Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Loud House' or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
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Chapter thirteen: Starlit Sky
Lincoln, once again in the guise of Broken Mirror, watched from the shadows. Watched as a member of the violent youth gang assaulted an elderly woman, knock her over, snatch her purse, then ran off. From what the white-haired boy had heard, the violent youth gang has been trampling all over this city as if it were their personal stomping grounds. They were causing significant trouble for everyone else in the city; not only that, but not only was nothing being done about the violent youth gang, it was clear that they were never going to stop on their own.
That's why he decided to be the one to bring them to a stop.
Moving quietly but quickly through the shadows and from behind cover, Lincoln went after the gang member he just caught mugging that elderly lady. After a few turns, he eventually caught up to the gang member. With a quick punch to the side of the gang member's head, causing him to stumble a bit and drop the purse he stole. After he recovered, the gang member saw him, and it was clear that he was expecting someone else, due to the confused look on his face.
"Who the hell are you?!" the gang member snapped as he raised his fists. Spitting to the side, the gang member faced the hooded kid again as he said, "You wanna fucking go, you little turd?!" The white-haired boy said nothing in response to the gang member's challenge. Instead, with a cool and steady motion, Lincoln took out the butterfly knife that he lifted from a gang hideout he raided a short while ago. The gang member's eyes widened in shock, surprise and worry as his eyes fell upon the weapon.
"…The fuck is that?" the gang member said as he pointed to the butterfly knife. Without an answer, without ever even saying anything, Lincoln just ran forward towards the punk, alarming him. "Hey, wait a minute!" the gang member began in a panicking tone that clearly conveyed that he was trying to bargain, "We can work something-"
*SHUK*
Lincoln was in no mood to hear any bargaining. Certainly not from the gang member that he had just killed, and certainly not from any of the gang member's fellows. The white-haired boy had a job to do, this much he knew. And wasting time listening to the hypocritical begging of the gang members was not something he could afford. After wiping his blade on the gang member's jacket, Lincoln took out one of his calling cards, laid it on the gang member, went over to collect the stolen purse, set that on the gang member as well, then took his leave.
Best not to stick around for too long.
…
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Lincoln jolted awake from yet another dream, another nightmare where he took a life. Lincoln clearly remembered that in the dream, he had only taken the life of some random gang member who contributed to the city's problem; it wasn't any of Lincoln's ex-sisters, and it thankfully wasn't any of the sisters that Lincoln had since come to forgive for their part in driving him to the point of running away. But the white-haired boy took little comfort from that fact. The fact still remained that he had killed someone in his dream.
As he sat up in bed, Lincoln breathed in and out to catch his breath, a cold sweat brought on by his nightmare coating him here and there. As Lincoln slowly inhaled and exhaled, Luna came running into his room, having been summoned by the sound of Lincoln screaming as he jolted awake. "Yo little dude, you okay?" Luna asked in a concerned tone.
"It's…it's nothing," Lincoln replied as he turned around so that his legs hung from off the side of his bed, "Just another nightmare is all."
"Did…" Luna began in a nervous tone, remembering Lincoln's last nightmare such as this, "…Did you kill any of us in this nightmare?"
Gently shaking his head, Lincoln said, "No, Luna. It was just some random criminal."
Luna slowly walked over to her little brother's bed, sat down next to him, then gently laid a hand on his back. "…But your dream still has you spooked, huh?" Luna asked.
"If you woke up from a dream where you killed someone by jabbing them repeatedly with a knife, regardless of what that person had done, would you be spooked?" Lincoln asked as he gave his musically inclined ex-sister a mildly unamused wry look.
Nodding slowly a bit in agreement, Luna remarked, "You got me there, little dude." Getting up from where she sat, Luna asked in a concerned tone, "Are you going to be okay, bro?"
"I'll be fine," Lincoln replied, "Thank you for the concern." Getting back under the covers of his bed, Lincoln said, "Now then, if you don't mind, I'd like to try to get back to bed."
"Got it," Luna replied as she took the cue to leave, opening Lincoln's bedroom door, and closing it after she exited the room. Alone in his room once again, the white-haired boy, still spooked by the dream that he just woke up from, tried to return to the realm of sleep once more, hoping that he'd have dreams of a more pleasant nature.
