The Old Legend
"No!"
"Rinne, please?"
Shiro must be watching Hisame and her exchange with a grimace. It was the most plausible reaction she could imagine him do knowing that he asked his friend over to help them, but this? Hisame sighed, "Come on. This angle is ninety degree and these are three inches and four inches sides."
"Then, that would mean that the hypotenuse is five inches." She grumbled, "I know…"
"How, though?" he responded with a frown, "You still have to write out how you got that answer."
"Can't I just write that I memorized it?" Rinne responded with a sigh.
Hisame shook his head, "The question asks that you show how you got the answer."
"Dang it…" She grumbled and gingerly slides the paper to her side and begin scribbling out the process she now knew by heart.
As she did this, she could already hear her brother muttering something with their cousin and, occasionally, spoke with Hisame, who've now became her temporary tutor. It's strange how her cousin and her brother decided not to teach her instead. To her, her current tutor and her previous were no different, but, if she said so, her brother and their parents would be really upset. She recalled how Hisame had once told her how much their cousin hated to study too. It was a wonder how he became a teacher in a private school when he hated studying, especially in a subject he disliked so much. She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder as soon as she had her answer down and saw Shiro. Her eyes widen with concern, "Big Brother? Is something wrong?"
On his face was an unusually serious face. One that she only seen him wear once when she watched him spar with their dad or when he was in combat against tougher opponents. Shiro shook his head with a small smile on his face once more, "Nah. I just need to go help Mom with a mission since dad is stuck back home. She around the island today."
"Really?" Her eyes glisten before she raised a brow, "Is it something really difficult?"
"On her own maybe." Shiro replied with a smile and rustled her dusty red hair much to her annoyance, "That's why Kiragi and I are going. You just stay here with Hisame and focus on your studies. We'll be back between tonight and tomorrow night. It may take a while."
"Really…" she groaned, "All right. But, what are you going to do about class?"
Shiro smiled, "I've already talked with Aunt Camilla. Remember her?"
She nodded as the image the tall woman with wavy purple hair and overnice appears in the back of her mind, "The Aunty who works here as the Home Ec teacher, right? She was really nice and gave us sweets for Christmas once in a while."
Shiro chuckled, "Right. She's going to be subbing my class for tomorrow."
"And I'll be taking over Kiragi's math class tomorrow." Hisame said with a nod.
"Okay?" She said slowly, "Then, I'll be staying at uncle's and aunt's place again?"
Shiro nodded, "That's how things are going to go for now. Hisame will take you there tonight."
Hesitantly, she nodded, "All right?"
She watched her two relatives leave the library leaving only her, Hisame, and the librarian behind the front desk in the library. The blue hair teacher glanced to her with a frown, "Is something the matter?"
She shook her head, "Not really…"
He raised a brow, but nodded, "Then, let's continue to the next question. This time we're dealing with a…"
"Obtuse triangle." She groaned as she began sketching out her plan, "I know what to do…"
She sighed as she finally sat down in the Old Japanese style guest room of her relative's place. She sighed as she began to scribble into her pink diary with a small lock on the cover in pen.
"Brother had a strange look on his face today. I think it's something really serious. It's been so long since he's done this for something other than spar. I'm worried, but everything will turn out fine, right? Like that day when Forrest seemed to be feeling really sick. He turned out fine this morning. I hope that was the case. These days, mom and dad won't tell me much. Is it because I'm a hopien? What is a Hopien? When dad said that, I had a strange feeling in me. I could tell that it has to do with why I always have to keep my hair red, but…" She shut her book closed and stuffed it into her backpack as a knock echoed in her room, "Coming!"
She rushed out to the door and swung it open before she suddenly tripped over her own bag.
"All you had to do was slide the door open…"
Upon the familiar grumble, she looked up with a weak chuckle, "Sorry, Dwyer."
She got up letting the gloomy looking man inside. She glanced up to him as he placed down her clean futon and sighed, "I prefer not to-?"
"Please? Just one match?" She pleaded.
He shook his head with a grimace, "No. That was the last match. No more. Good night."
With that, he walked out of her room as fast as she'd ever seen him closing the door shut behind him. She grumbled as she crossed her arms, "Damn it! But, I wanted a rematch. If I could just land one proper punch on him without him going easy on me like before…"
She sighed before plopping back on the tatami looking up, "Then, again, if I can't even beat his dad, how am I going to beat him…"
She grumbled before reaching out her diary once more and the pen as she literally wrote, "Damn it! Dwyer came in with my clean futon earlier and walked out before I could get him to spar with me again! Maybe, I should be thinking of what would give me a better chance at landing a single hit on him, then just running at him, but I really want to land one hit on him! One without him going easy on me like before. Maybe I should just go ahead and agree to train with Uncle Kamui's friend? I heard that he was also crazy strong in hand-to-hand combat. Damn it! Big Brother's not back yet either! An-"
He pen froze in the middle of her writing as she saw a bright light outside of her door. She hid her diary before waiting for her aunt's voice, but it never came.
"Aunty?" She called out eventually as she slowly got up.
However, there was no reply before she slowly slid open the door. In front of her stood a bright light shining. She gasped, "Wha-?!"
"It's finally starting, milady…"
Suddenly, everything around her turn dark like some shady curtains. There was a sudden shake when she finally opened her eyes again.
"Rinne!"
She rubbed her eyes for a better view as she slowly sat up, "Hrm? Aunt Mozu?"
The brown hair freckle woman sighed in relief with tears, "Thank god! Are you all right? What happened?"
"Huh? I-I'm all right?" Rinne raised brow, "Um…"
She looked around and noticed that she was infront of her room with her aunt and their close friends around her. Upon seeing the garden, her eyes widen, "That's right…"
She pointed to the zen garden, "I saw a light outside my door earlier and thought that it was Aunt Mozu checking in on me, but, when I opened, there was this bright light shining infront of me."
"A light?" Oboro raised a brow.
Rinne frowned hesitantly, "Maybe it was some sort of magic?"
She turned and saw Hisame raise a brow, "But, there's been this barrier up on the estate to prevent any form of cheating through magic."
"That's weird…" Rinne raised a brow before her eyes widen, "Oh! But, there was this deep voice that spoke. Something about something finally starting…"
"Something finally starting?" Hisame raised a brow.
Dwyer sighed, "Are you sure about this, Rinne?"
She nodded with a firmly, "Yes! There was a light that said something was starting! Don't tell me you don't believe me!"
Mozu smiled, "Well, I believe you."
"Thanks, Aunty." She replied with a small smile of relief.
Dwyer nodded with a frown, "None of us said that we didn't believe you, Rinne."
Hinata grinned, "I'll make sure to inform Sir Takumi, right away!"
They watched the man run through the halls in his white pajama as Hisame sighed in exasperation and began rushing after him in his brown pajamas as well, "Father, it's the middle of the night! He's only just came back from a mission too!"
Oboro sighed, "Anyway, would you be all right sleeping in your room for the rest of the night, Rinne? Or should we change your room?"
Dwyer, "I'd change rooms, if I were-"
"I'm good." Rinne nodded, "I'll just lock my door for the night."
Oboro raised a brow as she spoke, "It'd probably be best if you always lock your door in the middle of the night, Rinne. What if someone sneaks into your room at night?"
Rinne frowned, "But, only Kagero have ever done that once."
Mozu chuckled, "Yes, I don't think Takumi or I would ever forget how ya were able to scare her of all people."
"She what?!" Oboro's jaw dropped.
Dwyer sighed, "It's fine. I was always the one making sure all the door are locked at night."
"Thanks, Dwyer." Mozu smiled.
As he bowed, Mozu turned to her, "Then, we'll see you in the morning, Rinne. If something does happen just call out. We'll come rushing over."
Rinne nodded, "Okay!"
After seeing everyone off, she sat down back in her room after locking the door as she mumbled, "Just now, what was that thing?"
She looked to the watch on her wrist before she gasped, "It's twelve?! I gotta go to bed!"
She rushed as she hurriedly pulled out her pink night gown from her bag and changed. It wasn't long before she finished everything she needed to do and went to bed for the night.
