Shyba—

A strange, yet appetizing smell lingers. I open my eyes, noticing the sunlight pouring through the window. When did I fall asleep?

There is a knock at the door before it slowly opens. I sit up, my wounds aching in protest and wrap the blanket around me, covering my head. In walks the girl, carrying a tray once more. She sees me and smiles.

“I brought your breakfast,” she says, bringing the tray over and setting it across my lap. She then reaches into her pocket, pulling out some yen. “I forgot to give this back to you before. You won’t be able to buy anything, but it’s yours.”

She sets the coins on the desk then notices the medicine still sitting there and her brows arch. “Aren’t you in pain? Why don’t you want to take the medicine?”

I remain silent, looking down at the plate before me. On it is scrambled eggs and sausage. Also, there is a glass of orange juice and some bread covered in a white sauce. It looked like someone barfed over the bread, making a soppy lump of gluten. For a second, I am unsure what to think. Why do they keep bringing me meals like this? Are they trying to restore my strength so they can use me for something? Then again, this is better than what the Domain made me eat before so it is not that bad, I suppose. 

“What is this...?” I struggle to find the word. 

She looks over the plate. “Oh! That’s just gravy on top of the biscuits,” she says. “I didn’t know what you would like to eat so I just made this. If you don’t like it though, you don’t have to eat it. I’ll bring you something you like if you tell me what it is.”

“This is okay,” I tell her.

She is silent for a moment. “Okay. Well, if you need anything let us know. You can come downstairs if you want. Don’t feel like you have to stay cooped up in here.”

Once she leaves, I stare down at the food before me. It does smell really good, and the fact that I feel more rejuvenated after yesterday’s meal proves that they are not poisoning me. But I still remain cautious as I lift the fork to my mouth. As I go to take a bite, I hear children laughing from outside. This family is bigger than I thought.

Then I hear a car engine start before it fades away. Everything after that is relatively silent as I eat. The taste is different, but not bad. Even the barf-bread was surprisingly delicious. Once I finish, I set the tray on the desk.

I slowly stand making sure my legs will not go numb on me. Upon realizing how baggy the pants are on me I tighten the drawstring. Then I go to the door, cracking it open slightly to peer out. It leads to an empty hallway lined with family photos on the walls. I don’t know what I was expecting to find, but I am relieved it appears to be a normal house. I tread lightly on the steps as I go down, my senses hyper aware as I listen with each step I take.

Once I reach the bottom, I find myself in a rather large room. There is a couch, a big TV and a couple different chairs along with a computer desk. There is also a fireplace with a brick mantle. How western. To the right of me is a kitchen with a table that has six chairs. Six occupants in this house. I go over into the living room where I notice on the mantle several photographs displayed in everything from elegant hand-carved wood to popsicle stick frames. Looking over them I recognize Reba, Kiara and Jeremiah. There are also two young girls, twins, with red-brown hair.

In a few of the photographs there is also a young man with blonde hair and glasses. He must be the sixth occupant. Then I notice a picture of all of them, plus an unfamiliar man. Seven occupants? He is older with slight creases in his forehead and a mustache. I notice how gentle his blue eyes are, reminding me of Kiara’s. Upon further evaluation, most of the photos this man appears in are when Kiara and Jeremiah were younger. I also notice that after he stops appearing, everyone’s smiles are a little dimmer, especially Kiara. From then on, her smiles appear forced. From what I can tell, he has been gone for a few years.

I make my way into the kitchen, locating the knife stand near the gaslit stove, and a meat tenderizer in the dish rack if necessary. But honestly, I could choke someone out with the kitchen towel if I had to. After evaluating my surroundings, I notice the side door is open and I can hear a faint voice from outside. I silently step out onto the porch, my hands instinctively curling up into fists. As I look out, I can see this house is surrounded by trees and no other civilization in sight. Do they live out here by themselves?

