Kiyataka Village

Four Years Ago…
Far from the mainland, lay a quiet island, home to a small village where life passed in peace... For humans, at least.

"Other hunters will use traps, but who are we, Shinji?”
"Unfortunately not other hunters, dad!”

Shinji and his father, both wearing a casual clothes like ordinary people, hid in the bushes. Ahead of them, a large bear wandered through the morning mist.

"You ready, son?”
"Not like I have a choice anyway!”
"That’s the spirit! Wait for my signal!”

Without hesitation, his father rushed straight at the bear, bare handed. The bear roared and swiped at him.

"COME HERE BIG BOYYY!!!”

While his father grappled with the creature, Shinji climbed the nearest tree, positioning himself on a branch. Below, his father dodged the bear’s claws and slowly stepped backward to draw it in.

"NOW!!!”

His father leapt, struck the bear with his knee, and locked both its arm. Shinji slapped his back, only to realize he didn’t brought a knife with him.

"Wha-… Da- dad! Wait!”
"What you waiting for?! NOW!!!”

His father struggled to keep up with the bear’s raw strenghts, slowly being pushed back. Shinji darted his eyes around desperately.

"Aaa-… Should I just go?!”

Suddenly, a tween girl leaped between branches on the nearby tree.

"Anis?!”

Shinji turned and saw her swung through the liana vine. She drew a sharp knife behind, landed on the bear. In one single motion, she cuts its three neck veins before rolling safely onto the ground.

"Wooh! That was close! Thank you so much, Anis!”

Shinji’s father leaned under the tree, gasping for air.

"Glad to help, Mr. Takegawa!”

Then she smirked up at Shinji.

"You owe me again, Silly!”
"Its Shinji! Not Silly!”
"What’s the different? What you doing hiding like a coward up there anyway?”

He slid down from the tree.

"I just… forgot my knife…”
"Again?”

She smug, raised her eyebrown and he looked away.

"Sighed… Again…”
"And that could’ve cost my life! As punishment, you need to catch fish bare handed!”
"Seriously dad? Why don’t we use traps like normal hunters?”

His father shrugged while dragging the bear away.

"What’s the fun in that?! You better get at least five or no dinner for you!”

Anis winked at Shinji before followed his father behind. Shinji scratched his head, glanced around.

"Did I drop it somewhere? Again…”
"You looking for this?”

Shinji turned to his back and saw a pale-looking female with two short horns and a tail, approached him from behind a tree, holding his knife.

"Ohh! Where did you find it?”

He took the knife from her.

"I was looking for herb then I saw the knife… Again…”
"Ughh…”

Shinji lowered his head and she chuckled.

"I’ve been following you for days… I noticed you can see me and wow you really can!”
"Yeah I wonder how, I wonder why! Still, they called me crazy because of that!”
"I feel you! No one would believe me either if I said a human can see a demon! Wanna stop by my village?”

She smiled suspiciously and he nodded. Then two paper shuriken landed near them. Shinji looked around but saw no one.

"Tsk! Ne- nevermind!”

The demon ran away.

"He- hey!-… Aa-… Ah… See you later… I guess?”

He pocketed one of the paper shuriken and jogged away with his knife. In the afternoon, Shinji and Anis were sparring with wooden swords they crafted themselves.

"I met a demon and a ninja today! I know it sounds crazy but you have to believe me!”

Shinji swung but Anis dodged easily.

"For the tenth time, yes Silly, I believe you!”
"Shinji!”
"Silly!”

They clashing for several times before he jumped forward.

"Moon Attack!”

Anis dashed back.

"Who calls out their attack like that? This isnt a novel!”

She spun and threw her wooden sword at his head.

"Adoi! You not suppose to throw that!”
"Just dodge bro! Git gud!”
"Ara ara! Someone losing to Anis again!”

A familiar voice called out.

"Auntie Marrie!”

The two ran to her as she approached with Shinji’s mother, carrying the same duffel bag Shinji used but with a tag label ‘Name: Marrie’.

"We miss you!”
"Ahh these two miss me? Im so sorry, dear!”

Auntie Marrie knelt and hugged them both.

"Where’s uncle?”
"Your uncle’s busy, Silly… Off-shore job! He dropped me off for a month! He also left a gift, guess what is it this time?”

Shinji’s mother place their wooden sword beside her and placed the bag on top.

"7FDL12?”
"Mila!”

Auntie Marrie high fived Anis for the correct guess, pulling two cans of Mila from the bag.

"Horrayy for Sina! Yeah, its Mila and no Silly! Why you want that even?! Haha!”

As they sipped the drinks, Anis perked up.

"Oh yeah! I also have something for you, auntie! Be right back!”

Anis ran toward her home.

"Dont rush, dear!”

Auntie Marrie smiled, then turned to Shinji.

"Im glad she still plays with you, unlike the others…”
"I don’t really mind auntie, I know what I saw, its their choice to believe me or not…”

Out of nowhere, his mom sang a Morfonica song.

"Secret Dawn!”

Shinji’s eyes widened. He instantly dropped the can and covered his ears.

"AAAAA!”
"Hm? What’s wrong, Silly? You don’t like that song?”
"After auntie left, mom sang that over and over! She disturbed my sleep and I cant get it of my head!”

She chuckled and his mom shook her head.

