Chapter One: Into the Twilight Zone

That June, Korin had a problem on his paws, and it had a name: Yajirobe. After Korin's occasional protegé, Son Goku, defeated the Demon King Piccolo with some help from Yajirobe, it seemed that the ronin had nowhere to go in particular. And with unlimited access to Korin Tower's amenities like the magically filling and healing Senzu Beans, it seemed that he had no desire to leave anytime soon, as well.

Or did he?

June 1 was the last day that Korin was going to give Yajirobe before confronting him. Korin launched right into it by saying Yajirobe's name at normal volume as he dozed in his sleeping bag. Predictably, he did not budge. Or he ignored Korin on purpose.

The cat sage resorted to poking the ronin's thick back with his cane. He moaned with annoyance, but still refrained from moving, so Korin smacked his back with the cane. At last, Yajirobe sat up. "What?!"

"You slept for 10 hours," said Korin matter-of-factly.

"...I did?"

"Yes. Are you planning on doing anything anytime soon?"

Yajirobe furrowed his brow and looked around, not that there was much to look at considering the high altitude. He scratched his face. "Um…"

Korin sighed. "Look, you have the potential to make a real difference."

"In what?"

Korin took a moment to breathe through his nostrils. "Why don't you return to the world below and find out?"

Yajirobe looked away as a sense of panic settled in. It sounded like Korin just wanted to get rid of him, but he was not willing to give up a place where he could stay rent-free, with regular meals, quite so easily.

"What if I earned my keep?" he asked. "I could… I could… take care of those Beans for you!"

"Why do you want to stay up here when the world below has so much more to offer a young person like you?"

Yajirobe shrugged. "I dunno…"

"Well, you're gonna know."

"Tch. Where should I even start?"

Korin turned around and put a paw behind his back. "Dear boy, 'should' is an overused word."

Yajirobe stood up. "Well, I'm going to need a lot of Senzu Beans, then."

"You can have some." Korin knew that he was going to need them, wherever he went.

Yajirobe pouted. "OK."

After he filled a little cloth bag with Senzu Beans, there was another obstacle to contend with. "I need a way to get down."

"That is a pickle," said Korin slyly. "Sometimes, all you need is a little push." He approached Yajirobe, who backed up against the railing.

"Surely you don't mean…" He looked back at the sea of clouds below them. "Can't I just use one of those cloud thingies? Please?"

"You know that only the pure of heart can ride those."

'Pure of heart'?! What the hell does that even mean?!

Korin continued to creep up on the ronin, who fell backwards off of the railing.

"Oops," said Korin.

Yajirobe fell like a rock through the clouds until he grasped the pole at the base of the Tower within his wildly flailing arms. He trembled as he took a few minutes to calm down.

"Real funny, Korin. Someday…"

Once he composed himself, he made his way to solid ground over the course of three cautious hours. He supposed that he should have been relieved in a way; climbing down was a lot less difficult than the opposite. However, as slow as it was to climb up the Tower normally, it was oddly slow to climb down, considering how frightened he was.

When his feet touched the ground, he was noticed by Bora, the guardian of the Sacred Land of Korin, and Upa, his diminutive son. He pulled a grumpy face at the ronin because they had a little spat when they first met.

The giant of a man approached Yajirobe and asked in his deep voice, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," said Yajirobe, "except for Korin tryin' to kill me." He did not understand why Korin had to be so mean.

Bora's eyebrow raised.

"I'm not sure if he meant to," said Yajirobe. "I guess I got thrown out." The cold, hard reality began to sink in.

"What'd you do?!" demanded Upa.

Yajirobe shrugged. "Iunno. All I did was sit around and eat his food. You'd think he'd be a little more grateful for the company."

Bora coughed. "Where will you go now?"

Yajirobe rubbed his arm. "I don't know… I used to live out in the jungle."

"Are you going to go back?" asked Upa.

"I dunno! What is this, 20 Questions?!"

"Eep!" Upa hid behind his father, who shot a look at Yajirobe.

"Sorry… I'll get outta your hair…"

He began to shuffle away from the father-son duo.

