Interlude: Dourado Ouro
Nerulia, the Guardian of Thunder, ruled over the Nation of Knowledge, Sokkitia. Upon the creation of the land, Nerulia granted the Faunus the desire to seek knowledge. Under his guidance, the Faunus discovered and unlocked the secrets of medicine and healing. As a result, many in Vastel came to rely on Sokkitia for its valuable healing herbs, but fools who seek to steal from the people were struck down by Nerulia's lightning.
Stories tell of lightning being a danger to any living being it strikes, but Nerulia blessed his power to cause no harm to his people; the Ouro family especially. Nerulia established the Ouro upon the high mountains of Sokkitia and tasked them to defend Sokkitia from invaders and preserve the knowledge he instilled into them. For centuries, the Ouro family kept its word and used the knowledge to build a prosperous civilization in Sokkitia's high mountains.
But like any worldly possession, knowledge can corrupt the soul. During the height of their civilization, a great divide in knowledge and strength began to grow among the mortals. The Ouro family outcasted those who value strength, forever barring them from obtaining the vast knowledge held within the Neru Archives. Eventually, a civil war rife with dread, despair, and agony broke in the midst of the unrest happening throughout Vastel.
Nerulia, heartbroken that even knowledge corrupted the minds of the mortals, had one solution to prevent further bloodshed: Smiting down the civilization down to smaller numbers. This was the solution Bezatri proposed to the Guardians, but being the father of Sokkitia, he could not bring himself to strike down the Ouro family nor the people of Sokkitia. Instead, he returned that which his people took for granted: the knowledge and lightning they held dear. Thus, at the end of the Guardian's reign, the lightning of Sokkitia went silent throughout the land, and without the roar of the stormy clouds, the voices of the Ouro family lost all power and the knowledge Nerulia granted to them vanished without a trace within their memories.
Knowledge of our world…
(Torn Pages)
##
Two months before the Alisen Industries incident.
At Neru City, the capital of Sokkitia on the top of Sovaka Mountain, a tall, pale-skinned tiger Faunus sat on the bench at the entrance of Vera Stars, a five-star restaurant in Neru City, with his mother and grandmother.
The Faunus's hair was long and white with a hairstyle so spikey that one could mistake it for a porcupine's backside. His amber eyes had slitted pupils similar to a white tiger's. A tooth fang stuck out on the left side of his frowning mouth. Underneath said mouth were bits of peach fuzz, or short hair, visible on his chin.
That night, he wore a white tank top that had a broken cartoon heart in the middle. Over the tank top, he sported a leather jacket with white fur on the collar neck, complimented by his brown pants and black boots. On his left arm was a golden lightning-dust-infused tattoo while on his left cheek a black tattoo of tiger stripes reached down to his neck.
His long white tiger tail swayed from left to right in constant motion as the faunus turned to his grandmother on his right. Compared to him, who couldn't stand waiting in line, his grandmother was calm and relaxed. His mother seemed oblivious to the boy's pent-up energy. Before he could speak, his grandmother raised her walking stick.
"Patience, Dourado." The old lady opened her yellow, slit pupil eyes, looking back at the taller boy.
"But how long are we going to stay silent over here, Grandma?" Dourado asked, placing his hand over his forehead, "The wait is killing me…"
"That attitude won't do, Dodo." His mother, Madia Ouro, chastised him. "The cooks here work hard to serve every customer before us. It would reflect poorly on our family for you to blurt out your woe's so half-hazardly."
Dourado let out a silent groan. "I know, Mom, but it feels like we've been waiting in line for an hour."
"It's been three minutes." His grandmother, Quixote Ouro, clarified.
"It has?!" Dourado shouted. "Ugh, I'm not gonna make it! You know how I'm like, Grandma! I have to start talking or I'll explode."
"And you will learn to keep those desires of yours in check." Quixote said, "Otherwise you will repeat them as a hunter."
"Ouro." A waitress called. "Your table is ready."
"Oh, finally!" Dourado cheered as he jumped up from his seat.
"Dodo." His mother whispered.
His grandmother let out an amused giggle. "No need to get worked up, Madia. Your boy can't help but release his energy at all times."
"But are you sure it's a good idea to bring him to a quiet restaurant?" Madia asked, "We could have gone to our usual stopping place."
Quixote gave an all-knowing smile. "You will see soon."
Madia guided Quixote to the table where Dourado waited. The white-haired boy eagerly read through the menu. The guiding waitress told the family that another would come to write down their drinks and appetizers before returning to the entrance. Dourado heard all this but still focused on the food menu. One meal, in particular, caught his eye.
"You know what you'd like to eat, Dourado?" Quixote asked.
