Ethan woke up early the next morning. He took a shower and changed from his royal clothing to a more casual look to avoid getting any unnecessary attention. Later, he and Snowy had their breakfast and were all set for their first day in the Okami Kingdom. Ethan got the cloaking stone from the cupboard and the little badge.

He wore the necklace round his neck and the cloaking stone, which was tied to the necklace, began to glow a mystic shade of blue. Gradually, Ethan’s face changed and he looked completely different. His body features changed from head to toe and he was completely unrecognizable.

“This works a bit too well,” Ethan said looking at his reflection in the mirror right opposite the television set. The prince couldn’t even recognize himself.

He looked at the badge in the palm of his right hand. The badge had the words ‘Elite Protector’ and a shield depicting the face of a blue wolf embroidered on it. As his eyes focused on the beautiful badge, the door opened and Ked just arrived.

“Prince E…” Ked glanced at the prince with a gaping jaw. He blinked thrice before darting his eyes to the cloaking stone on Ethan’s chest. I forgot about that. Ked made a few strides closer to the Kisune prince and glanced at him with an almost smile for a mere second. His hair was still the exact same shade of blond and his eyes were still hazel brown, but his face was completely different. “Your casual clothing makes it harder to tell who you are, but we can’t let anyone at all see the cloaking stone; it’ll raise suspicion.”

Ethan nodded. He gazed at the cloaking stone for a split second before tucking the enchanted stone under his shirt.

“Today is an important day because the secret Kisune operation starts now,” Ked declared, “I already reserved you a place at the Protector Academy. You will be serving as an Elite Protector along with your Okami teammates during your stay here.”

“I have to work with Okamis?” Ethan frowned at the new information.

“Yes, you will. I’ve been around them, serving as an Elite Protector, for a week now. Just don’t show any signs of your Kisune-ness and they won’t know,” Ked explained. “Judging from your personality, prince, you’ll enjoy being an Elite Protector.”

“I’ve heard a lot about Protectors,” a faint grin was drawn on Ethan’s face. “I’m ready,” he said after a split second. Ethan gazed at Ked and just noticed what the Kisune spy wore. Ked wore what looked like armor. He wore a breastplate that depicted a shield with the Okami blue wolf on it. Ked also had a metallic badge on his breastplate that read ‘Elite Protector’ but that wasn’t all. Under his breastplate was some sort of metallic shirt, its sleeves black and hard. His pair of pants and gloves were also made of the same material. There was also a blue pouch strapped across his chest. “What’re you wearing?” The curious prince asked.

“Oh, this?” A half-smile appeared on Ked’s face then faded as quickly as it had appeared. “This is what Protectors and Elite Protectors wear. You’ll get yours today.”

“Cool,” the prince made his way to the door. “C’mon, let’s go!”

“I like your confidence,” Ked stared at the prince. “A wise man once told me confidence is the first step to winning any battle.” Ked paused for a moment, noticing the badge on the prince’s shirt.

Ked turned and faced the door. He opened it gently and revealed the outside world to Ethan and Snowy. The neighborhood didn’t seem to be a busy one. Only a few people and vehicles were on the street. “Time to get going. Follow my lead, Prince Ethan,” Ked made a step forward. Ethan and Snowy followed the spy out of the house. The moment they were all out, Ked closed the door behind them and their journey to the Protector Academy began.

***

After a short game of ‘follow the leader’, the trio finally arrived at the Academy. To Ked, it was nothing special as he had seen it several times. However, for Ethan and Snowy, it was a whole new place. The two marveled at the large building. It was huge. The exterior walls were painted a light shade of blue and there was a large banner on the front wall that read, ‘The Protector Academy.’ They weren’t alone, too. There was a good number of Okami Protectors marching their way into the building. They all wore a black garment that looked like armor, but it wasn’t.

“This is the Academy,” Ked climbed up the stairs, followed by Ethan and Snowy on his right. “The Protector Academy is a place where Protectors are trained each and every single day. As you already know, the Protectors guard the kingdom from any external and internal threats, with help from other organizations, too.” They were at the entrance to the Academy. The large double door was made of tinted glass and the doorknob depicted the face of a wolf. The door was left open and they proceeded into the Academy.