Guess it's back to the jungle with me…

He took his flier capsule out of his bag and activated it. Then, he plopped into the driver's seat.

"Daddy," whispered Upa, "I don't like that man, but he seems so… sad."

Yajirobe jerked his head around. "I heard that! I'll have you know I'm very happy!"

"Eep!" Upa leaped back a bit. After Yajirobe tore off, the boy and his father just looked at each other.

Yajirobe drove westward all day to get back to the jungle. He felt a twinge of regret for embarrassing himself in front of Bora and Upa, but he spent the majority of his time thinking about what Korin said.

'Make a difference'? That's so vague. Did he mean a good one, or a bad one? Probably not the latter… He is a goody two-shoes…But me, make a difference?

He stopped his car and saw city lights in the far distance. They glittered like jewels.

If everyone has the potential to make a difference, then why do some choose to make a bad one?

He frowned and turned the car around before a scream shattered the silence of the night. He jumped in his seat and slammed on the brakes, then looked around and hopped out of his car. Behind him, there were rustling noises.

He scrambled to unsheathe his katana, and then ran into the bushes, where he saw a most unusual little girl huddled among them. She had a rather large head, pale skin, a tiny, slightly flat nose, and big, dark eyes. Her thin, white hair was done up in two little pigtails, and she wore a beige dress. She had tears streaked down her face.

Before Yajirobe could fully parse what was going on, more rustling noises came from behind him. He turned around and a raptor lunged at him. Reflexively, he raised his sword and pushed it up against the raptor's gaping maw with both hands on the flat end of the blade. The raptor slammed into the nearest palm tree, and its head was cut clean through. Before its bottom half fell to the ground, Yajirobe noticed two more raptors as they encroached upon the girl cowering in the dirt. He rushed at them and stabbed the first one in the head, and then pushed his katana through to the other one's head with little effort. Then, another, larger raptor jumped out of the bushes at Yajirobe, but with the beast committed to the jump, the ronin held his sword up, creating a large gash in the raptor's belly. It fell to the ground and jerked its head up, only to fall back down immediately.

Yajirobe surveyed the area, weapon at the ready. It appeared that the coast was clear. He turned around to see the girl sniffle and bolt into some shrubbery, but the largest raptor yet blocked her path. The dinosaur reared up, opened its mouth and lunged for the girl before Yajirobe could get between them.

But the girl screamed, and the beast jerked backwards into a tree with such force that it snapped several trees in half. The dinosaur did not move after that.

Yajirobe's jaw dropped as the girl collapsed. He ran over to her and spoke to her twice before her eyes flickered open. She yelled and hid behind a tree.

"Are you OK?" asked Yajirobe.

The girl sniffled again before she began to bawl.

"Um, why don't you tell me what happened here?"

"I didn't listen to Mommy. She told me not to go out alone… especially at night… but I love to look at the stars…"

That struck a suspicious chord with Yajirobe. Was the girl's mother trying to hide her from the world because she looked different? Was he going to have to confront the mother?

"You're tired of bein' cooped up? asked Yajirobe.

She sniffled. "I shouldn't have gone out."

"Can you tell me where you live?"

"I can try. I kinda got turned around…"

"Ok, but you better not get us lost!"

Yajirobe sighed and got back into his car. The girl sat in the passenger's seat, and he instructed her to put her seatbelt on.

"Why aren't you wearing your seatbelt?" the girl asked.

Yajirobe scoffed. "Just put it on." She complied.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"...Yajirobe. Yours?"

"Edie. My mommy's name is Mia."

"Pretty name."

Edie wiped her nose and beamed, "I know!"

Yajirobe couldn't help but chuckle. At least Edie's relationship with her mother was that good.

"Where do you live?" asked Yajirobe.

"On a farm. My mommy grows bananas and stuff. They're real good."

"Hmm… What about your dad?"

Edie fidgeted. "He's not around," she said quietly.

Yajirobe gripped the steering wheel tighter. "I see."

"Mommy says he's a good-for-nothin'." said Edie.

Yajirobe sneered. "You want me to go get him?" Edie just blinked up at him. "'Cause I will."

