Beginnings in a New Era

[Akira110]

This is the first in a new series that takes place in the far future of my setting. Though it is technically a sequel to Beyond the Bounds, this series will only spoil things in my other series if I have written it down. If you don't want to be spoiled, read the previous series starting with One Girl in All the World.

Prologue

1,000 Years after Inescapable Destiny

A Kitsune female led her daughter through a park within the Kitsune Capitol city, she was amazed that despite the fact that war had raged only a scant two hundred years ago, everything had returned to normal as if the fighting had never reached this world. The Kitsune looked around for a second, "I could've sworn that they were around here somewhere..." The little girl spoke up, "What is around here, mommy?" The Kitsune turned around and knelt down, picking up her daughter, "Oh, just, a bit of our history is all, three legendary heroes were buried in this city, though only one of them was born here." The little girl smiled and hugged her mother, "What were they like, Mommy?" The Kitsune smiled slightly, "What makes you think that I know what they were like?"

The little girl smiled slightly, "Well Mommy is very old!" The Kitsune frowned, "Aiko, honey, that's not something you should say, it's very rude. Even though I have lived a very long life, being the deity of the sun and all." Aiko nodded, "I'm sorry, Mommy." The Kitsune smiled and patted her on the back of the head, "I know you are, honey." The Kitsune smiled slightly as she caught a glimpse of one of the statues and she headed directly towards them. When she was in front of the three statues, she placed Aiko on the ground and Aiko pointed towards a statue of a Lupine carrying an axe in one hand and a shield in the other, "Mommy, who is that?" The Kitsune smiled, "He was my adoptive grandson, Walthari Jaeger, he was a Lupine Berserker and a Warblood." Aiko looked back at her, "What that?"

The Kitsune sighed and sat down, "A warblood is someone with the holy blood of a deity of war, holy bloods do not know their aspect until they are awakened. My granddaughter, Yoshiko is a sunblood." Aiko nodded slightly, "What was he like?" The Kitsune sighed, "Well, Walthari was always warm and welcoming before his awakening and after it, you had to earn his trust for him to open up to you. When he did though, there was no one more loyal and dedicated. He also hated what he had, called it a curse and worked his entire life to control it. Eventually he would gain the ability to do so, but it was too late for him, he was at the youngest age of my grandchildren when he passed away. He gave his life so that others may live, I don't know where he is now, but Kimiko has told me that he's since reincarnated..."

Aiko nodded and pointed towards the statue of a Lupine with a hammer, "Who is that?" The Kitsune looked over and nodded, "That's the forgeblood, Killian Jaeger, he was the twin brother of Walthari. Though they were not quite identical twins, you couldn't tell by looking at them. The two of them were very close, but... they took very different paths. Killian was somewhat cold and withdrawn prior to his awakening and became more outgoing and cheerful when his awakening happened. He was a friendly sort after that, always willing to help people with their problems, even going as far as to don traditional black Lupine armor and carry a sword into battle as a persona called the Black Knight. I don't know how he died though, some sources say he died peacefully in his sleep, others say that he died in battle."

Aiko nodded, "Did he also... reincar... reincar..." The Kitsune smiled slightly, "According to Kimiko, his reincarnation is alive and well in this age, yes. I don't know who he is in his current life, but I hope he and Walthari are happy wherever they are." Aiko nodded and pointed towards the Kitsune holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, "Who is he?" The Kitsune hestiated slightly, she wanted to tell Aiko the truth that Kimiko had told her, but she couldn't, "That's Yoshiro Miyamae, he was the son of my daughter and was a sunblood. However because of certain circumstances, he was unable to use his magic without using magitech as an aid. He was a kind and gentle man, he didn't want to hurt anyone, until... a specific incident that I'll tell you about when you're older, from then on, his life spiraled and he became more cold and distant."

Aiko frowned, "That doesn't sound nice." The Kitsune shook her head, "It wasn't, and for a while, it looked like he was going to push everyone away, but eventually love prevailed in the end, and he was put back on the right emotional track, but he didn't fully change until Walthari passed away." Aiko nodded, "And... how did he...?" The Kitsune sighed, "Yoshiro did not pass away peacefully at all, there is a saying that all those that live by the sword, die by the sword. I do not recall which fight was his last, but he died in combat." Aiko frowned and tried to hold back tears, as she didn't want to hear that, "Is he okay now, is he?" The Kitsune nodded, "He reincarnated, yes. From what I know about his reincarnation, he's living happy in his new life and it warms my heart, seeing my grandson live peacefully once more."

Aiko nodded, "That's good." The Kitsune nodded, "So, is your curiosity satisfied, sweetheart?" Aiko nodded slightly, "Yes, Mommy. Thank you for telling me about the three legendary heroes." The Kitsune smiled softly, "Aiko, you're very welcome, my daughter. Is there anything you would like to do before we go home?" Aiko placed her finger to her chin and looked up, "I can't think of anything, Mommy. What do you want to do?" The Kitsune looked up at the twin suns of Verbana, "Well, it do both of us some good to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine, don't you think, little one?" Aiko giggled, "Of course, Mommy, after all, you always say, 'Aiko, going outside is fun and good for your health.' " The Kitsune laughed, "I do not sound like that, Aiko!" Aiko nodded and as her mother placed her down, she followed her on a walk through the park...

[Akira110]

Chapter 1

**80 Years Later**

Aiko awoke in her bed, she had nightmares of starting her next year of college, she heard that she was going to have an apartment and was going to have a roommate and it was making her somewhat nervous. She felt like something was off though, the temple that she lived in was too quiet, there were usually people talking, but she heard nothing and this made her nervous. She slipped out of the bed and threw on a pair of pants before changing into her night shirt for the shirt for the day. Once that was over, she slipped on a pair of socks and put on her boots. She sighed slightly as she walked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and washed her face. When she looked into the mirror after drying her face off though, she saw a face that didn't look like her's.

She stepped back slightly, she was somewhat nervous, "What... trick is this?' Kimiko walked up to the door, "What trick is what, little sister?" Aiko sighed, "Nothing, Kimiko. It's nothing." Kimiko grabbed her arm, "Look at me, Aiko, I know when you're lying, it's not nothing." Aiko sighed, "It's nothing, really." Kimiko shook her head, "Please, sis, you know that I love you and I want to see you be happy, but unless you tell me what's going on, I cannot help you." Aiko sighed slightly, "I'm sorry, big sister, just... when I looked in the mirror, I saw a face that wasn't my own." Kimiko nodded, "Listen, if anything else like that happens, you know how to reach me and our parents, alright? You might not be a deity like us, but we'll help you all the same."

Aiko hugged Kimiko, "Thanks, big sister." Kimiko hugged back with a smile, "You're welcome, little sister. Come on, Mom and Dad are waiting for you." Aiko blinked, "Oh right, I forgot!" Aiko broke the hug and ran towards the main chamber of the temple, she didn't see anyone on the way there and it made her nervous. When she reached the main chamber, she saw her father look at her sternly, "Aiko! What did I say about running through the temple." Aiko frowned, "Sorry, Daddy." The male Kitsune was about to speak, when a female spoke, "Raiden, she's excited to start her first day of college, can you let up on the poor girl?" Raiden turned to look at the female Kitsune, "Amaterasu, she still broke the rules." Amaterasu sighed and walked into the room, "I know, Raiden, believe me, I know. If I hadn't sent the Kensei away for a bit, I'd be more upset, but this is why I sent them away."

Aiko nodded slightly, as her little brother came out and hugged her tightly, "Aiko, do you really have to go?" Aiko patted her little brother on the head, "Yes, I do, Hideo. I'm sorry." Hideo frowned slightly, "But I wanna go with you!" Aiko smiled and hugged him back, "Hideo, you're going to be able to go to college someday soon, but you're still in middle school. I'm sorry, but there's not much that I can do to help you." Hideo started to cry and Aiko frowned, hugging him tighter, "Hideo, it's not like I'm going away forever, I mean you can come and visit me any time you'd like, I'm just going to be staying at an apartment down the road is all, speaking of which, do we know who my roommate is?" Raiden sighed, "Well we do, but I don't like him."

Aiko tilted her head, "You don't like any boy that has hit on me." Raiden was taken aback, "That's not true, young lady!" Amaterasu sighed, "Your roommate is a Mus, who joined the Kitsune Security Forces, he's currently in training and he's a bit of a maverick at that..." Kimiko nodded as she walked into the room, "His full name is Xander Partanen, he's known for being able to get results when he actually does work with his superiors, but is generally known to work outside his paygrade as it's called." Amaterasu nodded slightly, "Also Raiden won't have to worry about him hitting on you, he shows no interest in women as far as I can tell, or at least any kitsune women." Raiden looked at her, and sighed, "Honey, why do you keep doing this to me, just... why?" Amaterasu chuckled, "Because you're so protective of our daughter, it's actually kind of cute."

Aiko nodded and watched as a Kensei walked in, the Kensei saluted them, "Lady Aiko, we've taken the liberty of moving your things to your new apartment, you have a new bed there and everything." Aiko nodded slightly and sighed, "I guess this is it... I'll come and visit when I can, I promise." Hideo cried harder and Kimiko pulled him off of Aiko with a sigh, "Come on little brother, she's not going away forever." Aiko hugged Raiden, "Daddy, I'm going to miss your cooking, you make the best breakfast." Raiden smiled, "I'll be sure to bring what I make to your apartment in the mornings, I promise." Aiko nodded and went to hug Amaterasu, who hugged her first, "Mommy?" Amaterasu kissed her on the forehead, "You are my daughter, I love you and I always will, and I promise that no matter what happens, you will always have a home here. If you need to get away from your roommate, you can always stay here for a bit."