The trio were now in hall. The building was like a high school, but busier at the time. There were lots of Protector students in the hall. Ked told Ethan and Snowy to follow him through the crowd. They made their way through the busy crowd till they made a turn and entered another section of the building. “And what’re Elite Protectors?” Ethan asked after a period of silence.

“As the name suggests, Elite Protectors are Protectors that are above average. They are the best of the best,” Ked explained. They stopped at a certain door that had the label ‘Emerald Guard’ on it. There was a pause before Ked explained why they were there. “The Emerald Guard needs to see you before you can join the Protectors,” Ked faced the door. Out of curiosity Ethan asked who the Emerald Guard was. In response, Ked explained that the Emerald Guard was the leader of the Protectors.

Without any further delay, Ked placed his hand on the doorknob and opened the door. The Kisune spy got inside the office with Ethan and Snowy by his side. The office was dark, but it was bright enough to see. Though there was a large window right opposite door, it was covered with a curtain. There was a light bulb in the center of the ceiling, but it wasn’t on. In the center of the room was a table and a book shelf to the left. Seated behind the table was a young male figure with a green cape and blond hair as well. He wore the exact same clothing the Protectors wore, except his was emerald green. The figure was typing something on the laptop on his desk before the interruption. He gazed at Ked and asked, “Elite Protector Ked, what brings you here?” The figure got his hands off his laptop and darted his razor sharp gaze at Ethan and Snowy. “Is this the person you were talking about?”

“Yes, Emerald Guard, this is Ethan,” Ked glanced at the Emerald Guard. “I believe Ethan has what it takes to become a great Elite Protector.”

At first, Troi said nothing. He simply gazed at them for a split second. His razor sharp gaze was on Ethan and Snowy, the owl perched on his shoulder. Ethan half-smiled awkwardly. “Are you sure he can serve as an Elite Protector?” Troi asked with a serious face, as usual. “In normal cases, one has to start out as an ordinary Protector before being assigned the role of Elite Protector, but, as the Emerald Guard, I do have the power to make someone an Elite Protector right away, but you’ll have to convince me.”

“And as Emerald Guard, you have the power to renounce one’s position as an Elite Protector. So, you can just try him out. If he fails you, you can just renounce his position, right?”

“You do make a point,” Troi got his hands back to the keyboard on his laptop. “Right, give me his credentials.”

Ked reached into the small pouch strapped across his chest and pulled out a brown envelope then handed it to Troi. Troi quickly grabbed the envelope and opened it without any delay. He pulled out a few documents from it and stared at them. Among them was an Okami Citizen Identification Card and a few other legal documents.

Troi looked at them sharply and focused his gaze on Ethan every once and then. After a few seconds of examination, he switched his attention to his computer screen and typed in Ethan’s details in the Academy’s Protector database. “Very well,” Troi said after a long pause. “He’ll serve as an Elite Protector in Dayani’s team.” Ethan almost smiled and looked at Ked happily. The Emerald Guard glanced at Ethan for a short moment, handing over the documents to Elite Protector Ked. “Don’t disappoint, Ethan,” he began with an unimpressed look.

“I won’t,” Ethan replied with an awkward smile. Troi’s only response was a sharp stare. A faint smile appeared on Ked’s face as he thanked Troi. Ked, Ethan and Snowy left the office a second later.

Ked closed the door to the office and the three of them made their way down the hall. Luckily, the hall was empty. Once out of earshot, Ethan asked Ked where he got the documents. He was so intrigued to know. “These are your false Okami documents,” Ked whispered to Ethan as he handed over the paperwork to him.

“False?” Snowy looked at Ked skeptically.

“Yes, false. Don’t lose them. It took a lot of effort to forge those documents.” Ethan held the documents on the palm of his left hand then placed his other hand over the documents. He cast a spell that teleported the documents all the way from the Academy to the drawer in his bedroom. “You’re in Dayani’s team,” Ked continued, “Let me take you to her.”

