The Legend of the Protector

It had been a few days after the incident with the photo booth. Black had to return to the hospital to finally remove all the remaining stitches in his body. Even though they all planned to leave the day they took the pictures, the doctor insisted to take note of the healing boy's condition and remain in the town for a day or two.

For those days, the boys were temporarily accommodated in the police station, much to their caretaker's colleague's annoyance. The boys didn't do anything bad, but the fact that they were there just unnerved the adults – also from time to time, one of Black's pets came to visit that only was another layer of unnerving factor to add on. As days went by, the boys were forbidden to leave the station for their own safety (and Black had to stay put so that his wounds were healing faster); from inside all they could do was watch the remaining of the town slowly getting destroyed, only to witness something new, alien being built into it's place. For most of the day, the boys were sticking to the window like glue only leaving it to do all their necessary needs.

Thus, the last day had come, for real now.

It was the coldest day of the week. Even though it was approximately 10.00 AM in the morning, it seemed like even the Sun was reluctant to climb up to it's cold throne. White was already putting on his clothes and checking his stuff calmly. In his mind, leaving was the only option they had and he was more than glad to leave. He was fed up with this city and he was very excited about the new city Fujimura was talking about. So, with his mind now set on his new journey, he got on a pair of jeans, which was two size bigger than what he was supposed to have, pulled on a lightblue pullover and a black jacket that had a white star on its back. The jacket, just like the jeans was bigger than it should have been. As he zipped his jacket up, he couldn't help but wonder about what Fujimura said about the town.

He said this city is located in the embrace of the river Ao, thus the city was named Blue Town – but it can also be called Azure, Sapphire or even Fish Town – it was a harbour city, with lots of water and docks everywhere. It was also the capital of the fishing market, as the fish exported from there were of the best quality in the country – and that was because river Ao was the clearest river in Japan, despite it running through and around the city. When White asked why, Fujimura said there is an old legend that speaks about the purity of the water. When the old man said this Black snorted and got out of the room, uninterested – to him these stories were fairytales and thus not even worth the attention. Plus, he wanted to procrastinate packing in as much as possible. He was still reluctant to leave his beloved town.

"Fujimura, can you tell me that legend of the river?" White asked with sparkling eyes, holding onto his bag of belongings, which was sadly not so full – he had not much stuff at all. He ignored the fact that Black was not by his side – he was probably moping in their room, staring out of the window which White grew bored of and was very interested in that legend Fujimura mentioned.

The elder man sighed as he leaned down to grab White's bag, "It's just an old tale, Shinji. Why are you so interested? Takeru!" Fujimura yelled as he stepped out of his office, followed by White, "Takeru, get your stuff ready! We are leaving in a minute!"

"I'm not finished!" came an annoyed yell from their shared room, making Fujimura roll his eyes,

"Well, hurry up then!"

"I wanna hear the story! I like tales and legends!"

"Alright, I will tell you later when-"

"You can leave me here!" the Black barked back from the room.

"We're not leaving without you!" Fujimura yelled.

Black's grumble was heard and the duo started towards the exit of the station.

As Fujimura and White walked together in the hallway, one of Fujimura's colleague was coming from the opposing side, a small evil smile on his lips. White never knew who that man was, only that he and Fujimura never really talked much and if they did, it never was pleasant.

White walked closer to his adopted father as the man in uniform approached – he looked the same age as Fujimura but his face looked more weary somehow. He had a five o'clock shadow, and his hair which was longer than Fujimura's, was starting to go grey. To White, it looked like the man had very cold golden eyes, but in reality, it was a rare mixture of green and brown. As they were walking, the man gave them a smirk and changed his direction towards them, blocking the hallway,

"Well, Fujimura, this is your last day here? You are leaving with your -" his gaze shifted to the scared White, "kids?"

To White's surprise, Fujimura's voice went very cold when he replied, "Yes, I am. Now please, " he motioned for the man to stand aside, "let us go our way. We would like to leave as soon as possible."

"I wouldn't stay a moment longer, my friend. Someone happened to put something in my coffee and let's say, made my day quite unpleasant." His eyes were throwing daggers at White who held onto his adopted father, looking innocent. "I'm sure your kids know nothing about it."

"Black was staring out of the window all day, and I was packin'. Wasn't us!" White chirped but that only made the man angrier and before he could teach White a lesson, Fujimura cut in,

"They may have been delinquents before, but they are under my care now. They have changed."

As silently as a cat can walk, the fourth participant of the conversation appeared just behind Fujimura and White,

"Hey, Fujimura, I've packed my-" Black said as he was walking towards them, his messenger bag thrown across his shoulder – just like White, he barely had any belongings, so the bag seemed almost empty. He was also wearing a pair of jeans, but these were just like in White's case, bigger size than what he would be wearing; a dark blue shirt and a black jacket that had graffiti all over it. Even if he wanted to look nicer he just couldn't as these were the only warm clothes that weren't bloody or too shaggy to wear.

The scene however he walked into looked unpleasant so he left his sentence unfinished and silently walked towards them. As he was closing on, he seemed confused about the situation.

