Episode 38 Kindred Souls

A young, black-haired teenager rises suddenly as the sun dawns. He glances over his shoulder at the window he’d been sleeping under; a shaft of light is entering through it, dimly brightening the small room.

He stretches, flexing his legs and picks up a set of Tobis lying by his side. He then equips his Casters on his right arm in silence, loading the claw with his Tobis. The black-haired boy then puts on his Dark Shadow set, peering around as he does so.

A small pool of shadow suddenly forms at his feet, right at the foot of the mattress the teen had been sleeping on. The shadow then swirls, and rises into the air, forming a small dragon-like Paradox.

The boy turns and stares down at the floor next to and around his mattress. Dirty piles of laundry lay scattered across the wooden floor, and right next to the mattress is a picture of a girl with long, flowing black hair.

The boy picks up the picture for a moment and stares at it, before putting it back down on the floor facedown with a soft sigh. The Paradox flutters into the air and lands, perching on his right shoulder.

A loud rustling suddenly sounds from outside the window. The boy looks up, slightly alert. He peers out the window, his eyes widening slightly.

“Arai! That better not be wine that you snuck away from town!” Ryuu growls angrily, as he and Arai walk side by side, Arai hiding something behind his back.

Kunai walks by their side, while Ivy trails behind, lost in a deep, hazy trance. Arai grins at Ryuu and continues to turn his back away from Ryuu, not allowing him to see what he is hiding.

“Teehee, Ryuu!” Arai titters, laughing playfully as Ryuu growls out loud in frustration.

Ryuu’s eyes, trained on Arai, suddenly spin to his left, widening slightly. In a flash he raises his unsheathed sword, deflecting a Tobi off of the blade. The Tobi flies into the air, knocking the glass of wine out of Arai’s hands.

It lands among the shards of glass now lying on the floor. Ryuu glares up, staring at a young black-haired boy, standing firmly before them. “Hm? You’ve got guts, kid, picking a fight with me…”

Kunai gazes slightly open-mouthed at the new arrival. ‘Ah…he looks…a lot like me! Even down to the eyes…those same, lonely eyes I have.’

The boy raises his left arm into the air, allowing his dragonish Paradox to land on it. Ryuu, Arai, and Kunai all gasp aloud as they notice the Paradox.

“Is that…?” Arai cries out.

“What’s your name, kid?” Ryuu growls.

The boy stares at Ryuu hesitantly, his stance defiant and his face resolute. He clenches his teeth, clenching the Tobi in his hand tighter.

Arai shakes his head, grinning and stretching his arm forward to shake the boy’s. “It’s okay, Ryuu can be a bit grumpy, but otherwise he’s perfectly nice. We’re friendly, so you’ve nothing to worry about. What’s your name?”

“Shuriken,” the boy replies in a low growl.

“Shuriken, hm…” Arai mutters to himself. “Shuriken, do you live around here?”

Shuriken glances by slightly over his shoulder, where a small brick one-room house stands. “Yeah. My parents and family were killed in the raid by the Myougun years ago.”

“That’s…horrible!” Kunai mutters, his eyes widening. ‘He really is just like me…’

“Hm,” Ryuu growls to himself, “Sounds a bit like someone I know.” His eyes stray temporarily to Kunai as he says this. “Isn’t it dangerous living alone these days?”

“Quite,” Shuriken replies, “but I’ve gotten used to it.” His hands clench even tighter around the Tobi in his hand once again, as he holds it still poised to attack.

“I can see,” Ryuu replies, his eyes on the Tobi. He raises his hand to signaling to stop. “But you can relax, kid. We’re not going to attack you unless we have reason to.”

“What’re you here for?” Shuriken mutters.

“We’re on a journey to defeat the three Triplicates guarding the entrance to a world known as Rift. The last one we’re looking for is here in Ludibrium,” Ryuu answers.

“Um…may we come in for a break?” Arai asks suddenly. “You see, we’ve been walking all day…and we sure could use a break, but only if you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all!” Shuriken replies, smiling for the first time. He steps aside and leads the way back up to the front steps of his small home. He opens the door and allows Ryuu, Arai, Kunai, and Ivy to pass, paying particular attention to Ivy as she passes.

Kunai and Arai take their seats at a small wooden table in the center of the room, while Ryuu stands looking disgruntled leaning over a small wooden counter. Ivy simply stands in the middle of the room, emotionless.

Shuriken takes a seat with Kunai and Arai at the wooden table, and takes a small silver kettle and pours them each a cup of tea. Arai takes it with a smile and takes a large sip.

Kunai nods to Shuriken as he hands him his cup and stares into the contents inside, still thoughtful. He looks up and stares at Ivy for a long while.

“So where do you come from?” Shuriken asks Arai.

“Oh, well, we come from Victoria Island,” Arai answers. “We had quite the adventures in Victoria Island and Ossyria before getting here,” Arai answers.

He suddenly turns to Kunai, Ryuu, and Ivy. “These three are Kunai, Ryuu, and Ivy, by the way. My name is Arai,” Arai introduces himself and the others. He holds out a hand for Shuriken to shake.

Shuriken takes the handshake with a slight smile. “Pleased to meet you.”

Kunai stares at the Paradox still sitting perched on Shuriken’s shoulder. “Say, Shuriken…if I may ask, what’s with the Paradox? Aren’t those things dangerous?”

“Phoebe?” Shuriken asks, pointing to the dragon Paradox. He shakes his head. Shuriken suddenly takes off his Casters, and pets the Paradox softly. It then retreats into the inside of the claw, before Shuriken puts it on again.

