"Not even death shall part us."
Francis feels himself say those words in Japanese to the woman who is to be his wife. As he studies her, she has a beautiful face, with fair white skin. Her hair is black and goes down to her chin. Her bangs are short, not even reaching to her forehead.
The woman is dressed in white Japanese styled robes, while Francis himself is in black.
"Neither will heaven nor the Shadows."
Francis' wife speaks next as they look at one another.
After she says the words, Francis looks down. There, he finds two stone cups being placed upon a raised stone. Both he and his wife take a cup and drink their respective cups.
"My love."
Francis' wife says happily to him, grinning widely as she does. Francis feels a joyous grin on his face as well.
As they smile at one another, Francis feels the world stopping around them, as if they are the only people in it.
"Milord!"
Francis feels someone call to him from behind his wife. Hearing the cry, Francis quickly reaches for his spear by his side. Just as he grips it, his wife shouts.
"Ah!"
There seems to be some force lifting his wife up into the air. As she is being lifted, Francis' wife reaches out her hand. Seeing this, Francis quickly releases his spear and grabs onto his wife's hand.
"Don't let go!"
She calls out desperate as Francis holds on. As Francis desperately tries to pull her closer, he sees shadows coming from behind her.
"Don't let go!"
His wife cries once more. Meanwhile, the shadows creep closer. They sting at Francis's hand, weakening his grip.
"No!"
Before he realized it, Francis had released his grip on his wife's hand, prompting her to cry in desperation. He stares desperately as she gets carried away by the force and the shadows. As he looks in the distance, he feels tears drip down his face.
"Yasoinaba Station."
The announcement wakes Francis from his dreams.
"What the f**k." Francis curses in English. As he sits forward, he rubs his eyes. To his surprise, he feels wetness on his hands.
Francis is a teenage boy with short black hair. He has bangs that barely reach his eyebrows. He currently wears a black jacket, with a white shirt underneath. He wears black pants and dark blue shoes.
As his heart still beats, Francis looks outside the window for a bit before getting ready to leave the train.
After he gets out of the station, Francis finds himself frozen in place as he takes in his surroundings. With trees all lying around the area, there's not much for him to take in. He also sees a couple of vending machines around, but merely turns away and makes his way down the steps.
"Hey, over here!" Francis hears someone call out to him in Japanese. He turns around to be greeted by a middle-aged man with short hair and dressed in a dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
"I am Dojima Ryotaro, your uncle and guardian for the following year." Dojima introduces himself in a collected demeanor.
"Francis.. I mean, Yamada Francis." Francis stutters. "Nice to meet you."
Dojima chuckles. "Heard you spent quite a while in Tokyo, guess you are still not used to being in Japan."
"Not really…" Francis says with a rather low voice.
"But still, it must be difficult. From the US to Tokyo to…" Dojima looks to the side as he speaks, "Someplace like this."
"Well…" Francis mutters in English.
"I am sorry. My English isn't really good. Don't exactly need it in a small town like Inaba." Dojima apologizes.
"It's okay." Francis says with a smile.
"Speaking of which," Dojima turns over. As he does, Francis makes up a child standing behind him.
"Nanako, come greet your cousin." At Dojima's behest, a little girl walks up to Francis bashfully. The little girl has her hair tied in two ponytails, and she is wearing a dress with long sleeves.
"I am Nanako…" Nanako says meekly.
Francis smiles awkwardly. "Nice to meet you."
With their greetings done, Dojima helps Francis move some of his luggage. As Francis follows behind the others, he hears a girl call out to him bluntly.
"Hei, you dropped this."
He turns around to find a beautiful girl with short hair handing him a piece of paper. He takes it over, seeing that it is a written address of Dojima's place.
"Thank you." Francis says politely before both of them go on their way. As Francis goes away, he takes a look back at the girl. The girl continues to study her surroundings.
Upon closer, Francis makes out that the girl is wearing a white sleeveless shirt and a black minidress. The chin length black hair of the girl bothers Francis, as it reminds him of the dream he had on the train.
He turns back and follows the Dojimas into their car.
As Dojima drives them to the town, the three of them make small talk in the car. Francis responds awkwardly, but slowly opens up to the other two.
On their way back, they stop by the Central Shopping District.
"Why don't you go take a walk around?"
With Dojima's suggestion, Francis proceeds to take a walk around the area. A smithy caught his attention, prompting him to check it out.
He takes a quick look at the store name. Daidara Metalworks.
As he stands outside, Francis admires the pieces of armor and weapon on display. Even as he knows Dojima is waiting, Francis decides to indulge himself a bit.
Inside the shop, more displays of weapons and armor can be seen. Francis' attention is drawn to a Japanese sword on display. He quickly looks around. Seeing nothing to indicate he can't touch the merchandise, Francis reaches out for the sword.
He draws out a portion of it, admiring what he can see.
As Francis turns around to leave, the sight of a young girl with short brown hair catches his eye.
"A girl in a place like this?" Francis thinks to himself.
The young girl is admiring a spear that dwarfs her. As she studies it, Francis can't help but admire the girl. Taking a deep breath, Francis tries to collect himself before walking over to the girl.
From the side, Francis is able to make out that the girl has a bowl cut, with bangs down to her eyebrows. Her face is cute, and her eyes are currently eyeing the spear with excitement. The girl dresses in what seems to be a green tracksuit, with a high cut skirt revealing her legs, which are very well built for a girl.
As he stands next to the girl, Francis finds himself frozen by panic. As he tries to open his mouth, no words come out.
"Oh, I am sorry. You wanted to see something?" The girl speaks to Francis politely before moving over to the side, continuing to admire the spear as she does.