That man, he thought as he looked at the golden-eyed man who now looked at him, he was the one who was always running to the restroom. What's his deal with Fujimura?

"Ah, so there he is!" the man said dramatically, "The little black lamb of the flock!"

Black's eyebrows drew dangerously close, that man is dead.

Fujimura chose to ignore his former colleague and turned to Black, "You ready, Takeru?"

The scarred boy looked at him, "Yes I am Fu-"

"Takeru?" the man echoed, voice dripping with sarcasm and making Black glare daggers at him, "He has a name?"

Black was about to snap back with a snarl but Fujimura intervened, "That is enough, Kishamoto." He snapped and glared at the man, "Shinji and Takeru are my responsibility, and they will become normal, decent citizens. Not rotten trash like most of the people here."

With that, he held both of the boys' hands and led them around the mean police officer. Black eased his snarl, but his eyes were still blazing with anger, while White had a slightly frightened look. Even though the older boy hated to touch people, ever since Fujimura defended him a few days ago, he let small touches be made by him. Basically, he was the only adult who had the authority to touch him lightly. White on the other hand was glad that someone was holding his hand and he was looking at Fujimura with a confused expression. He never head Pa talk like that.

Just before they could exit, Mr. Kishamoto gave one last bitter swipe to the old man,

"I'm sure that's what your dear wife would have wanted. God bless her soul."

The old man stopped, just at the entrance of the station, earning silent looks from the youths from both sides. The silence was deafening. Both of the boys thought that the man has just crossed the line.

"Don't you dare…" they heard the old man whisper, "…bring her up now."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." The man sighed in fake sadness, "I didn't mean any harm, really. It's just that, now you can really start the family that you always wanted."

Both of the boys blinked and thought in unison, he had a wife? both of the boys' eyes sharpened, this man needs punishment…

Fujimura turned back and glared at the man, hatred and fury swirling in his eyes, while his opponent was smirking – despite the intense emotions visible in his eyes, Fujimura's posture was surprisingly calm and collected. But instead of the violent conversation that should have been taken place, the flaming trail of conversation was crashed by Black's innocent statement,

"Pa, I've gotta use the restroom."

"I gots to peepee too." White piped in, following Black's lead.

Before Fujimura could say anything, both of the boys let go of his hand and ran off while White yelled, "We gonna be fast!"

"I just hope these brats won't pee everywhere." The man hissed and Fujimura just gently shook his head in disgust,

"They are children, not animals. They behave more human than any other human I've ever came across."

Mr. Kishamoto rolled his eyes and turned away from him, "Whatever. This town is glad you are taking those mongrels away. Your last deed was a very good one, Fujimura."

"Last deed in this town, Kishamoto." The older one hissed, "I'm taking the boys away for their own good. Not for this dead, rotten excuse of a town."

"Hmph. Whatever, old man." He took a step away from him, "Just when you return, do so without these punks. Or if you do return with them, make sure they are in a coffin."

"You are disgusting, Kishamoto."

The younger man ignored Fujimura's comment and started to go deeper into the station. Just as he was exiting the hallway, both of the boys appeared, slightly running, a glint of mischief in both of their eyes. Since Fujimura was still in shock of what his ex-colleague have said, he ignored the boys' suspicious smiles and left the building with them, this time he was not holding their hand, but they both were walking by both of his sides.

Sawada was also helping getting everything packed in; he was currently sitting in Fujimura's car, waiting patiently for the remaining people to get in. As he was watching them exit, he saw how gloomy his superior was – which surprised him. He thought he would be fighting with Black to get him out of the building and was expecting White to run to him and ask for his aid.

They packed into the car and the older man ushered the kids to get inside. Just as they got in and before shutting the door on them, out of nowhere, a small feline black bullet rocketed towards them, jumped through the opened door and landed on Black's lap. With a concerned look, the scarred boy looked at his adopted father,

"Nefertiti wants to come too."

Sawada blinked from the driver's seat, "You named your cat Nefertiti?"

"Yeah." Black replied as it was the most obvious answer in the whole wide world, "She's a female and a cat."

Fujimura sat in the passenger's seat with a sigh, "Doesn't bother me, neighbours just don't care. You can keep her, if you want to."

To that, Black gave a small smile and cradled the black feline who kept purring and sometimes blinked at White as a sign of trust.

"Ready to go?" Sawada asked, and both of the boys replied with a yes with different volumes. One was happy and harsh, the other bored and monotone.

The engine roared into life, and the four of them started the journey. After approximately thirty minutes or so, White recalled an earlier conversation of theirs,

"Pa?" he asked from the back of the car, earning everyone's attention aside from Sawada's who was driving,

"What is it, Shinji?" the elderly man asked, slightly glad that White was asking something and thus, removing himself from bad memories he was starting to re-live.

"Can you tell us the legend now?"

"Can I get out of the car?" Black asked, annoyed. He was starting to feel suffocated in this car. Sure, he was used to riding in one of these (he sometimes hitchhiked if he wanted to get to his destination fast) but he never really liked closed spaces. And they were only on the road for more than thirty minutes; and according to Fujimura, the trip takes around two hours.

