Hikari sank into her chair as she sat across from her Uncle as well as a number of prominent teachers and figures who had been judging the competition. Kyuen and Gado were also in attendance, and in the back of the room Hikari could see Okun's shaded figure tucked away carefully behind one of the many bookshelves in Hiro's office. Even with Sumiko telling her that she expected Harrow to survive, the weight of her shame pressed down on her like an unbearable weight. Her hands were in a cold sweat as she awaited to hear what kind of consequences she might have incurred.
"Mmph" Hiro cleared his throat as he sat up a bit and began to speak. "Hikari… As Headmaster I cannot overlook today's events during the final match of the Placement Exams… While there are not many combat rules during the exams… Using deadly force is certainly prohibited… And due to the fact that Harrow may or may not survive-""But Sumiko said she should!" Hikari burst out saying, her face once again carrying a look of horrified anguish. Hiro let out a bit of a sigh, he was having difficulty seeing Hikari in such a state after she had worked so hard. "Sumiko… was being optimistic…" He said with pain in his voice. "Yes… there is a chance Harrow could survive… but her chances aren't looking good…" he added solemnly as he clasped his hands on top of the desk.
Hikari's breathing picked up its pace as her hands began to feel numb. The whispers of the teachers and officials behind Hiro began to blend together as she broke out in a cold sweat and felt as though she was getting smaller in her chair by the second. Her chest tightened and her breathing got even more rapid as her vision started to blur. Her mind raced with the possibility that she had taken a life and what that would mean as she inched closer towards blacking. "Hey, hey… Breathe…" Hikari hard coming from either side of her as she felt both Kyuen and Gado both place their hands on her shoulders.
"It's going to be okay," Gado said to her, his voice seeming to help calm her down a bit as she looked at him and started to slow her breathing. "Just listen to what Hiro has to say and we can go from there," he added as he grabbed her and gave it a squeeze. Kyuen watched as Gado seemed to know what to say, although she had rushed to Hikari's side just as quickly, she seemed to be at a loss for words and wasn't sure what to say. "Hikari… It doesn't please me to say this but… Whether or not you're allowed to pass the exams does hang on Harrow's survival… and if she does survive, we've already decided that it would be best to cancel the graduation ceremonies in light of the outcome…" Hiro said to her. "I'm sorry that your placement exams turned out like this-" "My placement exams??" Hikari interjected once again, this time her eyes filling with tears as she tried to speak.
"You think I'm worried about graduating right now?? I almost killed her! And I barely even remember what happened!" Hikari cried as she buried her hands in her face and began to sob. Kyuen looked down at her niece wishing she had the words to change how she felt. "That's something else we also need to discuss…" Hiro said as he glanced at Gado and Kyuen. "Hikari… There's something that can occasionally occur with a Gensogan user, known as a Second Affinity," Hiro said to her with a grave expression. "It's rare but… much like the way a Gensogan user has an intrinsic knowledge of their base affinity when they open their eyes, a Gensogan user can at times experience a similar phenomenon with a secondary element, like you did today," He added.
Hikari picked up her head and looked around the room in confusion with tearful eyes. "A Secondary Affinity?? What are you talking about??" She asked them all. It was something that was never taught about formally due to its true rarity but there were in fact a handful of Sentoki throughout history that were able to wield a secondary element long before they should have been able to, and this was known as a Second Affinity. Gado looked at Hiro with concern before looking back down at his daughter. Now more so than before Hiro's comment about knowing his old world history was pressed into his mind.
"Did you see how badly she was burned?? I lost control and almost killed her with my flames!" Hikari protested, still confused as to what had actually occurred. "Hikari…" Kyuen's voice had finally spoken up, its cadence almost trembling. "It wasn't your flames that did that to Harrow…" She said to her niece as the whole room waited for her to explain. "You did that with lightning…" Kyuen whispered, her face filled with a look of guilt that Hikari had never seen from her aunt. Hikai's eyes shot open as she heard Kyuen's words, her breath catching in her lungs and choking her a bit from the surprise.
