[Main Story]The 765th world: Ryougen Mai's New Adventure

As much as possible, please do not post anything here. Please direct any discussion about the story in the General Chibianthro-related Discussion Thread

Note: Characters here are given personalities by Zekira and crystalsuicune and may not necessarily follow Mirai's official personalities for the characters.

Quick Links to Chapters:
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

[ Last edited by Zekira at 2011-9-20 20:35 ]

Chapter: Prologue

Sitting in the backstage calmly awaiting my turn, I stood up and went near the torches that were lit just to the side to warm myself up. Even for a performer has been performing for so long, stage fright is something that cannot be avoided. Even the most experienced of performers face the problem of going in front of a crowd, with most of the people in the crowd being complete strangers, afraid that they may mess up their performance and embarass themselves. Being a dancer is just one of those more difficult presentations to make, and... guh. (author's note: see what I did there in the last sentence? lol)

But in truth, I've been wondering if this is really what I'm meant to be. I perform dances of fiery strength, giving the people morale and courage as difficult situations happen in their lives. With these dances however, I felt that I came to understand... or rather, misunderstand what strength really means. The village head  once told us that your strength can be found once you are on destiny's path, that is, you are doing what you have truly been born for. I've seen this more clearly as time passed, with me repeatedly and repeatedly performing dances of fire to bring the light of the village, both literally and figuratively. Yet however, I began to think that this isn't what I am actually fated to do.

Still standing near the lit torch, I noticed the curtain behind me unruffle, hearing some of the crowd cheering as the curtain closed again. From the stage came another entity walking towards me. She was a bit taller than me, had light-brown eyes, and her ears are somehow cat-like, with some fluff just below them. She was wearing some sort of green robe with a yellow neckline and some sort of thick green swimsuit, (author's note: OK why the hell was this orange the first time I wrote this?) wearing nothing that covers her legs. This was her favorite outfit, and it fits very nicely with her dances too. Representing the dance of heaven, her dances usually tell a story with a premise of "what would heaven be like if it existed on this land." Her dance gives the people the power of optimism, temperance, and fortitude. This dancer is actually my younger sister, Tenyou, who performs the mystic dance of heaven.

"It was a big success, sis! I was able to pull it off!" she exclaimed to me while running towards me. She almost pushed me towards the torch though.

"...! Tenyou, stop being clumsy!" I answered in reply.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were so near to the torch. What are you doing near it anyway?"

"...you haven't seen me do this before? I always do this just right before a performance. And I mean always. You just aren't observing well... no, wait, more like you aren't observing anything at all."

"Why, how rude! I'm not that much of a klutz, you know!"

"History says other wise, my dear younger sister."

"You also have to remember, I'm just growing up! You're much older than me!"

"I don't really care whether you're young or not, I just want to remind you of the consequences that may entail your actions, be they physical or spiritual, or however they may come."

"...I came running to you for a compliment and all I get is a lecture. Typical older sibling, huh."

"It's true that you've performed well today, howev~"

"But you weren't even watching!"

"...

Anyway, I'll see that new routine of yours maybe later, but right now, I have a dance to perform... I don't care if you're better than me. I'll just do this."

I walk towards the curtain, which was the only thing separating the backstage from the actual stage.

"Wait!" Tenyou exclaimed. "...whatever you do, why not try your best? Especially for this dance... it's what you've been made for anyway. And you know that everyone here admires you, most especially me." she continued.

"...what I've been made for...? Oh well. It's just a dance, anyway." I replied, before proceeding out.

"Good luck, Ryougen!" I heard her say this just before the curtains behind me unruffled. Even though admittedly I haven't been really close to her much, she still seems to care for me so much. Guess it really pays off to have a sibling beside you, huh.

My name is Ryougen. I am the eldest (of my generation) of the family clan of dancers, the 'Mai' family. My ears resemble that of miniature dragon wings, but the entire inner side is attached to my head, so I cannot use them to fly. I am currently clothed in a fire red vest that has innate shoulder guards, and these shoulder guards serve as good mounting for my red cape, with nothing also covering my legs. The bells behind my ears however, are one of my trademark accessories that seemed to have defined my appearance in the village. This is my favorite outfit, especially when performing my dances.

I stand here in front of the stage once again just right after the village head introduced me. I surrounded him with flames for a minor 'magic act', and he disappeared from the stage as the fire dispersed. Actually, I perform one minor trick as an entrance every time, and it usually gets the crowd up on their feet all the time. Then I immediately proceeded with my 'ritual', that is, the dance I was going to perform. The different instruments started to play their slow initil melody, the guitar taking the instrumental's main sound, accompanied by a flute just right over it. I proceeded with my slow oriental dance here, which I myself do not know how to describe.

(author's note: ...because I don't know how to describe dances myself.)

After the slow melody stopped for a while with the flute's fadeout, I paused appropriately. A few seconds after, I signaled my hand to initiate the fires behind the audience, prompting the stage assistants to turn the fire on. With the sudden start of the fire, all of the instruments did their initial beat, making the entrance of my actual fiery act. My performances actually involve with me dancing around with the fire, sometimes it being my ally, sometimes it being my foe. I try my best to make my dances different everytime, though my instrument choice always remains the same. It's kind of hard to keep up composing different music each time though. However, there is always one move that is common among every dance I have made, and comes just a bit after the start of the actual swift melody. People have called this the Ryougen Beam, which I highly disapprove of, but what can I do? It's a favorite technique of mine. With a burst of my own soul energy, I create a spectacular display of red and blue fires crossing at a very rapid pace, producing a very fire-works like display. This "Ryougen Beam" indicates the start of the actual full energy of the dance, even though the rapid melody has already started before it. The drums usually play rapidly with alternating sounds as this technique of mine begins and ends.

It's kind of difficult for me to see myself, so I won't bother describing how I dance. After my dance, the usual reaction of the crowd's appluase was what I heard. In fact, I've heard this applause so many times, I'm kind of... getting bored by it. I'm not amused by it anymore. I walked to the backstage to find the others already packing up. My dance has always been the one to go last; they always say that my dance is suited for the grand final��, which made me wonder if I should take it as a compliment or not; I just dance for the heck of it, you know.

"So you also tried out something new today, huh? Still, people notice the Ryougen Beam the most." Tenyou said to me.

"Well I do need variation everytime you know. I'm pretty sure you're facing that problem too." I replied.

We packed up everything as the audience proceeded to leave. But I must say that the most problematic part of cleaning up here are the minor oil spills that are used just for the fire exhibitions in my performances. Since it's my fault, I usually end up washing them. Me, being a fire entity, I kind of have troubles handling water. I usually end up overreacting whenever I come in contact with it. It's also usually a laugh for Tenyou to see; one of the village's greatest people, doing cleanup duty, down on her knees, scrubbing the floor because she made it wet. Yes I intentionally described it to sound a bit wrong, because that's exactly what I look like here: wrong. I'm not supposed to be doing this kind of thing. I don't like cleaning up, and I don't think I'm supposed to, but they force me to do it anyway. The trash can usually just be burnt with the extra oil remaining, so litters isn't really a problem. Finally, after we were done, we closed up the stage as midnight slowly approached. Many woodfires were already extinguished, making it a bit dark to see, so I have to use my never melting candle so that me and Tenyou could find the way back to our house.

You probably would've guessed it by now that this is just an outline of an ordinary day. But when Tenyou said the lines "what you've been made for", my mind suddenly had idea that I should get out of the days like these. At the moment, I'm really sleepy however, due to the restraints of living beings getting tired by this time. I end this dull day as usual with a slumber in my warm room.

However, I think it's about time I change that, come tomorrow.

Chapter: 1p

I'm one of those types of people that really love to wake up early. But today, I chose to wake myself even earlier than usual. "It's today," I said to myself. The day when I actually thought about what fate really had in store for me. You can somehow say that I'm bored of my usual occupation of being Kasu Village's dancer of strength, but I'd say I grew out of it. Every big thing starts out small. And for me, today is the day when that 'big thing' shows itself. The words of my sister Tenyou still ring in my head: "what you've been made for"... This is what I wanted to know today, and I shall go on that path today. I think I'm ready...

...except for the part in which I don't have a lead. Before I can start my walk to fate's door, I have to find that door first. Or rather, I'd have to make that door myself. Maybe I'll open myself to the opportunity that everyone I've been waiting for... which I really think I shouldn't be doing, as I have to open myself to that opportunity and seek it out myself. This is precisely what I wanted to accomplish today.

My initial mindset is that I am built to be a warrior. But there isn't really any 'war' going on here in physical terms, so maybe I'll just settle for being an... adventurer? No, that actually makes me sound a bit weaker than what I really envision. One thing's for sure, however: in order to unlock my inner strength, I will need to reach for a goal that will trigger that destiny of mine to reveal itself. Basically, I am not surprised if this journey of mine will take me to places beyond those that this universe actually knows.

I keep a storage far from the actual house. Dawn wasn't even breaking yet, and I was already leaving my bed and heading towards this storage house of mine. Maybe, just maybe, I can get a glimpse of what I really should be looking for. I really don't think I'll forever just be a dancer for the world's stage, one that gives strength to the world... I would like to give myself strength as well, and obviously I can't do that by just dancing.

I opened that storage of mine, unlocking it with a deep scientific lock that only responds to the bloodline of our clan. Some of Tenyou's stuff was here too, and probably some stuff of those from our ancestors as well. Even though I call it a storage, it actually kind of looks like an unmanned museum: it contained every important artifact that has been passed down or discovered that is related to our bloodline. Important could mean many things, however, as sometimes I question the existence of some items here, such as Tenyou's one and only violet-colored underwear; she treasures it so much, she actually doesn't wear it, but she still keeps it here. I still don't know the reason as to why she did that, but you get my point. (author's note: sorry I had to bring something so trivial up... I just couldn't help it, these guys are too cute @_@)
There are indeed some beautiful relics here, such as the so-called "Venus Shard" which was owned by some distant relative of mine, and left it here for some odd reason, but even my unemotional self can tell that there's power emanating from it. Continuing to look for something that'll truly spark up that fire soul inside me, I got to the more personal part of the house. The artifacts kept here are directly related to our bloodline, such as the first ever letter that my distant ancestor Loudo wrote to whoever his mate was. I didn't really want to peer too long into this side of the room, but it was here in which I found it...  the discovery that might change how my whole life is supposed to be. I found a simple picture frame with our family name on top of it. It was a simple frame divided into 3 parts. The left side was designed to look like glorious fire, and the right side was designed to give the feel of a mystic heaven. The middle part was designed to depict the existence of a red and blue wind, symbolizing opposite meanings of both strength and grace. Yes, the design of the frame is of some importance, actually; let's move on to the actual picture. In the right side of the picture was a very small creature with cat-like ears, wearing a simple orange clothing and has some sort of cute green key in hand, where the handle of the key looks somewhat like the skies. If you haven't gotten the hint, this was Tenyou as a child. Man, she's actually already kinda tall for her age even back then... On the left side was an... 'awesome' looking creature, with ears that resemble wings of a petit dragon, and was wearing a cool red cape and vest... and her undergarments over her vest? What the hell? I'm pretty sure I did NOT wear them like that! You have got to be kidding me! I refuse to believe that this was me as a child... I swear!

Then we move on to the thing that sparked that inner fire inside me. There was this third being in the middle of the picture. She looked younger than me, but older than Tenyou. The picture is kinda old though, so it's kind of difficult to see her details yet, (author's note: this description has changed due to a final confirmation from the artist) but her ears look like those of a canine with long ears, and they're purple. Really purple. She really seemed to love purple and its subcolors (sky blue and pink), for she wore a robe that had sky blue lining on the left and pink lining on the right, along with a purple neckline formed like a petal. She wore a special kind of compass and some sort of necklace with a cube that resembled a Menger Sponge. I don't know if it's just me, but I say they seem to be mystical artifacts. Enough with her physical description, however, for one thing is the big question here: why is she part of this picture? This was supposedly just to be a family picture, yet I don't even remember seeing her anywhere. And judging from how we look in this picture, it was like we actually know each other!

This was kind of a major mystery for me, so I took the picture and went out of the secret house. I needed answers. There was one place I know I could go to when it comes to anything about our bloodline.

I head over to a village not too far away from Kasu Village. It is called the Shimizu Village. This is the real area where our bloodline was born, so in truth I should really be familiar with this place more than Kasu Village, but my stay in Kasu Village is already as a regular villager there, and even though this is my province, I'm actually just a visitor now. Since it was still really early, the place was still a bit quiet, and it only takes me around 15 minutes to walk there. I immediately headed over to the village head's house, where I already have permission to go inside because of the bloodline relations. Both hesitant and excited, I rush over to the room of the village head, Rezo. (author's note: hahahaha. Sorry I couldn't think up of a better name ) If anything, he knows more than most people should know, but he's a good-willed man, yet he's more of the energetic type. Even at his age, he's still one of the most energetic people in our bloodline. He is famous almost worldwide, actually. Heck he's actually also a minister of some distant town that I don't know of.

You would've guessed by now that he's actually awake. I ran up to him with quite a determined voice.

"Rezo! I would like you to explain something to me." I said with much composure.

"...Ryougen? It's been a while since I've seen you, yet you come running here with almost no respect whatsoever..." he replied.

"'Respect'? I thought you said we cou~"

Then he suddenly hit my head lightly with his hammer. "Hahahaha, of course I'm kidding! Just a bit startled to see you here! And from your expression, it seems like something big's up! What is it that you wish to know?"

"Well, you see, I think this is the day I'm about to make a discovery... or rather, when I will start to hunt down that discovery of mine. Please take a look at this!"

I handed him over the picture frame. Even without him holding it, I already saw that change of expression in his face.

"...so you dug deeply into that storage of ours, huh. I didn't actually expect the day that you'll be finding this."

"So you know something?! Please tell me!"

"However, Ryougen, I would want to ask what prompted you to go in there and dig that deeply."

"Well, you see, I just go~"

"Got kinda fed up with the usual routine you have of being just in the village, and felt that the fire inside you was telling you that this usual life of yours isn't actually what it's fated for?"

"..."

"Figures, because that's precisely the only thing I was waiting for."

"Waiting for?"

"Ryougen, even since your childhood, I already had the feeling that you will part of the other side of the Mai family, the one that seeks his inner strength rather than be the strength of the world. After realizing that, it's not long after that the start of the timeline that I will about to tell you has happened. Have a seat, for I'll be giving quite an explanation to you... something that I kept from both you and Tenyou for quite a while now."

"Ever since my childhood, huh..."

I took a seat. I already had a feeling I was going to know something that will really change my life now.

But before he can start talking, the beaded curtain from afar unruffled, and out came another entity that was familiar to my eyes. It was Tenyou.

"...how did you..." I just had to exclaim to her.

"I figured something was up... it was too early for you to wake up. Then I felt that the storage house had someone in it, so it had to be you. Seeing as I can't find you anywhere in Kasu, I decided to go here." she replied.

"Ah, Tenyou, great timing. I was about to tell quite a story to your elder sister here, but I should probably also tell this to you as well." Rezo said. Tenyou also helped herself to a seat, as Rezo started to tell the 'secret' that's he's been hiding from us.

"Truth is guys, you are 3 siblings, not just the two of you. This middle entity that you are questioning? She is also part of not just the clan, but she's actually the middle in ages of the two of you. She is younger than Ryougen, and older than Tenyou. She was quite a unique girl, like many of our ancestors. At a young age, she has already shown a great deal of ability in dancing, and at the same time she has shown herself to be affiliated with a mystic property of the wind. She kept these as a secret from both of you, though the only thing you may have noticed is that she often is out of the house. She has developed her talents way earlier than the two of you. Her name, by the way, is Senpuu. Senpuu Mai."

So that was her name. It kind of sounded familiar now that I heard it. Senpuu, huh...

"She kept it as a secret to you, Ryougen, so as not to activate that sense of jealousy within you. See, even at a young age, she was already very oriented to many of the world's truths. She is truly something else, a great gift that has been born here in Shimizu Village. Even until this day, a miniature parade is all set just for everytime that she arrives at the main stage. Almost everyone here looks up to her."

"She's that great of a woman? Where can we find her, then?!"

"...and this is where the bad part comes in. Better listen carefully, Ryougen.
Senpuu not only had the spirit of a maiden, but she also had the spirit of a warrior, much like you Ryougen."

"Excuse me, I'm not a ma~"

"Wait, oops, I worded that wrong."

"..."

"Anyway, moving on. Knowing this, she went on to research on her own about more of the world's conflicts. The most fascinating thing that interested her was the legends of the Nisen bloodline. I can't actually recall much of the details, but it's what she set out for. Of course, she didn't do it recklessly; she had to plan it so that no one would know that she actually had something big in mind. What that big thing is, even I don't know. She just told me one day: "Rezo, I'll be going on a quest.", so I helped her out in 'escaping' the village undetected. Where she went, I actually have no leads on. One thing is for sure though... she has never come back yet even until this day."

"What?!" I just had to scream with that last sentence. Apparently, this Senpuu is a sister of mine, an extraordinary child born along our lineage, and yet I don't even remember anything about her, and he comes to me telling that she's been MISSING ever since I was a kid?!

"And the reason why you don't remember? Well, remember the day when you were finally going to be assigned as training dancers in Kasu? Just right after you were moved there, that's when Senpuu 'mysteriously disappeared'. The both of you were so excited, you forgot about them. I suppose it could've ended up differently, her being a family member of yours and all, but to our surprise it actually worked. Over the years, no one has talked about Senpuu. I kept the worrying to myself, anxiously waiting for her return. And I kept it from you so that your childhood won't be scarred..."

I'm suddenly a bit silent here. I don't know her much... 'anymore', yet I get these feelings of sadness. The only reference I have for her existence and personality is the picture and Rezo's story, yet I already have that heavy feeling inside.

"But... seeing you here, I think it was the most appropriate time that it could've been revealed to you.
Ryougen! You do want to embark in some sort of new adventure right? Something that will hopefully awaken that spirit of the warrior inside you?" Rezo asked.