Dourado lowered the menu to look at his grandmother and nodded. "Absolutely. I'll have Sushi for the entrée, and I'm going for the Spicy Karaage for the main dish."
Quixote raised an eyebrow, curious about Dourado's choice of food. "Ah, spice all around. I don't need to worry about your tongue, do I?"
Dourado shook his head. "Nah, I got used to spicing ages ago, so a bowl of spicy chicken will be nothing."
"Just be sure to order water with it, then," Madia said.
"Mom, it'll be fine. If there's one thing this beef boy can handle, it's the heat of bell peppers." Dourado gave his mother a confident smile.
Madia's eyes widened at the confidence her son displayed. She turned to Quixote, "He wasn't like this when he left to train with you. What did you do, Quixote?"
Quixote let out a giggle. "A trainer never reveals their secrets. Let's just say your boy will show proof of his progress very soon." Before Madia could open her mouth to respond, "Ah, there's our waitress," Quixote interrupted the mother, announcing their waitress's arrival.
After receiving the family's desired drinks and entrées, the waitress left to give their orders to the kitchen. As they waited for their entrees, Dourado listened to the crowd's silent chatters.
"I just got confirmation. The drinks are being delivered as we speak," A male voice said.
"Good, we'll meet up with you with the flowers you wanted," Another male voice said. "Make sure you don't miss the dentist appointment."
Dourado let out a smirk, getting his mother's attention.
"Is something wrong, Dourado?" Madia asked.
"Oh, nothing at all." Dourado folded up his menu. "Thought I…heard a bug or something."
His grandmother let out a laugh. "Well, here's to hoping the workers take care of that bug. Wouldn't want it ruining our meal."
Dourado watched his grandmother's smug smile, viewing it as a sign. He then slowly stood up from his chair. "I need to use the restroom really quick. I'll be right back." As he rushed over to the restroom, he faintly heard his mother call out to him about the waiter coming back soon with their drinks, but he had more important things to take care of.
He passed by the restroom and exited the building via the emergency exit. In a quick flash, Dourado jumped up to the rooftop of the tall buildings before turning to the restaurant he entered from. He took a deep breath before placing his fingers on the ground. A second later, a surge of electricity flowed through the rooftop ground toward his fingertips. The Faunus then took the electricity and zapped himself with it. Afterward, his eyes shined blue as the building before him became transparent, allowing him to see through every living being inside right down to their bones.
"Now…where did you two go…?" Dourado whispered.
The white tiger first noticed that the table he heard the two men from was empty. However, much to his fortitude, one of the men spilled wine on his shoes, leaving a trail across the carpet floor. Dourado followed that trail to the entrance where the direction changed to the base of Sovaka Mountain outside Neru City.
After successfully tracking down his target, Dourado stretched his limbs. "Alright…time to make Grandma proud!" In a burst of energy, the Faunus jumped from one rooftop to the next as he tracked down the men he overheard.
##
The trail led him to the foot of Sovaka Mountain where a forest bordered the road before him. The tall faunus silently jumped his way from one tall tree branch to the next. Eventually, he arrived at a secret campfire surrounded by five people. Two wore regular civilian clothing while the other three dressed up in black and red cloaks. Next to them were cages containing captured Grimm.
Upon further inspection, Dourado deduced that the cloaked men could only be the Venelian Mercenaries, a Faunus group living in the Sadarian Desert east of Sovaka Mountain. He halted all movements that could produce sound and began to listen to their conversation.
"Were you followed?" The Venelian leader, Zaphyr spoke in a low tone.
"No need to worry," Spoke a male faunus who appear to be managers of illegal business transactions (black market dealers) in disguise, "We even stopped by an excellent restaurant to pass off as regular citizens. The guards were none the wiser."
"Good. Then let's begin." Zaphyr patted the cages holding the Grimm. "Four Beowolves and two Ursus."
The black-market dealers judged the quality of the captured Grimm before nodding to his coworker. He brought out a briefcase filled to capacity with sorted Hawk coins.
Zaphyr examined one of the coins to verify its legitimacy. After nodding to his men, he shook hands with dealers and received the remote control to unlock the Grimm cages. "It was a pleasure doing business with you."
"Just be sure we're not in the area you plan on using these Grimm for," The dealer said, "and be sure to occasionally feed them some dust crystals. They get cranky when they haven't had their food."
"Your worries are unfounded." Zaphyr said, "There will be no need to expend our resources on feeding them, nor will we be using them physically."
"Is that so?" The black-market dealer asked, "Well if your plans are able to make a profit, you know whom to call."