As she slept, her door slid open as the gloomy face of Dwyer in his cleric armor appeared. He sighed and shook his head, "It only takes her a second to forget that she was going to lock her door? Seriously?"
He frowned before grabbing the short wood pillar behind the door and placing it directly behind the door's wooden frame leaning against it. He walked out and shut the door as he heard it collapse next to the door frame. He nodded before surveying the surrounding then walked away through the hallway.
Shigure smiled as he got up and stretched his arms. Midori grinned, "We're finally done here. How's the painting coming along, Shigure?"
Shigure grinned, "It's done."
"Really?!" she smiled wider, "Let me see…"
As she placed the flower pot on the shelf, she hurried over to the table as her eyes widen , "Wow! This is amazing, Shigure! The touch ups made it look more alive! This is going to be a great present for Sora!"
"I hope so." Shigure grinned, "Anyway, I'm thinking of checking on how Suki's training is coming along."
"Oh! I heard that Suki's finally start using a weapon for a few weeks now." Midori said, "Can I come along?"
"Sure." He replied before watching his cousin hurry back with her green apron gone in the drawer.
"Let's go!"
Shigure nodded before the two locked up the store and made their way to the park as the afternoon sun begins to make its way to the hills. Not even ten minutes have passed before the saw the entrance to the park and Midori frowned, "Do you think that she'll be able to make it in time, Shigure?"
"I hope so." Shigure said with a grimace, "Siegbert told us that she's always been training with her friends after work."
It didn't take long as they made their way through the gates before he could hear the sound of metal clanging against each other. Shigure grinned as they made their way to the sound, "It sounds like they're still at it."
"Yeah…" Midori nodded in amazement as figure slowly begin to come into view on the hill.
As the figure came close, their eyes widen as Shigure muttered in bewilderment, "What the…!"
They watched as Chase rushed in with his lance at the familiar looking silver hair girl, who jumped aside and closed in to him instantly. Chase quickly swung his silver lance, which she blocked with her silver blade and continued closing in as sparks flew in the air. It wasn't till her blade was on his chest that they finally froze.
"Suki won!" Sally cheered as she hurried over with Yuki in her arms.
As Eric helped Chase to his feet, he turned and noticed the two with a small smile and a nod. They returned it as Midori added a short wave and whispered, "What was that?"
Shigure shook his head as he watched Suki sheathed the blade she borrowed from Eric for the exam, "I don't know. I've never seen anything like this before, but I think perhaps she does have a shot at passing the exam. Maybe."
Midori frowned, "In the top ten?"
Shigure sighed, "I don't know. The possibility is there, but they're not the only ones taking the exam, remember?"
"Tasogarekan is a well-known academy with connection to the government and military, I heard." Midori nodded, "Such a reputation would make any parents and students want to take part in it. Only a few of us were fortunate enough to make it there like Siegbert. But, what is she going to do about the education fee? Is Uncle and Aunt going to pay for it?"
Shigure nodded, "For the exam first. Depending on it, they'll decide from there. Siegbert knows more, of course. Still, it's difficult to say if she'll even make it into the top ten."
Midori grimaced, "It'd be great if she could go to school with the other children. If not for that problem, she'd be in there already."
They watched as Suki began to practice magic with Sally.
"Uh…" Midori grimaced, "You don't think that will explode, right?"
Shigure watched hesitantly as they watched the orb in Sally's hand expand till it was twice the size of her brother's magic, "Oh god… Take cover!"
The two quickly ducked under a nearby bush as a bright light exploded before them and screams could be heard. By the time they poke their heads out, they could hear Chase shout, "Damn it! Sally, can't you reduce the amount of magic you use?!"
Aiden sighed as he crossed his arms, "As if you're one to talk. Yours was about to explode as well…"
"Seriously?!" Chase's eyes widen in bewilderment, "No way! I mean, I checked and all that!"
As she smiled exasperately from their bantering, Midori frowned, "You don't think that they'd all get in together, right?"
"I hope they do." Shigure said with a small hesitant grin, "But, I'm not so sure about that anymore to be honest…"
"Oh, hello, Shigure, Midori!"
The cousins turned to find their pale red hair cousin with his usual curly hairstyle and wore pink and yellow shirt and blue jeans. He smiled with a wave, "Are you out to check on Suki too?"
Midori nodded with a look of concern, "Hi, Forrest! Are you sure you're well enough to walk outside now?"
Shigure grimaced, "We were worried when we heard that you were stuck in bed with a slight fever after that night."
Forrest nodded, "Yes. It was a terrible fever, but it seemed to have vanished completely yesterday morning. I only stayed indoors for precaution. Father and Ophelia's father thought that it was probably the side-effect of taking in the crystal."
"I see." Shigure nodded with a grimace as he noticed his hand, "Does it hurt?"
Forrest smiled, "Not really. It burned at first that night, but it stopped afterwards and I didn't get any wounds from it. I believe it was more internal."
Midori sighed with a small smile, "That's good to hear. I know you and your mother are healers, but you can always count on us, if things get worse too."
"Thank you, Midori." Their cousin responded with a smile as he looked up the hill to the small group, "Let's change the topic for now. What do you think of Suki's training so far? Last week, I saw her defeat Adrien and Sally easily."
"Really?" Shigure's eyes narrowed in bewilderment, "We just saw her beat Chase in a spar just now."
"What?" Forrest frowned, "But she's only started about a few weeks ago, right?"
"Perhaps, she has an innate talent with it?" Midori raised a brow as she watched Suki take on Adrien with her sword, "But, she wasn't taught any proper stances…"
"A freestyle, then?" Shigure assumed with a frown, "It could benefit her once in a while, but it would become a problem if she encounters someone who also doesn't use any proper styles either."
"You know, Lucina came by to teach her one of her family's swordplay form." Forrest said with a frown, "Soliel seemed to be coaching her in secret too."
"Really?" Midori smile, "So, that's it! Aunt may have said that she can't seek help from Siegbert, but she didn't say the same for us."
Forrest chuckled, "Actually, Soliel and Lucina were the one who offered it after they heard the story from Siegbert. Suki seemed to have a similar sense of right in her mind as our aunt."
"Really…" Shigure said as his eyes shifted to the group, "Guys?"
"What is it, Shigure?" Midori questioned before she noticed the sparring continuing on and froze.
Forrest grimaced, "This is bad."
They nodded in response. Before them, Adrien was charging at her with his rapier slashing in the air where she once was as she stepped back from side to side. Shigure frowned, "Her movements are starting to become sluggish."
Midori nodded, "She must've tired herself from the previous fight with Chase. Oh no…"
Forrest frowned as he hummed to himself. Shigure raised a brow, "Forrest?"
He gave him a small smile, "Let's just keep watching for a bit."
Uncertain, Shigure nodded and returned to spectating the match. However, it wasn't long before they watched the girl get down on one knee and finally grimaced.
"Suki!" Midori gasped as she watched Adrien take this chance and dashed up to his opponent with his silver rapier pointed at her.
Shigure grabbed Midori's shoulder with a grimace, "Hold on. They lose only if their opponent is down or the other is disarmed for over a five minutes, remember? There's still a chance."
As he said this, a bright light flashed and nearly blinded the three. Shigure squinted against the light and, when it died down he noticed something white disappear behind the Adrien before the man was suddenly thrown on to his back with the tip of the silver blade now pointed in front of his chest. Shigure's eyes widen as he said, "What just happened?"
Forrest shook his head, "I don't know. Did you see anything, Midori?"
"N-No…" The girl shook her head, "What did she just do?"
Shigure shook his head, "Let's go ask Suki and Adrien. It's starting to get dark. They should be getting ready to leave soon."
As they watched Eric inform them of the time, Shigure and the two made their way to them. Eric looked over to them with a smile, "Good after-. I mean, good evening, Shigure, Midori. Forrest? Are you feeling well enough to be outside now? I heard that you suddenly gotten a high fever two days ago."
Forrest smiled, "I'm feeling better now, Eric. Thank you. Also, we were watching the spar just now. But that light…"
Eric chuckled, "Quite creative, isn't it?"
Shigure raised a brow, "Something you taught her?"
