Chapter Three

Starting Out

Shin-ju walked up to Mikieru's office door and knocked three times.

"Come in," the Cleric's voice came.

The boy turned the knob and walked in. Mikieru had his back turned to him, facing instead the bookshelf behind his book-laden desk. The Cleric seemed to be preoccupied with choosing which books to take from the shelf, besides those that he had already pulled. Shin-ju stood at the doorway, waiting for Mikieru to turn around and look at him.

Surely enough, the Cleric noticed the silence and looked over his shoulder after a moment. His lips moved slightly when he saw Shin-ju, standing smilingly at the doorway, in full Novice garb.

"Shin-ju," Mikieru greeted, eyeing the boy up and down. "Going somewhere?"

"You know it," Shin-ju laughed, closing the door behind him. "But I guess I should be asking you the same thing. Why all the books? And what's with the bags?"

Two large bags were sitting on Mikieru's visitors' chairs, where Shin-ju and the Priestess Lara Murakami sat across each other only six days ago. Shin-ju took one of the bags and laid it on the table edge so that he could take a seat.

"I am taking a short vacation," the Cleric answered. "I have already informed my Magistrate. I will be gone for perhaps three weeks."

Shin-ju made a face. "Three weeks?" he repeated. "What kinda short vacation takes three whole weeks?"

Mikieru pulled a handful of books from the bookshelf. "One in Juno, I would imagine."

"Oh," the boy bit his lip. "Really? That far? What gives?"

The Cleric laid the books on the table. "Oh, let it lie that I have gotten fed up with Prontera after all these years," he chuckled, turning back to the bookshelf. "I desperately need a change of scenery, and I thought perhaps the Eternal City would be worth a look."

Shin-ju eyed the stack of books curiously. "It can't possibly be just that, right?" he ventured.

Mikieru nodded. "You listen between my words. Juno is the City Of Wisdom, after all. I was planning to do some research on Old Nordic Mythology… as well as to find any inkling about the history of these."

Shin-ju watched wordlessly as Mikieru turned a key in a hidden, locked compartment in the bookshelf. The Cleric opened the compartment and reached into it.

•••

The boy immediately saw what he expected to see. Mikieru drew his hand out, turned around, and laid two smooth, three-sided stones on the table.

One was from a friend. One was from an enemy.

•••

"We both know that I will not likely find any information about these in archives and libraries," Mikieru said grimly, his eyes fixed on the two stones. "And that is the leading reason why I am going to Juno. I am going to ask my questions to the only person in Midgard who can be called the authority on this matter."

Shin-ju's eyes moved from the hated stones to Mikieru's uncovered blue-and-green eyes. "And who would that be?"

"The person who was once my Master," the Cleric answered, taking the Stones and stuffing them into one of his coat's inside pockets.

•••

Half an hour later, Shin-ju was helping Mikieru load his bags and books onto the Cleric's Peco-peco. While the boy strapped one of the bags to the saddle, he spied as Mikieru locked the last buckle on his utility belt. The Cleric moved his shoulders easily, adjusting to the weight of the Redeemer strapped to his back again after two years.

"Dangerous ride, huh," Shin-ju asked quietly.

Mikieru sighed. "Five days of wasteland between Al de Baran and Juno," he answered simply.

Shin-ju nodded, pulling a belt's free end. "You're gonna tell your Master about me, too, aren't you."

The boy turned away. Mikieru looked at him thoughtfully, knowing well that there were no more secrets between he and Shin-ju. The Cleric felt guilty for having kept it from Shin-ju all this time, but at the same moment knew that this was how he wanted his relationship with the boy to be—with absolutely nothing to hide.

"Listen to me, Shin-ju," Mikieru intoned, walking towards the downcast boy. "No one knows what really happened in Al de Baran, save for you, me, Yoriko, Akira, and a select few Payon Knights under his command. The history books will always say that the whole anarchy was fueled by Garrione's mutiny, and that the Shousa's warriors were able to defeat a Wraith summoned by the traitorous Taishou."

Shin-ju didn't fidget even as Mikieru moved beside him.

"But think about what really happened. Think about how the creature spared you from certain death. Think about how you managed to defeat it. And think about the fact that you have no memory of the incident. All the journalists and all the history writers will not know what we speak of if we ever tell them the truth… but the evil persons behind the actions of Garrione and the Taishou will, once they hear about it. And that will do nothing but put you in danger."

Shin-ju shook his head. "I don't understand," he complained quietly. "Can't we just leave it at that? Can't we just bury it and move on?"

"I know what you mean," Mikieru answered. "I know how much you would like to forget about everything that has happened. But there are simply too many unanswered questions about this matter. We need to know as much as we can about you… and these Stones… while times are good and the battlefields are silent."

