~ Episode Nineteen ~

Within the Soul of the Eyes:

A Definition of Love

Shinji pushed past the door into The Dreaming Tree for the third day in a row, a desperate escape from the assault of snow-clearing downpour outside, and shuffled into line behind an old lady hunched over a walker just finishing up her order.

He scanned the diner. Among the afternoon crowd of rowdy teenagers, tired farmers and truckers, and the quiet or sociable elderly, he spotted Isa Keitel in a booth at the far end of the eatery. She was gazing out the window into the street, listening to music through a pair of flimsy walkman headphones.

“Hiya, hon!” – Shinji was greeted by a young server caked in cheap makeup behind the order counter. She smiled down at him, chomping toothily on a wad of gum. “What can I get’cha?”

“Oh…” He looked up at the chalkboard menu above her head. “Uh … I’ll just get a small citrus tea, please – milk and two sugars. Oh, and can I get a pizza bun, too?”

“Sure thing, sweetie. Not with your friends today?”

“Uh … no.”

$4.86 flashed up on the register display. Shinji’s gaze lingered on the number while he reached into his jeans pocket for whatever loose change he’d brought along. April 1986 came to mind. Aries. Fire.

He tried with no luck to remember Eri Seruma’s birthday.

It definitely wasn’t in April.

Shinji’s fingertips whispered against a chain necklace intermingled with the collection of quarters and loonies in his pocket. The chain belonged to an Elemental Pendant meant for the fifth Star Warrior. The final Star Warrior. The Warrior of Spirit.

He shot another look Isa’s way.

When his pizza bun and tea were served, Shinji took his food over to the booth diagonal from her. Isa seemed oblivious to his presence, too focused on the sight of the rainy street – specifically Lee’s Dragon-Tiger Dojo, a martial arts place directly across the road from The Dreaming Tree. He could barely see through the storefront glass a lesson in session; a line of after-school students standing before their teacher, all committed to stiff but swift punching drills.

He lifted the steamy tea mug to his lips, studied Isa’s reflection in her booth’s window.

She looked so sleepy, sad, the color of her eyes obscured by unruly scarlet bangs.

Shinji needed to be sure Class 208-B’s new transfer student was, in fact, the Warrior of Spirit. He was sure of it already. But in order to confirm such suspicions, he needed something to cement his intuition. Something only she could provide…

The color of her eyes.

So far, it’d been impossible to get a good look at Isa’s eyes at school. Her hair was either always in her face or her chin was downturned, too focused on things that didn’t involve the company of others.

There was the other day though, when Isa came into The Dreaming Tree with her mother the first time the Star Warriors met as a team. She looked right at them. Shinji thought her eyes looked grayish – the color of the Spirit element – but he needed to be sure.

Isa’s shoulder sagged against the window pane. The Elemental Pendant dug into Shinji’s thigh.

Lots of people had gray eyes. Lots of people had greenish eyes like he and his mother’s side of the family. Or bluish eyes like Evan and his mom’s side, or yellowish eyes like Thompson and her father’s side.

For Isa Keitel to be a confirmed candidate to help rejoin the broken Star of the Elements, Shinji decided her eyes had to be a smoky gray. He didn’t know why, exactly. Just what his gut said.

But he needed to get a closer look to be sure, first.

Evan didn’t believe that this inconsequential identifier marked them Star Warriors, but it was true. The colors of all their eyes marked them descendants of the Original Five: Earth – the war princess Arissa Lockhart; Water – the seafaring minstrel Faran Coyne; Air – the psychic healer Relina Weiss; and Spirit – the tender-hearted mercenary Obiere Laroche.

But then there was the Warrior of Fire – the Black King’s own son.

Prince Jarem Sufocus. The man who would be reborn as Shinji’s own grandfather. Perhaps the reason for his resurrection was because Jarem had no descendants when he died. No one with copper-colored irises to carry the Bloodline of Fire into the new millennium.

