.
"We can take a shortcut through the park if that’s alright." "Sure, I can use
the use of a faster way home." Landon followed May to the dirt trail off to
the side of the sidewalk. Immediately, the trees of the park swallowed them
away from the buildings and streets. The loudness and business was replaced
by serenity and greenness. Landon rested the wooden sword on his shoulder
and put the other hand in his pocket. The silence and tenderness of the park
seemed to soothe the young samurai. His breathing became totally relaxed
and his body joined the harmony of the surroundings. "I think I can get use
to this place--it’s peaceful here." He thought to himself. "C’mon, Roberto,
stop it!" "Dah!" BANG!! Landon crashed to the ground anime style. So much
for the silence and peace thought. "Landon, are you okay?" May blinked,
sweating anime style. "Roberto, I’m serious! Shoura, call your boyfriend off
of me!" The voice sounded again. Landon rubbed his head, "Is someone in
trouble or something?" "I’m not sure. It sounds like it, though. If you want
to, we can check it out or something." May said. Landon nodded and took the
lead down the trail. The voices got louder the deeper they traveled into the
park. They zoomed pass benches and lamppost so swiftly, that they looked
like nothing but blurs of colors.
        "Come off it!" The voice became closer. May and Landon pushed
through the thick bushes into a clearing. A boy with curly blond hair
clenched his fists threateningly. His blue eyes narrowed with the angry
expression on his face. On the sidelines were three other kids, about equal
in Landon’s age. The one who was sitting atop the bench had short brown hair
and amber eyes. He was wearing a blue shirt that was a bit too big for him,
white shorts, and black shoes. The girl next to him, wearing a black blouse
and white pants, had long black hair and green eyes. She blew up a pink
bubble from the gum she was chewing deftly, letting it float for a while.
"Don’t be too rough with him, Roberto." She said to the red-headed kid
facing the blonde. "Don’t worry about it, Shoura; I’ll make sure I’m real
gentle." The boy popped his knuckles. The blonde-haired kid took a step
back, but kept his fists clenched. His eyes trembled with silent anger.
"You’re not getting my only Poke’mon." He said. "But I only want to borrow it
for a second." Roberto ran his hand through his hair.
        "Grrr!!" Landon flexed his fists, "They’re bullying that kid." "Yeah,
those guys have a reputation for stuff like that." May told him without
glancing at him. She pointed to the one with the red hair. "That’s Roberto
Shizuma, the leader of the Dragon Fangs--a group of dragon-Poke’mon
lovers. The kid with the brown hair is Roberto’s cousin, Zeru Saggarah. He
doesn’t speak much, but is really strong. And that girl beside him is Shoura
Hernandez, Roberto’s girlfriend." "Whoever they are, they’re messing with
that kid and it’s gotta’ stop, that it does!" Landon pushed through the bushes
and started towards the Dragon Fangs. "Lan!" May hissed. Roberto took an
advance towards the boy with a sinister grin. He raised his hand and started
for him, "Hand it over!" CRACK! "Yeowww!!!" Roberto suddenly drew back his
hand, wincing in pain. Landon spun his wooden sword with great skill. He
frowned, but kept one eye open and on the bully. The blond kid was so
shocked that he fell back onto the grass with a shocked look. "Now, now; I
don’t think that’s necessary." Landon said simply. Roberto, Shoura, and Zeru
all averted their gaze, giving him the same anger-shocked expression. "You’re
playing a dangerous game, kid." Roberto warned. "Yeah, who are you,
anyway?" Shoura added, but Zeru remained silent. All he did was clench and
unclench his fists. "I’m Landon Himura--remember my name whenever you
decide to pick on someone." Landon said without fear. Roberto folded his
arms, glaring at him. "Zeru, show this kid what we do to meddlers." He spat.
Without speaking, Zeru jumped down onto the ground. Just by looking at
him, Landon could tell he was a good fighter and someone not to take lightly.
Zeru stared silently and creepily; Landon responded by staring back. Then,
Zeru put his fist to his palm and bowed. "I’m sorry, but I have to hurt you
now."
        WHOOSH!!! Zeru was quick on his feet as he rushed a fury of punches
at lightning speed. He was so close, that Landon could feel the wind from his
assault blowing against his hair. He gave a sigh and, once again, near-vanished
into thin air. "!!!!" Zeru’s eyes widened--he had never seen anyone with that
kind of speed. Landon reappeared in front of one of the nearby trees. His
eyes opened slowly, but dangerously. Zeru turned around, growling silently
and clenching his teeth. He drew back his fist and charged towards Landon
once more; he forced it through the air with great speed and power. "Whoa!"
Landon didn’t think, but rather let his body react by leaping into the air.
Zeru collided with the tree and Landon landed lightly on top of fist. "Whoa;
you don’t weigh like a normal person--you’re as light as a feather!" Zeru
exclaimed. Landon grinned, "So, you finally decide to talk and all I get is
criticism." He darted up towards the sky, poising his sword for the offense.
Zeru wheeled around quickly. The frown he was sporting earlier had
transformed itself into an intrigued grin. It was as if he was actually
enjoying the fight. "Haaaa!" Landon raised his sword over his head and
bulleted down from the sky; Zeru threw his punch up towards the air with
every bit of strength he could muster. There was a loud crash followed by a
strong rush of wind. "Dah!" Roberto shielded his eyes with his arm. Shoura
did the same and May ducked behind the bushes.
       