Eric shook his head, "Nah. Think of it as her own instinct or intellect."
Midori tilted her head, "But what did she do to beat Adrien? We didn't see a single thing under that light."
Eric chuckled, "That was a blinding spell, Midori."
"A blinding spell?" Forrest raised a brow, "So one of this world's magic?"
Eric nodded, "Yes. It was apparently a spell she learned on her own from books. Impressive, right?"
Shigure nodded, "I see she did some research on her own, then. But, during that light…"
Eric shook his head, "You're going to have to ask her about that. Speaking of which, are you here to pick her up?"
Forrest nodded, "Our cousin is stuck with patrol, so I though I might as well come by and bring her home. It's been a while since I didn't have any major requests for tailoring. I'm also going to open up shop tomorrow too."
"That's great!" Eric smiled, "Hey, Suki! Your cousin is here!"
The silver hair girl in a blue t-shirt and black jeans popped out from her group of friends and hurried over with her silver sword and bag with her as her little fox popped his head out from the bag.
"Forrest!"
She hurried over and greeted them with a small smile, "G-Good evening, Shigure, Midori."
They waved as Shigure smiled, "Good evening, Suki. We saw that you've been training pretty hard."
Midori grinned with a nod, "Yeah! Keep up the good work!"
"Th-Thank you…" Suki blushed as she looked down to her feet in clear embarrassment.
Forrest nodded with a small grin, "Hey, Suki? Could you tell us what you did when you casted the light spell?"
Hesitantly, Suki looked up to them stuttering, "I-I-I used my hilt and swung Adrien to the ground…"
Midori gasped, "You mean, you tossed him over your head?! That's amazing! I didn't know you'd be this strong!"
"Right?!" Sally joined in ecstatically, "That was so cool! She also did something similar last week against Chase too!"
Shigure nodded, "That's quite impressive, Su-, huh?"
Suddenly, the girl was gone as Forrest chuckled nervously and raised an arm revealing the girl hiding behind her cousin, "Too much praise for you to handle again? Sorry about this, everyone."
Sally giggled, "It's fine. I knew this would happen. Sorry, Suki. I forgot, but that really was amazing!"
"Th-Th-Thanks, Sally…" Suki blushed as she tried to return a strained smile.
Forrest smiled, "Well, shall we head back to your house now?"
Suki nodded and slowly walked out from behind his shadow as she waved to her friends nervously, "S-See you tomorrow…"
Sally grinned as they returned a wave, "See ya, Suki!"
As Forrest took the girl to the park entrance, Sally turned to them impatiently and full of excitement, "Guys! Guys! This is the first time she's ever told us that! Maybe, this means we're becoming closer friends with her now?"
Eric sighed exasperately upon seeing her sister's excitement, but chuckled, "I'd like to think so. Anyway, it's about time we go back home, Sally. Mom's probably about to finish making dinner soon."
He turned to Shigure, "Oh, right. There's something I need to tell you about the human realm."
Shigure raised a brow and nodded, "Is it about the war between the beasts and the Genrare?"
Eric nodded with a grimace, "Bad news have occurred in the South faction."
As the air slowly grew tense, Midori frowned, "What happened?"
"The tactician of the Southern faction, Kasha, have been kidnapped a couple nights ago along with almost all of her halfsiblings."
As Forrest made it back into his room after having dinner, he took a fashion magazine of the human realm's Fall edition designs and sat in his chair as he browsed through it. However, as he did so, he soon realized that he wasn't wholeheartedly looking through it as he thought he was. He grimaced in frustration before putting the magazine back on his desk and leaned back in his chair. As he stared up on his white ceiling, he lifted his palm before him as he mumbled with narrowed eyes, "Can they really not see it?"
As a faint glow appeared on his palm, he grimaced, "So, it's true."
He sat up against and poked at the center of his palm where the crystal had entered his palm with a sigh, "The Sage of Knowledge, is it? He said that I now have access to everything that Yue ever known, but how do I get to it? Maybe there's some sort of magic involved with this?"
"There is. Depending on what you plan to unlock, that is."
He nearly fell of his chair as he grabbed the side of his desk and looked up in astonishment.
"Y-You're-!"
Before him stood the ghostly figure of an extremely familiar woman wearing her usual white mask and white dress. A shudder ran down his spine as he recalled their first meeting with her thirteen years ago in the lands of Nohr. The bloody white dress stained in the color of the enemies and her own. He gritted his teeth and stood carefully glancing to the door only to notice that it was locked though he had no recollection of doing so. He frowned and looked back to her firmly, "Yue. You're Yue, right? One of the Celestials who agreed to help us."
She made no sound in response much to his uncertainty as she turned her head and walked closer to him. He stood warily with a hand slowly reaching to the tome attached to the handmade belt behind him. As he touched it, he froze. At the same time, the woman had also reached to his hand. The one bearing the crystal. He could feel a slight force lifting it up to her as she seemingly examined the only proof to his success. Slowly, she finally nodded, "Rairan… Sir Gotoh… So, this is who you've chosen in the end."
Carefully, she let go of his hand as she turned to him, "The knowledge you imagine is more than you have ever hoped for, Forrest. Terrifyingly more than you currently need. For now, you shall only gain the knowledge when you truly wish to know of something. Not on a whim."
Forrest frowned, "Of course not. I'm not someone so irresponsible as to abuse any form of power."
"I know." She replied, "Otherwise, he would never have chosen you from the beginning."
Forrest's eyes widen, "That's right. Why did Rairan picked me from the very beginning? There were many others he could've chosen. My cousins, my uncles and aunts. There was even my father who wields Brynhildr. Everyone else is just as powerful, so why me?"
"Rairan choses his master through their heart, Forrest." Yue answered, "He had never been the type to judge a person on the skin of their talents and strengths. To him, virtue have been of more importance to him than all else. Understanding, responsibility, open-minded. These are the things he looks for and it seems these are the things he found strong in you than all the others Sir Gotoh found as allies."
"But, open-minded and strong responsibility?" Forrest frowned, "Perhaps, I'm understanding, but I don't think I'd fit into the category of someone so open-minded and responsible for something so important as this role. Not yet, at least."
Yue shook her head, "But, he picked you of all the people that were there and, by what you said, there must've been many candidates for him to choose from. Picking you must've been something he intended from the beginning. And, annoying as it is, this is just how he thinks."
"But to bear the responsibility of all you've ever known and the master of such a powerful beast?" Forrest grimaced, "This could be even greater than trying to becoming capable as the next wielder of Brynhildr. I also have a long way to go before that time comes too."
"Is it so long?" Yue questioned, "Perhaps the best you can do right now is doing your best, Forrest."
Forrest shook his head, "It's not that I can't bring myself to try to wield it. I'm only afraid that I'd lose sight of myself in power."
"So you fear that it would be the same obtaining this one as well?"
He nodded, "Yes."
Yue shook her head, "If he had chosen such, he must've thought otherwise."
"Huh?"
"Rairan gave you the power because he believes in your responsibility and your own power as an individual and what you can do for others." Yue said, "He's always done so for over a millenia. It's one of the things we learned, after all. You must've shown him your ability as a person to be deemed capable of wielding the power given to you, Forrest. I can think of nothing else. Knowing that you fear losing yourself to power is one of the things that he would see before handing away such a thing of great importance. He wants to know if the wielder of the power understands the great responsibility and consequences they would take on when given it. If Rairan believes that you could handle it, then I have no worries that in who he's chosen as his master. However, it would be best if you be wary of what you learn, Forrest."
As she said this, he raised a brow.
"Not everything you shall see from me is as blunt as my own thoughts seem to be." Yue said with a frown, "So, I would avoid setting off something unwanted from the crystal if possible. What you want to know will come to you in its right time. All you need is patience."
"Patience?" Forrest hummed thoughtfully as he looked back to his palm, "But, would they make it in time?"
"Perhaps." Yue responded as her image slowly begin to fade, "Hold belief close and perhaps it shall come before the unexpected time as a forbearing warning."
Forrest's eyes widen as he called out to her, "Wait! I still have something to ask you about!"
