Heeeeeey Thereeeeee! Here's chapter 7! I just realized that i have to improve in updating my stories fast despite my busy schedule. So, i spent every night on my laptop finishing the chapters of my story. And yeah, school starts next wee so i really have to at least update Chapter 8 before then. And this week, i have my leadership training at school but even so, i managed to update this. So enjoy!


Chapter 7

Endou led them to a huge door. With the use of his staff, he opened the door and the four of them stepped inside. There they saw four crystal towers. Each one has a gem attached in the middle except for one. "This is where you will learn your element." The brunette adult said.

"Our element?" Shindou asked.

"Yes. Each one of you possesses a value that connects to the element. You will choose from these gems. You must follow what's inside you and you'll be able to find your element." Endou explained.

"You mean we have to listen to our hearts?" Ayaka asked and Endou nodded in response.

"Each of you must choose." He gestured them to the gems and the three nodded and stepped forward. Kirino went first. The gem on the middle's light shone on his eyes and he went to its direction and pulled it from its resting place.

"Wind, the element of Passion." Endou stated. The next one to move is Ayaka. The first gem is her choice because she could feel a connection to it.

"Water, the element of Devotion." Lastly, it was Shindou's turn. He went to the last gem remaining which he knows the element for him.

"Earth, the element of hope."

"You three have chosen your own element. Now, you have to unlock its power by going through a test." Endou said.

"But if there's wind, water and earth, isn't there supposed to be a fire element?" Shindou questioned. Endou's face suddenly got serious.

"There is, but it was stolen by the Dark Knight Kingdom. They forced its power to come out and now it's possessed by evil." He explained.

"That means, we will face the fire element soon?" Kirino asked the guardian.

"Probably, because even before you three have arrived, they have been training the bearer of the element for one purpose, and that is to destroy you." The three narrowed their eyes. So the Dark Knight Kingdom has a lot of preparations and training in order to defeat them. So they can rule Gardenia.

"Now each of these portals will take you to another place where you will have to possess the values the element has in order to unlock you power." Endou said. Right behind him stands three tall mirrors with bluish-purple portals. On top of each one is the same color of their gem that means that is where they will go.

"Once you have used your powers to defeat the evil beast inside, you'll return back to this room." He explained further. The three nodded. They said their good lucks to each other and each one went inside their respective portals. Kirino going to the portal with the same color as his gem, light blue, Ayaka going in the aqua-green portal and Shindou going in the green portal.

Kirino opened his eyesand found himself in a forest. The trees are tall and you hear the voices of the birds chirping. He felt the soft wind blowing towards him. "Wind. How am I going to unlock it?" He asked himself and started to walk around the forest to explore.

"Help! Help! Somebody please help us!" Kirino heard some voices coming from nearby he quickly dashed to where he heard the voices. He saw a young girl with long, dark brown hair and purple eyes wearing a blue dress.

"What's wrong?" He asked the crying girl.

"My sister, she can't hold much longer! She'll fall!" She cried and pointed at the tall tree. He looked up and saw the young girl's sister. She has the same appearance as her sister except she's wearing a pink dress. She is holding on to a branch and he can see that she is losing her grip.

"Don't worry." She patted the crying girls shoulder and went below the girl on the tree. "Just let go of the branch and I'll catch you." He shouted at the girl.

"But I'm scared!" The girl cried.

"Don't worry, I'll catch you. Trust me." He reassured the girl. The girl nodded and slowly loosened her grip. She falls but Kirino caught her in time. She was traumatized by the scene and hugged Kirino tightly. The girl's sister ran to her.

"Nee-chan, are you alright?" She asked.

"I'm fine." She said and shifted her hug to her.

"Thank you so much for saving my sister!" The girl in a blue dress said.

"You're welcome. How did she get up there, anyway?" Kirino asked her.

"We were looking for some food then we saw this apple tree." She explained.

"You should be careful next time." He told them.

"Thank you again, uhh…" She didn't know his name. Kirino smiled at her and introduced himself

"My name's Kirino Ranmaru. What are yours?"

"I'm Yuuka and this is my nee-chan, Yuria. We're twins but Nee-chan, is a few minutes older than me." She cheerfully said with a smile.

"Well, nice to meet you." He returned the smile. "I should be going. You guys be careful next time." He said and was about to leave but he felt someone pulling his shirt. He saw Yuuka with a sad expression.

"Kirino-san, please take us with you. We got lost on our way back and we don't know how to find the village." Her eyes are filled with fear. Who knows what will happen to them if Kirino will just leave them behind. I mean, Yuria almost fell off the tree and something worse might happen.

"Alright. Let's go." He said and the twins had a huge smile on their faces.

"Thank you so much." They hugged the defender and pulled away after a few seconds. The girls followed him through the forest, in hope that they'll find home before sunset because it might cause a worry on their parents.

"So, Kirino-san, how come we've never seen you before. I mean, you're not from our village." Yuuka asked the pink haired defender.

"I'm not really from here. I just come across this forest." He lied but telling them everything might not be a good idea either. Then the two opened up a conversation with him, asking him different questions and telling some stories. After a few hours of walking, the sky started to turn into an orange color. It's already sunset and still no sign of the village.