"Spirit of a warrior? Ryougen, what is he...?" Tenyou was puzzled.

"Oh yes, I forgot to tell you Tenyou, but thanks to your words yesterday, I think one of my eyes have finally opened. You told me that "dancing is what I've been made for", as if it was my destiny since birth, but of course like the rebel I was, I was able to think otherwise. Tenyou, I am actually going to retire this early." I calmly replied.

"...! Ryougen! You can't just... you can't just do that! It's been how many years that we've been doing this...! Don't you actually feel affection for the life that you already have?"

"I do, actually. However, it's just that feeling of something lacking inside me... it's as if this wasn't really what fate had in store for me. From that feeling alone, it leads to all this, all in the span of a night's sleep."

"...Ryougen..."

I faced Rezo yet again. "Yes, that is correct."

"Then this is the only thing I can tell you: Senpuu is waiting. How you take these words in your journey is up to you." he replied with a strong tone. He threw the picture frame back at me, and explained some more. "The compass that she has is a secret artifact that only she knows of its true potential. However, she told me that this is also some sort of emergency device, for it can point the wielder in the direction of its true owner. This is a big hint for you. If you can find this item, chances are you might be able to cross paths with her!"

Senpuu's compass, huh. Well, I'll refer to it as that for the timebeing.

"So... Ryougen? What do you decide on?" Rezo asked me, and seems like it's the final question he'll be asking me.

"...don't tell anyone of anything. I'll be doing this on my own. I'll make it known to those that must know." I replied with a simple answer.

"If that is your decision then. Well, take what I have just told you however you want to interpret it. If you wish to do something, then go back home. Dawn's already at hand."

"Alright, thank you Rezo."

I head back to Kasu Village with Tenyou, but on our way back there, Tenyou had that really blank expression on her face. She was wide awake alright, so she must probably be in a situation of shock right now. What, with your elder sister suddenly revealing that she'll be leaving for a long time, who wouldn't be surprised. Oh well.

After we arrived at home, Tenyou still wasn't saying a word. I approached her in my attempt to fix that.

"...look, I love you; you're my sister after all. But do me a favor and stop being so emotional. At least live this day normally, I'll fix everything by tomorrow. I'll be staying for this day just so I could explain everything to everyone here."

She still doesn't have a response. Figures. I simply ignored it and went on to the usual day. To be honest, I myself was actually excited on this. I actually have a large scale goal in my hands! And not only that, the mystery that is my sister is kind of intriguing to think of. I'm still kind of furious because the entire Shimizu Village kept this from me, even wiping out my memory of her, but I guess being able to vent out this frustration via journeying for truth is something that seems to be a really satisfying quest.

The day went on as normal, and the stage of tonight is set for yet another performance. As usual I was up last, but this time I persuaded the stage assistants that I'll be doing really, really, REALLY flashy (author's note: for a while I thought dirty there. Sorry.) moves tonight, so I set up the stage for a very extraordinary display.

Time passed, and I noticed that Tenyou's performance was still as graceful as usual, though you can feel the kind of slower feel of her dance today. Last up, it's me. The 'host' of the show made his introduction really flowery, even revealing that the music that I was going to use was Ryougen no Mai! Damn it! That song, Ryougen no Mai, was... no, IS the best dance I have made ever since I started! I was going to make it a surprise, and the stupid host spoiled it. A bit furious at that, I suddenly pulled a rope that initiated a minor fire explosion that happens in the middle of the stage. This of course surprised the host, and many of the crowd, but I immediately shouted "Way to ruin my surprise, damn it!" from the back, and I'm pretty sure even the crowd heard me. So the host kind of briefed up the introduction after that and quickly welcomed me to the stage. Since people already know that I was going to perform that saikyou dance of mine, they were going really, really, REALLY wild. Doning my classic outift from a few years ago, I made people feel that they were living that performance mine all over again. I can't tell the details of how the dance went this time around, but needless to say, I have never seen the people so awestruck in such a long time.

After my performance, the applause was way wilder than what I have seen in the course of my days as a dancer. I didn't immediately go backstage, so I was standing there for a long time listening to the applause. And since people noticed that I wasn't leaving, some were even screaming "Encore", which I totally never, never do because it just makes me look more like some hooker or something... Anyway, I stayed on the stage for a reason. After I realize that the crowd was getting tired of clapping, I grabbed this odd device they call a 'mic' that can modulate my voice through the walls of the stage, and started talking.

"Everyone! Please listen!"

I started.

"Well... so..."

Then suddenly someone shouted "RYOUGEN-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAA" from the crowd, and a lot of people suddenly followed. I had no choice but to just wait with a sweatdrop until such time that they fell silent again.

"Okay, so as I was saying...

You might be wondering why I performed such an awestriking performance today, seeing as how there isn't really a special occassion. Well, for me, it's a special occassion, actually."

From this point on, I could notice even the staff was listening.

"This is my most special dance. And... this is possibly the last dance I will be doing here."

As I said that line, I heard the loud gasps that came from every direction within the stage. Mumbles here and there, as what you would expect. I know it would be kind of hard for people to accept, as I kind of startled them there, but I had to be straightforward.

"Yes, I'm sort of... retiring, if that's how you can call it. However, I am doing this for a reason that means a lot to me.
For the really mature ones here, do you remember that one point in your life, when you just realize that you have that entirely new inspiration? Out of the blue, you just suddenly feel like doing something big... Some of you may have been able to do it, some of you may have just barely reached it, but there's no denying that this stage of life has struck you at least once.
Well, for me, I think it just came to me today. I'm going on a quest, guys. What that quest is and where that leads me, I do not know. But I assure you that I shall return here, and hopefully add to the many stories that exist about this village. People of Kasu, you have been so great to form me into who I am now. Everyone of you have been very significant, and I thank you greatly for it. Now I think it's time I return the favor in a much larger scale.
Tomorrow, I shall go on to the outside world. As I said, I do not know what will await me there, but hopefully it shall bring glory to this village, as well as my family...
...I know this is a bit too sudden, but I am asking this politely of you. I may be a higher authority here in this village, but I would want to ask you people for your opinion.
Will you people... allow me to start my own adventure?"

I turned my back after that last sentence.

"...either answer you give me however, I will not change my mind..." I followed it up with that.

Just as I was almost disappearing back to the backstage, I felt something being thrown onto stage. It was... a rose. And later, different flowers were being thrown on to the stage. I could hear the people saying "Good luck, Ryougen-sama", as if in support of the journey I was going to embark on, which I think they really are. I think I heard some break into a few tears, but in general I felt that supportive environment of the Kasu Village around me. Not looking back, I continued to walk out, shedding a single teardrop, for it's possible that this may be the last time I will ever be on this stage. Backstage, a lot of the staff were asking me questions, which I simply ignored as I walked back home. The Village Head escorted me and Tenyou back to the house, and drove the crowd away from our house. I noticed Tenyou already went ahead straight to her room. A bit worried and sad as I was, I was still overcome with excitement, so I headed over to my own room to take a good rest.

The next day, I woke up early as usual. I first went to the village head's house as he told me he was going to give me something before I leave, so I headed over. He handed me over a bag with the necessities of an outsider, and some scrolls and other remembrances of the village. Well, it wasn't like I was gonna disappear forever; did I really mean that much and the people didn't want to let go of me? Nevertheless, I'm still pleased that the people still accept me even after this decision that indirectly implied that I will leave them for good.

I headed out of the house, only to find that there was a blue carpet surrounded with fire that was scattered with various gems. This carpet led all the way to the outskirts of the village. A lot of people were gathered around the carpet. As they saw me, they suddenly did the village's motion of praise, as if I was their leader or something... To be honest, I actually don't like the idea of fame itself, but if the people really like you so much, I guess you'll have to bear with it... even if you still look like a sleepyhead. Man, they even made small preparations just to see me off... these guys...

Just almost at the end of the carpet, there was a really beautiful entity there. It was Tenyou, but I have never seen her wear such beautiful clothing. Tying a red ribbon across one of her ears, wearing a green thing which kinda looks like a kimono, designing herself with probably the most beautiful accessories in moderation, and a violet keystone in hand, she was the final person to greet me at the exit of Kasu Village. Seems like even she's come to accept this, although her actions are somewhat heightened compared to the villagers', what, me being his elder sister and all...

"Ryougen..."

"Tenyou..."

"Come back safely, OK? You still have unfulfilled promises to me~"

"...oh I will. Don't you worry.
People of Kasu Village..."

I noticed everyone kneeled down, including Tenyou. They were all looking at me.

...wait, they're probably waiting for me to say something... to be honest, I don't know what to say.

"...goodbye, everyone! We shall meet again in the near future!" I just shouted. Well, I'm not that much of one that talks with a lot of words, actually... hell, I didn't really expect something this grand to be prepared for me.

Then I heard some cheer for me. "All hail Ryougen, the knight of Kasu!", which I don't really know who shouted. The crowd suddenly went wild as this finally meant farewell to the village. I really couldn't leave just yet, seeing as how they were just too close to me. Compared to the tears of yesternight, this was actually the true moment of tears. Tenyou hugged me for the last time before I was able to leave, which of course I returned. I normally don't do this, for people know me more as an unemotional person, but I guess it's just natural for everyone to have feelings, huh.

I finally shouted "I'll be back!" as I proceeded to walk away from the village. The village gate was closing, with me being on the outer side of it. Some of them were still trying to prevent the gate from closing, wanting their last glimpse of me, but it had to be done. Without looking back, I proceeded to walk further and further away from the village. "This is the beginning of fate's path, it seems." I said to myself, as I continue to walk.

I could hear Tenyou's faint voice from the other side, saying that the festival for that night will be one of the most grand ones that they will be conducting. Wow, they're even marking the calendar to this day as a special day... I'm not sure how much I feel about that.

Anyway, that's the least of my concerns now. What I am looking at now is the field of the outside world, a mysterious world where I can finally expand my horizons. Maybe, just maybe, I can find my true self through this journey.

My destiny is beginning to be made clear to me.

Chapter: 2

It's been a while ever since I left Kasu Village. I started walking away from the village just a little bit after afternoon arrived. Looking at the position of the sun, I think it's already around 3 hours after midday, and the only actual landmark I've actually noticed was Shimizu Village. Is the world really this empty or something? If only I had a map to guide myself with, damn it.

You may wonder which direction I'm going. For starters, I've always believed that west was a lucky direction to go in, so after seeing Shimizu Village I immediately turned left and walked straight from there. I don't really have a compass with me so I don't know if I'm really going west, but my perception is actually "west of the village" and not "west of the world". I really just hope I can get somewhere before I starve or thirst...

I try my best to take my mind off the dullness that is walking to somewhere you don't know by imagining the things that could be waiting for me. What sort of other creatures will I encounter? Will other people accept me for who I am? What sort of glorious objects will I find along the way? And more importantly, will I find Senpuu's compass? Will I be able to find Senpuu by embarking on this journey?  I haven't been outside of our area much, so I don't really know answers to these questions; my only reference would only be the books that I've read before, both academic and fiction. But my expectation of the world is that it is totally different, and just reading and studying isn't enough to know what is real or what is not.

As I continue to walk, I suddenly notice how much sweaty I am already. The wind is a bit weak in the path I'm going in, and that really bright star that's giving power to the world is kind of raging at our surface for some odd reason. I can usually adapt to hot environments; I like it in hot places, actually. But in this case where there isn't even a sign of wind to compliment the rays of that star, this is an unreasonable degree of hot.

It now seems to be five hours after afternoon, and the sun is already beginning to set. Even though the surface is already cooling off a little, the lack of wind is really getting to be troublesome. I look ahead and still don't see any landmarks, so I took a towel from my Supplies Bag and replaced the red cape, just so I could dry myself up. I also brought out a small container which had drinking water, which isn't as troublesome as neutral water in that I actually have to intake it, so I drank a few just so I could take my mind off the heat; I don't actually know when I get the chance to refill this with water anyway, so I actually have to save up on it. After a few minutes where I felt I could go on, I put on my red cape again and continued to walk in the direction I was still facing.

It was almost night as the sun had almost disappeared. It was getting kind of difficult to see, so I was considering whether I should stop and camp out here in the middle of some unknown territory for the night. It's a shame I didn't even get to see any landmark that I could take note of for the first day of my journey, but there's still tomorrow to continue exploring.

I put down my supplies bag to pull out some covers. As I opened it, however, the wind suddenly blew strongly, which kind of startled me. In fact, it startled me so much, I accidentally waved my hand and hit a really hard tree with it. As natural reaction, I flinched in pain. It can't get any worse, right? Or so I thought... after flinching, a branch fell on my right foot which made me flinch in another direction. With my instincts confused as to whether to relieve the pain of my hand or my foot first, I eventually tripped forward and rolled quite a distance... I'd say around 12 steps away from where I placed my supplies bag. After I stopped rolling over and stood up, I suddenly saw what seemed to be a 2-story building to the distance. "Finally, somewhere worth going to" I thought, so I quickly stepped back and got my supplies, then continued to walk in the direction I was facing; this time I was walking faster as I already know I'm going somewhere.

Just before the sun completely disappeared, I finally arrived at the place. Looking at the two-story building that I saw from before, my first impression was that this place was supposed to be some sort of town. But as I got to what seemed to be the entrance of this 'town' (the walls were made evident enough to be the border of that landmark), it actually looked like a series of abandoned residences, more like a ghost town with nothing in it. "Well, it's better than having to sleep outside", I told myself, so I went in.

A basic layout for a town, really: a main street, houses to the side, and alleys just in between the houses. I walk along the main road, looking left and right repeatedly, looking for signs of life anywhere. Well, it was already night so it was a bit hard to see, but oddly enough even this abandoned town have the nightlights working. I continue to walk, and if I don't notice any sign of life here when I reach the otherside of the town, I'll just go inside one of the houses and try to sleep there. Maybe I can even find some leftover supplies, too.

With the sun not visible anymore, I didn't know how to tell the time. It was at this time that I suddenly remembered that I could tell the direction I was going by looking at where the sun was setting. Since the sun was setting to the left of me while walking outside, I must have been walking north all this time. I brought out a paper and brush and started to somehow plot out a map from there: I first drew the NESW compass to the upper-right, then I drew Kasu Village and Shimizu Village near the center, then a few distances 'north', I drew this nameless town. Just when I was finished plotting it out, however, I noticed that I was surrounded. There were suddenly a number of bandits that were surrounding me... well, at least they somehow look like bandits. Their stance however wasn't like one, for they took on stances that are familiar to me as martial arts, and their weapons were actually still sheathed. Not really panicking here, though it just startled me that I'll be attacked in such an odd place... well, not really 'odd'; I'm walking alone in an abandoned town, I should really be expecting this.

Time passed and they still didn't do a thing to me. Nothing was going on. Then later another entity showed up from behind the circle of 'bandits', which I assume would be their leader, or something like that. She had (author's note: this part may change due to the reference picture being very unclear at the moment) feline-like red ears that were kind of pointy, and she seemed to have long yellow hair which was straightened perfectly, but curved nicely back by some black object attached to the back of her head. She wore a violet vest which allowed for a great deal of mobility, and she was actually kinda tall. Coming from behind the crowd, she walked up to me.

"Hm, we don't get visitors here often, and less likely people not from the town." she said to me. "I haven't seen you anywhere, so how did you get to this place?"

"I just... got here? I was just walking in some direction, and I eventually ended up here." I replied. She seemed to have then taken notice of my supplies bag.

"Going on an adventure or something? It's kind of odd to see people here that have no idea where they're going."

"Something like that, yes. Since it was night time, I figured I needed to look for a place to at least spend the night in comfortably. I almost settled for sleeping outside, but then I saw this place, so I walked here."

"How long have you been walking?"

"Maybe around 6 hours."

"6 hours! Some trip you're going on, here."

"I came from Kasu Village, which is just 6 hours south of this place. By the way, my n~"

"I did not ask for your name yet."

"why are you so pushy?"

She didn't answer me after that, as she suddenly swiped the supplies bag I had, opened it, and dropped everything in it. Of course this frustrated me.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" I exclaimed. She seemed to scan the contents of the bag carefully, very carefully. My first impression was she was looking for something to take from me.

"Oh you wouldn't dare!" I shouted at her, then assumed a standard fighting stance just to defend myself if ever I needed to, in which this situation actually kind of calls for it. After she was finished skimming through my things, she threw the bag wide open in front of me. After that, she proceeded to kick my things one by one back into the bag. Well, so much for being stolen from, so I assumed a normal standing stance again as I was assured that she wouldn't steal something from me. Eventually, all of my things were back in the bag.

"So... just a place to stay huh. Can't say we own this place, anyway, so feel free to use this house over here." she said, as she pointed out a specific small residence that seemed to be well clean enough for someone to live in. "I always take care of this house just in case there was a time that I needed to find another residence, but I guess you can use it for now." she continued. "My name is... no, rather, you can call me Kiluna."

"Ryougen. Ryougen Mai of Kasu Village.
Thanks so much for letting me stay here." I replied.

"However, you must leave this place early tomorrow, for this still isn't your house, as it is not mine as well. It's kind of a bad habit to just take houses like that, you know. I'll make sure that I kick you out early tomorrow morning."

"Fine by me, I'll continue going tomorrow morning anyway...
Just a quick question, are there any other landmarks nearby here where I can hopefully resupply?"

"Well, Ugoshi Town isn't far away from here. This place used to be Ugoshi Town, but due to some accident from long ago, the place had to be relocated. Now this place just serve as the faraway slums of the town. The walk isn't that far from here. I could take you there tomorrow morning if you want."

"That would be great, thanks. If you'll excuse me, I really want to rest for now."

"No problem. Just don't do anything stupid."

"...do I really look that type of person?"

"Well, you're a complete stranger, how would I know?"

"...true. Anyway, thanks again."

"You're welcome. Don't cut the light in your eyes, now."

"...what's that supposed to mean?"

"...just go to sleep -_-"

"...whatever."

