“Yes, I called earlier – I’m here to see Miro,” Shouri told a front-desk attendant.

“One moment.” The attendant began looking up the patient in question.

Shouri, Pacifica, and Rebecca were at the Alspo General Hospital once again. It was early evening and this was the last task Shouri felt he needed to do here before they left in the morning to begin their new journey. Shouri thumbed the black tuner at his side, Taika’s absence was troubling him in more ways than one.

The trio were silent while they waited – the last hour certainly was something.

Leaving her at the MA Office was the right call… but it still hurt recalling how it all went down.

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Shouri and his trio had returned to their room. Emily had agreed to travel together up to the Schietto Mountains but only Shouri’s group would make the actual trip up to Mount Sinchero to meet the famous Ethereal.

“Oh, I want to go to the hospital tonight,” Shouri suddenly spoke up.

“Why’s that?” Pacifica questioned.

“I want to go tell my Natural friend who helped me get here where we’re going. He also really wants to meet you all.”

Pacifica trembled as she was suddenly hit with a wave of negative emotion. Her head whipped towards the direction of the unpleasant feeling: Taika.

“Non voglio vedere il Naturale.” The Lunar glared daggers at her Maestro. “Non potrebbe importarmi di meno se loro vita o morte,” she growled, her hair and tail fur ruffled with fluctuating telekinetic power.

“Sho, maybe you should go alone,” Pacifica advised carefully.

“Non. You two go with him. I will stay here,” the tone in Taika’s voice was unlike any they had heard from her before. It oozed malintent. “I might do something we’ll all regret if I go,” she warned.

Shouri studied the fox. He took in a breath and spoke louder than he needed to. “Stay here and watch over things.”

Pacifica frowned. Besides Taika’s strange behavior, Shouri’s declaration felt… off. Like he wasn’t talking to any of them. But surely Rebecca would have said something if there was someone else in the room… right?

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Taika’s reaction to Naturals has never been one of open acceptance – quite the opposite, she always seemed so tense when they were brought up.

“You two know where I found Taika right?” Shouri asked quietly as they rode the elevator up to the floor Miro was on.

“Somewhere in Unis-Résonne, right?” Rebecca recalled.

“Nevepunto – It’s a Natural town in the far northern reaches of the continent,” Shouri told the two.

Pacifica and Rebecca understood the implication, but Shouri spelled it out for them anyway.

“She was sweeping in front of a huge manor in a Natural neighborhood. She chased after me and threw herself into my arms, begging and pleading for me to take her.” He paused for a moment. “She once told me her caretakers were killers.”

DING

The elevator door opened, but the trio remained rooted in place. “K-killers?” Pacifica whispered.

“From what she’s told me, it was a common occurrence, yes,” stated Shouri grimly.

With no movement, the door began to close. Shouri stepped forward and waved his arm in the open space, triggering the safety mechanism to prevent its closure.

“We always get involved with the crazy shit, huh?” Rebecca shuddered. The fire fox took a second and calmed herself. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there?” she guessed, looking to their Maestro.

Shouri nodded. “I want all of us to be strong; for her,” he told the two. “If they ever come after us, I want to be able to put them down – with overwhelming force.” Though he spoke of threats he was vaguely aware of, his sister flashed into his mind - if she was in trouble somewhere, he'd want strength to spare for her sake as well.

Pacifica held her breath for a moment – Shouri, her Maestro with some of the weakest willpower she had ever experienced was deadly serious about that claim. For Taika, no, all of them; he’d do whatever it took to keep them safe.

Taika’s mysterious “caretakers”, no matter how powerful they were, he’d seek the power necessary to protect her from them.

“Let’s go girls.” Shouri waved the two Resonators out of the elevator.

The walk to Miro’s room was quiet, neither Pacifica nor Rebecca knew what to say, only pulled out of their thoughts when they arrived at their destination.

Shouri opened the door to one of the rooms. The two Resonators nodded to one another and followed their Maestro into the room, doing their best to be quiet.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Shouri!”

Rebecca and Pacifica found themselves face-to-face with an unfamiliar creature – one covered from head to toe in thick brown fur. Just like a Resonator he radiated his element, this one being of earth. Though Rebecca noted the feeling was far more intense than she had experienced than any Resonator she had ever encountered.

