Killing Arts (solo)

During his stay in the academy the library was one of the few places he'd never visited. Which was odd since Arawn was rather fond of books. Still the books assigned and notes were more than enough for his studies. Well good enough to pass. He grinned to himself. Upon entering he noted the building was mostly empty. The walls were lined with shelves and each was stuffed with various tomes and books. So many volumes lined everywhere he looked. He could only imagine what information they all held. Today he was seeking something particular, his focus was Sa Shin Mu. His master's words long ago spoke of humans that had worked with the strange skill. He wondered if among the dusty books there was record of them. It seemed a simple task, and yet several problems arose. The first of which Arawn didn't know where or when his master was from. The people that lived in Soul Society lived long lives and were various time periods. Master Sung looked old even by shinigami standards, there was no telling how many millennium had passed since his life as a spirit. Arawn couldn't help, but snicker in thinking about it. He didn't mean to insult his master like that, still it was funny. The humor of the thought died as he brought himself back to the present situation and the near impossible search. He perked up when he spotted the librarian standing by a desk in the front.
"Of course there would be a librarian." he muttered to himself. Letting students alone in such a place would be foolhardy. Not to mention someone had to keep the area clean and sort the books. He approached the brown haired man stacking books at the short desk. "Excuse me." he said raising his hand as if trying to get the teacher's attention.
The young man at the desk nearly jumped. Either he hadn't noticed Arawn come in, or he wasn't used to people asking for help. Both thoughts frightened Arawn.

"Yes!" he said a little to enthusiastically. He plopped the books down "What can I do for you today?" the man was studying Arawn intently. His eye widened when he noticed the white lab coat over the black shinigami robes. Of late Arawn had ground accustomed to wearing it. Much like a captain's haroi it garnered some respect and authority. . At the same time sometimes it had the opposite effect. In this case, the young man started to beam brightly. He must feel honored that someone from the 12th squad needed his help. Their strange habits aside the Research and Development was known to have the best and brightest of minds Whatever works.
"I'm looking for anything pertaining to Sa Shin Mu." Arawn replied quickly, already tired of the smug look the man had. The man's smile faded as he considered Arawn's request. He scratched the tip of his nose for several seconds while he pondered.
"Is it a person or a place?" he finally asked. Arawn blinked and opened his mouth. He had failed to mention the particulars.
"Actually it's a martial art form." he offered, the other man's eye rolled up as he started to ponder more. Arawn stood there watching him.
"Nope can't say that I recognize the name, let me check the computer." He said at last wit ha smile. It took much restraint for Arawn to no slap his own faces You should have just checked the computer to begin with! he though eying the other man. He returned the man's smile with an forced grin. The man sat down and touched the center of the desk and a faint glow illuminated his face. Arawn moved closer to see the center of the desk was a large computer screen. The man was typing letter on the screen's display. Within seconds he stood and waved to Arawn to follow him.

They traveled down three groups of stairs down and two more going up. Arawn had seen the building from the outside, there was no way it could be that big. It felt like they had walked nearly a mile. They finally came to a stop at set of bookshelves that had not just books, but paper scrolls. Arawn was quick to notice the rolls of paper. The texts must be nearly ancient. The man began to rifle through the shelf and grabbed on of said objects. Then he grabbed small book that was wedged between two very large leather tomes.
"There are some mention of Sa Shin Mu, in both of these." he stated holding them out for Arawn to take. There was a very thick layer of dust on both. There was no doubt they hadn't been disturbed in a very long time.
"That's it?" he questioned grabbing the scroll and palming the small manual. He looked at the rows of books that stretched in either direction.
"I'm sorry." the man said with a shrug. "I guess it wasn't that popular of martial art." with that he turned and started back. Arawn was quick to follow else he be lost in the maze of dust and mold.

They walked back in silence. Arawn didn't bother trying to read the scroll and small book until they reached the front area. The atmosphere down in the depths made him uncomfortable. It was dark and clammy, but the librarian didn't seem bothered in the slightest. His anxiety made the return trip seem longer even though they went at the same pace as before. The air got clearer as they finally exited the impossibly long dungeon like archives. He was glad the librarian was there to guide him. Chances were if he was alone he would have never had made it back.
"If you need anything else, just give me a yell." With that the librarian returned to his desk and pile of books.
"Much thanks." Arawn murmured as he left. With a shrug Arawn took the items to a table and sat down.

