I didn't think I could actually endure that much drinking from that crazy event that happened yesterday. That guy in stupid clothes... what the hell was he thinking? It must have been unfair for him, I guess... in my opinion, there wouldn't be a person who would be that rude to outright just make those remarks at me. We don't even know each other, so it's probably that he minutely drunk already before the bottles started coming. Probably.

We eventually arrived at the border of the town, and proceeded to completely leave the area.

"So now that we're outside, care to tell me now of this objective you say?" I asked Kiluna. I'll tell my own story to her later after she's done.

"Alright then.
The main item of interest here would be this brooch."

She flashed the brooch that was hidden beneath her clothing (why do I have a feeling I saw her do that somewhere else...?). Before taking it out completely, she looked around for a while, probably to check if there was no one else around. From that time yesterday, it seems like she really has to protect this brooch with all her life. I'm pretty sure she'll proceed to telling me what's behind all this.

"I kept it as hidden as possible from the world. Some fanatics call this the "Hidden brooch of the Full Moon", but from what I read before, this brooch is called the "Moon's Tears", said to have been dropped onto the world during the moon's Lunar Cry which happened in ancient times."

The Lunar Cry? I've never heard of such an event from happening, even if I've read that much on the world's history.

"The Lunar Cry? Is it some phenomena where a large amount of water comes down from the moon and drops it here?"

"Well, it's correct only up to the point where a large amount of something dropped. What actually dropped still remains a mystery, though this brooch is definitely a genuine item itself. From the full moon yesterday, you may have noticed this brooch somehow shining a bit. It actually only does that on fullmoon nights, and I didn't even tweak it in anyway, so there's got to be a magical power behind it."

"Where did you get this thing anyway?"

"I found it in the stash of my ancestors. I forgot exactly what prompted me to go and look through it, but I found this wrapped along a piece of old writing medium."

She brought out some sort of paper that looks like it's been there for a million years or something... it's just really old. She opened it, and there I found some sort of ancient alphabet that I don't understand. It seems as if she can read bits of it, however.

"I don't memorize exactly how this is read, but this definitely defines the brooch as the Moon's Tears. Keywords from this scripture include: moon, lunar cry, mystical power, another dimension, finding one's self... that's basically the only things I can read from here.
My actual objective can go in two ways: I find what this brooch really is, or I learn the entire alphabet from which this text is written, and try to decrypt whatever it is saying. From my travels as a mercenary, I've only received very, very minimal hints as to what this text says."

"What's in it for you, anyway? After you find out what this brooch actually is, what will you do with it?"

"That's exactly the thrill in it! So much unknown knowledge in that you'd always be looking forward to something unexpected. It's that feeling of being able to discover unknown horizons that keeps me going on in trying to unlock this."

"What if you indeed 'unlock' this? What will you do after?"

"I'm pretty sure my answer to that question will not differ if I ask the same question to you."

...wow, it's true. After I find Senpuu, what will I do after that? Wait, I do have an answer for that...

"Oh, but I actually do have an answer to that, mind you."

"You... do?"

"I actually have something to look forward to after I'm done with my 'quest' here. Actually, it would help if I describe first what I've set out to do."

"Please do. I'm really interested to hear something different... actually, I'm just interested what people do for their lives, heh."

From my bag of supplies, I took out the family picture of the Mai siblings.

"Is this a childhood picture? You're cu~ why are you wearing your underwear on the outside..."

"N-never mind that! A-anyway!
Ryougen Mai, Senpuu Mai, Tenyou Mai. 3 siblings of the clan from the Shimizu Village. Bottomline here: I don't remember anything about Senpuu. Neither does Tenyou."

"Don't remember anything?! She out of the village or something?"

"For more than an amount of time I couldn't even remember. The whole village was hiding the fact that we had another sister."

I described more of the situation to her; how my life was in Shimizu and Kasu Village, my 'occupation' as the dancer of strength for Kasu, and how the entire Shimizu Village has been keeping a secret from me until now.

