Everyone looks at Akahito in shock. They have never seen him so frightened before.
"Please, Kokuro!" He pleads, "Don't do this. I have changed! I swear!"
Kokuro looks to the bright blue sky.
"What do you mean she put us in his memory??" Shouts Andrus, "What is going on??"
"Just follow me. You'll see" Kokuro says in a dark ominous tone.
He starts to walk down the trail towards the clearing with the burnt village. Evander helps Akahito up and follows everyone. When they reach the clearing, the village is completely rebuilt. It is completely teeming with life. Dozens of people with bright blue hair work around the village.
"This was my home," Kokuro says, "This was about 6 years ago"
"Akahito!" A woman's voice shouts.
Everyone looks around to find where the voice came from. Out of one of the houses steps a beautiful woman; her long blue hair is tied back with a purple ribbon. Tears start to fill Akahito's eyes as he mutters to himself "Mother..."
Suddenly, a younger version of Akahito steps forward to the woman. "What do you want?" The younger Akahito says.
The woman sneers. "Just because you're leaving the village for school doesn't mean you need to disrespect me like that!" She shouts.
"I don't care!" Akahito shouts back, "I can't wait to leave this place!"
"At least we're doing a good job with your brother! Maybe Kokuro won't be such a failure and disappointment to the kingdom!" The woman retorts.
Kokuro looks at the woman with nostalgia. "Whatever! What do you want?" Akahito shouts.
The woman puts up a blue paper fan to her face. "We need to practice the ceremony for Kokuro's marriage. Go find him. I believe he's out on a hunt. We can't postpone this any longer. It took so much work to arrange" she says.
"Fine" Akahito growls, "Just leave me alone when I do this last thing for you!"
Younger Akahito storms off. The present Akahito looks down at the ground; as if he was ashamed of something. Before Akahito can leave the village, a small girl with short hair and a long dress tugs his hand. She's about 12 years old. He stops in his tracks and looks at her. In a small, sweet voice, the girl says "Can you make sure to bring him back safely? I want to be a good wife that your mother can approve of..."
Akahito sighs and squats to meet her eyes. He gives her a warm smile and softly says "I promise. And you'll be an amazing wife, but do not do anything to impress that witch"
He leans towards the little girl's ear and whispers "She's crazy! Do what makes you happy"
The little girl returns a sweet smile. "Thank you," she says.
Akahito nods his head, stands back up, and walks out of the village. Evander looks at present Akahito and says, "What happened?"
He stays silent as he continues to look at the ground. Evander looks at the group with concern. Everyone follows Akahito into the woods. "Can they see us?" Acacius asks Maya.
She looks at him in confusion. Kokuro stops and asks "Can they see us?"
Maya shakes her head. The group continues to follow the memory of Akahito. "Where are we headed?" Eden asks Kokuro.
Kokuro stays silent. Suddenly, Akahito stops and listens around him. The sound of giggling emanates nearby. Kokuro turns to the direction of it and gains a look of sorrow. Akahito walks to the side and pushes aside a small branch. Sitting next to a river is younger Kokuro. He is sitting with another girl. She has short black hair. Her clothes are completely ragged in comparison to Kokuro's. They're both giggling and blushing. Kokuro suddenly gazes into the girl's eyes and leans in for a gentle kiss.
"Kokuro!" Akahito screams through the trees.
Both of the kids jump in shock. Akahito storms from the tree he was hiding behind; he is completely enraged.
"Brother!" Kokuro exclaims.
The group sits by the bushes near the river; watching everything unfolds. "What are you doing??" Akahito screams, "You are to be wed by the end of the day!"
"I'm sorry!" Kokuro says apologetically, "Please don't tell anyone!! I beg of you!"
Completely engulfed in his anger, Akahito screams at Kokuro "That's not good enough! What if someone finds out about this?? I will be dragged back into this miserable family! You will not ruin my chance to get away!"
Akahito glares at the little girl and says in a dark tone "I have to take care of this problem myself"
Akahito takes a step forward, but Kokuro stands in between him and the girl; his arms completely extended to the side.
"No!" He shouts, "I will not let you hurt her!"
"Out of my way!" Akahito shouts back.
Kokuro clenches his fist and dashes forward. Akahito quickly grips Kokuro's wrist and swings him to the side. Kokuro skids on the ground, but immediately gets up and charges again. Before he can react, Akahito appears right in front of Kokuro. He whispers into Kokuro's ear "Maybe someday you can break away too"
Akahito quickly drives his knee into Kokuro's stomach. Kokuro's eyes widen with the instant shock of pain. He falls to his knees, clutching his gut. Kokuro vomits and gags as he desperately tries to catch his breath. Akahito slowly starts to walk towards the defenseless Kokuro. Kokuro tries to stand but is in too much pain. He looks up at Akahito who slowly raises his foot. Akahito then presses the heel of his boot onto Kokuro's side and pushes as hard as he can. Kokuro skids and rolls on the ground from the force. Akahito continues to slowly walk towards Kokuro.