I went inside that house that Kiluna said she's taking care of. Well, it was a really simple house with one room... in fact it was just enough for one to be able to do normal residence functions in except the lack of a dining room. There was a wooden bed with a small ragged cushion on top of it, a few shelves and a cabinet, with one lamp and an overhead light. This was enough to stay in properly, so I unloaded myself, locked the door, and jumped on the cushion due to me being so tired from that long walk.

The night was kinda dull in this abandoned town. The only signs of life here was Kiluna and her gang, so there was minimal noise outside at this time. Moments like these are when I wish I could still sleep in Kasu Village. Nevertheless, I tried to drift off to sleep as I continue my journey tomorrow. Who knows, I might even have to walk longer after I resupply tomorrow morning...

But just before I can fully drift off in deep slumber, I suddenly heard commotion outside, and I was suddenly disturbed. I couldn't get to sleep. Annoyed, I looked out the window to the left of the room to see what was going on. By the way, this house was just on the border of a tall upward part of the main road, so the corridor to the left of it was pretty much a bird's eye view.

At the dead end of the alley, I saw Kiluna, and her face seemed to be frustrated... or more of in a fighting expression, as she was also in some fighting stance and had some of her combat equipment drew out. I looked to see who was attacking her, and to my surprise, it was actually her group of 'bandits'! "What's going on?!" I wondered, so I stuck my ear out of the window and used my stronger-than-normal hearing to eavesdrop on the dialogue down there.

"We've been waiting for the full moon all this time, Kiluna! Now hand it over!"

"Hand what over?! Why are you guys suddenly attacking me like this?!"

"The hidden brooch of the full moon! Give it!"

"...since when did you know about this?!"

"Just a few moments before 'we' formed this group... We're just mercenaries, after all. It doesn't matter how long it takes to get the job done, as long as we get paid for doing it in the end!"

"So that's what you guys were after for, all this time?! This thing?!"

I proceeded to look down afterward, then I saw Kiluna holding up a brooch with a red gem in the middle. For some reason, it shone very brightly under the full moon's light. Judging from the conversation, these guys are after this brooch, in which they will either profit from it or they have been hired to take it from her. So in truth they were actually mercenaries, huh. Kiluna somehow does look like one too.

I was a bit confused as to what to do. This was going to be a bit bloody, and I didn't want to get in a fight that wasn't my business. However, my concern for Kiluna kind of dominated over me, so I wore my red cape and vest quickly as I ran outside the house, and to the mouth of the alley where Kiluna was cornered. It seemed like they were already rushing toward Kiluna to attack, so I ran in and grabbed one of the guys there, punched him fiercely on the face, and threw him forward, which took 2 other guys out as well. This suddenly startled the group as they suddenly looked at me.

"It's the 'visitor'! So Kiluna, you had us figured out all this time, didn't you?!" The mercenary directly in front of Kiluna shouted at her.

"What are you talking about? I don't know this girl! I don't even know where her so called village is!" Kiluna replied, but her heavy breathing actually kind of made her look like she was lying even though she wasn't; it infuriated the mercenary leader, and ordered a good number of other guys to stop me.

There were quite a number of them, and they had everything to attempt to take me out, even to go so far as injuring me, or maybe even killing me. I, however, although not that skilled in fighting, cleared my mind as I tried to think carefully of how to take them out. It was simple, really: using my techniques in the dances that resembled some ancient moves, I was able to anticipate the moves of the mercenaries, which I think I can rightfully call bandits now, and hopefully drive them to the wall one by one. Right now, my goal was to get to Kiluna and get her out of here, and fend off these bandits for good. Not necessarily knocking out the guys here, I continue to dance my way forward (which actually seems to have formed my fighting style... the warrior's dance, mostly, was especially helpful here), I saw Kiluna trying to combat that bandit leader and protect that brooch that she was wearing. Eventually after dancing all the way to the end of the alley, I stood next to Kiluna.

"Ryougen?! What are you doing, this is none of your business! Leave at once!" Kiluna shouted at me.

"It may be none of my business... but you guys are disturbing my sleep." I replied sheepishly. In truth, I was actually concerned about Kiluna. She may have only did a small deed for me, but anyone with common sense would be able to tell that Kiluna needed protecting here; even if I didn't know her, I would help her out anyway. "So to you guys... I suggest you back off away from her before things get really messy." I said to the bandits.

"Back off? What a laugh! You're not even armed in anyway, and you fight like a sissy! Why should we fear some stranger such as you?" the bandit leader replied to me.

"Because... because...!" I was kinda infuriated by his statement. Moments later I suddenly lost track of my emotions here and suddenly let out a burst of what seemed to be spirit energy, the same energy I let out when I do my most powerful dances. I wasn't able to think straight here, as I just continued to do some hand motions that resembled a familiar dance technique of mine: I waved my hand quickly downward, then quickly pushed my palm forward with my arms crossing at the wrists. Then suddenly, red fire was suddenly coming out of my left hand, while blue fire was coming out from my right hand. Since I really wasn't able to think straight right now, I seemed to have pulled off a move that I was meaning to keep secret to myself... the Ryougen Beam. This was essentially it, but instead of using it for a fireworks-like display, I used it for combat instead. This suddenly prompted the group of bandits to back off as there were 2 enormous fires rapidly coming at them in alternate groups of 6 waves, colored blue and red. I was shouting a bit at this point, for I was exerting quite an amount of spirit energy. This moment of mine that took the spotlight seemed to have given me time to get my head straight, and eventually after I was conscious of my actions again, I stopped the Ryougen Beam. Everything suddenly feel silent after, except for my heavy breathing with a furious face towards the gang of bandits. A few moments later, I heard the bandit leader say "Pull out! Pull out!", which had all of them scattering away. The alley was clear again.

"...Ryougen..." I heard Kiluna speak. Still with my furious face, I turned to her and shouted.

"If you're going to give me a place to sleep, at least let me sleep in it!" was what I shouted. I then turned away from her and away from the alley, up the road, and back into the house that Kiluna provided for me. I jumped on the bed in hopes that I can finally cool off.

"...so much for the first event in my journey." I said, as I was finally able to sleep.

What happened in the middle of the night that I was asleep, I don't know.

Next thing I knew, morning already came. Sunrays were already evident, so I got up and prepared to leave the place and go to Ugoshi Town. Then I suddenly remembered that Kiluna was supposed to take me there today, so I fixed myself quickly so that I can find her as soon as possible. But while I was fixing myself up, I suddenly noticed that Kiluna was inside the house, which suddenly made me startled, tripped over the bucket of water that I was washing myself with, and the water splashed on me. So much for being awake in the morning...

Wait, WATER?! I suddenly stood up panicking, looking for a towel. Kiluna threw me one eventually, and I quickly dried myself with it. After I was done fixing myself, I finally approached Kiluna. How did she get in here in the first place? Oh wait, she has the keys to this house, duh.

"Apparently you don't know what privacy means, do you?" was my first statement to her.

"...how rude! I was gonna say good morning..." she replied.

"Still, you don't barge in to people's rooms without their permission. Anyway... you were going to take me to Ugoshi Town, right?"

"Yes I am. But... can we talk for a while, please?"

Hm, I'm pretty sure she won't forget what happened last night. So I sat down for what she had to say.

"Ryougen... I'd like to thank you for what you did for me last night. You protected a total stranger such as myself..."

"...don't be ridiculous! I just wanted to get to sleep, that's all!"

"Is that really so? Judging from how you reacted, it was like you were actually concerned as to what was happening."

Well, it's true... I just wanted to conceal the fact that I cared for a complete stranger. I wanted to retain that... 'cool' image of mine, like how most wanderers' personalities are. She could probably see through my facade the entire time, however.

"But I could conclude that you were eavesdropping on us, which prompted you to go and fend them off, isn't that right?"

"Yes, I heard the situation clearly. That brooch of yours is special, and basically those bandits wanted to steal it."

"They were thieves all along, those, imbeciles...! But my main concern now is that you know at least a bit of one of my biggest secrets..."

"The brooch? It's not like it concerns me, after all."

"It's still possible, however, that people may begin to ask you about it; since the guys got away, the possibility of them spreading out the news will be unavoidable...
So please... can you at least keep a promise? Promise me that you would act innocent about this... I'm sorry for getting you in this mess!"

"Sorry...? I have no concern for the brooch, whatsoever. It's so easy to act innocent, for I am not concerned of it."

"...that's a relief to hear."

With those words, I finally stood up.

"Now, if you would please take me to Ugoshi Town, if you may."

"Wait, Ryougen! Now that I think about it, I have one really, really big request..."

"And that is...?"

She fell a bit silent for a while. She probably is going to request something so big, she's even having trouble saying it.

"...come on, say it, I don't have all day." I prompted her.

"...Ryougen! Please let me go alongside you on your adventures!"

What?! This was all too sudden. Kiluna, a mercenary that I only knew for less than a day, asking me to take her on my journey even though she doesn't know where I'm headed!

"What?! What kind of... do you actually know what you're saying?!"

"Ryougen, you said yourself that you didn't know where you were supposed to go, wandering wherever your instinct takes you. Well, I'd like to also go to places too! I have my own goals which I just can't settle because of my duty in Ugoshi!"

"You have your own goals? Is this duty of yours in Ugoshi that much that you can't let go of it?"

"TO tell the truth, I am actually under the impression that being a mercenary will also take me places... and it's also my only main source of income. However, I have objectives that require me to wander around places with freedom! As a mercenary, I can only do the job and report back quickly, so I'm basically still locked in a cage. But after seeing you, a wanderer that has no money of his own and only relies on supplies that he finds, it suddenly sparked the idea in me that I don't actually need money to do what I want to!
And... with the guys running away from me, I have no actual group now and I may not be able to perform my requests anymore... To tell the truth, I've been thinking all night about where I can go now...!"

"You can just embark on your own journey! Why cling to me?"

"It's just... you know, different when you're going in a group. You may be a total stranger, but I know even you have friends and family that you cling to in times of need, right?"

As she uttered those words, I'm suddenly reminded of Kasu Village.

"And as you fought yesterday... I saw that strength in you. And the fact that you are the first person I saw to actually display spirit energy... it's the perfect opportunity for my actual quest!"

Quest? She must really be actually after something.

"Let me journey with you, Ryougen! I feel that my destiny may lie along the path that you're also taking!"

Destiny's path? OK this girl is too identical to me now. It's kinda hard to turn her down now, so...

"...how could I say no after how you described yourself? You yourself found out that I am concerned about others, so..."

"So is that a y~"

"It's a yes, yeah."

"Ryougen! Thank you... thank you so much!"

"However! Since you're the one tailing on me and not the other way around, my decisions will be first priority. You're not the leader of the group this time."

"Of course... I worked my way up to become the leader of Ugoshi's mercenary group, anyway..."

"But unlike jobs, there's no 'rank up' system here; you go with my journey, you'll have to follow my path. Understood?"

"Yes, yes, of course!"

"However, since I don't necessarily 'own' you, you may leave and go on your own path during anytime. I won't stop you."

"Uh, okay."

"So... can we go to Ugoshi now?"

"Of course, of course! When we arrive there, just tell me what you need and I'll point you to the appropriate section that has them. I also have to do some things in Ugoshi so as to cut off all connections to me there, signifying my leave as a mercenary, so I really do need to go there anyway."

"Well alright, let's go."

I got my bag of supplies as we left the room, and Kiluna seemed to also have herself prepared on a journey too. We walk out of the slums of Ugoshi to go to the main town.

"After we're out of the town and just wandering around, would you mind telling me this quest you talk about? I'll also describe to you my quest, which is kinda mystical in nature as well." I asked her.

"Yours too, huh? I have a feeling my own quest is also a bit fantastic by nature, so sure!"

"Alright, let's go then."

We now walk away from the abandoned town and on the way to Ugoshi Town, where we can stock up on supplies before leaving for a really long walk. To be honest, I feel kind of happier that I actually have someone accompanying me on a journey. Guess no one really is an island, huh. Shame I didn't get to see her abilities beforehand, but who said we needed to physically fight on our journey? There may be some rough moments, but our objectives will always be at sight. Fighting is only for necessity, even though I do sometimes like seeing the fighting abilities of other people.

Let's go on an adventure, shall we?

[ Last edited by Zekira at 2011-8-7 02:10 ]

Chapter 3

Before I... rather, we progress to the continuation of my journey, we head over to the first town I find along my journey. The extensive walking that I did yesterday seemed to have hit my initial stock of supplies too much, so while we're still here, we'd stock up for another walk we don't know how long will take. One thing's for sure though: I can count on this town to be my initial 'base' of sorts; I think I can keep coming back here when I need to. Walking all the way back to Shimizu or Kasu Village just isn't worth the re-visit, plus I don't think I can get that much supplies there anyway... they're just villges.

Hm... what if I do make this place my actual base instead? Just for sleeping quarters.

"Hey Kiluna." I turned to her while we were walking toward the town.

"What?"

"No one's living in that house that you let me sleep in yesterday, right?"

"I thought you would have figured that out by now."

"I was just wondering whether I can just make it temporarily mine for a while?"

"Make it yours?! Uhm, uh..."

Hm, is there something I overlooked? Considering the fact that she already let me sleep yesterday, I figured that she doesn't care that much about that house. Looks like she's still reluctant to give it to me. What I think is that she may have been taking care of that house for too long, she may have grown attached to it. Many people find that trait of being attached to inanimate objects weird, but as one who has encountered quite a number of people (even with my kinda silent personality...), I won't find anything new as weird. Heck, I've grown attached to my own cape. However, if she was truly attached to the house, she would have said "no" outright. I wonder what's keeping her...

"Uh, I'll think about it, oK?"

She can't even spew out an answer right now. Well, guess we should keep moving toward the town then.

We eventually arrive at Ugoshi Town. As this is actually the first time I've been to a town (remember that I'm a village girl), I'm amazed by the sheer number of buildings there are here. More than that, I'm surprised how modernized things can get around these places. Electricity in our village is just used mainly for basic appliances, like lights. If this is what a town looks like, what more if I see an actual fully modernized city? It would probably be very astounding in my eyes.

"Here we are! Ugoshi Town. Man, why don't I feel excited anymore when I come here...?"

"If these are your origins, I think I won't wonder; your teamma... no, the bandits might actually be around here, according to what you describe."

"True, but it's not that... I'm pretty sure I can handle them on my own."

"Yet you were pretty much helplessly cornered yesterday night..."

"...can we drop that event for a while, please?"

"Actually, I'm under the impression that you're just excited to go out on the journey."

"...you know what, that's actually kind of true! I'm not 'not' excited to come here, in fact I can't forget my origins; bottomline here is I can finally go places and solve that big mystery of mine!"

"So before we get to that, could you please show me now to the markets or whatever you call them around here?"

"Markets... hahaha, an evident village girl right here. You may have to get used to calling them shops, as they're kinda defined differently."

"Moreover, I do not have any monetary item with me right now, so uh..."

"Well, if we're going to stock on much, I don't have that much with me right now. So let's go visit my 'office' first..."

"Office...?"

Kiluna dragged me over to some building in the middle of the town. It appears empty, and assuming from the name of the office "Don't Cut", it's probably hers.

"Okay, wait here."

So I was just outside her 'office', waiting for her to come out. Eventually she did, and she was carrying a subtly sized bag. Of course I had to ask:

"What's in that?"

"All the office stuff I leave inside it. Since I figured I wouldn't be going back here for a while, I took everything as it might help us on the trip.
And since I don't actually do this job anymore..."

She pulled some almost invisible lever near the grass that was surrounding her office. And as soon as she triggered that lever, the building suddenly collapsed. Of course that startled me so much, seeing as how such a well-structured building would just break down into pieces. This also made all the townsfolk suddenly look at us, what with all the racket that caused.

"..." was my only reaction.

"Nothing to see here, guys! Go on!" Kiluna commented, which actually made some of the people move along, despite the building just destroyed. Then someone approached Kiluna.

"Yep, I'm shutting the place down for now, so you can take that off the townmap. However, I still claim reservation of this lot, so no touching it." Kiluna said to that other guy.

"Alright, we'll cover the lot in a few.
Alright guys, we got another one here!"

I assumed that this person was somehow the one managing the land around these parts. You have to wonder if it's actually just a town, or it has the potential to be a full blown city.

We left that lot alone shortly after that, and proceeded with these places she called 'shops'. And my first impression? It's just like a market, only way better... The environment of one will actually enable you to think clearly, and the stuff here are actually organized. It makes looking for things easier, and the shopkeepers actually seem approachable. Well, the market owners back at Kasu and Shimizu are too, but still... Must be nice, living in a place where the environment is peaceful like this. I proceeded to get a good stock of necessities for the journey, which I was actually able to quantify nicely this time. As I was paying up on the counter (I've actually kinda learned already, heh), Kiluna picked up an antique-looking piece of folded paper from some container located on top of the counter. She gave the paper to me.

"We will definitely find this handy."

"What is this?"

"Open it. Oh and by the way, you're holding my cash."

Hm, for some odd reason, her bag of money somehow ended up in my hand, so I gave it back to her. I then open up the paper she just gave me.

"It's a copy of an old map that depicts the area for a good how many miles around the town. We could use it to get an idea where we'd want to go first."

Very helpful indeed. I took out my own map and started to draw on it, adding locations based on this new map that we got. The map, like any other good map, also has the NESW symbol, so it was pretty easy redrawing everything onto my own map. After I was done, the transaction of the items we ordered were also done, so we head out. I think we're ready to get out of the town.

"So, we should probably get going now..." I recommended Kiluna.

"Not so fast! You're going to leave so soon, but you've forgotten something that wandering travellers always do!"

I'm no wandering traveller... well, at least I don't call myself one. "And that is...?"

"Info gathering! Walking aimlessly usually gets you nowhere, causing you to walk for at least six hours straight..."

Hm, it's true... I didn't have any sort of information prior to leaving Kasu Village, leading me straight here, when I probably would have encountered a nearer town or something...

"Alright, information gathering. However, I'm not really sure if which of these people could give us the information we need...?"

