I actually have some misgivings about how Wataru and Toraoh have been conversing when I write this chapter, in particular that they might end up sounding like miniature adults, with the way of my vocabulary usage. This is understandable with Toraoh, though, since he's practically forced to become a miniature adult with his position as a child king who is ruling without a regent, but not so much with Wataru, who has no reason to be so. If any of you kind readers think likewise, shoot me that feedback in your reviews.


"You mean….we'll not go to your place yet?"

"That's right. Part of the ACEF's agreement with your friend is that once I got a hold of you, I am to bring you to him. Since you're that world's Chosen One, he needs to tell you about the situation in there."

As the car drove past the toll gate that leads into Japan's capital, Rachel spared no time discussing with Wataru the details of everything that they will do in the next few days. For today, they will be staying in a hotel while their belongings will be forwarded to Rachel's condo unit. On the very next day, they will be sent to a special flight in the International Airport's VIP bay, the bay reserved for international dignitaries. Apparently, Rachel, or the ACEF agency, had pulled strings to fast track the processing of the needed travelling documents and passport for Wataru to accommodate this flight, much to his surprise and bewilderment when he asked about them.

Since he's not yet seeing any reason not to, the boy decided to just go along with the ruse and made up various yarns about their sudden international flight in his messages to Ayaka. As Rachel told him, the base is actually hidden beneath the UN Main HQ in New York, so he used the location to make a story about going to the international registry and going sightseeing with Rachel at the same time. As expected, Ayaka's responses are quite enthusiastic.

It all happened so fast for him. One moment, he was boarding the VIP flight; the next thing, he's now at perhaps the largest airport he has ever seen in his life. He would have been overwhelmed and lost if not for the fact that he and Rachel are riding the VIP flight and has a dedicated exit bay, with the obvious purpose of avoiding the chaotic rush of the standard flights typical in a day for the JFK International Airport.

"You okay?" asked Rachel, seeing that Wataru was sticking to her closer than usual.

"Uh…is it okay that I get this close to you? I mean…I could easily get lost and I don't speak a word of English."

Rachel snorted briefly, still amazed at how honest and candid he is. "You have a point. No, that's fine. Besides, the fact that you'll be my son now is no lie, in the legal sense."

"Your son…" as they got into and drove off in the car that was assigned to pick them up, Wataru mused on how he will say the following before he continued, "To be honest, I'm not quite sure how I being your son will work. I already have an idea from TV that I'll be more or less like a child assassin—minus me killing real people, I suppose—and you will be my handler, if I'm reading this right."

Again, Rachel was taken aback, as she did a sudden double-take.

"S-Sorry!" Wataru stammered. "I…I just don't know how I should put it!"

"No, it's not that," Rachel replied. Japanese kids sure are scary. What on Earth are his parents letting him watch anyway? "But you know what? I also can't help but think that way too. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against you definitely, but given a choice, I will not consent to this kind of arrangement that your parents had enforced. You're right in the sense that I'll be your handler, and having that kind of arrangement between us will cause some complications in the future if you were to be placed in the ACEF. But that's what was what your parents demanded in writing, so I don't have much of a say in it."

"That's okay," said Wataru, with a sad look in his eyes, "I guess…taking in a foreign kid like me as your own is not something that you can do."

What in the world am I saying?! I'm digging myself even deeper! Rachel thought, as she struggled to say something that could ease his sadness, which is something that she had decided that he should have enough of already. "I'm….I'm not saying that I don't want you as my son. Far from it. What I'm trying to say is that, I don't want to put you in a position that anyone can easily take advantage of you, which I'm afraid this arrangement leaves you open to. I want to take care of you and protect you, and as much as I don't want you to and if given a choice, I will not allow you to; I have to let you fight, since you are the only one who has the power to neutralize the threat that is looming in our world and that alternate realm."

"Thank you for your concern," the boy replied, "The thing is, I don't know if I can neutralize the said threat. You do know that the battles in that realm require one to have a Mashin, right?"

"Yes, I heard that from your friend. Those giant robots that seemed straight out of your country's cartoons, right?"

"Sort of. And with what you told me before as well, Toraoh did not arrive in this world in his Mashin, right?"

"Why yes, that's right. Why did you bring that up?"

"That just proves it. Mashins cannot be brought over here just like the Kyuseishu's crafted weapons. If the said threat came from Shinbu-kai, I'm in a worse position now since I can't summon Ryuujinmaru."

