Side Story: Alex first voyage to Azurath

Ten-year-old Sakamo Ryu was in his father’s room in the Shrine in Nakanojo. He frowned at his reflection, and his father, Sakamo Yahei, asked with a smile, “What’s the matter, Ryu? You don’t like your new clothes? Those are the most inconspicuous ones that I could find the last time I was in Azurath. You will blend in just fine, don’t worry. Perhaps it would be a good idea if you loosened your braid. It will help you get into character. There are plenty of men with long hair in Azurath, but braids aren’t very common. Those are left to the women, and a boy walking around with a long braid will definitely make you stand out a little too much.”

Sakamo Ryu asked while fixing his hair. “Like if I would not stand out enough as it is, being introduced as the Hero’s son that lived in a faraway country for my protection, right? At least it will explain why I am so inexperienced with Magic.”

“The ones that we are going to meet first know about you and Earth. To everyone else, you can’t say a thing beyond what we already talked about. As for Magic, your meditation training will help you, don’t worry. I was a little apprehensive on my first try, but then I noticed that meditating for so many years granted me a tremendous advantage.”

Sakamo Ryu nodded while tying his long hair into a high ponytail. “Yeah, I need to clear my mind of any thoughts and think about what I want to do or create. I can mumble a few words to help me concentrate, but it’s not really necessary. Everyone in Azurath knows a few sentences they need to say to use Spells, but the visualisation of what I want to do is what actually works. That’s what you told me.”

Sakamo Yahei nodded while grabbing the pendant that he had on his neck, hidden underneath his clothes. “It’s better if you don’t tell that to anyone, as well. Magic users need to learn and train steadily, and sudden knowledge like that could turn things to the worst. So, let’s get going, shall we? I wonder what Shinatobe will think of you.”

While his father was pulling the door of his closet after saying the command words, Alex looked at the light inside and asked, “Is she going to be on the other side?”

“Yes, together with Earl Kayden Burke. You will like him for sure; he is friendly. Call him Grandpa. I want to see the look on his face.”

Yahei gently pushed Ryu to the closet, and when he closed the door behind them, a new one appeared at their front. Yahei opened it, and Ryu saw a smiling old man standing next to a little girl of maybe eight years old, dressed in a long white dress and with long blonde hair and green eyes.

When Yahei closed the door, Earl Kayden hugged him. “Welcome back, my friend. I see you really brought your son. He has a nice brightness in his eyes! Hello, Alex Brim, I am Earl Kayden Burke. I am pleased to meet you!”

“Hello, grandpa. Thanks for receiving me.”

Earl Kayden tilted his head, and he then faced the muffling laughter of Yahei. “This was your doing, right? Stupid fool... Well, I suppose there is no harm in calling me grandpa, Alex. At least when we are alone, because if someone else heard you calling me that, it would be a pain to explain!”

Alex answered while looking at the serious little girl, “It’s probably better if I call you Earl Kayden, sir. And this little girl is Shinatobe, right? She is so cute!”

Shinatobe frowned. “Go call little to your mother, will you?”

Alex approached her and said, while gently poking her right cheek, “I would if she wasn’t dead for so many years. Thanks for reminding me I don’t have a mother, you brat!”

Shinatobe turned pale. “I... I am sorry, I didn’t know... Yahei didn’t tell me...”

To Alex’s surprise, Shinatobe gave him a tight hug and whispered, “I am really sorry for you. I haven’t seen my mother for several centuries now, but at least I know she is still around, somewhere.”

Alex returned the hug and made a puzzled face. “Centuries? How old are you, anyway?”

“That’s not nice to ask the age of a lady!”

“What lady? You are what, six or seven years old? I am older than you, so I can ask.”

Shinatobe smiled and poked Alex’s chest. “You are in for a couple of surprises. I wonder what kind of funny face you are going to make.”

She then faced Yahei and asked while pointing with her right thumb at Alex. “You didn’t prepare him well, Yahei. At least he knows what he is supposed to do?”

“Yes, that he knows. As for the rest, I tried to explain everything the best I could, but some things would be better if he saw them with his own eyes. Let’s end our contract so that you can make a new one with him.”

Alex stared at them, and Yahei kneeled in front of Shinatobe, to be at her height. Shinatobe held both of Yahei’s hands, and they touched their foreheads. She then spoke in a low voice, “I, the Spirit of the Wind Shinatobe, hereby end my contract with you, Yahei Brim.”