As Francis stands beside the girl, he still finds himself frozen. Luckily for him, the girl is too busy admiring the spear to notice his panic.
Do it!
"It's an awesome looking spear." Francis says with as much confidence as he can muster. As he waits for the reply, he feels as if he is screaming on the inside.
"Ya. A bit too long for me though." The girl sighs. "Maybe when I get older, and actually have the money to afford it."
"Spears can be rough to handle." Francis continues.
"Oh, you handled one before?" The girl says as she continues to admire the spear.
"I took some kungfu classes, a long time ago."
Upon hearing Francis say that, the girl looks over to him with eyes of excitement, her tone matching her face.
"Awesome! Wish I can find kungfu classes here."
Francis tries to collect himself as his gaze matches the girl's.
"I don't think I have seen you around." The girl continues. "You new around here?"
"I literally moved here today. Well, last hour to be more accurate." Francis says, trying to sound humorous.
The girl chuckles. "You are funny."
Francis stumbles to find words.
"Sorry, didn't mean that in a rude way. I just say what I think." The girl continues, with a slightly bashful tone.
"Well, I gotta go. By the way, I am Satonaka Chie. Hope to see you around!" Satonaka stretches out her hand.
"Francis…" Francis curses himself as he shakes Satonaka's hand. "I mean Yamada Francis."
The girl looks at Francis curiously as he tries his best to not avert his gaze.
"I spent some time in the US. Got used to calling people and introducing myself on a first name basis."
Satonaka looks at him with a confused look for a short while before what he said seems to click.
"I see. I am Chie then."
Chie proceeds to chuckle.
"Kinda weird to mention my first name to someone I met for the first time." She says before walking out the entrance. As she walks out, she turns around and waves. "Don't be a stranger next time, okay? Francis-san."
Francis takes a deep breath seeing Chie leave. He looks to the spear, trying to calm himself as he does. As he does so, he realizes that a weird voice pushed him to speak to Chie just now. Unable to ascertain what it is, Francis shrugs his shoulders and exits the shop.
As Francis walks out, he sees Dojima and Nanako waiting outside the shop.
"S**t," Francis mutters in English. "Sorry to keep you waiting." Francis apologizes to the Dojimas.
Dojima simply walks up to Francis and places his hand on shoulder, smiling kindly as he does.
"What?" Francis looks in confusion.
"By the way, let's tone down the swearing in front of Nanako, okay?" Dojima says kindly.
"I thought your English is not good?" Francis asks with an inquisitive tone.
"I know swear words." Dojima replies calmly.
As Francis follows the Dojimas back to the car, he notices a familiar-looking girl. As he walks away, Francis takes some to study her.
Putting aside the sleeves shirt and miniskirt, the girl now has a purple colored hat, black colored gloves that expose her fingers, funny looking socks that cover up her shins, and a blue colored bag.
After they return home, Francis takes his time unpacking as he prepares to go to sleep.
Dost Thou seekest a new path?
As Francis opens his eyes, he finds himself in an area covered in fog. Feeling something tugging at his hips, he looks over. To his surprise, a Japanese sword is attached there.
"A dream?" Francis says to himself in English.
"Wait, how is this dream not a confusing mess?" Francis looks around. "Well, not everyday I get to hold a katana, so I have no complaints." Francis says as he draws the Japanese sword, the katana, attached to his hip.
As he admires the craftsmanship, he feels something coming from ahead of him. As he takes the time to study the area, he is unable to see anything due to the heavy fog.
"Well.. let's go." Francis says before moving on.
Eventually, he comes to what he assumes to be an open clearing.
Showest me thy strength.
Hearing a masculine voice speaks in Japanese, Francis turns over to it. He can make out a tall figure standing in the fog.
The figure seems to be about twice Francis' height. Other than that, Francis is unable to make out anything.
"What do you want me to do?" Francis asks in English.
Francis stares at the figure as it stands in silence. Francis looks around for a bit, taking the time to study the area. Seeing nothing, he turns his attention back to the figure.
"I, uh, got quite a day ahead of me, so I think I should go back to sleeping. I mean, I probably am. Just, I never had a dream like this so I don't know how it works."
As more silence fills the area, Francis feels as if something clicks.
"Sorry," Francis apologizes in Japanese. "Since it was a dream, I just went on in English without realizing it."
All of a sudden, a bolt of energy flies out from the fog and towards Francis. As the bolt gets closer, Francis simply stands in place as his body freezes.
A card surfaces in front of Francis as he stares. As if knowing what needs to be done, Francis swiftly grips the card and squashes it.
He feels something come out from within him. It then materializes as an semi-transparent apparition. The apparition is about the figure's height. It proceeds to parry the energy bolt that was rushing Francis with its sword.
After the apparition vanishes, Francis takes his stance, with both hands holding the katana in front of him. As he does, he remains on guard of the giant figure in the fog.
Showest me thy strength.
"Very well." Francis says in English.
Almost as if responding to his will, the card spawns once more. As if by habit, Francis crushes the card with his left hand and summons the apparition. After it appears, the apparition rushes forward and strikes at the fogged-covered giant with its sword. However, Francis merely feels the attack being stopped by something unbelievably thick.
Feeling power swell in him, Francis summons the apparition. The apparition unleashes a mysterious energy at the giant, which is also ineffective. Seeing it has no effect, Francis curses.
"F**k!"
The situation keeps on going for a while, with neither strikes nor energy bolts affecting the giant.
As Francis pants, he struggles to keep his katana up. Even as the card surfaces in front of him, Francis no longer has the strength to crush it.
Thou art not enough. Strengthen thyself, gather comrades, only then wilt thou be worthy.