~Notes~
Dedicated to the real Ivy in my life, because today is her birthday.

Episode 21 The Lantern Behind The Eyes of Fire

“I’ve always wondered about him. Even though I’ve known him for six years, it’s been difficult getting him to talk about himself. As a result, I’ve hardly gotten to know him, but I still owe him a great debt, so I never thought to ask. However, I’ve always roamed the libraries of this castle where we live, searching for any hint or clue that might tell me about his past.

“At last, I found it. It was almost a year ago today that I found that diary, but I never mentioned my finding it to him. I don’t believe he even realizes how much about him that I’ve learned from reading that diary, much less the fact that I’ve sneaked a peek into his past and private life.

“Ever since he saved me from death, I’ve looked up to him. I wanted to be strong like him, that man who never spoke unless spoken to, and who kept what must’ve been an extremely painful past to not ever mention it. In fact, I think I’m the only person in the world to know so much about him other than himself. Compared to him, my past suffering was nothing, as I found out when I read that diary. I’ll never forget the words written in there…”

[10/18 – 14 Years Ago]

‘Daddy says that tomorrow we’re gonna leave Rift World to live in the Maple World for a while. I’m so excited because I’ve never been to the Maple World before! I love how Daddy works for the Naraku. I don’t understand everything about them yet because Daddy says I’m too young, but we get to travel to lots of places because he works for them!’

A young boy with fairly long streaks of bright blue hair bobs up and down as a huddle of strange, burly folk press their way past him, each carrying a large cardboard box laden with material possessions.

The boy is wearing simple clothes made of cloth, while he carries at his side a battered and bruised War Bow. He shoves his way past one of the movers, by whacking him on the leg with the shaft of his bow forcefully. The man replies with a loud grunt of disdain, mumbling threats under his breath as he walks away.

The boy finally makes his way to the front of the crowd, where a respectable house lies, with a low, thatched roof and a quiet porch extending into the paved road. The entire residence is built of dark redwood, smoothened and softened by years of tender love and appreciation.

At the front of the porch stand two people: a man and a woman. The woman, still moderately young, has a kind, beautiful face, with strands of long brown hair trailing behind an elegant figure. She wears a simple dress made of a smooth, brown cloth, with a plain white apron hanging over it.

The man beside her, however, has largely contrasting features compared to the woman. His face is much darker, with a tumbled mat of dark blue hair hovering over his thin eyebrows and dark, narrowed eyes. He wears an impressive uniform of black and gray armor linked together with tiny chains. By his side, just barely dangling in the clutch of his right hand is a beautiful Metus.

The dark man suddenly inclines his head halfway, noticing the boy standing in silent awe in his presence. Suddenly his face breaks into a large grin, and he beckons the boy forward.

As the boy runs towards him, the man stretches out a hand and ruffles his head, causing the boy to cry out playfully, “Oww! Dad! Stop! That hurts!”

The man merely laughs, a hearty, bellowing tone of mirth. Suddenly he withdraws his hand and looks down at the boy seriously. “Hey, now, little Arayu. I saw that little trick you pulled on one of the movers just now. That’s no way to respect an adult. You hear me? No more hitting people with your bow.”

“Well,” the boy replies haughtily, “I would’ve shot him in the leg, but the string on my bow snapped!”

Arayu’s father takes his War Bow silently without a word and examines it carefully, noticing the irreparably damaged string. He sighs deeply, suppressing a smile. “Aye, Arayu, again? That’s the third time you’ve done it this month. You really must love shooting that thing to bits and pieces.”

He abruptly stands straight back up, returning the bow gingerly to Arayu’s hands. “Well, tell you what. I haven’t got any new string on me right now, but I’ll make sure to get you a new one once we get out to Victoria Island. I’ll get you one that won’t snap no matter how many times you pull on it! How about that?”

“Yeah!” Arayu cheers happily, “Yay! Thanks, Dad! You’re the best!”

Arayu’s father does not reply, but merely breaks out into his emphatic chuckle again, patting Arayu on the head several times.

[10/21]

‘Me, Dad, and Mom finally moved into our new house in the Maple World. We live in a place called Victoria Island now, I think our city is called Henesys. It’s been very boring so far because Daddy has to go to work almost all the time and we can’t do anything fun. But Daddy says that on Saturday he’s gonna be off from work and he said that he’s gonna take me to this place called Ellinia to see the fairies! I can’t wait!’

The sky remains clouded and blurred with falling torrents of icy cold water as the final hours of a sunless day draw near. Every once in a while, a blinding spear of lightning tears across the blackened sky, followed by a cacophonous rumble of thunder.

Arayu and his mother sit quietly at a wooden dinner table inside a brightly lit dining room, the light inside contrasting highly with the murky, unknown depths of night seen through the window.

