Chapter 5: Secret Identity (The Chronicles of Time)
It has been weeks since Yuu first appeared, bringing mayhem and all sorts of trouble into Natsumi’s mind and life. It did seem a bit weird to her how fast she quickly adjusted to the new addition, and that her house has suddenly become some sort of boarding home. They also all lent a hand in cleaning up her parents room after a long debate of whether to make it into a guest room or to leave it be. In the end, Natsumi made the final decision, and granted permission to redecorate with a heavy heart. After all, the past has to be washed away either way. That cut off the strings that held her to the past, although she couldn’t refuse herself from reminiscing her childhood memories.
“You guys! Stop!” screamed Natsumi in annoyance. In her hands carried a mop and a bucket of water. “Ugh! Why do you all try to escape when it comes to cleaning?”
“That’s because nobody likes to clean!” Yuu shouted back from the end of the hallway.
“You too?” Natsumi scoffed in disbelief. “What are you talking about? Before, you used to be the maid of the house and scrubbed every corner ’till there’s no speck of dust left! What do you mean “nobody likes to clean”?!”
“Well, no longer!” Yuu laughed, leaping down the stairs, then grabbing hold of the banister and jumped onto the floor below.
“Yuu, hurry!” Himari urged him from the front door with her shoes on, ready to go. “Hurry before she catches you!”
“Himari, I heard that!” groaned Natsumi from the second floor. “You both better come back soon! I’m not cleaning this entire house by myself! Ugh!”
“It’s fine! Sora will be back soon!” Himari assured her, then accompanied by Yuu, they both ran out the house hurriedly with the door slamming behind them. “I think he’ll return soon.”
“Highly unlikely,”
“Haha! That was fun though!” Himari said, stretching her arm above her head. “Well, let’s go over this once again. Our motive for escaping cleaning duty–I mean, for leaving the house today was to fetch a present for Sora; leaving Natsumi to prepare the house for the party.”
“I can’t believe your idiot brother fell for that trick about how your mom was calling for him.” Yuu snorted. “Now he won’t be back very soon. Your mom is going to make him work even though she didn't ask for him.”
“Ha! That’s what I always do to get him out of the house.”
They took a left, and after a while of riding a subway–with Yuu examining every inch in wonder–they arrived at a shopping mall. They looked through the windows of shops filled with many accessories and other products, but shook their heads at it.
“I don’t know what to get him!” Himari groaned, collapsing onto a bench. Yuu handed her an ice cream cone. “It’s not time for sweets, Yuu!”
“But you still took it, though?” Yuu smirked. “What should we do now?”
“I just said I don’t know!” Her head was getting more muddled. “If only Natsumi was here!”
“Regretting dumping her at home to do housework now?”
“Not really,” Himari shrugged, licking her dessert. “Mm! This flavor is really yummy!”
“What does Sora even like?”
“...alone time?”
“That’s not what I meant, and even if we do give him that, his “alone time” will probably only be during his cleaning duty.”
Himari laughed then slowly quieted down. “...this isn’t getting us anywhere.”
***
She squeezed the excess water out of the towel and groaned.
“I can’t believe those two ditched me like that!” Natsumi grumbled, throwing the damp steaming towel onto the counter grudgingly and began to wipe. “Seriously! Those unappreciative no-good so called ‘friends’ of mine! I’m never helping them again!”
After cleaning every corner of the house to the point where it sparkled, she began arranging the table, and hanging up a large banner with the words “CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR 16TH BIRTHDAY SORA!” largely imprinted. A large dark blue table cloth covered the table surface, reaching all the way to the floor. She struggled to flatten the cover out since her arms were only that short and could only reach that far.
Then after setting up all the decorations, she finally took a break feeling a bit dizzy. Exhausted from all that preparation, she took a deep breath and fell onto the couch, motionless.
“So...sleepy….”
“Ruff!” A large white ball of fur came into her blurry vision, and she smiled a bit. Her consciousness faded in and out, and her eyes threatened to close.
“I wish...you were a human. You’re the only one who didn’t leave me, you loyal dog….” She drifted off to sleep.
