Early in the morning, Arata had prepared himself to go out into the city in search of a working guard. Unknown to him, Noriko had been following his tracks for quite some time. Her eyes never left him, she made sure to keep out of his sight and keep her presence unnoticed. Though, she wasn't as skilled as Mika in the stealth department, she was decent enough not to be noticed by 'regular' humans and that included the prince.
She was curious about what he was doing, having no idea why he would go out so early in the morning and without her consent either. All she knew was that he was walking around and seemingly to be in search of someone. Who and why? She had no idea, nor did she care but that didn't mean she wasn't curious.
The redhead sighed for the fifth time that day, having found not a single guard on duty yet. He often pondered whether to ask someone for help, but he was too shy to. So, he was left with just walking around randomly in search of his guard friends.
He sits down on a bench, his shoulders slumped in disappointment and his eyes staring at the bright, blue sky. No one took notice of him, just kept going on their daily lives and didn't bother to approach him. However, one seemed to notice his presence.
"Arata?" a man's voice cut through his thoughts.
The said boy tilted his chin back down to take a look, his eyes landing on a middle-aged man that was around his thirties. He had messy, black hair with green eyes, his face looking quite old, accompanied with a shaved beard. He wore a kimono, much like Takehiko's. Arata recognised him immediately.
"Yoshi?" he asks.
He blinked, then let a smile broke out on his face. He was glad to finally meet someone he knows and that it was someone that should have the answers to his questions.
The man laughed. Though, the reason was unknown.
"I heard you would be in the Capital, boy, but I didn't realise that you would be walking around all alo... Speaking of which, where is your guardian?"
Arata froze, thinking what he was about to say.
"Uh..."
The black-haired man's eyes quickly scanned the area, only to stop as he felt Noriko's presence in the area. He quickly changed the subject before he could give away the Commander's hiding spot, it was clear that she was just watching him from afar.
"Never mind that, so what are you doing out here?" Yoshi asks.
He sated himself beside the redhead, who made room for him. The prince thought about his question, carefully figuring out what he would say to the man before him.
"I... I wanted to ask you something."
The man rose an eyebrow, not exactly expecting for the Prince wanting to ask questions. He knew that he was a curious lad, but he often just tried to figure out the answers himself than asking people - he was shy after all.
"Really? What do you want to talk about?"
He pursed his lips, already having second thoughts but decided that it was too late to turn back now.
"I was wondering... Why you became apart of the military in the first place."
"Huh, why I joined the Military?" he asks, frowning. "Well, it'll make sense if I tell you the whole story, so... Are you ready to hear it? It's going to take awhile."
He nodded, waiting for the man to continue.
"Alright then. If I was being truthfully honest," the man began. "I never wanted to join the Military. I was forced to 15 years ago. You've heard of the war that happened twenty years ago, between your father's father and the vampires?"
Arata nodded, pondering what that fight had anything to do with the question he had asked just a second ago.
"That fight killed many people and left Maho's defence in utter chaos. All the men were forced to take on defence for the city by the King. No one could protest, they had no choice. Only a few Tamers were still alive back then, we lost so many men. What few tamers we had left was chosen as our Commanders and divided us into four units, the one that you know now is what we have become.
"I didn't like my new lifestyle, it was dull and boring. We were taught to fight, given meals that were mostly extravagant to keep us healthy - that was probably the only thing I did like - but there was nothing really of any importance to us. We had to fight, we had to."
Yoshi pursed his lips, remembering those times when he was back in his youth. He wasn't very fond of them, at least, not for the first part.
"We didn't have a choice. People who made friends with one of the army men usually lost them in a battle campaign. Everyone was quick to lose their morals, we all fought like we were dead inside. The only reason we did fight was a hope to see our family again.
"For many years, the Tamers began to build up in population again as the men who were forced into Military work began to learn tamer abilities and found their tamer beast. The Military Force soon came back to being a army that no one could take down."
Yoshi frowned, propping his chin on his closed hands.
