The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.
- Oprah Winfrey
"So this is truly Midorijima, huh?" I looked around while we walked down the street.
"You like?" I smiled and looked at Iris.
"Absolutely. I can't believe I'm actually here. First Traverse Town, despite those circumstances... and now Midorijima. I have literally hoped for something like this my entire life."
"There is a whole bunch of other places you'll know, too. We should show you the map later."
"Sounds cool."
"Well, you're good with maps and special stuff, so you should understand it pretty easily."
"Depends if my brain feels like functioning. It's been kinda derpy today."
"I still love how people use that as if it is an actual describing word."
"It is if you go on Urban Dictionary."
"A lot of things are considered real terms on Urban Dictionary." Tadashi shivered. "I went on there once... Big mistake." I patted his shoulder.
"Poor, baby. You must not have known what you were getting into."
"You can thank your sister for my trauma." I looked over at Iris who simply grinned and gave a thumbs up. I laughed while Tadashi lowered his head and crossed his arms.
"Anyways, how much farther do we have?"
"Not too much further. We've just got a corner or two to turn till we're there."
"Coolness." I sighed. "I have to be honest. I'm a little nervous."
"That's something to be expected, considering the situation."
"And don't worry: you probably won't combust or anything along those lines.'
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Iris..." She grinned.
"You're welcome!" We turned the corner into an alley and I began to feel uncomfortable.
"Umm, we're safe, right?"
"Yeah, we're safe. You've got nothing to worry about." I let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness." We exited the alley, and Junkshop Mediocrity was finally in view.
"*Heibon!" Iris gestured to it. "Ready to visit this shop you know nothing about whatsoever?" She winked at me and I laughed.
"If you say it so loud, Iris, people will most likely figure out Ari's secret. Keep your voice down." Iris pouted.
"Why are you always a party-pooper?!" He shrugged.
"Don't blame me, blame my author." Iris looked at me.
"Why you do dat, Ari?"
"Because dat how my brain work."
"Your brain is stupid, now. I came out awesome, and he came out all moody."
"Gee, thanks."
"Welcome."
"Less talk, more Bluey." Iris laughed.
"Okay." She ran towards the shop and then turned to me and Tadashi. "Come on, slowpokes!"
"She goes from one mood to another so quickly. I don't understand her..." I laughed.
"Sorry. That's just the way my brain thought her up."
"I'm aware... Next time you come up with a character, please make them less bipolar."
"Sorry, Tadashi. I can't make any promises." He sighed.
"Fine. Let's just go." I nodded as we began to catch up to Iris.
"Welcome to Junkshop Mediocrity." Aoba looked up. "Oh, Iris. Tadashi. How are you guys?"
"We're good, Aoba. How is Tae-san?"
"*Baachan is doing, good."
"That's good to hear." Aoba looked at me and my face warmed a little. 'He's as cute in person as he is in the anime and game...'
"Who's your friend?"
"Actually, Aoba, this is my twin sister, Ari." He looked back and forth between Iris and me.
"Really?" Iris grinned and nodded. She then wrapped her arm around my shoulder.
"Yep." He squinted.
"I can kinda see it... but you really have to squint. Not to mention your sister is way quiter than you."
"She's just a bit shy. She'll be a chatterbox in no time." I frowned.
"Not as much as you." Iris looked over at me and pouted.
"Aw, come on, Sis! Don't catch Tadashi's grump!"
"I can't help that you've intruded on my personal space." I pushed her arm off of me.
"Tadashi, what have you done to my poor baby?!" He put his hands up.
"Nothing. You must remember that Ari is her own person."
"I know..."
"How come we've never met before?" I turned to Aoba as the other two began to bicker again.
"Oh, I'm not from around here... I mean, yeah, I am Iris's sister, but we were separated a long time ago. I grew up in Traverse Town while she grew up here." His eyes widened.
"Traverse Town? Were you there when... it happened? What was it like there before then?"