…
"…He's still having nightmares, I'm afraid," Luna told the other Loud girls as they stood in the hallway outside of Lincoln's closed bedroom door.
"Would I be correct in guessing that it was another dream where Lincoln took the life of someone?" Lisa asked, her usually dry monotone carrying a hint of worry. Lisa's question was answered by a quiet nod in the affirmative from Luna.
"Ooh, can't we do anything to help him?" Leni said in a worried tone, clearly concerned for her younger brother's well-being, "It's, like, totes unfair that Linky has to deal with this."
"Unfair like how the lot of us made him out into a pariah?" Lynn retorted, clearly guilty for her role in what had compelled the sole Loud boy to run away.
"Girls, there's literally nothing we can do right now," Lori said to the other Loud girls, "We should try to tackle this problem in the morning. For now, we should all literally head back to bed. No use in staying up."
The other girls all agreed with what the oldest of their number had said, and thus they proceeded to head on off back to bed. As the group of Loud girls dispersed, Lisa said in her usual dry monotone, "Lynn, I am surprised that you not only know the word 'pariah', but that you know how to use it correctly."
"…Shut up," Lynn retorted in a dry, unamused tone before heading back to her and Lucy's room to go back to bed.
The following day, Lincoln was in the Ace family's backyard; in recent events, Lincoln had taken up practicing Kendo, and he was being tutored by Aggro Ace, the younger twin brother of Allison, who is friends with Lori, the oldest of Lincoln's ex-sisters. Aggro was having Lincoln practice some moves using a bokken; the bokken that Lincoln was using for practice was a few inches shorter than Morning Sun, Aggro's personal bokken, and it was of a whitish wooden color. Additionally, unlike Morning Sun, the bokken that Lincoln was using lacked any sort of wrap around the hilt end. As for Aggro himself, he was practicing alongside Lincoln, using Morning Sun.
"…Let's take a break, Lincoln-kun," Aggro said, catching the white-haired boy off guard a bit, "We've been at this for a fair enough amount of time."
"Alright, Aggro-sensei," Lincoln replied as he straightened up. The male Ace teen led Lincoln into the Ace family residence, and into the kitchen for a snack break.
…
"You seem troubled, Lincoln-kun," Aggro remarked as he and Lincoln sat at a dining table across from each other; Lincoln was eating some sort of sweet snack that was provided to him, whereas Aggro was having a can of his favorite brand of Root Beer. When Lincoln looked up to him from his snack, Aggro continued, "I've been tutoring you in kendo for the past few weeks, and today was the first time that I've seen you so distracted. I can tell that it's something rather troubling, given how distant you seemed when I had you go over some drills." Straightening up a bit, Aggro said, "Do you wish to talk about it?"
"…I had a rather disturbing nightmare last night," Lincoln replied after a few seconds.
"A nightmare, huh?" Aggro remarked in a mildly curious tone. After a few seconds of consideration, Aggro asked, "Might this nightmare of yours be related to the nightmare that you told Bobby and I about back at the birthday party that Astrid's friend had at Odin-Dono's?"
"Kind of," Lincoln began to explain in a resigned and troubled tone, "I chased down and killed someone, similar to the dream I had where I did the same to Luna."
"Was the person from your latest nightmare another one of your sisters, or some other relative of yours?" Aggro asked.
In response to his Kendo instructor's question, Lincoln gently shook his head. "No, it was some remorseless criminal," Lincoln said.
"A remorseless criminal, you say," Aggro remarked, his interest piqued.
"I can remember from my dream that nothing was being done to stop him," Lincoln went on, "Even though he was a major problem for the city as a whole. He also was clearly never going to stop on his own. Before I had gotten to him, he assaulted an old lady and stole her purse. That's when I chased him into an alleyway and…and…"
"Lincoln-kun, relax," Aggro said, getting his student to calm down. After giving a mildly resigned-sounding sigh, Aggro said, "Did your sister Lori ever tell you about the time where I killed a man?"
Upon hearing what his Kendo tutor just said, Lincoln looked up to him with a look of shock on his eleven-year-old face. "You…you killed a man, Aggro-sensei?" Lincoln asked, not believing what he had just heard.
Nodding gently a few times in the affirmative, Aggro explained, "This happened five years ago, back when Allison, Lori and I were all still in middle school."