Shin-ju did not reply.

"Unless you already know the answers?" Mikieru asked.

At that, the boy turned to face the Cleric. Shin-ju's mouth was closed, but his gray eyes were widened slightly, as though he had realized something very important for the first time.

•••

Mikieru rode away on his Peco-peco, one arm raised high above his head in a gesture that he was saying goodbye to Shin-ju. The boy stood at the Constabulary HQ gates, waving weakly. He and Mikieru had just said their goodbyes to each other only moments before, but their conversation still echoed in the boy's mind.

•••

"Unless you already know the answers?" Mikieru asked.

At that, the boy turned to face the Cleric. Shin-ju's mouth was closed, but his gray eyes were widened slightly, as though he had realized something very important for the first time.

"N-no," Shin-ju answered quietly. "No, I don't, Senpai. You're… you're right. I don't know the answers."

Mikieru smiled, laying a gloved hand on the boy's head.

"I hope you understand, Shin-ju," the Cleric finished. "I know that you are looking for the answers even more than I am. I only hope we will have found them when I return."

•••

Why did I say that? Shin-ju wondered, getting into a gray jacket. Why did I say no?

Almost twenty-four hours had passed since Mikieru left for Juno. Since then the boy kept asking himself why he replied with the negative to the Cleric's question. In truth, he had some insight into what supposedly took place in Al de Baran two years ago. After all, it wasn't the first time it had happened…

Still, Shin-ju did want to forget everything. Maybe that's what made him lie.

Tsk, the boy thought to himself. To think I was being such a sourpuss when I found out about the secret, only to tell a lie to Senpai in return… still, if I could just forget about everything, maybe then it won't be a lie, right?

The Nomad boy slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked towards the door, stopping only to look at himself in the mirror. Brushing his fingers through his blue hair, he took a deep breath. In a moment, he would leave his dorm room and join the rest of Prontera's Novices in trooping towards the Academy Building and the first day of the school year.

•••

Shin-ju took a good look at the huge Main School Hall as he approached it from a tree-lined pathwalk. It looked like a cross between a stepped pyramid and a castle. It had six levels, each one smaller than the one below, with irregular walls that formed alcoves for numerous decks, atriums, and playing fields. It was the center of the Prontera Training Grounds, converging in crossroads between dormitory communities, commercial establishments, and other institutional elements. Even after only a few days of staying here, Shin-ju could already see how the Prontera Training Grounds was considered to be the best in Midgard. It was complete, self-sufficient, and beautiful. Merely walking towards the Main School Hall electrified Shin-ju.

The boy soon saw other Novices walking towards the Main School hall. Some looked no older than twelve years, while others seemed to be at least eighteen. Each one was garbed in the traditional Novice uniform, and each looked as if they shared Shin-ju's sentiments about starting the school year.

However, Shin-ju could not help but notice the curious glances thrown his way by the other Novices. No doubt they were surprised that a blue-haired Nomad was coming to school with them.

Shin-ju sighed and kept his eyes on the ground in front of him as he approached the Main School Hall's steps.

•••

Alone on a balcony overlooking the fields in front of the Main School Hall, a girl leaned on the parapets with her chin on her hand. She sighed as she watched the flocks of Novices below her, moping at the prospect of spending one more year in the Training Grounds. This was her third year, and she desperately wanted to start her career in Architecture soon.

She had always wanted to become a Drafter, owing to her fondness for drawing. But her mediocre grades in Physics had discouraged several Engineers and Architects from taking her in as an Apprentice. Her friends, who similarly did poorly in Physics, had moved on and shifted to other majors, while she stubbornly insisted on trying one more time.

This year, she wished to herself. This year, I hope many things will change.

Mournfully, she clasped her arms and rubbed. This Midsummer morning was unusually windy, and the chill was getting to her. She had to go back indoors soon or she would get sick—again.

Aside from thinking of herself as a half-wit—due to the fact that she could not manage to earn decent grades at Physics even after two years of trying—she also considered herself as clumsy, unattractive, and flat as a washboard. And now, on the first day of school, she was catching a cold.

As she turned to walk back indoors, she took one last glance at the flow of Novices heading into the Main School Hall—and froze when she saw, among the crowd, a blue-haired Nomad boy ascending the steps.

She thought she was hallucinating. But after she looked away and slapped herself once, she looked again—and saw him again.

Here.

It's him.

And he's here.

Forgetting the chill, the girl ran back indoors and leaped down two flights of stairs. She maneuvered herself among the crush of bodies moving the opposite direction as she ran towards the Main School Hall entrance.

"No running in the halls!" a passing Instructor shouted at her. But she didn't hear.

She jumped a few times, trying to see a head of blue hair coming her way. She pushed against the flow when she thought she saw him again, only to trip on someone's shoe and fall soundly on her face. A few sounds of surprise came from the crowd.