"Yeah. I was there when the incident happened. Sadly, the day of the incident is all I have memory of..."
"Wow... That must really weigh down on you, huh?" I nodded.
"Yeah... I just try to not think about it too much... Everything surrounding it went so fast that it's kinda a blur."
"Well, I won't pry. I can only imagine what it must feel like to you." I nodded.
"Thank you."
"Well, I hope you've liked Midorijima so far. It isn't much, but it's home."
"I like it, so far. It's fascinating getting to explore somewhere new." I looked around the shop. "This place seems nice, despite the really depressing name." Aoba laughed.
"Yeah. I mean, I like it here and we do have regular patrons, so it really isn't that bad." He sighed. "The only problem I typically have is getting mistaken for a female because of my voice." I tilted my head.
"Really? I mean, you are a bit feminine, but I can still tell you're a boy."
"Thanks. That's reassuring to hear." Aoba turned to the other two. "You guys, don't you have the rule where you have to get home before dark?" They turned to Aoba.
"We do?" Tadashi nodded.
"Yes. Sonia is a part of the reason we put that rule into place." I frowned.
"Oh... I'll have to hear the story about that later."
"It was good seeing you guys, then. And it was nice meeting you, Ari. I know you'll get used to living here in no time." I smiled.
"Thank you, and I honestly hope so." We walked outside and I let out a large breath. "Oh my God... My face feels close to combustion." Iris laughed.
"It is pretty red." She pinched my cheeks. "You look like a tomato." I pushed her hands off of me.
"Ow..." I rubbed my cheeks. "That hurt..."
"Oh, you're fine."
"You don't know that. I could be dying now that you pinched me. Who really knows if I'll make it?"
"Oh stop being over-dramatic."
"Guys, we really should be heading home. The sun is going down and we have a bit of a walk ahead of us." Iris and I turned to Tadashi.
"Right, sorry."
"Yeah, sorry Tada-chan." He frowned while sighing.
"There's no point in apologizing. Let's just go." We nodded before starting to head home.
We walked for some time until we neared the district where *Mizuki's shop, Black Needle, was. Since it was getting dark, the city's lights were coming on, making it seem brighter. The streets were already beginning to bustle with the night crowd.
"Sukui should be closing up shop, soon. We might as well just head home."
"That's probably true." We continued walking.
"So, why do we have to be home by dark? What's the story behind that?"
"When Sonia was younger, and just began to work at Sukui, she was kinda a trouble-maker. She grew up in a bad home, so she left and began to live on the streets. She gambled, fought, and was really involved with some of the worst Ribsteez gangs."
"Really? She seems so calm, now." Iris nodded.
"She got some help from Mom and Dad. It took their deaths, though, for her to really come back to reality. It calmed her down, a lot."
"The night time rule," Tadashi entered the conversation, "began after they died. When she was in recovery, she had a curfew with the same rule. She worked during the day, but she had to be home before dark. She put the same rule in place for all of Sukui since she didn't want people who came after her to do the same stupid things she did."
"Wow... That's a really deep backstory... and kinda sad, considering..."
"Everyone at Sukui was kinda saved. Akane was from a foreign country and had nowhere to go. She couldn't even speak English at first. Nolan ran away from home for his own reasons, and the same goes for Eri."
"What about everyone else?"
"Selene was an orphan living on the streets until Mom found her. The Alexandra family then took her in, though she couldn't take their last name since you have to be born into the Alexandra bloodline."
"Oh yeah... Noble rules..." Iris nodded.
"Momo is from a different country on a different continent. She struck out on her own when she was young to explore, and she ended up coming to work as a teacher for Mom and Selene. You already know Sonia's backstory."
"Didn't you say there was one more worker...? Diane or something...?"
"Diana Nakahara. She doesn't really talk too much about her life, but we do know she comes from a well-to-do family. We aren't sure why she left, though..."
"And now that she's been gone for a week or so, we're even more at a loss." I frowned.
