"How about thirty-seven multiplied by thirteen?"
Back in the village of Buraun, sitting at a desk, a pencil in his hand poised over a thin sheet of paper, Toshiro's mind spun at the question handed to him. In a matter of seconds, the small child's eyes lit up.
"Four-hundred-eighty-one!" Toshiro answered, marking down the triple-digit number on the paper.
Currently, Toshiro has been given academic lessons to structure his mind to its highest potential; Lieutenant Kou has always felt that the brown-haired child clung to particular facts quite well and that his mind was voracious in understanding meaningful topics.
Off to the side, a new voice pitched in: "You're making my brain melt!"
It was Sona, another one of the young siblings. She was clenching her hair tightly, glowering at the equations below her. In seconds—*SNAP!*—her wooden pencil snapped like a twig in her fingers, leaving her feeling rage beyond belief.
Kou sighed and said, "Now, Sona, if you don't learn at least the basics, you won't be able to be able to represent women warriors. Do you still want to do that?"
"...Yes." The little girl replied, clipped.
Life had been getting gradually better for the two siblings; the life they once lived was no more, and they could finally socialize with other kids their age. Unfortunately, neither of them had been as cooperative as Kou would have hoped.
However, this change of lifestyle was not able to make the two siblings forget about what had happened not so long ago—the abduction of their brother, Mizuki. To this day, they wonder where he could be and if he is even still alive.
Kou typically scolded them for thinking such things, and that Mizuki would return better than the day he was gone.
Then, there was a knock at the door.
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!*
With the three sharp knocks, Kou slowly ambled toward the entrance of the home and wrapped her hand around the door knob, twisting it until the door inevitably clicked and swung open.
"Good evening, Kou."
The chief, Haishi, was standing tall on the other side of the door, his expression retaining its usual staidness. His so-called manly ponytail, as Kou liked to jab, swayed in the bitter wind.
Kou smiled. "Good evening to you, Haishi!"
The commander peered over Kou's shoulder, spying on the two kids further inside the home. His countenance softened. "How are they doing?"
"...Not abnormal, I guess?" Kou struggled, her smile portraying nervousness.
With a huff, Haishi accepted the Lieutenant's answer. "Good."
With an awkward silence filling the air, Kou slid to the side and gestured for the commander to enter the home. "Want to see them?"
Haishi hesitated. "I—!"
"Who's at the door!?" Sona inquired loudly, hopping behind Kou. "Oh, you."
Haishi narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Don't mind her, Haishi; childish antics is all." Kou claimed abruptly, waving her hands.
"And what is that supposed to mean!?" Sona hollered, shifting her gaze to Kou.
Every time they convene, it somehow spirals out of control, similar to this. But it was not considered a bad thing—it felt comforting to know that people like Haishi and Kou weren't forcing themselves to take care of Sona and Toshiro. Haishi gave Sona the bickering she wanted and gave Toshiro the wisdom he yearned for.
Haishi appreciated the two siblings, but he only wished for one more thing: Mizuki's presence. The child had been missing for far too long, and his Signal Branch had not yet discovered his whereabouts—Kaminari Nozomu would not let his boy, Tanjo Nozomu, down either.
"I'm sorry," Kou suddenly whispered to the commander, breaking the man out from his melancholy stupor. "I know how much you want things to be right."
Haishi closed his eyes. "Then we just keep trying."
Kou merely smiled, turning her head to observe the two siblings on the other side of the room, resuming their academic studies. A thought then made the lieutenant perk up.
"Is the Council of Buraun still pestering you, by the way?" Kou asked, craning her head to the side.
Haishi took a moment to respond. "They're torn on how to save the village. The invasion and the reconstruction afterwards only limited our supplies even more. They believed having a king would allow Buraun to prioritize more self-sufficient protocols, but I'm not sure what they're doing now. I have already declined the role of a king."
"What about the students at Buraunmajikku?"
The commander's expression hardened. "Principal Manabu informed me that the classes are being forced to go on more expeditions, especially the first-year students, to hasten their learning."
"Well," Kou dwelled. "It could only go two ways…"
Haishi did not respond.
