The Bonded: Lost And Gained

~ Chapter 24 ~

Noriko nodded in approval, glad that the trip had been useful to him in some way. Otherwise, her sacrifice to go to the Capitol would have been for nothing.

"Everyone in the Military Force, your father, your mother, the Commanders and me, we all have our individual reasons for being in this army, protecting the people. You've already heard mine," she said. "Yoshi wasn't particularly clear on his reason, but he did give you an idea about why everyone else fights. You understand why we do it, but you need to understand why you do it."

She didn't bother covering up the fact that she gave him a possible reason to believe that she was watching him.

"What do you want to be when you come of age? Do you want to become the prince of this Kingdom and devote yourself to it? Or do you want to leave that to your little brothers? Do you even want to fight and protect this Kingdom as King?" she asked a series of questions that Arata had yet to know the answer to. "Those are the questions you need to consider, before you can understand yourself and Maho. When you figure those out, you'll understand everything."

He opened his mouth to say something, but he had no idea what to say so he closed his mouth again.

Noriko continued, "Take your time, be patient. Don't rush things, everything will come naturally."

She glanced up at the sky.

"f there's anything you need, I'll be here. Just ask."

He gaped, but nodded to her words and slowly closed his mouth. It was odd for her to say something like that, but at the same time, it felt natural towards him. He shook his head, taking a breath in and calming himself down.

"Thank you."

---

Her words somehow brought an answer to his mind. The faces of everyone he had met in his lifetime flashed through his mind. He knew his answer. All he had to do was voice them out to his apparent Tamer Beast.

Arata looked up, staring the dragon down with new found confidence that he had no idea where he was getting it from.

I protect them because there are many people who deserved to be protected in my Kingdom - Noriko, Yoko, Miyako, my father, Lieutenant Yoshi, Commander Takehiko, so many people have helped me, he breaths in, and I think it's fair if I helped them too.

Toyotomi stared at him, then glanced at Noriko and Winter. The pair looked nonchalant, already knowing that the 'test' had been put and set. Though, Noriko knew there was more to it than just a worthiness exam.

The dragon replied to the question Arata had asked at the beginning of the ordeal. This time, he actually spoke so Noriko and Winter would be able to hear his words.

"I am, and as your new Tamer Beast, I think it's best if I tell you who I am to clear things up. I'm not like other Tamer Beasts."

"Huh?" Arata uttered. 

He did not understand what the dragon was saying, considering that he had nearly next to no knowledge about Tamer Beasts, except for the basic information. Noriko butted into the conversation, her voice sounding strained from her unusual bout of 'crying'.

"Prince Arata hasn't been taught about the Tamer world yet," she said. "So you'll have to fill him in."

"Now, that isn't very helpful. What has King Andrew being doing all these years?" Toyotomi pondered, but didn't stay on the topic for too long. "Tamer Beasts are creatures that all have a human partner and only one. For humans, they can have multiple Tamer Beasts but that isn't the same for us. However, some Beasts don't find their partners, which is a shame I will say, but let's move onto the more drastic things that you need to know.