Ethan and Snowy followed Ked as he led them to another section of the grand Academy. The Academy looked much bigger from the inside than it did from the outside. After a few turns here and there, they reached the entrance of yet another long hall that joined the main hall. The entrance had the label: ‘Elite Protector Rooms’ on it. Ethan and Snowy, led by Ked, made their way through the hall. There were rooms at to the left and right.

“Room 346…” Ked hummed and darted his eyes door to door. Finally, they stopped at a specific door. “Room 346. Here it is.” The doorknob depicted the face of a wolf, just like the double door entrance to the Academy. Ked knocked at the door and, almost instantly, someone opened it.

“Ked, how you doing?” A boy as old as Ethan opened the door wider.

“I’m alright,” Ked entered the room, with Ethan and Snowy following him. The boy who held the wooden door looked at Ethan with a soft smile.

The room was large and had two bunk beds opposite each other and two adjacent doors on the other end. Apart from Ethan, Ked, and Snowy, there were three people already in the room that seemed to be Ethan’s age and wore the same outfit Ked wore.

“We were told we have a new member to the team,” a girl asked Ked, with an almost smile.

“You do,” Ked introduced Ethan. “His name is Ethan.” Ethan waved at them with a faint friendly smile.

“And I’m Snowy,” Snowy introduced himself.

Dayani Seraph, Vesper Stardust, and Stella Stardust introduced themselves to Ethan and Snowy accordingly.

“I’m Dayani Seraphina,” the ginger haired girl introduced herself. Her eyes were like embers from a fresh fire.

“Vesper Moonflower’s my name,” the boy who opened the door for them introduced himself with a grin. His hair was mostly black, but the tip of it was blue. His eyes were like the blue ocean.

“And I’m Stella. Stella Moonflower,” another girl introduced herself to Ethan. Her hair was exactly the same color as her brother’s and her eyes were just as beautiful and blue.

“I’ll be leaving him with you,” Ked turned to face the door. “I have to visit my teammates too. Be sure to give him everything he’ll need.” Ked left the room and closed the door behind him, leaving Ethan and Snowy with their new teammates.

“You’ll need your Elite Protector gear,” Vesper got to the beds. He pulled out a box under the bed and opened it. Inside the box was one Protector outfit. Vesper got up and handed it to Ethan. “You can change in the storeroom.”

“Thanks Vesper,” Ethan beamed at him. Vesper guided Ethan to one of the doors in front of them. Ethan got into the small storeroom alone. He sighed and looked at the blue wolf on the breastplate of his new attire. He turned his head and looked around. The storeroom was mostly empty except for a few weapons, mostly swords. “Just like that I’ve joined the Protectors.” Ethan half-smiled.

A moment later, Ethan opened the door and walked out of the storeroom.

“Looking good,” Vesper turned to face Ethan.

“I knew it would look great on you,” Snowy swooped down and perched on Ethan’s shoulder. Ethan grinned and thanked the both of them for the compliments.

“Now that we have that sorted out, we can get to know each other more,” Dayani got closer to the two of them. Ethan blinked twice, with a plain look on his face. Suddenly, Dayani’s telecom bracelet activated. There was a beep coming from her wrist. She held up her right arm to her eye level and looked at the beeping bracelet. She pressed a button on it and a hologram of the Emerald Guard appeared over the bracelet.

“Attention all Protectors and Elite Protectors,” Troi spoke through Dayani’s bracelet, “you are required to attend an important meeting in the Meeting Hall within the next five minutes.” The hologram disappeared back into the bracelet as suddenly as it appeared.

“Wow, I’d want one of those,” Ethan looked at Dayani’s telecom bracelet.

“Nearly forgot to give you yours,” Stella had a telecom bracelet in her hand. She handed over the bracelet to Ethan. Ethan looked at the beautiful bracelet and wore it on his wrist. “The telecom bracelets allow you to receive important information from Troi and also let you talk to other Protectors.”

“It’s a really helpful tool,” Vesper added.

