Episode 11 The Third Pupil

Deep in the lightless dungeon, several small, cramped buildings sit clustered together, built around a large hotel, emitting slight puffs of steam every now and then. Large, thick vines crawl around the small town, creeping up the walls of the tiny houses.

A bright light suddenly illuminates the small town, casting thin shadows in the murky darkness. Suddenly four figures emerge out of thin air—Kunai, Ryuu, Arai, and Ivy.

The four of them plop onto the ground, staring around at the small town of Sleepywood as they do so. Arai glances around quietly, straightening his clothes.

He peeks up at the large sign nailed across the sauna: ‘Myou-Inhabited Sleepywood—Visitors Must Leave By 10 o’clock Curfew.’

“Myou-Inhabited Sleepywood?” Ivy mutters out loud, following Arai’s gaze.

Ryuu also stares up at the sign, a solemn expression on his face. He shakes his head, baring his teeth. “It was part of a treaty that the Four had with the Myougun. Sleepywood, Florina, and Lith Harbor would be handed over to the Myougun as long as the four other major cities were left alone.

“Of course, after the Myougun developed the Paradox…they broke the contract, and began raiding cities all over Victoria Island…we were powerless to stop them, even the Joukai.”

“That’s horrible…” Ivy whispers.

“Well if Sleepywood’s been inhabited by the Myougun, doesn’t that pose a danger for us to be staying here?” Kunai asks out loud.

Arai shrugs, stretching as he yawns lazily. “Hm…it’s getting rather late. It would probably be a better idea to sleep in comfortable beds here than inside the Ant Tunnel…”

“It’d be rather foolish for us to step right into the hotel and book a couple rooms when the Myougun are looking for us, not to mention Lord Fyx in particular,” Ryuu growls. “I’d like to see you step into the sauna without anyone trying to arrest you.”

“Hm…well, not to worry, I’ve got that covered!” Arai says, grinning broadly.

Kunai blinks. “Huh? How are we gonna fool the Myougun into letting us stay in the hotel without getting captured?”

The doors into the Sleepywood Hotel swing open as Arai steps in, grinning brightly. He is wearing Kunai’s Dark Identity, with a bandana wrapped around the lower portion of his head, concealing his face.

Ivy soon follows after Arai, with her face painted completely white, wearing a kimono. Her long black hair is tied up neatly in a bun over her head. Kunai and Ryuu follow after her as well, dressed in similar attire.

Ryuu glances over at Arai with bitter resentment reflected in his eyes. His fists are clenched and shaking by his side, hidden by the sleeves of his kimono. ‘Arai…if I ever get my hands on you for making me wear this…’

Arai steps up to the counter, where a clerk is sitting behind. The clerk stares at the disguised Kunai, Ryuu, and Ivy, blinking his eyes slightly. “Ah…yes, hello,” Arai mutters, glancing momentarily back at the other three, “we’re a traveling band of er…performers, and we were thinking of booking ourselves to perform at this hotel? We’d like to make reservations as well, of course.”

The clerk blinks a couple times again, staring at the four of them. He nods slowly, and then pulls a sheet of paper towards himself and picks up a pen, jotting down the details. “And um…your names?”

Arai suddenly starts, taken aback for a moment. “Ah…well, my name is um…Gijiduny Tohief Nolat Xolawora…”

The clerk’s eyes widen as Arai says this. “Erm…excuse me?!”

“Uh…heh, you can just call me George, I suppose,” Arai replies with a grin, shrugging slightly.

The clerk shrugs, and jots down the name on his piece of paper. He then gestures to the others standing behind Arai. “And they are?”

Arai turns to glance back at them as well, “Oh, well…uh…this beautiful redhead here is Ryu—Ryoko, and this here is Ku…Kumiko, and this, this is, um…”

Ivy suddenly pipes up, “Um…Ayame!” she cries out loud. Both Ryuu and Arai immediately turn to stare at her in alarm, eyes widening slightly.

