bLackGuardianX: Well, I told myself I would finish Worth first before I publish this one, but I just can't wait...Hehe~...

I don't own anything here-desu~...

It's just my interpretation of the Synchronicity Series...

Enjoy!

Story One: Kimi wo Sagasu Sora/Looking for You in the Sky

"The gentle voice in the sleeping past. Turning even despair into a smile. Sinking alone in my tears…"

I snapped my eyes open. What was that? Whose voice was that? And…have I ever heard of it? It seemed so familiar…

"A song of … binds today and … give my life … my voice … sing it … until I die …"

I don't know why but tears suddenly formed in the corners of my eyes. What really is this? My mind wants to split apart and I don't even have the slightest idea what these dreams, this voice, signify. Maybe I should ask Kaito tomorrow. I sat up on the edge of my bed, facing the small window which overlooks half of the city and a large part of the mountains stretching far and wide. I just sat there, admiring the full moon, watching it gaze down to this filth-filled city. For the record, this is the longest stay I had in one city. I am a vagabond and, as far as I have been, vagabonds don't stay I one place too long a time. But somehow, I stayed, mainly because I'm not a vagabond, per se. well, yeah, let's say, a wanderer or a drifter. This dream had been haunting me since I was little. So maybe one could say that I had my destiny leading me and all, but destiny sure talks in riddles. If I were to examine all of my dreams, this is what I'll find: A sleeping dragon. In a cave. With a blonde girl in white dress. Who wears an anklet, a symbol of slavery. Who also wears a matching pendant as I do. Who sings ever so beautifully. Whose songs express solitude, prayers, despair and hope. A selfless song is what I've usually heard. The one that has verses of sacrificing one's self for the sake of others, words of prayers for the whole world, utters of lullabies.

Sigh.

Well, she sure looks a lot like me. And we were wearing a matching pair of pendants. How does that count as coincidence? No. Impossible. That just can't be coincidence. Which brings me back to my explanation. It involves Kaito. He's a magician-slash-fortune teller-slash-my self-employed shadow-slash- a talking machine. I understand that he barely makes a living out of fortune telling, but a fortune teller should at least act mysterious and dark. But Kaito is like, hmm… let's say, the wind. Unnoticeable at first, but essential in everything, and that's where you notice him; when you need him. Well, maybe that was why he was so loud-mouthed, to make people acknowledge his existence. I met him when I was wandering around this town, looking for something that could even just give me a clue to my mysterious dreams.

"Hey there, Len!" he had said, waving his hand in the air like an idiot. He was sitting on a barrel with another barrel in front of him, which maybe served as a table. At that time, I have just arrived in this town. Of course, when you're a new visitor here, then somebody just suddenly shouts your name, won't you be surprised? Honestly, I was startled.

Have I met this guy somewhere? How did he know my name? I looked around to see if there was anybody else he might have called. No one.

"Why don't you sit down, Len? It's been quite a journey, right? You must be tired." He smiled, and I took his invitation and sat down on the barrel in front of him. "Oh, not there, it'll break—" Too late. My butt hurt because of the fall, and I probably have splinters on my hands, not to mention that i was reeking of cheap-smelling wine. And he had the nerve to smile! "Hehe~. Good thing I prepared a change of clothes for you." Hmm. Reliable. He threw me a bundle of clothes. I opened it and saw the very same clothes that I wore.

"You'd better still feel like yourself, right? Clothes are like a part of who we are. If you wear another's clothes or style of clothing, even if it's traditional, you won't feel right or yourself at all. And I want you to be yourself and in your right mind when talking and being around me. So hurry up and change! We don't have all day to sit here, with you soaking wet in wine. Oh, and don't enter the next tent, it's a women's boutique." He fired away. "And another," I was about to take a step further when he tossed me two coins, which I caught. "Pay the first lady in violet that you'll encounter. Tell her it's from the Blue Fortune Teller. And refrain from attracting too much attention, alright?"

At that time, it sounded so random and irrational to follow, especially if you were told by someone you have no idea of. But anyways, I have nothing to lose if ever I followed what he told me. Luckily, (and I don't even know if it is luck or he'd just predicted it) I gave the coins to the right woman. She even gave me two loaves of bread, saying that she owe the Blue Fortune Teller a lot more than those two coins.