He first opened the scroll. It was more dusty than it looked. He took the time to blow on it to let most of it fly to the floor. He looked around to see if the librarian had seen him. The man's back was still to him. Arawn slowly opened the parchment. Correction parchments. There was more than one paper in the roll as he twine came free. It was several stuck together. Very slowly he unrolled them and pushed them flat on the table. His hand graze the middle of the table and computer screen much like the one at the librarian's desk lit up. He ignored the screen and directed his attention back at the parchments. While there were words on the paper, the majority of the pages were a portrait of different faces. He didn't recognize the characters on any of the pages. Arawn was afraid of this. If he did find anything it was possible that translations would be required. What was the deal with all the pictures? They were all men from what he could tell. The art style was crude, but one could get a general idea it was face after looking for afew seconds. With a groan he thought about asking the librarian when he looked back at the computer. Perhaps this thing could help? The screen had a menu of options. Looking up books, maps, etc. It was same as the computer that he sometimes used in the lab, but this one was better configured for easy access. No complex button presses or mouse clicks. A touch was all that was needed. After tinkering for twenty minutes he found what he was looking for; a translator. He pressed the button and the computer prompted him to press the text to the screen. Gently he picked up the first face and placed it across the screen. There was a dull flash of light and is passed over the parchment and then it vanished. Arawn removed the parchment. The icon in the corner of the screen spun as the machine translated the information. It was less than a minute a reconstruction of the page appeared on the digital view. Arawn gasped. The computer had completed it's translation. The man's name on the page was Sien Liu, he was wanted for robbery. He knew now what the papers were for, they were wanted posters.

Why wanted posters? The mystery was suddenly solved as he remembered his masters words long ago.
"The eldest disciple could not fully control his power and went mad. He killed many men before his own life ended." the old man had said
One of the men among the faces was the first disciple of Sa Shin Mu and savage murder. Of the nine had drawn pictures one would be the second man to learn the strange martial art. One by one Arawn scanned the photos and looked a the translations. Only four of the nine were wanted for murder. It would seem all four of the men were brutal killers in their own right. The poster said little else other than their names and the price should someone help in capturing them. The parchment didn't list any details of their crimes. It was a simpler time Arawn told himself. Such things weren't needed. The men committed a crime nothing else was needed. The folded the other five posters and kept the possible pictures out. Finally he opened the small manual. Again he was faced with text he couldn't read. Arawn turned back to the computer and opened the scanner function again. He let the computer scan the first page it would seem that the book was actually a journal of some type used by the local magistrate. He ran his hands over the cover; there were no markings and a slight burn from fire. It was obviously from a set of similar books, but only this one had survived the ravages of time. Arawn wondered how such a book had made it's way to Soul Society, but figured it had been taken by someone.

It wasn't until an hour later that Arawn found what he sought. The numbering system was he wasn't familiar with. It told of a lone warrior from Goguryeo attacking people with reckless abandon. That was the place Master Sung has spoke of. What would drive a man to wildly attack people? Men, women, and children were killed as he cut a bloody path across the land. The horrible man's name was finally mentioned. So great was the man's fear of this demon that his hand shook as he scribed the name. Pa Goon-Sung
Arawn looked at the pictures again on the screen. The man with a mane of hair was the person he sought. Most of his features were hidden by the hair. He wondered why the artist had failed to depict his face. But it was probably the best anyone had seen of the man. From the reports he killed all that came across him like a wild beast. It told how he roared like a lion, and broke swords with a swing of his fist. This man destroyed buildings and dodged arrows. He wondered how much of the details were rumor and how much was real. Master Sung claimed he perfected the art to superhuman levels once in Soul Society. Was it possible that it was already beyond the normal scale in it's infancy? Arawn read on, it was like an adventure book. The law forever trying to contain this evil man. The telling of the horrors unleashed by the single man came to a close when the writer told how several martial art schools banded together in an alliance. They gathered 100 of their finest and cornered the beast.
Many died that day, but the Pa Goon-Sung fell with them. After that the writer told of his later cases. Nothing as exciting as their battle with the man from Goguryeo. Arawn closed the book and put all but the last poster back. He stared at the face of his sempai. A madman that had made a name for himself, and as such killed the name of a powerful martial art. What of the one that would come later? The man that would redeem the Sa Shin Mu name? The librarian had only found these two items. It could mean that his tale too was lost within time. Arawn sighed and took the articles to the librarian and thanked him for his help.
"Hope you found what you were looking for, feel free to drop by again." he smiled. Arawn nodded. Chances were he wouldn't find anything else. He could always ask Master Sung again.