Episode 9 Three Dragons in One Night

The broken corpse of the Dragon Paradox lies in a tumble of jagged rocks on a narrow ledge at the crest of a large down, overlooking the same river running through where Kunai’s battle against Azuria had taken place. Around this ledge lie the forms of many other hills, running in a disorderly fashion. Jagged peaks rise up against the blank horizon blanketed with darkness.

On one such peak stands the two remaining Soul Eaters, their formless bodies still as they watch the dead Paradox from on high. A chill wind blows by, but they, unable to feel it, do not draw their cloaks closer.

Overhead a cloudless night dotted with stars lies in a quiescent slumber, the rays of moonlight witness to the bloody deeds below on the land.

Ryuu, leading Ivy, Ayame, and Sasha in single file ascends these ragged mounds, reaching the very top, where the body of the Dragon Paradox sleeps. Ryuu narrows his eyes, his breath misting in thin, wispy clouds before him.

Ryuu absentmindedly waves his own breath away, staring at the great body of the beast. In his right hand a weak fire still lays smoldering with the remnants of a long-consumed flame.

Ayame holds her hand up to her mouth to stifle a soft gasp. “It came down pretty roughly,” she mutters softly in the stilled silence.

Sasha trots to her side, and raises her own Berzerker with some difficulty. Then, with a slash quick as lightning, severs the claw from the Paradox in a fine stroke. The claw falls to the ground with a dull noise, and Ryuu rushes forth to take the large claw.

Ryuu hurriedly withdraws from his coat pocket a long length of finely knotted rope, and ties it about the claw, using the rope to wrap it around his waist and secure it as a burden upon his back. Ryuu turns to Sasha, nodding briefly at her. “Thanks for the help.”

“Are we going to go rescue Kunai now?” Ivy asks worriedly. She glances backwards where the land falls back on a sharp slope, and narrows into a thin, spindly mountain path, and then widens again, deepening into a dark gorge.

“Yeah,” Ryuu replies offhandedly, “We’ll go rescue him now. I’m sure he’ll be glad to see us.”

“ I just hope nothing bad’s happened to him,” Ayame adds. “I’d feel horrible for leaving him alone to battle Azuria. If what you said is true, Ryuu, Kunai won’t last much longer.”

“Kunai will be all right,” Ryuu answers her, “I’ve been his teacher for most of his life. He may not show it sometimes, but he’s strong, and he knows what he’s doing. I wouldn’t have made him a member of the Joukai if I didn’t think he was strong.”

“All the same,” Sasha replies, “You don’t know who you’re dealing with when you consider the Soul Eaters. They are powerful beings. Your friend is in grave danger.”

~ Several Hours Later ~

Kunai stirs slowly, his eyes wandering about in the darkness, under cover of his own eyelids. He brings two shaking hands up to his eyes, and rubs them, without opening them first. He then groans slightly, as the pain in his abdomen and forehead take the chance to engulf him.

A firm hand gently pushes Kunai back onto the soft feathery bed he lies on, and Kunai whispers something inaudibly to no one in particular. At once, Kunai opens his eyes, and is startled by the bright light of a lantern lit with a gentle, flickering flame.

“Wh…where am I?” Kunai mutters. Though his eyes are open, he stares blindly around from side to side, his vision greatly blurred due to his head wound.

Ivy’s face slowly comes into a clearer view, as she bends worriedly over him in a nearby chair. Behind her, a fire is blazing and crackling merrily in a stone hearth.

“Kunai! You’re awake!” Ivy cries, and wraps her arms about him. Kunai coughs out loud, caught off guard by the sudden hug. He shudders slightly, his body still stiff and sore from his various wounds.

“You’re back in Redley’s place,” Ryuu’s voice growls softly off in the nearby distance. Suddenly the form of Ryuu comes into view of Kunai’s vision as well, as he sits idly by on a wooden chair in front of a stone table.

“Redley?” Kunai mutters perplexedly, attempting to grasp the details of their journey and piece them back together. “What are we doing back here? I thought…I thought…where’s Azuria? Why aren’t you guys hunting the Dragon Paradox?!”