Aiko smiled softly, "Thank you, Mommy." Amaterasu nodded and broke the hug, before giving her a sword, "You finished your swordsmanship training, even though you're not a fully fledged Kensei and I can't go to the permit office and get you a permit to carry this with you at all times... here is your first actual sword. Remember, my daughter, you are only to use this in self-defense and only when strictly necessary." Aiko nodded slightly as she took the sword, when she drew it, it had a faint golden glow to it and she smiled softly, "You blessed it, didn't you?" Amaterasu smiled softly, "It's reacting to your own mana. Though you haven't awakened, it reacts to you so that you know it's yours. Now, go on, Aiko. Make us proud of you." Aiko placed the sword back into its scabbard and onto her belt, before walking out the door backwards and waving, "I promise to make you all proud of me!" She sighed slightly as she left the temple, "Well time to get to my new apartment, I wonder if Xander is nice..."

[Akira110]

Chapter 2

A Mofeta woke up in the Temple of Justice, in Maan Valssi, he sighed slightly as he began to wonder where his partner was, as there wasn't any snoring going on, "Where could he be... I swear if he's out drinking again, I'm going to be upset." The Mofeta yawned and put on his clothes for the day, as a knight, he tried to look his best. He sighed slightly as he walked to the bathroom and washed his face, and combed his hair, so that he would look presentable. A female Kani looked at him, "Morning, Silvio." Silvio nodded slightly, "Good morning Annikki, have you seen Jorma around anywhere? He hasn't shown up and if he's getting drunk again, I'm going to be rather upset with him." Annikki sighed slightly, "You know, you should really loosen up, Silvio, I know that you come from the Mofeta Knights, but you should learn to have fun once in a while."

Silvio shrugged slightly, "I'm here to be trained as a Paladin, in all honesty, The time for fun can come later." A familiar voice spoke up, "They always did say that Mofeta made the best Paladins, but I never got to see it for myself." Silvio turned to see a Kani standing there, "Lady Maritaa?" Maritaa sighed slightly, "Silvio, you are too uptight for your own good, Paladins are capable of relaxation, you know..." Silvio nodded, "I know, but honestly, I think it's a waste of time to cut loose and get drunk for no reason, there has to be some sort of reasoning for it." Maritaa shrugged, "I will never understand the Mofeta knights, but it doesn't really matter very much, because my biological mom wants to see you and it's very important." Silvio nodded slightly, "Understood, milady."

Silvio walked out of the bathroom and headed to the main chamber of the Temple. He didn't know why Sinikka needed him so badly, but he was willing to do anything if she told him to do it, after all, she was the Deity of Justice and the one training him to be a Paladin. When he arrived, he knelt before her, "Milady Sinikka, Silvio Espina Mata reporting." Sinikka sighed slightly, "Silvio, you may rise, and it's not necessary to bow down to me." Silvio nodded slightly as he rose, "I understand, milady, but I am a knight and you are a deity." Sinikka nodded, "I know. Anyhow, I wish that I had better news to tell you." Silvio braced himself, "Yes, milady?" Sinikka sighed, "Sivilo, Jorma didn't make it back to the temple last night, he went out to get some food and meet up with his folks, but I talked to his folks, this morning, he never saw them."

Silvio nodded, "Is Jorma alright?" Sinikka shook her head, "Twenty-five minutes ago, the Kani Police alerted me to the fact that they have found Jorma's corpse in an alleyway, Judging from the state the body was in, and the fact that he never reached his folks, he died last night. Silvio, I'm sorry." Silvio nodded, he didn't like Jorma all that much, but his partner didn't deserve to die, "Milady, permission to pursue his killer and bring him in?" Sinikka blinked, she hadn't been expecting that since she knew of the arguments between the two, "Silvio?" Silvio sighed, "I didn't like him, he was always too carefree and honestly, a bit of a jerk to me, but he was still a person and my partner and he didn't deserve to be murdered. I want to bring his murderer before a court."

Sinikka nodded, "I understand, Silvio, but you are still a trainee." Silvio nodded slightly, "You once said that you had learned that the best way to learn experience is to actually go and do it yourself." Sinikka smiled, "Well, you have me there, Silvio." Silvio nodded slightly, "Of course, a Mofeta knight doesn't forget details like that." Sinikka laughed, "Alright, this is a little unorthodox, but for your safety, I will send you out with Paladin gear. You will find the armor offers greater protection than what you're used to and your sword will feel far better in your hands, and your shield will be a little bigger than you're normally used to, but it will offer far better protection." She looked over at Maritaa and motioned towards the hall, the younger Kani deity walked into the hall and soon emerged custom Paladin equipment.

Silvio started to put on his armor with the help of Maritaa, it wasn't like the old fashioned armor he was used to, instead it was more modernized, using the aesthetic of the older armor to be more pleasing on the eyes. He placed his sword on his belt and strapped his shield to his arm, "Thank you, Lady Sinikka, thank you for all of the help that you have given me." Sinikka nodded, "There is more I have to share with you. Sources have reported a suspicious figure was moving towards the Kitsune kingdom, at the rate of speed they were traveling, they would be within the kingdom itself, right now. However, you should go to the capitol city of Honoo, there you will meet someone that will be able to help you on your quest. Do not be surprised at who she is though, she's a close ally of the Paladin Order."

Silvio nodded slightly, "Thank you, milady. By your leave?" Sinikka nodded, "You may go, Silvio." Silvio bowed to her and left the temple as Sinikka and Maritaa watched. Maritaa sighed, "He's got a stick up his [censored]." Sinikka sighed, "Just leave it be, my daughter, he'll relax someday. Trust me, being like this all the time isn't good for his health." She pulled out a communicator and spoke into it, "Klaartje, I'm sending one of my Paladin trainees your way, I need you to help them out." The voice of a female spoke up, "Alright, Sinikka, thanks for the heads up, did you tell them not to be shocked at who I am?" Sinikka nodded, "Of course I did." The voice sighed in relief, "Good. Klaartje out." Maritaa closed her eyes, "So why did you send him out on this mission?" Sinikka sighed, "My daughter, the experience will do him good and working with people who are not knights might be able to loosen him up a bit. At any rate, it's breakfast time, I'm going to go down to the coffee shop and get a bite to eat."

[Akira110]

Chapter 3

A Mus wearing civilian clothing walked through an apartment complex with a key in his hand, "Let's see here, building K." The Mus looked at the piece of paper he was also holding, "A second floor apartment, huh? Good thing my things have already been brought to it, I at least hope they locked the damn door this time." As he walked up the steps, he began to wonder what kind of person his roommate was going to be, but he just really wanted to get inside first. As he reached the door, he knocked on it, to see if someone was home, but when no one responded. He placed his key in the door and it slid open, allowing him to immediately see what was inside, "Oh for the love of... I actually have a job and here's one of these royal kids getting an apartment that I got to share with them."

The Mus walked in and an AI Spoke up, "Xander, I see that you have arrived at your destination, is there anything that you wish me to do?" Xander sighed, "Scan this place, see how much of my stuff is where it's supposed to belong." The AI spoke up, "Scanning. All objects belonging to Xander Partanen are within the confines of the apartment. Anything else I can do for you?" Xander shook his head, "Nothing." Xander sighed and walked towards a bedroom and saw more luxurious things in it, "Gah... more of this." He shook his head and left the room, walking into the other bedroom, seeing his things, "That's more like it, at least it's furnished the way that I want it." He sat down on his bed and scratched his chin slightly, "My roommate is royalty, great... just great... I bust my [censored] out there and I get to be here with someone who is handed money by their daddy."

Xander walked over to his computer and turned it on, he was greeted by the message saying, "Welcome Xander." He smiled slightly as he browsed the information network, learning all about his new college and what courses he was going to take. He checked over his schedule and decided to pull out his communicator and he set it to call his boss, "Hey boss, it's me." The voice on the other end spoke up, "I see that you've reached your apartment safe and sound, Xander. Didn't seem like too hard of a task for you to do right." Xander sighed, "Come on, boss. You know that I get results!" His boss spoke up, "Xander, we are a law enforcement organization, if we do not follow our own rules and regulations, our people could get hurt." Xander sighed, "You're going to give me this old speech again. I've heard it bef—"

Suddenly Xander heard a noise at the door, "We're going to have to continue this later." He turned off his communicator and put it on the table. He reached into his pocket and drew out a glove as he walked towards the front door and put it on. The moment he reached the front door, he flicked his wrist, causing the device to turn on and electrify the nodes on the glove, though it wasn't lethal, he'd be able to stun someone long enough to at least restrain them until backup arrived. He put his back to the wall as he walked over to the door itself, and it opened, letting the people in. The first person in was a Kitsune with a uniform Xander recognized as belonging to that of the Kensei, he wondered why a Kensei would be robbing this place.

Xander moved slowly, but the Kensei drew a sword and pointed it at him, "Lady Aiko, it seems that we have a common thief problem." Xander stopped, he had heard of the Kensei referring to people as Lady and Lord, but it wasn't exactly common, "I'm the common criminal here? You're the one drawing your weapon towards a security forces officer." The Kensei scoffed, "Show me your badge." Xander grabbed his badge off his belt and showed it to the Kensei, "See?" The Kensei laughed, "You're in training, you're not an officer yet. By the way, that glove that you are wearing on your right hand, disarm it. You will not have any weapons primed in the presence of Lady Aiko!" Xander sighed and flicked his wrist, which caused the Kitsune to sheathe his sword, "So, where is this precious little frail flower that I have to spend my year with?"

Xander watched as a female Kitsune walked into the room, she appeared very casually dressed, and seemed quite fit, "So you're Xander Partanen, huh?" Xander placed his badge back on his belt and sighed, "Yeah, what of it?" Aiko sighed, "Listen, can you all go back to Mom and Dad's temple?" Xander's eyes widened at this and his jaw dropped when they actually did it, "There's no way!" Aiko sighed, "I'm Amaterasu's daughter and..." She folded her arms as she continued speaking, "I would rather not be treated differently, just because of who my parents are." Xander shook his head and pointed at her, "You're worse than I thought, I thought you were just some spoiled Royal child who was daddy's precious little flower that couldn't be harmed and got whatever they wanted. You're a Deitic child instead!"