"The only pub around here is usually brimming with tons of info, even those that seem so unreal. You might be able to eavesdrop on some people on what you need, or just read the articles around there. In Ugoshi, almost everything within knowledge come across the pub, so it's worth a shot."

"Guess we don't really have much of a choice for that, so let's go."

We head over to the place. For some reason, it doesn't look as different as the organized drinking stations (...alcohol drinking stations), so it felt pretty comfortable here. Hell, there were actually some bottles over here that had familiar labels. Is drinking really that popular? Well I must say, it's kind of a great hobby, though it hasn't been that much of a good entertainment source lately in the village...

And what's the best way to eavesdrop than to sit in a place where you can pretty much hear everyone and pretend that you're spacing out? Kiluna prompted the... bartender, I think what they were called, to get a drink for me. Seems like Kiluna is actually kinda popular around the town and usually get these things for free, or whatever...

"She's just a newcomer, so we probably should go easy on her for now." I heard Kiluna comment. I just had to reply.

"Hey. I may be a foreigner here, but that doesn't mean I'm a weakling with these kinds of stuff."

I'm quite the drinker back in Kasu, actually. And I don't regret it at all: this stuff is good, real good. It also, believe it or not, helped me to develop stabilization of my mind; as the alcohol tries to mess around with your nervous system, you'd want to condition your body to be ready for it. I've developed various techniques to keep myself sane for the most part, and those techniques also help in normal life, allowing me to think deeply even in the most chaotic situations. Drinking is kind of my meditation supplement, if you can put it that way.

"At least hit me up with something original here." I said to the bartender. The selection over at the village kind of gets repetitive after a while of being there, so I'm not letting this opportunity of having something new pass up. Of course, I couldn't just forget what I came here for; as soon as I got my bottle, I proceeded to sit down just there in front of the bar. It should be a good enough spot to hear the entire place. Oh, and before I forget to mention (author's note: yes I forgot to actually mention this earlier), the other people over at Kasu Village said that the size of my ears contribute to my ability to hear. Now unless I entered someone else's brain, I wouldn't really know if it's actually true. Anyway, time to concentrate on a spot to eavesdrop on.

"Just curious, what topics mainly interest you anyway, Ryougen?" Kiluna asked me.

"...new places. Faraway lands. Basically anything that I haven't heard of. I'm pretty sure these people wouldn't know anything about this mystical objective of mine, so I'll start with the most basic concept of 'heaven is right there'." I replied.

"Fine by me, I'll eavesdrop on my own concerns as well."

So here I am, sitting in front of the bar, trying to overhear conversations from within the entire place. Let's see which conversations I can whip up...

"But that was totally not my intention! I seriously didn't think it would be too much!"
"You got one of the more classic sounds, THEN put in something that doesn't even resemble it's tune! What do you think you're doing?!"
"Well, I was trying to soar... soar high..."
"...you seriously have to stop drinking, BHM."

Ooookay so I don't think that's actually that interesting. Let's try another spot...

"So that dude, he was... *jumbled up words* and I was like YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... And and and... that girl saw them and then she was like *jumbled words* and then I was like YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

Uh, I don't think that's even of any sense... Moving on...

"Man, what... what the hell do you think this is?
"It's... IT'S...
IS NAHMKOW BABY!"
"Central *jumbled word* Coast, yeah baby!"
*some noises coming from some device...*
"Oops! That *jumbled words* say, DENIED."

...OK these conversations make me totally feel like an outsider now. Isn't there any serious conversation I'll hear here...?

"Hey, uh... question, if I may ask."
"What is it?"
"You know that girl across the street along *jumbled words* corner?"
"That weird girl that *jumbled words* potions and stuff? What about her?"
"I think she somehow stole something precious..."
"Something precious, you say...?"
"My precious thing..."

I don't even want to know what the hell they're talking about. To think I actually thought it was something of value this time...

"There's however, this one place on this stinking map I still don't know what's in it."
"What place? This sort of cave over here?"
"Yeah, this one over here. It's said to be filled with ca*jumbled sounds* , and I actually saw them just outside! The fog was kind of thick, and after a while I couldn't see anything... that's why I turned back before the ca*jumbled sound* were going to eat me, and just ran away... no way am I ever going back to that cave again!"
"Sometimes you actually have to wonder if it's all worth it... going to that cave and finding that special treasure, if it's actually even there..."
"I've had numerous scary moments in my exploring, but this one is kinda bit too much! I'm not going back there!"

Cave? I wonder what cave they're talking about. Is it somehow this unnamed cave in the Ugoshi Map I just got? Definitely looks like a place of interest...

"Hey, you heard of that guy? You know, the one that uses his giant bow-sword-whatever hell that thing is as a toothpick?"

What?

"Actually, all you have to do is count the number of *jumbles* and divide it by 4. By the time you get to *jumble* 100, it should equivalent to the amount of increase in that *jumble*."
"I actually kind of know that already. However, I still do not understand why different *jumble jumble* end up with different *jumble* even at *jumble* 100..."

Math? Not my thing, let's move on to somewhere else...

"Have you been to AC City? The one on *jumble*"
"No, actually. What's there?"
"Only the most improved technology to ever exist on the face of this world! It's unbelievably modernized so much, you'd think they'd be able to spy us talking about the city right about now!"
"What? How is that possible?"
"It's either that 'GPS' thing or the highly advanced 'satellite-driven' cameras or something... I have no idea how these newfangled things work, don't ask me! But basically saying, this place is AMAZING in terms of modernization."
"If you describe it to be that well, it actually seems like a place I'd go to."
"Oh, very. And if you get the chance, go look for the popular genius there named Aco*jumble* when he puts up a seminar... it sometimes actually looks more like a show rather than a *jumble*, and *jumble*"

Hm, interesting. Let's see...

"Hey you! Yeah, you there, moving your ears around with that drink rotting around in the 3 hours that it's been there!"

Uh, I think someone was actually calling me this time. I turned a few angles around to see that it was just someone sitting also at the bar. He had blue skin, blue cat-like ears that are smaller than Tenyou's, and... actually, I couldn't help but notice how weird he is clothed. He wores a miniature crown on his head, with what I believe to be some clothing that royalties wear that makes them look fatter than they are with some ruffles; rather than look like a prince, I'd say he looks stupid, in all senses of the word.

"Are you actually going to drink that or are you going to continue making an idiot of yourself there?" he shouted a bit.

"Excuse me? Who's the idiot?" I replied.

"I'm looking at her."

"Oh, is that so? I thought I was looking at him..."

"You're one to talk, outsider!"

"Whatever, my reason for being here is none of your business, so could you please just un-stick your nose out of what I'm doing, please?"

"Well, I'd normally let you continue being an idiot, but after calling me one, I think I can't let that slip away now, can we?"

I actually thought of replying "You mad?" to him, but I figured that would taint my outsider personality a bit, so I waited for the next thing he'd do. I didn't see what he actually did, but suddenly there were 2 bottles of the same drink in his hands. He slammed both on the table, one near me and one in front of him.

"Think you're up to it?!"

Is he seriously thinking of challening me into what I think he's going to? Maybe those times slacking off in Kasu may just pay off today. I held the glass I had, and literally threw the liquid in it all the way into my mouth, splashing inside my oral orifice (author's note: ?). Since I was pretty much challenged to something, I didn't get a taste of what that drink tasted like.

"We drink in bottles." I said confidently.

"Fine by me!" the other guy shouted, though there was this slight tremble in the one of his voice somewhere... I think it was on the 'fine' part. He kind of has the advantage here since he knows about the brands here while I don't, so after making sure that he's giving me the same bottle, I'll just chug it down.

Quite a number of bottles emptied out already, and my body was starting to feel different. It seems like his is also becoming unstable too.

"Alright, I think... this is where it all gets exciting." I got cocky enough to say that.

"You *hic* are not going to win this." was all he replied.

Time to fully use the techniques I learned myself back then. The next two bottles came on. Holding both of them up, gulping them like there was no tomorrow, I closed my eyes as I fully 'seal my sane self on my entire body system' so that my actual soul will never leave. This usually has me end up thinking of other stuff quickly, so that I don't re-enact them in the real world. Not being able to see helps a lot since it actually renders your imagination wilder.
For these bottles, for some odd reason, the image that formed in my head was Kiluna... and she was... never mind. I had to open my eyes all of a sudden and drop one bottle down on the table because of the sudden image that formed in my head. I saw that the blue guy wasn't doing that much better either. I just hope that... those kinds of images don't form again the next time I try to do this. Finsihing up the current bottles, a few more were handed to us. The other guy still seemed strong, but I can feel that imbalance of his starting to kick in. However, this was also kind of a bad situation for me as I was feeling my nervous system dulling over earlier than usual... has it been that long ever since I 'practiced'? This will probably be the final bottle (author's note: wow, unintentional pun right there), and whoever keels over last will probably win it.

This next bottle however, was much different. As I gulped it down and closed my eyes, a pulse suddenly started inside my body... or how can I describe it? It's like this bottle worked like a magic potion, as I feel rejuvenized a few seconds after drinking some of this... is this really an alcoholic beverage or something? It's probably obvious that I had no problems gulping this one down, but it seems like I was starting again from my first bottle; it was that magical.

When I dropped the empty bottle down, I looked to see the other guy with his face on the table, quite literally here. Seeing as how it seemed to be over (without regards to whoever was watching us), I looked at the label of the bottle, only to find out that the label has faded so much that it's not readable anymore. And I was looking forward to getting me one of these for some other time...

While Kiluna was staring at me intently, with an "Wow, I'm impressed" face, I figured it was time to leave. Leaving the stranger behind, I walk out of the pub along with Kiluna without saying a word. Before I was able to leave the door however, I felt something pounced on my cape, but it was weak enough for me to just ignore and step straight out of the door.

"That was... some immense 'skill' there. Especially for a village girl." Kiluna commented immediately just after the door closed.

"I've got quite an experience. Anyway, he was really getting annoying anyway... I'm just glad that it didn't turn into something too drastic and it ended quickly."

"Wow, it's like you're not even dazed one bit! I could totally hang out with a drinker such as you."

"Why, you're not that proficient yourself?"

"Not really. I only drink for the taste."

"You and I the same, really. To be honest that was the first time I even attempted at a challenge like that."

"You've got to be joking me!"

"Well, the guy was pretty weak anyway... it was probably just a waste of time.
Anyway, what did you hear?"

"Nothing too interesting, except for some mysteries going around the town lately about the sudden influx of cats..."

"Influx of cats, huh. Didn't really hear that one... wait. I did hear one conversation that may have mentioned something about cats, but I couldn't make out their words exactly... Something related to that cave a few distances to the east of Ugoshi (facing North)."

"Cave? You mean this unnamed cave? Well, I haven't actually been to that place... and I don't think anybody has; it doesn't even have a name yet."

"Well, all the more reason to start moving."

"Wait, you plan on going there?! You're not scared from what you heard?"

"Well, how bad can the fog get? Exploring on things you can't see all just makes it more exciting."

"Yeah, but... well, okay, your call."

"Well, it'll probably be always like that.
So, let's 'officially' begin this adventure now, once and for all."

We proceed to walk toward the town's outskirts, but I have a feeling I probably might have forgotten something...

Chapter 4

I didn't think I could actually endure that much drinking from that crazy event that happened yesterday. That guy in stupid clothes... what the hell was he thinking? It must have been unfair for him, I guess... in my opinion, there wouldn't be a person who would be that rude to outright just make those remarks at me. We don't even know each other, so it's probable that he was minutely drunk already before the bottles started coming. Probably.

We eventually arrived at the border of the town, and proceeded to completely leave the area.

"So now that we're outside, care to tell me now of this objective you say?" I asked Kiluna. I'll tell my own story to her later after she's done.

"Alright then. The main item of interest here would be this brooch."

She flashed the brooch that was hidden beneath her clothing. Before taking it out completely, she looked around for a while, probably to check if there was no one else around. From that time yesterday, it seems like she really has to protect this brooch with all her life. I'm pretty sure she'll proceed to telling me what's behind all this.

"I kept it as hidden as possible from the world. Some fanatics call this the "Hidden brooch of the Full Moon", but from what I read before, this brooch is called the "Moon's Tears", said to have been dropped onto the world during the moon's Lunar Cry which happened in ancient times."

The Lunar Cry? I've never heard of such an event from happening, even if I've read that much on the world's history.

"The Lunar Cry? Is it some phenomena where a large amount of water comes down from the moon and drops it here?"

"Well, it's correct only up to the point where a large amount of something dropped. What actually dropped still remains a mystery, though this brooch is definitely a genuine item itself. From the full moon yesterday, you may have noticed this brooch somehow shining a bit. It actually only does that on fullmoon nights, and I didn't even tweak it in anyway, so there's got to be a magical power behind it."

"Where did you get this thing anyway?"

"I found it in the stash of my ancestors. I forgot exactly what prompted me to go and look through it, but I found this wrapped along a piece of old writing medium."

She brought out some sort of paper that looks like it's been there for a million years or something... it's just really old. She opened it, and there I found some sort of ancient alphabet that I don't understand. It seems as if she can read bits of it, however.

"I don't memorize exactly how this is read, but this definitely defines the brooch as the Moon's Tears. Keywords from this scripture include: moon, lunar cry, mystical power, another dimension, finding one's self... that's basically the only things I can read from here.
My actual objective can go in two ways: I find what this brooch really is, or I learn the entire alphabet from which this text is written, and try to decrypt whatever it is saying. From my travels as a mercenary, I've only received very, very minimal hints as to what this text says."

"What's in it for you, anyway? After you find out what this brooch actually is, what will you do with it?"

"That's exactly the thrill in it! So much unknown knowledge in that you'd always be looking forward to something unexpected. It's that feeling of being able to discover unknown horizons that keeps me going on in trying to unlock this."

"What if you indeed 'unlock' this? What will you do after?"

"I'm pretty sure my answer to that question will not differ if I ask the same question to you."

...wow, it's true. After I find Senpuu, what will I do after that? Wait, I do have an answer for that...

"Oh, but I actually do have an answer to that, mind you."

"You... do?"

"I actually have something to look forward to after I'm done with my 'quest' here. Actually, it would help if I describe first what I've set out to do."

"Please do. I'm really interested to hear something different... actually, I'm just interested what people do for their lives, heh."

From my bag of supplies, I took out the family picture of the Mai siblings.

"Is this a childhood picture? You're really cu~ why are you wearing your undergarments on the outside..."

"N-never mind that! A-anyway!
Ryougen Mai, Senpuu Mai, Tenyou Mai. 3 siblings of the clan from the Shimizu Village. Bottomline here: I don't remember anything about Senpuu. Neither does Tenyou."

"Don't remember anything?! She out of the village or something?"

"For more than an amount of time I couldn't even remember. The whole village was hiding the fact that we had another sister."

I described more of the situation to her; how my life was in Shimizu and Kasu Village, my 'occupation' as the dancer of strength for Kasu, and how the entire Shimizu Village has been keeping a secret from me until now.

"...I still have something to look forward to after this. Once I've found my lost sister, I'll continue to be the pinnacle of strength for our villages. And it's possible that I may also find something interesting on our journey that will keep me occupied for after I find Senpuu. I've been living such an isolated life inside those villages, as you may have noticed from my very limited knowledge about a town, questioning terms such as 'shops'..."

"It must be a blast for you then, to be able to get out and walk to such far places. I haven't actually been to those villages that you described... I'll be sure to visit there when I'm not occupied."

"Well, OK... good luck walking for 6 hours, heh."

"Hey, by that time I think we have a reliable way of transportation... I guess? I'll probably learn about the vehicles or something..."

"Vehicles...?
Wait wait WAIT. You kind of haven't answered my question yet..."

"You might have noticed by now that I'm trying to drive the question away... goes to show that I don't have an answer yet..."

"...well, good luck finding something... Thinking about the future is something that everyone should have."

Then some other foreign voice suddenly echoed from a short distance from us.

"Oh yeah? Then tell me why you're just walking unawarily forward?"

I could swear this voice was familiar, though I just can't remember exactly where I heard it before. Of course, this foreign voice alerted me so I looked away from Kiluna and forward to the path I was walking. And what did I find? We were surrounded. By bandits.

"You guys again...?! I thought you learned your lesson for good!" Kiluna reacted. Turns out this was the same group that attacked Kiluna yesterday. If memory serves me right, they still want the Moon's Tears. What are they going to do with it anyway? Sell it?

"I'll gladly burn you this time around, if you still choose to intefere." I said to them. I have to make them remember what made them scurrying away yesterday night, so with a few efforts, I lit a fire on my hands.

"Well, that's not what we're here for now, anyway..." the bandit reacted. I was wondering why that was so, when I just noticed now that we were already chained to the ground. What kind of a trap was that?! And how come I didn't notice something so restraining?

"Alright, good." another voice came from beneath the circle of bandits. Some of the bandits stepped beside to allow entrance for another entity. Blue skin, funny attire, with a crown on his head... Wait a minute! This... this was...

"You?! That fool from the pub in Ugoshi..."

"'Fool'? You should realize how absent-minded you are for being caught so easily, to the point that I was able to walk ahead of you while you were babbling about stuff that I'm probably not concerned about."

Yes, it was indeed that same guy. Were we too preoccupied in talking in that we walked so slow? And to think, I thought he was already on the verge of vomiting his guts out when I left the place! It's either he was bluffing it, which I highly doubt, or his powers of regeneration are very strong... Now, what does he want from us and that we're chained to the ground? How is he related to Kiluna's former group of bandits?

I saw that same guy hand over an envelope to the bandit leader.

"Alright, this is the only thing I wanted you guys to do. You may leave..." said the blue guy.

"Wait, we're kind of not done here... we wanna hurt that girl over there a bi~" the bandit leader said, but was interrupted.

"I. Said. LEAVE. Or do you want me to take that money back from you and make you fugitives instead?" the blue one said. It appears he has some sort of power or something, though it doesn't seem like it... he probably just has the money to manipulate people, like these mercenary-bandits. Without further delay, the group walked away from us, and scurried out to some direction. I couldn't really see that well because there was a bit of fog in this area already.