Only a single younger sibling. A messianic being known by mortals as the Child of Destiny; known by Kenah’dai as the Devil Goddess. A girl with all the power in her mind’s invisible muscle to bring Restoration to the world. Or, Annihilation, if she so choose.

Eri Seruma may have taken up the mantle for the Warrior of Fire, but her irises weren’t an impossibly natural shade of candy-apple red because she was the descendant of Jarem Sufocus.

Eri’s eyes were red because she was—

Just then, someone covered by a purple umbrella walked past Isa’s window. They stopped, moon-walked back center-frame, and rapped dark knuckles against the glass, startling her. The umbrella upturned to reveal Evan Williams’ patented ear-to-ear grin.

Isa frowned at him.

Evan waved hello despite her indignation – then blinked, someone else catching his attention. He peered Shinji’s way, grinned wider, and backtracked on fiery heels towards the diner entrance.

It was then that Isa finally noticed Shinji sitting in the booth across from hers. She grunted surprise at the sight of him. Annoyance reddened her cheeks.

A bell jangled to signal a new customer’s arrival. Shinji took a long sip from his tea and tried to ignore the flutter of butterfly warmth between his lungs.

“Hey, brother.” Evan slid into the bench seat across him. “Happy Friday!”

“Hey,” Shinji murmured. He nudged his plate of what remained of the pizza bun towards Evan. “Just getting back from choir practice?”

“Yeah. Becky’s got my diaphragm in a vice, man. This recital’s making her so stressed. It’s nuts.” Evan took a crescent moon-shaped bite out of the bun and craned a look over to Isa, waving hello a second time. “Hey, Isabella, right? Come hang out!”

Isa glared at him, fumbled for her walkman and school bag, and struggled out of her booth.

“Hey—”

“Piss off,” she snapped, storming away.

Evan leaned out into the aisle, bemusement flexing at the corners of his mouth as he watched her go, knee bouncing. The bell over the diner entrance jangled again. Isa was gone.

Shinji exhaled into his tea mug.

“Yo, isn’t that the booth we were sitting at, couple times before?” Evan nodded to the now-empty seating that looked out across the dojo and grinned. “Maybe we should reserve it for all Star Warrior meetings, huh? – Heh, heh – So, you really think she’s one of us?”

“I don’t know yet,” Shinji admitted. The Pressure to Complete the Star panged in his heart like a chest cramp – Cloria’s warning of failure to unite the Star Warriors would inhibit their success against destroying the Black King, once and for all. Without the Warrior of Spirit, their efforts would be in vain. “…But, her moving to Shorebrooke lines up with everything else. Lives down the road from me, too, and that can’t be a coincidence.”

Evan chewed these words with his meal. With a swallow that should have lodged hunks of bread down his throat, he said, “Then, that’s it, huh? What that Monster of Radiance chick said about the broken star or whatever? What about ‘Ree, though?”

“What about her?”

“Cloria said we can’t beat Sufocus without the other Star Warriors. If Isabella’s our girl Spirit, that leaves—”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Seruma is the Warrior of Fire. She completes the Star.”

“No she doesn’t,” Evan said, jaw hanging. “Shinji, man, what are you talking about? Just because she can use the Fire Hammer doesn’t mean she’s the—”

“Yes, it does. She’s still Jarem Sufocus’s biological sister. If you had siblings, they’d be able to use the Water Trident, too.”

“Because they’d be descendants just as much as me! That’s not who ‘Ree is! She’s no descendant of anybody, except for the guy behind this whole mess. Shinji, this is a dangerous game, man. Don’t.”

Shinji snorted. “Then you tell me: why can she use the Fire Hammer?”

“All right. Okay. Nope.” Evan popped what was left of the pizza bun into his mouth, clapped his hands together. “We gotta talk.”

“Evan…”

“You’re our leader. I know that. You’re doing what you think is right. I get that. I respect that. Listen, you’re my bestie and I’d consider walking into traffic with you—”

“You mean the edge of the world. You’d walk off the edge of the world with me.”

“—I’d consider it. But as your bestie, I can’t let you walk into traffic anymore. I gotta speak up, man. I gotta level with you. This is getting outta hand.”