"Around this time, we were allowed to leave the Military and leave whenever we wanted to - that was around six years ago."
Arata pursed his lips, confused. He wasn't understanding what was going on at this point. Yoshi's story made it seem like he wanted to leave, so why hadn't he?
"If you had that much time and had the option to leave, then why didn't you?"
A smile came to Yoshi's face, turning his head to face the redheaded prince. It was like he was remembering something good about his past for once.
"Well, someone changed our minds. A year before the decree was made that we could quit our job and be ordinary men, a new man was appointed as Head Commander of the Knight Unit, along with a new lieutenant. The new lieutenant was someone everyone knew, but the new Head Commander just kind of popped out of nowhere. He was set on the top of the stool when he came into the Military for the first time."
His eyes lit up at the memory, remembering it like it was yesterday.
"He was an extraordinary man. One that everyone admired. He was like a shining star, he was so bright that everyone had to look away, but he attracted everyone. He had that aura of happiness, safe, a security everyone was relieved to have. He inspired the other commanders, he inspired all of the men. His skills were extraordinary, especially in persuasion.
"However, what was most important was the safety and security he gave us. He protected us like we were the citizens of Maho. He guarded the people and the Military, he brought us all to victory. Hardly anyone died on his watch. Without him, we would've probably fallen apart and our army would've been left to dust since everyone wanted to return home."
Arata's eyes flickered with recognition, remembering those words from a certain someone.
---
"Many don't die on your watch?"
"Not many, not under our command," she replied. "Our orders are always for the best of the people and the guard. We are guards of the people after all, but we have to protect the people that guard them too. It's the commander's job to lead them into a situation that they can win, they know that."
She looked at the sky, staring blankly at it, like she was lost in deep though. She seemed to be nostalgic about something, but didn't say anymore than needed to be said.
"Besides that, we have good relationships with them too and know that we have the capabilities to protect them if ever need be."
He responded, "Oh."
"But that doesn't mean no one dies, a few do die for their impudence. Disobeying our orders and running into a battle that they can't win," she said, her voice becoming dark. "That's when they'll die. One of my trusted men did that once, I went after him but he died before I could even get there.
"It was only then when they learned to trust their Commander's words, unless they want to die - which they don't - then they listen to what we say. They know we only think for the best of the people and ourselves."
Arata nodded, understanding her words. Though, the Commanders didn't seem like they could work together, they wouldn't even be put into rank if they weren't capable. At least, that is what he believed.
"They must trust you and the other Commander's a lot then..."
"Trust plays an important role in the life of the Military Force, without it, we would fall apart."
---
"His words gave us new inspiration," Yoshi continued. "A reason why we fought for the people, instead of dead people forced to do because of the King. He changed everything."
He flickered his eyes over to the prince.
"Tell me, why do you think we protect the Kingdom?"
Arata thought about everything he just heard and learnt, letting himself say his thoughts aloud to get a grip on what he was thinking about.
"It sounds like you had to..."
"Yes, we did, but that has changed," the man said, "we had to but now..."
That was when Arata realised the answer. It was so simple, and he began to wonder how he didn't know it before. He probably did, but it seemed so unlikely that he dismissed it altogether without a second thought.
He breathed, "Because you want to?"
The man smiled, glad that he had been some help to the prince before him. He continued to explain his thoughts about the matter.
"That's right. That one man changed all our views. He protected us, he fought for us. When you have a Commander that's willing to keep his own Military safe and to protect the people to, to always lead us to victory and create an unbreakable trust. Plus, show you the ropes to things about the world. You can't help but stay. It's surprising what one man can do. The Commanders followed his route too, and in the end, they gained all of our trust until we were in safe hands of their own men. Funny, the people who are suppose to be guarding are being guarded. It's so odd, but so true. But in the end, they brought us all to power."
The redhead pondered on those words, beginning to wonder who these people were that had made such an impact on those people. Enough for them to protect this city, this capital that was filled with so many bad people, to want to do it.