"She's been gone for a week and not returned to Sukui?"
"No. We assume she went home, but we're not too sure."
"You guys haven't thought of checking it out?"
"We have, but we haven't gotten the chance to. Everyone else has been working, and we were concerned about other matters." They both looked at me.
"Oh. Gotcha." I gave a double thumbs-up.
"Any other questions?" I nodded.
"What about you, Tadashi? Do you work at Sukui?" He frowned.
"I did, but luckily enough you came along and I'm your caretaker now. I don't have to wear that uniform ever again..." He shivered.
"Why is the place a maid and butler café?"
"That's all Mom's idea. Hasu says she saw the idea in a magazine, and then she wanted to try it out." Iris smiled. "Mom was extremely ambitious. I mean, even just marrying Dad was a huge deal." I tilted my head.
"What do you mean?"
"Umm, well... I'll tell you later." I frowned and nodded.
"Okay then..." We turned a corner and I saw it was an alley. It looked really ominous, and I mean really ominous. Like, so ominous you probably shouldn't go down it. But of course, "we" chose to go down it. Really more Iris and Tadashi. They were the official navigators, though.
"Umm, guys...? It's really creepy this way..." Iris grinned at me.
"You can hold my hand if you want." I frowned.
"I'm not 5, Iris. I'm 16."
"Yeah, but you're a 16 year old that is afraid of spiders, heights, small spaces, crowds, and the list goes on."
"Those are perfectly reasonable fears. It's just an alley at night is asking for trouble."
"We're not going to get into any trouble, Sis. You'll be fine."
"Where do you three think you're going?" We turned and saw some thuggish guys.
"See! I told you! And right on cue!"
"Hiya, guys! We aren't looking for any trouble, so we'll just be on our way..." One of the guys grabbed Iris's shoulder.
"But you see, you're in Bug Bomb territory. You're trespassin', so we've gotta deal with cha'."
"You have five seconds to remove your hand from me."
"You think we're scared of you."
"Five." One of the guys came at her. "Four, three, two, one." She kicked the guy that was holding her shoulder in the groin, then swung him at the guy who came at her. The third guy came at Tadashi who simply moved out of the way.
"Persistent brats!" One of them pulled a gun and pointed it at me. My eyes widened and I froze.
"Gisei!" There was a flash and a swift motion, and then the gun dropped out of the man's hand. I looked at Tadashi and saw he had a katana pointed towards the man. 'Where did that come from?!' I looked over and saw Iris had two sabers pointed at them as well. 'Where did they pull swords from?! Wait... I wonder if it's like how I summoned that sword back in Traverse Town...'
"Let's get out of here!" The thugs got up and ran. Once they were gone, I turned to Iris and Tadashi.
"What, in the hell, was that?!" I pointed at the weapons they were holding. "What are those?!"
"Swords, obviously."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious. I'm saying where did they come from?!"
"We summoned them."
"How'd you do that?"
"Well, Iris summons them by using her mind. That's a much harder technique. I, however, just call the name of my sword."
"Does it come every time you say its name?" He smiled and shook his head.
"At first, for most, it does because they don't know how to control it properly. After enough practice, though, saying it a certain way will summon or dismiss it." I nodded.
"I summoned one before... Well, it was more like someone else summoned it for me..."
"You summoned a sword?!" I nodded.
"A white and gold katana."
"Do you know its name?"
"I think... I think it was Shinsetsu..." A sword popped into my hand after I said the word I had heard. "Huh. So that's what you mean."
"My baby sister summoned a sword!"
"Baby sister? Wait, I'm younger?!"
"Yep! By 7 minutes."
"Noo! That doesn't follow birth order rules!"
"Do twins ever follow birth order rules in anything you've watched or played?'
"No..."
"See." I shook my head.
"Anyways, is this going to happen every single time I say Shinsetsu?" The sword disappeared. "Dammit..."