However, her image was slowly beginning to fade as the woman responded, "Perhaps another time, Forrest. For now, heed my warning to do not dwell into the knowledge before its given time or it shall haunt you for a very long time."
Just like that, the woman was gone just as she had appeared. The man frowned and glanced back to the palm of his hand before looking back up, "Not a dream. Perhaps, I'll hold back for now, then, but…"
He shook his head, "This is the first time I've ever seen her like this before. Was this how Shigure saw her too? If so, that must've been terrifying."
As he looked back at his palm, he frowned, "But knowledge that would haunt me? Yue, does that mean you know some dark secrets of this world that we don't?"
As he said this, he glanced over to the magazine and the alarm clock on his desk. He sighed, "I guess I'll turn in early, then. There's no use thinking too much on this. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day afterall."
Shigure slowly walked into the boy's dorm room with a paper in hand and an orb in the other as a large bag slung across his shoulder. He looked around to the clean beige walls to the green carpet. He assumed it was only to be expected that it wouldn't be so bad since this was the dorm of such a popular school. Though, what bothered him the most was the really awful paintings hanging on the wall. He'd expect that the school would do a little better than to use paintings entirely manufactured by machines. He could hardly see any personality coming from the brush as if it was precise with the intentional amount of paint per each stroke. As he walked up to the white and wood stained front desk a man sat behind it in a white shirt and black jeans followed with a blue baseball cap. The man looked up to him with a business-like smile, "Good afternoon, sir. Is there something you need help with?"
Shigure smiled back with a nod, "Yes, My name is Shigure and I'm here to see my cousin. He's a teacher here. Shiro."
The man narrowed his eyes as his jaw nearly dropped, "Really? I didn't think Mister Shiro would have another cousin beside Mister Siegbert and Mister Kiragi."
Shigure chuckled, "Yes, well, my father has a lot of siblings, you see. Some of our uncles and aunts aren't exactly blood related."
The man nodded with a smile, "I see now. That must be quite a big family, then. Well, his room is on the third floor. Oh and the bag?"
Shigure strained a smile, "My aunt was worried that it was going to get cold and asked that I bring him some blankets from his house. I was also asked to take back the old blankets from his dorm room too. Haha…"
As Shigure opened the bag and showed him the white blanket and black sweater, The man nodded, then stood up and pointed over to the stairs, "Unless the person is handicap, we don't really encourage using the elevator sadly, but take the stairs to the third floor and turn to the left. He's room is at the end of the corridor on the right, sir. Really simple."
Shigure nodded, "I-I see. Thank you!"
He left the desk and made his way up this grandiose looking wooden stairs that seem to be made after the classical style of Nohr's regions. The stair wrapped around the walls to the next floor and the next. By the time he made it to the third floor there was three passages before him. As told, he turned to the left and walked down the long passage way of the same beige color walls and green carpet. Along the walls were rows of wooden doors. It wasn't long before he finally saw a large window at the end of the long corridor and two doors on the sides of it. He sighed as he put the sheet of paper back into the pocket of his jeans, "Well, that took a while. I can see why they decide to dorm here in the end."
He knocked on the right door. After a couple seconds, the door opened as the purple hair cousin in red t-shirt and white shorts grinned, "You made it! It's great seeing you again, Shigure. Come in. Siegbert and Kiragi is already here."
As he stepped aside, Shigure thanked him and made his way inside. In the room, Siegbert was already sitting on the grey swivel chair in his black wool sweater and purple pants. Kiragi was sitting cross leg on the brown carpet. The brown hair man looked up to him with a wide grin, "Hi, Shigure! Let me guess. You nearly missed the train stop, right?"
Shigure strained a smile, "Sort of. How did you…"
Siegbert sighed, "All of us here seemed to have missed the stop and went in circles three times before we got here on our first day. It was an anxious day for all of us then."
Shigure nodded slowly, "Ah, I see now. Somebody told me to get off the top the last minute."
Shiro sighed as he took a seat on the ground against the side of his bed, "So, what's in the bag?"
Shigure strained another grin, "Well, he wouldn't stop begging me to bring him along…"
As he said this, he unzipped the bag once more and pulled out the blanket and sweater before a white head poked out.
"Ah, you again?!" Kiragi frowned.
Siegbert raised a brow, "Weren't you suppose to be guarding Kana, Evol?"
"Since our parents are home, Kana and Ahna are at home while our parents help around the store." Shigure explained as the white Persian cat yawned.
The cat looked to them, "Lief will be watching over the twins for today as the house seemed to be quite full."
Shigure nodded, "Yes. With our parents back, the house has become quite crowded. Thankfully our parents have their own rooms or this would become quite a mess."
Siegbert nodded, "That be four more residents in one estate and with four others already there. I'm not surprised."
Kiragi sighed, "So, is this everyone?"
"Oh," Shiro interrupted and glanced over to Siegbert, "I heard that Forrest plans to come here too."
"Really?" Kiragi's eyes widen in surprise, "Huh, he didn't tell me any of that. Though, I did hear that he changed his mind thought about opening his shop next week."
The blue hair man's eyes widen, "I never heard anything about that."
Siegbert nodded, "It was a last minute decision. I don't think he knew that you were going to be here too."
As he said this, there was a knock on the door. Shiro quickly got up as Shigure finally took a seat on the bed as Evol jumped onto his lap. Their cousin soon returned with the red hair man in his pink jacket and white jeans. Kiragi called out to him with a grin, "Hi, Forrest! I didn't know that you were going to be here today!"
Forrest smiled as he took a seat on the ground between him and Siegbert, "Sorry, Kiragi, Shigure. Something happened this morning, so I decided to push back the opening day and come here with you guys. I met Yue yesterday."
"W-What?!" Kiragi nearly fell back in astonishment, "You too?"
Forrest nodded with a frown, "I think it was because I was trying to see if how I could access to her knowledge. She appeared like a ghost and told me to be patient and wait for the knowledge to appear."
Shiro frowned, "What does that mean? Waiting for knowledge to appear?"
Forrest shook his head with a sigh, "I don't know either. But, what bothered me was how she told me that if I rush for the knowledge, I could get scared of knowing what I learn from it."
"That does not sound promising." Siegbert frowned.
Forrest nodded, "It doesn't. But, it makes me wonder what kind of person she was if she had been the one to obtain the knowledge she had before she passed. She seemed to be the type with a lot of secrets."
"That's why you decided to come here today." Siegbert nodded, "Well, I did tell you that I'd be coming here to check on the book Kiragi and Shiro found in the library."
"Then, let's get right to it!" Kiragi grinned and pulled out an old leather book from his blue backpack.
As he placed it down before them on the carpet, Kiragi grinned nervously, "It's a children's book, but it was the only thing I could find on the Celestials."
"A Children's book?" Siegbert raised a brow, "So, it was something like a fairytale?"
Shiro said thoughtfully, "That reminds me of how Soliel's grandparents thought that our kingdoms were nothing, but myths."
Shigure nodded as he frown, "The End of the Beginning?"
Kiragi nodded, "Interesting Title, huh?"
"It is quite unusual." Forrest admitted.
Kiragi flipped the hard leather cover over followed by the opening page till a picture of a landscape and strange figures appeared on the first page they came to.
Siegbert raised a brow, "That's the Pegasus!"
Forrest nodded, "I see some other things like… herds of unicorns, elves, griffon."
"Dragons and phoenixes?" Shigure grimaced, "And they're amongst the horses and humans."
"Cool, right?" Kiragi grinned proudly.
Forrest stared at the curled words as he begin to read, "Many millons of years ago. Before the world began or the Big Bang that we assumed marked the beginning of our universe. There was a powerful form of energy. Today, we call this form of energy, 'Existence'. With this energy, the form unconsciously created a large Pangea-like realm. In this realm, he created animals whom we see today and many beasts and beings we refer as mythical to this day."
Forrest flipped the page revealing a drawing of a woman with a long flowing white gown and extremely long wavy green hair adorned with many varieties of flowers as if grown from her hair. Forrest continued, "Over the million of years, the form began to gain a consciousness. It began to discover its own existence in this realm he created like each part of his own. It slowly ceased its abundant flow of creation and began to watch over the realm."