"...I still have something to look forward to after this. Once I've found my lost sister, I'll continue to be the pinnacle of strength for our villages. And it's possible that I may also find something interesting on our journey, that will keep me occupied for after I find Senpuu. I've been living such an isolated life inside those villages, as you may have noticed from my very limited knowledge about a town, questioning terms such as 'shops'..."

"It must be a blast for you then, to be able to get out and walk to such far places. I haven't actually been to those villages that you described... I'll be sure to visit there when I'm not occupied."

"Well, OK... good luck walking for 6 hours, heh."

"Hey, by that time I think we have a reliable way of transportation... I guess? I'll probably learn about the vehicles or something..."

"Vehicles...?
Wait wait WAIT. You kind of haven't answered my question yet..."

"You might have noticed by now that I'm trying to drive the question away... goes to show that I don't have an answer yet..."

"...well, good luck finding something... Thinking about the future is something that everyone should have."

Then some other foreign voice suddenly echoed from a short distance from us.

"Oh yeah? Then tell me why you're just walking unawarely forward?"

I could swear this voice was familiar, though I just can't remember exactly where I heard it before. Of course, this foreign voice alerted me so I looked away from Kiluna and forward to the path I was walking. And what did I find? We were surrounded. By bandits.

"You guys again...?! I thought you learned your lesson for good!" Kiluna reacted. Turns out this was the same group that attacked Kiluna yesterday. If memory serves me right, they still want the Moon's Tears. What are they going to do with it anyway? Sell it?

"I'll gladly burn you this time around, if you still choose to intefere." I said to them. I have to make them remember what made them scurrying away yesterday night, so with a few efforts, I lit a fire on my hands.

"Well, that's not what we're here for now, anyway..." the bandit reacted. I was wondering why that was so, when I just noticed now that we were already chained to the ground. What kind of a trap was that?! And how come I didn't notice something so restraining?

"Alright, good." another voice came from beneath the circle of bandits. Some of the bandits stepped beside to allow entrance for another entity. Blue skin, funny attire, with a crown on his head... Wait a minute! This... this was...

"You?! That fool from the pub in Ugoshi..."

"'Fool'? You should realize how absent-minded you are for being caught so easily, to the point that I was able to walk ahead of you while you were babbling about stuff that I'm probably not concerned about."

Yes, it was indeed that same guy. Were we too preoccupied in talking in that we walked so slow? And to think, I thought he was already on the verge of vomiting his guts out when I left the place! It's either he was bluffing it, which I highly doubt, or his powers of regeneration is very strong... Now, what does he want from us and that we're chained to the ground? How is he related to Kiluna's former group of bandits?

I saw that same guy hand over an envelope to the bandit leader.

"Alright, this is the only thing I wanted you guys to do. You may leave..." said the blue guy.

"Wait, we're kind of not done here... we wanna hurt that girl over there a bi~" the bandit leader said, but was interrupted.

"I. Said. LEAVE. Or do you want me to take that money back from you and make you fugitives instead?" the blue one said. It appears he has some sort of power or something, though it doesn't seem like it... he probably just has the money to manipulate people, like these mercenary-bandits. Without further delay, the group walked away from us, and scurried out to some direction. I couldn't really see that well because there was a bit of fog in this area already.

So it was just me and Kiluna tied to the ground, in front of that blue drunkard. We can't really do much in this position, but he's going to have to explain himself as to why he has us bound here. Is he that much of a sore loser?

"Firstly, I'd just like to say I'm impressed of your drinking powers, draggy boy."

'Draggy Boy'? What the hell? Also, why is he complimenting me?

"But that's not really what I'm here for. I'm here for one thing: that girl."

He's here for Kiluna? What for?

"Me?! What... I don't even know you! What business do I have with you?!" Kiluna shouted.

"That's none of your business! I'll have to take you to the place I have to take you to!" the blue guy said. From that statement, it actually sounds like he doesn't know why he's doing this, which is kind of odd. Even if he does say that it's none of our business, the tone of his voice hints at the fact that he's doing this with no real objective. Of course I can't just stand here...