"I'm sick of the tension," he says, "I am sick of the misery. I am sick of you doing only what you want!"
Suddenly, the little girl charges at Akahito with all of her might. She holds a long wooden staff. Akahito quickly turns and grips the staff. He jerks it away from her and throws it on the ground behind him. Akahito slowly walks up to the little girl; sweat pours down her head as she frantically looks around for a way out. Akahito drives his fist into her gut. She clutches her stomach and begins to dry heave. Before she can vomit anything, Akahito brings his left hand forward and swings it back. The back of his hand hits the girl's cheek with such a force that she does a complete rotation as she stumbles to the ground. Kokuro's eyes fill with rage. He quickly gets up and picks up the staff that is on the ground. He charges at Akahito screaming at the top of his lungs. He swings the staff at Akahito but fails. Akahito quickly turns and chops Kokuro's arm; loosening the grip on the staff. Then Akahito swings his knee up and sends the staff into the air out of Kokuro's hand. Akahito then punches Kokuro in the cheek with all of his might. Kokuro falls to the ground but is slowly getting up despite his arms completely shaking. Akahito scoffs and raises his hand in the air. The staff lands perfectly in his palm. Akahito then swings the staff down as fast as he can onto Kokuro's back. With the impact, Kokuro hits the ground with a loud thud; the staff breaks in half from the sheer force of the attack. Akahito throws his half of the broken staff to the ground and slowly starts to walk towards the little girl. She is shaking in absolute fear; tears start to form in her eyes.
Kokuro, still struggling to get up, mutters something to himself. Akahito hears, but disregards it and continues forward. Kokuro slowly regains his footing and starts to stand; again muttering something to himself. Akahito stops and turns to look at Kokuro. Kokuro's head snaps up and glares at Akahito with absolute hatred.
"Go away!" He screams. Suddenly, a huge burst of blue willpower explodes out of Kokuro. "You can't take her from me!! Go away!!" He continues to scream.
Akahito flinches and brings his arms up to guard his face. Kokuro continues to scream this over and over. The little girl looks at Kokuro with worry; softly muttering his name out of concern. Kokuro suddenly charges at Akahito.
"I want to be in another place!" He yells "I hate that you don't understand!!"
Before Akahito can even register that he has moved, Kokuro brings his fist back and swings it forward. The punch hits Akahito in the cheek and sends him rolling on the ground. Unable to control his sudden gain of power and rage, Kokuro continues to charge at Akahito. Akahito quickly gets up and grabs the rope that was resting next to where Kokuro was sitting before. Akahito dodges to the side; allowing Kokuro to pass by. Akahito then quickly wraps the rope around Kokuro and forcefully ties his arms behind his back. Kokuro lays on the ground completely unable to move.
"Stay away!!!" Kokuro screams with absolute animosity.
Akahito brings his hand to his mouth and wipes the edge of his lips. His fingers are covered in blood. Akahito looks at Kokuro with absolute disgust and anger. Suddenly, Akahito turns around and dashes forward.
"No!!" Kokuro screams at the top of his lungs.
Akahito grabs the little girl by the throat and slams her onto the ground. With his hand still on her throat, Akahito clenches his other hand and brings it back. He swings his fist forward; hitting the girl directly in the center of her face. Blood pours out of her nose and mouth.
"Stop!!" Kokuro pleads with all of his might.
Akahito, completely blinded by his rage, brings his fist back again and swings it forward. Over and over he slams his knuckles at the little girl as hard as he can.
"Please!!! Stay away from her!!!" Kokuro screams as tears pour down his cheeks.
But he is too late. Akahito, completely out of breath, stands up. His entire shirt is covered in blood. The grass and surrounding dirt all have drops of blood scattered across them. The corpse of the little girl twitches. Her face is completely unrecognizable. All that was left of her face was blood and broken bones. Kokuro, completely speechless, stares at Akahito who stands in place; contemplating what he had just done. Within an instant, the blue sky turns back to the sunset. The forest thickens. The group is back on the trail. Surprise and shock cover everyone's faces. Kokuro looks down at the ground with anger. Maya's hands won't stop shaking. Akahito pushes himself off of Evander and stands in front of everyone. Tears pour out of his eyes.
"I'm so sorry..." he says sobbingly, "That was the biggest mistake I ever made...She is the reason I refuse to fight anymore..."
"Wait!" Evander shouts, "You said he killed your entire family. What happened next??"
Kokuro, in a sullen voice, says "I returned the body to her village. Out of the thirst for revenge, they sent a demon. The Black Rose...it slaughtered my entire clan and burned our village. But of course, my brother had already left for the city before he could burn too. After everything, Zu-Zu took me in as their own. But it is because of him that our family is dead! It is because of him that we are the only two that are left alive!"