"Only until we get your summoning power under control. Hasu probably knows something to help speed along the process. Just try not to say its name too much." I nodded.
"Okay..." I thought for a minute. "Do your swords have names, Iris?" She nodded.
"This one," she held up the sword in her right hand, "is Envidia." She held up the other one. "And this one is Humilidad."
"Envy and Humility?" She nodded.
"Yep. A lot of weapons that people use are named either after a virtue or a sin." She held up her swords. "I have both." She dismissed them.
"Yours is a virtue, Ari." I looked over to Tadashi.
"Really?" Tadashi nodded.
"It's old tongue, or Japanese, for kindness."
"Cool. What is yours named?"
"It's old tongue for sacrifice."
"Deep. Is it a virtue?" He shook his head.
"No. It's just a name." I thought for a moment.
"So... The Mizu and Moesashi Blade... Mizu means water, but I'm not sure about moesashi..."
"It means ember."
"So old tongue is just Japanese... and the two swords were water and fire... Makes sense..."
"We should head home. Sonia is going to be pissed beyond belief."
"And don't worry about anything. We've got your back." I smiled.
"Thanks." They nodded and we then began to finally make our way home.
"It is literally the first day she has been here, and you're out past curfew?!" Sonia had the three of us seated on the couch. "I swear to Aries that you three are lucky I'm not killing you right now."
"Well, we were heading home from Heibon and we ran into some trouble."
"Trouble?"
"Umm... yes... Bug Bomb trouble..."
"You ran into a Ribsteez gang?"
"Maybe..." Sonia pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Just go to the dining room before I freak out. And tell Selene to hold off on my plate. I need a minute."
"Yes, ma'am." We all got up and I followed Iris and Tadashi to the dining room.
"Hey, guys!" Akane waved to us as we walked in.
"Who is that?" Eri and Nolan looked at me.
"This is Ari, guys." Iris shook me. "You know, my baby sister?" I deadpanned. 'She's never going to let that go, is she...?'
"Oh, okay." Nolan smiled. "Nice to meet you, Ari. I'm Nolan Kinoshita."
"I'm Eri Yukimura." Eri spoke very quietly and very seriously.
"Nice to meet you guys." Nolan gestured to the table. Sit wherever you like." I nodded. I was about to step towards the table when Tadashi pulled me to the side.
"Sit between Iris and me, please..." I nodded.
"Okay." I sat at the middle chair, and Iris and Tadashi sat on either side of me. I looked over to the kitchen and saw Selene cooking.
"Hey, Selene?!"
"Yeah?"
"Hold Sonia's plate. She needs cool down time."
"What did you do this time?"
"Aunt Selene, that's not nice! You just assume I did something?"
"Did you?"
"Yes..."
"And what was that?"
"I brought Ari down a shady alley, and we got into a fight with members of Bug Bomb. And then we got home past curfew."
"You know how she feels about curfew. You can't blame her."
"There is one crazy thing, though."
"And what's that?"
"Ari summoned a sword!" Everyone turned their attention to me.
"You did?!"
"You're a weapon summoner?!" I blinked.
"Apparently, yeah. I summoned a katana."
"It even has a name!"
"What's its name?" I was about to say it when Iris covered my mouth.
"It's Shinsetsu. Ari can't say it or she'll summon it."
"So she's on that stage, huh? You should tell Hasu and she'll be able to help you out with that."
"I'll help who out with what?" Hasu walked in the room.
"Ari is a weapon summoner, Hasu!" Hasu looked over to me.
"Really? I guess it truly does run in the Alexandra family lineage. Other families are pick and choose for who inherits that trait, but every member of the Alexandra family ever in existence has been able to summon a weapon."
"The only problem is I can't say its name without summoning it." Hasu nodded.
"Your mother went through that stage with her own sword, Kinshu. Old tongue for temperance."
"That's a virtue, right?" Hasu nodded.
"I have something that will help you control your summoning." She walked over to me. "Stand up." I nodded and then stood. "Summon your sword."