Aiko shook her head, "What do you mean by that?" Xander shook his head, "I already don't like you, keep your stuff out of my bedroom and my bathroom, and as long as I'm paying my half of the damn rent, keep your stuff off of the porch as well!" Aiko sighed and rolled her eyes, "Anything else, Xander?" Xander shook his head, "No, nothing else." Xander sighed and stormed to his room and the AI spoke to him, "Xander, your heart rate is unusually high." Xander nodded, "I know, I'm just pissed off, I'm tired of seeing these people who never had a hardship in their life cry about how life is so hard." Aiko called out, "I can still hear you, Xander, I would appreciate you saying this to my face instead of mumbling to yourself!" Xander merely ignored her and slammed his door shut, before falling onto the bed with a sigh, "This is going to be a long year..."

[Akira110]

Chapter 4

Silvio stretched as he stepped off the shuttle, he had arrived in the Kitsune Capitol and sighed slightly, "Thanks for bringing me here. I can take it from here." Silvio checked to see if he still had his sword on him and smiled slightly when he walked into the terminal. He honestly no idea where to go from here, but there was usually a contact at the terminal when a Paladin arrived. However, he heard someone cry out, "Buy your healing potions here! Concoctions blessed by the Deity of Healing herself!" Silvio walked over to the man, thankful that his helmet hid his disgust. The equine creature known as a Paard looked at him, "You look like a warrior, would you like to buy some healing potions?" Silvio narrowed his eyes, "So you're a servant of the Deity of Healing around here?" The Paard nodded slightly, "That I am, sir."

Silvio grabbed one of the bottles and looked at it, "Tell me your favorite verse from her manuscript." The Paard looked around, "I don't have one." Silvio smiled under his helmet, "A true healer will heal you out of the kindness of their heart. Beware of the people who will charge for healing services in my name, for they are mere charlatans." He smashed the bottle against the wall next to the Paard's head, "You're lying to me, and I dislike being lied to. Who do you really follow!" The Paard gulped, "I serve the Deity of Mercantile!" Silvio sighed, "What did I tell you about lying to me?" The Paard looked around, "Wh-what do you mean!?" Silvio sighed, "You are a liar! The first tenant of the Deity of Mercantile and this the Merchant's Guild is to not cheat the poor out of their money! You are a common criminal seeking to make a quick coin!"

The Paard gulped as an Eekhoorn walked over, "Ah, you must be the Paladin Trainee and who is this..." Silvio folded his arms, "Just some scum that wanted to cheat the poor out of they money. He claims that these are potions that are blessed by the Deity of Healing, who might I add is a Mountain Widder deity. A region that the Paard do not traverse, and the Deity of Mercantile is a Mus deity." The Eekhoorn nodded, "Sounds like this one is coming with us, do you mind if we make a stop on the way to my boss?" Silvio shook his head, "The faster this pezzo di [censored] gets put behind bars, the easier I'll be able to sleep tonight. The Eekhoorn laughed, "Good answer from a Paladin-in-Training. Follow me."

Silvio followed him to a vehicle, the Eekhoorn shoved the criminal in the back seat and pointed to the passenger seat, Silvio nodded and walked over, opening the door and getting in. The safety harness buckled itself as the Eekhoorn started the vehicle, "So, this boss of yours, what are they like?" The Eekhoorn stayed silent as he drove towards the security forces station, once there, he stopped and looked back at the criminal, "Get out, and if I see you make a run for it, I'm going to shoot you in the leg, understand?" The criminal nodded and quickly fled out of the vehicle and into the security forces station. The Eekhoorn started the vehicle again and it was another silent trip until they reached an unmarked building, "This is our stop, head on in, the secretary will see you at the front desk."

Silvio nodded slightly and walked into the building, a female Eekhoorn looked up at him, "That attire, you must be the Paladin Trainee we've heard about. I'll page you in." The Eekhoorn placed her finger on a button, "Boss, the Trainee is here to see you." Another voice spoke, one that sounded vaguely familiar, "Send him in, Gerardina." Gerardina smiled and pointed towards the door, "It's unlocked." Silvio walked over to the door and it opened, revealing a surprisingly well lit room, "So you're the one that she sent to me, huh?" Silvio looked around, he could see two male Eekhoorn, but not the female voice that spoke, "Where are you, I have no time for games." The female walked out of the shadows in one corner and Silvio immediately recognized her, his hand instinctively going towards his sword. The two bodyguards reached for their weapons, but the female spoke up, "Now now, there will be no violence here. I would hate to have to send you back home in a box, kiddo."

Silvio knew from what he read of this person, just how easily she'd be able to kill him, "So, Lilah, it's a surprise seeing you here in a position like this." The Eekhoorn sighed, "That's not a name I've gone by since Yoshiro died. How did you come to learn about that name?" Silvio smirked underneath his helmet, "Even as a Paladin Trainee, I have access to all sorts of information." The Eekhoorn snapped her fingers, "Take off that helmet now." Silvio took off his helmet and the Eekhoorn sighed, "As I thought, you were smirking under there. Ah well, at least it's a change from the usual trainee she throws my way." Silvio shrugged, "They're usually about relaxation while in the temple, but way too serious while out on the field, I know what you mean." The Eekhoorn chuckled, "I understand, by the way, my name is Klaartje. Don't ever call me Lilah again, are we clear?"

Silvio nodded, "Understood, Klaartje. So, how are you going to be able to help me find Jorma's killer?" Klaartje smiled slightly, which caused Silvio to become a little nervous, "You have access to my files, and you know what I've done for Yoshiro in the past. Surely you can figure out how I can help you right now." Silvio nodded, "I see, so you're proposing that you let your spies find out what they can and alert me to it?" Klaartje shook her head, "You're going to have to work with the security forces on this one, I'm not here to hand you all of the answers, only give you help when necessary." Silvio nodded, "So you're going to put more people in danger because of a game?" Klaartje shook her head, "I don't have all the answers, or really any answers right now other than the weapon used. So right now we're at the same exact spot." Silvio nodded, "I would like to take my leave." Klaartje nodded and pointed at the door, "Go ahead." Silvio placed his helmet back on and left the room.

[Akira110]

Chapter 5

A female Kitsune and a Male Kitsune who was trying to hide green wings stood in an office within the university. The Male Kitsune looked around, "It would seem that there's not a lot going on today." The female nodded, "That's true, Julius, but you have to keep in mind that school has only been going on for a week, though surely you sense something from Aunt Aiko." Julius nodded towards the female kitsune, "I do, Yoshiko, do you think that she could be..." Yoshiko nodded, her gray hair falling into her eyes and she brushed it out of her face, "Holy Blooded, yes. I do sense her mana flow is strong, but still, I don't know for sure." There was a knock at the door and Yoshiko sat down, "Come in." Xander walked in, "I don't know why I have to come here just because I insulted daddy's little princess!" Yoshiko sighed, "Xander, you've been here a week and are already causing problems."

Xander folded his arms, "Don't see why some old windbag like you has to tell me what I'm doing." Julius growled, "You will show her the..." Yoshiko cut him off, "Xander, I don't care what you do outside of class or this school, but when you're here you will show manners and be civil towards all of the students!" Xander shook his head, and started to get up, but Julius started moving, revealing his green wings, causing Xander to panic slightly, "The [censored] are you!? Kitsune don't have any wings!" Julius smirked and walked over to Xander and grabbed the unruly Mus by the arm, "You've heard tales of my kind, surely. You probably remember me from such tales as the ones you hear about the legendary heroes, yes?" Xander looked wide-eyed, "You're a dragon!?" Julius nodded slightly, "Si mi vi gliiwr darastrix sva batobot..." Xander looked at Julius and then at Yoshiko, "What did he say!?"

Yoshiko smirked, "He's a full blooded dragon." Xander looked scared for the first time he had arrived at the school, "You're not going to eat me, are you!?" Julius blinked and Yoshiko frowned, "You went and hurt my cousin's feelings." Xander looked at Yoshiko, "Cousin!?" Yoshiko nodded, "He and I are adoptive cousins. Now apologize to Julius." Xander took one look at the Dragon in Kitsune form and got up out of his chair, and ran out of the room as fast as he possibly could, as the second person came in, it was Aiko, "Miss Naito?" Yoshiko looked at her, "Come in, Aunt Aiko." Aiko frowned, "I don't like it when you call me that." Yoshiko nodded and apologized, "So what can I do for you?" Aiko looked at the other Kitsune, "Is that a dragon?" Julius nodded, "Yes, ma'am. Most people are afraid when they find out what I am."

Aiko nodded slightly, "I heard from my parents that Dragons aren't bad creatures. In fact, one in particular helped my nephew, who was one of the three legendary heroes." Julius smiled widely, "Oh really now, did they tell you his name?" Aiko nodded, "His name was Julius and he considered my nephew his own brother." Julius leaned against Yoshiko's desk and Yoshiko could only smile softly, as Aiko blinked, "You know Julius?" Julius looked at his claws, "I sure do." Aiko nodded, "Can you pass a message to me." Julius blinked, "Okay, sure." Aiko sighed, "I want you to tell him that I said thank you for being there for my nephew, especially when he needed him the most." Julius shrugged, "I could tell him, or you could tell him yourself." Aiko tilted her head and Yoshiko giggled, "Aiko, this is Julius." Aiko blinked and looked at the Kitsune, "But, Julius was never spotted in his shifted form!"