"Back during Lori's quote unquote 'awkward phase'?" Lincoln asked in a knowing tone.
"If by awkward phase you mean back when your sister still wore braces and glasses, then yes," Aggro replied, "Lori said that she referred to that period of her life as her awkward phase, but we're getting off subject here." Taking a calming breath, Aggro said, "Allison had invited Lori over to spend the night. Sometime during the night, a burglar broke in and was trying to rob the place. Astrid, who was only six at the time, saw the burglar and freaked out. I rightly feared for the safety of my little sister, so…" Reaching down to where he had something leaning against the table, Aggro grabbed Moring Sun by its hilt in a reverse grip, and held it up just enough for Lincoln to see.
"…I ended up killing him, using Morning Sun to carry out the deed," Aggro said as he finished up his tale. Setting his bokken back where he had it, Aggro continued, "The most the burglar had on hand was a crowbar, which I believe was the main reason I had such an easy time against him. If the burglar had a gun, then I would have been a hell of a lot more frightened. Still, none of that changes the fact that I killed a man back when I was twelve." Lincoln nodded in an understanding manner as he listened to his sensei's story. Granted, Lincoln had killed a bit sooner than his sensei, and had claimed more lives than just that of one lone man, but the story still resonated a bit with the white-haired boy.
"…I believe that your nightmare from last night, and the incident back when I was twelve, have a lot in common, Lincoln-kun," Aggro said.
A curious and mildly confused look on his face, Lincoln said, "What do you mean, Aggro-sensei?"
"You said that the person that you killed in your nightmare from last night was a criminal that not only was never going to stop on his own, but nothing was being done about him, correct?" Aggro began, and after Lincoln nodded in the affirmative, Aggro continued, "Although it was a rather violent way to do so, you did what had to be done in your nightmare. That burglar from twelve years ago not only was going to rob my family, but I had every reason to believe he might have harmed one of my siblings. And my family was still trying to get over my aunt and uncle getting killed in that car crash, which happened a week and a half before the attempted burglary." Giving Lincoln a serious but understanding look, Aggro continued, "If doing so is truly the only way to keep something worse from happening or allowing that something worse to continue, then there's nothing wrong with taking things to their logical extreme, I believe. Although I pray that you never have to find yourself in such a situation, Lincoln-kun."
Smiling in a sympathetic manner, Lincoln said, "Thanks, Aggro-sensei." With his mood lightened a little, Lincoln resumed eating his snack, but about midway through, he heard some excited animal noises from the floor next to where he sat. Looking down to his left, Lincoln saw a young adult skunk, moving in place on the floor to the left of Lincoln's seat. "No, Spirit, you can't have any," Lincoln said to the skunk next to his chair, "This food isn't for skunks"
"Heh," Aggro said with an amused chuckle, "I take it Amy's pet skunk is bothering you?" Before Lincoln sound speak, some yipping came from Aggro's side of the table. Looking down to his right, Aggro reached down, picked something up, and placed a young adult red fox on his lap. "And we don't have any food for foxes either, Kyubi," Aggro said the fox on his lap as he gently stoked its head, eliciting a happy-sounding purring of some kind from the fox. Looking to his student, Aggro said, "Now's about the time to make sure there's food in Kyubi's, Spirit's and Fenrir's respective dishes. Care to help me, Lincoln-kun?"
"I'm surprised that Allison's dog can put away as much food as he does," Lincoln remarked in a tone of agreement as he got up off of his seat. At the same time that Lincoln got up, Aggro set Kyubi down on the floor and got up off of his seat as well.
"That's what Allison would refer to as a quote unquote 'warrior's appetite'," Aggro explained as he and Lincoln went about filling the pet food dishes.
One day at the Ace residence, after Lincoln's practice with Aggro was done for the day, Aggro said as he and Lincoln changed from their Kendo practice outfits back to their regular outfits, "Oh Lincoln-kun, there's going to be a Kendo tournament this Saturday at the youth center. Would you be interested in going to watch?"
"There's a Kendo tournament at the youth center?" Lincoln asked.
"It's for kids in the Royal Woods area," Aggro explained, "It'll be similar to the youth group football game in which you and a bunch of kids were playing against a similar team from the next town over." Standing up, Aggro said as he rolled his shoulders, "I figured that you might learn a lot from watching others compete."