"Who were they? What were their names?"
Yoshi chuckled.
"You happen to know three of them, but you only know them by their official titles."
He stared at the sky, closing his eyes as he reminisced about the good old days in his youthful times. The times before everything had gone downhill again.
"it's hard to believe it's been that long, but I'll tell you nonetheless."
Arata waited in participation, slightly confused by the man's words.
"The first, is Former Head Commander of the Knight Unit, the radiant golden sun that shines in any light; Toyotomi Hideki."
Yoshi almost sounded fond of the name, but behind it there was some sign of anger. It was clear that whoever this man was, he had mixed feelings about it.
"Second is the Head Commander of the Guard Unit, the three-headed beast; Takehiko Likato. Third is the Head Commander of the Medical Unit, the sly serpent; Rumon Hunlin. Fourth is the Head Commander of the Stealth Unit, the icy fox; Mika Rijakin and finally, the Current Head Commander of the Knight Unit, the crossfire demolisher; Noriko Lillinight."
Arata nodded, processing their aliases into his mind so he could ask them later. His mind wondered to the Former Head Commander, Toyotomi Hideki. It was someone he didn't know, and he was all the more curious to know about it.
"What happened to Toyotomi Hideki?" he asks. "Why did he leave?"
The man froze for just a second, clearly not wanting to remember it but since this is the prince he was talking to, it was only fair to tell what he knew.
"He died while protecting us three years ago. At least, that's what I know. Only Noriko knows what really happened to him. His Tamer Beast disappeared to, so it's impossible to know unless you asked her."
"Oh..." Arata mumbled, slightly disappointed.
Yoshi smiled, quickly changing back to the man he was so he didn't frighten the poor prince with his weird behaviour.
"No worries. I'm sure my incredibly long explanation answered your question right?"
The prince nodded.
"It was because you want to, right? The previous Head Commander of the Knight Unit taught you something that made you stay, and I guess, you began to value more than just your own life?"
The man grinned.
"Exactly."
He peered at the corner of his eyes towards where Noriko hid, but she was nowhere to be seen and it was most likely that she was waiting for the prince to come.
"Now you better get back. Your guardian will be worried sick if you don't hurry back sooner or later."
Arata froze.
"I nearly forgot... Thanks a lot, Yoshi."
"No problem. I'll see you later then."
With those last words, Yoshi left the redhead to think and go home on his own. Arata stayed seated on the bench for a few seconds, before deciding that he should probably make his way back. His mind was jumbled with new information, causing him to have trouble trying to sort everything out. It was hard to understand to get the concept of protecting a city just because you want to and there was no other reason for it.
It made him think about Noriko's odd reason, but he didn't ponder too much on it.
Everyone, including the King have their own reason, but what they all have in common. It's that they all want to do it. Not because they were forced to protect, they wanted to.
Arata thought over Noriko's words and came to a conclusion.
They want to do it...
He came to a stop, his eyes noticing a familiar figure standing at the front porch of his mother's previous home. Her eyes were closed, arms were crossed and her body posture was nonchalant as usual. It looked like she had been waiting there for quite awhile. Though, unknown to him, she was watching him the whole time and left almost immediately after Yoshi had finished his story.
Seemingly to notice his presence, she opened her eyes to reveal her black hues to the redheaded boy. She pushed her body off of the door, looking at him expectedly.
"How was your trip?" she asks. "Was it worth the while?... Did you find your answer?"
Arata nodded in response to her question.
"All of you... The King, the Military, you fight because you want to. No one's forcing you to do it."
She remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
"You have all your own reasons, but in the end, it's because you all want to do it. You want to protect this Kingdom because it's the Kingdom, your home, our home... It's everyone's home."
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."
"No problem," she said, "now get inside."
"Right." he responded.
She opened the door, but she froze for a second for some odd reason. It was like she was thinking whether to tell him something or not.
"One more thing."
"Huh?"
"I was watching you the whole entire time," she stated.
It took him a few seconds to process what she said.
"What!"