Teen Titans - Colors

"The origin story for my OC Kenji, the son of Brushogun. I had hoped to finish this by the end of this month, but I only got about a third of the way through. At least you can see how it all starts out." -Casey

The sky was grey with the tick cover of rain clouds hanging over Tokyo. The streets were becoming streams and only people with galoshes and large umbrellas dared the weather. Just south of a local graveyard there was a humble little bookstore that was creaking against the heavy winds. A young boy sat in the back of the shop, lounging on one of the higher bookshelves. Thunder rumbled loudly overhead and the boy buried his face deeper in his comic book. He didn’t have a real problem with lightning, but rainy days were sort of his kryptonite. Being doused with water made him weak for some reason so staying inside today was mandatory. All part of the charm of having mysterious super powers; they came with mysterious Achilles' heel.

“Hello? Is anyone here?” called a voice from the front of the store.

Kenji flicked his wrist and a bright blue substance shot from his fingers and formed into a thin bookmark. He placed it in his comic book and then craned his neck so that he could get a better look at the customer that had just entered. He was tall and thin, but his other features were obscured by a long trench coat and a fedora. He tracked water across the floor as he glanced around the shop.

Kenji’s Sensei was out on an errand so there wasn’t anyone to help the customer. The boy wasn’t supposed to talk to his Master’s customers or even be seen by them if he could help it. He’d read enough comics to understand that certain precautions were necessary when it came to having super powers, but he still wanted to make sure that the stranger didn’t try to steal anything.

The boy watched from his perch as the customer combed through the history books and then the myths. He was obviously looking for something specific and at last he lingered over an old book that had a black and red samurai on the cover.

“Welcome to my shop,” a voice greeted suddenly.

The man in the trench coat spun around to find a very short old man standing before him with an umbrella cradled in his arms. Kenji leaned forward as he tried to hear the man in the trench coat and his sensei as they began talking in hushed tones.

“I am looking for a dangerous criminal known only as Brushogun,” the trench coat man explained.

“I had thought that the law preferred we didn’t speak of him, Officer Daizo,” Sensei replied.

The man in the coat turned aside and for a moment Kenji was afraid that he’d been spotted, but the stranger had only turned to grab the book that was behind him.

“Yes, the first super criminal of Tokyo,” the officer sighed. “He inspires much evil with just his name.”

He ran his hand over the black and red samurai on the cover of the book as he examined it. “But just as there were once such villains, there were also heroes. Do you not wish to inspire champions with just your name, Samurai?”

Sensei hardly flicked his umbrella and the book was swatted from the officer’s hands. The old man caught it before it hit the ground and held it close to his chest. “Though you may not believe it, Brushogun was no myth,” the old man explained. “He was a very real man and he paid the price for his crimes.”

Kenji watched as his Sensei walked around the police officer and hopped over to replace the book on its shelf. “Please take this,” Sensei offered his umbrella to the man. “The storm outside won’t relent any time soon.”

“Nor will I,” he replied. The officer then turned towards the door and began to leave without the umbrella that had been offered to him. Kenji listened intently to the stormy winds and thunder outside for a long while before he was assured that the man had left and he could climb down from his shelf.

“Sensei, who was that man?” Kenji asked as he approached.

“I’m back,” the old man replied as he placed the umbrella aside.

“Yes, welcome back, Sensei,” Kenji said, remembering his manners briefly. “What was all that talk about ‘Brushogun’? I’ve never heard of him before.”

“He went into hiding ages ago,” the man dismissed. “You needn’t worry about him.”

“But that man called you a Samurai! You can’t tell me that meant nothing!”

The old man set to work reorganizing shelves and he handed many books to Kenji as if the boy had volunteered to help. “Are you like a Rurouni? Oh! Or like a Ronin without a master?”

“You read far too many mangas,” the old man stated as he handed Kenji some rather heavy history books. “I have a shepherd; I am not without a master.”

Kenji strained under the weight off all the books he was holding, wishing he had super strength, when he caught sight of the book the man in the trench coat had left behind. It was sitting on one of the back shelves now, right where his Sensei had left it. The boy shifted the books around in his arms until his right index finger was free. He twirled it around, sketching the blue outline of a claw in the air. The image wavered and then moved like the pincers of a crane game filled with plush toys. Kenji mentally ordered it to zip across the room, the end of the claw still attached to his finger. It took a huge amount of concentration for him to animate any sort of object and as luck would have it; his Sensei started talking to him again. The man had his back to the boy as said something about honesty and hard work, but Kenji hardly heard as he focused on using the claw to grab the book.

He finally got a hold of it and lifted it off the shelf when his Sensei shouted, “Kenji!”

Kenji jumped, dropping the books in his hands as the claw melted away, splashing across the floor. Kenji turned sheepishly to his master, unable to make eye contact. The old man walked over and took the book in his arms again with a heavy sigh.

“You wish to know about Brushogun?” the old man asked. “He was an artist…a talented man who could have done some real good with his talents.”

The old man held the book out so that he could look down at its cover reminiscently. “But he sold his soul to a monster and became a monster himself.

Kenji took a step back as his Sensei held the book out for him to take. “I only warn you to read it with caution because these pages are stained by darkness.”

Kenji took the book slowly and flipped it open to an illustration of a circle surrounded by black, blue, pink, and yellow candles around it. That was what his Sensei was trying to warn him about; Brushogun had used dark magic. He shut the book and handed it back to the man.

“I’m sorry, Sensei,” he apologized. “I should trust your judgment.”

The old man smiled and took the book back to its place on the back shelf. “You live up to your name, Kenji,” he complimented. “Now, pick up those books you dropped.”

“Yes, Sensei.”

 Teen Titans (C) DC Comics, Warner Brothers, and Cartoon Network

Kenji (C) SuperheroGeek13