June 11th, Taru Hostel, 8:30
David entered the room, seeing that Kikaru had woken up and that he was looking out the window with a cup of tea in his hand.
“Good morning!” David enthusiastically said.
Kikaru just smiled back towards him. “You were up early, weren’t you? I heard you leaving.”
David shrugged. “Yeah, morning routine. I always try to do it. How did you hear me though, I thought I was very silent.”
Kikaru took a sip of his tea. “I must have very good hearing.”
They both laughed.
“Well, I’m gonna freshen myself up.” David said, having put one leg in the bathroom already.
“Oh? What for?”
“We’re gonna meet the village chief today, I ran into Kaey’s parents, they’re very friendly. I got told where to find him.”
Kikaru took another sip of his tea.
“Yeah, that sounds like a very good idea. After all, I didn’t just shout hot air last night.” He took one final sip before placing his cup on the table.
“That letter filled me with rage. I know that there was a possibility that people would chase after Infinity. But to threaten a village like that is something that you just don’t do.”
David nodded. “Yeah. We never know when they might attack. We also know nothing about Kaey or this place truly, which is why I think we must visit him.”
He sprang into the bathroom, and after they both got done preparing, they left the hostel.
June 11th, Taru Shrine, 9:30
Kikaru and David walked through the shrine gate once more. Kikaru walked towards one of the workers and asked where he could find the chief. She pointed them in the right direction. After a bit more walking they stood in front of a sliding door. There was silence between the both of them, not knowing what was behind it.
“You two can come in, that you can.” A voice said from behind. It was that of an old man.
“Pardon the intrusion.” Kikaru said as he opened the sliding door.
The first thing they both saw was a man sitting at the edge of the room on a wooden balcony. The room itself was mostly in an old Japanese style. There was also a hung up blue Haori on the wall, it had a lot of tears in it, a telling sign that it had been used a lot.
The man himself looked old, probably in his 60s. He had short gray hair and was wearing a white haori. They couldn’t get a look at his face due to his back being turned from them.
“Come sit down.” The man patted on the empty spot next to him.
Both Kikaru and David sat down next to the man, Kikaru on the left of him and David on the right of him.
Kikaru got a look at how his face looked. He had very big scars on his right cheek and his right eyebrow. He also had a look in his eyes that screamed “guardian.” They looked very driven. Even then, Kikaru didn’t feel intimidated.
“You’re the two strangers that Kaey told me about. You two must have some questions, I will try to answer most of them.”
Kikaru asked the first question with his usual formal tone.
“We ran into Kaey and had a small misunderstanding. That is all good, however, I must ask. Who is he? Why is he the village guardian now? What does a village guardian even do?”
The man looked at Kikaru. “That’s a lot of questions in a row, that it is.” He let out a small laugh. David laughed too.
“Let me begin by explaining what a village guardian does. We protect and help everyone in this village, no matter what happens. It’s a very intense job that asks for a lot of devotion. The guardian spends every night wandering this place, looking out for danger. We also help farmers with setting up everything, or requests for the villagers. I used to be the guardian until 5 years ago.”
The man suddenly coughed a lot, a trinkle of blood appeared in the corner of his mouth.
“I took in Kaey 10 years ago, he was very adamant about it. He was a quick learner and his physique definitely helped. He is very devoted to following me up.. that foolish kid. He cares more about this village than anything else. After I collapsed, he took over. Kaey has a disciple right now too, young Han. This is how it goes, and how it always has been.”
Kikaru and David listened very intensely, taking in every word that the chief was telling them.
“What about you two? What is the reason you’re both here?”
Kikaru looked at David, they both had a mutual understanding that they should be honest about their reasons for being here.
“We’re looking for Infinity.” Kikaru said.
“….Interesting, I have not heard of that name in quite a while, that I have.” The guardian responded.
“That name? Have you heard of it before?” David asked.
“Yes. I cannot help you two with your travels, my apologies. However, I can give a word of advice.”
The chief’s tone got serious.
“This is a very dangerous route to go down. There are people that will do everything to get it. Be prepared to fight. Those swords on both your hips better not be just for show, that it shouldn’t.”
Kikaru gulped as he said that. David’s expression didn’t change that much, he still had a big smile on his face.
“Well, fighting is what my family does. So I’m prepared for that, I will face that danger head on.” David grinningly said.
Kikaru looked at David, slowly smiling too.
“Yeah. I made up my mind years ago.”