"A being began to recognize their own consciousness?" Siegbert raised a brow.
Kiragi sighed, "It's only the beginning and it's already this difficult if you're not reading it carefully. I had to read the first couple pages a few times before I could get it."
"I can see why." Shigure nodded with a grimace, "But, a being called, 'Existence'? I wonder where this will lead to."
Forrest nodded and continued, "As if being the first being to ever take place, Existence began to feel their first emotions on the realm. Amazement, Confusion, Enthusiasm. With this, he decided against his original decision and created what he hoped to be his last creation. The creation had slender arms and legs, green hair like the greenery of the world with life sprouting from each strands and human-like features of a face with eyes of the color of small corals, and soft pink… lips… Um, guys?"
As Forrest looked to them with a grimace, he asked, "Does this remind you of something?"
Shiro nodded with a frown, "That dream. I've had it every now and then. I remember that woman pretty well because of it too. That picture. Her name was Shelanoir."
"So, she was the first Celestial here?" Shigure's eye widened as he stared at the drawing on the paper.
Kiragi sighed, "Well, things are starting to make sense now. That's a good thing at least."
Forrest nodded as he looked back to the book, "Unlike the other creations, he wanted this last one to be special and showed it by personally granting this being a name. Shelanoir. His representation of his creation and life. However, from the moment, she was created and opened her eyes. She took on after her creator much more than any others had. She gained emotions and began to experience life through her own consciousness she gained from her creator. Shelanoir soon began to interact with the world around here. The life of an eternity of peace and the secure feeling of being in the arms of life."
"So emotions were new to them?" Shigure raised a brow.
Siegbert sighed, "It seems to have been quite a difficult start to life, then. Since that would mean they also need to understand what their feeling, most likely. There are times when even we get our emotions confused."
Shiro nodded as he crossed his arms, "Ah. But, where does Yue come in on all of this?"
Forrest shook his head, "I'm going to keep reading and see. One day, something unusual occurred. The creations Existence had created was slowly disappearing before them one by one slowly as the days gone by. Both the creator and the woman he created began to feel different individual emotions. As the creator felt anger and curiosity, Shelanoir felt fear, grief, and sadness for the first time crying streams of tears that would become the streams and rivers. This was when Existence discovered the shocking discovery that his creation, whom it watched over carefully, has now also become a creator of sorts as well. Interested in this sudden development, it decided to look into ways to see if it could cease the tears she made to create such terrains. However, in doing so, it discovered something it never suspected."
He flipped the pages revealing a large black hole with parts of what seemed to be the beast broken apart like toys and pulled into the dark vortex.
"It was a black hole." Forrest continued with a raised brow, "Just as there was Existence, a balance was needed to ensure that everything that existed would return to Nothing. Seeing this, Existence tried to figure out more about the black hole only to find that it was just as powerful as it and was nearly destroyed by its own carelessness sending it into a long slumber to regain its energy that was lost. During this million of years, Shelanoir watched feebly as all she knew became nothing before her eyes. By the time Existence returned, she too have began to step up with her ability of creation as her own form of weapon."
Forrest flipped the page revealing the picture of brown lines coming from the roots of the trees and a thin looking rock with a crack in the center of it. Under the two frames was the image of hands stitching the edge of the black hole with the light coming from behind it. Forrest continued, "She plucked the roots of what was left of the trees and weaved them into long thread, then carefully picked a thin piece of stone with a large hole in the center. With the knowledge from the elves and the other beings whom she all cared of so deeply, she stitched the black hole as if stitching a wound together. However, in doing so, Existence had used himself as the seal preventing the black vortex from reaching out for anything else and leaving Shelanoir all on her own out of the blue."
He flipped to the next page once more as two images appeared this time. One of her crying over a bright sun and the other of a similar image as the one of the first page. Forrest raised a brow, "From then on, the woman cried in sadness that would soon grow into anger that would boil over the realm. It didn't cease till she had discovered that her own emotions have turned the world she once knew into nothing but a large ball of molten earth from her grief and rage and, before she could do anything to restore it, the realm she once knew bursted in a shattering light of explosions."
Shiro muttered with a grimace, "Talk about bad turning to worse."
Shigure nodded, "So, she wasn't able to control her own emotions and it affected the world in turn."
Siegbert frowned, "I was worried that something bad would happen from not knowing what you're feeling."
Forrest grimaced, "And, in this case, you were spot on. She lost it and destroyed what was left to her."
He looked back to the page and continued, "After millions of years of confusion, grief, and uncertainty, she finally pulled herself together and came upon one of the remains of the realms and settled down to start over from scratch. Like her predecessor, she created mythical beasts, animals, and beings, whom she once knew in the past and, like it, she created one more special creation. Being like her, but without her ability to create."
He flipped the page revealing that of native human figures settling down into a small village as the woman watched on from afar in the trees.
"Humans and Guardians." Forrest read, "She watched over them and only grew more joyful as she saw them having little ones as she had created them years before. She knew they would survive, flourish, and never perish with their own form of creation. However, years of nothing but creation have left her with the feelings of loneliness and nostalgia of the past she no longer could return. So, tempted by her own longing for a social life, she decided to mingle amongst the humans. After years of pains and struggle, her creations and herself have finally done the unexpected of their time."
He turned the page that then shows merging images of trees, flames, water, sky, snow, and many others small images slowly merging into a human form. Forrest stopped and looked to his cousin before Kiragi decidedly took over upon seeing his cousin's bewilderment to continue, "Her creations: the sky, earth, seasons, weather, water, and everything else began to create their own beings. These beings would one day come together and become the first Celestials to be remembered to this day by the humans and guardians."
"What?!" Forrest's eyes widen as he continue to stare at the images in disbelief, "They began to all take on a human form?"
Shiro chuckled, "That really is unexpected."
Siegbert narrowed his eyes on the image as he muttered, "So, those are the Celestials…"
"This is a really unusual situation, after all." Shigure noted with confusion.
Kiragi grinned mischeviously as he said, "Wait till you see what's next! I didn't read all of it, but you might be surprised here."
He turned the page revealing the same woman now standing between three other more human-like figure and a white bundle with gold shining from it. Kiragi continued, "Shelanoir soon adopted the method of creating beings from the humans and created three Celestials with the ability to grow as humans can. However, amongst those born, her fourth child, a daughter, was born without the blessing of anything their mother created. Instead, on the second she came into the world, her blazing gold hair and red eyes emited rays of light shining upon the gray world before them and blessing the greenery with fruitful growth than those before them. The waters sparkled turning her mother's sadness into happiness. The harsh winds was forced to pull back protecting the living from the brutal elements that it brings. Her light cuts through the clouds and gave the living the warmth they seek. Her deeds and out-going demeanor brought upon herself the name her mother gave and the title the living deemed her, Ri, Creator of Light."
Shiro strained a grin as he muttered, "Out-going demeanor…"
Kiragi chuckled nervously, "That does sound like the person who brought Rinne to us, but…"
"A little more." Shiro nodded.
"So, that's her?" Shigure raised a brow as the other three examined the drawing, "Gold hair and red eyes."
"So, she was the creator of light?" Siegbert frowned, "But, if she's gone, then how is this realm still getting light?"
Kiragi shook his head, "I don't know. I never finished it. There's still three more pages left, though."
He flipped the book as a darker image appeared. It was the same image, but this time streams of black trailed from the infant as Kiragi sighed, "However, her next child wasn't anything like her sister. Once born, darkness oozed into the air from her as her silver hair glowed amongst the darkness. Her eyes remained shut as her mother covered them with her hand out of fear of her ever knowing what she had done. The darkness blinded the living and created monsters that lurks in the dark and sank into the hearts of the living. It covered the light and brought disasters of cold and illness with it. Since her birth, the living slowly withered and ceased all movements experiencing first hand in death. It went without need to explain further that she was a child of ill omen who brought misfortune to her mother's beloved realm and was given numerous of titles, such as the Creator of Darkness, Cursed Child, Death, and many more. However, as all hated her, Shelanoir took pity on her youngest daughter and gifted her a name many didn't think possible, Yue."