Ryuu smirks, laughing aloud suddenly. “I’m afraid you’re a few hours behind the times. We already caught and killed the Dragon Paradox. I even have the claw’s nail to prove it.” Ryuu waves a long, sharp, pearly white nail in front of Kunai. “When we came back after you, we found you unconscious and suffering from near fatal wounds. As for Azuria, we have no idea what happened to him. He seems to have…disappeared.”

“Azuria…” Kunai mutters, clenching his fist as details of their fray return to him. “Wait…I’m starting to remember…I remember making the Avenger, and shattering his daggers, but I can’t remember what happened next.”

Redley suddenly steps into the room, examining the blazing fireplace for a moment. He peers outside, where the never-ending night sheds its dark moonlight upon the land. Redley then starts in surprise as he notices Kunai.

“Oh, my!” Redley cries happily, “You’re awake! I’ve been quite worried about you, you know. The wounds on your head, your neck, your stomach when you came in! Ghastly! Thankfully I had some herbs, and quickly made some medicine to treat your wounds. But you really should check in with the hospital in downtown Skylark City later on, you know. Those wounds were quite severe.”

Kunai nods, a faint smile playing about his lips. He tilts his head backwards, leaning on the warm pillow placed beneath his head. “I know.”

Redley then turns to Ryuu, his manner business-like and brisk again. “Ahem, Mr. Ryuu, your weapon’s been finished. Thanks for having the patience to gather the materials for me. I’ve never had a customer like you go without complain before!”

Ryuu grumbles something rather harsh sounding but inaudible to himself. He then clenches his shaking fist and shakes his head, sighing. “It can’t be helped…” he mutters quietly. Ryuu then strides over to meet with Redley, and the two of them enter an adjoining room.

Ayame suddenly ambles into the room, a tranquil smile on her face. She turns automatically to Kunai’s bed, and claps her hands at the sight of him awake. “Kunai! We’ve all been worried about you. How are you feeling?”

“Pretty bad,” Kunai shrugs. He stretches a trembling hand up to his forehead, where a deep gash has formed in place of the bloody wound. He traces it, a long vertical scar running across his forehead. “I think some of these wounds are gonna make for permanent scars though.”

“That’s okay,” Ivy replies softly and reassuringly. She reaches down below the bed, and withdraws a thin black piece of cloth. “It’s more important that you’re alive, even if you’ve got some ugly scars on you.” She wraps the cloth around Kunai’s forehead, and smiles, giving him the thumbs up.

Kunai glances in puzzlement at Ivy, but she merely holds up a mirror for him, and he gazes into it, staring at his own reflection. The scar on his forehead now hides behind his Dark Identity.

Kunai places his still-quivering hand to his forehead, feeling the cool metal insignia on it. “Thanks for bringing this back, Ivy,” he mutters softly.

Ryuu suddenly reenters the room rather smugly. He now holds in his hands two identical sharp blades, curved slightly near the ends. Upon the hilt of each blade is carved a magnificent golden dragon, with wide-open mouth, as if releasing a burst of flame.

Running along the blade itself is a steel frame, capable of withstanding extreme temperatures. At the ends of each blade the swords curve finely; however, one blade remains much sharper than the other. The other, remains more on the blunt side.

“They are called the Twin Dragons,” Redley announces to the awed silence admiringly. He stares adoringly at the blades he’d crafted himself. “Took quite some painstaking effort to perfect the idea, but here it is: a weapon perfect for you, Ryuu the swordsman.”

Ryuu narrows his eyes, admiring the dual blades himself. “Twin swords, eh,” he mutters to himself.

“They also combine, for your convenience, into one larger blade,” Redley continues, “That is the reason why one blade is sharper than the other. For when these two swords combine, fitting perfectly together I might add, they become a dual-edged blade, one edge sharp for cutting, the other blunt, for hurting.”

Ryuu, at Redley’s words, then places the swords together, and with a soft click, the swords clamp onto each other, holding still perfectly as one. Ryuu stares at the blade, its end no longer curved but straight. At the very tip the blade divides again into two edges—one sharp, one blunt.

Ryuu then fastens the sword to his side, and holds it securely there. He turns to the others. “Great. Now that we’ve finally got me a sword, our search for the Third Phoneme can finally begin?”