Akahito drops his head in shame. The sun falls beyond the horizon. The brightly lit sky slowly turns to a night.
"Well, we won't be able to make it to the bus in our current condition," Evander says. He looks at Kokuro and says "Is it possible that we may take refuge at your farm for the night? I will fix him up and we can be on our way in the morning"
Kokuro clenches his jaw and glares at Akahito. "Fine!" He shouts, "But I want all of you gone by morning!"
Kokuro picks up his kill and all of his tools and starts to head back to Zu-Zu's farm. Evander wraps Akahito's arm over his shoulder and helps him walk down the trail.
"Why...Why are you helping me? You know what I did" Akahito asks Evander.
Evander looks to the stars and says "I do. And I will tell you that you did a horrible thing. I personally would not forgive you if I was in Kokuro's place. Nonetheless, you're my leader. No matter your past, what you do in the present is what matters most"
Akahito looks to the ground in shame. Delia watches Akahito's back; the look of contemplation covering her face. Acacius stays silent as he walks down the trail. Eden looks behind her. Maya still had not moved. Her arms and legs are completely shaking. Eden walks back to her, grabs her arm, and softly smiles. Maya refuses to make eye contact as Eden practically drags her back to the farm. When they all reach the farm, Zu-Ma rushes out of the cabin.
"Oh, my lord!" She exclaims, "What happened to you two??"
Kokuro shoves past her and walks off behind the cabin to begin skinning his kill. She frantically looks at Akahito.
Evander looks at her and says "I apologize for our intrusion, but there was a slight quarrel. I am a medical specialist. May we stay here for tonight so that I may treat his wounds?"
"Of course!" Zu-Ma says frantically, "Come, come! Lay him here. I will get you anything that you need!"
Evander rushes Akahito inside.
"What the hell is going on?" Cries Zu-Pa, "What happened? Where's Kokuro?"
Acacius steps forward and says "Kokuro explained everything that happened to his family. He and Akahito had a falling out"
Zu-Pa looks to the door of the cabin with concern. Hours pass by. Akahito rests peacefully; the majority of his wounds are completely healed. The rest of the group sleeps around the cabin. Kokuro sits outside by a campfire. He gazes into it with a sorrowful expression. The sound of the cabin door opening breaks the silence of the night. Kokuro turns and looks behind him to see Zu-Pa walking out to join him. Zu-Pa sits next to Kokuro. Kokuro turns back to look at the fire in front of him.
"So. Do you want to talk about what happened today? This is the first time you have seen your brother since the incident" Zu-Pa says.
Kokuro's expression turns to anger and he says "No! He should have never come. He will leave tomorrow morning and we can all forget this"
Zu-Pa sighs and looks into the fire with Kokuro. "Kokuro," he says, "You should go with him. Maybe it will give you two a chance to bond and get to know one another again. And maybe it will be better than before"
Kokuro jumps up and stares at Zu-Pa in disbelief. "Absolutely not!" He shouts, "I will not go with him! Besides, I have to take care of you two. You guys need my help here!"
Zu-Pa chuckles. "That's true, you have been a huge help all of these years," he says, "But we want you to be happy too. We love both of you boys. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Don't worry about us. Akahito is a Guardsman now. If we need anything, we will have it taken care of"
Kokuro looks at Zu-Pa at first with continued disbelief, and then he looks to the fire and contemplates. Zu-Pa shakily gets up and says "Please. Think about it. He may have done wrong in the past, but Akahito cares about you. He has changed. Give him a chance"
Zu-Pa heads back inside the cabin while Kokuro looks to the sky and considers his options. The sun rises over the horizon the next morning. The group gets their belongings packed up. Akahito, with a small limp, walks outside and takes a breath of fresh air.
"I again apologize for the inconvenience," he says to Zu-Zu.
Zu-Ma chuckles and says "Oh, dear. Do not ever worry about that. You all come by anytime now"
Zu-Zu waves goodbye to the group as they start to head towards the trail.
"Wait!" shouts a voice from behind the group.
Everyone turns to see Kokuro with a large pack on his back. He wears a beaten pair of pants and a long-sleeve t-shirt that is stained with spots of dirty. Akahito looks at him in shock.
Kokuro's face turns slightly red and he says "I want to come along. You are going to prove to me that you've changed"
Akahito softly smiles and says "Thank you..."
Kokuro looks at the farm with a look of both happiness and sadness.
Eden grabs him by the shoulder and says "We're glad to have you aboard! And don't worry! No hard feelings whatsoever!"
Kokuro looks at her with uneasiness.
"Where to next?" Acacius asks.
Akahito looks at everyone and says "Well, it looks like we have our entire team. It's time to take on our first mission. We're off to see the king"