White fog gradually accumulated on the floor and eddied every step he took. The boy who wore a silk jōe with a bell tied with a red rope as a necklace paired with wooden sandals, stood over her. Three red dots forming the shape of a lotus were imprinted on his forehead, and his snow white hair and his sharp red eyes shining with admiration and care made him look divine. A gold aura was emitting off him, but gradually dimmed over time. The dog was gone, and in his place stood a godly-looking boy.
“I...really wish I could show you in my human form as well, master.” He kneeled down, and placed his forehead on her hand. “I pledge that I’ll do everything for you to my utmost ability.”
“Mmm….” a tired groan escaped from her mouth, making him smile gently.
“I shall...do my best to support you, master.”
***
The incessant routine of going in and out of shops tired both of them out, and they eventually ended up purchasing a shiny silver watch as the gift, and stopped by a bakery to get the cake. As a ‘thank you gift’ for Natsumi’s hard work, they also bought a variety of different cake slices.
“I think that it wasn’t such a bad idea leaving Natsumi at home.” Yuu said as they made a left turn down the street.
“I think that it was a bad idea leaving Natsumi at home.” Himari sighed. “At least we bought something for her, that’s essential if we ever have to face her in a sour mood.”
They arrived at the footsteps of their home, and slowly unlocked the door. He spotted a little white cloud surrounding the surface of the floor that gradually faded, making him doubt his own eyes. Something felt off. He was suddenly filled with trepidation, but his confidence in his power soon consumed the unsettling feeling.
“You give it to her, and explain why we abandoned her under the pretext of going out to complete a secret mission for her or something!” Himari whispered, nudging at Yuu’s elbow and pushing him forward.
“Really? I have to do it?”
“It was you who propounded such an idea of leaving her behind!” She hissed back. “Now deal with the consequences!”
“Huh?” He exclaimed indignantly. “That’s not how it works!”
“Yes it is!”
He was pushed into the living room with a box of cake slices in his hands, dumbfounded. Himari gestured for him to get a move on, and he rolled his eyes in agitation. He looked around, trying to spot an angry figure ready to claw through someone’s throat, only to find Natsumi sleeping on the couch.
“Uhh...she’s sleeping.” Yuu whispered and turned around but only to find Himari gone. “She left me? How rude!”
“Hmm….” beside him, the girl began to stir.
“Morning, sleepyhead.” He plastered a sly grin quickly onto his face and bent down so he’s face to face with her.
A spiteful expression met his playful one. “I can’t believe the first thing I see when I wake is your face. You got some nerve coming back.”
He gulped, sensing danger, he pulled out his backup. “I brought you cake.”
“Oh really? Did you think that would please me?”
“But you’re still taking it either way, aren’t you?” He eyed the box that she took from his hands as she sat up.
“Well I shouldn’t let it go to waste,” she muttered. He smirked triumphantly. “Anyway, I prepared all the stuff needed, you guys did get the present right?”
“Yeah, we got him a watch.” He showed her a white box with a shiny silver watch placed delicately inside on top of a plush.
“Whoa!” she exclaimed. “Good choice! Anyway, where’s Himari?”
“I don’t know,” Yuu shrugged.
Moments later, Himari poked her head into the room expecting a raging fight breaking out only to find the opposite. It was tranquil, and her two friends were occupied with preparing dinner in the kitchen. She cautiously stepped into the kitchen and was immediately spotted by Natsumi who shot a glare in her direction. Slowly mustering up her confidence, she started to lend a hand with Yuu smirking at her everytime she made eye contact with Natsumi and flinching. It didn’t take long for Sora to arrive as well and join them to be surprised with a table filled with food and a welcoming aroma which made his irritated mood dissipate.
“Happy birthday!” The girls shouted while Yuu waved his hands dully.
“Whoa, what is this?” Sora gasped, attracted to the warm meal on the table.
“Uh, we’re over here, remember?” Himari said with sarcasm.
“I know, I was just more allured by the food than your betraying faces.” Sora snapped.
“Still angry?”
“Yeah, mom made me mop the entire floor of both the store and our house. Then she went on to make me carry all kinds of luggage, and I didn’t even get a congratulations for my birthday! I also got surrounded by a crowd of girls and–did you know one of them clung on to me? It was so hard to shake them off! Thanks to you all!!”