After I had changed my clothes, I stepped out of the changing tent, and thanked the lady again for helping me find a place to change and even wash myself up. Even though I'm a drifter, I never forget my manners, you know.

I walked down the street, retracing my steps earlier, the bundle of clothes in one hand and the paper bag with the bread in the other, my sword dangling from my hip, when I sensed that someone was watching me, I mean directly at me. Having been trained for self defense since I was small by some wanderer too, my instincts kicked in and my senses heightened. I gathered both the paper bag and the bundle of clothes in one arm and I rested my other hand on the hilt of my sword. It was a reflex every time I sense danger. I concentrated harder on my hearing, hoping I could get even a single hint as to why I felt danger. What I heard made me want to bump my head to the nearest concrete wall.

Women's voices whispering wildly.

Gossips.

About me.

Hey— come again?

About … me …?

Huh? Hey, what about me? Have I grown another head or do I still smell like wine?

Ack! Hey, wait up just a minute… what have Kaito said again? Refrain from attracting too much attention, alright?

Uh… have I turned attention to me? Well, I look ordinary anyways so how could I attract attention?

Okay, damn if I'm right, curse me if I'm wrong, and I know that those two are just one and the same, but I started to run anyways. And just as he had predicted, everyone's attention was on me. Everyone's feet were hot on my trail, that is. Now, I do know what it feels to have too much attention, it makes people go crazy. Anyways, I ran and ran until I found Kaito sitting comfortably on his barrel seat.

"Toldja not to attract too much attention, right? You sure don't listen. You should have known that a face like yours won't go unnoticed in this country. How could you be living all this time without knowing that? You could even just pass by a store and they'll hand out their products to you for free! You've got that—"

"Now's not the time for that!" was the first sentence I had ever said to him. There had been 21 and a half sentences he had said to me and all I could say was that one urgent sentence before we both broke into a mad dash. I don't know how we managed to escape that inevitably cruel fate but somehow, we're alive. On that same day, Kaito and I got this room we're currently sharing now, and he interpreted my dreams for me, but introduced himself first before doing so.

"I am Kaito Shion, a fortune teller and wizard, son of the Great Wizard of the East, a descendant of the Wizard of Wisdom, the Guardian of the country of Peace and Life." He said, unexpectedly formal. "But, unfortunately, this country is no longer at peace nor is it suited for life." I remembered those unusually piercing eyes of his that bore straight through mine in this very room, just I a different time. I glanced at his sleeping form on the other bed. He appeared to be sleeping.

I'll interrogate you tomorrow like hell. Prepare to get tired, Magician!

"Why?" I had asked that day. "What is wrong with this country?"

He looked like a statue of ice as he explained it to me. "This country in the East, the country of Peace and Life, was once ruled by a very kind king. He started from scratch in building this once-magnificent country and the townspeople loved him very much. However, he was killed; his family and clan annihilated, and another took on his throne. It was a time of grief but the people could not lift a finger nor utter a word of defiance against the one who took over, the pythoness. But there was one problem that she had missed. Upon killing the king, the spell that had kept the dragon underground and giving blessing to the country was broken. It was because the king never told anyone of this dragon. The moment that the dragon awoke from this artificial paradise, it caused a lot of disaster to the country. It was thanks to a certain young woman that the dragon was calmed back down to sleep, she had sung a lullaby to it. Seeing it as the only solution, the pythoness had sent quite a lot of young women to the artificial paradise to sing to the dragon for blessings and for its slumber. They are called Songstresses. Many refused, with the thought that maybe their own daughter might be next, but the pythoness' words are absolute. No one could rebel against her. And this is where your story comes in, Len."

Startled at the mention of my name, all I could say was, "What?"

"You are looking for answers, right?" I nodded in agreement. He was, as usual, exactly right. "What do your dreams mean? Who was the girl you always see? What and where is that place? What is the meaning of her song? What do you have to do with all these?" Exactly the questions I had been thinking.

"You could answer my questions?" it was actually pretty obvious for me already but I just wanted to make sure.

