Komo-Doubutsu

Chapter 13: The Sword and the Serpent - Part 1

By: Midori Ushi Law

Focus your pupils at their mouths. There. Focus at one on the other side of the room. Good.

A man with huge glasses stood before his peers. His hair was matted upright, giving him an added head-length to his already tall, lanky stature. His shorts were an inch above his knee, and his white, crisp dress shirt was tucked in so well, that the ends of the shirt could almost be seen below the legs of his shorts. He smiled goofily as he stood at the whiteboard with a marker. "Good morning everyone. I hope the rain didn't interfere with our study groups. I know the one I invited everyone to was just a solo," he joked.

A woman sitting in a desk near the back of the small room blew her nose.

The man continued. "For my research project, I would like to introduce you to Cymatics, the study of visible sound!"

"And I'd like to introduce you to a makeover specialist; the study of 'I don't give a crap'!" one of the men in the middle grinned. The majority of the room laughed.

Focus your pupils at Trevor's mouth. There.

"Cymatics is still a relatively new study, though it's been used in art for centuries. My research focuses on the potential healing properties of cancers, diseases, and genetic disorders as well as internal reconstruction of damaged organs without the need of invasive surgery," the man cautiously explained.

Trevor cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Way to nerd up a music class, Komori-Geek! This is supposed to be an easy elective, and you turned it into a doctorate-level course! Way to go! Now we know how smart you are!"

The others booed at the disappointed undergrad student. A couple threw balled up paper at him. The professor stood up from her desk, glaring at the class then turning her attention to the presenter. "That's enough. You can have a seat, Komori. I see you have over twelve pages written. I told the class to only write three to seven pages."

Focus your pupils at Professor Sturgiman's mouth.

"But this information is life-changing!" Komori argued.

"Your information is obsolete," she growled. "Maybe for weaker countries, which outlaw Doubutsu ability usage, your information may come in handy, however, here in Rhenica, we have healers. We have people who can regrow appendages. We have the most resources and information on the world market. If you want a graduate-level critique on your poorly constructed theory in Cymatics, I can easily tell you that you receive a failing score for going above my requirements and researching something that has nothing to do with Renaissance-Age composers."

"But, all the listed composers you had us choose from were actually cymatic artists!"

"Enough, Komori! We'll speak after class. We still have seventeen more presentations to get through with."

The man gave his professor a slight bow, grabbed his research documents, and sadly walked to his desk. That's when he heard a high-pitched screech. "Komori! It's time! Vibora has failed! Use the skin I gave you to locate him! It will glow, when you're near," ordered Rousette.

Without saying a word, the man walked towards the door. He smiled maliciously as his face grew dark with hatred.

Time to release this built-up aggression, before it gets the better of me. The Great Serpent shall meet the wrath of my sword.

Chapter 13: The Sword and the Serpent - Part 1

In a land of wind and sand, there were rumors of an ancient kingdom hidden from the world. This kingdom was filled with guardians, whose ancestors were slaves to a mighty Doubutsu. This Great Animal forced the slaves to erect walls upon walls of fortress, where he was to rule them and their descendants for all eternity. The guardians were trained through pain. Every day, they were forced to endure a plank position for hours on end to build their bonds through torture. They were forced to fight their closest friends once weekly to the brink of death just to recover and do it again.