The others laughed at his troubles and eventually they settled down and celebrated the joyous occasion. After dinner they all crowded around the couch, and presented their gift.
“What?” Sora said, puzzled. “It’s just one?”
“Hey!” Himari said, displeased. “It was expensive, you know?”
He opened the box to find a watch and he sighed. “...Well, guess that’s all I’m getting this year.”
“We didn’t really know what you wanted.” Natsumi said quickly.
“I made it quite obvious that I wanted a new anime figure to replace my limited edition Monkey D. Luffy one that got broken.” Sora huffed, disappointed in all of them.
She recalled the past few days only to realize that Sora was correct. The many times where he stated conspicuously in front of them of an anime figure repeatedly.
“D-did you?” She laughed awkwardly, scratching her cheek in guilt.
“Well I wasn’t listening to begin with,” Yuu said, nonchalantly, “at least we got you something.”
Sora, who was already attuned to their behavior, tossed on the watch and sighed. “Yeah.”
***
He absolutely disdained this feeling, the thought of being overpowered constantly oscillated in and out his mind.
“No, I’m sure it's just a sneaky fox somewhere.” Yuu muttered to himself. The cold night air blew past him and ruffled his silky black hair which flowed like long threads in the air. He was on top of the roof of a tall building with tiny stars underneath him that glittered. “There’s no way it can be him.”
Just a quick flashback of the overwhelming and immense power he felt that day made him shudder, but grin and tingle in excitement. It was such a thrill that he almost lost his entire existence that time - as well as his purpose and almost eradicated the entire world. Until that tiny whisper made him hold onto that sliver of sanity he barely managed to have.
‘Cassius...stay...in...control…’
He blinked, and shook his head. “What am I thinking? The dead are dead, so why am I thinking back to such an old memory?”
“You dirty scoundrel.” A low growl made Yuu smirk. It was just as he anticipated.
“I’ve been waiting for you, you know?”
A silhouette emerged from the shadows, and the scenery suddenly became blurry and cloudy with a dense fog. It vanished, then reappeared from many locations. Yuu remained unfazed, and stood rooted to his spot.
A sharp claw shot out from the cover of the fog, striking at Yuu who dodged it so casually.
“Feisty, huh?” Yuu said, taking a step back before he gets pierced.
“You bastard!” The shadow made another attempt to maim Yuu, but only to stumble and trip. The fog cleared away, making a tall white-haired man naked to the eye, conspicuous. He clenched his eyes, expecting a blow in the head for all those relentless attacks, but only to find the complete opposite transpiring.
“Get up,” a hand came into his view, offering to help him up. Mortified by such an embarrassing defeat, he slapped the hand away, and quickly straightened himself up. His long white robes with a huge bell that bounced and hit his chest whenever he jumped, made him look like he was from the old era. A red eyeliner highlighted his rose-like ruby eyes which was similar to Yuu’s, but looked much more pure. Furry white ears twitched on top of his head. Even though he was a man who looked to be older than Yuu, he acted like a child.
“Ha! Did you really think that I would fall for your dirty tricks?” His sneer threatened to falter.
Yuu stayed silent. The atmosphere felt tense. The man was cautious, and watched Yuu perceptively, anticipating his next movement. After a moment, Yuu smirked and proceeded to move towards his opponent.
“Y-you! D-don’t come closer!” He growled warily. His reactions didn’t conform with Yuu’s actions.
“Stay still, I’m trying to revamp your appearance. You’ll look way better, and Natsumi for sure will prefer you in that form.”
Poof!
The moment the man let down his guard a little at the mention of Natsumi’s name, Yuu–availing this–swiftly approached him and within a few seconds, a tremendous amount of mist burst forward when Yuu touched him. His hair flew everywhere but he stood still.
Yuu waved his hand, and striked it down towards the ground violently, and a gust of wind was conjured; blowing the mist away only to reveal a small boy wearing a jōe, and a red lotus symbol imprinted on his forehead. His crimson beady eyes shined with confusion and daze, then widened, abashed.
“Y-you–!”
“You look better now, don’t you think so, Koru?”