“I usually keep Phoebe inside my claw in battle. I don’t know how it started, but we built a pretty strong relationship, and I like to keep Phoebe near me when I fight,” Shuriken answers.

“Paradoxes are evil creatures, aren’t they? They shatter souls, they literally are shadows condensed into a living shape,” Kunai replies. “Why would you keep one as a pet?”

“Not all creatures who are evil are evil, Kunai,” Shuriken answers strangely, “Nor are all creatures who are good are good. You should remember that.”

“So, Phoebe…is a Paradox that is friendly?” Arai asks interestedly. “I’ve never heard of such a thing…I didn’t even think it was possible.”

“Heh,” Ryuu growls from behind them suddenly, “If you journey around this world a lot, you’re gonna find a lot of strange things, no arguing about it. There are a lot of strange phenomena in this world.”

“No kidding,” Shuriken answers, his eyes straying over to Ryuu’s momentarily. They rest temporarily on Ryuu’s sword, which is still sitting by his side.

Kunai shifts in his seat on the floor suddenly, and accidentally bumps into something on the ground. He picks it up from the ground curiously, peering into an old picture frame with a picture of a girl with long, flowing black hair.

“Who’s this?” Kunai asks, staring at the picture of the girl.

Shuriken grabs it out of Kunai’s grasp suddenly, stunning him for a moment. Both Arai and Kunai look at him curiously for a moment. Shuriken then sighs and shakes his head, sighing to himself. “I’m sorry. I overreacted.”

“I’m sorry—is she…someone you know?” Kunai asks hesitantly.

Shuriken sighs again. “She is my little sister, whom died in the raid. I haven’t forgiven myself for letting her die…it was my responsibility to protect her from the raid, and I let her die!”

“That must’ve been harsh,” Arai replies sympathetically. “Were you two close?”

“As close as siblings could be,” Shuriken replies in a low voice. “But it’s been three long years since she died. I’ve been searching for an answer to bring me peace once again.”

Shuriken looks up suddenly, turning to stare at Ivy interestedly. “Ivy, is it? You don’t say very much, do you? Are you a quiet person?”

Kunai glances sadly up at her for a moment. “Ah…she’s…”

“She’s undergoing a Paradox mutation I’m afraid,” Arai replies. “That’s when—”

“When a person is attacked by a Triplicate and goes through a mutation transforming her into a Paradox,” Shuriken finishes for Arai. “You need not tell me the specifics. I already know all about it.”

Ryuu grunts in slight surprise. “Then might you—?”

“No,” Shuriken answers immediately, “I do not know a cure. I only know of the process through which she is going to go through. I have no cure. Incidentally, who did this? Why has she been attacked by one of the Triplicate?”

“The Myougun did this to her,” Arai answers, “they set her up and allowed her to be attacked by the Cursed Sanctuary Triplicate, which we’ve defeated already. She was recently attacked again when we went to fight the Zakum Triplicate.”

“Why would the Myougun use so many resources just to have a girl attacked by one of the Paradox? Unless, of course she…” Shuriken mutters to himself.

“Ivy possesses within her something called a phoneme,” Arai replies.

“Of course,” Shuriken replies in a clear voice suddenly. “The Legend of the Lost Phoneme. So one of the lost maidens described in that legend is standing before me?”

Arai nods. “Yes, that’s correct.”

“Infinite knowledge of whatever you please…” Shuriken mutters to himself, “No wonder the Myougun are so desperately chasing after the Phoneme.”

“Yeah, everything that’s happened to Ivy…it’s all the Myougun’s fault! I’m gonna make them pay for doing so much harm to Ivy…” Kunai shouts.

“Heh…and what do you hope to achieve against so powerful an enemy? You alone against them would crumble in an instant,” Shuriken replies. “It’s a battle not even worth fighting.”

“Hey! I’m not going to give up just because of that! Me and Ryuu have agreed that we’ll find a cure for Ivy no matter what, and defeat the Myougun no matter what!” Kunai argues.

“Your will and determination is quite admirable,” Shuriken replies. “Very well. I agree with you. If it had not been for the Myougun, my sister would not have died so untimely a death. I do not want to see you repeat the pain I have felt. So I will help you fight against the Myougun from now on. Please take me on your journey with you.”

Kunai’s eyes widen in surprise as he hears this news. He stares from Arai to Ryuu. Kunai turns to look back at Arai, who stares back with a slight smile on his face. “It’s your decision to make, Kunai. Ryuu and I will go along with whatever decision you make. Will you give Shuriken a chance?”

Kunai suddenly nods, staring right into Shuriken’s eyes. “Yes. I will. Shuriken, welcome to the party.”

Shuriken grins, smiling slightly, though his shadowed face remains dark even in happiness. “Very well. I shall pack up and from now on I shall help you guys. You will not regret it!”

“Tch,” Ryuu grunts from his corner, “You guys do as you wish. I’m only along to help out and guide you guys. But Shuriken, I’ve got my eye on you…one fishy move and you’re good as toast.”

Shuriken nods, staring right into Ryuu’s eyes. “Very well. I understand what you’ll do if I betray your trust. I guarantee you that you will not have to do that.”

“Heh, very well,” Ryuu replies. “Then without further ado, let’s go ahead and take on this next and last Triplicate. My pants are literally itching with excitement.”

Next: Episode 39 The Cherry Chocolate Chip Strawberry Vanilla Cookie Dough Minty Cookie!

Kunai: What…the…heck?

Ryuu: [grumble]

Arai: It smells wonderful!

Kunai: Next time…the reason for Arai’s love for cookies?!

Episode 39 The Cherry Chocolate Chip Strawberry Vanilla Cookie Dough Minty Cookie! coming soon!