"What?? That's ridiculous!" Hikari said with a flushed face as she turned her head back and forth looking at all of them. "I would remember if-" before Hikari could finish her sentence, Hiro had pulled a small Ki crystal from his sleeve that began projecting the last captured moments of her battle. Hikari watched the image of herself, gasping a bit at the sight of her own lifeless looking face. "Watch closely…" Hiro said as the crystal continued to play. As the scene unfolded, Hikari's hands flew up to cover her mouth in shock. "I won't play the whole thing but…" Hiro said as she stopped the recording just before Hikari's final blow. There was no mistaking it, Hikari could see plain as day, the sparking shard of white lightning that she had weld during the fight.
"I… I don't understand…" Hikari said timidly as she looked down at her palms, the sight of them covered in Harrow's blood was still fresh in her mind. She was still breathing heavily, her vision was still blurry, everything around her including Kyuen's words felt surreal. Hikari was split between the revelation and her guilt. "A secondary affinity… How?" She said to herself before the emotions became all too overwhelming once again and she broke down in tears.
Back at the area, the citizens had been cleared out and ushered into the streets after the traumatizing events of the afternoon. People still gathered to drink and eat, filling the streets as the afternoon rolled into evening, but the atmosphere was quieter than it had been in years before. Taiyo and Eiji walked through the streets of Do'kobu city, every once and a while taking notice of the finger or the glaring eyes that were pointed in their direction. Presumably by someone who knew their connection to Hikari.
"What do you think is gonna happen?" Eiji asked his brother. "I… I really don't know… That was all kind of insane," Taiyo replied as he kicked a small rock down the street. "Did… did you know she could use lightning like that?" Eiji asked again. "I don't think she knew she could do that… otherwise she would have told the whole family, right??" Taiyo said in response. "Yeah you're probably right… Do you think she's gonna be okay?" Eiji said. "Who? Hikari or that other girl?" Taiyo responded. "Both, I guess…" Eiji replied somberly. "I don't know about that other girl… But as for Hikari… We'll take care of her as a family," Taiyo replied with a soft smile as he looked at Eiji and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Yeah…" Was all Eiji could say, for the first time since his own ordeals, he was immensely worried about somebody else.
"Is that them??" Taiyo said suddenly as he pointed down the road through the crowd. After catching a glimpse of Gado & Hiro's faces above the people that crowded the street, the two boys took off running towards the rest of their family. "There you guys are!" Eiji said as he and Taiyo joined up with Gado, Hiro, Kyuen and Hikari, who seemed to be making their way back to the house. "What's going on?? Is everything okay? Hikari, are you okay??" Taiyo said in a ramble as he looked at her. Before she could respond, Gado seemed to step in between his son and his daughter a bit. "Give her some space… There's a lot happening… she's still kind of in shock," Gado said softly as Hikari's stare remained on the ground at her feet. "We should just get home," Hiro said as he looked around at the crowd and could feel the stirring animosity as people began to take notice of Hikari. There was no chance of anything serious happening, anybody in their right mind knew better than to cause a scene regarding the Headmaster's niece while he was present, But Hiro certainly didn't want to prolong the situation.
Hikari stood amongst her family distraught, she could hear their voices, but their words all seemed to pass through her mind absently. The chill of the evening seemed to grip her tighter than usual and her body felt heavy with shame as she felt the pressure of the stares and muttered curses she knew were coming from the people around them in the streets. In Kamikochi, there were few taboo's that would garner any kind of public shame, but if there was one, then it would certainly be killing another Sentoki, even if accidentally.
Hikari picked her head up a bit as she began to feel light drops of rain coming down, the family around her beginning to make their way back to the house once again. As she started to move, something caught her attention and she noticed one of the crudely crafted wigs that were being sold before the tournament had been tossed into the street and stomped on. It was then that she had noticed the other ones that littered the streets as well as the banners and signs with her name that had been stuffed into trash receptacles or torn to pieces. Another wave of guilt and shame washed over her as she thought of all the people who had come to watch and support her and how she had let them down. Again her eyes filled with tears as she walked silently through the red stone streets of the city and back home.