“I, Yahei Brim, accept the end of the contract. Thanks for everything, Shinatobe.”

The light of Shinatobe’s Magic enveloped them, and when it dissipated, Yahei smiled at Alex. Shinatobe signalled to Alex to go to her, and he crossed his arms with a frown. “I am not your pet for you to order me around! You come here, it’s the same distance between you and me! Learn how to respect your elders, you brat!”

Shinatobe raised one eyebrow and faced the awkwardly smiling Yahei. “He is a feisty one, isn’t he? I may need to slap his butt a few times for him to learn some manners!”

Alex kept on frowning and answered, “You try that, and I will make sure you won’t be able to sit properly for a week! Annoying little brat, you are cute but extremely rude!”

Shinatobe smiled and winked at Yahei. “I like him, Yahei! He is not a boring peace lover like you! We will be the greatest of friends, I bet! Okay, we walk to each other and meet halfway. How does that sound to you, Alex?”

“I am not in the mood. You annoyed me, so you come here and apologise.”

Shinatobe approached Alex and looked up with a big smile. Alex couldn’t even see her hand move; it was only the pain in his stomach that made him go down, just in time to get a punch in the head that made him see stars.

Shinatobe pulled his nose and said, with a scary smile, “You are funny, little Human, but don’t push your luck. I am not someone that you want to mess with. You know the words for the contract, right? Let me show you who I am...”

She then forcefully grabbed Alex’s hands and touched her forehead with his while saying, “I am the Spirit of the Wind Shinatobe, daughter of Izanagi and Izanami. I accept you as my partner. Do you accept me?”

“Ouch... You rude brat, I am going to get you for this... I am Alex Brim in Azurath and Sakamo Ryu on Earth, son of Narasaki Sachi and Narasaki Toru, and the adoptive son of Yahei Brim. I accept you as my partner, Shinatobe, daughter of Izanagi and Izanami.”

Shinatobe’s Magic enveloped them, and a continuous flow of memories filled his mind, the memories of Shinatobe over her millennial life. Alex couldn’t grasp all the memories, but he could feel her feelings. Sadness, responsibility for everyone living in Azurath, and hope. As for Shinatobe, she was seeing Alex’s memories, and she cried because of what happened to Sakamo Ryu during his infancy.

When the Magic dispersed, Shinatobe kissed him on the lips and said, “We are one. I am sorry for what happened to you before entering the Shrine. Now I understand your rage and anger. You are a mix of emotions, Alex. You are capable of extreme hate and violence, but also of kindness and understanding. I hope I can help you put your emotions at ease, and perhaps with your help, my job will become easier.”

Alex spoke with a trembling voice, “T-thanks, Shinatobe... You are old, really, really old... I saw so many things... I saw beauty, sadness, happiness, and anger; everything at the same time, but also centuries apart. I don’t fully understand how this is possible, but I feel like I have known you forever and I have been looking for you everywhere. Now that I found you... I feel... calmer than I ever was...”

Shinatobe caressed Alex’s right cheek with a gentle smile. “You are a gentle soul, Alex, and I am sure we will get along just fine. You did a good job with this one, Yahei! For an annoying pacifist like you, you have got yourself a funny son! He will be an excellent partner for me, and we will have a lot of fun!”

Yahei made a slight frown. “Be careful with that fun, Shinatobe. Don’t ruin his good character with your craziness!”

“I can’t promise you anything! What do you say, Alex? Shall we go to the backyard for you to try my Wind Magic? We may need to start a little at a time, but if you work hard, you will be extremely powerful!”

Shinatobe opened the door of the Earl’s room and pulled Alex along with her. Yahei and Earl Kayden followed them, with Yahei slowly shaking his head. “She will ruin my son, won’t she? I am having a lot of trouble getting him to learn how to keep his anger and resentment under control, and she will probably make him lose control.”

“Don’t worry so much, Yahei. Losing control could probably be what he needs right now. Besides, with Shinatobe near him, he won’t do any harm, you know her.”

Yahei bit his lower lip. “Yes, normally she is the one doing all the harm... I hope he won’t have too many difficulties using her Magic. Let’s see what happens.”