"Shinsetsu." The sword once again appeared in my hand. She put her hand out and put it over my sword.
"Imperium." A light came from her hand in tendrils, and it wrapped around my hand like vines. It then flashed and the vines disappeared. "Try saying it now."
"Shinsetsu." It stayed in my hand.
"Now shout as if you were in battle and really needed help."
"Umm... okay..." I thought for a moment. "Shinsetsu!" The sword poofed out in a flash of light.
"Now whenever you call upon it like that, it will know whether to stay or leave." I smiled.
"Thank you, Hasu." She smiled and nodded.
"You're welcome, Ari. I'm used to doing that. I ended up having to do the same for your mother."
"Was it magic?" She nodded.
"Yes. Everyone in both the Alexandra family and the Ueno family are skilled mages. The Ueno family, my family, is skilled in all battle related magic or commonsense magic, while the Alexandras are taught mostly combative magics. Your mother had an affinity for fire magic as well as ice magic. Although, she could use any as she pleased."
"Artie also learned healing magic on the side." We turned to Selene as she brought plates over to the table. "It wasn't part of her training, so she took time to study it on her own."
"Wow... That's amazing..." Selene placed a plate down in front of me.
"Well, your mom was an awesome person. She's the reason I'm really even alive today."
"And may Aries bless her soul for the saint she was." It was silent for a moment.
"Come on, guys. Let's dig into this tasty food!" Thank you Iris for breaking the silence.
"Yeah, I'm starved!" We all sat down, except for Selene, and began eating. I looked over to her and saw she was eating at the counter.
"Selene, aren't you going to join us?" She looked up at me.
"Oh, umm... I've still gotta serve Sonia, so I'll just eat over here."
"Oh, okay..." Something about her answer didn't seem sincere. She was obviously making an excuse, but I didn't want to intrude.
"So, Ari, we're gonna play a question game to help you figure our your favorite things." I looked over at Nolan.
"Okay. Sounds fun."
"Okay. I'll ask the first question. What is your favorite color?"
"Umm..." I paused to make it look like I was thinking. "Blue... but black is a better color to wear."
"Cool. Okay, Akane is next." She swallowed her food.
"What is your favorite animal?"
"Cats, just not hairless ones."
"Why, thank you." Cat-form Momo jumped up in a seat and put her head on the table. "I'm next. Favorite genre of music?"
"Hmm... I'll have to say rock."
"Nice choice." I looked over at Akane who was grinning.
"Aka loves the punk rock/alternative stuff." I looked to Iris, then back to Akane.
"My favorite band is *Paramore." I smiled.
"Nice." I cheered in my head. 'That means some things from home exist here... That's awesome.'
"I believe it is my turn." We turned to Eri. "What is your favorite vegetable?" I raised my eyebrow.
"Umm, that's an odd question... but I guess potatoes...?"
"Don't mind farm-boy here, Ari. The Wildlands really has his brain hot-wired for hunting, gathering, and farming." I nodded.
"Who's next?" Selene raised her hand.
"I am. What's your overall favorite dessert? I need to know so I have some idea of what to make."
"You just asked the hardest question known to mankind. Choosing one dessert is almost impossible. I do like á la mode stuff, though."
"I'll count that as your answer. I have plenty to choose from."
"I'm next. This time, the question isn't food based." Iris cleared her throat. "Who... is your favorite... sister?!"
"Akane." Akane laughed and threw her hands up triumphantly while Iris grabbed my arm.
"Sis, why?! She isn't your sister!"
"Sukui's tenants technically are a family, so technically she's my sister."
"But I'm actually 100% biologically related to you!"
"I don't know. I haven't seen the DNA match," I spoke in a teasing manner, making her freak out more.
"Ariii!" She shook my arm.
"Calm down, Iris. You're my best biologically related sister." She let go of me.
"That is good enough for me." She looked at Akane. "But I'm watching you, Himura."