“Yes, that’s good and all, but look at the time; we should be leaving,” Dayani turned to face the door. She marched forward, out of the room, and the others followed along.

***

They were in the meeting hall. It was a large room with a stage right in front. Over the stage was a statue of a wolf’s face and there was a large mass of Protectors and Elite Protectors in the hall, all waiting for the important meeting to begin. Ethan, Snowy, and the others were seated on a bench in the first row in front.

“What could this be about?” Vesper whispered to his twin sister Stella, who was right next to him.

“The Emerald Day is in only two weeks,” Stella began loud enough for everyone close by to hear, “so it’s probably about that.”

“What’s the Emerald Day?” Snowy whispered to Ethan.

“It’s a special day when the Okamis get to see the Emerald in public,” Ethan explained. Before he could carry on his explanation, Troi the Emerald Guard got on stage and stood in front of the podium. The entire crowd was quiet the moment he took his position.

“Greetings everyone!” The Emerald Guard spoke in a microphone. “As you know, the Emerald Day is only thirteen days away. Hence, you are required to maintain law and order before, during, and after the celebration. Each team of Protectors and Elite Protectors will be assigned a part of the Kingdom they will have to look over and guard during this period as a team.”

Troi paused as he flipped through a few papers he put on the podium. He continued with his speech and assigned each and every team of Protectors and Elite Protectors areas of the kingdom to look after. Afterwards, he went on to discuss other important issue.

The meeting carried on for half an hour. By the time it was over, every team knew which part of the Kingdom they had to protect. Ethan’s team was assigned the Forbidden Forest, a place no one would want to guard.

***

They were at the forest. It was only a mile or so from the Academy and getting there wasn’t an issue – all they had to do was create a portal with their magical abilities.

Ethan looked round and studied the area. They were just at the entrance to the forest. Right in front of them was a wall of green trees that stood as high as giraffes. The wall of trees marked the border between the city they left behind and the woods they would get into. Actually, there was a short wooden fence dividing the city and the woods.

“I don’t understand why anyone even needs to be here,” Stella complained. “No one lives here so there’s no one to protect, except the animals.”

“At least we won’t have to do any work!” Vesper laughed jokingly, earning a chuckle from his sister.

“We can protect the animals?” Snowy asked Stella curiously.

“Of course we can,” Stella looked at the owl with a grin. “Protectors protect and fights for what’s right.”

“But I wouldn’t suggest we go in the forest,” Vesper argued. He looked back at the city area behind him. “Technically, according to the map of the kingdom, even the city is part of the Forbidden Forest because it expanded into part of the forest.”

“So you’re saying we protect the city area behind us?” Stella asked. Vesper grinned and nodded.

“Actually,” Dayani started, “I’ve always wanted to go into the forest.” Vesper’s jaw dropped at the statement. “I just never found the right time.” Spell discs appeared on Dayani’s hand and she cast a teleportation spell. The spell teleported a book from her room in the Okami royal palace to the palm of her right hand.

Ethan glanced at the book and read the title out loud, “The Four Dragon Keys.”

“That’s just a myth,” Vesper chuckled as he got closer to them.

“Right,” Stella began, “There’s no such thing as dragons and the dragon keys never existed.”

“Maybe,” Dayani began, “but there’s no harm in trying to find them. It’s not like we actually have anything to keep us busy here. According to the book, the dragon keys are hidden right here in the Forbidden Forest.”

“We shouldn’t go there,” Vesper said. “It’s called the Forbidden Forest for a reason. Magic doesn’t work normally there. Legend has it that even time works funny in the Forbidden Forest.” Dayani wore a confused look on her face and asked Vesper what exactly he meant.

“I mean just that,” Vesper said with a light smile. “No one knows why it doesn’t work well.” He continued as he scratched his head. “It’s a mystery.”

“Then it’s a mystery we’ll solve!” A proud smile was drawn on Dayani’s face. “Mind joining us?” She asked Vesper. Vesper sighed, but agreed. Ethan, Dayani, Vesper, Stella, and Snowy all faced the forest. They made their first steps into the Forbidden Forest.