Discovery

  The time had finally come.

I could sense it before I got any actual proof, but I knew. I knew with a certainty that would shatter stone.

The Savior had found me at last.

I’d been reading a manga in my apartment that morning - late September, sunny with a hint of clouds, incredibly powerful being approaching from the east. Average morning. I turned a page and froze.

That was an incredibly powerful aura. Even stronger than a dragon’s; not that you’d wanna tell one that - they’re really sensitive creatures.

I focused in on it. Ow, headache… Male, five foot ten-ish, scrawny build. I couldn’t get a bead on anything else, though. Almost like he was Cloaked. Shifting so quickly even I couldn’t register more than a shimmering blur.

I should’ve been excited, right? I could finally fulfil my contract with Krystal. I ought to have been elated, right?

Wrong.

“Yeah, I miss you too, sis.” I said, looking out the plane’s window.

“Just be careful, okay?” Daisy replied.

I snickered a little. “C’mon, Dai, when am I not careful?”

I could almost imagine her eyeroll. “Well, there was that one time you almost -”

“Apart from then.”

“And that time you tried to -”

“Sorry, Dai, gotta go, plane’s about to land.”

“Daniel you twerp don’t you dare han-”

Phew, close call. I was going to have hell to pay when I got home, though. She could be so overprotective, despite the fact that we were practically the same age - only eleven months separated us.

After what seemed an age, I got off the plane and stretched, popping my spine back into place. The flash of pleasure almost set me off, but the drugs were working. For now. Who knew how long it’d be before I couldn’t hold back that monster anymore?

Deciding to waste no more time, I ran through the airport - or as close as I could get until I was past customs - and promptly slammed face first into the sliding glass main entrance.

Ow… Glad Daisy wasn’t here to see that…

I got outside and was about to take off down the road when I realised I didn’t actually know where I was going. I had no idea where to find him…

Lucky for me, I saw someone just leaving the airport. She was a pretty cute girl, and looked like she was around my own age.

“Excuse me!” I called out in Japanese. “Do you know anything about the Changing One?”

She seemed embarrassed, or maybe nervous. She definitely wasn’t at ease. “You… could say that.”

“Can you tell me where he is?”

She fidgeted uncomfortably for a few moments. “I can, but I warn you: he’s not in his right mind. Hasn’t been for over twelve years. If you’ve come looking for tutelage, you might as well go home now.”

I took a closer look at her. Could she be older than she looked? I let the thought drop; it wasn’t relevant. “I need to find him.”

Her eyes seemed to pierce me, and for a moment I thought I saw something… inhuman in them. “There’s a shrine not too far from here, about fifteen miles away. You might find him there at around noon.”

I nodded and thanked her before I started walking in the direction she indicated. Hopefully there’d be a bus to catch, since fifteen miles would be a long walk.

Shit.

He was already looking for me. He was definitely the Chosen One; Krystal’s Messiah; the one whose destiny was decided from birth.

“Pavi kamito tira…” how was I gonna do this? I’d specifically avoided anyone involved with the Goddess of Change for more than a decade, then suddenly this gets dropped into my lap? And it’s not like I could just tell him to fuck off - I was under magically binding oath to take in any struggling changelings and teach them to control their power.

I supposed I’d just have to hope I didn’t fuck up again. I would not be able to deal with another disaster like last time…

I checked my mobile. Ten thirty-seven; enough time for a quick breakfast.

Where is he? He was supposed to be here over an hour ago!

I’d been waiting at the largest sakura blossom tree, assuming that’d be a signal that I wanted to talk. I should have paid more attention to what that girl at the airport had said: he’s not in his right mind.

I was about to give up for the day when a guy that looked around thirty walked up to me. His hair was tied up in a bun, and he had a thin goatee covering his chin.

“You seek the Changing One?”

I started, mostly because he’d spoken in perfect English. “Uh… yeah.”

He grumbled under his breath for a moment before turning back to me. “Why?”

I thought about answering, but decided against it. After all, who was this stranger to ask such intimate and personal questions? “That’s not your concern, stranger.”

He chuckled, as if he’d expected - even hoped - I’d say that. “No one gets to see the Mentor without my approval, boy.”

That set off my temper, and I snapped a little when I replied. “Yeah? Well you ought to mind your own business, old man.”

As soon as I finished speaking, pain shot through my chest like a lance. Shit, not now…

I was losing control of it. The medication was wearing off, and with it, the beast was waking up.

I dropped to the ground, heart and lungs burning. My vision was going dark. No, fight it…

Too late. I lost consciousness.

“Fistache ito kiristale…” I sighed. What a mess. I knelt down next to the kid. What am I gonna do with you?

Well, I couldn’t leave him to fully corrupt. I laid a hand on his arm and started pushing some energy into him.

“Don’t forget us.”

“Remember yourself.”

“Stay strong.”

What… what were those voices? Was I… dead?

My eyes shot open. I was inside what looked like an apartment. The couch I was laid across was surprisingly comfortable. There was a shelf of manga across from me, and a poster of an old anime movie.

The girl I’d met at the airport was leaning against the arm of the couch, next to my head.

“Oh, you’re awake. I’d worried I was too late for a second.” she said, getting up properly and walking away. “You want something to drink? It sometimes helps.”

I sat up slowly, fixing a crick in my neck. “Where am I? Who are you?”

Her head poked around a doorway. “Konnichiwa. I’m Kiku.”