Arayu closes his eyes sleepily as his head sinks lower and lower toward the surface of the table. He breathes heavily, an expression of boredom clearly written across his face. Meanwhile, his mother, sitting worriedly nearby at the table, glances anxiously at the clock, which reads 11 o’ clock.

She turns to the cold, uneaten slivers of steak and potatoes lying on a plate next to her. Arayu’s mother glances again worriedly at the clock. “It’s been hours…he hasn’t shown up today at all. I’m getting worried, what with the rain out there…” she mutters to herself. “Edwin, please be okay…”

“I’m bored,” Arayu groans from the other end of the table, “where’s Daddy? It’s Saturday night already. He said he was gonna show me the fairies today but he hasn’t come back at all since he left yesterday morning.”

“Well, your father did say that this mission was likely to take much longer than the others,” Arayu’s mother attempts to comfort him, as much as for Arayu as for herself.

“But I’m bored!” he cries, kicking his feet under the table.

Another roll of thunder blasts with renewed vigor overhead, just as the brilliant flash of light signaling its presence fades away and is swallowed up by the darkness.

Arayu turns his head towards the backdoor of their little house in Henesys, glaring for the first time outside with a look of apprehension. “Isn’t it cold outside, Mom?”

“Yes,” she replies softly, “yes it is.” Then, withdrawing to herself, she murmurs, ‘Damn it, Edwin, where are you? You must be soaked if you’re still journeying outside. You said that there wouldn’t be anything to worry about, but you also said you’d be back by this afternoon at latest…’

The phone suddenly rings, jerking the both of them back into reality. Arayu’s mother jumps to her feet, rushing to the phone and grabs the phone, pressing it to her ear. “Yes? Hello?”

“Yes, hello? This is Lieutenant Skiles of the Naraku Medics Team Number Eight,” the voice on the other end replies urgently, the tone of his voice obviously one of excitement and nervousness.

“Oh God,” Arayu’s mother murmurs, “Oh God, oh God, oh God…the medics teams never call unless something terrible has happened…”

“Yes,” Lieutenant Skiles replies, “I regret to inform you that there has been a terrible accident in the Forest South of Ellinia. We think you should come to the scene immediately.”

After that, Lieutenant Skiles immediately hangs up, leaving the weeping mother and wife to cry, as rivers of tears roll down her cheeks. However, as she glances up, she immediately notices one more thing—Arayu is missing, leaving nothing more than an open backdoor.

As Arayu wanders breathlessly through the slippery hills east of Henesys, the face of his father remains constantly fixed in his mind. Though his clothes are torn from reckless journeying, Arayu persists with amazing endurance, his breath shortened and almost depleted due to his haste.

At last, Arayu makes his way into the outskirts of Ellinia, the point where the forest ends and the land becomes an ocean of endless, rolling hills.

Standing around the scene are many men dressed in white robes, several of them bent over hunched figures at intervals along the forest floor. Arayu peers at the awkward scene from behind the trunk of a tree, not comprehending the full meaning of it.

However, another flash of lightning lights the sky above, and Arayu is shown the full nature of the scene. Each of the doctors is shown to be leaning over a torn and bloodied figure, rendered unrecognizable by countless sword wounds.

As Arayu steps up, he realizes that his father is one of these such figures, blood splashed all over his broken face. On his chest is an open wound, bleeding profusely as blood gushes out at the slightest movement. Scattered across his chest are the remnants of the shattered point of a blade, lying on his open skin and cutting deep into it.

The medics bent around him are murmuring gravely amongst themselves, speaking to each other in a deathly whisper. Arayu inches closer, snapping a twig and causing a slight rustle of leaves as he does so.

Immediately, the healers spin around, drawing their staffs and stopping the ominous flow of green light being emitted from them.

“It’s okay,” an unrecognizable voice croaks from the floor.

Arayu gazes in horror as he realizes that these are words slipped from the cracked lips of his father. “Dad!” he cries, rushing over to his father’s side, but the medics immediately step in the way, blocking him.

“It’s okay,” Edwin chokes, spitting out a fresh pint of blood, “I want to speak with him. You’re not gonna deny a dying father his last wish to speak with his son, are you?”

The healers glance apprehensively at each other and then nod, stepping away from father and son without another word or sign of protest.

Arayu crawls up to his father, lying on his back on the floor around a pool of blood. By his side lays his Metus, snapped in half by some merciless assailant.

“A-Arayu…” Edwin whispers to his son, “I-I’m sorry, but it seems I can’t show you the fairies after all…”

“D-Dad!” Arayu cries, as tears begin to brim in his eyes. “What are you saying?!”

“Arayu,” Edwin murmurs, his tone now completely grave and serious, “I don’t have much time. There is something very important I must tell you.”

