Komo-Doubutsu

Chapter 3: A Twinkle in Darkness - Part 1

By: Midori Ushi Law

Outside of the busy city, a man around the age of nineteen sat close to a stream of water in the woods. He wore a long, dark scabbard on his back. He placed his stained sword into the flowing stream and glided a black cloth over the blade to clean it. The wooded area was a place of tranquility for the young man compared to the rush of noise inside the city. That alongside the stress college pushed this student to seek the pleasant song of the crickets and birds as the peaceful stream played its own melody.

Suddenly, the man grabbed his sword and stood up as he heard a sound unnatural to the area. "So, it's time again?" he asked as a giant, black, furry bat hung in a tree behind him. The bat was about six feet in length, but effortlessly remained steady on the branch. "Who is the target?"

Rousette, the Great Bat Doubutsu flapped her wings and quickly flew in front of the man, who remained perfectly calm despite her long, fangs resting over her leathery, black lips. She pulled an old pale snake shedding from under her one of her wings and said, "I want you to kill Vibora, the Great Serpent, when I give you the word. He has a mission to fulfill, but if he fails, you kill him and give him to me."

She handed the dried skin to the man, and he said in a dark tone, "Very well, Master."

"Also," she added. "I think it's about time you've enhanced your abilities with the Moon Tree fruit. I want you to join the Great Quest and complete it, however if you happen to run into a kid with the name, Lipagron..."

"His life must end, also," the man understood.

Rousette explained, "Only if I have to give you the signal to kill the snake." She raised her wings, and with a huge flap, she flew vertically so fast, it was as if she'd vanished.

The man put the sword into his scabbard and walked back towards the city holding the shed snake skin. "Vibora and Lipagron."

Chapter 3: A Twinkle in Darkness - Part 1

Ray sat in a metal folding chair across from the door with the words "PRINCIPAL". The empty hallway leading towards the exit doors of the high school was like a dam that was about to burst, as time was grasping the end of the last classroom period. Her anxiety rose with each passing minute. She knew that even though she did what she felt was right, she disrupted the her class on her first day at school. Then, there was the decision she had to make. After hearing what happened to her father years ago, she wondered if she should continue with the action her country secretly instilled in her.

The office door swung open with Lipagron limping out with is eyes fixed on the ground. His face showed signs of an internal struggle similar to Ray's. "Rachel Harin," said a big man in a black suit standing at the doorway. The young woman quickly stood up. Her legs trembled. She walked slowly past Lipagron into the office of the school's principal. The man closed the door behind her.

The office was filled with placards, trophies, and books. The carpet had the design of an elephant. There was no desk in the room; only a few chairs in the center surrounded by the walls covered with his achievements. "I won't keep you long, Rachel," he reassured in a deep tone. "Mr. Barge did what he was supposed to do by referring you and that boy to me, after the incident that occurred.

"But it wasn't our fault!" Ray protested. "It was-"

"Do you know why I was chosen to be the principal of this high school?" he interrupted.

Ray did not respond. She now knew that he did not want her to speak.

"It is because I have experience dealing with a large group of different people with different Doubutsu abilities in small quarters. I was in charge of training soldiers in Rhenica's military; soldiers who were all different and felt like they had something to prove," the big man informed. "In a country with laws allowing freedom to choose any Great Animal you want to have to powers of, certain restricting laws must be put in place, so chaos doesn't arise:

The first law states no Doubutsu abilities are allowed to be used freely inside any structure without permission from the person in charge of that structure.

The second law states no person is allowed to use their Doubutsu abilities without a state license that has accurate information on what power you have.

The third law states that the minimum age one can acquire a license is age thirteen.

"Those are the three main laws we have in this country to be able to be free. The first law was the one I strictly enforced in the military. I made strong men and women because I made sure they were a unit, not a zoo. That was why I was chosen to be the principal of this establishment. The consequences for breaking laws are harsh in my school, because chaos makes me look bad in front of the people above me." The principal extended his hand toward Ray with a smile. "It is for that reason, I want to thank you," he said. Confused, the teenager shook his hand reluctantly. "See, when that Ox brat was transferred to my school, I knew he'd be trouble for our other students. If an incident happened at my school because of him, my superiors would take away funding from this establishment. However, if I continue to house the country's golden child without incident, we can have more money to supply the school with the proper materials it needs."

Ray smiled lightly, feeling the weight of anxiety fade from her shoulders. "Well thank you, s-"

"You did something stupid, Ms. Harin," he interrupted again. "You're another special person for this school to house, and I'm willing to protect you to the best of my ability. However, outside these walls, you may have become a target of the Ox brat's, just as that trash you protected is."

"Trash?" Ray asked. "What makes Lipagron tr-"

"I know his parents. His father was trained by me back in the military. He was a good soldier. Most families here rely on their children to take up the mantle and honor them by gaining the same abilities they gained from the same animal. That stupid boy is old enough to realize how much pain he is putting his parents through. They're a laughing stock because of him and his fantasy. One day, he's going to get himself killed by somebody if not by the Ox brat."

The final bell rang, allowing students to exit their dreaded classrooms. Ray was one of the last to leave the building. The excitement she had when she first woke up in the morning dwindled to a tiny spark as she left the grounds.

"Hey," a familiar calm voice called from behind her. Ray turned around to see Lipagron walking up to her. She noticed he looked less upset than when she saw him leaving the principal's office. When he reached the young woman, she started walking with him back to their neighborhood. Something within the silence of their walk soothed her; comforted her.

Ray looked at her first friend. He seemed mentally strong to her. Though she helped him twice that day, she was the one who felt safe around him. She smiled saying, "You know, it was pretty stupid of you to go up against an Ox Doubutsu user, when you don't have Doubutsu abilities yourself. The principal thinks you're going to get yourself killed one day."

Lipagron glared at the young woman. "I do have the abilities of a Doubutsu, and one is never stupid when he or she speaks the truth."

"When the truth is spoken at the wrong time, it is stupid," she responded with a smile.

"Is there ever a right time?" Lipagron asked.

KOMO-DOUBUTSU