"Good point", said Rachel, as she stared at the Manhattan traffic outside the window. "Even if we do host a paramilitary outfit and we have our own machines, if the threat is out of a fantasy world, our chances of success are not that clear. I guess the most that we can do is to support you with all of the resources the world agencies can offer to you as the primary combatant Light Child. And that support will be starting with me. Not just in providing you back up, but also to keep anybody from taking advantage of you. I know I still have a long way to go before you could trust me, but I just hope that…that you could just give me a chance to be your ally. I'm asking this, not as an agent from the ACEF, but as a human being who is simply concerned about a child who not only lost his parents, but also had something as ominous as saving the world forced upon his shoulders."

A long silence ensues as Rachel anxiously waited for a response. The boy was staring outside the window, but she already has an idea that he's not the type that is easily distracted by anything outside any serious issue that is presented to him at any given moment. This is the first day and yet, they had started off at a rather awkward note, and she is a bit concerned that this awkwardness will be a black mark in their relationship that threatened to persist throughout.

Finally, Wataru spoke up, "If anybody's trying to pull a fast one on me, I'll just deal with it. I still have doubts, but right now, you're the only one I could turn to. And I don't think it's a good idea to turn down any help that comes my way, especially since whatever evil force from Shinbu-kai has come into our world, they sure know I am the Kyuseishu and they will not let go of me that easily."

Rachel could see that the sad, lost look in his large, dark eyes is betraying the level-headedness that he is so forcibly trying to project in his voice. He is expected to act tough, since he is the Chosen One. I just hope that I can gain his trust in time for me to be able to help him…in case that day comes…

"Wait. Why did we stop at a dead end? Aren't we far from the UN Headquarters yet?" asked the boy, as he noticed that they had driven into a seemingly dead end. He was even more taken aback when suddenly; a wall suddenly rose behind them, totally closing them off.

"Didn't I tell you before that the ACEF HQ is underground?" Rachel reminded him, as the ground beneath them suddenly started moving downwards. Wataru can only stare in astonishment as he realized that they are now being led by an automated platform to a secret base.

"Some may think it's unnecessary, but we want to keep the Light Children we get custody of to be kept from the prying eyes of the public and those who may have less than noble intentions for them. We want to have a seamless integration for the ones that can be integrated into Earth society and for those who can't…let's just say the base is their sanctuary up until we can help them to find a way back to their original world."

"What about Toraoh?"

"As for your friend…he is a special case, since if you think about it, he's an exiled king; and as such, the ACEF heads are regarding him as an actual head of state and would want to cooperate with him as much as they can, so much that they went thru all these lengths just to find you. Although I am not quite updated on what's the current status of his dealings with the heads."

"He really is amazing," the boy said, his sad look replaced by that of concern, "I just hope he's doing well. He's so far away from his own world and his only brother. Even if he's quite strong…still, I know the feeling of having no familiar face to turn to. Is he fine with that?"

"You care so much for your friend," Rachel remarked, "You two must have gone through a lot together in that alternate realm."

"You have no idea, Rachel-san. You just have no idea….how important he is to me."

Rachel could only imagine what Wataru had gone through for him to hold the other special Light Child in such a high regard; but she has no time to think as their car has arrived at the entrance of their destination.

From the car through to the entrance and reception area, the boy could only let out vocal actuations of amazement as he took in the surroundings of the massive base. As Rachel showed him around, telling him of the various facilities and also allowing him glimpses of the other Light Child otherworlder residents of the colossal complex, he seemed to have become fairly comfortable and started asking questions not only to Rachel, but also to the other attendants and officials in the base who met up with her and are all too curious about the first Light Child that Rachel was assigned to.

"Okay Wataru-kun, you can stay in this room. I'll be reporting to my direct superior first, and also…we will be asking the people here to tell Toraoh that you're here right now, so he can meet up with you here and you two can talk in private."

"Okay, Rachel-san," the boy said, as he settled down in the meeting room's armchair.

"I chose this room since it has Japanese books in it. You can read those while waiting for your friend."

"Okay…see you later, I guess?"

"Yeah, see you around….Hope you and your friend would have a good time together."

And with that, Rachel left the room.

Sighing, Wataru stood up and walked around the room, searching the shelves for something to read. He managed to find one, and although his eyes are scanning thru the printed characters, his mind is definitely not prioritizing the contents. His thoughts shifted to the concern that his friend may or may not be in the base as they promised him to be; but he quickly shook his head. Suspecting anyone won't help at this point. I need to trust them. It's the only way I could go on.

He doesn't need to wait long though. Even from afar, those familiar footfalls gradually made its way through the hallways, and finally, the door burst open as he jumped out of his chair, surprised by the sudden intrusion.