Then I notice Kiara at the end of the porch holding a watering can over the planters attached to the rails. “There you go, little guy. You were thirsty, weren’t you? You’re looking so good today,” she says as she waters the flowers.

It takes me a moment to realize she is talking to the plants. What a strange person. Her voice is rather soothing though, so I continue to watch silently, not noticing as my hands relax.

“You’re all working so hard,” she chimes. “Good job, everyone.”

The watering can runs empty, and she turns. Upon seeing me she drops it, and her eyes widen, her cheeks turning red.

“P-please don’t laugh,” she squeaks out, her fists balled up in front of her.

I am stunned, unsure what to say.

“M-my dad said it helps them grow t-to talk nice to them!” she exclaims. “S-so please don’t laugh!”

“I not want to laugh,” I tell her.

She stares at me for a moment before inhaling deeply and picking up the watering can. She comes over to me. “Sorry, I, uh… People have found my ways pretty strange before, heh… Anyway, was breakfast good?” she asks. I nod once and she smiles. “Great. Would you like me to show you around then?”

If she shows me around, I can investigate the area more and have a layout in case. I nod once. “Nn.”

“Great! Come on,” she says and waves me to follow her.

I silently follow her around the house as she tells me what lies beyond each door. Now that I have a layout of the house, I feel a bit calmer. It seems fairly normal. She leads me back to the living room and takes some sandals from a shoe stand by the door.

“Here, you can wear these while we go outside,” she says, setting them in front of me. “They’re Jeremiah’s so they’re probably a bit big, but they should be okay for now at least.”

Once I slip them on, I follow her outside. The front door leads out to a rather large porch with a couple of chairs, including a chair swing on one end.

She takes me around the side of the house to a fenced area where different kinds of plants are growing in rows and in planters. “This is our garden. We grow a lot of our own vegetables and stuff. I even have some apricot trees over there,” she says and points to a few trees standing several meters away from the garden. It has been a while since I have seen so much green.

Then she leads me around the back of the house where I can see another building about half a kilometer away. It has big open doors and an area next to it fenced in. Suddenly, I hear barking followed by pawsteps rushing at me. I quickly turn, fists ready, only to see a black and white husky wagging its tail. It stares at me with a ball in its mouth before dropping it at my feet. 

Jeremiah runs up to us from the other building. “Oh, looks like Hunter wants to welcome you,” he says and chuckles.

I stare at the ball, before looking up at them, then back to the dog. Dogs really do this? I have only seen this on TV. Why me though? Surely he would want someone he trusts to throw this for him, right?

The dog gets impatient, nudging the ball toward me. I suppose I could indulge him if he really wants me to be the one to throw it. As I reach down he gets excited, wagging his tail, ready to run as he taps his paws against the ground. I examine the area, plotting out the best path. Then I let the ball fly and he takes off after it, kicking up dust.

“Nice throw!” Kiara says, shielding her eyes from the sun as she watches it go through the air. “Dang, that went farther than I thought it would. You have quite an arm!”

Jeremiah nods. “Great! Now you’ve been initiated and Hunter approved!” he says laughing, giving a thumbs up. “So you know, he’s gonna want you to throw it pretty much anytime you come out.”

Kiara turns to me. “Anyway, would you like to see the barn?”

“I want to wash,” I say, able to feel the dust on my body. I’m also just realizing that I have not had a bath in days.

“Oh, right. Of course. Jeremiah?” she says, turning to him.

He waves me on. “Follow me.”

After handing me a new set of clothes, Jeremiah gives me a brief tutorial on how to use their shower.

“You can use whatever we have here,” he says. “Oh, and make sure you dry off really good around your stitches. Don’t want that to get infected.” I nod. He nods in return. “Okay, then.” And he leaves. As I go to lock the door, I catch my reflection in the mirror. Quickly, I turn away and undress. Then I remove the bandages, examining the stitches.

I observe the wounds across my body, but they seem to be healing up well. Though I’ve had comparable injuries in the past, how can I not remember where these came from? The more I think about it the more my head begins to hurt.