"Why can't Linky, like, enter the tournament himself?" Leni asked; since the day Lincoln first started being tutored in Kendo, Leni would occasionally (i.e. frequently) come over to watch Lincoln practice with Aggro, and today was one of the (many) days that Leni had come over to watch the two guys practice the way of the sword.
"Well, technically, Lincoln-kun can enter if he wants to," Aggro replied in an 'ehh' kind of tone, "And the tournament's basically open to any kid who wishes to enter, regardless of how much training, if any, the kid may have. I'm still trying to figure out what the people organizing the tournament are even thinking with that." To Lincoln and Leni, Aggro said, "I suppose that if Lincoln-kun feels confident about it, I won't stop him from entering. Although personally, I'd rather that he spends more time practicing and training before he enters such an event."
"But Linky's had you as his teacher," Leni pointed out, "And you're, like, the best person in the world at this! Surely that means that Linky's ready!"
Laughing in a good-natured tone, Aggro replied, "Thanks for the flattery, but I seriously doubt that I'm the best in the world." Turning his head to face Lincoln, Aggro said, "Well Lincoln-kun, do you think you're ready to enter the tournament?"
With a shrug, Lincoln replied, "There's only one real way to find out."
Smirking in mild amusement, Aggro said, "I like that attitude. Going to the tournament will be a valuable learning experience either way, but there is more to gleam from doing rather than watching." Stretching his arms upwards, Aggro said, "You'll have to ask for your parents' permission to enter, but if they give you the okay, then I'll look into getting you signed up."
"EEEEEE!" Leni squealed excitedly, "This is so exciting! Linky's going to compete in a sword fighting game!"
Sighing in mild exasperation, Aggro pinched the bridge of his nose while saying, "It's an actual martial art."
When the day of the tournament came, Lincoln and Aggro found themselves at the local youth center, standing in a gymnasium at the youth center. "It's a good thing that I was able to sign you up ahead of time," Aggro remarked to his student, "As it turns out, there's something of a shortage when it comes to the Bogu sets. At least they have enough shinai for everyone."
"More than enough, if you ask me," Lincoln remarked, "I saw a container with a bunch of them sticking out of it."
"Shinai may break or splinter, which would make them unsafe for use," Aggro explained. As Lincoln nodded in understanding to what Aggro had said, the two boys heard Leni's voice call out, getting their attention in the process. The two boys turned to see Rita, Lucy, Lynn, Lola, Lana and all of Lincoln's ex-sisters come walking up.
"So, Lincoln," Rita began in a tone of mild trepidation, "This…this is your first tournament."
"Leni said that you're going to be doing a serious version of the play sword fighting that we do whenever Lola and I can convince you to play Knights and castles with us," Lana said, "Is that true, Lincoln? Are you going to be a knight?"
"Well, the tournament I'm going to enter is a serious version of when I play with you girls," Lincoln replied, "Although it's not actually playing. Also, I think I'd be more akin to a samurai than a knight."
"There's something that I'm, like, wondering about," Leni began saying to her little brother, "I saw a bunch of swords that look like they're made of bamboo that's tied together sticking out of a few barrels. Are they, like, a variation of that bokky sword you and Aggro use for practicing?"
"The correct pronunciation is 'bokken', Leni," Aggro began to explain, "And the swords that you saw are not bokken, they're shinai. Bokken are used when one is practicing movements on their own, and shinai are used when sparring against an opponent. The kids competing in today's tournament will be using shinai when going up against each other."
"Is that, like, important?" Leni asked.
"Aggro-sensei told me something about how it's kind of dangerous for two people sparring against each other in Kendo to use bokken, so shinai are used instead," Lincoln said.
"That's right," Aggro remarked to his student. Turning to face Rita and the Loud girls, Aggro continued, "Shinai, similar to bokken, come in varying lengths and weights, but the ones that the kids competing in today's tournament will be using are all the same length and weight."
"That's to make sure everything's fair, right?" Lynn asked.
"Exactly," Aggro answered, "The people running the tournament will be keeping an eye on the length and weight of the shinai that are used. In fact, I once made it to the final round of a Kendo tournament because my opponent before the final round was discovered to have been using a heavier shinai that what I was using. This discovery led to my opponent being disqualified."
