Komo-Doubutsu

Chapter 1: The Lie - Part 1

By: Midori Ushi Law

-7 YEARS LATER-

The bright sun rose and exposed the glistening dew on the grass and flowers. The front lawn of an old home in the beautiful country of Rhenica was the pallet for such a sight. In Rhenica, there weren't restrictions on what a person could become. There were no leaders who forced their ideas onto the people of the country. It was viewed as a country of peace and freedom of adventure. At least, that's what Ray believed.

Once the light from the sun slid across her face, she immediately awoke, jumped out of bed, and ran to open the bedroom window. She took a deep breath of the hopes and dreams of the land and exhaled with a smile. Ray stood about five foot seven inches with black, neck-length, messy hair. Her eyes were a beautiful dark blue, revealing a similar color to the night sky. Across the street, she noticed a small house with an odd, overgrown lawn. The old, wooden front door slowly opened, and a young man wearing a white backpack stepped out.

Ray heard a knock at her door. “Miss Harin, your school is starting soon,” her host said hastily.

“Oh, that's right!” the excited teenager exclaimed. “That's why I saw that kid carrying a backpack. I'm going to be late!”

Chapter 1: The Lie - Part 1

After quickly getting dressed, she thanked her host mother and darted out the door, skipping breakfast. Holding a map in her hand, she ran down the cement sidewalk towards the high school. She couldn't wait to see the different types of people there were in the city. More importantly, she wanted to see the powers they had.

The world was filled with people, who could do extraordinary things with the abilities they were granted from great animals, called Doubutsu. Every species of animal in the world had one special animal which was able to awaken potential inside of any human who fulfilled the requirements of that animal.

Ray looked up at the sky and gasped as she saw two women soaring through the air among the birds. She stopped running and marveled at their large, shiny brown wings open, flapping every few seconds as they conversed with each other. They were wearing scrubs, as if they were headed to work at one the city's hospitals. When the women were out of sight, the young woman smiled and continued running towards the school. This was everything she ever drea-

She heard a loud noise behind the building of a closed business she was passing. After stopping, she heard another crashing noise before a voice said, “You have to have more on you than this! Where is it, Lie-Pagron!” Ray slowly walked along the side wall of the building and peeked her head from behind the corner in curiosity. She saw a tall guy rummaging through a white backpack and the kid from earlier laying on the ground next to a fallen aluminum trash can.

The boy on the ground said softly, “I was willing to share my lunch money with you, James. I know you and your family are having a hard time since your-” He was kicked in the head.

“Shut up! You don't know nothin'. Now give me the rest of your money!” yelled James. His stomach growled.

The boy held his head up and looked at the bully saying, “No. I'll give you some money if you ask me, but I won't let you steal it.”

James picked up the trash can and slammed it down on the boy's legs. The boy let out a shout in pain. “I'm not playin' with you. You can't tell me what I'm gonna do or don't do. I'll just beat you until you change your mind. It ain't like you're gonna be missed in school anyway,” explained the hungry, angry teenager.

In an instant, the once optimistic young woman, Ray, saw the reality of the country of Rhenica. Though there were freedoms to be whatever one chose, it was still... like anywhere else. It disappointed her. It enraged her. She walked from behind the corner of the building and screamed, “Stop!” She didn't realize she activated her ability, but it quickly caught James' attention, forcing him to drop the garbage can out of fear. His bottom lip trembled upon seeing Ray with sharp quills sticking out of her face. The robber ran around the building, leaving the boy's white backpack behind. She looked in the direction he escaped in yelling, “Hey! Come back! You want to steal my bag too? Use your powers! Show me what you can do!”

“He doesn't have any Doubutsu abilities,” said the beaten up teenager, slowly beginning to stand.

Ray turned towards him, still filled with rage. “Good. Then, I'll definitely repay him for what he did to you.”

Once the young man was standing, he limped over to his backpack and pulled out a white towel, wiping the blood from his face. “Forgive him. I already have,” he said before looking at Ray with a light smile on his face. “Before his mom lost her job, he was like everyone else; nice clothes, cool electronics, and everything. Now that he, his mother, and the rest of his siblings are in poverty, he's struggling to find anyone inferior to him. Guess that's where I come in,” the boy explained.

Ray looked down in thought. The porcupine quills retracted back into her skin.

The young man gathered the rest of his things and put his backpack over his shoulders. “That's an interesting accent you have.”

“It's Zumian,” she said, raising her head.

“Really? My childhood hero was from Zumi. His name was Ray Harin. He was a good man.”

“Ray Harin?” the young woman asked in suprise. “He was... my father.”

The two fifteen-year-old students walked towards the school together.

“What's your name?” asked the boy. “Mine's Lipagron.”

The girl, still thinking about her father said, “My name is Rachel Harin, but the people of my country nicknamed me Ray, like my father.”

“So, you're another Ray Harin? That's cool. He was very influential.”

“So, I hear... He died, when I was only eight.”

“I guess that makes us the same age, then, Ray.”

Ray smiled faintly. She didn't know much about what her father did that made him so well-known. All she knew was that once every few months, he'd travel from her country to Rhenica. Then, when she was eight years old, he was murdered. Ray was told by her country's leader that an agreement was made to allow her to move to Rhenica, when she became of age. That was why, for the past seven years, she was trained on how to use her powers which were given to her by the Great Porcupine Doubutsu.

Still, Zumi had her hold a secret agenda while she stayed in her foster-country. One which would build up her people.

KOMO-DOUBUTSU