Julius shook his head, "That's not true. When my own kids grew up and left the nest, I decided to move with my lover to the Kitsune territory. We sort of liked it here and learned to shape shift into a Kitsune form, but as you can see, we can't shapeshift our wings away, so we generally hide them or lie about them. Anyhow, thank you for what you said to me, it means a lot to me. Especially since I wasn't able to save his life." Aiko frowned and nodded, but Julius placed his hand on her shoulder, "He knew what he was getting into and knew that there was a high chance he'd die, but he also knew that it was necessary. I was able to bring him back here though, it was a sad time, but he at least looked at peace for the first time since Katriina had died." Aiko nodded sadly and looked up into Julius' eyes, "So why do you protect Yoshiko?" Julius sighed, "It was my last promise to him, and I intend to fulfill that promise to the letter until his reincarnation shows up."

Yoshiko smiled, "Don't worry, Aiko." Her communicator beeped and she sighed, "Sorry, I got to take this." She pulled out her communicator and saw that there was a message on it, she opened up the message and read it aloud so Julius could hear it, "Yo, Yoshiko! Master Erasmus and I have decided we'd come down and visit you, Julius and Klaartje! It's been ages since we've last had a reunion and we've decided that it'd be a good time now that everything's all settled down and both of our monasteries are fully staffed. I look forward to seeing you again, Yoshiko, maybe we can see just how the Kitsune kingdom has changed over the last few dozen years! We'll be staying for a few weeks, a month at the very most. We'll be stopping by Amaterasu's temple later on, meet us there. Yours Truly, Bruno Eichberger."

Yoshiko smiled softly, "It's good to know that friends haven't forgotten about each other, say, Julius, the day's over for us anyhow, think we should start heading down that way?" Aiko looked around slightly, as if she wanted to ask, and Julius noticed this, "Aiko, would you like to come with us?" Aiko looked at him, "Well I don't want to intrude..." Yoshiko grabbed a mage's robe, which was dark pink, "You won't be a bother, besides, your Mom's temple is on the way to your apartment anyhow and in addition to that, we can stop by and say hello to your folks." Aiko nodded slightly, "Well, that sounds nice." Julius smiled slightly, "Well, sounds like a plan, so Lady Archmage, after you?" Yoshiko nodded slightly, "Of course, Julius." Aiko blinked as the two passed her, "Archmage!?" Yoshiko smiled coyly, "It's a long story, but I'll be sure to tell you on the way there, Aiko. Come on, we gotta hurry." Aiko nodded and rushed over to follow the two, eager to hear the story.

[Akira110]

Chapter 6

Silvio sighed as he sat in the headquarters of the Kitsune Security force for the Capitol city, the murder weapon had been delivered to him the day before at his own apartment, which had been paid for by Klaartje. However, none of this mattered to him as he just wanted to find out who Jorma's killer was, though he had little experience with a homicide case. One of the men from the forensics labs walked past him, and he grabbed them by the arm, "Is there any progress on the knife?" The Kitsune looked at him and shook his head, "Aside from that it has the blood of the victim, not really, it seems to be a well maintained knife and whoever did it, managed to keep their DNA off the knife." Silvio nodded, "Dammit, I wish we could get some sort of headway on this case." The forensics scientist nodded, "I can understand that it can be a pain, why don't you head out and try to enjoy our culture for a bit, pass the time while we do the hard work to help you out."

Klaartje spoke up, "Silvio, I would like you to accompany me." Silvio looked to his left to see the Eekhoorn standing there, "How long have you been there?" Klaartje shrugged, "Does it really matter, Silvio, I work closely with the Security Forces to try to help them track down criminals, why do you think that I work alongside Sinikka?" Silvio sighed and folded his arms, "Because of a sense of guilt for your past transgressions perhaps?" Klaartje looked visibly annoyed at this, "You're starting to sound like a Paladin now." Silvio shrugged, "I said that just to be a smartass." Klaartje smiled slightly, "Cute, now get up and come with me, I know some people where we're going to be meeting that can help you out with your search."

Silvio stood up, not like he had much choice and followed Klaartje out of the building, the two of them silently walked down a street until they ran into three Kitsune, one of which Klaartje called out, "Hi, Yoshiko." Yoshiko looked back at her, "Oh, hi Klaartje, you got the same message?" Klaartje shrugged, "I got one from Erasmus, who was yours from?" Julius spoke up, "Bruno sent the message. By the way, your guest is looking mildly uncomfortable, there." Klaartje looked back at Silvio who was holding his head, "You got a headache?" Silvio sighed, "No... it's just... something else, it'll pass." Julius turned around, "It doesn't look like it will pass, we need to get you to the sun temple ASAP and that's final." Silvio sighed, "I'll be fine. There's nothing really you guys have to worry about at this moment, don't worry." The third Kitsune looked at him, "You're being rather stubborn..."

Klaartje suddenly slipped into the shadows though as a voice spoke up, "My my, looks like a pretty lady and her friends decided to join in on our territory." Silvio became extremely discomforted by these people but drew his sword, however, Yoshiko raised her arm to stop him, "Let us handle it, Aiko, back off." Another one of the voices spoke up, "Look at this, an old broad is coming to their rescue, what are you going to do, grandma? Bake cookies for us, just hand over your valuables and we'll be on our way." Yoshiko shook her head, "Julius, there's not enough room for you, but perhaps you can half-shift." Julius smiled as his features quickly went from Kitsune to Draconic and the group of thugs looked at him, "Yo, what kind technology is that, where can we get somethin' like that!" Julius laughed, "Simple thugs like you will never understand. Now either drop what weapons you have and turn tail or you're going to lose this fight."

One of the thugs pulled out a knife and stepped into the shadows between them and Yoshiko, with the intent to attack her. Aiko watched as suddenly the shadows snared the thug by the arms and neck, Yoshiko smiled as Klaartje's voice spoke out, "You petty criminals are so far out of your element right now it's no longer even funny. You can either back off or we will show you why we managed to survive through the war." The other thugs seemed to have decided that their best chance was to attack them together, so the others rushed and Yoshiko shook her head and spread her arms, flames circling around them. She lifted her arm into the air and magical flames formed a barrier, directly in front of the thugs, "There's no outcome in this situation where you children win this fight. We are far more experienced than you are."

Silvio could feel that Klaartje and Yoshiko wanted to protect them, and he could feel that the thugs wanted to run from them, but he couldn't explain why. However, the only one he couldn't get a reading from was Julius who seemed to be a blank to him. Julius took to the skies and looked down at the thugs, "Run!" The thugs immediately ran from them, retreating into the dark corner, however, Silvio sensed another figure, one that was more curious, "Come out!" Yoshiko lowered her arm and the flames went away, she turned to look at the figure, who happened to be Xander, "I figured that you'd be here, it's on the way to your house. Are you alright, Xander?" Xander limped towards her, "They roughed me up and stole my things, how do you think I feel." Silvio sighed, "This guy is an idiot, he should be thankful that he's alright."

Klaartje stepped out of the shadows, "Come on, we don't have time to bicker, we need to get to the Sun Temple soon, or else Bruno is going to come looking for us." Aiko blinked as the group continued their trip, "Yoshiko, is that why you're called an archmage?" Yoshiko nodded, "Yes, I've trained my magic to be as powerful as I can get it. I didn't want to harm them, but they wouldn't run if I didn't give them a good scare. Those flames were more for show than anything, they barely had any heat after all." Yoshiko nodded as they soon arrived at the sun temple, however the others weren't around, Julius commented on this, "It's not like them to be late." A booming deep voice spoke, "We're early, actually, we saw what Yoshiko did and figured that she had it handled." Yoshiko nodded, "Nice to meet you, again Bruno." A large Lupine walked out and motioned inside, "Why don't you guys come in and make yourself at home." All Aiko, Silvio and Xander could do was wonder how a Lupine got this big.

[Akira110]

Chapter 7

Silvio sat in a room by himself, he was starting to become overwhelmed with the new sensory information he was being given. He could for some reason sense the intent of everyone within the temple except for Julius and Erasmus and it was driving him crazy. Everyone in the temple seemed to intend to become better at something, except for the deities and the other guests. He could sense that Xander had ill intentions for Aiko. He decided to try to focus on blocking it out, but his mind couldn't focus on the task, all he could do was limit his range and increase the potency of his power and it started driving him even more insane, he couldn't take it anymore. He reached for the nearest object, but suddenly the door opened, and he turned to see a silver humanoid dragon wearing gold scale clothing walk in, "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Silvio."

Silvio blinked, "How do you know my name!?" The dragon sighed, "I'm Erasmus, Klaartje's friend, she told me about you. What you are currently experiencing is an Awakening." Silvio turned his head slightly, "I thought awakenings were limited to mages." Erasmus shook his head, "No, Psions like yourself experience them as well. Unlike with mana users, for each psionic ability an awakening is different. You suddenly became aware of your power, you now feel different from others and can't close your mind off to the others. Tell me, what do you sense?" Silvio sighed, "I can sense the intentions of others, but I can't figure out how to block it, I know that if I concentrate on the task, I would be able to do so, but..." Erasmus nodded, "Well, I got a device that can block it all out, that is until you decide to use your power."

Silvio frowned, "That sounds like a load of Nashoorn Dung!" Erasmus shook his head, "I didn't come here expecting to find a psionic, but here I found one. Hold on." Erasmus walked out of the room and Silvio felt the intentions of a random person change to wanting to help out Erasmus, who walked back into the room. Silvio sighed, "You look pompous wearing that gold fabric." Erasmus shook his head, "I wear this to honor the memory of my brother." Silvio scoffed, "How does wearing that honor the memory of your brother?" Erasmus folded his arms and leaned against the door, "My brother was a Gold Dragon." Silvio blinked, "So that's why you wear that get up..." Erasmus sighed, "I designed this outfit to honor him, because he was my brother, I would appreciate it not being called a get up..."