Arai quickly recovers, turning back to the clerk, “Yes, this is Ayame. And…um…if you need any more details…”

“No,” the clerk replies, shrugging slightly, “your names should be enough. Okay, I’ve assigned you guys to Room 16, just behind those doors there. And when would you like to schedule your performance?”

“Um, tomorrow would be fine,” Arai replies, shrugging slightly.

Arai, dressed in a sauna robe, suddenly plops down comfortably inside a large sauna, large clouds of steam floating around in the air. He removes his Dark Identity and bandana, breathing in deeply. “Ah, this is so relaxing…”

Ryuu suddenly stumbles in, wearing a sauna robe and holding a towel up to his face, still wiping the white makeup off and grumbling loudly. “Most embarrassing moment of my life…” he growls.

Arai shakes his head slightly, grinning gat Ryuu. “Tsk, Ryuu…it’s not a good sign to growl under your breath. It’s better to just express your feelings and let it all out.”

Ryuu’s eyes suddenly glow demonically as he turns to Arai. “YOU’RE ONE TO TALK! YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO DRESS UP IN WOMAN’S CLOTHES OR WEAR A BRA STUFFED WITH ORANGES!”

Kunai enters as well, sliding in from the door to the sauna. He looks around hesitantly, blinking as he stares at Ryuu, then at Arai. “I do have to admit…it was pretty uncomfortable…”

Arai shrugs, glancing up at Ryuu still with a grin on his face. “Well, if you had a better idea of sneaking in without being recognized…”

“I’M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY FOR MAKING ME WEAR A KIMONO!” Ryuu screams, drawing his sword suddenly as it bursts into flames.

Kunai jumps back in surprise as Ryuu draws his sword. He holds up his hands in alarm, trying to distract and calm Ryuu down. “Ryuu! It might not be such a good idea to burn down the sauna, especially with the Myougun looking for us!”

Ryuu turns to Kunai, a dangerous gleam in his eye. “You stay out of this!”

Kunai shakes his head, narrowing his eyes and plopping down to take a seat opposite from Arai. He rests his head against the sauna wall, closing his eyes momentarily in a relaxed position.

The door slides open yet again, and this time Ivy steps in, wearing a pink sauna gown. Both Arai and Ryuu turn to stare as she walks in. Kunai opens an eye in slightly embarrassed surprise.

Ivy looks around hesitantly, blushing slightly. “Um…you guys mind if I share the sauna with you? It’s just that there’s only two, and there’s a really creepy-looking guy in the other one…”

“Well sure, Ivy, you’re welcome to stay in here with us,” Arai replies pleasantly.

“Are you sure it’s all right for a girl to be in a sauna with a bunch of guys?” Ryuu asks quietly.

“I don’t see why not,” Arai replies in a relaxed tone, lying down comfortably in the sauna.

Ryuu takes a seat next to Arai as well, folding his arms and glaring sourly at Arai every now and then. Ivy suddenly turns and takes a seat next to Kunai, who immediately begins blushing uncontrollably.

Ivy turns to Kunai, chuckling nervously, “Kunai, what’s wrong? You’re all red!”

“It’s the eh…sauna,” Kunai replies quickly, gazing around at the clouds of steam in the air. “It’s a little warm…”

Ivy grins and nods, smiling softly to herself. “Right!”

Ryuu’s eyes dart to Ivy temporarily. “Hey,” he says, turning to her, “incidentally where did you get the name Ayame?”

“Um…I don’t know, it just sorta popped into my head,” Ivy replies after a moment’s thinking. She shakes her head slightly as a small frown appears on her lips. “I don’t know, the name just seems familiar to me somehow. Heh, weird, isn’t it?”

Ryuu nods a little, glancing fixedly at Ivy one last time before averting his eyes to the floor, lost in a thoughtful trance.

Kunai turns to Ryuu perplexedly, looking at him curiously. “Why do you want to know anyway, Ryuu?”

“It’s…nothing,” Ryuu replies in a low voice.

Arai inclines his head slightly to look at Ryuu, smiling to himself. “Heh, Ryuu. You look like you could use a cookie. How about it? Would you like one of my chocolate chip macadamia nut banana blueberry piecrust cookies?”