"Grimm being sold as weapons…black market deals…That sounds good enough." Dourado thought as he stood up from his crouching position. "Grandma's going to have a field day with this one." He smirked as he began to crack the muscles in his neck. A surge of electricity surrounded his body as he jumped high into the air. "Not before I've had my fill!" He shouted as he took out a long great spear and descended onto the group like a meteor.
The mercenary leader noticed the huge energy meteor barreling toward them and called for everyone to move out of the way.
Dourado's attack missed the mark but had enough impact to cause a huge crater to form, knocking most trees off their roots. The faunus let out a chuckle as he pulled his spear out of the ground.
"Wh-who the hell are you?!" Asked the black-market dealer.
Dourado smirked at the man and answered, "Dourado Ouro at your service. Now if you don't mind, I would like all of you to come over quietly."
"An Ouro!" Zaphyr, "So, that damn old witch's caught wind of this?!"
"Knowing my grandma, chances are she knew about your operation from the beginning," Dourado said, pointing Gloria Eterna at the mercenaries, "but she's too busy with dinner, so I took it upon myself to clean up this mess! Consider yourselves lucky!"
Theme Song: "Bloody Stream" Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
The mercenary leader scoffed as he took out the remote control to the Grimm cages. "I wouldn't be speaking on luck if I were you," he pressed the button, "given that you picked the wrong day to mess with us!"
Dourado's hands shook as the growling sounds of the Beowolves and Ursus grew louder and louder. He turned his attention to the creatures crawling out of their opened cages. Taking a defensive stance, the white tiger faunus took in a deep breath, staring down his enemies. Steadying his breath, he waited for them to come to him.
He watched two of the beowolves make their first assault on him. Electricity surrounded the white tiger faunus before concentrating on his right forearm. The electricity formed a golden tower shield made of dust energy. After the shield blocked the Grimm's attacks, Dourado released a shockwave from the shield to paralyze them before stabbing Gloria Eterna into their cores, shattering them into countless pieces. The white tiger faunus kept on his toes as he fought off each Grimm that came his way.
Dourado planted his feet on the ground and transformed Gloria Eterna into a high-powered shotgun. After ducking underneath an Ursus' claw swipe, he put the shotgun to the beast's chest and blew its core out of its body. The faunus spun around and blocked the second Ursus's claw strike with his shield. Upon impact, Dourado deflected the attack, leaving the monster wide open for the finishing shot.
After dispatching the Grimm, Dourado noticed that the mercenary and black-market dealers had fled, but he knew they did not have the means to get far from him. Using his senses, he tracked them down to an old building hidden within the forest where the mercenary leader and his men confronted him.
"You're a persistent one," Zaphyr grunted.
Dourado let out a huff. "I get that a lot. How about you and those dealers come over quietly and make this easier on everyone?"
"Sorry, kid, but we mercs have to earn our living," Zaphyr explained. "If we let you take our clients before we get our money, it'll complicate things with the boss. You wouldn't want his attention, would you?"
Dourado let out a smirk as electricity surged through Gloria Eterna. "I say bring it on."
The white tiger faunus, with the dedication of a thousand men, began his clash with Zaphyr and his men. First, he took time to defend himself against the combined onslaught of the three men. He bided his time until he located the perfect moment to counter and knock out Zaphyr's lackeys. Now his focus can shift to his last opponent. Despite being an impressive fighter for his age, Dourado remained ever-vigilant of Zaphyr's attacks with his dual daggers. Outspeed and outranked in experience, Dourado could sense the difficulty of this fight. However, the faunus had one thing Zaphyr didn't have: The training of an Ouro elite.
Dourado channeled his aura, redirecting it from the outer edges of his body to his shield to nullify an attack from Zaphyr, much to the mercenary's surprise.
"What?!" Zaphyr's eyes widened.
Dourado smirked. "Surprise~!" The confident faunus proceeded to transmit the aura to the back end of his spear. With one powerful strike to the abdomen, Dourado knocked his final opponent unconscious.
After confirming the battle's end, the white tiger faunus released his relaxed sigh. "Should have picked the easy way."
"Hold it right there!" A male voice shouted.
Dourado turned his attention to a tall male with hair separated in two colors: black on the right and white on the left same with his eyes but reversed. Resting in his hair were two panda ears. His outfit consisted of red armor plating with a symbol of a white tiger.
Dourado let out a happy smile to the newcomer, surrounded by armed soldiers. "Well if it isn't my favorite cousin! Haizho! How have you been?"
Haizho did not react to Dourado's question in the slightest save for an eyebrow twitch. "Always the buffoonish comedian, aren't you, Dourado?"
The white tiger faunus chuckled. "Hey, someone has to make you look better in the eyes of the public. Especially when you let a black-market deal slip through your all-seeing eyes. No need to thank me. Please…take all the credit."