“Where should we head first, though?” Ayame inquires.

“Why don’t you guys head for Skylark City? I’m not quite sure what you guys are here after, but Skylark’s the best place to find out things that you need to know. Best and biggest place to go in this neck of the woods,” Redley replies, offering his kindly advice.

Ryuu turns to Redley, considering his words. “It might be a good idea, since we’ve already been in town once before, however briefly. Sasha is also from Skylark, so she may guide us and help us out there.”

“Speaking of Sasha,” Kunai says from his bed, “Where is she? She’s the only one who hasn’t turned up yet.”

Ayame shrugs, gesturing back outside towards the open night. “Well, I was taking a walk outside around Redley’s garden. Sasha was outside too, fishing, apparently.”

“At this time of night?” Ivy asks perplexedly.

Kunai, Ryuu, Ayame, and Redley all turn to stare at Ivy. “Oh, right,” Ivy mutters, giggling slightly to herself. “Hehe, I forgot…it’s always night here!”

Meanwhile, outside, Sasha sits by herself at the very edge of the river’s bank, a fishing rod held idly in one hand, the other end of it dipped in the midst of the slow-running river. The bait remains still, no fish having disturbed it.

Sasha sits wearily, her back resting against the trunk of an old willow, its roots reaching as far as the very edge of the river’s bank. The faces of the Joukai members flash one by one through her head, as she ponders over their existence.

‘These people…I’ve always worked alone, watching the other Paradox Hunters, but these guys are different. What is it that they seek? To rid the world of this Myougun? And to do that they’ve risked their own lives…and come all the way out here to this desolate world.’

Sasha absentmindedly turns her rod from side to side, watching as the action causes ripples extending outwards from her bait, floating somewhere below the river’s surface. ‘I’ve been alone for so long…ever since…mom and dad…’

Sasha shakes her head, wiping her head clean of those unwanted thoughts. ‘Perhaps I met these people for a reason. Perhaps…I should join these four, and help them. After all, we seek the same path…to save people from having their lives torn apart, even if it’s too late for our own.’

“Sasha!” a voice rings in the distance suddenly. Sasha starts, disturbed out of her reverie by the approaching sign of life in the inky blackness near the river. She draws the rod back from the river, without having caught anything. Sasha then stands, watching as Ayame runs towards her, Ryuu and Ivy following not far behind.

“Sasha!” Ayame pants as she reaches her. “I know this is a pretty big favor to ask of you, but…” Ayame stares around, pondering for a moment her words. “We were wondering if you could help show us around Skylark, you know, since we’re not from around here.”

Ryuu and Ivy suddenly catch up. In her haste, Ayame swerves around, crying, “Ryuu!” Suddenly she tumbles backwards, sliding on a tuft of wet grass, and falls into the ice-cold river.

Ryuu blinks as Ayame struggles against the current of the river, gasping loudly. “Ryuu!”

With a shrug and a sigh, Ryuu extends an arms forward and pulls Ayame out of the river. “Klutz…” he mutters under his breath as Ayame stares at her own dripping wet clothing.

“I’ve reached a resolution,” Sasha says, speaking to Ryuu, since Ayame has tumbled off to the side to dry her clothes. “I will come with you.”

“Come with us?” Ryuu repeats, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Sasha reiterates, “I will come with you. I’ll help you defeat the Myougun. My life has been dedicated to defeating the Paradox. It inevitably lies with your goals then. So therefore, I shall help you succeed. I want to see a world rid of evil as well.”

“It’s a dangerous road, though,” Ryuu mutters, “the path we’re headed, that is. There’s a great chance you may not return. Are you sure you really want to come?”

“Yes,” Sasha repeats. “I’m positive.”

Ryuu nods solemnly. All of a sudden, he stretches forward a hand, and Sasha, in surprise, takes it, clasping hands with Ryuu. “Welcome to the Joukai, then, Sasha.”

Next Time: Episode 10 Skylark City

Ivy: Say it, Ryuu!

Ryuu: No.

Ivy: Say it!

Ryuu: [sigh] This is Apple reporting for Skylark City Channel 10 News!

Episode 10 Skylark City coming soon!