So it was just me and Kiluna tied to the ground, in front of that blue drunkard. We can't really do much in this position, but he's going to have to explain himself as to why he has us bound here. Is he that much of a sore loser?

"Firstly, I'd just like to say I'm impressed of your drinking powers, draggy."

'Draggy'? What the hell? Also, why is he complimenting me?

"But that's not really what I'm here for. I'm here for one thing: the other girl."

He's here for Kiluna? What for?

"Me?! What... I don't even know you! What business do I have with you?!" Kiluna shouted.

"That's none of your business! I'll have to take you to the place I have to take you to!" the blue guy said. From that statement, it actually sounds like he doesn't know why he's doing this, which is kind of odd. Even if he does say that it's none of our business, the tone of his voice hints at the fact that he's doing this with no real objective. Of course I can't just stand here...

"You can't just take her with you, for no one owns her. She went with me by her own will. Why does she have to go with you?" I said.

"Why don't you just get straight to the point: you wanna fight, right?" he said. A fight? I didn't really imply that, but it seems like it will eventually lead to it...

Then I noticed that he suddenly unlocked the chains binding our feet. Surprised, me and Kiluna didn't even try to run away. If he really wanted something to do with us, why would he just let go of us like this? Surely there must be a reason, so I asked.

"...huh? You are doing this... why?"

"Yeah... and I thought you had a great sign of strength underneath those stupid clothes..." Kiluna reacted.

"S-stop talking about my clothing! God damn it! I did not unlock this just so you could walk away!
I just want one simple thing: I want a battle... a physical kind of battle. Whoever wins gets to take the girl."

What is this?! It's not like I own Kiluna or anything! What is he implying?!

"To be honest, I couldn't really bring myself to resort to sneaky unfair tricks just to get what I want. However, that's because I'm the strongest! (author's note: Is it a coincidence that Shito's skin color is light blue, just like a certain ice fairy? I swear this was unintentional!) And I don't need to make any effort to get what I want... I can just beat anyone down for it! Now, face me! Or is drinking your only capability?!"

The strongest? He wears stupid clothing; does he expect me to believe him? I am not accepting a stupid challenge like this!

"...very well, I shall put myself on the line." Kiluna suddenly retorted. Of course, this got a surprised reaction from me.

"Kiluna...?! You can't just do that! Whatever happened to go~" I replied, when Kiluna cut me off.

"Ryougen! I am not owned by anyone, that includes you! Without my job, all my actions are mine alone! And I say... may the warrior with the most honor win." she replied.

Honor...? I never really expected her to be talking of such; I didn't think she actually cared. But since she's the one who wants it, I guess we have no choice...

"...very well, you heard the girl. I shall battle you, here and now. Any 'rules'?" I said to the blue guy.

"Well, it's a good thing you're stepping up to it! I am Shito, the strongest being in this entire world! You are just an example of all the lowlives that surround the environment! And I'll prove it to you!"

"Answer my question! By the way, I am Ryougen Mai of Kasu Village."

He suddenly flinched a bit when he heard "Kasu Village", but then regained his composure quite a bit.

"Rules, huh... doesn't really matter, first to be taken down loses!"

After that statement he suddenly charged at me, attempting to connect a simple punch to my face. He was fast, but not fast enough to render my reflexes amock. Again, using the only moves I know, the dances of strength, I quickly get out of the range of his attack by hopping to the right and getting my balance quickly. I tried to lunge at him with my own choice of hand 'martial arts' in the form of palm strikes, finger strikes, and hand slashes, so I started out with a swift palm strike while he was still recovering from the whiff'd punch. It hit him, but not as much as I expected it to, for he just flinched and got his balance quickly. He almost grabbed my hand, but I quickly drew it away to attempt to jump and kick at him. He tried to grasp my foot as it was coming at him, but his reactions were too late and I was able to hit him straight to the face. He almost fell over, quickly stood up as I was still getting my balance on the ground. He quickly recovered, and brought out which looked like effective projectiles that might actually wound me. With much accuracy he threw those projectiles at me. The distance was quite at my disadvantage, so I had to keep moving sidewards until such time I can close in, that is, when he stops throwing stuff at me. But seeing from how quick he's throwing these at me, it doesn't seem like he'll run out anytime soon... I think my stamina wouldn't last this long. Eventually I noticed that I was dancing slower and slower, and that my body was reacting slower than my reflexes could recognize. Eventually one of these was coming straight at me, and I was in a bad position; I knew I couldn't dodge this one, so the only option I could think of is to try and block it with my own body. With some burst of fear from my inner self, I placed my palms forward in attempts to block the projectile. My mind blanked out a bit. Then suddenly the surrounding became a bit hotter than usual, and I think it's actually coming out from my hand. I slowly looked forward again to see what was happening... and I was doing it again! The Ryougen Beam! Red Fire coming out of my left hand, blue flame coming out from my right hand... and at their crossing point, the projectile was there suspended. I tried to calm down in order to shut the fire off; it did, and the projectile just fell on the ground, with a few burnmarks on it. I then looked at Shito, to see his face with some fear. Figuring that my powers of fire could come in handy now, I lunged at him to take advantage of his shock and with my hands still ignited, I tried to see if touching him with it will finally take him down. I was able to connect a palm strike yet again, but the power seemed to be increased with the fire in my hands even though I used less effort. Seeing as he still has composure, I tried to do a standard mystical technique that other beings that can control fire do: throw a ball of fire at him. Clearing my mind of much things, I tried to concentrate on that spiritual power inside me the same way I have access to the Ryougen Beam, throwing 'air' just in front of me... and it worked! Fire came out of my hands as a projectile and it effectively hit him. I can't believe I'm not dreaming... I actually really do have 'powers'! I'm not sure how exactly they're called, but from fantasy books that I've read (which doesn't seem to be as fantastic now!), that's how they commonly refer to mystical powers.

It seemed to be really effective, as he was now lying there. The strongest, he says. What a laugh. I turned away now to face Kiluna who was just sitting down watching the fight, and proceeded to walk away, when I heard Shito's voice again.

"...it's good... this is all good...
I did say there weren't much rules now, is there? We don't have the right to kill each other, yeah... However..."

I faced him again to see him still trying to stand up. Looks like fight's not yet over, it seems.

"Since I now know that you have something inside you... I have no reason to hold back!"

To hold back? I don't think he's faking this; he barely has the energy to keep himself bala~

What is that thing coming out of his back...?!

"Yeah, you felt it right, someone worth crushing this time, and he's all ours!
Ryougen, Kiluna! I'd like to introduce to you Blackrose!"

Is that a dragon much bigger than him coming out of his body?! Usually only spirits can do that, which its form seemed to have formed into as it was missing limbs (permanently attached to Shito), but he really seemed like a part of the existing world... That black figure, permanently frowning eyes and a smile that resembles that of a killer... Is this Shito's power?!

Then I heard the dragon speak.

"It's been a while since I've been out... I was waiting for a moment like this!" the creature named Blackrose commented.

"Alright Blackrose, let's take her down!" Shito complied. Looks like the fight indeed isn't over, as I now have to figure out a way to take down this spiritual partner of his...

And it's as if the previous events didn't happen; Shito was lunging at me faster than he was moving before, bringing Blackrose closer, and the dragon proceeded to try and swipe at me. Getting myself out of the shock, I barely was able to get out of the way. That huge black serpentine was whipping like crazy though, and after all of those intense movements you would've guessed that a few of them hit me. Blackrose, although technically just a spirit, still seems to be physically present in this realm, evidenced by the fact that it was hitting me with its body. I could hear Kiluna shouting with a worrying tone, but I couldn't make out her words since I was too concentrated on figuring out what to do. Eventually after much more dodging, I noticed something peculiar: Shito's legs are still trembling. It's evident that the only thing that's allowing him to stand is a second wind. And since he needed to move in order for Blackrose to actually approach me, I knew exactly what I had to do. So Blackrose proceeded to whip me again with his body... but this time I tried something else: I placed both of my hands forward, palms facing the dragon, and with my remaining strength, tried to hold the dragon in place. My idea was to put him in place so I could somehow either get past him while he's still trying to shake me off, or the better option... jump on his body and walk towards Shito. I just need to deliver a fierce kick to Shito's legs, and...

Holy what?! Blackrose is...

"Burn, burn, BURN weak creature!"

He opened his gaping mouth and from out of it came an enormous blue fire, directed at me. I had no choice but to put my arms in a blocking position just to shield myself from this attack. It burns, it really does... it's hot... does it really feel like this? Is he just taking revenge of the fact that I burned Shito down first...?

Wait... but it's just fire... Let me try lunging with this blocking position and hitting his head... It doesn't feel so hot anymore... it's more of warm, actually!

...right on spot! With my arms, I was able to hit Blackrose's snout and knocked him over a bit, stopping the blue fire from his mouth. Taking advantage of his raised body, I quickly dashed forward to get to where Shito was. Shito, noticing this, tried to move away a bit, but Blackrose was still flinching, thus hindering even Shito's movement itself. Trying to control Blackrose to hit me instead (by using him as a weapon, which was a real laugh for a moment), he grasped the heavy spiritual figure and tried to swing it to me. But he was too late; I was already in a sliding position (firing up the ground as I was sliding... don't know why), making Blackrose's body whiff me, and my foot already positioned to kick his legs.

Then it hit him.

He finally got completely off balanced, and fell down flat on his back a second time. Now sufficiently weakened, Blackrose seemed to have been forced back into his body, leaving only the immobile Shito lying on the ground. I guess NOW the fight is over.

Kiluna rushes over to me as I stand up, knowing that everything is now done.

"Ryougen! I knew you could do it! However, I haven't seen this much mystical power in action ever in my life...!" she just had to exclaim. As she said, she gets excited when seeing new things, so although this is a surprise to her, she seems to have that smile on her face despite the fact that I'm a bit hurt.

"Yeah... glad I pulled that one over. I'd want to practice this newly found fire powers of mine though... I didn't know I could actually do this."

"How lucky I am, to be accompanied by a being with spiritual power... it makes this journey even more to look forward to!"

"Heh... if that's a compliment for me, thanks anyway. We have to get going now, though I don't remember which direction we were walking to originally..."

The fog was already quite evident in this area, for some reason. Tracking Kiluna's footsteps, we eventually were able to tell the direction we were going and moved forward. Then I heard Shito still speak again, though this time he's significantly weakened. It's a surprise to see him be able to stand on his knees though, even after all that he's gone through...

"Wait... wait! This battle... it was all a fluke, I swear!" he said. He's still that cocky after losing that bad?! What kind of a person is this?! "But... I have to tell you one last thing!" he continues, then there was this slight sign of fear from the tone of his voice. Because of that particular tone, I had to listen to what was up, so I faced him. "I came for that girl because another being blackmailed me to do so... If she finds out that I'm lying down here, she'll kill me for sure...! I couldn't really refuse even when I realize her evil motive because she 'caught' me..."

OK this is weird. First, the bandits were paid by Shito to capture us, and now we find that Shito is being manipulated by some other being? Whoever that is, he or she wanted Kiluna, or something from her. It's probably the brooch...

"Where is this particular person you speak of?" I asked Shito.

"You're... already facing in the direction of Nihyaku Cave, right...? She's there. I don't care how you get there, or if the fog will blind you, just... if you don't want to see the strongest person in the world get killed, go there and reason with her! I can't really move yet... and she'll be looking for me soon!" he replies. So we have another suspect at hand that wants Kiluna, or probably her brooch rather. And we were right on track as we were going to Nihyaku Cave anyway.

"...well, if you insist, we'll take care of that for you. Kiluna, whoever that person is, he or she will probably keep on aiming you, so keep your guard up."

"I'm not really the type that spaces out, so you can count on me in protecting myself." she replies.

Shito then makes one last remark before we disappeared in the dark.

"The next time we meet... the next time we meet is where I crush you down to a crisp! Ryougen Mai! Do not forget my words! This battle... was... all... a fluke...!" was what I could make out, then a loud thud afterwards... seems like he actually fell face flat on the ground this time. He'll be unconscious there for a while, and after what he did to us, I couldn't really bother helping him. Kiluna and I then proceed forward on to Nihyaku Cave.

The fog is getting thicker and thicker...

Chapter 5

Moving toward the thicker fog, Kiluna and I walk with caution for anything that may come out at us. I must admit that Shito is strong; the fact that some entity from this area was able to manipulate him, it probably means that whatever is in here is much stronger...

What's with the fog though? If we think about it scientifically, fog only forms in places with varying temperatures. But so far, the area hasn't been too hot or too cold... stable temperature really. Kiluna seems to be shaking, however; I don't think she's the type to be scared, or...

I'm not really sure how to react here. This is my first time going to a place with such fog. I don't feel a heavy sense of fear at all... more like awareness, actually. I don't know what's messing with Kiluna's body or mind... she's either scared or cold, which neither probably are true. What's going on here...?

Then I heard a soft screech. I think it came far in front of us.

"W-what was that...?" Kiluna asked me. Seems like it wasn't just me then.

"I don't know... sounded like a screaming girl or something. We won't find out unless we go there."

"Ryougen... I-I don't know whether we should really be going there or not."

"...to be honest, I had my doubts at first.

However, Kiluna, one thing that you may want to learn is the ability to perceive the truth from body expressions alone."

"Perceive the truth?"

"Actually I kind of regret learning how to do it; I've encountered so many people that try to hide their suffering, and I may have been better off not seeing those...

Anyway, it was evident from Shito's manner of speaking that he's telling the truth. He was trying as much as possible to keep a normal sense of fear when trying to ask the favor from us, but when I saw it, it seemed to be something much, much deeper than fear. I don't know exactly how heavy it is, but I do know for sure that what he said sounds serious here.

You became a mercenary; you must have also had that sense of sympathy as you do 'favors' in the forms of 'quests', haven't you? It's just that unexplainable feeling of the need to help someone, you know.

To be honest, I should actually be the one asking you that; why should I be going there?"

"...what?"

"Remember that whoever lies in these parts wants YOU in particular. If you ask me why we're doing this for Shito, it'll be the same answer why I'm even doing this for you."

Wait a minute, now I get it. She is, indeed, scared. Why haven't I thought of it that way; she isn't scared of the danger that she'll be encountering here... she's scared of the brooch being taken away from her. From her narration to me, it's the Moon's Tear that pretty much made her world go round. She must have probably felt fear so many times, all being the fear of losing that brooch. But...

"...Kiluna, Kiluna. You may not understand what I say to you, but this fear that you're feeling... it's going to be healthy for you."

"What? I-I'm not sca~ oh..."

"When people are caught in a pinch, they tend to panic and most of the time put themselves into a state of a shameful lowlife, trying to avoid every negative thing instead of seeking for the positive ones instead.

Journeys are always filled with unexpected things. Admittedly, even if I expect the unexpected, it instills fear in me. But I don't immediately turn away from it; I try and think if it will be 'healthy' for me or not.

...I'm probably talking too much. Just remember that you have to face this, and remember that I'm here to help...

We'll face whatever is... here..."

Oh, great. Now I'm feeling a deeper sense of fear now. Not from the idea of charging in the fog, obviously. It's actually the fear of losing my companion. Maybe this level of fear is the same as how Kiluna is feeling... or maybe heavier; I took Kiluna like I was her leader, and that I feel like I have an obligation to whatever happens to her.

"Let's... let's just keep on moving shall we, please? We don't want to stay in this place for too long." I hastingly said.

"You... you're the one that seems scared now."

"I know, right? Guess I may need to learn my preachings after all, so that's why I just shut up. We even?"

"...even, heh."

"Good, so let's get moving..."

Fear is such a common feeling. It's how people handle it that make them better or worse. This time, I wasn't able to hide it. All I can do is maintain it to a level that will not break me, and keep my brave up. (author's note: wow, that was an unintentional Dissidia reference right there.)

We just walked on towards the direction, eventually hearing that same screech but at a higher volume as we walked closer and closer to it. (author's note: okay that may have been a bit obvious) The fog was getting thicker and thicker too. Now, we don't seem so fearful anymore as we know that we both have that feeling. It must be a synchronous negative edge effect... or whatever you call it.

What I didn't notice however, that Kiluna's been looking at the cats that were surrounding the area. Most of them were going in the same direction we were. Were cats attracted to this place? I was more and more convinced that this place shouldn't be as creepy as it should be. The phrase 'scaredy cat' refers to the general rule that cats are afraid of most things (no offense to the cats I know), so if they're going in that direction, then there shouldn't really be anything to be afraid of. But I guess the general environment, mostly the fog, is being such a bother that it's still a blank field here... the cats are just there, walking to the point where we're supposed to go... so we just continue walking...

"...oh my... Greed?! Greed is that you?!" Kiluna cried out. She then rushed over to a gray colored cat that was just standing there with a blank face.

"It's me... it's me! I've been waiting for so long to see you again...

...Greed...?

...Greed...?

...why won't you even look at me?"

That cat is staring at something... or rather, nothing. The cat just had a blank face, with a dull sitting position looking at the direction of the screech. It's not even responding to Kiluna's voice. It's not wagging its tail, it's not mewing at all... just a plain cold stare.

"Do you not... know me anymore? Greed..." Kiluna continued to try and communicate with the cat, which she may have named "Greed". In much more useless efforts, she finally stood up, keeping a blank face as she turned back to me.

"Ryougen... we have to go there. I still don't know what's there since Greed isn't even speaking to me... However, I think I'm more convinced now that this is something I have to go through."

She's attached to her cat that much?

"How lo~"

"4 years!"

"...oh my."

Being separated from a close friend of yours for 4 years? That has to hurt. It suddenly made me remember of Kasu Village, even though it's only been 2 days... I wonder how Tenyou and the others are doing.

Anyway that's not what I'm here for. We have to head on to the source of this fog, and hopefully understand more of why these beings want Kiluna's brooch.

"Greedy sweetie... if you need it, you ought to be crying..."

I heard Kiluna mumble something, though I couldn't make up of what she said.