“What is it?” Arayu whispers in a terrified awe.

“I work for the Naraku, that you know. But you don’t know the specifics of it…go, go find someone named Lord Kimura and tell him that you are my son. He will accept you with open arms, I am sure of that. Next, I want you to do something more. I wish I didn’t have to ask you this, but it must be done.”

“What is it?” Arayu repeats, “I’ll do it no matter what!” He hurriedly wipes the tears away from his face.

“Please, son. I’m asking you not as your father, but as a pleading man whose life is slipping away from him. Avenge my death. I was killed by a man…he belongs to an organization named the Joukai. I know only that his hair is red and he wields a flaming sword. Please, you must avenge my death…”

Arayu nods, even as the tears continue to replace the ones he wipes away. “I…I will, Dad!”

Edwin suddenly reaches up, forcing up several more of his last pints of blood. He clasps Arayu’s hand with both of his, holding it dearly to himself. “Grow strong, son. Grow strong and defeat this man. It’s my last wish. Also, take my bow. It’s broken now, but you can have the string from it. Take the string and attach it to whatever bow you may use in the future, so that you won’t forget your father, who watches over…you.”

With a last, gasping breath, Edwin closes his eyes, having bled to death. As the tears now roll down uncontrollably down his face, Arayu screams loudly, his voice drowned with the rain falling from the sky. “NOOOOOOO!”

[11/4]

‘Daddy was buried. Mom took me back to Rift World because we no longer had any business in the Maple World. She sold our house and bought a tiny one in a place called the “slums.” I miss Daddy a lot, but Mommy says that if you listen really hard, you can hear his voice in your heart. I think Mommy misses him too, though. I asked Mommy about Lord Kimura, but she doesn’t know enough about Daddy’s job to tell me about him.’

[2/6 – 10 Years Ago]

‘Mother passed away some time ago. Since then, I’ve sold our tiny home and decided to travel around the world to grow stronger. I’ve still failed to locate the two men Father spoke to me about on his deathbed. In the meantime, I’ve been training harder and harder as the seasons pass by. I’ve now encountered several Paradoxes and defeated all of them quite easily. All I’ve been able to learn about these creatures are that they were invented by the Myougun Empire.

‘I’ve begun to seek out this Myougun Empire. From the awed whispers I hear from townsfolk I pass on my journeys, it seems that I will find the Lord Kimura I seek by searching for information about this empire. My progress so far as been slow, but I am optimistic for this is only the beginning of my revenge and redemption.’

[8/13]

‘I’ve finally located this Lord Kimura at last. Just as my father said, he was very willing to accept me. In fact, he embraced the idea of personally teaching me to fight and become stronger. His words are comforting to me, for he speaks with a tone of utmost assurance. So thus, my training has begun.’

[6/2 – 8 Years Ago]

‘After two years of training, Lord Kimura has released me from his tutorship. I’ve begun to journey around the world once again. I am greatly indebted to him for all that he has done for me. He says that I may pay him back for his services in three years, when he will admit me into the Naraku.’

[4/16 – 6 Years Ago]

‘Today the strangest thing happened during my journeying. I encountered multiple Paradoxes at once. I’d made my way into a neighborhood very similar to the one in which my Mother and I had come to live in after our poverty had set in.

‘There was a child—hardly much younger than me—and his two siblings who were being attacked by two Paradoxes. Though I prefer to keep to myself, I was strangely compelled to save this boy and his siblings. Through my training with Lord Kimura, I had learned how to defeat such monsters quite easily, and the two Paradoxes were slain without contest. The boy then did the strangest thing—he thanked me.

‘Though he is quite weak, the boy intrigues me, for there seems to be something powerful about his aura. I’ve written a letter informing Lord Kimura about this boy, and no doubt if it peaks his interest this boy will soon receive a visit from the lord.’

[5/28 – Present Year]

‘I have succeeded in locating the enemy which my Father spoke of. His name is Ryuu of the Joukai.’

Zack closes the leather bound book, its cover heavily worn and smoothened through the years. He sits on the top of a low wall in an outdoor hallway, where the light of the moon peeps in from above the starry-lit sky.

With a sigh, Zack stuffs the book back in his pocket. “I wonder where Arayu is now. Tch, knowing him, he’s probably got the Joukai shivering in their pants. Stupid jerk, always so much tougher than me.”

Next Time: Episode 22 The Sauna and a Familiar Scent?!

Crowd: Fire Otis! Fire Otis! He’s too vague!

Otis: NEVER! HAHAHAHA!

Arai: Otis for President! [holds up sign with Otis sitting on top of the world]

Kunai: Why can’t you two just get back to the previews…

Arai: Oh, oh! A cookie makes its way into next chapter!

Episode 22 The Sauna and a Familiar Scent?! coming soon!