Once I finish showering and making sure the stitches are dry, I return to the room and close the door to think. I lie down and stare out the window, watching the clouds float by. Everything is so tranquil here. I still cannot wrap my head around it. But the more I feel at peace, the more my guard strengthens. This is all too good to be true. This family’s hospitality must be a facade to hide their true intentions and I am not the safest guest to have anyway. I have to return… but maybe… after a quick nap… 

Tokyo, Japan—

As the rain drizzles against the dark pavement, it creates a mirror-like surface reflecting the neon lights above. A man in a coat opens his umbrella, leaving the train station, only stopping to puff a cigarette. He makes his way through the streets until coming upon a gate with a name placard reading “Bando”. After buzzing the doorbell, two armed men in suits escort him in. They make their way through the estate until stopping at a door with two more armed guards. The man steps into the doorway, and removes his shoes, looking up to where a man in a kimono waits at a table.

“You’re late, Nori-san,” Bando sneers.

“I had to make sure I was not being followed,” Nori says, settling down across the table from Bando.

A woman dressed in an elaborate kimono emerges from the hallway to serve them tea before concealing herself behind the shoji screen again.

Nori picks up his cup and looks over to the scowling man. “You seem upset. Did something happen?”

Bando grunts, taking hold of his teacup. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Nori asks, a brow rising.

“No one came back,” he grumbles. “My plane and my men are missing! Not to mention Red Dragon! The last coordinates we have of them is over the Pacific, off the coast of California.”

“The United States? They were supposed to be going to Brazil!” Nori says. “They didn’t make it to Hawaii for fuel like planned?”

Bando shuts his eyes, shaking his head. “Once their path diverted, they cut off contact. After that, their location suddenly went offline. Haven’t heard anything since. Thought maybe Red Dragon woke up and took over or something.”

Nori is silent for a moment, staring down into his teacup. “Red Dragon doesn’t know how to operate a plane, so that would not be likely. And I gave you enough tranquilizer to last a couple days, so he should not have woken up provided they used it as I instructed.”

The room goes silent as they sip at their tea and Nori lets out a sigh as he lowers his cup.

“Master is convinced he is still alive and has people searching all over Japan. I don’t know how long it will take before she realizes he isn’t here,” he says. “I’m just surprised he hasn’t returned yet since that is the case.”

“What makes her so sure he’s alive?” Bando grunts.

Nori takes a sip of his tea. “Let’s just say… she put a spell on him, and it is still active.”

Bando’s boisterous laugh fills the room. “Oh, so we have a ‘dragon’ under a spell! Is this a kid’s fairy tale? If that’s the case, why can’t she find him?”

“She can’t find his location. She just knows the spell isn’t broken, so he is alive.”

“Okay, whatever you say,” he says and sets his empty cup down. “Now, about payment.”

“You did not complete the job I requested, and I even gave you resources and an opening to do so,” Nori states, nonchalantly taking his last sip.

Bando grimaces. “Well, I am missing a handful of my best men and a plane trying to do your dirty work for you!”

“It is not my fault your men deviated from the plan.”

As Bando sets his fist on the table, he clenches it. Then four men surround Nori with their guns fixed on him. With a sigh, Nori sets his cup down.

“Thank you for the tea. It was good.” In a matter of seconds, the armed men are all crumpled on the floor, as Nori stands behind them. “Not great, but good.”

Bando stares at the unconscious men before him, breathless.

Nori puts his shoes back on and retrieves his umbrella. “Did I not mention I helped train Red Dragon?” he asks, brushing off his sleeve. “Anyway, if you hear anything at all, I trust you will get in contact with me. Yes?”

Bando quickly nods. “Y-yes.”

With a gesture of farewell, Nori departs. The rain that was at first a drizzle is now gushing from the heavens, thick as a curtain. Before Nori even reaches the gate, he disappears.