Shinji eyed him, started to speak, but was immediately shushed by the raising of a single index finger.

“You’re being delusional,” Evan stated.

“Excuse me?”

“This whole thing is a big mistake, you don’t see that? Do you really think this is fair to our girl? Shin, she deserves to know who she really is, and keeping it back from her puts us all in so much danger. Especially her. You know that, right?”

An uncomfortable truth shivered through Shinji. He didn’t reply.

“To be straight with you, man, I’m surprised she hasn’t figured it out yet.” Evan folded his hands together over their table – almost close enough to graze Shinji’s knuckles cupped around a near-empty tea mug.

An electric charge skipped between untouched flesh, sent a rush of tingles straight through Shinji. Uncertainty, too. His starving fingers unclasped the mug, drew into the safety of his lap. He cleared his throat. “…Not even Thompson knows.”

“I’m surprised she hasn’t figured it out yet, either. ‘Kenzie’s quick, and after that whole chat with Cloria? Cat had to be out of the bag.”

“I think she was more worried about Seruma than actually paying attention to what was going on,” Shinji said. “Anyway, Thompson will lose her mind if she figures it out first.”

“When,” Evan corrected him. “She’ll kill us both too, and rightly so. And tell ‘Ree. Listen man, I get it – You’re scared. You’re scared of telling her, it’s a big deal. A real big deal. But if she’s gonna find out, it’s pro’lly best if she finds out from someone she trusts. Someone who actually knows the stakes.”

Shinji sighed, gaze averted. His hands folded together in his lap, kneaded at each other, nervously. “…I know the stakes.”

“You know the stakes.” Evan nodded. “And, you’re our leader.”

“Right.” Shinji let out a slow, mind-centering, exhale. “I just – I don’t want to make her feel … I don’t want to … hurt her.”

“Hurt her?” Evan reclined in his seat, hands raised and rinsed. “Think of it this way, man. What’ll hurt her more? A heart-to-heart talk with a friend who loves her, or realizing it’s been a secret this whole time?”

“…Love?” An uncomfortable dryness formed on Shinji’s tongue.

“I’m not playing around anymore, brother,” Evan said. He slid out of the booth and wiped down the dampness left by his umbrella. He offered Shinji a look of sympathetic sternness. “I mean it.”

“Okay, fine … I’ll tell her,” Shinji promised. “I’m seeing her Sunday, anyway.”

Evan furrowed his brow. “A date?”

“What? No. I’m going to show her the Book of Lodoss! It’ll be the perfect segue. I’ll tell her then.”

“All right, man.” Evan sang the words like he didn’t fully believe the admission. He caressed Shinji’s shoulder in passing, a touch that produced a shiver of warmth. “I mean it: you tell her – or I will.”

~

“I did it! – I DID IT!!”

Eri leapt off the edge of her bed, Super Nintendo controller in-hand. She danced circles in front of her TV, singing the Final Fantasy II battle victory theme – “Na-na-na! Na-na! Na-da-daaa!”

“What are you doing?! Save! Save!!” Mackenzie’s voice screeched from Eri’s clear-plastic telephone, left neglected on the nightstand.

“Okay. Okay.” Eri giggled. She thumped back onto her bed and hammered the controller’s A-button to speed through all the post-battle text. She scooped up the handset and nestled it against her jaw. “Sorry about that! Haha!”

“Don’t be sorry!” Macks cheered her on. “Save your game!”

“I am! I am! Just gotta get through all the story stuff.”

“Hee-hee. So, how’s it feel to finally make Bahamut your bitch?”

“Ahh – umm – I don’t—”

“Eddi-chan. You can swear. You’re allowed to! Celebrate! Admit it – you made Bahamut your bitch. Revel in that!”

Eri blushed. “Well – I guess I did, um, kinda kick its butt!”

“Pffft. Puritan!”

“But, it feels good. Really good.”

“You’re too adorable. I’ll corrupt you yet.” Mackenzie’s voice tickled in her ear. “So, did you beat your game?”

