The Mountains and the Apex

The next morning, on their way back to the Apex Tower, the group noticed the Apex guards were standing in front of the Tower as if there was someone dangerous just outside. "Well," Ryu said, putting his hand son his hips, "that can't be good news."
"No it can't," Shiro replied. The group went quickly to see what was going on, and when they got there, Makoto, Ryu and Chihiro recognized who was in front of the Tower:

It was Arthenraed and Lupin!

"Who are you? Why are you here?!" Arthenraed said firmly, turning quickly to face Shiro, who responded with a chuckle.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking that?" Shiro replied, his eyes glowing red like at the Apex Arena.
Arthenraed scoffed and drew an arrow. "Talking won't get the work done, bring it on."
Shiro drew his dual blades and said, "heh, straight to business."
But before either of them could start fighting, Makoto ran between them. "Waaait!!" He shouted into the air, holding his hands up for them to stay back. "Arthenraed, Shiro, put your weapons down!"

Shiro and Arthenraed stared at Makoto blankly.
"Why should I trust him, Makoto?" Arthenraed asked. "I don't trust people who's eyes change at will." Shiro's eyes narrowed at Arthenraed. "Well, I don't trust elves," he said dryly. "And how do you know Makoto's name?" Makoto stomped one foot, trying to get the two to calm down. "Quiet for a minute!" He said. "After fighting you, Shiro, I went with Ryu and Chihiro to the forest; that's how we met Arthenraed. It was just before the fight in the Abyss Arena!"
"And Arthenraed," Makoto continued, turning his attention to the young Elf, "Shiro's not a bad guy!" Arthenraed looked at Makoto, still a bit suspicious. Finally, he sighed and, lowering his bow, said, "fine. If you say so, I suppose." Shiro's eyes turned back to their usual gold as he sheathed his swords. "If you don't fight us," he said to Arthenraed, "we won't fight you. Deal?" After a moment, Arthenraed sighed and nodded. "Deal."

All of a sudden, Shiro looked down and saw Lupin standing behind him, sniffing his hair. "Your hair smells nice," Lupin said plainly. "It smells like... *sniff*... roses."
Shiro's eyes widened and he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I mean," he chuckled, slightly embarrassed, "I do wear scented cologne, hehe."
"That's what I was smelling," Ryu said to himself. "I knew I was smelling something on you, I just didn't know what it was!"
Makoto and Chihiro chuckled, and then Makoto spoke. "By the way, Arthenraed and Lupin, why did you come here?" Lupin moved towards Makoto. "We heard what happened to Ryu, and wanted to make sure he was alright." Arthenraed nodded in response. "It's true," he said. "We heard about Takeo, but when we got to the village, the healer said he was still unconscious. That's why we came here."
Makoto nodded. Though he wasn't fully sure if they were telling the truth or not, he decided to believe them.
All of a sudden, the Apex guards parted to let the Apex Master see what was going on. "What's happening here?" He said, looking at Lupin and Arthenraed in confusion. "Why is there an Elf and a strange child here?"
"We know them," Ryu said, gesturing to the two teenagers. "They don't pose any sort of threat." The Apex Master squinted at them, curious. "Hmm, well," he said, "as long as they don't attack any of the Paladins, they can stay here."

After entering the Tower, Arthenraed and Lupin took Makoto aside. "Alright Makoto," Arthenraed began. "We have something we need done, but only you can do it."
"W-what do you mean?" Makoto stuttered, confused and flustered from being taken aside so randomly. "It's about the white-haired man," Lupin said.
"You see," Arthenraed continued, "we noticed something about him just from seeing him. I didn't even need to talk to much to him to figure this out." Makoto looked at the two, confused but curious. "What did you find?" He asked. Arthenraed and Lupin looked at each other, then at Makoto. "He's hiding something," Arthenraed said, his voice quiet. "And it's something important. I just know it." Makoto stared at Arthenraed and Lupin, his eyes wide in confusion. 'What does he mean, 'hiding something'?' Makoto thought. 'I mean, what if all Shiro's hiding is that he's left handed or something?'
"We need you to go see if you can get him to say whatever he's hiding," Arthenraed said. Before he could continue, Lupin nudged him and pointed to Shiro, who was walking down the hall. "Alright, go," Arthenraed whispered to Makoto before pushing him into the hall.
"W-wait a second!" Makoto said, before turning quickly to see Shiro standing behind him.
"Puer ?" Shiro said, tilting his head slightly. Makoto looked around and then at Shiro before trying to speak. "U-Um," he stuttered, "Shiro, are you uh... I-I don't know... umm, a-are you hiding something?"