"You can't just take her with you, for no one owns her. She went with me by her own will. Why does she have to go with you?" I said.

"Why don't you just get straight to the point: you wanna fight, right?" he said. A fight? I didn't really imply that, but it seems like it will eventually lead to it...

Then I noticed that he suddenly unlocked the chains binding our feet. Surprised, me and Kiluna didn't even try to run away. If he really wanted something to do with us, why would he just let go of us like this? Surely there must be a reason, so I asked.

"...huh? You are doing this... why?"

"Yeah... and I thought you had a great sign of strength underneath those stupid clothes..." Kiluna reacted.

"S-stop talking about my clothing! God damn it! I did not unlock this just so you could walk away!
I just want one simple thing: I want a battle... a physical kind of battle. Whoever wins gets to take the girl."

What is this?! It's not like I own Kiluna or anything! What is he implying?!

"To be honest, I couldn't really bring myself to resort to sneaky unfair tricks just to get what I want. However, that's because I'm the strongest! (author's note: Is it a coincidence that Shito's skin color is light blue, just like a certain ice fairy? I swear this was unintentional!) And I don't need to make any effort to get what I want... I can just beat anyone down for it! Now, face me! Or is drinking your only capability?!"

The strongest? He wears stupid clothing; does he expect me to believe him? I am not accepting a stupid challenge like this!

"...very well, I shall put myself on the line." Kiluna suddenly retorted. Of course, this got a surprised reaction from me.

"Kiluna...?! You can't just do that! Whatever happened to go~" I replied, when Kiluna cut me off.

"Ryougen! I am not owned by anyone, that includes you! Without my job, all my actions are mine alone! And I say... may the man with the most honor win." she replied.

Honor...? I never really expected her to be talking of such; I didn't think she actually cared. But since she's the one who wants it, I guess we have no choice...

"...very well, you heard the girl. I shall battle you, here and now. Any 'rules'?" I said to the blue guy.

"Well, it's a good thing you're stepping up to it! I am Shito, the strongest being in this entire world! You are just an example of all the lowlives that surround the environment! And I'll prove it to you!"

"Answer my question! By the way, I am Ryougen Mai of Kasu Village."

He suddenly flinched a bit when he heard "Kasu Village", but then regained his composure quite a bit.

"Rules, huh... doesn't really matter, first to be taken down loses!"

After that statement he suddenly charged at me, attempting to connect a simple punch to my face. He was fast, but not fast enough to render my reflexes amock. Again, using the only moves I know, the dances of strength, I quickly get out of the range of his attack by hopping to the right and getting my balance quickly. I tried to lunge at him with my own choice of hand 'martial arts' in the form of palm strikes, finger strikes, and hand slashes, so I started out with a swift palm strike while he was still recovering from the whiff'd punch. It hit him, but not as much as I expected it to, for he just flinched and got his balance quickly. He almost grabbed my hand, but I quickly drew it away to attempt to jump and kcik at him. He tried to grasp my foot as it was coming at him, but his reactions were too late and I was able to hit him straight to the face. He almost fell over, quickly stood up as I was still getting my balance on the ground. He quickly recovered, and brought out which looked like effective projectiles that may actually wound me. With much accuracy he threw those projectiles at me. The distance was quite at my disadvantage, so I had to keep moving sidewards until such time I can close in, that is, when he stops throwing stuff at me. But seeing from how quick he's throwing these at me, it doesn't seem like he'll run out anytime soon... I think my stamina wouldn't last this long. Eventually I noticed that I was dancing slower and slower, and that my body was reacting slower than my reflexes could recognize. Eventually one of these were coming straight at me, and I was in a bad position; I knew I couldn't dodge this one, so the only option I could think of is to try and block it with my own body. With some burst of fear from my inner self, I placed my palms forward in attempts to block the proejctile. My mind blanked out a bit. Then suddenly the surrounding became a bit hotter than usual, and I think it's actually coming out from my hand. I slowly looked forward again to see what was happening... and I was doing it again! The Ryougen Beam! Red Fire coming out of my left hand, blue flame coming out from my right hand... and at their crossing point, the projectile was there suspended. I tried to calm down in order to shut the fire off; it did, and the projectile just fell on the ground, with a few burnmarks on it. I then looked at Shito, to see his face with some fear. Figuring that my powers of fire could come in handy now, I lunged at him to take advantage of his shock and with my hands still ignited, I tried to see if touching him with it will finally take him down. I was able to connect a palm strike yet again, but the power seemed to be increased with the fire in my hands even though I used less effort. Seeing as he still has composure, I tried to do a standard mystical technique that people that can control fire do: throw a ball of fire at him. Clearing my mind of much things, I tried to concentrate on that spiritual power inside me the same way I have access to the Ryougen Beam, throwing 'air' just in front of me... and it worked! Fire came out of my hands as a projectile and it effectively hit him. I can't believe I'm not dreaming... I actually really do have 'powers'! I'm not sure how exactly they're called, but from fantasy books that I've read (which doesn't seem to be as fantastic now!), that's how they commonly refer to mystical powers.