"So that was like cheating," Lynn said.
"Pretty much," Aggro replied, "Another reason for the people keeping an eye on the shinai being used is in case one of the shinai breaks or splinters, which would render the shinai unsafe for use. Why else do you think so many shinai were brought in for the tournament?"
"That sounds like a pretty solid reason," Luna remarked.
"This is going to be awesome!" Lana said excitedly as she pumped a fist into the air, "My older brother's going to kick so much butt today!"
"Heh," Aggro thought in amusement as he proceeded to watch Lana and Lola ask Lincoln a million questions, "Just like Anna."
The tournament was off to a well enough start, with Lincoln getting past the first few rounds without much difficulty. Lincoln's family cheered whenever the white-haired boy won a match, and the booming cheering they gave from behind where Aggro sat made the male Ace teen believe that the Louds certainly live up to their family name.
Speaking of Aggro himself, although he would have preferred it if Lincoln had a bit more training before entering a tournament such as this, Aggro was amazed by how Lincoln made it past the first few rounds. That in itself was, as far as Aggro was concerned, praise-worthy, and Aggro fully intended to congratulate his student for the progress that he had shown so far in the tournament, even if Lincoln ended up getting eliminated at some point.
"Well I have certainly been proven wrong. I owe Lincoln-kun an apology for underestimating him," Aggro thought as he watched Lincoln win his latest match before an intermission to give the competitors still in the tournament a chance to catch their breath before the matches resumed, as well as give family members a chance to congratulate their kids for getting so far.
"Wow, Kara," Chandler remarked to his older cousin as the two of them were talking in private somewhere in the community center, "I never expected Larry to be in the tournament here, nor did I expect him to go up against you and take you out. Sorry about that, by the way."
"I think that was the boy that your friends tried to spring the trap on a few weeks ago back at Royal Woods Middle School," Kara remarked with her hands on her hips, "You never mentioned that he practiced Kendo."
"I didn't know that Larry practiced Kendo," Chandler replied with a shrug, "But Larry isn't the focus here. Anywho, did you see Francisco here?"
"Yeah, and he's still in the tournament," Kara explained. With a bit of a chuckle, Kara said, "Don't worry, little cousin, I already secretly switched out the shinai that Francisco was using without being caught by anyone."
"Well alright," Chandler said, "Now all one of us has to do is go up to one of the people that's monitoring the kendo matches, preferably after a match that Francisco just finished, tell the monitor person that we saw Francisco switch his bamboo sword out for another one, then we just sit back and let the show play out."
"And to think," Kara remarked to her younger cousin, "Uncle, Francisco's dad and the head guy at the sewage treatment plant are here watching the tournament. Imagine how they'll react when our secret plan unfolds."
"This'll only have one outcome, cousin," Chandler said, "Our family moving on up." Chandler and his older cousin both exchanged knowing smiles, then shared a fist-bump.
To Aggro's amused surprise and the happiness of Rita and the Loud girls, Lincoln advanced to the final round of the Kendo tournament. "Hey everyone," Lynn said as she came back to her group after leaving to get a soda from a vending machine. Popping the top off of her drink, Lynn asked, "So, what did I miss?"
"Lincoln…literally made it to the final round," Lori replied, a hint of apprehension in her tone, which did not go by unnoticed by her sporty younger sister.
"Why do you sound worried, Lori?" Lynn asked, "I mean, Lincoln is in the final round of a martial arts tournament! What's not to like about that?"
"Lori's concerned because Lincoln-kun's opponent is some boy by the name of Francisco," Aggro explained, "Personally, I don't see what the big deal is."
Suddenly, Lynn's eyes shot wide open. "…What?" the sporty Loud sibling said, no visible emotion in her tone.
"…I'm going to have to be filled in here, it seems," Aggro said to the other Louds.
Sighing in a resigned tone, Lori said, "That Francisco boy you just mentioned, Aggro. Lynn used to have a crush on him, but then when the baseball team Francisco belonged to tried to cheat in an official game against the team that Lynn belonged to, and that cheating was discovered, Lynn was pretty much devastated, even though Francisco didn't commit any of the cheating himself." Crossing her arms over her chest, Lori continued, "But after what happened during the student body elections over at the school Lynn and Luan go to, I'm doubting what that little twerp said in his own defense, not that I ever really believed what Francisco said."