        Landon and Zeru were locked in a stalemate, sword versus fist. Their
arms rattled slightly against their battling strength. They both frowned, but
more out of competition than anything else. Landon’s feet slid back slowly
from Zeru’s sheer strength. "He’s strong--very strong!" Landon thought to
himself, clenching his teeth. He could feel a slight numbness work its way up
from his hands to his shoulder. The wooden sword was literally warming up
from the stress. Zeru’s feet stayed perfectly in place, but wobbled at his
opponent’s attack. Their eyes burned with the fierce competition they put
up. Roberto was on edge as he watched them; even though his cousin was
strong, the two seemed to be evenly matched. "I’ve never seen anyone last
this long in a match against Zeru." He thought to himself. "That kid--
Landon Himura--must be some sort of samurai; the way he waves that
stick like a sword is unmistakable." May blinked in astonishment. She knew
Landon was remarkable, but this just took the cake. Zeru closed his eyes and
let out a sigh. He just stayed like that for a second, then let a grin spread
across his face. "Wow, I’ve never actually met someone who stood a chance
against me. You’re really good." He eased up on his attack. "Maybe we could
hang out sometime and train together, little samurai." "You mean, like friends
or something?" Landon blinked, lowering his sword. Zeru held out his hand
with a smile. Landon nodded and shook it. "Hey, Zeru, you’re not supposed to
make friends with him. You’re supposed to beat him up!" Roberto shouted.
"Okay, that’s enough." May pushed out of the bushes with her arms folded.
She walked up to Roberto and grabbed him by the scruff of the shirt.
"Listen, leave people alone. Go on-go somewhere!" "Who made you the boss,
Ms. Birch?" Roberto glanced off to the side. "What was that!?" May’s teeth
turned pointy and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I mean, yes, ma’am."
Roberto suddenly cowered. Landon and Zeru blinked at how easily Roberto
gave her his will. Heck, if she had that much power, why didn’t she do that in
the first place? "Hey, Zeru," Landon turned to his new friend. "Why don’t
you come over to my house right now?" "Sure; that would be cool, Himura."
Zeru smiled.
       
        By the time Landon, May, and Zeru got to Landon’s new house, Kenshin
and some other man were waving goodbye to the parting moving truck. The
man had brown hair with a red headband tied around it, blue eyes, and was
wearing a white gi. Since he was facing the corner, Landon could see a
Japanese symbol meaning "bad" on the back of his shirt. "Dad!?" Zeru
blinked. "That guy’s you’re dad?" Landon asked and he nodded, "Yeah," "Then
why is he with my dad?" Kenshin and the man heard the kids’ voices and
averted their gaze. "Landon, I was wondering when you’d be back." Kenshin
said with a smile, "And I see you’ve met Zeru too." The man in the gi walked
up to the kids. He looked from May to Landon. Not that he was trying to be
rude or anything, but Landon stranger-danger attitude made its presence
known; he folded his arms and frowned. But instead of being offended, the
man grinned. "Gee, Kenshin, when you said you were bringing your son over
here, I didn’t imagine someone as wimpy-looking as you." He laughed. "Dad,
what are you doing here?" Zeru asked. "I bet you didn’t know that Kenshin
and I used to be good friends before we moved away. It’s pretty cool that
he and the little missy are over here now." The man told his son. "Hey,
Sonosuke, I don’t think Nagumi and Karou like waiting, that they don’t. And
you kids should come in as well." Kenshin said calmly. Sonosuke nodded and
started back to the door with the kids following. Kenshin turned the door
handle and pushed it open, walking in first. Landon was still kind of mad
about the wimpy crack Sonosuke made and kept his arms folded. When he
got to the door, he realized that the lights in the house weren’t on. "Huh?
What’s going on?"
       
        "SURPRIZE!!" The lights suddenly snapped on in the bright blue living
room, revealing a group of familiar faces. Landon’s heart skipped a few beats
before he realized what was really going on. Karou was standing in front of
the coffee table with another black-haired woman in a blue kimono,
Professor Birch, and Mrs. Birch from the photograph. The entire room was
decorated with balloons, banners, and confetti. It looked like a giant
birthday party or something. "Welcome to Littleroot Town, Landon Himura."
May smiled, patting Landon on the back. "May, you knew about this?" Landon
blinked, sweating anime style. "Yeah; dad told me to try and stall you until we
got this party set up. That’s why I dragged you all around the town." "Yeah,
she actually did something right." Zeru snorted, folding his arms. "Oh, be
quiet!" May snapped. Professor Birch held up a cup of juice, "Let’s give a
toast to the Himura family. Welcome!" "Welcome!" Everyone echoed.
       
        (And so, a new friendship was forged. Little do these three friends
know how important a role they will play in the Poke’mon world. Till then, rest
easy and play hard, heroes, and find out what happens on the next exciting
episode of "Poke’mon X"!)