Edie smiled. "Naw, it's ok."

Yajirobe frowned. "Yeah…"

Soon enough, they reached the farmhouse.

"Well…" said Yajirobe.

"'Kay," whispered Edie, "I'm gonna sneak back in. Thanks... for everything." She was a little embarassed.

As she approached her house, the front door flew open.

"Edie! Where have you been, young lady?!"

"Eek!" Edie's posture became rod-straight.

Mia, a woman in her late 20s, turned the corner holding a double-barreled shotgun. When she noticed Yajirobe, she pointed it at him, so he held his hands up.

"Mommy, he protected me!"

"What?" asked Mia.

"There were bad monsters out in the jungle-"

"Oh, Edie… If I've told you once… The jungle is too dangerous for a little kid in the daytime, let alone at night!"

Edie looked glumly at the ground. "I'm sorry," she said in a pitiful tone. "I'll never do it again."

Mia winced, dropped the gun, and hugged her baby girl.

"Get in here," said Mia. She took Edie inside and closed the door behind them.

Yajirobe breathed a sigh of relief. He found the situation here suspicious, and he had approximately a million questions (mainly "Does your daughter have psychic powers?" and "If so, why?" and "Do you know your daughter has psychic powers?"), but a more pressing matter reared its familiar head: hunger. His stomach growled ravenously, reminding him that he had not eaten since whenever he consumed his last Senzu Bean. He scratched his head as he weighed his options; he could have eaten another Senzu Bean to fill his belly, but since Korin limited how many he took, he knew that they were best saved for emergencies.

That was when he realized he left behind a lot of meat nearby.

He returned to where he fought the five raptors, cooked them up, and gorged himself on them. They did not taste very good, but they took care of his hunger, and it was nostalgic to hunt again after so long.

As he ate, he decided to check on Edie and Mia the next day.

The next morning, he gingerly returned to the farmhouse. Edie was nowhere to be seen, but her mother was working her field of produce.

"Uh," said Yajirobe, "hey…"

Mia whipped around from the bunch of bananas that she was picking. "Oh, you…" She looked around. "Listen, Mister…"

"Yajirobe."

"Did you… really save my daughter last night?"

Yajirobe grimaced. "Yeah. I found her totally by accident."

Mia frowned at the field. "And what were you doing around here?"

Yajirobe swallowed. "Uh, I was basically thrown out, s-so… you could say I was lookin' for a new place to stay."

Mia's eyes narrowed. "Thrown out by who?"

The truth was embarrassing, so Yajirobe endeavored to omit as much as possible. "Uh, my master."

"So you do… what?"

"...I'm a hunter."

"With a sword."

Yajirobe furrowed his brow. "Yeah."

Mia's face contorted with confusion. "Why would you be thrown out?"

Yajirobe pursed his lips. "I wasn't doin' anythin' bad. But maybe I slacked off a little..." He huffed.

Mia looked surprised. "Oh." She took one of her gloves off and scratched her face. "I don't know much about you, but… you helped my daughter and got her back home safe, so… thank you."

Yajirobe smiled weakly. It was nice to be appreciated, he supposed.

"You can't be such a bad guy, even though you look like a delinquent."

Yajirobe let out a tiny, irritated scoff.

"So why'd you come back?"

"I was just wonderin' how Edie was doin'."

Guilt flickered across Mia's face. "She's fine. She said that we had to be nice to you, because you were nice to her."

Aw, shucks...

"Can you tell me something?" asked Mia.

"What?"

"Did anyone else see you last night? Did you tell anyone else about Edie?"

So she is tryin' to hide her…

Yajirobe felt a small wave of disappointment. "No. Is it really such a bad thing if someone sees her?"

Mia looked down at her fingers. So that was where Edie got that habit from. "It could just cause problems. You know?"

If Yajirobe was being honest, he felt a bit angry on Edie's behalf, but he tried to refrain from showing it. "...Yeah."

"Look, can you please not tell anyone about us?"

"Why, are you two in danger?"

Mia shook her head. "We'll be fine."

"All right."