It seemed to be really effective, as he was now lying there. The strongest, he says. What a laugh. I turned away now to face Kiluna who was just sitting down watching the fight, and proceeded to walk away, when I heard Shito's voice again.

"...it's good... this is all good...
I did say there weren't much rules now, is there? We don't have the right to kill each other, yeah... However..."

I faced him again to see him still trying to stand up. Looks like fight's not yet over, it seems.

"Since I now know that you have something inside you... I have no reason to hold back!"

To hold back? I don't think he's faking this; he barely has the energy to keep himself bala~

What is that thing coming out of his back...?!

"Yeah, you felt it right, someone worth crushing this time, and he's all ours!
Ryougen, Kiluna! I'd like to introduce to you Blackrose!"

Is that a dragon much bigger than him coming out of his body?! Usually only spirits can do that, which its form seemed to have formed into as it was missing limbs (permanently attached to Shito), but he really seemed like a part of the existing world... That black figure, permanently frowning eyes and a smile that resembles that of a killer... Is this Shito's power?!

Then I heard the dragon speak.

"It's been a while since I've been out... I was waiting for a moment like this!" the creature named Blackrose commented.

"Alright Blackrose, let's take him down!" Shito complied. Looks like the fight indeed isn't over, as I now have to figure out a way to take down this spiritual partner of his...

And it's as if the previous events didn't happen; Shito was lunging at me faster than he was moving before, bringing Blackrose closer, and and the dragon proceeded to try and swipe at me. Getting myself out of the shock, I barely was able to get out of the way. That huge black serpentine was whipping like crazy though, and after all of those intense movements you would've guessed that a few of them hit me. Blackrose, although technically just a spirit, still seems to be physically present in this realm, evidenced by the fact that it was hitting me with its body. I could hear Kiluna shouting with a worrying tone, but I couldn't make out her words since I was too concentrated on figuring out what to do. Eventually after much more dodging, I noticed something peculiar: Shito's legs are still trembling. It's evident that the only thing that's allowing him to stand is a second wind. And since he needed to move in order for Blackrose to actually approach me, I knew exactly what I had to do. So Blackrose proceeded to whip me again with his body... but this time I tried something else: I placed both of my hands forward, palms facing the dragon, and with my remaining strength, tried to hold the dragon in place. My idea was to put him in place so I could somehow either get past him while he's still trying to shake me off, or the better option... jump on his body and walk towards Shito. I just need to deliver a fierce kick to Shito's legs, and...

Holy what?! Blackrose is...

"Burn, burn, BURN weak creature!"

He opened his gaping mouth and from out of it came an enormous blue fire, directed at me. I had no choice but to put my arms in a blocking position just to shield myself from this attack. It burns, it really does... it's hot... does it really feel like this? Is he just taking revenge of the fact that I burned Shito down first...?