Ahead of them, Alex was looking at the maids that were crossing his path with his mouth wide open. Everywhere he looked, there was a Beast-kind servant or a maid. At first sight, they all looked Human, and what distinguished them from him were the ears and the tails. Cat ears and tails, dog ears and tails, and even an older man had those resembling more of a lion than a cat.
Then, from a side corridor, the manor’s cook appeared. A big-breasted woman with an enormous smile and a bifurcated tongue licking her lips. Alex looked below, and he stopped walking, amazed by the colour of the scales of the big Lamia cook. Shinatobe was pulled back by the sudden stop and frowned.

Alex approached the cook and said, with his eyes glowing, “A Lamia... a real Lamia... so, so beautiful...”

“Thankss, you are not sso bad yoursself, little one. Who are you?”

“I... I am Alex Brim, Madam... I am sorry for staring, but I never saw a Lamia so close... your scales are amazingly beautiful and your tail seems strong enough to break rocks!”

The woman smiled, and Alex saw her sharp fangs and the bifurcated tongue going in and out of her mouth. She looked at Earl Kayden and Yahei as they got near them and said, “Thiss iss your sson, Earl Yahei? He iss sso cute I could eat him!”

“Don’t say that; he will be afraid of you!”

The woman faced Alex and said, “Oh, I don’t know about that. I am almosst ssure he wouldn’t be afraid of me even if I tried! If you want a treat, come to the kitchen, Alex. I bet I can prepare a nice desssert jusst for you!”

“Thanks, Madam, you are far too kind! If you excuse me, I must go to the backyard to test Shinatobe’s Magic!”

Alex made a slight bow and followed Shinatobe, who was annoyed by the delay. Yahei made a slight smile while looking at the two children happily running along the corridor, and the Lamia woman said, “He iss funny and for ssomeone that iss not ussed to Lamiass, he had a nice reaction. Where were you hiding him, Earl Yahei? You could have brought him here yearss ago!”

“I could have done that if things were peaceful. Now that they are, he will be around more often. Try not to fatten him up, or I will have to change his training for him to burn all the cakes you are going to give him!”

The smiling Lamia woman waved at him while going back to the kitchen. “I can’t promisse you that! Children are meant to be sspoiled, and I like the glow in hiss eyess! It’ss probably better if you run after them, Earl Yahei, because Viscount Tom Wesst wass alsso in the backyard momentss ago, and I bet he will try to sscare your little guy!”

Hearing that, Yahei gulped. Viscount Tom West was a good friend, but he was also known for going a little overboard easily, and someone so easily impressed by the wonders all over Azurath like Alex, would be a feast for him. Yahei ran with Earl Kayden, slowly shaking his head.
By the time that Yahei found Alex, he was already near Viscount Tom West, a tall and muscular Rabbit-kind with big white ears and a fluffy white tail. Or better yet, Alex was kicking the Viscount’s stomach while holding a bloody dagger, with the Viscount curled on the floor in pain and without the tip of one of his ears.

Yahei grabbed Alex’s arms to stop him and asked, “What happened? Why are you kicking him, Alex?”

“This stupid overgrown rabbit slapped me just because I didn’t see him and bumped against him! I apologised immediately, but he still slapped me! Let me go! I am going to slice and roast him on a stick! Let me go already! I want to eat rabbit meat!”

Yahei kept on restraining Alex, and the Viscount slowly got up while holding his stomach. He quickly used Healing Magic on his ear to stop the bleeding, and he then looked around, searching for the tip.

Alex had it in his closed hand and shouted, “There’s no point searching for it. I am going to keep your ear like a good luck charm, you stupid rabbit!”

Yahei shook Alex and said, “Calm down, will you? I want to introduce you to your Magic Teacher, Viscount Tom West, one of the most powerful Water Mages out there! He will be a better Teacher than I would be because he won’t stop for anything until you learn. It’s probably not a good idea to make him your enemy, because he usually tortures anyone that annoys him!”

Alex frowned at the weirdly smiling Rabbit-kind that was now rubbing his chin and threatened him, “Keep on smiling, rabbit, it will be my pleasure to make you swallow that stupid smile of yours!”

Shinatobe muffled laughter. “Pfft!... This little guy is so funny, Yahei! I like him. I really, really like him!”

And thus began the long and agonising training at the hands of a terrifying and vengeful Rabbit-kind man.