Yajirobe began to walk away, but then Mia said, "Wait." She slipped inside of the house and swiftly returned with a loaf of bread wrapped up in a bandanna. She placed it in Yajirobe's hands. It was warm.

"Banana bread," said Mia.

"Are you sure?"

"I insist."

Yajirobe gave a shy smile. "...Thanks. Guess I'll get outta your hair now."

"Where are you going to stay?"

"Um, I'm still between places…" He wondered if she was going to offer him to stay at their place for a while.

"You don't have anything lined up?"

"No."

"Are you gonna be OK?"

Yajirobe sighed. "Yeah. I'm used to roughing it."

That was when Yajirobe saw Mia begin to look really concerned.

"I mean, you two kinda are, too, aren't ya?" asked Yajirobe. Mia just stared at him. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm tough."

"Look, I'll make you an offer. Prove your worth as a farmhand… and you can stay. At least until you find somewhere else."

Yajirobe was stunned that she actually made the offer. If he stayed, sure, he would have to work, but he would have a roof over his head, regular meals, and he could try to figure out what was going on with them. He agreed.

Yajirobe had the nagging feeling that he was intruding, but Mia still showed him around the farm and introduced him to the duties he would have to perform. They were not so hard for him, though the sun was sometimes quite harsh over the next few days.

Yajirobe slept on the couch during this time; it was more comfortable than sleeping outside in a tent. Edie was very happy to have him around, though she started off overwhelming him with questions about the outside world, so Mia gently directed her to stop. Over the next few days, the unlikely trio fell into a routine. Yajirobe observed that Mia spent time with Edie over television and board games. He was distant at first, but slowly got roped in, and Mia and Edie were patient, moreso than he had expected.

On the third night, however, Yajirobe heard Edie sneaking outside again, so he confronted her about it.

"Hey," he whispered. Edie whirled around and looked up at him.

"Didn't your mom tell you to not do exactly this?" He suspected that he was being a bit harsh, but someone had to convince her to stop. "What if something bad happens again?"

Edie simply blinked and smiled. "Then you'll save me! I just wanna stargaze a little bit. Please?" She clasped her hands and hopped up and down.

"...You shouldn't do things that make your mom upset." He began to understand why Mia was so exasperated the night he returned Edie to her.

Edie pouted. "I'm not doing it for that. I love Mommy; she does everything for me."

"But she doesn't let you outside?"

"...Not out late, or when other people are around… She says it's for my own good, an' so, I rarely get to meet people from the outside world…"

Edie pointed upwards. "Woah! A shooting star! Didja see?"

"No. Shouldn't we get back inside now?"

"Can I ask you something first?"

"What?" asked Yajirobe, slightly impatient.

"Will you be my friend?"

Yajirobe's eyes widened. "...Uh, sure. But you should listen to your mom. Be a good girl."

"OK, but you gotta be a good boy, too."

Yajirobe snickered. "Sure."

"I don't believe you!" Edie stomped her little foot.

Yajirobe held his hand up. "OK! OK. Now go back inside."

"All righty…"

She walked in plodding fashion back into the house.

The rest of the week passed without incident. The passage of time made Yajirobe feel even less inclined to investigate Mia's relationship with Edie. He started to feel guilty and anxious about even considering it. But that rainy night, he was unable to get to sleep easily, so he decided to finally look around the house for anything untoward.

He did not find anything suspicious or secretive, which made him feel even more guilty. But then, he attacked the situation from another angle: instead of what was in the house, what wasn't? He realized that there were no pictures of Edie around, and he glowered. But he didn't know if he should have confronted Mia about it, let alone how. It felt… disrespectful and sneaky. He resigned himself to returning to bed.

The next day, Mia had to go into town to sell some produce, leaving Yajirobe to babysit Edie. As Mia drove away in her truck, he saw the loneliness in Edie's pout.

He sighed. "You wanna go with her?"

She nodded.

He was unable to think of anything meaningful to say, so he just said what came to mind first: "Do you -want a snack?"

She nodded, but still looked sulky.