Ryuu glares at Arai with a look of utter disgust and contempt. “WHAT THE HELL KIND OF COOKIE IS THAT?!”

Arai shrugs, continuing to grin widely in an annoying fashion. He suddenly reaches into the pockets of his sauna robe, withdrawing a large cookie, and hurls it at Ryuu’s face.

The cookie collides with Ryuu, hitting him across the nose. Ryuu suddenly springs up as Arai leaps to his feet as well, running away from Ryuu, laughing playfully and throwing cookies over his shoulder at Ryuu.

“COME BACK HERE YOU BASTARD!” Ryuu cries out loud, drawing his sword as it erupts into flames once again. He springs forward and reaches out his arm, trying to catch him.

Ryuu blinks and stares perplexedly for a moment as he withdraws his hand from the air, a blue sauna robe in his hand. He blinks and stares again as Arai stands still for a moment.

“Ahaha! You like my sauna robe, huh, Ryuu?” Arai cries out loud, still standing still.

Ivy blinks, blushing slightly, while Kunai groans and covers his eyes, shaking his head. “Arai has a—”

Arai suddenly opens the door and dashes out of it, as Ryuu’s eyes widen as he clenches his teeth, chasing after Arai. “What the hell…you can’t go out like that!”

Kunai blinks, staring at the entrance from which Ryuu and Arai had just left. “Did…Arai just leave the room…without his clothes on?”

Ivy places a hand up to her face, shaking it slightly as she still continues to blush. “I think that just scarred me for life…”

Ryuu leaps out of the sauna, still in his own sauna robe, chasing after Arai as he runs out into the hotel lobby and out completely nude. “ARAI YOU IDIOT, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”

Arai dashes agilely out into the middle of the town, standing just outside the hotel entrance. He gazes around laxly, stretching lazily. He shivers slightly as Ryuu approaches. “Hm…you know, it’s a little chilly out here.”

Ryuu turns away, bitter resentment in his eyes. He holds out Arai’s robe, handing it over to him. “Put this on before you get thrown in jail for indecency!”

There is suddenly a loud rumble, causing Ryuu to immediately raise his flaming sword again. The two of them, Ryuu and Arai, glance around as loud sparks of shadowy matter appear in the air.

Arai suddenly straightens his face, summoning his Dark Ritual in midair. He stares around, raising it as the shadowy matter begins to shape into large figures. “Paradoxes…” he mutters.

Ryuu raises his sword into a fighting stance, a smirk on his face as he does so. “Heh. Excellent, I’ve been waiting for a chance to try out the powers of my third pupil.”

Both Kunai and Ivy suddenly burst out of the hotel as well, dressed in their ordinary clothes. “What happened?! We heard a loud noise outside…” Kunai cries out loud, straightening his Scarab.

Ryuu glances back at them briefly, then turns back to the shapes forming in the air, nodding towards them. “Trouble,” he mutters gruffly.

“Paradoxes,” Kunai answers for himself, reaching for a Steely. Ivy raises her Thorns as well, and the two of them shuffle closer to Ryuu and Arai as the dark shapes surround them.

The shapes suddenly clear out, taking their places in a circle formation around the group. The Paradoxes stand tall, one or two inches taller than the normal human being. They stand as dark soldiers, equipped with equally dark lances and large, sturdy shields. Each Paradox wears a mask, through which the glow of their signature yellow eyes are exposed.

Arai’s eyes widen suddenly as he stares at the new Paradoxes. “Level Ten Humanoid Paradoxes!”

“Humanoid?” Kunai asks, turning to Arai momentarily.

Ryuu narrows his eyes, as the nearest Paradoxes bear down on them. “Heh. Remember what I told you about humans turning into Paradoxes? Well you’re about to meet some of them now.”

“These guys used to be regular people?!” Kunai cries out loud.

“No time to be surprised! Here they come!” Ryuu cries, dashing forward as the Paradox approach, running straight toward the group.