"Oh come on! When I die, you will miss my voice every single day!”

His mom said and Auntie Marrie joined in and they sang together.

"Secret Dawn!”
"Get out of my headddd! Aaaaa!”

Later in the tree house, Anis scrambled around her room, searching for something. Hanging on the wall was a homemade clock struck at 3:35 pm.

"Where is it?! Where did I put it?! Oh hey Mr. Fee!”

She carefully placed a pink bear plushie aside and kept looking.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! Don’t befriend with Takegawa’s family!”

Her mom slipped into her room, holding a gift wrapped in hand-drawn paper.

"Tell me why?! Just because of Shinji’s father hunting style?!”

Her mom pointed a finger at her.

"That and that kid himself! I’m keeping you safe, like everyone else! What’s this?”

She ripped the wrapping.

"Mom noooo!!!”

Anis leapt, pushed her mom away and snatched the gift back.

"How rude?! See?! This is what happens when you befriend with them! You don’t listen to me anymore! Im your mother! I carried you for nine months!”

Her mom tapped her chest.

"I became like this because of you!”

She grabbed the liana vine, slid down to the ground, and sprinted off with the gift.

"I spent a lot of time making this!”

Later, she returned to them.

"Sorry late auntie! Here! For you!”
"Wow! Sundial right?! Thank you! Look, it has our names!”
"Ohh! That’s cute!”

They complimented her except Shinji.

"Where's the wrap? Arent yo-”
"Im lazy, Silly!”
"Shinji! Wait, why you wrote my name ‘Silly’?!”

They laughed then he remembered something.

"OH YEAH THE FISH!!!”

He sprinted toward the beach.

"He got punished again?”
"Again!”

Auntie Marrie asked and Shinji’s mom replied. Then Anis followed him.

"I should go with him, he might drown! Haha! Silly! Wait for me!”

They chuckles as the two ran off.

"They grown up so well… You still didn’t tell him yet?”

Auntie Marrie asked and the mood shifted as his mom lowered her gaze.

"We… We don’t know how to tell him, I mean… What if he cant accept it? What if he starts asking? What if… Ughh…”

Auntie Marrie touched her shoulder.

"I understand… Take your time but… the longer you wait… Nevermind… Im sorry…”

They nodded and continued singing their favourite Morfonica song.

"Secret Dawn!”

Later at the beach, Shinji stayed still, watching the fish. He tried catching them but failed, again, and again. After half an hour underwater, he floated back up.

"Ahhh! Man, this is so hard!”

He gasping for air then suddenly Anis floated beside him.

"Silly!”
"SEA MONSTE-… A- Anis?!”

He panted heavily while she laughed.

"Chill! How come you cant feel my ki?! That’s the first thing your dad taught us!”
"Easy for you to say!”
"Heh! You just need to believe! Anyway, I knew you wouldnt get any, so… Here!”

She showed him two strings of freshly caught fishes.

"HOW- adoi!”

She threw one string right at his face.

"You don’t have to yell! Anyway, ki is the key! Remember that!”

She dove back in and pulled his leg underwater.

"SEA MONSTE- aglupglupglup…”

Under the evening light, they two walked home side by side, clothes dripping wet, each holding a string of five fish.

"Silly…”
"Shinji!”

She glanced at him.

"Actually… I been wondering… Why your family live in the cave? Don’t get me wrong, Im just curious! Most prefer to live on the trees, some like it better on the ground but in a cave? That’s wild!”

He glanced back, shrugging.

"Well… I dont even know too, haha! I will ask them later tonight!”
"Yeah ofcourse, what do you even know anyway?!”
"I know your name…”

He grinned and she rolled her eyes. Then he lowered his gazed.

"Must be great, having a talent like hers… quick learner… creative… smart… If only I was talented like her…”

She looked at the orange sky.

"Must be fun, having parents like his… a strong father and a kind mother… They believe in him too… If only my parents were like his…”

They breathed in together and sighed at the same time.

"What a lucky girl…”
"What a lucky boy…”

End of Chapter 12…

Extra 012:
Right after they caught the fish, Anis dug a hole in the sand under a short tree with a twisted trunk, leaning toward the sea.

"Silly, did you kno-… Nevermind, bet you don’t! Turtles have natal homing ability!”
"Haa?”

She placed a heart-shape rock in the hole with her name carved on it, then buried it.

"Its an ability that lets them recognize and return to their ‘homeland’! They imprint a unique combination of Earth’s magnetic field intensity and inclination angle-”

She glanced at him, who has a difficulty of understanding even a single word of hers.

"Ne-… nevermind! Silly!”
"Shinji! How did you know that anyway?!”

Several baby turtles crawled out from the sand as they speak, not too far from them as they talking.

"I read it in the novel that Auntie Marrie gifted me! I love it so much! My favourite line is ‘life is like a novel, there’s opening, there’s climax and there’s ending’!”

They turned to the turtles as they raced toward the sea.

"We are the main character in our own life story! Wherever we go, no matter how far… someday, we will return to the place we started…”
"Anis… I think you read the wrong Rabbit vs Turtle book...”

They watched the turtles swim away, carried by the wind and the waves.

THANK YOU FOR READING!!!

Next Chapter: TBD (Sorry, I think I burned out... I have the first draft ready but Im quite exhausted somehow to refine it, so yeah my bad everyone, give me a little time)