Silvio shrugged, "So what did your brother do that was so great?" Erasmus shook his head, "Surely you heard of the Eltiranan commander who died leading the charge at the Bardron system." Silvio nodded, he had been brought up on stories of the war from the survivors and had learned about it as part of history, "I've heard rumors." Erasmus sighed slightly, "I was on that ship during that battle. It wasn't going well for us, the Thraxi and Neanderthal forces were tearing our ships apart. Stephanus decided that more time had to be bought for Tsuyoshi to officially form the Dragon-Human Alliance and was willing to sacrifice himself to do it. We all had accepted our deaths, but he ordered us into the escape pods. I refused and told him that I trained my entire life to stand by his side when he needed me."

Silvio nodded slightly, as Erasmus continued, "Stephanus and I started to argue about who would sacrifice themselves, so, much like we did when our father died, we flipped a coin to see who would stay behind. It was a fifty-fifty chance of either of us staying behind, however the coin picked him to stay behind. Though I initially refused to go, he told me that the coin had decided our fates once more and that he'd willingly sacrifice himself to buy precious time as he pointed to the final escape pod. I told him that there was room enough for both of us, and he seemed to have agreed to it. So I stepped in and turned around to see the hatch close. I placed my hand on the hatch and called out his name, but he looked at me and said, "Erasmus, there's no auto pilot on this thing, I'm going to have to take her in manually. Good bye, little brother." I cried and cried out his name, but the pod ejected from the ship."

The Kensei walked into the room with the components and tools that Erasmus had requested and handed them to him, Erasmus looking up to the Kensei and nodded, "Thank you." The Kensei bowed and walked out, Erasmus getting to work as he told the rest of the story, "What happened next was that I saw the flagship of the Eltiranan fleet accelerate towards the Thraxi fleet. Shot after shot was fired, but they failed to destroy it and by some miracle, failed to destroy the bridge, the final words my brother said to me, which were over an intercom, "I love you, brother." The next instant, his ship collided with a battleship in the fleet and both were wiped out. I couldn't hold back the tears and told him that I loved him as well. The only good part about that day is that the Thraxi weren't interested in taking prisoners, so they just left us to land on the planet below us, which was habitable."

Silvio nodded as he watched Erasmus work, "So you were rescued, right?" Erasmus nodded, "Yeah, though that planet wasn't exactly new to me, I had been there before. Anyhow, enough storytime, here you go." Erasmus handed over the device to Silvio, who looked at it, "It's a metal headband..." Erasmus sighed, "It's a psionic suppressor, it will suppress your natural psionic abilities until such time as you wish to use them. Though much like Magitek, you will not be able to use your ability to its fullest." Silvio nodded and placed the device on his head, suddenly all of the intentions he could sense were gone, "Thanks, Erasmus." Erasmus nodded slightly, "Don't mention it, and remember, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, kiddo." Silvio nodded slightly as the Dragon walked out of the room.

[Akira110]

Chapter 8

Aiko walked through the temple, alone, she wanted to get away from Xander, badly, but she didn't want to let him have the satisfaction of driving her from her own home. She wasn't about to let him have that particular victory. She walked into the armory and grabbed her arming sword, it wasn't anything ornate, though the pommel and cross guard had the distinctive fishtail design on it. She placed her sword on her belt as she strapped her own heater shield to her arm. She knew at around this time, the training grounds would be empty, so she could go take out her frustrations with Xander on a training dummy. She walked through the temple, on her own until she reached the training ground, and she walked up to a training dummy, it had been cut into and scarred over the months from use. She sighed slightly and drew her sword, assuming her usual starting position.

She struck the dummy, angrily and repeatedly, however the voice of her sister stopped her, "Your footwork is based off his style, but you do not have the animalistic fighting style he did. Your fighting style seems to be more controlled than his ever was, even later in his life when he started to calm down." Aiko turned back to see Kimiko and sighed as she sheathed her blade, "Why are you comparing me to my nephew, Kimiko?" Kimiko sighed, "Because you elected to learn from one of his students, that's why. Anyhow, I've come to tell you that Xander is in your room right now." Aiko became livid at this news, "What!?" Kimiko sighed as Aiko started to storm past her, she grabbed Aiko by the wrist, "Listen, don't be so hard on him." Aiko looked at her, "Why shouldn't I? The man is an absolute misogynistic jerk!" Kimiko then glared at her, "Because of a promise I made to him, fourteen hundred years ago."

Kimiko let go of Aiko who looked confused, "What do you mean by that?" Kimiko sighed, "If you be a good girl, little sis, and handle this civilly, I'll tell you." Aiko sighed and realized that Kimiko was in a way, right. She was raised better than this, but for some reason, Xander just got under her skin. She took her shield off her arm and her sword off her belt and handed them to Kimiko, "Big sister, can you take these to the Armory for me?" Kimiko nodded slightly as Aiko turned and walked up the hallway. It didn't take her long for her to start thinking over Kimiko's words, but she was more worried about what Xander was doing to her room and her things. Soon she arrived at her door, which opened up for her and she saw Xander sitting there reading her journal.

Xander looked back at her, "Would you look at daddy's princess, she thinks that she can wield a sword and thinks that one day, she'll be a Kensei." Aiko looked at him and tried to push her anger down, "Xander, please put my journal down and leave my room." Xander laughed, his tail spread across her bed, "What are you going to do about it, Princess." Aiko swallowed and felt her right hand start tensing up, "Xander, please put my journal down and leave my room. You entered here without my permission or the permission of my parents. You are currently invading my territory." Xander closed the journal, and placed it on the bed, noticing the closed fist, "Please, Princess. Hit me." Aiko felt temptation flow through her, she wanted nothing more than to hit Xander at this moment, however, she stopped herself.

Xander laughed slightly and stood up, "Your journal was boring, anyhow, Princess. I'm going to head back to the apartment." Xander walked over to the door and pushed her out of the way, and the only thing that stopped Aiko from punching him there, was she caught a glimpse of her big sister in the corner of her eye. Kimiko sighed, "He's more brash than he used to be." Aiko looked at her, "Used to be?" Kimiko motioned into the room and Aiko nodded slightly, entering it and she started to clean up the mess that Xander had left as Kimiko closed the door behind them and locked it with a sigh, "I'm technically not supposed to tell you any of this, I'm not supposed to tell any of you this without express permission from Emiko." Aiko nodded slightly, she knew of her grandmother, "Why is that?"

Kimiko sighed, "Does the name Yoshiro Miyamae mean anything to you?" Aiko nodded, "He's one of the three legendary heroes, he was a Kensei who served my mother and is my nephew. He's also considered to be one of the most lethal Kitsune to ever have been born." Kimiko looked down, "Do you know about reincarnation?" Aiko nodded, "You are the deity of reincar... Xander isn't Yoshiro, is he!?" Kimiko chuckled and shook her head, "I'm afraid not, Mom has known this for a long time and I think it's time that you learn this fact as well. Aiko, before Yoshiro died, he asked me to give him a chance to grow up in an era of peace, to live his life as such. I promised that I would grant him this wish." Aiko nodded slightly, not really following, "So is Silvio, Yoshiro?" Kimiko shook her head, "Aiko, you don't understand." Kimiko pointed at her little sister, "You are the reincarnation of Yoshiro."

Aiko seemed outwardly calm at first, the news hadn't quite sunk in immediately, leading to Kimiko speak, "Well, you handled that a lot better than I hoped." Aiko dropped what she had in her hands as tears started to stream down her cheeks, "No... no... I can't be him, I don't want to be him!" Kimiko sighed, "That's what I was afraid of..." She walked over to Aiko with a sigh, "Little sister..." Aiko retreated, "I was happy being Aiko! Now I have to be Yoshiro!" Kimiko sighed, "Sis, listen to me. You don't have to be Yoshiro, you don't have to follow in his footsteps. Yoshiro exists inside of you, yes, but you are Aiko. You are your own person." Aiko sniffled, "You... you mean it?" Kimiko nodded, "Have I ever lied to you before, little sister?" Aiko shook her head, "No..." Kimiko hugged her, "Do you have any more tears you want to get out?" Aiko frowned, "Sis, can I spend the rest of the day home?" Kimiko nodded and patted her little sister's head, "You can, sis. You know that you can stay home."

[Akira110]

Chapter 9

A half-elf wearing a tan suit with a black tie walked through an alleyway with a cigarette in his mouth. He had been called to check out a murder scene and he wasn't exactly too thrilled about it, it was his first assignment on Verbana, though. He noticed a group of security officers near a body and reached into his coat to pull out his badge, when one of them looked over at him, "Whoa, we can't have civilians here, buddy, this is a crime scene." The Half-elf sighed and pulled out his badge, "Brian Aran, Homicide detective." The Security Force Officers moved out of the way, "I apologize, sir." Brian sighed, "Don't call me sir, again." Brian grabbed his cigarette and removed it from his mouth, putting it out against a building and placing it into his pocket, as he took out gloves with his other hand, placing them on.

As he came across the body of a dead female, this time a Kitsune, he sighed as he checked the neck for any signs of bruising. Though he could find none, he found that one of the vertebrae had been broken and pulled out a recording device, "Broken vertebrate broken in the victim's neck, unsure if cause of death." He ran his hand across the victim's body, checking for any more signs of bruising, but as he ran his hand along the victim's torso, his hand touched a stain that seemed to have dried, as he talked into his device again, "Stain on the shirt, unsure of origin. Going to check it." Brian lifted the shirt to see that the white fur had been stained red on the belly, "Female Kitsune, cause of death is likely stabbing, broken vertebrae was more than likely a result of a struggle, while she was dying."