He smiled mysteriously, his blue eyes gleaming with deep knowledge that I had no idea he had earlier. "What do your dreams mean? It means you are needed. Needed by the girl you see in your dreams. She is calling out to you. Who was the girl you always see? She is the current Songstress. Her name is Rin. What and where is that place? It is the Cave of Dragons, an artificial paradise made by the founding king deep, deep under the Earth. It is a place to keep the dragon and at the same time, ask for its blessing for the country." He held a knowing smile on his lips but his eyes were as piercing as I ever saw it. "What is the meaning of her song? Firstly, as I have said, she sings to keep the dragon asleep. And she sings prayers as lullabies. Prayers for spring. Prayers for winter. Prayers for summer. Prayers for autumn. Prayers for the sun to shine. Prayers for the rain to come. Prayers for life, and prayers for the dead. She doesn't know anything but singing as she was raised to do so. Now, what do you have to do with all these?"

Hey, I've forgotten about that. Now that he'd mentioned it, I suddenly remembered why I was listening to this story in the first place.

"I seriously don't know." I said to him. I evaded his gaze because I felt I had no use. I'm just a wanderer, I'm not some hero prophesized to save a princess, which is, in this case, a Songstress, or to save a country. I'm not even associated to this Songstress, this dragon, this pythoness, or this country!

"You are Rin's twin brother."

Hey.

What did you say?

What have you just said?

"Me? I have a twin sister?" I almost yelled. I don't care if my voice is too loud. Heck, I don't care if I've shook the whole country awake. I have a twin sister? Rin? The Songstress?

"That should explain a lot of things." Kaito said, not even bothering to tell me to lower my voice. "First, your dreams mean that she needed you. Almost all Songstress' close relatives feel this kind of, let's say, a resonance of souls. Your soul is an empty void waiting to be filled, a parched soul that could only be moistened by Rin's, your twin's song. She, in turn, awaits your arrival. Though she doesn't want to be saved. She doesn't even know you exist. She still seeks comfort from solitude but she never regretted or resented her fate as a Songstress. In fact, she even prays harder, nowadays. She may have known that she doesn't have that much time left. I hear her prayers from the East, but it should be you who will lead the journey to find her. I am just—"

"What have you just said?" There was definitely something that had caught my attention. Something… something really important.

"I am just—"

"Before that!" It is important! I could feel it! It has to be something important, or else I couldn't have interrupted him.

"I hear her prayers from—"

"No! something before that! I don't know what it is but it's something really important! Please, say it again!" Something vital. Please. Please. PleasePleasePleasePlease. !

"She doesn't want to be saved?"

"No… No… Not that…" I said. There was something important in his words that had caught my wandering attention. Something!

She doesn't want to be saved… No.

She still seeks comfort… NO.

She prays harder… NO!

She may have known…

Known that she…

"What did you mean?" I asked quietly, in shock.

"What did I mean in what?" He looked preciously puzzled.

"What did you mean 'She does not have much time left anymore'?" I yelled and stood up, towering over his sitting form. I must have yelled too loud and stood too suddenly because the cabinet which held our things and the table near the window rattled violently.

"Calm down or I won't talk." His puzzled face was replaced by the icy seriousness he wore earlier. I sat down but I kept my facial expression in check and obvious. He must have noticed how I felt because I saw the iciness melt even just a little bit. And could someone give me a reason not to get furious? All the while, I thought I was just some orphaned wanderer who had some seriously weird dreams every time I close my eyes. I had never thought I would get myself stuck between the pythoness and her stuff with the Songstress, which happened to be my twin! I haven't even met her yet and now she's dying?

"As I have told you earlier," Kaito said. "Songstresses do nothing but sing and sing. Now, I would ask you, if you sing nonstop for years, what would happen to you?" His eyes have a look of distant pity. "Aside from losing your voice, you would most likely injure your throat and lungs, and with that, your days would better be counted already."

I. Have. Had. Enough.

I stood again and stormed out of this room I am now in. I don't care where my two feet would get me, as long as I can calm off my head and think rational enough to go back.

Rin. I'm coming for you. Let the sun rise and give me a song of guidance. We'll start this journey with the first ray of light.

Wow! That was long...

Well, thanks and congratulations for reading this far!

Please look forward for Story Two: HIkari to Kage no Rakuen/Paradise of Light and Darkness...

Thanks again!

-bLackGuardianX