Just as he said this, Siegbert nodded, "I guess our assumption were correct."
Forrest nodded, "This also follows with what Rairan told us that night. She was hated by both Celestials and humans alike. However, her creation was unintentional, like Ri's. They shouldn't pin the blame on her, but that's only if they knew that it wasn't her fault. She didn't mean for it to happen, but it happened in the end."
Shigure nodded as well while Shiro grimaced, "If we see her in our growth stages, she's only a child."
"Imagine the damage it must've done to her during her growth." Siegbert frowned, "It's fortunate that she was still willing to aid us while going through the criticism of her own people and the humans in this world."
Shiro nodded, "But, have they ever looked past it before?"
Kiragi sighed, "Who knows. We are talking about a really long, long time ago, after all."
He turned the page revealing the image of the picture again. However, this time, she was gone. Shigure read the lines, "Due to her daughters unsteady powerful creations, Shelanoir was forced to recede into hiding from the forces of Creator of Darkness's powerful darkness overwhelming his elder sister's power of light. On the same day, she handed the care of her daughters into the care of her three sons: Feng, Hei, and Haelane."
He turned the page one last time and saw the image of numerous beast all lined up before them with various colors and in the light and dark tone. Shigure narrowed his eyes and continued, "She then assigned one of the beasts, whom she created to help her maintain her realm during its creation, to be her daughters' guide in the world. The beast was known with many names. One of the most well-known being the Sage of Knowledge. After ensuring her children's future, she disappeared from their side marking the beginning of the era of the Celestials."
Shiro frowned, "I know this scene."
They all turned to him as he continued with a grimace, "I've seen that scene so many times in my dream. Shelanoir was definitely forced to leave their side from what I recall. Feng was most likely one of her brothers as the book says. He doesn't seem to like humans too well, though."
Shigure frowned, "So, there was some changes in the tale throughout the years. Kiragi, do you know who or when the book was written?"
The archer shook his head, "Nope. There was no name, but the librarian found that the book have been here for over fifty years now. That's all."
"I see." Shigure said with a curt nod, "But, we've been here for over a decade now. If this was a legend, why does nobody know about this? We've asked just about everyone in Presia now…"
Upon the fading voice, Evol looked up to him, "What wrong, kit?"
At this, everyone looked to their cousin as his eyes widen, "Not everyone…"
"What do you mean?" Forrest frowned, "That we're still missing someone after all these years?"
Shiro frowned, "Shigure, we've all asked the school and the towns we've been to. Nobody knows these tales."
"Just as nobody knew of our kingdom." Shigure said with a grimace, "What if we're not asking the right people?"
"Not asking the right people?" Kiragi's eyes widen.
Shigure nodded, "According to Father and Aunt Corrin, nobody knew the kingdom of Valla during the war. It wasn't till Mother took them to Valla and Father found the renowned Rainbow Sage did they discover more about it. So, maybe we're not looking for the right people. But, if that's the case, then where should we be looking?"
His words only brought more silence as the question itself prompted them to think more of the thought.
It was morning when Seigbert returned from his school for the weekend. However, when he arrived into the house, he noticed his mother hurrying through the kitchen and the burnt smell. Setting the packages on the sofa, he rushed into the jointed kitchen and dining room behind the living room wall just in time to see his father rushing into the house with a bucket of water and dumped it over the flaming pot.
"Father? Mother?!" Seigbert's eyes widen as he saw the scene, "What…?"
" Oh, welcome back, Seigbert! Another utter fail in cooking." Hinoka strained a smiled as she took some cloth and removed the pot into the sink with a sigh, "Today is Suki's birthday and I can't even get a proper meal onto the table…"
Upon the sight of the set table and balloons, he could tell that it was going to be a rather big celebration. Seigbert asked, "Is our relatives going to be coming over as well?"
Xander strained a smile, "Yes. Suki is turning thirteen now and, in this world, that would mean that she's finally turning into a teenager."
Seigbert nodded, "Then, let me help with the food. Maybe we can also ask Aunt Camilla for some help too? She will be coming today too, right?"
"Yes. That'd be a much better idea." Hinoka smiled as she rubbed the blackened pot with the metal scrub, "Thank you, Seigbert."
"You're welcome." He replied with a grin before looking around and seeing the two portable tables, "But, how many people are coming?"
"My younger siblings and their families." Xander answered as he placed the blue bucket just outside of the back door, "Then, there's Suki's friends. We've already bought a cake from Ryan's and Isabel's Inn. So, all we need to prepare now is the food."
Hinoka said, "And, since she's coming back from her training trip with Eric's family and her friends, I was hoping to prepare a big meal, but…"
Seigbert nodded, "So… what was the pot for?"
"I was trying to make beef stew." Hinoka answered with a grimace, "But, the pot got caught on fire when I accident spilt some alcohol for the beef."
"I see." Seigbert nodded, "Then, I'll help with that. Suki and her friends won't arrive till seven tonight, right?"
"Yes." Xander nodded, "Hinoka, I'll contact my sister and wash the pot. Can you bring in the fruits from the ice tub?"
"Got it." She nodded before rushing out.
As they got to work, Seigbert brought out another large pot as he grimaced, "Uh… We're not suppose to be using Alcohol for the beef, right? Was Mom trying to make a special meal again?"
The Father and son could only struggle a smile knowing the mother's enthusiasm was only due to good intentions just like always. The preparation took a few hours as their guests came to the home and helped out. The first being their Aunt Camilla's family. As soon as they arrived, Camilla immediately got to work as she teaches his mother some of the steps. Soon Severa's family arrived as they pitched in with the effort. What didn't seem to have been a simple task became easy as some of their friends pitched in to help them. Despite everything running smoothly, he felt that there was still something that bothered him. He recalled the last little party when she turned five. It was a surprise party then. The moment after they surprised her, she went bawling from being startled so bad. She was certainly a quiet child and still is. He was worried what her reaction would be this time. Everything looked good so far. The food was nearly done and Sophie had brought the cake from Origins Inn with her father. To their surprise, Rinkah was there as well, though it didn't seem that she came voluntarily. Regardless, they thanked her for joining them. The gifts were laid out on another table and the food was out on the table by the time the doorbell rang a little past seven. Everyone was ready with the streamers in the hands of some. Signaling for them to hide in the kitchen and dining room, he quickly made his way to the door. There was murmurs in the back and sounds of shush as he quickly unlocked the door after looking through the peep hole. By the time he opened the door, Suki was already there with Eric and their friends. Seigbert smiled back, "Welcome back. How was the trip?"
Suki strained a small smile, "It was-"
"It was amazing!" Sally answered before her brother knocked her on the head, "Ow…!"
"The question wasn't for you, Sally." Eric said with a sigh.
As he said this, Seigbert could hear a small chuckle before Suki asked, "Um… Was mother trying to make something for my birthday? Somethings seems to smell burnt… Hm?"
Seigbert strained a smile as he said, "Well, how about you try looking in the kitchen?"
Suki frowned in the confusion before she carefully made her way past the living room. Suddenly, streamers flew into the air.
"Surprise!"
"Eeeek!"
The girl jumped up in shock a clear two feet, but still covered in streamers. Xander chuckled as he shook his head, "It's your birthday, Suki. Why are you all the way to the couch?"
The girl looked around flustered, "W-Well…"
Hinoka giggled, "Happy thirteenth Birthday, Suki."
Following her, a few others echoed the words as Suki's face turned red, "Th-Thank you…"
"Aww…" Camilla giggled, "Come here and give your aunty and uncle a hug."
Before either could stop her, Camilla had already embraced her and Corrin in her arms. Corrin's eyes widen as she struggled under the embrace, "C-Camilla?! Isn't the hug for Suki?"
There was some warm hearted laughs as the party began on a smooth start and sailed on. Seigbert was relieved that Suki was doing well through out the whole party. As he watched her and their relatives and friends have cake, Caeldori walked up to him, "Seems like things are moving well now."
Seigbert nodded, "Fully thirteen years old now. This is going to confuse a lot of people."
Caeldori raised a brow, "You never told anymore that she was twelve and a half before?"