"WATARU!" A familiar voice yelled.

True enough, there he was. The pair of familiar deep blue eyes that have the same look of longing as he has right now…the familiar pointed ears and the small horn atop his thick crown of long, golden blond hair…the one that he was so eagerly waiting, who was so eagerly waiting for him as well, as can be seen from his heavy panting from running all the way to this room from what seems to be a great distance in this massive complex…

Wataru dropped the book he was holding, tears slowly forming over his eyes. "Toraoh…"

Unable to hold back, they both ran towards each other and caught each other in a tight embrace. Tears flowing freely from his eyes, Wataru held tightly to this part of his memory, afraid that this only thing that keeps him wanting to go on in his life will disappear as well. "Toraoh…you're real…you're not a lie or an illusion…yokatta(I'm so relieved/happy)…" he breathed through his sobs.

"Yes, I'm real. I heard everything that happened to you," Toraoh responded, as he gently patted Wataru's back. "We're more or less in the same boat now. The only difference is that I still have my brother with me…and you have no one. It must be really hard for you…"

With the silence of the room as their only witness, the two sworn blood brothers savoured this moment that they can be together…perhaps the only moment that they can be…


As soon as Wataru had calmed down, the two friends had settled down and discussed the situation that they're both in right now. Toraoh had relayed to him everything that happened months after Wataru had departed from their world after saving it for the third time: There is an ominous force that had built up, and it was not like the evil forces that they have battled with earlier. It was a different type of force; but it was not the kind of force that can trigger the world's defence system that allows it to summon its Saviour. And because of that, it was far more dangerous, since it's not a force of evil.

"I heard the Oracle had called this force, The Vengeance of the World", said Toraoh.

"Vengeance of the World? What did Granny mean by that?" asked Wataru, with his usual manner of addressing the Oracle at the base of Soukaizan.

"I'm not quite sure of the details, but according to the ancient documents that the kingdom had gathered, it's triggered when the World itself—and I mean Shinbu-kai itself—had at some point decided that it had enough of the sentient beings living on it, whether human or god, and decided to end all life on it. And what's worse, for some reason, this will has extended all the way to the world of the Saviour. Now the World that you are living in has resonated with Shinbu-kai's will and had also decided to destroy humanity as well. I also heard that it did not happen by the World's own accord—someone, or a faction, may have triggered the Worlds to suddenly decide to off us all. Who that may be, that is something the Shinobibe Ninja Clan is still investigating as of the moment."

At the mention of the name Shinobibe, Wataru's thoughts drifted towards another old friend in the alternate world. "I wonder how Himiko is doing." He said. "Has she been the one reporting all this to you?"

"Nope," said Toraoh, "I heard that she is too busy with running the Clan as of the moment. Or maybe she has decided that she won't be my bride anymore, I dunno," he quipped with a chuckle, apparently trying to make Wataru smile in this serious discussion.

"Bride, huh…anyway, is that the reason why you went all the way here? And also, how did you get here? Is it thru the Divine Horse?"

"Nope. The Divine Horse is nowhere to be found. We have to find an alternate way to send people to you, so you can have the materials to make your new weapon delivered and have the means to fight back. At last, it was decided by the Oracle that it's me who should be sent since I have the strongest bond with you, and therefore, has the strongest likelihood to get across the dimensional border. To be honest…I was very reluctant at first, since there's no way I can leave Shoryushi on his own to run the kingdom, especially that our Lady Mother(1) is no longer with us. But what can I do if it's not only Shouryushi, but also Dongoro who insisted that I should go?"

"And so the Weapons Crafter has given me the ores that were used to make your sword, along with other items that I'll be giving to you later. Then, the Oracle had opened a gateway that allows me to pass through to your dimension…the only catch is that unlike the Divine Horse, the Oracle's gateway is not as stable and won't guarantee that I can reach the place that I am supposed to, which is directly to where you are. And so, instead of landing on right where you were, I ended up in this strange land, and you were nowhere in it. That land was so strange, that I was not sure if this was the right world."

"You mean in Los Angeles?" asked Wataru. "Yes, America is like worlds apart than Japan in some sense."

"That was quite a story in itself," said Toraoh with his trademark impish grin. "Do you want me to tell you all about it?"

Wataru gamely nodded. "I want to know what happened to you here in America. Everything."

"Sit back, this is gonna be a long story."


Footnote:

(1)Lady Mother: the closest approximation that I can get to "Haha-ue" which is how Toraoh and Shouryushi address their mother.