The fog is so thick now that it's getting too hard to see. We let the sound of the screech guide us to the place where we're supposed to be at. More and more cats were evident on our way there, as well as the screech still getting louder and louder.

Eventually we arrived at the cave. The fog was coming out from the mouth of this cave; you wouldn't expect it to spread this much since the fog is a bit slow and the opening of the cave is a bit small... it's really odd.

However as we went deeper and deeper inside, we noticed the screech getting more silent, and the fog was actually lessening and lessening. This makes the place even more odd, I don't think I need to explain why. The cave wasn't as dark as I expected it to be. Maybe people were just blinded by the fog so much that they never explored the inside? It doesn't look as eerie now as it is from the outside. The cave was well lit by some crystals hanging on the walls.

It was kind of an interesting place, really. The pathway was flat enough in that a wooden wheel could probably roll straight to the end of this cave, wherever it leads.

"Kiluna? Is it just me or... did things suddenly get boring?"

"No, it really did get suddenly boring. Unexplored caves that terrorize people with its existence don't usually look like this."

Whatever trace of fear we had from walking here almost just vanished like thin air. What was a beautiful cave like this doing, hiding in such an ominous fog? We would have sprung a booby trap by now or something since we've been walking carefree inward. It makes me feel that we could find a treasure here that's probably not worth finding since there isn't anything... 'exciting' left to look out for.

"Maybe Shito was just fooling with us again?"

Wait a minute, that's right... there is indeed something here. Shito's words didn't sound like he was lying. His gestures also didn't seem like he was lying.

"...No, there's truly something here. Maybe we just have to find it..."

I still convinced her to keep walking deeper and deeper into the cave; the light wasn't dimming out in any way so it still didn't get scary anywhere.

"Hey, maybe we could pawn some of these crystals. Would be a big bonus if these things happened to be rare ones, and we could probably gain a lot of money from it. Useful for the travels ahead, don't you think?" Kiluna suggested. To be honest, I never thought of that; I actually thought that if we took these crystals, we'll just be staring at them as displays. Well, I never grew up in a life that made money a necessity, so I think it's a pretty good idea.

"Alright, we can go ahead and try... so that we can at least leave this cave NOT empty-handed just in case he was indeed lying to us." I replied. I was actually getting pretty annoyed at how nothing is still lunging out at us. I approached one of the crystals that's largely protruding out on the left side of the cave, grasped it, then with the full force of my body I tried to chip this protrusion out of its roots from the cave walls. I was shaking on it pretty hard; it's not moving at all. I tried burning the surrounding wall a little with fire... nothing happened. This crystal is pretty hard. On the other hand, it would be pretty stupid of me to assume that this crystal is soft.

"Let me try that."

Kiluna approached the same crystal I was trying to chip off. Going near its root on the cave wall, she brought out something from the pocket on her waist; it was really small, but the sparkle of its metal shone clearly. Was it a weapon?

"Cut forth, wind."

I heard her say this, then suddenly the wind blew mildly from just behind her. Later I noticed that the weapon she was holding, which seems like a dagger, shone a green light now rather than the usual white shine of metal. She then sliced part of the crystal away from the protrusion, and it worked. She immediately picked the chipped off part. I'm curious as to what she just did though; did she just call the wind? Or, if I'm correct, it's more like the weapon itself called the wind? Ordinary metal won't seem to scratch the crystals here, so it must have been some special power coming from the dagger.

"This pretty rock right here is ours. If you want, we can take more of these." she said.

"Your choice; I don't think I'll need much of those anyway."

"Conservative with your pocket, I see."

She then proceeded to try and chip off more of the crystals. But after getting near the crystal again, a light appeared from the gem on her brooch and emitted a radiation on the crystal that she was trying to get. This startled us for a while. Later, after a few seconds, the crystals suddenly emitted red light now as opposed to its white light earlier. The environment suddenly changed drastically even though it was just a visual change. The crystals now seem to be warmer then usual now though, to the point that they're heating up the cave too much.

"Now something's happening." Kiluna exclaimed.

"Is...is this cave alive?" I just suddenly thought.

"No, I don't think so. The Moon's Tear did this... I think."

Then I heard the... cave... speak?

"The brooch... the brooch..." it seemed to have echoed.

"...come out, whoever you are!" I immediately alerted myself with a battle... no, 'dance' pose. This must be what Shito was telling us about.

"The girl... you..." the 'cave' spoke again.

Then later we just noticed that the crystals were transforming... they were becoming flesh... and they suddenly became cats! I have no idea what just happened here, but these crystals that we've been looking at this entire time... they all became cats! The place was pretty much flooded with cats now, of differing colors too!

"...! What... I, I'm sorry!" Kiluna suddenly said. I looked at her and saw her tending to the cat which she seemed to have chipped off... it was bleeding quite bad. However, there was something common among all the cats in this area: they were all staring at nothing, with a blank face on them. Even still, Kiluna tried to apologize to the cat that she wounded... when suddenly later all the cats were staring at us and creeping toward us... with faces that look like they'll eat us or something...

"Uh... Kiluna?"

"I... I have no idea what's going on here!"

Naturally we tried to walk backwards slowly and slowly, hoping that this slow motion of ours won't startle these and eventually let us go. Later, however, we heard that same voice from the cave, but this time it was so clear.

"The Moon's Tears..." it said. I think I can hear this voice clearly now from behind, and saw that the cats stopped in their tracks but were still looking at us. I then turned behind, to see... what the hell?! Kiluna is binded by something, and there is a claw pointed at her throat...!

The entity that was holding up the claw and binding Kiluna was a small girl, smaller than me even. She was wearing a white hat that had a weird face in the middle of it, and the hat was enclosing her cat ears as they had slots for it. She wears two light blue ribbons just around her ears, sticking out of her hat, and she wears a simple white dress... not to mention the fact that her skin is also nearing artifical white. There was another light blue ribbon just below her neck with a sun brooch attached over it.

I can surprisingly still describe her even in a situation of panic like this. If I move too quickly, she might suddenly kill Kiluna (author's note: "Kil-luna" hahahaha). I just stood there with my fighting dance stance still.

"W... who are you?! What... what do you think you're doing?!" I shouted at the bipedal overgrown cat. Man, I should have called her that, but I don't think that pissing her off would be a good idea right now...

"Away with you! I got what I wanted... so if you want to get out of here alive while the cats are still sitting down, leave!" the clawed entity replied.

"I will not move away from here until you release her!"

"This girl? I believe she's good as mine now... or should I say, good as dead!"

...

...

"Ryougen... Ryougen...!" I heard Kiluna exclaim. I think both of us just whited out as we heard the sound of claws suddenly scratching something. Thankfully, it wasn't Kiluna's face. She was still binded, and the clawed entity scratched off the wall fiercely, as if showing a sign of power. Not only are her claws really sharp, she seems to be really fast, too...

"Or, you know, just hand over the brooch and we can be done here. I'll let you go... and be eaten by the cats instead." the girl replied. Wow, how merciless can she be? Nevertheless, I really have to do something here... though in a position like this, I don't really see how we can retaliate...

I'm getting tired of just standing here. I'm still frightened at the fatal position that Kiluna is in... I need to think of something, and fast! The fog is somehow getting in here, and it's getting kind of difficult to breathe...

"Step. Away. From. The Girl." the clawed entity said to me again.

I really need a time to think for a while here...

...

...


"...OK... she's all yours." I said, then turned around.

"...?! Ryougen?! RYOUGEN?!" I heard Kiluna scream.

"A very wise choice indeed!" the other girl replied. I then walked slowly toward the entrance of the cave...

"You... you bastard! Why... why..." Kiluna cursed at me. She can curse all she wants, but I think this is the only way I see the journey continue...

I then heard the cats mewing more peacefully, but still a bit ominous. The other girl must have commanded the cats to peacefully let me out.

Just as planned.

I knelt down and tried to pet the gray cat that was there... I was ruffling its head over and over, not leaving...

"Hm, you sure have taken a liking to them, have you? I may want to talk to you sometime, too..." I heard the other girl reply.

Moments passed, and...

...

...

...

...

I quickly grabbed the gray cat by its top neckline (like how mother cats grab their kittens), quickly faced back, and threw the gray cat at the face of the clawed entity. This disturbed her very much as the cat seemed to have latched for some time on her face, and she was forced to randomly swing her claws, allowing Kiluna to look for an opening, albeit slow, to get out of her grip. I quickly ran over freely back to where Kiluna was since the cats were still startled at what just happened too, then grabbing Kiluna quickly with me, I tried to scare the cats with a fire on my hands while the other girl struggles to get the gray cat out of her face.

"I think I can understand her too now, Kiluna."

The cat I just threw? It was Kiluna's cat, Greed.

"...you... you had me really, really scared and frustrated back then...!" she replied to me with mixed emotions. But there was no time to chat as the other girl finally was able to face us after throwing Greed to the corner.

"Greed!" Kiluna exclaimed, hearing how the cat roughly hit the cave wall, becoming unconscious.

"You even had the courage to do that! And you even injured an innocent feline in the process!" the other girl said. Wasn't she the one that threw Greed to the wall?

"I was planning to just let the girl go as long as she gives the brooch to me. But... if I can't have it peacefully..."

She stopped her sentence right there. Letting go of Kiluna so that we can move for whatever comes, we were ready to fight.

"Saitama-nyan... stop this, right now...!"

...did I just hear Greed talk, or...?

"...Greed...?"

"Silence, you worthless miserable excuse for a caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA---"

What... what is she doi...

I... can't... balance myself!

I hear Kiluna trying to say something but... The girl's scream... it's... it's too loud!

How much voice does she have...?! I'll go insane if this doesn't stop!

I can't even move properly... It's not helping that my sense of hearing is strong!

Someone... someone stop that girl from screeching!

Someone... someone help...!

...

...


"?! Kiluna, behind you!"

I don't know how long it took us to recover, but the girl finally stopped screaming. We were still in the same part of the cave... Yes I think my senses are slowly coming back...

I screamed at Kiluna because there was some overgrown white cat, standing on its 2 legs, and it was horribly as white as ordinary paper. It was looming from behind Kiluna, and... I just can't describe how it looks like now! (author's note: Saitama's favorite cat, the overgrown Saitamonster) I ran to Kiluna to get that thing away from her; she fortunately reacted quickly to my scream as she quickly lunged forward to dodge that white monster trying to grab her.

"We have to take it out quick; the girl will return here once we're done with this thing, I'm sure of it." Kiluna replied to me. Looks like she still has the brooch with her. This monster seems to be a pet of the girl, and like I deduced, this monster is out to kill us. By the way, when I said that the monster looked as white as paper, I think I have to correct that: this thing IS paper. It's so thin, hitting it while it's facing sideways seems to be impossible.

I finally started my first move by throwing a Ryougen Beam at the monster. It was panicking in pain trying to douse my fires, which Kiluna tried to take advantage of as she drew out her dagger and tried to cut the monster. However, as the monster was panicking, it happened to move its arm and hand in a chopping motion, accidentally hitting Kiluna in the left chest. (author's note: sorry, couldn't think of another body part at the moment) Since the monster was almost as thin as paper, there was no sound generated from the collision of it and Kiluna's body. However, I saw Kiluna suddenly flinch in pain, and was unable to get back into a fighting stance immediately and had to retreat backwards for quite a distance. I walked to her to see what was the matter; turns out she was wounded in the left part of her chest.

"...the hell, this wound is unexpectedly painful..." she remarked. The monster was still burning, so I had time to look over Kiluna.

"Let me see." I told her, as she removed her hand from the wound that she just got. This... this was no ordinary wound. This...

"...it's a papercut?!"

I think we can finally conclued now that this monster... it's actually made of paper!

But if it truly is made of paper, then that means...

"At least I figured it out immediately... look at it." I told Kiluna. We both loomed over the monster; it is lying on the floor, seemingly unconscious. I actually thought it would burn completely, given how paper easily transforms into ash... (author's note: I actually really wanted to burn Sai-monster completely, but...) . Using Kiluna's dagger, we shoved the monster's body to the side. As soon as we did that, we heard the scream again...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!" the scream continued. I have no idea what just happened; we were still in the same room like usual, but... let me just explain it this way: it's like two dimensions existed for a while there, and we were banished to a dimension that contained that paper monster that looked exactly like this place. The image of the cat girl was fading back in to 'reality' as she was ending her scream. In short, we're back to the point where the girl finally stopped screaming.

"And now that you're back here, let me eliminate you myself!" the girl screamed. That expression of hers... she's really out to kill us. She wants that brooch badly. I won't even bother asking her why, I don't think she'll answer politely to anything I say now.

However, I think I sense something wrong with how she said her last line... she said 'myself' in a shaky tone, and it's not because she's scared... more like she's...

Wait, what am I doing?!

I had to quickly step to the right as she quickly charged to claw me. She's fast, but probably not as fast as me. (author's note: that's actually a fact, I just had to make Ryougen an unreliable narrator) Kiluna turned around and brought out what I believe is a rope, then using it as a lasso, tried to bind the girl. But the girl quickly turned around and fiercely scratched the rope, cutting it. She was also able to approach Kiluna while charging, and all Kiluna could do was to block her attempts to injure her. It kind of worked, though Kiluna now has a small wound on her right chest this time; fortunately it's smaller than the paper cut on her left.

The girl then paused again, which I tried to take advantage of by trying to throw a fireball at her. But I was too slow; she proceeded to charge at me again, and for some reason her speed rendered my ball of fire useless at it disappeared into the air. While trying to recover to my ready stance, I quickly jumped and pushed Kiluna out of the way as she didn't seem to be aware of the sudden strike, hitting me instead. It hurt, but not enough to keep me staggered for too long. I tried to pick Kiluna up as I kinda pushed her away too hard. But for some reason, I was too slow again; the girl quickly targeted Kiluna as she was still lying down, stepping on her fiercely in the process. And she did the lunges quick for a total of 3 times before delaying again in a position far from us.

I find her fighting style to be odd. She definitely has the speed to keep on striking, and it doesn't seem like she's resting for the while that she stops. Nevertheless I tried to take advantage of her delays, even though so far I haven't actually reached the point that I can hit her while she's idle. So I tried to ignite my body this time while charging her, but again I was too slow; she charged at Kiluna quickly, so I detoured to Kiluna's direction too.

But instead of just quickly passing by us in attempts to claw us quickly, she stopped momentarily in front of my face. As she did that, I don't know what happened but I think time slowed down for a while as I looked at her face. Her expression... it was unidentifiable, at least by normal standards. You couldn't tell what she was expressing; there was some anger and hatred on it, some depression, but probably the most important part of her expression I could see... was the unstable eyes. Normally a negative expression would reveal eyes that are frowned or sleepy, but her eyes... the pupils were unusually small, and it can't seem to look normally at whatever she's looking at... it was like the eyes of a hypnotized person or something... at least that's what I imagine from the fiction books I've read that describe hypnotized people as such.

Moving away from the sudden time lapse, she somehow swiftly swiped 3 times at my face with her claws. It hurts. Alot A lot. I flinched in pain because of it, as she proceeded to move again to her routine of quickly moving to the other side. She then quickly lunged back at me in a similar repeated 3-charges motion like she did earlier, then after the third one she stopped in front of my face again and swiped it fiercely. It seriously hurts... not only has she already hit my body successfully a lot of times, she has already scratched my face 6 times...! And just right after she did the swipes to my face, she did one last lunge, hitting my body, before she finally went into her idle state again.

Due to the immense pain I'm feeling right now, I had to fall on my right knee, having difficulty to stand up. While the girl was idle, Kiluna tugged at my cape and whispered something to me.

"Ryougen, I think I already found out how we can overcome her... leave it to me."

"You figured something out...? Tell me, quickly!"

"Leave it to me, I'll distract her and become her target. While you're backed off, watch the position of her body and hands, as well as her next attack."

Hm, I think Kiluna is really up to something here. With Kiluna quickly standing up, I jumped quickly out of the way of the cat girl's line of charging, as Kiluna took charge. I began observing the girl's body as she fought.

While she was still idle, the girl had her back turned, and her hands closed... The girl then quickly charged at Kiluna, which Kiluna simply just dodged to the right. Then the girl, with her back turned, went idle again. But afterward noticed her hand was open this time. Kiluna changed her position this time to a semi-crouch, with her hands holding the ground, and this time she was idle longer than usual. The girl then lunged at Kiluna in a 7-repeated charge motion like what she's been doing earlier but for only 3 times. Kiluna apparently already had this telegraphed and quickly moved her body a total of 7 times, dodging each of the girl's attacks.

After the 7th charge, while the girl was still on the other side, I noticed that instead of having her back turned, she skidded to turn back this time, facing us, and her hands was crossed, seemingly ready to unleash swipes furiously, probably like she did with me earlier. (author's note: Fury Swipes? Lol?) Kiluna quickly took out her magical dagger before the girl could lunge at her, and true enough the girl was intending to stop in front of Kiluna's face to try and swipe her face this time. Kiluna used her dagger to protect her face for the first 4 swipes that the girl did, then on the fifth swipe Kiluna tilted her dagger slightly, continuing to block the last swipe but seemingly scratching the girl in the process. The girl then quickly did 2 more quick-charges, which Kiluna managed to catch up with by simply jumping over to the right.

I think I finally see it. The girl only has 3 patterns: first is a slow, single strike that is symbolized by her closed fist, and she goes idle after that single strike. Second, when her hand is open, she does quick-charges, and the amount of charges is noted by the time that she's idle. And the third seemingly hard to see pattern is when she stops in our face to quickly do numerous swipes. There doesn't seem to be any indication as to how much swipes the girl intends to do on us, but I think what Kiluna's trying to tell me here is that this is the only chance we have of hitting her so far.

I saw the girl wince in pain a bit, then she adjusted so that her back was facing me instead. I saw her hands open, so that must mean she's going to do repeated charges. But she was idling for too long... I think she's actually going to berserk here. After what Kiluna did to her, I wouldn't really wonder, but maybe I can take advantage of this.