Suddenly, the two adults could sense a presence outside the home. Kou glanced toward the front door, curious as to who could be waiting outside, but Haishi was different.
'Hold on…' Haishi contemplated for a brief moment, his body still. '...I know this Aura Sense.'
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!*
Rapidly, three heavy knocks bounced off the door, alerting the two siblings as well. With Haishi and Kou motionless, Sona grunted and ran to the door, jumping up to open the door.
"Hello, why are you interrupting my—!"
In less than a second, Sona lost her breath, her eyes widening. This prompted Toshiro to walk up behind his sister and spot the same thing, his reaction identical to Sona's.
Their adolescent minds were struggling to think properly, unable to move.
"Sona, Toshiro?" Kou called out to the siblings cautiously, appearing behind the two of them. She then gasped.
"H-hello?"
It was Mizuki, standing anxiously outside. He felt a surge of happiness upon seeing his brother and sister, but felt fear when Kou stepped into his line of sight. It also did not help when Haishi finally forced himself into view as well.
"A-am I not s-supposed to be here—!" Mizuki stuttered, only to be crushed by both of his siblings in a relieving hug.
Mizuki nearly fell to the ground from the force of the hug, but responded with the same amount of energy, wrapping his arms around Sona and Toshiro with tears spilling from his eyes.
"I'm… back." Mizuki said weakly, smiling.
Without warning, Haishi darted out of the house, running off into the village. Kou had a vague idea as to why, but her mind was still stuck on Mizuki. The lieutenant dragged her vision back down to the siblings, including Mizuki, with glee.
"How did you get back…?"
XXX
Haishi rushed through the village, using the rooftops as a safe way to traverse quickly and efficiently without running into the heavily populated crowd below. After a minute, a group of warriors appeared, halting the commander.
"Chief!" One of the warriors called out, "We have news!"
Haishi stared at the warrior intently. "Please tell me it's about what I think it is."
The commander could instantly deduce that the warriors before him were a part of the Signal Branch, the people responsible for scouting and currently tasked with finding Mizuki and Tanjo. Haishi knew where Mizuki was, but not Tanjo—not yet, at least.
"We found Tanjo Nozomu positioned East of Buraun, seemingly alone. All we could gather was his Aura Sense, but he is still nearby." The warrior from the Signal Branch exclaimed.
Haishi was immediately struck with a thought.
"Find Kaminari Nozomu, now."
XXXX
Standing outside the village, perched on a tree that was tall enough to allow an outside view, Tanjo and Asami watched as Mizuki was accepted by his siblings the moment he knocked on the door. It was nerve-racking for Tanjo to drop Mizuki off without being spotted, but he managed to do so. Asami was watching over him, too, ensuring that nothing went wrong.
The teenager left his mask covering his face, but had his cloak's hood draped over his face, hiding any exposed features that could potentially have his identity revealed.
Asami softly smiled, pleased that the child was safe and that Tanjo could finally move on. It was an interesting turn of events for her—taking on Tanjo as an apprentice, meeting someone from ages ago, and saving a kid she never knew.
"How do you feel?" Asami turned to Tanjo, arching a brow.
Tanjo inhaled, "I feel good."
"Savor that, Tanjo. If you continue trying to change lives, you would feel that a lot more often, but you also run the risk of feeling a lot worse." Asami explained, her words reaching the masked boy.
"I understand."
Asami then stood up on the branch they were perched on. "Let's go. I can keep my Aura Sense masked for as long as I want, but I'm a tad nervous about you."
"Good Idea." Tanjo agreed, balancing himself on his feet.
Before lunging away, Tanjo looked at Mizuki, who was still being hugged by his siblings.
'Goodbye, Mizuki—stay safe.'
XXX
Well, this concludes Volume Four. This finale is much shorter than every other final chapter, but this Volume's ending was spread out much more. But, with Tanjo finally saving Mizuki, I can go on my short hiatus. I loved this volume as it revealed Tanjo as a character much more, and introduced several new paths to the story. This was the turning point—and there's no going back. Get ready for the rest of the story, as it won't be slowing down anytime soon. Goodbye and stay tuned for more!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_