“Oh! You brought your Resonators!” The fox boy noticed the two girls immediately. “Rebecca and Pacifica was their names right?” He pointed to each girl in turn.

“Yeah, you got it right.” Shouri pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed-ridden Natural with Pacifica and Rebecca standing close behind their Maestro.

“And your third, er Taika?” asked Miro

Shouri furrowed his brow, taking a moment to reply. “She’s not feeling well,” he decided quietly.

Pacifica placed a hand on her Maestro’s shoulder, the pain in that white lie apparent to her.

“Anyways, Paci, Rebby – this is Miro, he’s the only reason I made it back safely,” Shouri introduced the girls to his new friend.

“Ciao, I have heard many things about you.” Miro waved to the pair.

Recomposing herself, Pacifica put on her people face. “Thank you so much for protecting our Maestro, you have no idea how much it means to us,” the otter girl told the Natural.

“I’d offer to get revenge on that Whistler bitch, but she got a minor case of exploded,” Rebecca shrugged.

Looking over Miro, he did seem to be doing pretty well at the moment. He was dressed in a hospital gown like any human patient. However, upon closer observation, there was a patch of thinned fur across his face going down his neck and under his gown.

“They had a healer?” Shouri guessed.

“Naturale guaritrice, si!” Miro nodded.

Shouri let out a breath of relief. “We’re going to head out tomorrow,” he told the earth fox.

“Where will you be going to?” The scholarly Natural inquired.

“Mt. Sinchero – it’s in Unis-Résonne.”

“For why are you climbing a mountain?”

“Need to meet an Ethereal.”

Miro snorted and chuckled. The fox took a breath before speaking again. “I am having the feeling I have met someone… straordinario.”

“Will you be able to get back by yourself?” Shouri asked.

“Si, I want to also train myself.” Miro held out a paw, closing the digits. “Learn more magic.”

Pacifica’s expression clouded. She hadn’t ever read the emotions of a Natural, but they were just as an open book as any Maestro or Resonator.

And right now, Miro was feeling… weak.

Shouri suddenly perked up. “I have an idea – you want a job?”

Miro tilted his head. “A job?”

“Yeah, I’ll have him come here. He’s kind of a pain in the ass though.”

The Natural laughed. “If you are making the offer, I will take.”

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“So, what are you planning Sho?” Rebecca questioned her Maestro as the trio left the hospital.

“Elijah texted me before he was going to take some time off work to go on a training pilgrimage.” Shouri reviewed the message on one of his tuners as they walked down the moonlit streets of Alspo.

“Right, he… felt… pretty strongly about your kidnapping,” Pacifica told her Maestro.

“Yeah, he was beyond himself how it even happened with all the security detail he had there,” commented Rebecca. “They got away with Liza too,” she informed him.

Shouri lowered his head, his face scrunching up with frustration. “Damn it all,” he breathed. “What would they want with her?” he mumbled to himself.

“Not sure, Lyle managed to slip out too,” Rebecca shrugged.

“Mr. Klein wasn’t too pleased with the security’s performance,” Pacifica added in. “Though… I sensed he was more frustrated with himself rather than his employees,” clarified the otter.

Shouri nodded slowly. The trio remained quiet for a moment, lost in their thoughts. Shouri broke the silence, shaking himself out of his thoughts. “Anyway, I figure Miro can train with him. Elijah speaks Naturalian, and he has a rhythm condition like I do. Miro will probably know some stuff about handling that – they’ll be a good fit for one another,” he explained.

“Good call, bossman.” Rebecca patted her Maestro’s back. “Let’s get some food for Taika. I’m sure coming in with a peace offering will help chill her out,” the fox suggested.

“And look at you with the good ideas Rebby,” Pacifica teased the fire element.

“Hey I’m trying NOT to get blasted with telekinesis, okay?” the Renard defended her honor.

Out of nowhere, Shouri wrapped his arms around the two Resonator’s necks, pulling them into a tight hug. “I missed you all so much...” His voice trembled as he spoke.

Rebecca and Pacifica exchanged a glance and a nod. The two girls pecked their Maestro’s cheeks. “We missed you too, Sho,” they spoke in tandem, returning the embrace.