"…Oh my," Aggro remarked in a mildly concerned tone. To Lynn specifically, Aggro asked, "You are doing better now, aren't you?"
"I am doing better, yes," Lynn replied, "And I found a new crush who has a far stronger sense of honor than Francisco ever had." Shaking her head gently, Lynn said, "But that's beside the point. The point here now is that Lincoln is totally going to mop the floor with Francisco."
"One can only hope," Aggro replied as he and everyone he was talking to turned to face forward so they can watch the match between Lincoln and Francisco. As the two boys stepped up to take their respective places, the cheering in the gymnasium reached a fever pitch, in no small part thanks to a certain family who literally had Loud as their last name, cheering for their only son, their only brother. The Louds gave it their all, in hopes that Lincoln would win.
…
"Game, set and match!" the referee for the Kendo tournament announced, "Francisco wins!" The audience in the youth center gymnasium cheered loudly as Francisco was announced as the winner, although a certain family wasn't all that happy with the thirteen-year-old boy's victory.
"I can't believe that bastard won!" Lynn swore vengefully as she stood up rather forcefully, "I ought to put a knuckle sandwich right into the center of his face!"
"I understand you're upset that your brother lost, Lynn," Aggro said to the sporty Loud, "And to a boy who broke your heart, no less. But in all fairness, it was a fair match. You should be proud of the fact that Lincoln-kun made it to the final round of the first tournament that he ever entered. Even I wasn't expecting that, given how recently I've started tutoring him in Kendo."
Sighing in a relenting tone, Lynn replied, "I know, I know. But I still can't-"
"Hey, what are those guys talking to the referee about?" Leni asked, cutting Lynn off as she pointed to two men talking to the referee. After a few seconds, the referee called Francisco over, and apparently asked to see his shinai. Receiving the shinai from Lynn's former crush, the referee then picked up one of the shinai that was made standard for the tournament, and proceeded to compare the two bamboo swords, as if to try and see some sort of quality that the two of them had.
"Attention everyone!" the referee announced, "There's been a mistake! Francisco's been disqualified, meaning that the winner is actually Lincoln!"
"Linky actually won?" Leni nearly exclaimed, "Hooray!"
"Wait a minute," Lynn began in a suspicious tone, "What did the referee mean by saying that Francisco was disqualified?"
"…I was hoping something like this wouldn't happen in a tournament that Lincoln-kun entered," Aggro remarked in a mildly grim tone, "But since the referee was comparing the shinai he received from that Francisco boy to one of the standard issue shinai for the tournament, I think that Francisco was using a heavier shinai than the one that Lincoln-kun was using."
"…So…" Lynn said quietly as an angry and violent storm started to brew within her, "…Are you saying that-"
"Francisco was disqualified for cheating, yes," Aggro interrupted, "Although if it makes you feel any better, this means that Lincoln-kun won the first Kendo tournament he ever entered."
"…I'm going to destroy Francisco," Lynn said, "Both for cheating in a sporting slash martial art event, and for cheating against my little brother. He's going down, mark my words."
"She'll cool down once I take her and all of her siblings out at the pizza place to celebrate Lincoln winning," Rita said to Aggro. Both the Loud matriarch and the Kendo instructor regarded the sporty Loud girl with looks of concern.
…
"There has to be a mistake," one man said as he and two others talked to each other, "There's no real way that my son would intentionally cheat in an event like this!"
"As much as we all would like for what had happened to not have happened at all, the fact remains that it happened," the second man said, "In fact, I wonder if your son had cheated in all of the other matches that he was in today. At least my niece Kara never faced him."
"I have to say, this is rather disappointing," the third man said; this third man seemed somewhat older and a lot more affluent than the other two men. To the first man, the third man said in a mildly disappointed tone, "I was expecting more strength of character out of your son than this, but I guess I was wrong." Holding a hand to his chin, the third man continued, "Makes me wonder about where he got such ideals from."
"You can't be serious, sir!" the first man said, shocked and a little worried.
With a gentle shake of his head, the third man said, "We'll discuss this, and certain other things, on Monday in my office." To both of the other men, the third man said, "I'll expect to see the both of you in my office at nine AM sharp." The third man then took his leave, leaving the first two men on their own.