Wait... but it's just fire... Let me try lunging with this blocking position and hitting his head... It doesn't feel so hot anymore... it's more of warm, actually!

...right on spot! With my arms, I was able to hit Blackrose's snout and knocked him over a bit, stopping the blue fire from his mouth. Taking advantage of his raised body, I quickly dashed forward to get to where Shito was. Shito, noticing this, tried to move away a bit, but Blackrose was still flinching, thus hindering even Shito's movement itself. Trying to control Blackrose to hit me instead (by using him as a weapon, which was a real laugh for a moment), he grasped the heavy spiritual figure and tried to swing it to me. But he was too late; I was already in a sliding position (firing up the ground as I was sliding... don't know why), making Blackrose's body whiff me, and my foot already positioned to kick his legs.

Then it hit him.

He finally got completely off balanced, and fell down flat on his back a second time. Now sufficiently weakened, Blackrose seemed to have been forced back into his body, leaving only the immobile Shito lying on the ground. I guess NOW the fight is over.

Kiluna rushes over to me as I stand up, knowing that everything is now done.

"Ryougen! I knew you could do it! However, I haven't seen this much mystical power in action ever in my life...!" she just had to exclaim. As she said, she gets excited when seeing new things, so although this is a surprise to her, she seems to have that smile on her face despite the fact that I'm a bit hurt.

"Yeah... glad I pulled that one over. I'd want to practice this newly found fire powers of mine though... I didn't know I could actually do this."

"How lucky I am, to be accompanied by a being with spiritual power... it makes this journey even more to look forward to!"

"Heh... if that's a compliment for me, thanks anyway. We have to get going now, though I don't remember which direction we were walking to originally..."

The fog was already quite evident in this area, for some reason. Tracking Kiluna's footsteps, we eventually were able to tell the direction we were going and moved forward. Then I heard Shito still speak again, though this time he's significantly weakened. It's a surprise to see him be able to stand on his knees though, even after all that he's gone through...

"Wait... wait! This battle... it was all a fluke, I swear!" he said. He's still that cocky after losing that bad?! What kind of a person is this?! "But... I have to tell you one last thing!" he continues, then there was this slight sign of fear from the tone of his voice. Because of that particular tone, I had to listen to what was up, so I faced him. "I came for the girl because another being blackmailed me to do so... If she finds out that I'm lying down here, she'll kill me for sure...! I couldn't really refuse even when I realize her evil motive because she 'caught' me..."

OK this is weird. First, the bandits were paid by Shito to capture us, and now we find that Shito is being manipulated by some other being? Whoever that is, he or she wanted Kiluna, or something from her. It's probably the brooch...

"Where is this particular person you speak of?" I asked Shito.

"You're... already facing in the direction of Nihyaku Cave, right...? She's there. I don't care how you get there, or if the fog will blind you, just... if you don't want to see the strongest person in the world get killed, go there and reason with her! I can't really move yet... and she'll be looking for me soon!" he replies. So we have another suspect at hand that wants Kiluna, or probably her brooch rather. And we were right on track as we were going to Nihyaku Cave anyway.

"...well, if you insist, we'll take care of that for you. Kiluna, whoever that person is, he or she will probably keep on aiming you, so keep your guard up."

"I'm not really the type that spaces out, so you can count on me in protecting myself." she replies.

Shito then makes one last remark before we disappeared in the dark.

"The next time we meet... the next time we meet is where I crush you down to a crisp! Ryougen Mai! Do not forget my words! This battle... was... all... a fluke...!" was what I could make out, then a loud thud afterwards... seems like he actually fell face flat on the ground this time. He'll be unconscious there for a while, and after what he did to us, I couldn't really bother helping him. Kiluna and I then proceed forward on to Nihyaku Cave.

The fog is getting thicker and thicker...

about time....

Kira Kira Kirara working but can't find any good Album Jacket FFF