"No. With only a month left, there's really no need to say that anymore." Seigbert answered with a dry grin.
Caeldori nodded, "Isn't it time for her to go to school, though. I mean no offense, but she is thirteen and most children around her age would be taking classes."
"That's right." Seigbert nodded before glancing over to his parents talking with the other adults in the living room, "However, our mother is a bit concerned over her. She also set the bar pretty high since Suki wanted to go to school too."
As Caeldori looked to him in surprise, he explained, "She wants to go to Tasogarekan Academy."
"Excuse me. But, that's the school you work at, right?" Caeldori's eyes widen.
Seigbert nodded, "But, even if I would bring her in, she needs to take the entrance exam to get in. And, they're not only looking for smart people, but strong ones too. This is an Academy, not a public middle school. If it were, she could've gotten in easily with her studies."
Caeldori nodded, "And, with your mother's concerns, the bar was set high."
Seigbert nodded in silence before looking around, "Hm? Is Shigure and Midori not here? I see Ahna and Kana."
Caeldori shook her head, "I heard that our enemies have began sprouting all over the place. There's not enough of us on guard today to keep watch of this town. They've gone to take over some of the empty spots."
Seigbert grimaced, "So, that's why. Lately, they've been showing up more frequently in this world. However, I heard that Lissa's brother have arrived in this world and is already searching this world as we speak. I think they'll be able to lend us a helping hand for a bit."
"That's fortunate news." The Sky knight strained a smile.
Seigbert said firmly, "We just have to continue focusing on our goal."
Caeldor nodded, "What happened in the past."
Seigbert nodded, "We were able to take a copy on the tale and hand it over to my father and the other rulers, but what we found in the school's library is only the beginning of their life, not the end. Something happened between our allies and the enemies in this world years ago. We just need to find clues that tells us what happened. Moreover, what we find here amongst text might not even be the facts. They're written by people, so there's only a side to it."
Caeldori smiled, "Then all we need to do is to find the other half of the story. It won't be easy, but we have certainly found something after all these years. I've read the tale from one of the copies my father was given. It's unbelievable, but, if it's true, then the enemy must be really powerful to defeat them. What did your father think about it?"
Seigbert shook his head, "He had the same thoughts. Even if Yue did fall into a trap, her sister didn't. She fell to the enemy. Meaning the enemy we're dealing with maybe just as powerful as our previous enemy."
Caeldori frowned, "That's very possible."
There was a few moments of silence between the two as they watched the party with food in hand. It wasn't long before she noticed something on the counter as Caeldori raised a brow, "Huh? Who's slice of cake is that? I thought everyone had a piece?"
Seigbert strained a smile as he said, "That's for someone else who couldn't join in today."
As Caeldori tilted her head in confusion, he added, "As a small payment, you could say."
A week passed before, the time finally came. Seigbert hurriedly made his way through the halls of the Middle School Section. It was almost time for a new school year and the exams have already begun. Anxiously, he made his way down to the first floor from the second, then hurried out to the school's field where all the extracurricular activity took place, but it's already time for the second phase of the exam and he was already late. Of course, he wasn't the one taking it, but he wanted to see his sister's progress in the exam. However, when he looked up to the clock on his office's wall, he was shocked to find that he was already late and that the break session in between has already ended. By the time, he made it out to the field, he noticed his cousins and their friends were already there. As soon as he was with them, Hisame said, "Prin- S-Seigbert, you've made it."
Surprised, Shiro turned to him with a strained smile, "Hey, Seigbert… Who was it that taught your sister how to fight?"
"Eric?" he answered with a grimace, "What happened? Was I already too late?"
"Yeah, you were late." Kiragi said with a grimace before glancing at his small watch, "About five minutes late to the exam and four minutes late to her battle! Seigbert, your sister just smacked her opponent face down to the dirt in less than five seconds!"
"What?!" the man's eyes widen above disbelief as he grimaced, "I knew that she was catching on fast, but not this much."
The system of the exam was simple. the students would be paired into groups of two and they will be sparring against one another till one of them is done for the count. Normally, the winner would enter the academy, but there's usually other factors that goes into choosing their students. The weapons they use would be put into account ith their performance and it was also one of the factors into picking out their judges from their staffs to give the score to the candidates. Hisame sighed, "There's no need for worry, at least. With this, she is able to rank into the top ten easily…"
"R-really?" Seigbert smiled in relief, "That's great. Now she can finally go to school…"
"As within the top three."
When Hisame finished his sentence, Seigbert was silent as his eyes widen before he strained a dry grin, "Well… That's unexpected. Mother did set the conditions rather high, but Suki went over it."
Kiragi nodded with a weak chuckle, "Hey, um… Seigbert. Just so you know, she scored over a hundred on the written entrance exam."
"Huh?" Seigbert grimaced, "But the exams should contain part of the higher levels education problems as extra credits."
"It did." Hisame nodded, "But, she answered them all correctly. The staff had to bring in the assistant principal and gave her another written exam, but the results were the same. Seigbert, your sister is the first to ever pass the entrance exam with over a hundred points and, with the battle, it's safe to say that she's already in the top tens of the examinees this year."
"That's…"
Seigbert was now at a loss for words. He knew that with her education, she has a chance of entering the top tens, but it was simple to say that she had beaten all of their expectations and was underestimated. She is certainly a prodigy. Seigbert muttered in confusion, "But the results have yet to come out. Though we can already say that she'll become a student here, it's not certain that she'll be in the top three of her year. Does the assistant principal know?"
"She does." Shiro nodded, "Look by the fence."
As he looked away from the four battles, he saw a woman with blond hair in a bun, floral skirt and yellow plaid shirt with sunglasses hung from the collar. It was clear that she was called out during her break and rushed here the moment she received the call. Whether or not she noticed them was unknown as she was watching the sparing field intently, but he already knew that this was going to be the talk of the school for a while now. As he looked around, he noticed that Amongst them were Chase, Adrian and Sally. He said, "And, how are the other kids doing?"
"I don't know about their written test." Hisame said, "However, in battle, they seem to do well."
"Especially that lancer to the right." Shiro grinned.
As he said this, Seigbert could already see that, amongst the examinees in that direction, one familiar teenager had already tossed his opponent out of the ring with the point of his lance. Shiro chuckled, "I bet he'd be a strong addition to the club. It's pretty smart for him to use his lance like that, but he still needs more training."
"I'm thinking the same thing for that girl with the bow." Kiragi said with a sigh, "It's great to see that she's using magic to make up with her lack of power, but shooting a bow still needs accuracy. She won't get better without more practice. Hey, Hisame! What do you think of that guys with the samurai sword? Think you'll reach out to ask him to join your club?"
Hisame sighed, "Isn't it the captain who would usually do that? But he seems to have gotten better."
"You know him?" Shiro raised a brow.
"Now, that you said it." Kiragi muttered, "He does seem familiar…"
"Really?" Shiro frowned.
Seigbert nodded in silence not wanting to reveal the identity of any of Suki's friends. Knowing that either they were from their town or that they are friends of his sister or his pupil will only waver their true thoughts of the group. He didn't want that as sometimes the painful truth is what is needed to improve. Still, he would've liked to see his sister's exam as well. He watched as Chase walked off the ring having completed his exam. The purpose of the battle exam wasn't about who lost or won, but their performance. He frowned upon seeing this year's judges, "Uncle Leo and Aunt Camilla?"
"You finally noticed?" Kiragi grumbled, "Did you know that they asked my father to be one of the judges this year? Instead, he refused and chose to train his students for the next competition in three months. There's only five spots too."
"But, why Aunt Camilla?" Seigbert raised a brow, "She's the Home Ec teacher for the middle school section."
"However, she is pretty strong when it comes to using the axe." Shiro said, "Even, the assistant principal acknowledges that."
"Then, who managed the written examines?" the red hair man asked.
"Your uncle and I handed out the exams." Hisame answered with a nod, "But Ms. Stryk and some of our other teachers were the ones who corrected them."
"So, that's why you knew about her score." Seigbert said with a frown.
Hisame nodded, "It's left your uncle pretty speechless too."