Brian sighed as he looked around for any more clues and saw a trail of blood, "The victim apparently didn't die here, she seems to have been moved. Either someone wanted us to find the body, or they're afraid and want to get it away." Brian followed the trail of blood to find a knife, he picked up the knife and looked at it, "This knife is covered in blood, it could belong to the perpetrator or the victim. Considering no there's no other trail of blood, I think it's safe to say that this belongs to the victim and not the perpetrator." He looked around to see if anyone around that he could possibly ask, and when he couldn't find any one he sighed and pulled out a visor that he placed over his eyes. He pressed a button on the side and turned off his recorder with his other hand, "Scan the area for any sort of clues that would be related to this murder case."

A feminine voice spoke up, "Scanning." Brian looked around the scene and sighed as he pulled out another cigarette, the female voice huffing, "Brian, are you going to smoke at a crime scene, you know you run the risk of contaminating it!" Brian sighed, "I'm just going to have it in my mouth, I know the rules about actually smoking at a crime scene." Brian placed the cigarette in his mouth, wishing he had a toothpick or something to hold there instead, but it was all he had. As the AI scanned, he sighed, "Samantha, do you think that there are any other clues around here." The AI responded quickly, "No, I do not, nothing seems to point to the victim or the perpetrator. I'll cross-reference with the Security Forces database to see if we have a match. One match found, a Kani Victim, Jorma was killed in the same way."

Brian sighed, "That's what I thought, without witnesses or anything." Brian heard a noise and turned to see a Kitsune woman standing near the body, weeping, the security forces grabbing her to pull her away. Brian raised his voice, "Hold it! Let the woman come forth!" The Kitsune Woman looked at the body and then at him, "Who... who are you... you're not..." Brian shook his head and his AI started to scan the woman, "Features match, Brian, this woman has a..." Brian hit the button to turn off the visor, and looked the woman in the eyes, "What was the victim to you?" The woman looked hysterical, "She was my daughter!" Brian nodded, "Listen, I'm going to have to ask you to stay calm, and help me, can you do that?" The woman nodded slightly, "I'll try." Brian placed his hand on her shoulder, "Ma'am, I know this is all a shock to you, but it's imperative that we get answers, alright?"

The woman sighed and nodded, she still looked like a wreck, "Alright." Brian sighed, "Okay. Do you mind if I record this?" The woman shook her head, "Not at all, if it brings her killer to justice." Brian nodded, "Thank you." He turned on the recorder, "Alright, did you know where your daughter was going last night?" The woman nodded, "She said that she was going to the bar to get some drinks, I heard that her friends met this Kani." Brian instantly knew that there was a link, "Ma'am, can you point me in the direction of where one of her friends live?" The Kitsune woman nodded, "One lives about five blocks down the road in a blue house, you can't miss it." Brian turned off his recording device, "Thank you, ma'am. You've helped tremendously with this case, I promise you that I'll bring your daughter's killer to justice." The Kitsune woman nodded slightly, "Thank you... I just wish he didn't take my little girl."

Brian nodded, "It's always tragic and I'm sorry that at the moment, I can't do more for you." The woman nodded as Brian walked away from the murder scene and out of the alley, unfortunately for him, he saw a Mus standing there, "Xander Bartanen, Security Officer in Training, I assume." Xander beat a fist against his own chest, "Yep, I'm here to help you with your case." Brian sighed, "This is a homicide case." Xander nodded, "I'm aware." Brian shook his head, "The Paladin-in-Training is the only one that is authorized to work with me on this case, Xander. I've heard all about you and I know that you're just going to try to get in on a case that's above your paygrade." Xander folded his arms, "We can do this willingly or unwillingly." Brian reached into his coat and grabbed his gun, he set the weapon to a high voltage, but low power shock, "Or we can just not do this at all." Xander shrugged, "If I don't get in the way, can I be with you, I could learn from an experienced detective." Brian bit down on his cigarette, not wanting to taze Xander, but also not wanting to argue, "Fine, but you stay out of my way."

[Akira110]

Chapter 10

Silvio sighed as he sat in the courtyard of the Sun Temple, everyone that was far older than him were talking and catching up, but he noticed that someone was missing. He stood up and brushed himself off, not paying attention to their conversations as he looked around, when suddenly Amaterasu spoke up, "Silvio, is everything alright?" Silvio shook his head, "Kimiko left and hasn't come back, I'm going to go see what's going on." Amaterasu nodded, "Alright, if you get lost, you know that you don't have to be afraid to ask for some sort of directions, right?" Silvio nodded slightly, "By your leave, Lady Amaterasu." Amaterasu nodded and Silvio looked at Klaartje, "By your leave, boss?" Klaartje shrugged, "I don't mind you wandering off, Silvio. I'm just really here to help you with your investigation, by the way, a man named Brian is working the case, I gave him your contact info."

Silvio nodded and walked towards the door, he turned around slightly and sighed a bit. He walked into the temple and walked down the hallway when he heard Aiko scream, "I don't want to be Yoshiro!" Silvio tensed up, and moved towards the location, he had heard of reincarnation and some of the cults out there that believe in deifying legendary heroes of Verbana. He grabbed his gun off his belt and moved towards the wall, moving slowly towards the door that the scream came from. He silently, and slowly turned the knob on the door and pushed the door open, and peeked in to see Kimiko sitting there, comforting Aiko and he sighed slightly, putting his weapon away, "I thought something was putting Aiko in danger." Kimiko looked at him, "Well since you're here, you probably heard her scream. Well, come in, close the door and steel yourself for the news."

Silvio shrugged and entered the door, closing the door behind him, he walked over to the edge of the bed and folded his arms, "I doubt that you can tell me anything that will surprise me, Deity of Rebirth." Kimiko smiled slightly, "Ah, so your equipment isn't just for show, you really are a paladin." Silvio shook his head, "I'm a Paladin-in-Training, I've been granted access to full paladin equipment because of the nature of my mission, I mean one of ours was murdered in cold blood and we don't know who did it or why." Kimiko smiled slyly and Aiko looked at her, "Big sister?" Kimiko pointed to a bean bag chair, "Sit down, Silvio" Silvio blinked, "How do you know my name, I never told anyone here what my name is." Kimiko stood up, "Should I use your name when you last met me, Silvio, or will you sit down for me to explain things."

Silvio shrugged and sat down, knowing that it would be unwise to pick a fight in the middle of a temple full of Kensei. Kimiko folded her arms, "I made a promise fifteen hundred and thirty years ago to one Walthari Jaeger." Silvio shrugged, "So you're saying that I'm the reincarnation of Walthari?" Kimiko shook her head, "You are the reincarnation of the Black Knight himself, Killian Jaeger." Silvio shrugged, though the news was somewhat surprising, he knew that if it came from a Deity of Rebirth, the news was true, "So? I'm not going to stop being a Paladin because the man was a blacksmith that had a night job of protecting people as the Black Knight. So, tell me, who is the reincarnation of Walthari?"

Kimiko sighed, "Xander is, when Mom revealed that she wasn't going to have any more kids at the time, I had to change my plan. Emiko helped reveal that the meeting that happened today would happen between You, Aiko and Xander if I made the three of you reincarnations of the heroes. You and Xander were born a few days apart and Aiko here was born a month before the two of you." Silvio nodded slightly, "I understand, but none of this is really surprising. What was the promise about?" Kimiko placed her hand on her head, and Aiko hugged her, "It's okay, big sister, you can tell us." Kimiko sighed, "Xander wasn't supposed to walk out like that, he altered events, but what was supposed to happen is that I'd reveal all of this to you guys and the three of you would have doubts, but would ultimately fulfill the promise I made to Walthari. I promised that I would make the three of you siblings again."

Silvio nodded slightly, "Understandable. I know Aiko isn't exactly comfortable with the news, but she seems close to her. However, your promise is a noble one, since Xander is stationed in this city and Aiko lives here, I'll see about getting a transfer to here when I'm a full fledged Paladin." Kimiko blinked, "You'll help me?" Silvio nodded, "Why not in all honesty, I mean this is a rather nice place here and I'd like to get to know the locals. Not to mention, a Paladin is really just a Knight that dedicated himself to justice and has gone through the training of Sinikka, so I could probably get a job working at the castle as a guard or something." Kimiko nodded and Aiko looked at him, "You're rough, but you're not as brash as Xander is."

Silvio laughed, "Xander is an [censored], pure and simple. When it comes to work, he means well, but he doesn't quite understand the fact that he can't force himself into investigations." Silvio's communicator beeped and cut him off, and he placed his finger on it, "Excuse me, I need to take this." He pushed the button, "Silvio here." Brian's voice spoke up, "I'm headed to a witness' house with Xander in tow, where are you?" Silvio looked at Kimiko, "I'm at the Kitsune Temple of the sun." Brian nodded, "Well, there's a blue house about fifteen blocks down the road, I'll be there, waiting for you. The witness is currently still at school and I need to question here about the recent murder in this area." Silvio nodded and stood up, "I'll be there." He let go of the button and looked at the two kitsune, "I apologize, but I must leave." The two of them nodded and as Silvio started to depart, Aiko spoke up, "Please be careful." Silvio nodded as he started to close the door, "I promise that I will return alive."

[Akira110]

Chapter 11

Brian sighed slightly as he stood in front of the house, he was waiting for Silvio to join him, and he was starting to get tired of listening to Xander's boasting, so he put his visor back on and turned the music function on. He blasted some classical music from a band called The Megas, he had no idea what kind of music it was considered back in the day, but he enjoyed it thoroughly. As he waited, he closed his eyes and tuned out Xander who seemed to start getting annoyed and asked him, "Are you even listening." Brian sighed, "Shut up. You have not stopped boasting about how great you are and how terrible this Aiko is since you joined up with me." Xander squeaked angrily and reached for his weapon, Brian hearing the motion of the fabric with his ears, "I wouldn't recommend doing that. I'm better trained and faster than you."