Shiro chuckled and looked down. "Well, everyone has their secrets, but you're not wrong..."
Makoto's eyes widened, confused and even a bit concerned. "What do you mean?" He managed to say, his voice very quiet. Shiro walked towards Makoto, a grin on his face. He leaned forward, and said...

"I'm left-handed~"

Makoto stared at Shiro, who winked at him as if he was just joking. "That's it?" Makoto said, though he felt like his soul just left his body from what he had thought Shiro was going to say. "Mhm, that's it," Shiro confirmed, standing up straight and smiling at Makoto. "What, did you think I  was actually the Abyss King or something?"
Makoto shook his head, "no, no! I wouldn't think that!" Shiro chuckled and patted Makoto on the back before walking away. "Well, puer," he said, "I have some training to get done, so I'll catch you later. Vale! "
As Shiro walked away, Makoto turned to see Arthenraed doing a face-palm and Lupin shaking his head. "He's good at hiding things, I see," Arthenraed mumbled. "You heard everything?" Makoto asked, fidgeting a bit. The other two nodded, and Lupin said, "yes, we heard what he said." Makoto nodded and looked at the floor, embarrassed. "It's fine, Makoto," Arthenraed said. Makoto nodded and looked at the two. "As long as we keep an eye on this man," Lupin said, "this is no big deal."

Later that day, Makoto was in his room with Ryu and Chihiro, who were lying on their beds.
'Maybe they know something about Shiro,' Makoto thought. 'They've been here longer than me, so it's worth a shot.'
"You guys," Makoto began, "is there anything strange about Shiro?" Chihiro sat up, and tapped his chin. "Strange?" He repeated. "Well, his eyes turn red when he fights Abyss Warriors, and he looks really similar to someone who was here before him who just... disappeared. At least that's what I've heard." Makoto looked at Chihiro from where he was sitting on his own bed. "He also has a son who he leaves home alone," Ryu added, still lying down. "And he knows Astrian at a very high level." Makoto ran his hands through his hair. "You mean Hope, Ryu?" Ryu nodded, still lying on his bed.
Makoto nodded and looked out the window. 'What's Shiro hiding? Unless he isn't hiding anything, and I'm just overthinking all this,' he thought. But before he could think of anything else, he yawned and lay down on his bed. "What time is it?" He mumbled. "Probably 10 at night," Ryu said, holding back a yawn. "We should get to sleep."
Chihiro nodded and got under his covers. "Yeah... *yawn* good night~"
"Good night, you two," Makoto said, getting in his own bed. Before he fell asleep, he kept thinking about Shiro and the strange things that the brothers had told him. 'I wonder,' he thought, yawning. 'What could Shiro possibly be hiding...?'

The next morning...

"*yaaawn*, morning~!" Makoto said to Chihiro and Ryu, who waved to him. The brothers had woken up early, and were behind the Tower with Shiro, Arthenraed, and Lupin. "Hey, puer!" Shiro called out. "There's something I need to do at the village, and Ryu and Chihiro wanted to come with me. Do you want to come, too?"
Makoto remembered which village Shiro meant: it was Ryu and Chihiro's village as well, and was still recovering from the Abyss's attack 12 years ago. 'Maybe it's about Hope,' Makoto thought before nodding 'sure'. "I don't mind coming with you," he said to Shiro, smiling.
Shiro put his hands together and smiled. "Then it's settled!" Shiro then turned to the Arthenraed and Lupin. "I suppose you're both staying here?" He asked.
Lupin nodded, and Arthenraed said, "yes, you go on ahead." So, the group set out to go see whatever it was Shiro wanted to do in the village.