Haizho didn't respond to Dourado's comment, nodding to his men to take the mercenaries and dealers into custody. The panda faunus kept his focus on Dourado the entire time, glaring daggers. "I didn't ask for your help."
"But I gave it regardless," Dourado began walking towards Haizho. "Again, no need to thank me."
Haizho hardened his expression. "Grandmother helped you, didn't she?" His cousin's silence informed him of the answer. He sighed as he turned his back to him, "Both of you are playing a dangerous game here. Tell that woman to hurry up and retire and don't get in my way again. Got it, Lesser Ouro?"
Dourado walked past Haizho, his hair covering his expression. He stopped for a moment before turning to his cousin and said, "As you wish. After all, I have dinner waiting for me. Good luck with your investigation."
With that said, Dourado left the area and returned to the restaurant using the back entrance. He sat down at the table after watching the waitress deliver their meals.
"Dodo, what took you so long?" Madia asked.
Dourado let out a chuckle. "Let's just say that someone's dinner here went through their stomach faster than expected." He took his mother's nod as silent understanding before he chowed down on his food.
"Then I assume you've finished your business in a clean manner?" Quixote asked.
"Clean, precise, and efficient," Dourado said with a thumbs up.
Madia looked at them both with a confused expression. "What on earth are you two talking about?"
Quixote let out a chuckle, turning to Madia, "Sorry, Madia. Your son and I were discussing something important the other day and he wanted to keep it a surprise until tonight."
"Surprise?"
"I've talked with my friends at Oroseia Academy." Seeing Madia's eyes widen and Dourado's attention move back onto her signaled the old faunus to continue, "Dourado is officially qualified for the entrance exams."
"Really?!" Dourado shouted.
"Oh my! Dodo!" His mother covered her mouth to keep herself from screaming.
"I've been invited to become a combat instructor," Quixote explained. "They must have caught wind of my refusal to retire."
"And they're right to invite you, Granny. The students will be ecstatic to have The
Dourado let out a proud laugh. "Yes! I'm finally gonna be a hunter! You're the best, Granny!"
Quixote smiled. "No need for gratitude, Dourado. You've come far since I started training you. I'd even go so far as to say you've grown twice as fast as your father did."
Dourado shook his head. "No…I wouldn't say that about myself. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm going to put my all in these months to pass that entrance exam with flying colors!"
Quixote nodded, sipping her vanilla tea. "Then I expect nothing less from you."
As Dourado happily celebrated his qualification with his family, with his mother being happy for him and his grandmother expressing pride in his progress, Dourado thought of his father. His soul wavered for a moment, but his heart remained strong.
"I'll make you proud, Dad. I promise!"
Dourado Ouro
Race: Faunus
Affiliation: Lesser Ouro of Sokkitia
Dust Affinity: Thunder
Weapon Name: Gloria Eterna
Submitted by Supreme Kai of Booty
Jurabi: Heeeelloooo~! I am back once again from my unannounced break! Sorry for vanishing on all of you out of nowhere, but I've been taking a break from this story due to some personal problems. Add that on top of my weariness of burning out from creative writing, I had to take major steps backwards in order to rediscover my passion again.
One of this way was writing short stories, which has worked wonders with helping me improve my writing. Plus, it felt good relaxing myself with only 2k word stories as opposed to 10k chapters, which I think is too much to ask for my readers to sit through. I know you all have things to do with your life and have such limited free time, so I think a nice 2-4k word chapter would do for you going forward.
In any case, how did you all like Dourado and his theme song? Cool, isn't it? I got some inspiration watching Jojo along with playing some lance characters. Very few fight with only one arm so it was difficult finding the perfect person to imitate with Dourado, but as far as I'm concerned, I think it all worked out splendidly. My thanks to Supreme Kai of Booty for walking me through this character and ensuring everything went swell in terms of character and accuracy.
One last thing before I go. The Names of the Guardians will be added to the established lore of the story. I'll likely add in mentions of their names in the previous chapter at some point in the future, but to keep everyone from being confused by sudden new names, I will show them.
Guardian of Darkness: Aslan
Guardian of Water: Satone
Guardian of Light: Bezatri
Guardian of Fire: Kateus
Guardian of Thunder: Nerulia
Guardian of Earth: Kagera
Guardian of Ice: Tayuna
Guardian of Wind: Yostinar
I will go back in previous interlude's and chapters to make the proper readjustments.
If any of you are interested in this story, a friendly reminder to stop by my discord server. I'm always happy to chat with my readers. And I thank you all for taking time to read this! Please leave a review, a follow, and a favorite. I would really appreciate your support of this story. And I'll see you all in the next interlude chapter~!
Discord Link: xMYF8ggTjC