"Mom might be worried about us by now." Yuria stated while they were resting from the long walk.

"We still can't find the village. How are we going to get home?" Yuuka cried and Yuria was starting to cry as well. Kirino put his arms around the twins' shoulders and pulled them closer.

"Don't worry, I'll get you home. Maybe not today, but tomorrow we will find the village. I promise." He calmed them down and rubbed his hands against their backs. They felt a little better and slowly stopped crying.

"Thank you, Kirino-san." Yuria said and wiped the tears from her face.

"Okay, I'll go look for something to eat. You two stay here." He told them and he searched for some berries a little deeper in the forest. He found some edible berries near a bush and he picked them up. Once he had enough, he headed back to where he had left the twins.

"I'm back!" He greeted and was surprised to see a campfire made near the twins. "You two made that?" He asked, amazed.

"Hai! Mom taught us about it." Yuria confirmed. He positioned himself near the fire for some warmth and gave some berries to the girls. They thanked the teen and began to eat. They chat again about some things and later on, they all felt sleepy.

"You two should rest, I'll keep guard for a while." Kirino told the two and responded with a nod. They leaned on each other, Yuuka on Yuria's shoulder and she on Yuuka's head. Not long after, they are asleep. Kirino looked around them and observed that there's no danger to be worried about. He then closed his eyes and fall asleep.

"Kirino-san! Kirino-san!" Kirino felt some nudges on his shoulder. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times to clear his vision. "Yuria? What's wrong?" He yawned. From the look on her face, something bad happened.

"Yuuka! She's gone!" She cried and Kirino stood up and looked around. Where did she go? Did something happen to her? He feared that she's in danger.

"Let's go look for her! Quick!" He ran to the forest with Yuria following behind him and they kept shouting her name while at it so she may hear it, wherever she may be. They were doing this for a while and stop to rest from exhaustion.

"Where could she be?" Yuria panted. Both of them have their hands on their knees, as result of exhaustion. Then they heard some noise nearby; a laugh coming from a child. Wait, is that voice familiar? Kirino straighten up and peered through the bushes. His predictions are correct. It is Yuuka! She was humming while she pokes the flower where a butterfly rests. The butterfly flew away, up it goes and her eyes followed the insect.

When Kirino watches the butterfly flew up, he gasped as he saw something behind her. "Yuuka! Watch out!" He shouted. When Yuuka saw Kirino from the bushes with Yuria, she looked smiled widely.

"Kirino-san, Nee-chan!" She greeted, waving her hand. She didn't notice a huge thing breathing behind her.

"Yuuka, look behind you!" Yuria screamed and Yuuka raised an eyebrow before looking at what's behind her. Her eyes widened and was filled with fear.

"Ahhh!" She screamed. It was about to send an attack on her when Kirino made a sprint and save her. They both fell to the ground but Kirino stood up again and carried the traumatized girl to safety. He gently laid the girl down. Her hands are covering her eyes in fear and she was shaking her head. Yuria went over and calmed her sister down.

"Yuuka, are you alright?" The worried sister asked but Yuuka didn't give a reply. Kirino take a look at the thing. Its sharp black eyes with red pupils are staring back at him. It's ten feet tall and has claws as sharp as a knife. It has white skin and it looks like it was stained with blood.

"What is that thing?" He said.

"It's a monster that lives in this forest. Mom said that anyone who had encountered it was never seen again." Yuria explained what she knows about it. Kirino clenched his fists. How are they going to escape the monster if the two girls are too afraid to move? He has to protect them. The monster stepped forward and he took a step back.

"You two should run away as far as possible! I'll hold it back!" Kirino shouted at the two.

"No! We won't leave you here, Kirino-san!" Yuria refused.

"You have to! I let you get into harm, you got it? Now, go!" He persuaded. But again, Yuria refused by shaking her head. Kirino didn't know what to do. Then the monster started to attack but Kirino dodged it. He was lucky that he has a very good agility. Then the monster sent out attack after attack and Kirino can't do anything but to avoid them. He has to find an opening but the monster doesn't seem to get tired.

"What am I supposed to do? I can't unlock my power if I just keep on avoiding its attacks. I have to do something!" He spoke to himself. He slid down between the legs of the monster and sent an attack on its back. The monster was sent forward and when it faces its back, Kirino punched it on its face.

"I won't let you harm these girls!" He shouted and sent a powerful combination of attacks. He was already fighting and winning but what's missing? When will his powers be activated?

"Not good enough!" He murmured and kicked the monster on the stomach. It clenched its stomach and knelt down. It really made a huge damage. Kirino turned to the girls to check on them.

"Yuria, how's Yuuka?" He asked. But instead of a reply from his question, Yuria said something else. "Kirino-san, behind you!" She shouted. Kirino turned back to the monster but he was too late. The monster had hit him on the head, hard and he fell to the ground, almost unconscious. His vision is already blurry and he saw the monster getting closer and closer to the twins.

From his blurry vision he can see the movement of the monster, it raised a hand and its claws grew longer. He stretched out his hand, like trying to reach them and said. "Yuuka, Yuria, hang on…"


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