Kiluna's taking charge of the scene gave me enough time to recover, so I quickly stood, and got quite confident now. In fact, I was so confident, I said:

"Let's dance, shall we?" to the girl.

True enough, she was charging in the position in that she can quickly charge backwards quickly after going to the other side. I tried to use some dance moves that I have never used in a long time: the dance of the whirlwind. It was useful in this situation where I need to keep turning 180 degrees because of her quickness. After 8 quick-charges, I saw her turn around quickly, which meant she'll be striking at me pretty soon. I quickly stopped my dance (author's note: Extemporaneousness! LOL), and with much of the dance energizing me, I quickly ignited my hands as I'll try to overpower her swipes this time.

She was now in my face, but for some reason I couldn't read where she was going to swipe. I thought she was going for my face, but right now it seemed that she swiped at my arms. Seeing as how they were ignited, it hurt her more than it did me. What was she thinking?

She then proceeded to charge to the other side, and opened her hands again. This time she did 6 quick-charges. Without a dance at the moment, I had to rely on my enthusiasm to quickly dodge her charges. I only had to move my body for a few distances for each instance, which was good since I was really getting tired here.

After the 6th charge, I noticed her facing back at me again. She'll strike me again this time, face to face. But this time, I noticed that she shrieked a bit loudly before she proceeded to go to my face. I can infer just one thing: she's not going to stop swiping at me this time. Odd, because I actually thought she'd be killing Kiluna first instead of me...

As I predicted, she's so furious right now. She stopped in front of me and continued to swipe in consecutives of 7 swipes... 7 quick swipes, and since I was hit by the first strike, it's pretty hard to get out of the way and not hurting myself in the process (remember that when some sharp object impales you, moving it quickly away will only open the wound even more), so I just had to block the swipes that she was continually delivering at me, hurting my arms instead in the process. I couldn't find an opening to strike her from here yet... and I was becoming a bit sluggish here. I need to find a way to strike her down, less she rips my arm off...!

"You insane witch! Get away from him!" I suddenly heard Kiluna scream. I saw her dagger brought out.

"Freeze!" she shouted again, then I saw the dagger turn white, and there was some cold breeze coming out of it. Right after that, she quickly stroke the girl somewhere which I couldn't see at the moment... and as she did that, the girl suddenly stopped in her motion. This surprised me a bit. Next thing I saw, Kiluna alerady had her dagger in her hands not contacting anything. From what just happened, it actually seems like Kiluna stabbed the girl or something... but there was no blood on the cold dagger. Not one. But it surely stopped the girl cold, and the girl fell face first on the floor.

I stepped away from the knocked out body of the girl cat. Kiluna, however, proceeded to step on the girl's body, then looming over the girl's head she grabbed her head and tried to pull it to face her. Kiluna must be the one furious now...

"You, you, you! Get your... get your hands away from meeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAA---" the girl suddenly screamed. This made me off-balance again, but Kiluna quickly reacted to it and slapped her so hard on the nape. This made the girl stop screaming. Kiluna then continued to keep striking her with repeated hand strikes. I couldn't really do much anything since it seemed like Kiluna's now thinking of the issue personally, where the girl wanted to steal the Moon's Tears. I didn't really know what to do at this point.

"Kiluna-sama, stop... stop hurting Saitama-sama!"

Then after a while, Kiluna slowed down in hitting the girl hard. Then when I thought she finally stopped, she gave her one last hard slap. This startled me a bit, not because of the sudden strike, but because there were some things that flew out from her clothing. The first is a piece of paper with some sort of writing on it... I didn't know what it read because the alphabet on it seemed foreign, though some letters do like they were based off some other alphabet I've seen before. It's more evidenced by the fact that this scrap of paper seemed to use punctuation marks similar to the some alphabet that some people call the 'Roman alphabet' which I have no clue as to why it's called 'Roman'. I don't think there's a country named 'Roe' anyway (author's note:  almost everyone from this world is oblivious to anything exclusive to the surface world), and it's weirder for the fact that the universal alphabet used around the places I've been to actually use the same punctuation marks too.

The other item was some sort of hinge made out of the crystals that are found in this cave (which are now cats). Fortunately it doesn't seem that this one will transform into a cat due to its sheer tiny size... But this hinge... it looks familiar. It's as if I know which item this hinge belonged to, but I can't just remember now exactly. Because of its interesting value, I decided to keep it along with that piece of paper I saw first as well. Our bags of supplies were near the cave mouth so I had to hold on to them for now.

"...Saitama, was it? Your name." Kiluna said to the other girl. How she knew her name, I don't know. She was grabbing her by the neck, forcing her to look up on Kiluna's face. "Tell me what I want to know and I'll spare you."

"Why... why don't you just finish me off here and now... I don't even know what just happened to me..."

"Liar. I have no idea what's been going on here, but I ask you only one thing... why do you want to the Moon's Tears?"

"Did you just say... The Moon's Tears...? Young girl, have you actually found it...?"

"...have you lost your mind?! You were trying to steal it from me just then! You even almost killed me and my friend in the process!"

"(...friend, huh. It's been only 2 days, but OK...)" I said to myself in my head.

"I... I what...?" the other girl spoke again, which we can assume that her name is Saitama.

"Look, the only reason I'm sparing you is... not because you were trying to steal something valuable from me... but because my own cat told me not to. Now answer me while I still have that kind heart of mine."

Greed told Kiluna to not kill her? I... guess there's a mutual understanding between her and her cat but... I didn't even hear the cat say anything...?

"Your cat... the gray cat named Greed, was it?"

"Stop driving my question away."

"I didn't really know that I was... trying to kill you for it, but... I could tell y-ou about the Mo-..." Saitama was trying hard to speak, but she was slowly fading into unconsciousness. Kiluna was trying to shake her back into responding, but she eventually just lay there unconscious. She was still alive as I can still somehow feel her breathing through the ground.

"...I guess we may have went a bit too far...? No matter, I will protect this brooch with my life."

Dropping Saitama so that her face meets the ground again, Kiluna walks to the wall of the cave and kneeled down to approach her cat, Greed. I wonder what was taking them so long, however. I had no choice but to wait for her to stand up, so I patiently waited.

"Hey... Greed. Have... you been here for the last 4 years?"

"Kiluna-sama, I... yes I was here for the last 4 years."

"So... you did run away..."

"W-well, yes I did but... It wasn't my intention! I... I had to..."

"You 'had' to? I always asked you everyday if your day was fine when I got home... now, in what point of that moment 4 years ago did you lie to me?"

"...the day when... I breathed my last."

"...you... what...?!"

"Kiluna-sama, I'm sorry but... the Greed that you are talking to now... he is no longer of this world!"

"What... do you mean to tell me...?! But then it would be impossible that you're tangible..."

"I wasn't allowed to travel to the spirit world just yet..."

"The spirit world... then that means you truly are...?!"

"...I didn't want you to find out, Kiluna-sama... I didn't want to make you worry more..."

"You... don't understand how painful it's been for me! Even though I had my comrades before, I really couldn't call them my true friends much since there were a lot of moment where I can't trust them... Greed, you were the only one I had! And to think, the day that you went away was when I found the brooch..."

"The brooch? That thing you're holding right now...?"

"Yes. If you've been listening, this is called the 'Moon's Tears'. I couldn't explain exactly what it is at the moment, but let's just say that this brooch made my current life more exciting... But no matter how much that excitement tried to conquer me, I still worried in the end...! Greed! Please just stay...!"

"I... can't, Kiluna-sama. I'm sorry."

"...what..."

"The main reason I'm still here on the world is because there is still something that I needed to do... and after hearing your last statement, I have already seen it... All that I was waiting for was to hear Kiluna-sama's joy in having an exciting life ahead of her, the life that she lacked in the duration of her past. As I couldn't really reveal myself to be dead, I ran to a place where I know no person would come near... and it was this cave. This cave was a paradise for cats, both physical and spiritual. I stayed here in the loving care of Saitama-sama."

"That girl...?"

"She actually cares a lot about us. The blinding and frightening environment of the place made sure that we were away from ordinary people... She went out of her way to provide for us, I don't know how, but we lived happy here. It was like the world's version of heaven. Then one day, just a year ago, for some reason Saitama-sama wasn't thinking like she usually does... she was first a bit harsh on us, and I thought that she was just having her period a bad day. (author's note: sorry, no harm meant with that; I accidentally just typed it :<) But later she became louder and louder and louder... to the point that her attitude was becoming more demonic... frightened, I ran away from the cave, but not too far from it. I know that this wasn't the Saitama that I recognize... so I waited patiently for the day that Saitama-sama will come out of the cave, and look for us."

"That girl... is kind-hearted? Then, what just... wait, Greed?! Greed, don't... don't go yet...!"

After much waiting, I suddenly saw some odd magical waves coming out of the cat. If I am to deduce right from the books that I have read, these are spirit waves...

...wait, the cat is being sent to the spirit world?! What's going on here?!

"Kiluna-sama, please don't forget about me, like you always have. Move on to the exciting life that awaits you..."

"Greed... Greed!"

"Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed...!" I heard Kiluna scream. Eventually later the cat's body fully disappeared. "This... this world ain't for the good... But here is a ruleless place, you won't get anything at all..."

"...Kiluna? Are... are you alright?"

"He... he's gone. Actually, HAS been gone... for 4 years now."

"I think you already told me that.

"No, I meant... gone... from this world. Since 4 years ago."

"You mean to say... he's been... DEAD?!"

"..."

Kiluna was speechless for a moment, probably because she wasn't able to accept the fact that Greed died just as they met after 4 years. I didn't really know how to sympathize with her since I only know her for 2 days, and I only knew Greed for a few hours. I couldn't really find words to say to her now, so I just waited until she decided to move...

...but when I was waiting for her to move, someone else moved...

...or rather, someTHING moved! A huge thing!

I then heard from behind that a rock fell from the stalactite of the cave... and shakes were happening everywhere. If I'm not mistaken, this can only mean that... the cave is collapsing!

"Kiluna! Kiluna! Snap out of it, we have to get out of here!" I shouted, then grabbed Kiluna by the arms, which seemed to have gotten her back to her senses. We began to ran out of the cave as fast as we could; fortunately the falling rocks weren't in our path, so we could run away freely. The cats that were in the cave were again crystals stuck to the wall; from this point on I couldn't care less about what would happen to them, so we continued to run.

But as we were running, I think I could hear a jumbled voice from behind... it was reflecting off of the cave walls, so I could hear it clearly, but the words were definitely jumbled.

We grabbed our supplies and quickly ran some more until we could get outside the cave. Just before we were able to jump out of the mouth however, a sizable rock seemed to have scratched my right shoulder and rolled down my cape. It hurt a bit, so it hindered me for a few seconds while Kiluna jumped out. Panicking, I tried to still jump out, but I ended up bumping my right shoulder into the cave wall, making it hurt even more and immobilizing me. Kiluna suddenly jumped back in and tried pulling me out. She threw me first out of the cave... and I kind of rolled on the ground outside of the cave so it hurt even more. Then after I regained my mobility, I looked at the cave mouth and found Kiluna to have safely gotten out. After a few seconds, the cave finally fully collapsed.

"...Nihyaku Cave, was it?" I said. I then pulled out my own map and began to draw the location of this cave on it.

"...I... really don't believe this. But as I kept telling him... 'I pray, don't cut your hope. Don't cut your tomorrow, don't cut it until it's over...' I have to get over this. The... sacrifice is painful, but... maybe what he was trying to tell me is that... my life is now worth something." Kiluna spoke, and seems like she was talking to herself, which I obviously could hear.

"Kiluna... I'm sure you can get through this."

"...Ryougen! Can... I CAN trust you, right...?"

"...why are you suddenly asking me this?"

"I don't want to lose... a friend anymore..."

"I... don't remember you asking me to be your friend."

"...huh...? Ryougen...?!"

...heheheh.

"...just joking. Though I know now that in a state of sorrow you begin to not think straight. Haven't we established yesterday that you're travelling with me? Doesn't that imply... that we'll have to stick together?"

"...yes, that's true... thank you Ryougen. It's just that... I had my doubts again after remembering what I went through in my past."

"The past is past Kiluna, and as much as I have found a lot about myself from studying the past, it is the present where one lives in, and it is the future which dictates the destiny of people. You have only begun your quest, Kiluna."

To be honest, I didn't believe I could say such things. I have no experience with the life of an outsider, who am I to talk?

"Ryougen...
Alright, I'll get through with this. Greed... he'll always be a part of me, but he'll remain just that; a part. I won't let his loss be in vain in that his loss destroys me. I won't faulter like this anymore."

"Good, now let's get going... agh..."

Crap, my right shoulder still hurts badly.

"Oh... you can't carry your bag for now. Let me bring that for you."

"Thanks Kiluna."

Wait a minute, but she has been attacked by Saitama much more times than I have... so how is she standing straighter than I am at the moment?

"...Shito freaked up."

"...huh?"

"The girl... Saitama... she was weak. Comparing the amount of physical and spiritual power that both could shell out, Shito definitely could match up to Saitama. I just don't get why Shito would be afraid of the girl."

"It's probably something deep and none of our business... all I'm concerned about is that the brooch is safe for now. Now hand me over your bag."

I dismantled the bag from my back, but then because of my right arm being shaky, I dropped it and a lot of my stuff fell off. Oops.

I then proceeded to put them all back one by one.

I was about to put back the last object in... the Mai family picture. Just as I was using my right hand to put it back in, I also had a look at my left hand, which still had that hinge piece (half of which was violet and half was white).

...oh my god.

Oh my god.

Am... am I seeing this correctly.

"This... this is...!"

"...Ryougen?"

I... am I seeing things or...?!

This hinge... it looks exactly like...!

"N-nothing. I'll hold my pic for a while."

I then closed the bag and gave it to Kiluna.

"Alright. I'm betting we have to go back to Ugoshi Town because we need that arm of yours healed... and my chests to recover."

"Yes, that was precisely what I was thinking. Thanks again for carrying my stuff, Kiluna."

We then proceeded to walk back to Ugoshi Town. But I still cannot help staring at the hinge and the family pic...

Because this hinge... looks exactly like...

"...the compass of Senpuu...!" I accidentally thought loudly.

"...Ryougen?" Kiluna exclaimed.

"I guess it's safe to tell... this random piece of metal flew out of Saitama's clothing when you slapped her earlier. Now, take a look at this..." I replied, then showed her the family pic.

"How is that piece of metal related to your family picture...?"

"Look at my sister Senpuu's compass... and then look at this piece of metal again."

She then observed, then after looking at the piece of metal again, she was a bit shocked.

"W-wow... if this isn't a coincidence, I don't know what is. Think it could be the real thing?"

"I... I don't know! But... at least I know now that I have gotten somewhere! Senpuu... please wait for me! If a piece of your compass is here, then that must mean that there is still hope of finding you!
I now know what I have to do! I will find your compass, and follow to where it points! I shall find you wherever you may be!"

"You seem so hyped up, Ryougen."

"Kiluna... now I think I see why 4 years hurt for you. But now that I realize it... it should have been more painful for me... I'm betting that it's been over 10 years since I last even saw her! Or even remembered her..."

"...oh, that's right! You said you don't even remember her...! This must be such a discovery for you, Ryougen! I'm happy for you!"

I don't think 'happy' is the right word. What was I thinking? The fact that the compass is in pieces, means that there is a chance that Senpuu is...

"...ow ow ow... my arm..." my arm acted up. I think we really need to get back and heal ourselves...

"We have to get back and rest up. We'll be moving out tomorrow too, anyway!"

We continued to walk back to Ugoshi. I still couldn't get my mind off the compass piece I found today...

The sun was already setting, and the full moon was already showing itself so brightly. It was illuminating Kiluna's brooch as well as my cape.

We eventually reached Ugoshi Town, and it was already early night time here. The street lights were on, but the town was still a bit busy.

"So uh, Kiluna... you never answered my question earlier." I told her.

"Which one?"

"The one where I asked you if the house I used yesterday could be... you know, owned by me for now?"

"..."

"...still can't answer?"

"...well, if it's you, then I guess I could allow it... and maybe not temporarily."

"...? What do you mean...?"

"You're free to come to the house at anytime (provided you don't double-cross me)! Consider yourself welcome to the 'abandoned' house which I consider my home. After the events of today, I think I can safely entrust that house to you as well..."

"...thank you Kiluna. I'm flattered, but really I only need a sleeping quarters. You don't need to go so far as entrusting the whole house to me too..."

"Well, I don't care if you're the leader around here, but it's a house that I technically own, after all; if you wanna live in it, you have to also take care of it!"

"...well, what choice do I have? Still, no words can describe the gratitude I have for this."

We then walk back to the slums. It doesn't seem much like slums if you look at it from where Kiluna lives in, where the house actually looks cared for even though it's almost empty.

Kiluna opened a hatch on the floor which revealed another room. It was still a simple room in its own, but it was built to effectively extend the house to be almost 2 floors.

"I'll be sleeping here. You take the main floor. Sound good?"

That's odd; she owns the house, she should be on the main floor...?

"Well, OK then..."

"Alright, then that's that."

Kiluna then proceeded inside the bath room, and in a matter of seconds I already saw her come out of it and wearing what seems to be her night clothing.

"Have a pleasant sleep, Ryougen! Good night." she said, then jumped in the hole to the basement floor and closed it in the process. I think I forgot to tell her something (author's note: no really, I'm pretty sure I wanted Ryougen to ask something before this happened... I just forgot what), so I tried to open the latch... and for some reason it was locked on the inside and I can't find the key to open it anywhere.

Oh well, she's probably very exhausted today. I am too, so I'll probably get some sleep. I go into the bath room and rinsed myself up there, bandaged my right arm, took off my cape and loosened my vest, taking it off so that only my undershirt remained. It was comfortable enough for me to sleep with my whole body breathing. I went out of the bathroom, turned off the light and jumped into the bed. The house may not be a good one, but the fact that it has proper functionalities was more than comfortable enough for me... even the bed seems to be well-made too.