Xander stopped moving for his weapon and Brian spoke up, "Good, you're at least showing that you're capable of learning." Brian turned off his music, opened his eyes and saw that a Mofeta was coming to join him, "Ah, you're the one Klaartje told me about, Silvio Espina Mata, right?" Silvio nodded, "Yes, and you are Brian, yes?" Brian nodded and showed his badge, "Detective Brian Aran, I'm here about another murder, but the way this victim was murdered and Jorma was murdered is identical, including the wounds made on the victim." Silvio nodded, "Do we have any leads?" Brian shook his head and Xander spoke up, "Only that you're a failure at your job." Silvio looked at Xander, "I remember you, aren't you the security officer who got mugged by some lowly thugs? I can't remember."

Xander squinted at him, "Aren't you supposed to be protector of the people, you let a poor kitsune woman get murdered." Brian was about to start to speak when Silvio raised his hand to him to signal for him to let him speak, "We Paladins aren't dedicated to protecting people and preventing crime, that's what the guards are for. We're a holy order dedicated to Justice!" Xander folded his arms, "So, you're still failing at your job, you couldn't bring this murderer to justice, and you still haven't even begun to try yet." Silvio was upset about that remark, but he let that one slide, "So you've resorted to lies and petty insults. This is no longer a battle of wits, and thus is no longer worth my time." Brian spoke up, "Heads up, you two, the witness is here, now let me do the talking, and Xander, if you get in my way, I will taze you and drag you back to your station myself.

Brian watched as a male dragon-kilf hybrid walked over towards them, "There's a detective, a student from my school and a Paladin standing in front of my house, has something gone on?" Brian sighed, "Yes. May I have your name please?" The Dragon-kilf hybrid just pulled out his ID and Brian looked at it, "Balius Tanaka, so your mother is a native of this area. Alright, you can put your ID away, you're not a suspect in this case." Balius looked around and dropped his backpack, "Suspect? Case? What happened?" Brian sighed, "There was a murder not too far from here, it looks like the perp panicked and dragged the body into an alleyway. The victim's mother told me that you might have information that will help me crack this case." Balius looked down, "You mean Chikako is dead?"

Balius closed his hand into a fist and Brian placed his hand on the young hybrid's shoulder, "Look, can you tell me anything about what the Kani that she went with looked like. If you can tell me that, then I promise that I'll bring her killer to justice, alright?" Balius sighed, "I snapped a picture of him, I couldn't trust him and I tried to tell her to not go with him, but she wouldn't listen to me, if you would let me go into my house, I can get it for you." Brian nodded, "Mind if Silvio and I wait inside?" Xander protested, "What about me?" Brian shrugged, "You're a bystander that forced himself onto the case. Silvio here is the only one authorized." Balius nodded, "It's alright with me, if mom is alright with it." Balius then opened the door, "Mom, I'm home, and I have guests." A female voice spoke up, "Tell them to come in and sit down."

Balius walked up the stairs as a female half-dragon walked in and Brian recognized her immediately, "Bellona, the daughter of the Blind Mercenary Commander himself, and a great singer. I never thought I'd get to meet a celebrity in this case." Bellona frowned, "What case?" Brian sighed, but Silvio spoke up, "Chikako has been killed by someone that we suspect to have killed my partner. I personally apologize for not stopping him sooner." Bellona looked down, "I understand, Paladins aren't perfect, they're people too. She was a good friend of my son's, it's sad to get the news that she's gone." Brian nodded, "We're never truly prepared to lose people we care about, but unfortunately it's a fact of life." Bellona nodded, "You speak wisely for someone so young." Brian looked to the stars as Balius walked back down with a holographic image projector.

Brian looked at the image and Silvio gasped, "I know him, that's the drunk that Jorma would always hang around and they were such great friends." Brian nodded slightly, "Chances are low that he's still in this town if he escaped when Jorma was killed, but if he is, he'd be hanging near one of the gates." Brian pressed a button on his visor and scanned the image, before sending it to the gates leading out of the city, before hitting another button and initiating verbal communications with all the guardposts at the gates, "The picture I have sent you is a man who is wanted for murder, if you see him try to exit the city through the gates, detain him. Thank you." He released the button and Xander spoke up, "What now?" Brian sighed, "Well considering this isn't the first time he's been to this city, I have an address for him. Why don't we go pay him a visit to see if he's home..."

[Akira110]

Chapter 12

Aiko sighed as she sat in her room, Kimiko hadn't left and she noticed this, "What's wrong, little sister?" Aiko frowned, "There's one thing that I never learned in school about him..." Kimiko looked at her, "About Yoshiro, sis?" Aiko nodded, "How did he die?" Kimiko let go of her and sighed, "I'll go get Mom and Grandmother." Aiko hugged her knees, knowing that she could only get the answer from her grandmother. Kimiko left the room and Aiko looked at her hand, she knew that she didn't have to be Yoshiro, but she still wanted answers. Soon Amaterasu and Emiko walked into the room and Aiko looked up, "Mom, Grandmother." Emiko sighed, "I was afraid that this day would come, instead of telling you, how about I show you?" Aiko nodded and watched as Emiko placed a hand on her head before speaking, "Close your eyes." Aiko did as she told her, and suddenly she found herself in a different location.

Aiko found herself in an unknown base, and she saw Yoshiro start walking towards her with a gun at the ready. She became afraid, but he simply walked through her and as she turned around, she heard someone yell, "Enemy in" before being shot in the head. Aiko felt a little sick knowing that person was dead, but she followed Yoshiro as he walked to the door and leaned against the side of it as two more troops ran in, expecting to find something. Yoshiro closed the door slowly enough to give him a clear shot without alerting the two of them and shot them both in the head. Aiko became very nervous about this, she knew about how efficient Yoshiro was at killing people, but she didn't know it first hand. She followed Yoshiro as he walked silently into the next room, his pistol at the ready.

She watched as Yoshiro walked into cover and put three more men down, and as he aimed at the fourth, the man tried to run for an alarm and though Yoshiro shot him, the man's corpse carried enough momentum to sound the alarm. Yoshiro placed his pistol back in its holster and grabbed an assault rifle from one of the bodies, checking to see the charge before diving back into cover. Aiko gasped as this is where she thought he was going to die. However as men ran into the room, he leaned out of cover and killed two more people. The others deciding to try a flanking strategy against him. However Aiko watched as something shimmered in front of him, "Light magic!" Yoshiro walked out and as the men started to fire at him, Yoshiro fired back, putting a photonic bolt in each of their heads, their weapons fire splashing harmlessly against his barrier.

Aiko watched as this time, instead of more men, a robot burst through the wall and Yoshiro started to shoot at it, his weapons fire hitting the armor plating. The robot rushed at him and he tried to dodge, Aiko watching him barely dodge its attack as Yoshiro angrily dropped his barrier and started to channel the energy into the machine, however this proved to be a fatal mistake as the robot quickly turned around and impaled him on a blade. Aiko watched as Yoshiro screamed out in pain and snapped his fingers, the barrier hardening through the robot itself, causing it to cease functioning. The older Kitsune grabbed the blade that had impaled him and turned his head as he heard more men coming, the light shimmering around him again as he started to fire, putting more men into the ground as their weapons fire splashing harmlessly off his barrier again.

Soon he was free of the blade, but he started bleeding, and was getting a bit fatigued, so he formed a new barrier to stop the bleeding. This time weapons fire started to hit his armor, eating away through it, as he continued putting down the new group of men. After about two minutes of combat, Yoshiro came out on top, though he was badly wounded, and bleeding profusely from all of his wounds. Aiko watched as he limped towards a door, one man ran in, and raised his hands as Yoshiro raised his weapon against the poor Kani. However she watched as the hand let go of the weapon and watched as Yoshiro fell to the ground. Yoshiro didn't move or get up and Aiko gasped slightly as suddenly everything changed to her home, except faded.

Aiko heard footsteps behind her and she turned around to see Yoshiro walking towards her, she started backing away and Yoshiro raised his hand, "You need not fear anything from me, visitor." Aiko blinked, "Visitor?" Yoshiro nodded, "This is the Realm of the Dead, Emiko brought you here so that you could see my death, you look familiar though, who are you?" Aiko looked down, "I'm Aiko, your reincarnation." Yoshiro smiled, "Aiko, I was following you as you watched my own death, listen, I am proud of you for never engaging in war. From this realm, I've watched many things, things that saddened me, but to see that my reincarnation is living in peaceful times makes me at ease. And before you ask, this is the only place that I can appear to you. However, the next time I will appear to you here, will be after your own death."

Aiko blinked, "What do you..." She suddenly found herself back in her room, with everyone standing there, Emiko's hand was no longer on her head, "mean..." Amaterasu hugged her, "Mom told me that she was allowing you to speak to your past life, did he break the non-interference clause?" Aiko shook her head, "All he told me is that he is proud of me and that me living in peaceful times makes him proud of me." Amaterasu smiled slightly, "That's good, he never could leave the battlefield, that's why he formed his own mercenary group six years after Rogelio's own death, his youngest son now leads it." Aiko nodded, "If it's alright, I think I'm going to go to the courtyard and clear my head." Amaterasu smiled and Emiko nodded, "Take your time and relax, Aiko, it's a lot of information to take in on such short notice." Aiko nodded and climbed out of bed, walking to her door, "Thank you, Grandmother." As Aiko walked out of her room, she heard Emiko say, "You're welcome, Aiko."

[Akira110]

Chapter 13

Brian walked up to a house and placed a cigarette in his mouth, "Xander, you stick close to me, Silvio, you have a weapon with a stun function?" Silvio nodded, "I do, detective." Brian nodded, "Good, you go around back and have your weapon at the ready in case he tries to make a run for it." Silvio nodded slightly and started to head around back. Brian gave him a few minutes before he pointed to Xander, "I'll let you handle this one." Brian stepped back and Xander looked at him, "What?" Brian chuckled, "You're in training, consider this your final exam." Xander nodded and walked up to the door, knocking on it. There was nothing for a minute and as Xander looked to Brian, a Kani walked to the door, "Yes, how can I help you gentlemen?" Xander could smell the alcohol on this Kani's breath, "Damn, how much have you had to drink?" The Kani looked at his hand, "Three bottles of beer."