Turning to face the first man, the second man said with a hint of condescension in his tone, "Tough break about your son's cheating, huh?" The second man then turned around and took his own leave, leaving the first man alone.
Later that evening at the Loud family residence, just as the stars started to appear in the sky, Lincoln was standing in front of the family's trophy case with Lynn and Leni. Inside the case in the space reserved for Lincoln was a golden trophy, roughly one foot tall, that signified that Lincoln had won a Kendo tournament. "Hey, what happened to that little trophy we made for Linky?" Leni asked.
"Lola and Lana were trying to wrestle Charles into some outfit, and in the struggle, they bumped into the trophy case hard enough to make it pop open and cause some of the awards inside to fall out," Lynn explained, "The trophy we made for Lincoln was broken, along with two trophies I got for playing baseball."
"Sorry to hear that some of your trophies were broken," Lincoln said to his sporty sibling.
With a dismissive wave of her hand, Lynn said, "They were baseball trophies, Lincoln. No need to sweat it." Turning back to face the trophy case, Lynn said, "But we're getting off subject here. You won a trophy, Lincoln! And it's a first place one!" Grabbing Lincoln in a gentle headlock, Lynn proceeded to playfully noogie the top of Lincoln's head. "You're getting to be more like me, Lincoln!" Lynn said with a good amount of mirth in her tone, "Try to keep it up!"
Laughing a bit, Lincoln said, "Okay, Lynn, just let me-" Lincoln was cut off when he, his sporty sister and his ditzy ex-sister heard a knock at the front door. The three of them went to the door to answer it, and Leni opened it to reveal Aggro standing there. In addition to the bokken carrying case over Aggro's back that held Morning Sun, there was another bokken carrying case over Aggro's back, peeking out from behind his left shoulder and right hip; this gave Aggro the appearance of a certain dual-wielding swordsman that is known to be cloaked in black.
"Sorry if I came by at an inconvenient time," Aggro said, "But I wanted to bring something by to Lincoln-kun, as a sort of congratulatory present for winning his first Kendo tournament." Taking off the bokken carrying case that didn't hold Morning Sun, Aggro opened it and drew out the bokken that was inside. About an inch shorter than Morning Sun, this second bokken was still just as thick. The second bokken was a whitish wood color, and the faux leather wrapping around the end that served as the hilt had green threading as opposed to the red threading on Morning Sun's hilt. Placing the second bokken back into its carrying case, Aggro handed it to Lincoln while saying, "Here you go."
"You're giving Linky a wooden sword?" Leni asked, clearly shocked that Aggro was showing such generosity.
"I figured that it was high time that Lincoln-kun got his own bokken," Aggro remarked, "I picked this up from a specialty store. Now he can get some practice in here at home, instead of having to rely exclusively on his visits to my family's place."
"Th-thank you, Aggro-sensei," Lincoln replied, still surprised that his Kendo instructor bothered to go through the trouble of getting him his own bokken, and one that was of such a high quality.
"Does Linky's new wooden sword have a name like yours, Aggro?" Leni asked.
With a mildly amused look on his face, Aggro replied, "That's up to Lincoln-kun to determine. Although if I were him, I'd try to some up with a meaningful name."
"How about Idiot Beater?" Lynn suggested, "Because Lincoln should use it to beat Francisco? Or maybe Jerk Wrecker, or-"
"It's up to your brother to determine, Lynn," Aggro interrupted, "Now then, I believe I've intruded on your time enough, so I'll be taking my leave." Aggro turned around to leave, but stopped short as he looked up into the sky. "…Wow, the night sky's rather clear tonight."
Curious, Lincoln, Lynn and Leni walked out to where Aggro stood and looked up into the night sky. The skies could not be clearer, allowing the stars to shine at their brightest. "…A while ago, my family and I went to Lake Superior," Aggro said, "At night, when we looked up into the skies, we saw the Aurora Borealis lights. Allison said that the lights were caused by Odin trying to put on a show to amuse warriors that he deemed worthy."
"Even without those pretty northern lights you're talking about Aggro, this starlit sky is, like, totes pretty," Leni remarked. Looking down to her siblings, Leni asked, "What do you guys think, Linky and Lynn?"
"Yeah, Leni," Lincoln agreed, "It is rather-" Lincoln stopped short as a look of inspiration crossed his face. "…That's it," Lincoln said.