Slowly she pushed herself off the ground, her face and arms dirtied by the fall, and got to her feet slowly. A Novice was standing in front of her, his hands halfway into the motion of assisting her.

Her eyes slowly rose to his.

The boy found it strange that most of the Novices who took notice of him initially showed curiosity, suspicion, and even fear after only a single glance—and yet here in front of him was a girl, gazing at his empty gray eyes with her own sky-blue stare, a smile of amazement and gladness splayed over her dirty cheeks.

"It's you!" she whispered in awe, trying to catch her breath.

Shin-ju knotted his brow, his hands still looking as if they would reach out and grab her at any time. "I, uh…" he began. "…I'm sorry?"

"It's you," she repeated, swallowing. "You saved me… remember?"

A look of recognition slowly made its way over Shin-ju's face, and he slowly returned the smile. "You're… you're Joanne," the boy said. "Yeah… I remember."

The two kids laughed at each other, trying to hide their excitement at seeing each other again after so long. Shin-ju held her by the arms and helped her walk through the moving crowd. Joanne took notice of the hands that held her—they were the same hands that furiously held on to her while she tumbled helplessly in that Water Channel. She was amazed at how his touch instantly made her feel safe, even more than two years later.

•••

Shin-ju helped Joanne take a seat on a bench beside a nearby open garden.

"You okay?" Shin-ju asked.

Joanne made a face, lifting her foot onto the bench. "Yeah, I guess… clumsy me," she said uneasily, rubbing her knee from above her jeans. "My knee hurts though, I think I bruised it…"

The boy nodded, eyeing the knee. "Mind if I take a look at it?"

She looked at him quizzically. Here they were, having only met each other a minute ago, and he was asking if he could see her knee. The thought made her blush slightly, but she obligingly rolled up a pant leg after a moment.

"Ow," Shin-ju said, seeing a bad bruise on the side of her kneecap. "That's gotta hurt."

"N-nah, it'll be fine," she stuttered. "I fall when I'm excited—I mean, I get hurt like this when I'm excited—but I'll be okay. Really. It-it's no big deal."

He looked at her with one eyebrow slightly raised. Then he lowered his eyes to the bruise again, wondering what made her so nervous.

"Lemme try something," Shin-ju offered, glancing at her and edging closer.

Joanne's eyes widened as Shin-ju moved closer to her. "U-uh… sure…"

Shin-ju took a breath and clasped his hands together. Then, without taking his eyes off the bruise, he channeled some mana onto the palm of his right hand.

She never blinked, even as his right hand emitted a faint, pale green light. Then she held her breath expectedly when he laid his hand on the gash on her bare knee.

To her surprise, the pain began to fade within seconds.

"There," Shin-ju exhaled, removing his hand from Joanne's knee. "Good as new."

When Shin-ju withdrew his hand, Joanne spied an Acolyte's Rosary under his sleeve.

"Th-thanks," she said, smiling bashfully. "You're… you're training to be an Acolyte?"

He stopped for a moment. Then he sighed, pulling back his right jacket sleeve slightly to reveal his Acolyte's Rosary.

"I guess so," he answered, his eyes on the beads. "I mean, I don't think I have a choice on the matter, anyway. My Master is a Cleric, and I need credits in Philosophy and Social Sciences to remain a scholar."

"Okay…" she said quietly, brushing her fingers uneasily through her short blonde hair.

"How about you?"

"Me? Oh… I'm—I want to be an Architect one day."

"Really? That's cool…"

"Yeah, I guess," she sighed in resignation, glancing at the garden beside them. "If only I was cut out for it, too."

Shin-ju raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Mm… It's just that I keep flunking Physics," she confessed. "I've already gotten my credits for Art and Humanities, and I just need to pass Physics to advance to Apprenticeship. I've been trying for two years, and…"

Her voice trailed off. Shin-ju looked away and nodded in understanding, knowing that Physics was also in his curriculum for the First Semester.

After a moment, they turned to each other at the same time.

"Can I have your schedule?" the two kids asked together.

After an embarrassed moment of silence, they laughed again. Then, without another word, they took out their respective Class Schedules for the other to copy onto their notebooks.

Then the bell for the first period sounded, making the two kids look up with a start. Already, the other Novices walking in the hallways were quickening their paces to get to their classrooms in time.

"Wow, first period," Shin-ju said a bit loudly. "I guess we gotta go."

"Y-yeah," Joanne agreed, handing back Shin-ju's documents to him.

The boy hurriedly stuffed his notes into his backpack and slung it over his back. "Hey, so I'll, uh… I'll see you later?" he asked, getting up.

"Uh, yeah—okay," she said, managing only to nod with a smile.