“Not yet.” Eri navigated her on-screen character back to the world map to save her progress. “Still got the final dungeon and end boss to go. Fighting Bahamut was optional, but totally worth it.”

“WHAT?! You mean this boss you were stuck on for like two weeks was completely unnecessary this whole time?!”

“Well – not – completely unnecessary,” Eri said, embarrassed. “Um – I get a new monster summon magic for my mage, Rydia, from beating it…”

“A Monster Sealer in real life and in your video games. I knew you were obsessed.”

“You’re one to talk, Cardcaptor Mackenzie…”

Mackenzie went quiet all of a sudden.

“…I’m no Cardcaptor,” she murmured. “I’m barely a Star Warrior.”

“What? Don’t say that. Shinji would be dead if it wasn’t for you!”

“I guess. But out of everyone, I’m the only one who hasn’t Sealed any Monsters yet.”

Eri frowned. “And that’s a bad thing?”

The line went quiet again for a time. Eri took the opportunity to shut off her game and wrap her controller up, finished for the afternoon. She leaned out her open window, arms folded over the sill, and gazed out past the rain-pattered shingles into Castle Court’s coul-de-sac.

Finally, Mackenzie replied. “Honestly, I have more in common with the Cardcaptor’s best friend, Tomoyo-chan.”

Eri took in great whiffs of the drizzly spring air amidst the sound of distant birdsong. She readjusted the phone against her jaw. “You think so?”

Another silence passed. “Definitely.”

“Well – you do have really pretty hair like she does. Maybe you’re not as, um – elegant? But—”

“Thanks.”

“—you do go a lot out of your way for the people who are important to you.”

A light chuckle sounded in Eri’s ear. “…You’re really important to me.”

This brought a smile to Eri. She nodded, even though Mackenzie couldn’t see it. “You’re really important to me, too.”

“Heh. So-o-o-o-o, your date with Shinji is coming up.”

“Ugh. Please stop calling it a date.”

“Sunday, right?”

Eri sighed into the phone. “Yeah. Sunday. Oh! – It’ll be our one-week anniversary as Star Warriors, Macks. Congrats!”

“Congrats – big whoop. Hey, too bad your mom doesn’t let you wear cosmetics, eh? I’d love to doll you up before your big day, hehe.”

“Double ugh. I’m serious, he just wants to catch me up on all the Monster stuff you guys went over after the library incident. That’s all. It’s not a date.”

“Pfft. I don’t understand why you deny your feelings for him—”

“Because I don’t have feelings for him. He’s just a friend.”

“—This is your chance to go in for the kill, though!”

“Macks…”

“Fine, fine, fine. But riddle me this, Eddi-chan! If Shinji’s just a friend to you, what do you call that stunt you pulled last Valentine’s Day?”

Eri’s face scrunched up. “What stunt?”

“The stunt. I saw what you wrote in the card you gave him: ‘love, Eri’!”

“…And?”

“Really?! You spelt it L-O-V-E, not L-U-V!”

“So? … Wait, that was ages ago, how do you even remember—”

“Eddi-chan! There is a distinct difference between those variations of the spelling!”

Eri rolled her eyes. “If you say so. Why are you so obsessed with me and Shinji, anyway?” She snort-giggled, withdrawing from the window back into the safety of her bedroom. “Maybe you’re the one with the crush on him, and are just trying to pass it off, huh?”

The snarky reply she expected didn’t come.

“Because I—” Mackenzie’s voice suddenly cut short. An almost inaudible huff of a sigh crackled over the line. “—I – I just – You’re my best friend. I just want to see you happy. That’s all.”

Eri smiled at this, settling into her desk chair as she wound the phone cord taut around her forearm. “But, I am happy. I have you in my life.”

Further silence lingered in her ear.

“…Eddi-chan?”

“Yeah, Macks?”

Hesitation trailed for a time. Birdsong echoed on the air outside Eri’s bedroom window. Then, a draw of breath in her ear.

“I … Me too…”