"What's it, bro?" Lynn asked, a curious look on her face as she turned to face her younger brother.
Looking back down, Lincoln held the carrying case that held his new bokken in both hands. "I just figured out what I'm going to name my bokken," Lincoln replied. The white-haired boy took his bokken out of its carrying case, and held it up, his right hand gripping the bokken's hilt, so that it was up against the night sky everyone was looking up at. "I'm going to name it Starlit Sky," Lincoln said.
With an amused smile on his face, Aggro said, "That's as fine of a name as I ever heard for a sword, Lincoln-kun. Not bad."
"What Leni said just now gave me the idea," Lincoln explained as he returned his bokken, newly christened as Starlit Sky, back to its carrying case. Looking up at his instructor, Lincoln said, "Thanks again, Aggro-sensei."
"You've more than earned it, Lincoln-kun," Aggro replied, "Just don't forget to keep up with your training, alright?" After a few more pleasantries were exchanged, Aggro took his leave for real, leaving Lincoln, Lynn and Leni alone.
"Well, you guys," Lynn said, "We ought to get going back inside." Nodding in agreement with the sporty Loud girl, Lincoln and Leni both followed her back into the Loud family house, and soon afterwards, everyone settled down into sleep.
…
Lincoln was once again in one of the alleyways of the city that he ran away to, once again in the guise of Broken Mirror. Lincoln chased down and killed yet another member of the violent youth gang. Just as he got up from his latest kill, Lincoln came to his senses, stumbling back a bit out of shock of what he had just done.
"Why…" Lincoln thought as he shook his head, "…Why does this keep happening to me…?" Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared, blinding Lincoln. The white-haired boy then felt himself thrown back by some sort of force. When the light died down, Lincoln stood up and when he did, what he saw shocked him. The first thing that Lincoln saw, lying about a few feet away, was an exact copy of himself, dressed as Broken Mirror. Looking down, Lincoln saw that he himself was dressed as he normally way. The second thing that Lincoln saw, floating a few feet above the ground of the alleyway, was Starlit Sky.
Broken Mirror, seeing the bokken, got up and tried to make a grab for it. But Lincoln was quicker, and not only did he grab Starlit Sky first, but he swung it at Broken Mirror in a diagonal slashing motion, striking the masked vigilante across his body from his left shoulder to his right hip. Broken Mirror, to Lincoln's confusion, then vanished in a swirl of dark purple smoke. After the vigilante was gone, Starlit Sky radiated with a bright, comforting glow.
Lincoln's vision went blank white for a moment, but when vision returned to him, Lincoln saw that he was standing in his ex-family's front yard at night. Looking around, Lincoln saw that nothing was off; it was just a typical Royal Woods night as far as he could tell. The only thing different was that Lincoln still held Starlit Sky.
As he stood there, Lincoln held up his bokken and looked at it; it had done away with his vigilante self, then brought him from the cold and unforgiving world of the city he ran away to the warm and familiar environment of his home town. Lincoln didn't understand how all of this happened, but there was something that he did understand.
He was home.
…
Lincoln woke up with a bit of a start. Looking over at a clock, Lincoln saw that it was roughly five-thirty in the morning. Getting up out of his bed, Lincoln walked over to his dresser. Laying across the top of the dresser was Starlit Sky, still in its carrying case. The sole Loud boy laid a hand over the carrying case that held his bokken as he let out a sigh. He was having one of his nightmares where he was back to being Broken Mirror. But then Lincoln and Broken Mirror became two separate people, Starlit Sky appeared in the dream, Lincoln took it, and then used it to destroy Broken Mirror.
Could…could Lincoln find peace at night now? Would this bokken continue to banish the nightmares, just as it had done just now?
Shrugging, Lincoln decided to ponder about it as he went back to bed and laid there until the first of the Loud girls got up.
END, RESTORED IMAGE
Author's notes:
The seventh one-shot from the collection I keep mentioning actually covers both this chapter and the previous one. The reason why I stretched things out over the course of two chapters here is because Lincoln has a lot more development here in 'Restored Image' than in the one-shots. Well anywho, now that the 'Lincoln learns about Kendo' arc is over, things will be heading back to continuing the story in the next chapter.
