3rd Star: Child's play with a hint of good and bad news

Kyouten slowly opened his eyes. He was staring at the ceiling. It was white and made of a soft foam-like substance. He got up slowly and looked around. He was in a room with white walls, a television at one side of the room across from the bed in which he was on, a door on one side of the room and a wall of glass on the opposite side that served as a window.

He looked out the window from sitting up and realized he was in a calm city with a large wall surrounding it. Remembering, he recalled his parents talking about the only city near the town they were in that had a huge wall that was build around it. It was called Meil. Like most cities, it was inhabited by people with many different races and beliefs, which cause little or no harm thanks to the founder of the city.

As he gazed at the sunrise, someone walked inside the room and Kyouten turned to the direction of the door. A small boy with short white hair, a white t-shirt with a couple of teal lines running down the sides, plainly white short jeans that reached a bit below his shins, and a bright smile and gleaming face met Kyouten's. He seemed to be happy that he was awake.

"Yay! You're up!" The boy said, who seemed to be a couple of years younger.

"…" Still, Kyouten was silent, unable to find his voice to speak back.

"I'm Shiro Estifond! What's yours?"

"…"

"Hm? You don't want to talk? Oh well! I'll just give you a nickname!" Shiro said happily and examined Kyouten. "Let's see… blue pants… green shirt… white jacket. Now… a lazy and irritated look with a very odd fashion style, being summer… I'll name you… Catten!"

"!" Kyouten had a very irritated face. He thought in his mind: "Catten? Are you serious? What kind of odd name is Catten?"

"That right! Catten! I randomly selected an animal that hash fur around its body during the summer or all seasons, and that lazy look of yours matches that of one animal I can think of with those two tings! A cat! But cat wouldn't be a good name, so I put Cat and Kitten together and got Catten! What do you think?"

Kyouten turned away with a face of urges to strangle.

"Well common Catten!" Shiro said as he walked towards Kyouten, then grabbing the hood of his jacket, under his sword, and dragging him out of the room. "Since you're awake I have to take tu to the mayor's big house thingy!"

Kyouten thought about jerking away, but he feared damaging the jacket that is now very important to him, so he followed, unsatisfied.

Meanwhile…

"Do you have the blueprints?" the guard asked.

"Y-yes!" said the scared and frightened man and handed over the packet which contained layouts and schematics.

"Good." The guard handed the packet to someone hidden behind the tree.

"I-I can go now… r-right??" the man asked.

After a while, the guard was whispered something then turned to the man.

"Sorry, but we won't take chances of someone else knowing this." The guard said as he pulled out his short blade.

"No! Wait! I-…"

The corpse of the man was sitting against the tree with blood running down. A girl shrieked when hiding behind the tree and ran off.

"Tch. Another rat. I'll get her." Said the guard.

"No… don't." said the other man.

"Why?"

"It'll be fun to have them warned about this. Brings more of a fight."

"Oh yes! What's an ambush without a fight?" the guard laughed.

"Yes my loyal subject, what is one?" he said as the guard laughed. Then the guard stopped.

"When this is over, you'll sure to be favored to most likely to succeed, Prince Garzt!"

The door slammed open as Shiro ran inside happily and energetically.

"He's awake! He's awake!" He told the secretary at the office. Kyouten slowly walked in and with some decency, closed the door slowly.

"Now son, what did we say about charging in the mayor's door like that?

"Oh right~ sorry mum."

"It's alright dear." She smiled then turned to Kyouten. "Hello there. My name is Zeni Estifond. The mayor will be able to see you Mr. …?" she said formally and teasing Kyouten with his adult youth.

"Oh, he doesn't talk mum, I nicknamed him Catten!" Kyouten flinched when he heard the name.

"Oh doesn't he? Well can you write, Catten?" Kyouten flinched again and was a bit irritated, but somehow found a way to nod without upsetting the woman. "Okay good. Here's a pen, paper, and a clipboard with a form in it." She handed Kyouten the materials. The phone on her desk beeped and she pushed a button on it.

"Mayor Jones will see you now."

A door opened and Kyouten walked through it. As he walked along the hallway to the office, he thought about what was going on. He really didn't know what he was doing or how he got there in the first place. So many questions, yet he feels no real reason to ask. He wanted to look at the form but before he knew it he was already at the door.