"The story is not that long, Takeru. If you'd like, you can sleep while I tell Shinji the story."

"Hmph." Black hugged his cat close. He didn't want to tell Fujimura that he would easily become nauseous from sleeping in a moving object, so he let it go.

"Anyways," Fujimura continued, "This legend is said to have happened in the Dark Ages, where no real written memoirs remained, but the stories were passed down by our elders."

Meaning, they are just silly stories, Black thought as he was looking at the passing buildings with a flat look.

"There was a time when an especially cruel Emperor was ruling the country. He didn't rule for a long time, because not so long after he got onto power, he made a mistake - Azure Town.

This was the only village that openly rebelled against the emperor and since it was just a small village back then, the Emperor thought he would teach them a lesson.

He ordered his men to burn up all the food and necessary resources from the village and make sure no one has an ounce of food or water left. He would give everything back only on the condition that the village bends to his will and support.

And since the village was located in the embrace of a dried up gorge and there was only one bridge connecting the village with the world, it was impossible for them to get outer help, not with the guards waiting at the other end of the bridge.

But little did the Emperor know, was that village was the home of a very sacred and strong medium clan."

I was expecting shamans, Black snorted.

"What's a medium?" White asked.

"Someone who can speak to ghosts, apparently." Fujimura said with doubt in his voice, "back to the story…

Swearing revenge, the head of the clan, the high priestess began praying in the center of the village and she encouraged the villagers to do so. Or summoning… I don't really know what they do." Fujimura said, deep in thought, "Anyway… Night after night, despair drove the villagers to start praying with the high priestess – and after days of suffering, the miracle happened.

That fateful night, the Emperor himself decided to show up and end this all. As he was standing on the bridge with his soldiers he asked the high priestess one last time to bow to his will, or the whole village will be slaughtered. The priestess stood at the foot of their land and said something the line with, they never will, and if he will continue his evil deeds, the spirit of the dragon will swallow him.

Not believing the priestess' words, he ordered his soldiers to attack… And out of the dried out gorge, like a geyser, a furious snakelike dragon emerged with a tsunami and washed the Emperor and his soldiers away, leaving the bridge surprisingly undamaged.

It is said the body of the dragon was of pure water, glistering in the Sun's rays in many colors and it was very gentle to the villagers. To the priestess' plea, the dragon remains around the now blooming town, ensuring safety and protection to it's residents.

Years have passed and the priestess gave life to sons and daughters. On her deathbed however, she had many visions of the future, and asked her offsprings to take on her duty and continue protect the town with her powers." Fujimura finished.

"Wow…" White said, totally in awe, "That was so cool!"

That was so lame, Black thought, unimpressed.

"So… There's a dragon around the town?!"

"Dragons do not exist, White." Fujimura said as he was looking for some papers in his briefcase, "But if you are so interested, here one of the priestess' premonitions." He said, as he handed a paper to White, who shoved it into Black's face, who groaned,

"What?"

"I can't read! Read it for me!" White asked, waving the paper into the boy's face. With a grunt, Black took the paper and looked at the so-called premonitions. Nefertiti was now sound asleep in his lap. Annoyed, he read the premonition out loud, not really understanding a word,

"One will become two,

Lies will bite into Truth,

The Truth flees into Lies,

As Death will arise.

Its scythe will get someone dear,

That is when the Protector shall appear.

There he flies the broken Raven,

He shall save the tainted maiden,

The light shall help from beneath,

As the Dragon grits its teeth.

Its scales will be brighter than ever,

It will come to ease its hunger,

As it is Justice it wants,

And will serve Judgement with its claws.

Oh, what I see is but a torment to the mother,

My lips are quivering, I now wither,

The time will come for the last fight,

It will be the war of darkness and light,

The battle between bloods, it shall be,

The Dragon and the Serpent will be set free.

Biting and clawing into each other, till death they go,

But which shall be victorious, that I do not know."

"Huh..." was all White said.

"This is stupid." Black said aloud, "None of this makes sense."

White shrugged and struggled to get his backpack from his lap onto the space between him and Black, "I liked that poem."

"That was a premonition not a poem, White."

The fact that White's bag was heavy made Fujimura curious. When he saw White packing, the bag was empty. He couldn't have…

"White!" Fujimura suddenly said, surprising both of the boys, "What's in your bag? It wasn't that heavy hours ago."

White gave Fujimura a huge grin and unzipped his bag, only to reveal a lot, that means, a LOT of rolls of toilet papers. The older man's eyes widened at the content,

"Why… Why do you…have…?"

Black also unzipped his bag and revealed he was also carrying a notable amount of toilet paper rolls,

"We thought of giving your colleagues a parting gift." Black said with an evil grin.

"Old habits die hard!" White chirped.

Even though Sawada was driving, he still laughed at the kids' prank,

"You guys are insane!"

Fujimura's eyes narrowed as he recalled the day. Mr. Kishamoto went to the bathroom a lot that day as he said there was something not right with his stomach. If the kids stole the papers, then that means…

As the realization hit him, his face fell at first, making both of the kids alarmed but then, for the first time in years, Fujimura let out a long, genuine laugh, making all the others smile a little.