Xander sighed, "That doesn't matter at this point. I'm officer-in-training Xander Partanen and this is Detective Brian Aran, we're investigating a murder case, a murder that happened in the local area. Would you mind coming down to the station and answering a few questions." The Kani didn't hesitate to panic and he grabbed an object, throwing it at Xander who used his arm to block it, Brian sighing, "Dammit, he's getting away, at least Silvio will be able to catch him." Suddenly there was a crash that sounded like glass shattering and the two of them ran to the side of the house to see that the Kani was now escaping. Xander squeaking angrily, "Brian, may I have use of your pistol?" Brian nodded and pulled out his pistol, "I'm not going to need it." Xander didn't get a chance as he watched Silvio walk over to the side of the house and look at the glass before taking off running after the Kani.

Xander followed suit, Brian's weapon in hand, as he ran through the alley and eventually into the street, people parting ways as Silvio runs through ahead of him, not wanting to get in the way of the paladin-in-training. Xander sighed slightly as he ran through the parted crowds and across the street, this Kani was much faster than he was used to running, but there was one thing he was better at the Kani at, and that was climbing. Xander quickly scampered up the side of a building and started to run along the rooftops, seeing Silvio and the Kani very close together, Xander lining up a shot ahead of the Kani and squeezing the trigger. The electric bolt flew out of the weapon and barely missed the Kani, causing him to panic and start moving in a new direction.

Silvio swore at the Kani, "Pezzo di [censored]!" as Xander watched the Mofeta pull out his own weapon and shoot the Kani in the back of the legs, however Xander noticed that the weapon caused a burn, something that stun settings didn't do. The Kani dropped and rolled, Silvio walking up to the Kani and placing his weapon in the Kani's face, "You will face justice, not in a Kitsune Court, but before the Paladin Tribunal. You will be taken to the station, whether you like it or not in order for us to get a DNA test on you so that we can confirm that you are indeed the murderer. If you try to resist, I will render you unconscious, it will not be a pleasant experience for you. If you try to escape, I will shoot you again and then break your legs to prevent your escape." The Kani gulped and Xander started to climb down as Silvio continued, "If you attack me, your arms will be broken, am I clear?"

The Kani nodded and Xander looked at Silvio, "I know you Paladins are all about Justice and all of that, but you are going quite extreme on this guy, we don't even know if he's the killer." Before Silvio could respond, someone walked towards them in olive colored armor, "Well done, you managed to capture him before I got here." Silvio looked at him, "Who are you?" Xander pointed the gun at the figure who laughed, "Ironic that you're pointing my own weapon at me, it won't fire if you do that. This armor prevents that from happening, sorry, to disappoint you, Xander." Xander lowered the weapon as he watched the helmet start to deconstruct, revealing Brian's face, which had a smirk on it, "Well done by the way, but Xander, you have one thing left to do."

Xander nodded and turned the Kani on his belly, and Brian tossed him some handcuffs, Xander catching them and he put them on the Kani's hands, "You are hereby under arrest for assaulting an officer. If you are found to be guilty of murdering Chikako and Jorma, you will be sent to Maan Valssi in order to stand trial before the Paladinic Tribunal. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say between now and then can and will be used against you. You also have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, then one will be provided for you. Do you understand your rights as I have explained them to you." The Kani nodded slightly and Xander picked him up, "I'll help you walk as we return to the station."

Silvio sighed, "I'm going to go return to the sun temple if you don't mind, my handler, Klaartje is there right now and I need to report this." Brian nodded, "Stay safe, Silvio, you'll make a great Paladin some day." Silvio nodded and broke off from them as Xander helped the Kani start walking, Brian following behind them. Brian smiled slightly, "You know, when you actually do your job, you are quite good at it. I think after this, I'll put in a good word for you, you'll be an officer before the week's end, I'll make sure of it, Xander." Xander nodded, "Thank you, sir, but I'm just doing my job as a security officer of the Kitsune Kingdom." Brian nodded, "That dedication will get you quite far in this job, if you clean up your act, you might be a Police Captain some day." Xander nodded, "I understand, but honestly. I prefer beat patrol." Brian shrugged, "Whatever floats your boat."

[Akira110]

Chapter 14

A week had passed and Silvio found himself once again in the temple of Justice in Maan Valssi, he missed the people he had met back in Honoo, but he knew that this is where he was needed right now. He stood before the Paladin Tribunal, with the killer in tow. He had submitted the evidence to them and was now waiting for them to address him. A Paladin Elder looked at him, "Silvio, you say that you caught this person." Silvio nodded, "With the help of a half-elf and a Mus." The elder nodded, "Honesty, good, this should go smoothly." The Elder looked at the Killer, "Marko, you are here because you have murdered a Kitsune Girl and a Paladin-in-Training, how do you plead?" Marko sighed, "I didn't want to get caught, I was scared. Please, I just want to go home." Silvio looked at him, he felt somewhat bad for the man, but he knew that the man had broken the law and thus must be punished.

The Elder looked over the evidence and a female Paladin spoke up, "Silvio, the evidence that you have gathered with the help of the Kitsune Security Forces is amazing if I do say so myself. If it were up to me, I would promote you to a full fledged Paladin." Silvio nodded, "Thank you, ma'am, but that is Lady Sinikka's decision, I'm merely doing my duty as a Paladin-in-Training." The female Paladin nodded, "They always said that the Mofeta would make the best Paladins, and here we have an example of that, you are quite very much dedicated to your job." Silvio nodded, "As you can see, all of the evidence that you require is in front of you." Marko looked at him, "Do you even know what they're going to do to me!?" Silvio walked over to Marko, "I'm done here, you will face the rest of your trial and you will be rehabilitated if found guilty."

Silvio walked out of the court room, having fulfilled his obligation as a Paladin-in-Training, only full fledged Paladins were allowed to stay through the entire case. However as he left, he saw Maritaa standing there, "My mother would like to see you." Silvio nodded, "I understand." He started to walk in the direction of Sinikka's office, when Maritaa spoke up, "The ceremony hall, Silvio." Silvio nodded, "So another Paladin will finish their training, today? I'll shouldn't be late." Silvio walked through the empty hallways, it was customary for everyone to gather in the ceremony hall when a trainee was promoted to a full fledged Paladin. He quickly stopped by his room and discarded his trainee armor and weapons, revealing his uniform underneath. He placed his hat on and smiled slightly as he left the room and approached the double doors leading into the ceremony hall.

As he opened the doors, he noticed everyone look directly at him, which made him slightly nervous, however Sinikka looked at him, "Silvio Espina Mata, you have brought Jorma's killer to justice and avoided giving into revenge. Please come forward." Silvio understood what this meant, "I'm not ready for this yet, Lady Sinikka." Sinikka frowned, "I'm the one that makes that decision, not you, and you have preformed admirably, you deserve this." Silvio looked around him, the trainees looked happy for him, Annikki even speaking up, "Silvio! You've always been dedicated towards your job, this time it's paid off for you, you're going to be a full Paladin now! We're all happy for you, the first Mofeta Paladin!" Silvio sighed slightly, "It doesn't feel right, there are better people out there to become Paladins than I."

Sinikka sighed, "Silvio, please come up here." Silvio closed his eyes, he didn't want to, but Sinikka had asked him to. Silvio walked forward, slowly, but suddenly felt himself be pushed, Maritaa speaking, "It's rude to keep a lady waiting, you know." Silvio walked faster towards Sinikka, who stood before a throne, Sinikka smiled as he approached, "Kneel before me, Silvio." Silvio walked up the steps and knelt before Sinikka, "Yes, milady." Sinikka pulled out a sword and placed the flat of the blade against his shoulder, "Silvio Espina Mata." She moved the sword over his head and placed it against the other shoulder, "As the Deity of Justice, I hereby declare you a Paladin Initiate. As such you will have the full rights and privileges of a Paladin. You may now rise."

Silvio stood up and Maritaa placed a cape on him, fastening the brooch, and Silvio nodded, "Thank you, Lady Sinikka, but I have one request." Sinikka nodded, "What is it?" Silvio frowned, "I would like to talk to you in private about this, if that's alright." Sinikka nodded slightly, "Alright, let's go to my office." Sinikka walked towards the double doors with Silvio following close behind her, she walked out of the room and walked to her office. When there, she waited til Silvio walked into the room before closing the door, "What is it, Silvio." Silvio sighed, "Kimiko told me that I'm the reincarnation of Killian Jaeger." Sinikka nodded, "I knew that from the moment you walked into the temple for the first time, Silvio. She was here that day, remember." Silvio nodded, "That's why, if it's alright with you, I would like to work in Honoo." Sinikka smiled slightly, "Of course, Kimiko asked me if you could be the first of her volunteer guards, I told her that I'd ask you."

Silvio nodded slightly, "I can learn more about my past life while working as a guard and I can get to know the reincarnation of Killian's adoptive brother, and hopefully we could become friends." Sinikka looked at him and arched a brow, "Aiko is Yoshiro's reincarnation?" Silvio nodded slightly, "Yes, she is, she doesn't want to be him though." Sinikka sighed and placed her hand on her chin, "Silvio, do not tell anyone that's not a deity or one of the legendary heroes' close friends about any of this. There are cults dedicated to the worship of these legendary heroes and there's no telling what they would do with the three of you if they found this out." Silvio nodded, "I understand, may I have permission to depart." Sinikka nodded slightly, "Of course, but, remember to stop by the armory for your new armor and weapons." Silvio nodded, "Will do."