"I'm not surprised." He replied with a frown, "Suki has always done well in her studies, but we never knew just how much."
Hisame nodded, "I was aware of that as well, but those days I recall was when she was small. So, I never knew how her studies went till now."
"When will the results come out again?" Shiro asked.
"In the next couple of days." Kiragi answered, "Are you going to let Aunt Hinoka know?"
Seigbert shook his head, "As dumb as this sounds, I need to see the final results before I can tell her."
"Yup." Shiro said with a sigh, "Oh well. She's going to pass anyway."
"Problem is…" Kiragi said, "How will Aunt Hinoka handle this?"
"I don't know." Seigbert shook his head, "But it shouldn't be that bad… aside from a few tears probably. Mother is really worried about her, after all."
"Right, about that. Does she know?" Kiragi questioned with a sigh, "She's thirteen now, right? Geez, why do I still think she's fourteen?"
Seigbert grinned, "She doesn't. and we've told everyone she's thirteen since she was only close to the age. That reminds me. Where's your sister, Shiro?"
The man remained quiet before he said, "She's gone to the human realm with Sean. She wants to take this audition for one of the company in Japan."
Seigbert's eyes widen and turned to him. Shiro frowned, "Our father finally allowed her to give it a try. I just hope she passes."
Kiragi nodded with a sigh, "Yeah. This is her future after all. Who knows how long we'll be here too."
"We can't bring residents of this world into ours." Hisame added, "If we don't age because we only follow our world's time, then it should be the same here. Bring lady Rinne and Suki will only shorten their lifespan. The queen said that as well."
Shiro struggled a small grin, "Leave it to mom to solve these out for us…"
"Speaking of worlds," Hisame said, "What do Seigbert and Shiro think about our next step?"
Seigbert nodded, "We are given the task of finding out more about our allies and my Father still allows me to continue with the investigation…"
Shiro grimaced, "I'll have to return home and temporarily guard the town in my dad's place over the winter break. He's going to check out the surrounding from what we got last week."
The paladin frowned, "I've asked Soliel's aunt in assisting us with searching the libraries of other towns we can't reach. If they're able to, they could probably get to places such as the kingdoms."
Kiragi sighed, "Are we really going to look through the kingdom's library too? It's not like our home, you know. There's about ten kingdoms here, you know…"
Shiro shrugged, "Hey, things like this takes time and effort. We learned that while we are here, remember?"
Seigbert nodded, "At the same time, we should think about asking others we've yet to talk with and, instead of using Yue's name, let's use Ri's as our clue. I doubt anyone would enjoy sharing tales of a Celestial with her background, unfortunately."
"Hey, it's not like it's her fault things came out like this." Kiragi grumbled before taking a seat on the hillside grass, "And, now, she's being labeled as this villain who sent bad things to the world king of stuff. She was only a baby. How would we control things if we don't even know about it. The book wasn't even that good either."
"It was research." Hisame noted with a frown, "So, we continue with our inquiry and search through the libraries and archives?"
Shiro nodded, "Yeah. Shigure said that there must be something that we're missing."
"That or we could've gotten the wrong book." Kiragi brought up.
"Lo-" Hisame cleared his throat, "Kiragi… That'd be a really bad thought since we've also made the tale public within our circle."
"That's true…" the archer grimaced with a sigh, "When is all this going to be over?! I mean, we've been here for so long, right?"
Seigbert nodded, "Thirteen years now. Finding one clue is a great boost in morale, but, if we don't find another soon, our friends won't be able to keep it up for long."
Shiro nodded, "There's only so much crystal orbs too. We can't even find a way back from here either."
"Yeah…" Kiragi sighed as he looked to the exam field, "Oh! I think they're done! Are you going to take her back home now, Seigbert?"
As he watched the candidates leave the field with their belongings and weapons in hand, the red hair swordsman grimaced, "I'll watch from afar."
As eyes turned to him, he explained, "The thing is she said that she wanted to come here alone. And, what she doesn't know is that Father and I already planned to secretly keep an eye on her."
"Oh, those things." Shiro said with a nod, "Wow, so, you've started that now, huh?"
"What's wrong?" Seigbert frowned in confusion.
Kiragi grinned, "We've done that a lot when we were little. Our parents sent us off on some errands on our own when the truth was that they've talked with people around the place beforehand on what we're doing without our parents."
Hisame sighed, "It's just part of teaching children how to become more independent in the future."
"Really." Seigbert's eyes widen, "Well, Suki's no longer a child, but this isn't our world. I'll just keep an eye out for her until we reached the other station. See you tomorrow, then."
"Sure!" Kiragi said and waved as they watched the man return to the road.
Once gone, Kiragi got to his feet with a sigh, "Well, it's time for me to gather all the materials for tomorrow's last lecture! See ya!"
Just like that, the archer left as well in a run. As Hisame waved, he noticed Shiro still looking to field as the swordsman said, "Still bothered, Shiro?"
Unusually, the lancer nodded in silence as he stared at the field. Hisame frowned as he folded his arms, "I'm surprised how come you didn't ask Pr- Seigbert about her preparations for the exam. At this rate, Suki would be setting some form of record, and the school could eventually turn to her for her work."
Shiro nodded, "She's not the only one."
Hisame raised a brow, "What do you mean?"
Shiro remained quiet as he stared upon the field for a while longer before shaking his head and said, "I think this year will become an eventful year."
Hisame frowned in bewilderment, but nodded, "That doesn't sound good from the way you say it. But, let's see what the new school year has in store for all of us here."
Shiro quietly nodded as he looked to the freshly cut stump. His Aunt's words from two weeks ago came to his mind, "She told me that she heard the words 'It's finally starting.'"
YueTian: Hey, guys! I've decided to stop the chapter here for today. I'm aware that so far I've been writing sixty page long chapters in this story for the last six chapters, but, since I'm little tired of making it so long while knowing that it maybe a bit long for my readers, I've decided to put my limit for around thirty pages temporarily. With it, I'll also be putting out a short poll in the next few days and see what everyone thinks would be better. A thirty page long chapter or a sixty page long chapter. Honestly, even if it's tiring, I do have a sense of accomplishment when I finish a sixty page chapter, but, due to its side effect, I'm not too sure. Moreover, I want to be able to publish these out sooner rather than later, but the results is up to you, my readers. Now, on to some else more fun, I've been updating my other stories such as FE Awakening Blossoms and Fe Fates of the World. I am thinking of putting a stop to Questions and Reasons since I don't see an end to all that anymore sadly and the work is rather cringy. Also, did I mention that my family and I have a puppy now? Yes! We have a new puppy for the last two months by the name of Ciel! Hahaha! Yup! Ciel! Why? Let's just say being the oldest sibling of three children in the family and having to watch over your two younger brothers occasionally, I've learnt rather quickly that my siblings were going to give the pup a ridiculous name (Which I found out the older one wanted Buster or White Beard, and the youngest wanted Leo…) So, to save the puppy from a sad future of being called either of the names, I came up with a more decent one right off the top of my head and, being that I was still working on this then, I just blurted out Ciel. Hey, at least it's decent. So, we did the silly little "Let's see which bowl of different dog food with the names under it will he pick!" and seeing that the dog was eyeing for a salmon base, I immediately placed the name under it, thus barely saving it from a life time of ridiculous name for the little boy. Now, his name is Ciel and he's a four month old yellow English Labrador retriever and he's already begun to recognize his own name! If we ever get a cat next or another dog, I might just name it Feather if it's a girl, but my dad seems to like male dogs better. So, I'll have to wait till I leave the house and get a large, four-legged, and furry pet, till then! Now, it's getting late, so I'll put up a title and post it up before calling it a day. Actually, it's already past 2:30 AM, so it' already late. Well, good night and if you have any questions just either PM me or use the review. For any wondering about the poll, I don't believe that you can use your mobile phone for that unless you specifically go on the internet app and onto the website from there. The poll will be on my profile page saying "Poll"/"Vote", but I won't be putting one up till after the next one or two updates of this chapter. Okay, it's getting late. So, I'll stop here. Good night everyone and I'll see you all next time (Hopefully, next week.)! Bye!