CHAPTER 5 –Knowledge

I

Several hundred meters away, near the cave that Kira had sheltered in before, the being reappeared. She kneeled down and lay Hiro's head on her legs, looking down at him as would a mother to her child. "Wow.. that was one helluva jump" he muttered groggily. The rush of air had done him some good but he was hardly fighting fit.
"Did you save me from that plant thing? I owe you my thanks, not to mention my life!" He managed to force his old smile. The being looked at him kindly.
"You are weak at the moment, you need to rest, try not to over-exert yourself." Hiro nodded gently "Don't worry, I hardly feel like going for a run." The being just smiled again. "What did that plant want with us anyway? By the Goddess, was it even a plant? I've never seen anything like it!"
The being, who by now was looking rather weary herself, looked down at him as though it were both the most obvious question in the world, and a quandary in its own right.
"I believe it was a symbiotic relationship that the planted needed. Your breath contains compounds that this plant cannot apparently extract naturally. In return the plant would have provided you with air and your other bodily needs. Eventually of course the symbiote dies and the plant must find another source of nutrition. My guess is that it has lived so successfully with this arrangement that it no longer retains conventional roots; and the leaves merely provide protection from weather and predators. I expect they have little, if any photosynthetic properties at all. To be honest with you Hiro, I'm just glad that we are safe." Hiro nodded up at her, now understanding the unprovoked attack.
"Me too… but... who are you? You're not Kira?!" The being's eyes widened for a moment, and then she gave a quiet laugh; a laugh that was simultaneously Kira's, yet also foreign. Hiro's brow furrowed, confused.
"Well.. in a manner of speaking... I'm guessing she didn't tell you?" Hiro shook his head, still bewildered. This was a lot for a newly conscious mind to process.
Then a thought dawned on her. Maybe Kira doesn't know either. I always assumed that the prophesied mind would be one with a depth of knowledge about the supernatural, not some innocent child!. This will be awkward.
She was distracted from her reverie by Hiro murmuring something.
"What was that?"
"I said.. are you ok, you were away with the Tereilian fairies there." She returned his strangely familiar smile and nodded. "Yes, I suppose I was. Tell me Hiro, What do you know of my soul-string?" Hiro blinked at her "Soul-what?" The being sighed, running a hand languidly through her indigo hair.
"My soul-string, Kira. She didn't tell you anything did she?" Again Hiro shook his head. "She hasn't really told me much about anything. She's a very different person from the Kira I used to know. I mean she has the same personality but something's not quite right. She doesn't remember me, or our past, or even how she lost her memory at all for that matter." Hiro paused, a look of grave concern on his face, and then as if returning to his normal self, a grin replaced the frown. "And speaking of not knowing things, what do I call you? Kira No.2? Its hardly fair that you know my name and I'm stuck calling you the girl with purple hair now is it?" He had his mock humour back at full strength now. a good sign she thought.

"I apologise." Replied the entity, still smiling at his comment. "You may call me Kira if you so wish, but you were quite correct, I am not her. My name is Rei. Believe it or not I travelled through the stars to find Kira. My race is from an entirely different dimension." Hiro blinked once more and shook his head. "Wait…Rei.. Stop. My head hurts. So you're not Kira, but you are, or rather you're in her body, and you travelled some distance that I don't even want to begin to try to imagine right now, just to get here." He paused before mentioning her name, mind still trying to grasp the enforced duality of Kira's mind. Rei nodded, helping Hiro to sit up against the wall of the cave with her.

"In our dimension we exist in a ghost-like state. Upon entry into different atmospheres, the protection of a host body is required. In some ways, we resemble that plant, though we are non-parasitic. Your friend Kira and I are tied together in fate. Our souls share the same destiny and are thus bound at that level. This is part of the reason for Kira's strange nature. She is inside my mind, and I within hers. Whilst this is a strength and a side-effect of both our confliction of race, and unity of providence, It will also present a bitter challenge, especially for Kira. She currently has the collective emotions and consciousness of the both of us, and along with that our memories. I attempted to make this transition simpler for her by suppressing our memory anagrams behind a wall, one that she will not wish toconfront or defeat... though this may present challenges of its own. If Kira mentions such dreams to you, pretend not to know, because should she find out and question the dream-wall it will fall, as its integrity depends on her lack of understanding."

Hiro looked at her, desperately trying to comprehend Kira's burden. No-matter how hard he tried, he couldn't begin to imagine the intensity of what Kira's mind was being forced to endure. "No wonder Kira's been feeling so weird lately.. two people in one body… " Hiro's words trailed away into thoughts. He suddenly felt very tired, and stifled a yawn. Rei prodded him rather unceremoniously with the stick.

"You need to hear all of this Hiro, You and I shall soon have to reveal this to Kira. At the moment her comprehension of her destiny is non-existent. Until she has learned to understand the world as she currently perceives it, without a lifetime of knowledge, it would easily over-encumber her mind to reveal what you now know. There is more to be understood for you as well. In order to understand why you are involved in this presage, you must first comprehend the prophecy. My race are known as the Shadians. Our name, combined with our appearance has led us to be called 'The Shade' in the cultures of many species. One very famous legend in our culture depicts a female of your bipedal species wearing a symbol on her arms; the very same pictogram that Kira has on hers. It is said that upon the end of days for all sentient life, this person will save us from the darkness. In the legendary scroll, the girl is seen tied by the heart to two other females almost identical in appearance. The one on her left has wings of light, whilst the girl on the right disappears into darkness from the waist down, as if being consumed by it. You see Hiro, I was sent by my people to give Kira those wings, and with them, the power to defeat that rising darkness. Our meeting, as well as the reuniting of Kira to you was by destiny and design, not chance."
With that, Rei stood up and walked down the path. "Rei. Wait! Where are you going?" At his shout Rei turned and called back. "I'm getting us some more firewood, you stay there and rest; when I come back I will need a favour!" Hiro just sighed and lay his head back against the rock. . Don't worry Kira; you're not alone in this. Me and Rei are here to stay! He chuckled quietly, feeling his eyelids close of their own accord. I wonder what Rei's favour will be…