Shulato #1

"Om Shura Sowaka!"

Synopsis by Arcadia

Tokyo. April, 1989.
The final match Tokyo Junior Martial Arts Championship Tournament is underway. The competitors are Hidaka Shulato and Kuroki Gai, who have been best friends since childhood.

Shulato enters first. All his friends cheer for him and he poses for the crowd. Behind him, he hears several girls screaming. Gai enters the ring, followed by the usual crowd of adoring female fans. Annoyed, Shulato wonders why Gai is the only one who ever has any luck with women.

The announcer introduces them. Shulato waves to the crowd. They shake hands, and each tells the other that they won't hold back.

The match begins. Shulato poses some more, while Gai stands still, waiting for Shulato to attack. Shulato takes the offensive, but Gai easily blocks him. "Shulato never thinks about anything but attacking", thinks Gai, "He's been like that since the begining."

Flashback to when they were kids. Shulato is practicing punches with his grandfather, Yutaro, while Gai looks on. Yutaro puts his foot out to trip him. Shulato is concentrating so hard on his punches that he doesn't even notice it and trips. Yutaro explains that both attack and defense are necessary for fighting. Shulato argues that if you take your opponent out with your first strike, defense isn't necessary. He proves his point by kicking Yutaro in the groin before he can say anything.

Back to the present. Shulato is still attacking and Gai is still avoiding all his attacks. Shulato wonders why Gai never does anything the direct way.

Flashback to when they were in middle school. Shulato and Gai are walking together in a shopping center when they hear a women scream that she's been robbed. They see the robber heading toward them on a motorcycle. Shulato immediately starts chasing after him, but Gai heads down a side street. The robber turns down an alley, Shulato still hot on his tail. Gai appears in the motorcycle's headlights. The robber yells for Gai to get out of the way, but Gai knocks him off his motorcycle and retrieves the woman's purse.

Back to the present. Shulato remembers that his grandfather once said that a match between him and Gai would almost certainly end in a draw, but he is determined to win this fight. Outside the arena, lightning strikes and a storm blows in.

The fighting begins in earnest, with both competitors attacking. Finally, Shulato knocks Gai down and jumps to perform one last kick. Gai gets up and starts a kick of his own. at they instant when they're about to hit each other, a beam of light comes down from the sky, enveloping them both. They see an image of a beautiful woman and hear her chanting something they don't understand. Shulato call to Gai, but he disappears.

The woman, Vishnu, finishes her chant and announces to Indrah that they've arrived and that the Hachibushu are finally together. Indrah tells Reiga, who is kneeling behind him, to go find them.

Shulato awakes to find a beautiful girl kissing him. He is startled, to say the least. He demands to know who the girl is. The girl introduces herself as Lakshu and her pet dragon as Mii. Shulato asks why she was kissing him, and she says "They say, the prince will awaken when kissed by a goddess. I wanted to see if it worked." At first, Shulato is mad because she stole his first kiss, but after looking at her some more, he doesn't seem to mind.

Shulato introduces himself, and then gets a look at his surroundings. His clothes are different and the land looks nothing like Tokyo. Everything is covered in lush, green foliage, and there are stone pillars and statues everywhere. There are islands floating in the sky, with rivers flowing off of them. Strange animals are everywhere. Shulato wonders where he is, then remembers that he was in a match with Gai. He runs around, calling for Gai, but to no avail.

He sees a giant statue of a woman carved into a cliff and recognizes it as the woman he saw chanting. He asks Lakshu where he is. Lakshu asks if he has amnesia, then says he's in Tenkuukai. At first, Shulato doesn't quite get it. He thinks she means they're in space, and asks if Lakshu is an alien. Mii notices the Veda stuck in Shulato's belt. It looks like a stylized lion. Shulato asks Lakshu what it is.

Before she can answer, they see a strange figure in armor standing on the statue's hand. Lakshu says it's YashaOh, but that doesn't means anything to Shulato. Shulato takes a closer look and realizes it's Gai. He runs toward him, but Gai draws his sword and attacks. Shulato dodges, but Gai's sword cuts one of the stone pillars in two. Shulato asks what he's doing and where he got the armor. Gai doesn't answer, and Shulato figures he's dreaming. He tries to wake himself up by whacking himself on the head with his Veda, but it doesn't work.

Gai attacks again, and Shulato tells him to quit joking around. As Gai is about the strike again, Lakshu grabs his arm and says it's unfair for him to attack someone who's unarmed. She tells Shulato that if he uses his Shakti, he'll be strong enough to fight. Gai effortlessly throws her at Shulato, knocking them both down.

Shulato tackles Gai and demands to know why he's attacking him. Gai says nothing but "Die, Shulato." He slashes Shulato's arm, and Lakshu rushes to Shulato's side. Gai starts to attack again. Lakshu tries to stop him, but he pushes her away. Shulato blocks Gai's sword with his Veda.

Flashback. Gai and Shulato are sparring by the sea. Shulato cuts his foot on a piece of broken glass. Shulato insists it's just a scratch. Gai disagrees. He bandages it with a piece of his belt, and insists they go to a doctor. He carries Shulato on his back, saying he wouldn't want to lose his greatest rival because of a cut foot.

"Gai, what happened to the gentle person you used to be?" Shulato demands. Suddenly, the Veda starts glowing, and Gai is pushed back. Shulato hears Vishnu's voice chanting "Om Shura Sowaka". He chants it himself, the Veda transforms into his armor.

Shulato doesn't get much time to wonder about it. Gai attacks again, but Shulato defends himself. Lakshu tells him that with his Shakti, he'll have much more power, and Shulato decides to try it.

"Gai, we're friends! Why do we have to fight?" Gai only says that he has to kill Shulato. Shulato kicks him and Gai goes flying. Shulato runs after him and they both fall off a cliff into the forest below.

Shulato runs to the unconscious Gai and tries to wake him up. When he doesn't, Shulato starts carrying him away. "I guess it's my turn to carry you, now."

Suddenly, Gai wakes up and attacks again. Shulato asks Gai to come back to Tokyo with him. Gai starts chanting. Shulato runs up to him, saying that they'll return to Tokyo together. Gai casts a Shippu Marouken, which blows Shulato away.

Lakshu calls out to Shulato, but he's trapped. Gai moves in for the kill, but Reiga blocks him with his Valuda at the last moment. Reiga transforms and says that Vishnu has sent him to bring Shulato and Gai back. He breaks up the fallen trees that had pinned Shulato down.

Gai attacks, but Reiga blocks his sword with his rings. Gai says again that he has to kill Shulato, and attacks Reiga. Reiga counters with a Karula Reishiha. Gai's sword is no use against Reiga's firebird. When the firebird is gone, they find Gai lying on the ground, covered with feathers. Shulato tries to go help him, but Reiga grabs his arm and flies off. Shulato resists, saying he has to go help Gai, but Reiga says it's just destiny.

Gai gets up, and says he won't let Shulato get away.

Lakshu follows them, carried by Mii.

Shulato keeps demanding that Reiga let him go. Reiga says his behavior is hardly appropriate for a member of the Hachibushu, but that doesn't faze Shulato. Finally, Reiga decides to give Shulato his wish. He lets him go. Too bad Shulato didn't notice how high up they were...