As I drift off to sleep, I still cannot get Senpuu off of my mind...

Chapter 6

...ow, hey what...?

I haven't opened my eyes yet and my sight is already covered with an orange film, as if I was staring at the sun directly in full focus...

Wait, the sun?

Awakening from my sleep fully, I opened my eyes to discover the sun was indeed shining through the window already. I was leaning to the left while lying down so the singular window of this floor of the 'abandoned' house was straight within sight. If the sun is up this high already when I woke up, then what time could it be already? (author's note: 8AM. Ryougen usually wakes up around 5AM)

I got up from the bed and quickly went to the singular faucet to my right...

...and in my hastiness, I again tripped over the bucket of water just in front of the faucet...

...WATER?! "Get it off! Get it off!" I said while panicking, quickly looking for a towel as if I was dying. I eventually found one nested at the headrest of the bed I was sleeping in. I quickly rubbed myself dry, especially the lower part of my body since that's where I was wet the most. The cloth of this towel seems really weird, however, since it was really smooth and really thin for a towel. It was then that I realized that I was wiping with my cape and not with a towel... so now I have to squeeze the towel dry. Great. Just great.

After I did that and got myself fully ready and awake, I inspected the 'secret' hole that lead to the basement of the house, where Kiluna slept. It was wide open, so I went inside... only to find that the end of the entrance was blocked with spikes. I fortunately was able to react fast enough before I fell through and immediately closed the hole after getting my entire body out of the hole. Real spikes! This girl is much dangerous than I thought she is... After I'm sure that I've entirely calmed down, I opened the hatch again. "Kiluna? Kiluna are you there?" I shouted. No response could be heard, so she was probably out or still sleeping. But considering the time, she's probably awake already. I closed the hatch again and prepared to go to town. I assume I'd see her there. I'm not sure about our next course of action, after all. Holding the piece of Senpuu's compass and attaching it to the lower part of my clothing, I leave the house.

As I closed the door, I turned right and proceeded to walk towards the exit of the slums, with the intention of going to town. I'm expecting to see Kiluna somewhere there. Before I could leave the space of the lot however, I saw someone on the alley to the right, kneeling down in front of a hand-made gravestone. It was Kiluna. Whose grave was this, though? I went near the gravestone to read what was inscripted.

"Here lies the soul of Greed. The most pathetic, gluttonous, unclean, worthless cat to set foot on this world.
Despite his disgusting entity, he was the moon's closest friend. May his soul keep on traveling the world in search for more thrills."

What's with the negativity in the first sentence? Well, I don't know the relationship between Kiluna and Greed so I wouldn't bother with it anymore.

After a few more moments, Kiluna stood up.

"You're awake. What should we do now?" she said. She must be eager to go some place else... it's like we didn't get hurt yesterday; my body is seriously in its greatest condition right now.

"I'm not sure of our next step at the moment. I was actually going back to town since I thought you were there. Guess that's the most viable step for now." I replied.

We then proceed to walk back to Ugoshi Town. While walking I asked her about the really dangerous layout of the entrance to her room. I then realized that she has a much, much deeper private life than what you would expect from her personality. Actually, now that I think about it, ever since she disbanded from the mercenaries (now bandits), she's basically on her own. My belief that her joining me as being healthy for both of us is strengthened by the minute, especially now that her presumably only friend is already gone.

Maybe I can be her new friend. I don't know.

Maybe I'm just missing my village neighbors.

Or maybe I'm just missing Tenyou...

Or even Senpuu, which is odd since I really don't remember anything about her.

...why am I thinking about this too much? Looking back was never an option...

...oh wait, we're already in town.

"Hm? Ryougen, are you hearing what I'm hearing? The most popular topic of today..." Kiluna told me. I then eavesdropped on some of the townsfolk here.

"I seriously can't believe that the only thing behind that fog was a pile of rock!"

"I know, right? Mysterious cave, my butt!"

"You have to admit though; all explorers have said the same thing, and just said that they didn't go in because the fog was blinding."

So it's about the Nihyaku Cave. This group of people at least believe that there was nothing there. I'm not sure, but I think it's much better if their belief stays that way. I wonder about the other people that have wandered to that place though; have they also truly seen it but never gone inside?

"You know what's weird? I could swear I kept hearing the meowing of cats when the fog was there. Now that the fog isn't there, it's like all that I believed in just went away. What a mystery."

What a mystery indeed. Not for me and Kiluna though, as we know exactly the reason why the sounds went away. And... a girl's dead body is within the rubble. All we can do is hope that no one attempts to excavate that pile of rubble and just leave it there...

There also seems to be a newspaper going around; even the headline tells of the 'mysterious' disappearance of the fog.

"Kiluna. I'm curious; how long has the cave been there?" I just had to ask, since I'm really not sure why it's such a big news for people.

"...I don't even remember anymore. It's been there for such a long time, but none of those who returned was able to tell what's inside it."

For a really long time, huh? Then that must mean that Senpuu's compass must have split up for that long time now as well. It seems like I'll then have to be inquiring about facts from years and years ago. It would be of great help if I know the exact time frame, though. I just feel that there's this significance, just that I'm not sure how yet.

Then later I noticed Kiluna intently looking at another page within the newspaper. She seemed so engrossed in it so I approached her to look at what she was reading. While I was trying to face the article I noticed that she looks startled, or something similar; it's noticable from the slightly wider eyes and her mouth is open a bit, signifying some emotion similar to being surprised. Then I heard her say something.

"...wait... she's... why didn't she tell..." is all that I heard, which is obviously an incomplete sentence.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Sorry uh, excuse me Ryougen I have to get to somewhere..." she replied, then quickly burst in some direction, dropping the newspaper behind. I picked up the newspaper before it touched the ground and read the article she was reading. Looking at it further, it wasn't actually an article, but some sort of announcement. Looks like some known person is arriving here by 9AM and there's an event at~

...someone bumped into me and ripped the paper off. This person was also running in the same direction Kiluna went.

"Can you PLEASE watch where you're running?!" I shouted. I don't think that particular person heard me as he or she just continued running. Then I noticed a lot of people running in that particular direction too. Whatever is happening, it must be something that this entire town was waiting for...

...wait a minute. I checked the time through the sun's position again... and it's around 9AM. I quickly got the connection here. They're going to that particular event that's depicted in the announcement I just read. Kind of odd how the writers here think of putting the announcement of the event on the day itself and not days prior to it.

I don't want anything to do with this, but since Kiluna ran off in that direction, I might as well go there.

Trying my best to avoid the incoming crowd, I walked briskly in the direction that they were going to. I'm still not really familiar with the entire town, and I didn't really see the place from the announcement before the paper got ripped off.

I eventually got to the place where the crowd was. It's just the front of Kiluna's now-in-shambles office. I'm not really sure why it would be this place, considering its current status. I immediately noticed Kiluna at the inner most part of the crowd, alongside 4 other entities.

"Kiluna...?" I heard one of the foreign people speak. Judging from her appearance, she seems to be some sort of leader for the other 3 entities, as the 3 other entities were wearing the same thing, presumably a uniform of theirs. The one that spoke, however, had a very outstanding outfit, so to say. Her suit is blue, and pretty much everything else she's wearing is blue. She's got 2 long tails (author's note: are those really tails or what? Kind of hard to tell, really) that split in opposite directions: left and right. But the most outstanding part of her is that peculiar headpiece of hers. It's a hat... or more like a helmet or something... it's really huge. It's shaped in the form of diamond segments of ice. It's width spans her entire head and is around 3 segments long, and the length of the two ends of the hat have 1 extra segment in both sides in that the hat actually goes past her neck. There's a pendant attached to the forehead part of the hat, which looks like a ring of sorts.

"Errr uhh... I can explain!" I heard Kiluna reply to the blue girl. I think it's pretty clear here that she and Kiluna know each other. At least this time the foreign person in question doesn't look suspicious unlike Kiluna's previous 'companions', the bandits. I wonder what they're arguing about though, as there is that vibe of nervousness and guilt visible from Kiluna's face.

"I thought I made it clear that I was going to arrive today? And what do I see here..." the blue girl said.

"I..."

"Forgot."

"...yes I did..."

"Well I kind of expected you did, considering how much things you always have in your mind at any given time..."

"I can still at least arrange a miniature stage just for you guys to be on from the rubbles, really! All I need is...

...

Oh there you are!"

I saw Kiluna suddenly looking at me. From her most recent statement, it seems like she's actually looking for me...? What for?

...wait why did she just grab me by the arm and is now pulling me towards the center...

"Hey, uh, Kiluna! Don't just drag me...!" I shouted at her, but she seemed to have ignored me as she pulled me all the way to the middle of the crowd, appraoching the 4 other foreign entities.

"Sorry about that. Err, would you mind helping me out a bit here at least? I've seen your physical strength so I know you can do this..."

She wants me to set up a miniature stage from this rubble? What?

"Well I'm not exactly sure what it should look like..."

"Nothing special, really! Just form something that will allow 5 chairs to be put on it and have enough walking space. Of course I'm really supposed to be doing most of the work, but I'm not sure that I can form certain figures out of the rubble without equipment."

Can my physical strength actually break rocks and wood with my hands alone? I'm not sure of this, but I'll give it a shot anyway.

...

In a matter of around 10 minutes, we actually finished a miniature stage. Kiluna did the architecture while I was just forming the materials using my hands. I still couldn't believe it went that fast though.

"Honestly, I didn't think that it would be that quick. This is fine, right Earth?" Kiluna said. The blue girl's name is presumably 'Earth'. Kind of an odd name I've never heard of before, but I guess it kind of fits her general stature being a... 'unique' kind of individual.

"I guess it will have to do. Alright guys, let's start." Earth replied. The 4 foreigners got up the stage and placed their portable wooden chairs in position. The 3 'underlings' sat down while Earth took the forward area of the stage. This somehow cued the crowd to settle down as they give their undivided attention to the blue girl in front of them. Thanks to Kiluna, we were nearest the stage, so it's easiest to hear her from our current position.

"Alright. Ugoshi Town. We apologize for the technical difficulty earlier... As a result we'll have to skip the formalities for now due to us having to hold this session outdoors. Well I never really liked the formal introductions and such anyway.
So guys, welcome to another session of Earth's Discoveries. For those that haven't heard of me yet, I am Earth Sora, a professor of the Lemontea Academy located in the town of Sympathy. Kind of odd how an academy is located within a town, but I guess that's why people are saying that Sympathy should seriously be a city now instead of a town. I occassionally go to other villages, towns, and cities nearby in order to hold discussions like this. What do I discuss, you may ask? Well, I can explain that by telling about my main goal in life for now. My main research is about the possible connection of a world separate from this one we're living, particularly the spiritual realm housed in this same world we live in. I am fascinated by the connection of this world's legends and the degrees of truth behind each of them, to the point that I actually took it as my main goal in life. And if you think it's a bit too fantastic, I have already discovered a few things that are undoubtedly products of distant worlds. I always write about these discoveries in the papers, except for the time when I do want to share a lecture instead so I write some sort of written lesson. And for today, I came here not only with words, but with evidence!"

The crowd suddenly reacted by the word 'evidence'. As this is my first time, I really am not sure what she's talking about.

"Yes, for the first time ever, I am to show a discovery of mine! A specimen that directly hints at the existence of a spiritual world!"

She then pulled out some sort of small rock pedestal from her bag. On top was a unique crystal with no glow that was strongly bounded by the rock formation. I've never seen such a gem before. (author's note: wait, are crystals gems?)

"Alas, this may look like an ordinary crystal at first glance, and it doesn't help that it doesn't even glow now, making it not attractive.
However, watch what happens when I grasp the crystal directly..."

She then held the crystal directly with one of her hands. The crystal is suddenly glowing blue! Not only that, I can also feel a sudden breeze coming from his direction as well.

"Do you see it? Do you feel it? I am not exactly sure of it yet, but this crystal seems to reveal a person's aura, and can express it visually and by feelings!"

I can hear mumbling coming from the crowd.

"Kiluna, why not come up here and give it a go?" Earth continued.

"M-me? OK then..." Kiluna replied. She then went up the stage, approached the rock and held the crystal with her right hand. The light that's being emitted from the crystal suddenly changed. In fact, it actually keeps on changing now, like it's scanning the color spectrum. This went on while Kiluna was still holding the crystal.

"Your light is erratic and keeps on changing. That is a sign of someone who has experience in adapting quickly, is it not?" Earth then said. "I think so too, with us here knowing what you're capable of! Alright, time for another one to come up here and try it... You over there, Kiluna's companion!" she said, pointing at me.

"M-me? Uh... huh?" I was a bit confused actually, or maybe just a bit startled.

"Just come up here and give it a go! You only need to hold the crystal." she continued. I then walked on the stage.

"I believe Kiluna hasn't introduced me to you yet." she retorted.

"Oh, uhm... I'm~" I was about to introduce myself...

"Ryougen Mai! Only the most awesome girl you'll see around these parts!" when Kiluna suddenly interrupted me.

"Kiluna..." I said, out of annoyance.

"She comes from Kasu Village, a 6 hour walk from here!" she still continued.

"Well, uh... I think she pretty much did the introduction for me..." I replied. But she still actually had something to say, this time addressed to the entire crowd.

"And if you've noticed that I demolished my base... well, it's because I'm traveling with her from now on! I'm retiring my mercenary work for now, guys!" she said. This stirred up some discussion between the crowd, all of a sudden. I'm not sure if saying this is the right thing to do...

"Oh, and... just to clarify as well, in this travel of ours, I'm the one following Ryougen, not the other way around. Yes, she's that awesome, so I'd like you guys to think of her as a part of this town as well!" she then continued. To be honest, hearing her say these compliments is actually kind of making me flattered. I'm not really sure how to handle being praised like this, especially in public where I don't know these people!

"Hm, is that so? (author's note: Sou, nanoka... heheheh) If she truly is someone to be looked up to, this crystal shall be the judge of that. Mistress Mai, please hold the crystal tightly." Earth said, cutting off the discussions about Kiluna and me. I then went near the crystal and held it firmly. Its shine quickly reverted to a red one... a really bright red shine, much brighter than that of Earth's and Kiluna's.

"A really, really bright shine of red... in fact, this is the brightest light I've seen so far. You must have a really impressive past... Kiluna may actually be right about you here!" she said, which again made me flattered as I'm getting praised by someone of seemingly high status, even though I haven't even known this girl for more than 30 minutes! I never was used to handling popularity, even back in Kasu Village...

I then let go of the crystal. But then all 3 of us seemed to have done something wrong, as the rock slipped through our hands and proceeded to continually bounce off the stage. The crowd was gasping all over the place, fearing that the crystal may break. But as it went off the stage, it seemed to have hit a passer-by. The passer-by got hit in the head, and after that caught the crystal using his hand.

"Hey, watch where you're throwing your stuff, will you?!" The bypasser said, with an awfully familiar voice. I looked at the bypasser and... well what do you know, it's the jerk Shito!

"...serves you right to get hit by that, if you ask me." I said to him.

"Ryougen?! You even dare speak to me like that! You're really asking for a fight again, aren't you?! Because I'll be more than glad to oblige!" he quickly screamed at me. I find this dialogue of him odd because...

"...um, excuse me? I'd just like to remind you of what happened with yesterday's duel, and who was the clear winner of that..." I replied to him.

"Past is past, and that doesn't matter anymore! I am the strongest, and I'll beat anyone down that thinks that they are! Especially you, Ryougen Mai!" he shouted back. OK this is seriously becoming awkward. You would think that he'd be a bit intimidated by me now because of what happened yesterday, but here he is, speaking like he won our battle!

"Why you...!" I got annoyed. But then Earth interrupted me.

"Wait, you two... quiet...
The crystal is emitting a... a dark light? And it's so bright that it can actually cause us to lose sight... what are you? Where did you come from?" Earth said. Even though it's a bit misleading, I am not surprised with the result. Even though Shito's a jerk, I cannot deny the fact that he's got a strong power stored inside him, and from what I've noticed from the crystal, it can also measure your inner strength.

"What am I? I'm the strongest in this world, of course! As from where I come from, that's not important!" Shito shouted back.

"...well, OK... anyway, we need that rock back, so please throw it back here?" Earth requested him.

"Just make sure you don't drop it again! Oh wait, throw it back to you? This is a good opportunity to show you what I mean!" Shito replied. He then did a different motion with his hand, getting ready to furiously pitch the rock in Earth's direction. I can already tell that there's going to be a fast projectile coming in Earth's way, so as soon as he threw it, I quickly jumped in the way of Earth's face. I rolled on the floor after landing because the force of the throw seemed to have disrupted my position. I stood up immediately.

"What... what are you..." Earth said in annoyance.

"That's just a miniature taste of my power! Remember the name, 'Shito'! I shall take my leave!" Shito shouted back, and proceeded to walk again in his original way.

"...admittedly, this has been one of the weirdest days ever. Anyway, who else from you guys want to try? Kiluna, Ryougen, thanks for your participation! Please go back to your positions..." Earth said. Kiluna and I walked back down from the stage and took the frontmost positions again.

"Pretty interesting, isn't it Ryougen?" Kiluna asked me.

"...to be honest, it actually is. Interesting to the point that it might actually be of help to me." I replied.

"Help, huh?"

"I... vaguely remember hearing her say something about the spiritual realm? If I can recall correctly, Senpuu was actually trying to uncover a legend that also involved the spirit world..."

"...oh, this seems to be pretty significant for you as well then! Gives us more reason to listen to this discussion until the end!"

"Yeah... I want to ask a few questions from her after."

We just stood there, listening to the professor's comments and lectures. The crowd was going wild as they were volunteering to have a go at touching the crystal. The crystal kept shining in different lights depending on the person, and Earth gives her own prediction on the person's past regarding the crystal's brightness.

The spiritual realm, huh... To be honest, I don't actually know if it has an actual relation to my sister or not. I just feel that there is, so I said it to Kiluna. This could prove to be an interesting talk, so despite the number of information I probably wouldn't need, I continue to listen intently throughout this entire discussion.