Shin-ju returned the smile, then turned around to troop towards his classroom on the third level.

W-wait a sec… Joanne thought, instinctively reaching out towards the boy. As the boy walked away from her, she opened her mouth to call his name—but her voice died in her throat. She watched helplessly as he moved into the crowd and disappeared around a corner.

Her hand dropped limply to her lap. Her other hand reached up to slap herself on the forehead, her eyes shut tight and her teeth bared in an exasperated cringe. After almost two-and-a-half years of looking for him, she had him right in front of him—and still, she couldn't tell him how she felt!

Staring into space, Joanne half-closed her eyes and quietly murmured the words she had been practicing to say if she was ever going to meet the boy named "Shin-ju" again.

"I wanna let you know how much I owe you for saving my life. I want you to know that I totally appreciate it. Where do you live? What's your sport? Do you like WordTwist? I hope we could hang out sometime. It was great seeing you again. Take care. I love you."

She laughed in silent self-depreciation. Now that Shin-ju was studying in the Training Grounds, she'd have a lot of opportunities to say those words to him. But she looked at her knee and thought about how he cast the Heal spell to treat her bruise. She remembered that he was training to be an Acolyte. Now she was wondering whether it was okay for her to tell him those words—especially the last three…

She brooded on the bench alone for a few more minutes after that, not minding the other kids rushing to class in the hallways around her.

•••

"I'm surprised that your Magistrate actually let you take three weeks off, Mike. Not so much because I thought it was impossible, but because I thought you could never afford to take a break with your new job as a Prefect."

Mikieru had left Prontera for Juno yesterday. Today was the 24th of May, however, and he decided to stop by Al de Baran to pay a visit to Napolde Linwelyn's gravesite. It was the Elf's second death anniversary, and Cleric was sure that his young Merchant friend, Jared Wycrow, was in town. Now, late in the morning, the two friends were out on Al de Baran's surrounding fields, heading towards a certain ridge near the eastern cliffside.

"It was not as difficult as you might imagine," Mikieru answered. "My Magistrate was actually pleased that I asked for some time off. If he had his way, I am sure he would have me leave the Constabulary permanently."

Jared laughed. "What in the world is his problem? He afraid you might take his place one day?"

Mikieru shrugged. "Whatever it is, it does not concern me. I have gone through too much to worry about such immateriality."

The Merchant nodded, sighing. "Yeah," he agreed. "But you'll have to admit… there was a time in our lives when trivial matters were everything we knew."

Mikieru did not answer right away, as he finally saw the small alcove of bushes that surrounded Napolde's gravesite. He slowed his pace somewhat, allowing Jared to reach it before him. The Merchant stood in front of the Elf's tombstone for a moment, in silence, before kneeling and placing a wreath of flowers in front of it.

"She changed everything," Jared said.

Mikieru walked over to the kneeling Merchant's side. "You must be thankful," he ventured.

Jared nodded again.

"Back then, I used to worry when my stock deliveries were late, or when the month's profits were slimmer than projected," the Merchant said. "I used to get sleepless nights whenever my Trading Post was heading towards a loss. But that all changed when Napolde showed up on my doorstep.

"She showed me what really mattered. Life was too short to worry over the little things. She taught me to figure out what was really important."

Mikieru nodded, his hair being blown about by the ocean wind. He allowed Jared to continue.

"I mean, since then I've been able to put up a small hotel in Alberta, opened a money-lending business at my Trading Post, and sponsored a few Training Ground scholars here and there. I could've done this years ago, but it still cost Napolde's life to make me realize all this."

The Cleric sighed. "One must lose oneself to find oneself."

Jared slowly moved his head side to side, as if painfully taking in another one of Mikieru's double-meaning statements. Then he answered after a moment.

"Maybe," Jared said. "But it took someone else's sacrifice to wake me up."

Mikieru thought about this for a few seconds. Then he took a few steps towards Napolde's tombstone, placing his fingers on the smooth marble.

"Do not diminish your beginnings, Jared," the Cleric intoned. "It took the sacrifices of many other people to wake me up, and it only took you one. And despite that, you still have taken control of your life much better than I have."

Jared looked up at the Cleric, stunned momentarily by the revelation. Then he allowed himself to lower his eyes at Napolde's tombstone one more time.

"True," Jared said slowly. "I guess that's true. Thanks for saying so."

The two friends stayed at Napolde's cliffside gravesite for the rest of the morning, talking about how they have been for the past two years. They discussed Mikieru's trip to Juno, Jared's plans of studying again, and Shin-ju's first time going to school under the eye of the Cleric, Lara Murakami.

Mikieru would stay one night in Al de Baran. Then he would set out on the arduous five-day ride to Juno, and to answers long overdue.

•••

End of Chapter Three