"Fair enough." We continued talking and joking around as we ate dinner. Sonia eventually joined us, and she quietly steamed as she ate.
"So, what do you guys think happened to Di?" We looked over at Nolan.
"Who knows. Maybe she went back to her house?" Hasu shook her head.
"She wouldn't. We all know she had no desire to go back there." I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Why not?" Hasu looked over at me.
"She is a very skeptic young woman. Part of her reason for coming to Sukui is because she claimed someone was out to get her."
"Is she schizophrenic?"
"That's the thing." I turned to Momo. "She is a very intelligent girl, and she seems to know fantasy from reality." Momo licked her paw. "She may actually have someone who is after her. It wouldn't be surprising."
"Why wouldn't it be surprising?"
"Her family owns a big company here in town. They're... Well, they aren't exactly known for having a positive reputation in the community. They don't work ethically."
"I can see why she may want to get away from that, then."
"You see, that's the thing. Diana doesn't know her own family's reputation."
"How does she not know?"
"We're not sure. She seems completely oblivious to the fact that her family is hated by practically everyone."
"Weird..." I thought for a moment. "Shouldn't we should be looking for her? Like, what if something bad happened to her?"
"We've been meaning to, but things here and at Sukui have been busy."
"What if we went? I can at least very basically use my sword. Not to mention we aren't held back by Sukui work hours."
"Are you sure? It's potentially dangerous."
"Pfft, dangerous is my middle name."
"Actually, your middle name is Raine."
"You know what I mean, Iris."
"Yeah, I do."
"If you think you'll be alright, then go ahead. Just be extremely careful."
"We will."
"Get some rest. You three can discuss your plans more in the morning." I nodded.
"It's Aka's turn to clean, since she owes us." Akane sighed.
"Fine..." Akane got up and began to gather everyone's plates. Eri got up and went upstairs, while Nolan turned to Iris.
"You still owe me a round on Soul Calibur V, Iris." She jumped up.
"I'll be there in a sec." She turned and hugged me. "I love ya, Sis. I hope you sleep well." I smiled.
"Night, Iris." She waved as she followed Nolan to the living room. Momo jumped down from her chair.
"Good night, everyone."
"Night, Momo." I looked and saw Sonia talking with Selene as Selene put away the leftover food. Hasu, Tadashi, and I were the only ones left at the table.
"Ari, do you remember where your room is?" I shook my head. "Tadashi, can you show her to her room?"
"Yes." She smiled.
"Thank you." She stood up. "I'm glad you're here with us now, Ari. I truly am. I hope you sleep well."
"You, too." She nodded.
"Well, I'll retire to my room now. Good night, everyone."
"Night." She left, and Tadashi and I stood up. I followed him as he led me to my room.
"So, overall, how was your first day?"
"It was amazing. I really did enjoy myself. It feels nice to have a family that seems to work well together..." I paused for a moment. "Everything is so different... It makes me not want to go back home..."
"You know you have to go home eventually, right?" I nodded.
"Yeah... I know... I'll just have to enjoy every moment that I can..."
"That's a good way of putting it." We got upstairs and stopped in front of one of the doors.
"This is mine, right?"
"Yeah. This is your room." He pointed to the wall. "This side is girls." He pointed across the stairs to the other side. "That's boys."
"Gotcha." I turned to him. "Do you really have any idea of why I'm here?" Tadashi turned to me.
"I don't know everything... I can just tell you things may get harder as time goes by."
"Gee, sounds like my real life." I sighed. "I'll keep that in mind, though." He nodded.
"Need anything?" I shook my head.
"No. I'll be alright." He smiled.
"That's good. I hope you sleep well, Ari."
"You too, Tadashi. Good night."
"Night." I slipped into my room and closed the door behind me. I sighed as I slid down to the ground. I kicked my boots off and then closed my eyes. 'Day one is over... I wonder how day two will go...' I reopened my eyes, stood up, and then got ready to go to sleep.