Kyouten opened it and found a room with a desk in one side with wall windows in a half circle format on half the room and a man in the chair of the desk, with his back towards Kyouten.

"Please, sit." The man said as he waved his hand in the air for Kyouten to sit down. Kyouten found a seat in front of the desk and settled down. "So, if Mrs. Zeni is correct, you can't talk as of now, am I correct? He asked with his back still facing Kyouten.

Kyouten was a bit irritated and said in his mind: "If I couldn't talk then why are you asking a question that requires someone to talk back as an answer?"

After a few seconds of silence, the man turned his chair around and Kyouten saw Mayor Jones. His hair was receding around the top of his head; he had shaved recently because of the view of facial hairs still sticking out of his chin. He had wrinkles that displayed his old age. He was wearing a red business suit and had a serious look but it was interested in Kyouten.

"That's right then. Well, with questions I ask you; feel free to right your answers with the papers that Mrs. Zeni provided."

Kyouten nodded and started to write something.

"Okay first thing's first, why are you-… what are you writing?"

Kyouten finished and showed it to him. It read "Why am I here?" Kyouten had a lazy look on his face as he showed the mayor, who was a bit surprised since he was about to ask him the same thing.

The mayor cleared his throat and began. "Well… since you were invited here with aid… you're brought here with the decision that all outsiders get when they arrived. The decision is if you want to live here. Do you want to live here?" the mayor asked.

Right when the mayor said "live", Kyouten started writing and put the word "No." on the paper.

The mayor was again a bit surprised at Kyouten's stubbornness, then cleared his throat again. "Okay… why?"

Kyouten wrote for a while, then showed his list.

"1. There are annoying and irritating kids that suddenly come up to you, drag you beyond your will, and not to mention nickname you with the most ridiculous name you've ever heard.

2. There is a big wall surrounding this place so views of the world beyond is nearly impossible from one's home window.

3. It smells.

4. I just don't like it."

The mayor was again surprised at this feat. Normally people who refused think about the reasons why, but this one just thought of four reasons right off the back.

"I see…" he clears his throat again. "Okay then… why were you wandering around this 'smelly' place if you didn't like it so much?" he was beginning to lose patience with Kyouten.

Kyouten wrote: "I needed a place to rest for the night. I lost my village to a raid and wander about looking for my friends to make sure they survived." He barely held this paper up without thinking back at the sight that left him speechless, and began shaking.

Then, the mayor sat up, turned around, and stared at the sky. "So, it was your village that was attacked that day… Tell me, have you found anyone else that survived?"

Kyouten shook his head with a negative reply.

"I see…"

A few moments of silence passed and then the mayor turned to Kyouten.

"I'll give you a place to stay anytime you want. The world beyond those walls isn't very kind, kid. Just you and that sword of yours won't do jack on your own."

Kyouten looked down, emotionless. He knew what was out there, but he had to go anyway. He had to confirm Aisha's, Rei's, and Chieru's status. He couldn't live with himself if they are alive alone out there, possibly waiting for someone to appear, like him.

The mayor walked to Kyouten and put his arms on Kyouten's shoulders. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find them… just try to take some of our guard training for surviving. I don't think you have proper skills just yet to last three fights."

Kyouten looked up to him as he spoke. He was thinking of it, and the man did raise a point. There, he nodded to the man.

"W-wait! You can't go in there yet!" Mrs. Zeni's voice was heard and both of them stood up and looked at the door. Then a girl charged in with tears in her eyes. Kyouten was shocked.

"Mr. Jones! I just heard terrible news!" she told the mayor.

"W-what?" the mayor asked.

"I-it's them! It's the ones who raided my village! They found someone here to give them a blueprint of the city and they killed him! They are planning to raid this city too!" she cried as she hugged the mayor in fright, as if she had no one else to turn to except him.

"What do you mean? Mrs. Zeni! Get the captain in here now!" He turned to Kyouten. "I'm sorry, but our deal will have to wai-" the mayor stopped when he say Kyouten's face shocked at who barged in. He seemed to know her, since she was indeed familiar to him.

"…" Kyouten opened his mouth to try to say her name, but nothing came out.

The mayor looked down at the girl's face. "Let me first introduce you to this new fellow, I'm sure you two met before?" the mayor said turning to Kyouten.

The girl turned to Kyouten and wore the same surprised face Kyouten had when she first came in.

"I-is it really you… Kyouten???" said Chieru.