As they walked away from the front door, he heard something outside: the engine of an approaching vehicle. Not Mia's truck. There was not a lot of traffic out here in the countryside, so he could not help but be wary of the van that he saw through the window. SCIN was printed on its sides; some authority that he had never seen before.

The van pulled up in front of the house and came to a stop.

For some reason, Yajirobe had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, but ignored it and hoped that this was some silly misunderstanding that he could resolve without being bothered.

Two people exited the van and approached him. The woman in front had a neutral expression; she was slightly taller than average, and had broad shoulders. The young man behind her was of average height, a little thin, and possessed of slicked-back blond hair, brown eyes, and a smug demeanor.

"Um," said Yajirobe, "are you cops?"

"We're with SCIN," said the woman. "The Secure Cryptid Investigation Network. We received an anonymous tip about a disturbance."

Yajirobe sighed impatiently. "I can't let you in without the permission of the lady of the house."

"It's important," claimed the woman. "The people who live here could be in danger."

"What kind of danger?"

"Danger involving cryptids?"

Yajirobe was already growing impatient; he crossed his arms. "What's a cryptid?"

"A creature that is believed to exist, but whose existence hasn't been proven."

Yajirobe swallowed. "Uhh… on what grounds do you have to believe that?"

"An anonymous tip."

"And what grounds do you have to investigate that?"

The woman held up a search warrant.

He had no choice but to let them inside.

No, wait! Think up a lie!

"You can't come in here! The flu is going around."

The woman looked at him askance. "The flu is always going around. And you don't look sick. Unless someone else is…" She tried to look beyond him.

"Yajirobe?" asked a tiny voice nearby. Yajirobe simply stared straight ahead as Edie walked up alongside him.

"What's going on?" she asked, and looked blankly at the two police officers. "Who are these people?"

"Hello," said the woman, as she leaned over, "sweetie. Is your mother home?"

"Mother?" asked Yajirobe. The woman did not look up at him.

Yajirobe slammed the door in her face and he scrambled to lock the door and hasp. "Edie, we gotta run!"

"Why?" She was getting scared.

"They know too much. Is this the reason why she keeps you away from other people?"

"What?"

"Way to go," said the thin man. He kicked the door down as Yajirobe tried to run with Edie to the other side of the house.

"Get him!" commanded the thin man. The woman broke off from him and strode across the living room to grab Yajirobe's collar and slam him up against the wall with shocking ease.

He saw the thin man grab Edie, who screamed.

If ever there was a time to do what you did the other night…!

Yajirobe's katana was hidden under the couch at Mia's insistence so that Edie would not easily find it. He knew that he needed it to turn the tables, but the woman was like a stone wall as Yajirobe slammed his fists down upon her shoulders.

"Please stop resisting," said the woman. "This doesn't have to be painful."

"Where's the fun in that?" asked Yajirobe. He tried to hit the woman's eyes, but she dodged both attempts. Desperate, Yajirobe's legs flailed about, but this was a feint; he reared back to headbutt the woman. She recoiled and loosed Yajirobe, who fell to the floor. He ran to the couch and grabbed his katana, but hesitated for a moment as he tried to determine what to do next. He decided to try to intercept the thin man, but the woman unleashed a thunderous kick to his back, which dazed him. Before he could retaliate, he felt a stabbing pain in his back. His right hand found the source: a small needle. A moment of confusion was swept away by a dawning horror – it was a tranquilizer dart. He glanced back at the woman, who held a tranquilizer gun and had an apologetic expression.

Yajirobe ran out of the living room and into the hall, but was cold-cocked by the thin man. While the samurai briefly saw stars, the thin man punched him again; however, Yajirobe recovered and pushed his katana's scabbard up against the other man's throat, pinning him up against the wall. Yajirobe reared back for a punch, but the thin man jerked his head to the side, so the samurai's fist hit the wall instead, leaving a hole. He grunted and pushed his scabbard further up against the thin man's throat, which caused him to gasp.

Yajirobe already felt his strength wane, so he punched the thin man a few times, but he still resisted being knocked out. It was then that the woman pulled Yajirobe away and wrapped his neck with her arms in a chokehold. Unable to fight her off, Yajirobe soon slipped into unconsciousness.