“Yesterday I went outside♪
With my momma’s mason jar♪
Caught a lovely butterfly♪
Daadaadaadaadumdumdumm”
Alone in the empty space that is the grand tent’s base floor sits Shiryu humming to himself,
The night is in full swing but for him it’s just a part of a long day
He doesn’t dare go leave the structure alone in fear of being attacked so he stays living in his thoughts to pass time
(What did I say that was wrong?
I can tell she hates, no she has no love for her siblings and they don’t of each other,
Why?
Amelia’s loves her brother and he the same,
Why do these four not love each other?
They don’t even have hate either…
Aghh what do I know, I’ve never been around people for that long,
The people here are different here too, they value strength more)
…..
…..
“Why bother?♪
It's gonna hurt me♪
It's gonna kill when you desert me♪
This happened to me twice before♪
It won't happen to me anymore♪
Hmmhmmhmmhmbhmhm♪”
(I wonder what Kage is up to right now…)
“So you are the dragon?” A croaky old voice suddenly echoes into space startling Shiryu out of thought
“Where did you?
I didn’t see the entrance open”
“Are you the dragon?” the old man asks again coming closer to Shiryu
His face and general appearance may look old but underneath his marital arts gi some bulky muscles poke
“I swear Aki should just go ahead and tell everyone what I am at this point”
“Do you not want people to know?” the strange old man asks, despite his voice sounding kind, his gray eyes are cold, somewhat malicious and calculating as they examine the young man thoroughly
“N..no” Shiryu already beginning to stutter nervously
“Who are you exactly?”
“The grandfather of Aki, Bane, Fuyu and Natsu, you may address me by my name, Shiki,
Now this old man rarely leaves the house, so be honored that I came to you, especially at this time of day”
“Thank you from gracing me with your presence old man Shiki”
“You are awfully meek for a beast, tell me is this a façade?”
“No, I’m just intimidated by the people here”
“Hahaha, someone with your potential says that,
Aki said you merged with a dragon egg?”
“Yes, that is true,”
“How, was it a blood requiem?”
“Blood requiem?”
“There are some requiems that are obtained via blood intake did this happen to you?”
“I don’t think so”
“Then are you a dragon by artefact?”
“No, it is complicated to explain
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Do you believe in the existence of angels old man Shiki?”
“I don’t need to believe in something I’ve witnessed myself,
Many divine beings have been to Tonbo before,
The offspring they create with us also gain their divine power as well as unshakable righteous will, we revere those people here and call them Buddha
Are you perhaps connected to a Buddha then?”
(This old man is sharp)
“In a way yes, my body is a fusion of human and dragon, and the mana of an angel is what keeps it together,”
“hmm, I’ve never heard of this before…”
(Since he believes this much, should I go ahead and talk about Kage, or press him more..)
“Umm, sir Shiki I’ve also never heard of blood requiems before, could you tell me more”
“Blood requiems are just the same as regular requiems except instead of an object you drink the blood of the person,
My grandchildren for example have blood requiems of some of the strongest warriors of our nation
They’re called the four evils around the town you know?”
“The four evils, why?”
“Because of the people who’s requiems they inherited, Mizaru the one who sees no evil, Kikazaru the one who hears no evil, Iwazaru the one who speaks no evil and Sezaru the one who does no evil,
In order they are Aki, Natsu, Bane and Fuyu”
(Why is he telling me all of this freely?)
“Is there something you want from me Shiki sir to tell me this?”
“I am also a user of a blood requiem, one that makes me just like you,
I am a dragon,
That is why I came to see you personally I wanted to know if you were really a beast or really human, and right now I can’t tell completely so I gave you some information you should not have, that way if I ever have to cut you open and spill your guts along the sidewalks of Tonbo
I will have good reason on the basis that you know too much.” the old man gives Shiryu a passive aggressive smile before turning away
His words came across so calm so, matter-of-factly, yet it shook Shiryu to his core,
The old man came not to befriend him or help him but simply to give himself reason should he ever have to kill him
A warning not spoken as such but heard the same nonetheless….
Shiryu stares behind the old man in disbelief, who disappears into the darkness
(A daydream?)
The sheer absurdity of the meeting left him with few questions but many thoughts
Fearful thoughts
The old man Shiki had spoken but it was his power that would be remembered over his words
…..
…..
…..