Ryuu spins quickly, avoiding a heavy blow from one of the nearer Paradoxes, and batters the Paradox from behind with the tip of his fiery sword. As two more approach, Ryuu’s third pupil glows temporarily, and sparks suddenly shoot out of his sword as well.

“Take this!” Ryuu cries, lunging forward and cutting down both Paradoxes at once. As Ryuu turns to leave, he gasps in surprise as the three Paradoxes he’d taken down regain their shape, and dash forward toward him again, lances poised to strike.

“Ugh…you guys don’t quit, huh?” Ryuu suddenly cuts the air with his sword, sending a jolt of electricity and fiery energy toward the Paradoxes.

A loud blinding explosion follows, and as the smoke clears, Ryuu stands still, in the center of a large, smoking crater in the ground. Ryuu stares down at the three dead Paradoxes, satisfaction hidden in a smirk on his face. “That enough for ya?”

Kunai dashes forward, nailing one of the approaching Paradoxes with a Steely. He then quickly turns, and kicks another one into one of its fellows as it approaches Ivy.

Ivy raises her Thorns and draws a large, glowing bow and arrow in the air, firing at the approaching Paradoxes. She gasps as they absorb the shining white arrows. “My Holy Arrows aren’t working!”

Kunai dashes in front of her, blocking a blow from one of the Paradoxes. He bends over panting slightly after the recoil. “Damn…these guys are just too tough.”

Arai quickly dashes left and right, leaning on his Dark Ritual as he sends large shafts of ice blocks into the air, freezing several of the approaching Paradoxes. He then teleports into their midst, sending bolts of lightning crashing into them.

Arai turns again as another Paradox approaches, knocking into him from behind with the butt of his sword. Arai stumbles forward, temporarily shocked. Ryuu suddenly appears from behind, cutting down the Paradox with his sword.

Arai gives Ryuu the thumbs up and grins, throwing a cookie into the air behind him as another Paradox approaches. He then summons a large spear of lightning in his right arm, finishing the Paradox with one blow.

Ryuu stands still in a fighting stance, glaring around him at the entire city. “There are just too many of these Paradoxes for us to take down by ourselves…it’s like a whole army of them!”

Arai backs away, turning to Ryuu as well. “Hm…come to think of it, why are they even here in the first place? I thought Sleepywood was inhabited by the Myougun…it doesn’t make sense for them to attack their own base!”

“The doctor!” Kunai cries out loud suddenly, dashing over to join Arai and Ryuu. Ivy quickly follows afterwards.

Arai turns to Kunai, a slight look of surprise on his face. “The doctor? What does he have to do with this?”

“I’m almost certain now…the doctor is working for the Myougun! The doctor, the businessman in Henesys, even the clerk in Sleepywood Hotel…they’re all the same person. It would make sense…the doctor’s the only one who knows about us going to see George!

“The doctor informed us of George in the first place, the businessman knew where George lived, and the clerk must’ve recognized the name when you used it as your alias!” Kunai cries out loud.

Arai suddenly rubs his chin, very serious. “Hm…in a way, it does make sense…all the doctor would’ve had to do then was to inform the Myougun.”

“But why would he tell us how to save Ryuu? He could’ve just as easily said ‘Sorry, there’s nothing I can do,’ and just let Ryuu die. But why did he bother telling us how to save Ryuu?” Ivy asks suddenly.

“That’s a very good question,” Ryuu replies in a soft growl, “however, right now, we’ve got a battle to fight and questions to ask later.”

“Right!” Arai, Kunai, and Ivy agree suddenly. The three of them suddenly run forward to combat the newly spawned Paradox.

Ryuu steps forward as well, shattering another Paradox with one swift blow of his double flame and thunder sword. He turns around suddenly as a new figure appears in the air, seemingly appearing out of the same dark, shadowy material as the Paradox.

The cloaked figure from Perion steps forward suddenly, still hidden underneath the folds of its cloak. A drawn hood shadows its face as it steps toward Ryuu, a long, gleaming blue sword in its hands.

Ryuu bares his teeth, bracing for battle. He raises his sword, as it brims with flames and sparks of electricity, bearing down on the new arrival.