The chief looked at the both of them. He slowly had a smile on his face as he got reminded of Kaey when he was younger.
“Kid, this isn’t a job meant for you.”
“I don’t care, old man! I need to repay my debts after what you did for me and my family!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!”
“Tell me your names.” He said.
“Kikaru Aikawa.”
”David Yūki.”
After a while of talking about themselves the sliding door opened. It was Kaey, he was surprised to see Kikaru and David talking with the chief.
“Sir?”
“Come sit down, Kaey.”
Kaey promptly sat down next to Kikaru. He had his shaded glasses on, which Kikaru took notice of but said nothing about.
“Sir.. do you trust these people?”
“Yes, that I do.” The chief responded.
“Alright.. that’s all I needed to know.” The room fell silent again.
The four of them were now looking at the bright afternoon sky, there wasn’t a single cloud to be found. It was very warm too.
“It is a beautiful day, that it is.” Kaey said.
“Yep, it is.” Kikaru responded, he felt at comfort.
David had made himself comfortable too.
However, this peace was broken with a loud thud from the sliding door.
“Sir! Kaey! It’s an emergency!” One of the workers shouted. Everyone except the chief jumped up and turned around. The chief only turned around but he was still sitting.
“What’s wrong?” Kaey quickly responded.
“It’s Han! He’s in trouble.. He’s fighting 3 strange figures at the park… They started attacking him!”
“What?!” Kikaru shouted.
Kaey didn’t even speak a word as he quickly ran out of the room, towards that same park where he told Kikaru and David to leave. Kikaru and David looked at each other and began running after him. David was much faster than Kikaru. Everything had turned sour in the blink of an eye.
David was steadily getting faster, running alongside Kaey.
“We’re almost there, aren’t we?” David said in between breaths.
Kaey nodded. He was totally silent as they all approached the park.
Upon arrival they saw Han standing with his right leg raised in a fighting stance, surrounded by 3 people all wearing a red jacket. Kaey immediately moved himself between Han and the trio. He noticed that all of them had a heart symbol on their face.
The tallest of them raised an eyebrow. "It seems that we picked a fight with the wrong person, Queen." He said.
"I should've figured, he seemed a bit.. young and weak, King." The woman said. She had noticeably made a heart symbol with makeup around her left eye.
"So is he the one who we're supposed to beat then?" The shortest of them said. He had the letter "J" on his right cheek.
The King and Queen looked like they were out for bloodshed and nothing else while the one with the letter "J" seemed more nervous.
Han lowered his leg, standing behind Kaey in shame. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t do anything.. i’m still weak.”
Kaey immediately retorted. “No, Han. You did amazing, not a single villager got hurt because you stalled them. I’m proud of you.”
This made Han’s smile come back.
“Now, go! Run! Tell all the villagers to get inside. I’m counting on you for this.” He shouted as he pulled out 3 small sticks.
Han nodded, then quickly and swiftly ran through the trio into the streets.
“Aww, how cute, he ordered his little dog to help some hopeless people.” The queen said.
Kaey didn’t respond to that. 3 clicks were heard as Kaey made his weapon. A Bō made for long distance combat. What made it unique was that it could also bend into shapes other than a stick, this made it very flexible.
Kikaru and David stood next to Kaey now. Both trios were facing each other in a cold silence. David swiftly unsheathed both his katanas, looking very serious. There wasn’t a hint of fear within him, only the drive to win.
The same couldn’t be said for Kikaru. He was nervous, very much so. He had never been in an actual fight with deadly stakes on it. However, in a moment of panic, he closed his eyes and remembered the words of his sensei.
“Kikaru… whenever you feel fear, conquer it. Don’t let your live be dictated by such a worthless feeling. You have the flame… now fan it and let it run wild.”
He opened his eyes again, swiftly unsheathing his blue hilted katana. On the left side of the blade was a single word carved in kanji.
Symphony
The king unsheathed his blade. “I’ll take the guardian. Queen, get the dual wielder. Jack, that white haired kid should be easy pickings.” He ordered.
Jack unsheathed his katana while Queen pulled out a large whip.
“It seems that you three aren’t going to leave this village until blood has been shed, but I won’t allow that to happen.”
David looked at both Kikaru and Kaey. “We all got each other’s back, alright. Kaey, it might seem hard, but trust us.”
Kaey just smiled in response. “I started trusting the two of you the moment you two earned both Han’s and masters respect. You don’t have to worry about me.. I’ll take him on.”
“For Infinity… we fight!” The king shouted.