The new arrival smirks suddenly, approaching Ryuu and raising its sword to fight as well. “Uchida Ryuu. It’s been a long time since I’ve begun looking forward to this moment, where I could test my own strength against yours.”

Ryuu smirks as well, smiling as the two of them approach each other, unaware of the others around them. “Oh, have you now? What, have I become that famous?”

“Ryuu…you are quite admirable. You’ve always been bathed in the glory of power all your life, yet never once succumbed to the darkness, nor agreed to work with the Myougun. Tell me, what do you think of the Joukai now, though, dwindled down to two?” the figure smirks.

Ryuu shakes his head, narrowing his eyes. “Three. There are three Joukai remaining.”

“Think what you wish, but the third will never return…” the figure murmurs, suddenly raising its sword and striking suddenly.

Ryuu gives a loud grunt in surprise and matches the blow, blocking the tip of his opponent’s sword just in time. “Heh. It’s been a while since I’ve faced a decent swordsman.”

Ryuu raises his sword as its flames burst into renewed life, and electricity sparks through it. He waves his sword, sending a jolt of thunder into the air, striking the figure.

The cloaked figure blocks the blow from Ryuu, easily absorbing the energy with its sword. It then lunges forward, cutting the air above Ryuu.

Ryuu flips over in midair, dashing to his left and swiping at the figure from below. The figure leaps into the air, and sends a pillar of shadow rising into the air from the ground, lifting it into the air so as to land behind Ryuu.

Ryuu turns around quickly, blocking a blow from behind with his sword and challenges the attack with one of his own, sending flames prickling over the figure’s cloak.

The figure then raises its sword again, effortlessly blocking the blow from Ryuu. Ryuu then takes a pace backwards, grinning to himself in admiration. “Not bad. You’re much, much stronger than I’d anticipated. But I’d like to see you block…this!”

Ryuu waves his sword in the air, sending a large explosion of flames and electricity shooting through the air towards the figure.

The figure suddenly raises its sword, drawing a glowing, bright blue magic circle in the air. The runes on it glow brightly for a moment, absorbing the flames and lightning.

Ryuu’s eyes widen in shock. “The Joukai Guardian Seal?!” His eyes continue to widen in shock, revealing his three pupils. For a moment, as the light fades, Ryuu looks up at the slightly illuminated face of the figure, and sees in the glare of the magic circle three glowing red pupils inscribed in a yellow eye.

“Wait a minute!” Ryuu cries out loud, his breath now coming in short, rattling bursts. His knees begin shaking suddenly as he stares at the figure. “You’re…!”

The figure inclines its head suddenly as a loud bang erupts in the air. The Sleepywood Hotel doors burst open at once, and another figure in a brown cloak emerges, carrying a gun.

“It’s that creepy guy from the sauna!” Ivy cries out loud suddenly, as the figure shakes off its hood, revealing a dark face, its eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses and an ominously crimson monocle.

“Lord Fyx,” Ryuu growls, turning to stare at the latest arrival. He turns back to stare at the other cloaked figure behind him, but gasps out loud as he notices that it has disappeared.

Arai waves his hands suddenly to Kunai and Ivy, sprinting towards Ryuu and signaling to run. “Kunai! Ivy! Let’s get out of here!” he cries, as Fyx raises his gun and begins spraying the air with bullet after bullet.

“What about Fyx?!” Ryuu cries as Arai dashes past him. He reluctantly follows after Arai.

“Right now our best bet is to get into the Ant Tunnel and hopefully lose them there,” Arai replies over his shoulder, using all his energy to continue running. “We’d have been captured again if we didn’t run!”

Kunai and Ivy quickly follow behind them as they enter into the Ant Tunnel, leaping over confused archers and mages and bewildered Horned Mushrooms.

Ryuu growls to himself, staring back at the scene in Sleepywood. ‘Fyx…our battle will have to wait for another day…’ He shakes his head, narrowing his eyes in deep concentration as he runs. ‘And…I never thought I’d have to see that person again. This is getting to be quite interesting.’