After arriving back at the house, there was little conversation to be had amongst the family. Once they had made it clear of the city, Hiro had filled Taiyo and Eiji on the situation, meanwhile it was clear that Hikari was in no state to be discussing things or sharing how she felt. She hadn't spoken a word since they had left Hiro's office, her face looked pale and lifeless as she walked inside and silently carried herself up to her room, while the rest of the family gathered at the table. "Should someone go check on her?" Taiyo asked as Eiji nodded next time and wondered the same thing. "I think she needs some space but… If anyone should talk to her it should be Kyuen…" Gado replied as he looked at her.
Much like Hikari, Kyuen's face had been covered in both shame and guilt their entire walk home, and judging by his words Gado seemed to know why. "Gado I…" Kyuen choked on her words a bit as she tried to speak. Despite her always strong disposition, she seemed to struggle with the idea of being able to offer Hikari emotional support. "Just go Kyuen… I know you might not know what to say… but… She needs you right now," Gado added with a reassuring expression. Kyuen swallowed a bit, it wasn't the fact that she had been the one to introduce Hikari to the idea of wielding her lighting that ate away at her, but rather the fact that she had no idea how to go about consoling her niece that filled her with shame.
The rest of the table looked at Kyuen with the same kind of reassuring face that Gado did, they all seemed to have far more confidence in her than she did herself. For as long as Kyuen had been alive she struggled with more emotional things, especially when it came to the emotions of others. It was one of the major reasons she had chosen to become one of the Four Goddesses rather than a squad leader or a Sentoki captain; she struggled too much with the leadership portion of the job. As Kyuen slowly stood up from the table and walked up stairs, she left the men of the family all seated together in a bit of an awkward and somber silence until it was eventually broken by a knock at the door.
"Who would that be right now??" Hiro asked as he stood up and made his way towards the door to check, only to be met with the expressionless pale face of the Kami Okun. "Now's… not the best time Okun, we can discuss Eiji's training tomorrow," Hiro said through the slightly open door as he tried to wear an expression that made his point clear. "Actually… I'd like to talk to you regarding each of your nieces and nephews… not just Eiji," Okun said politely as he placed his hand on the door that Hiro had started to close. "And I'd like to talk to both you and their father," Okun added as he met Hiro with the same kind of expression. "Why?..." Hiro asked suspiciously as he stepped out onto the front steps a bit. "Now, now Hiro… You shouldn't pretend like you're not aware… Or does the Headmaster of Kaika Temple not know his history well enough?" Okun asked in a sort of mocking tone.
Hiro paused for a second with his eyes fixed on the Kami in front of him. Regardless of the history that tied the Kami and the Sentoki together, Hiro had been apprehensive to trust Okun since the moment the enigmatic being had arrived and strange things had begun to happen. "I know what you're getting at…" Hiro said in a low and clearly displeased tone as he shut the door the rest of the way behind him. "And I know my history…" Hiro added with a heavy sigh. "Then you know… that there has not been three like them since the times of Nguvu… a time from even before my kind arrived…" Okun said to the headmaster, his words hanging in the air and frustrating Hiro as he spoke them. "And why do you even care? The Kami haven't involved themselves with the Sentoki for thousands of years, and like you said, that history is from before your kind were even here, so why involve yourself?" Hiro asked.
"I know you don't trust me, but whether you believe it or not I have always been invested in the fate of not just the Sentoki but all of Gaia," Okun replied. "So then where have you been all this time?" Hiro asked in response, the two of them caught in a mind game of questions and answers. "Looking for something…" Okun replied ominously. "Something that you've found here?" Hiro said. "No…" said Okun with an almost saddened expression. "So you've been searching for something for thousands of years and still haven't found it?" Hiro asked. "Time is not the same for my kind, I have done many things for thousands of years at a time." Okun replied with another answer that Hiro seemed dissatisfied with.
"And how exactly does my family fit into all of this," Hiro asked with aggravation. "Well… To be entirely honest I'm not sure… But something tells me that I'm right to be interested in them… and you as well Hiro, don't think that I've forgotten about those eyes of yours," said Okun, his expression once again seeming as if it held more meaning than his words alone. This time Hiro's response was nothing more than a grunt as he dismissed Okun's words and turned around to head back inside. "I'll be deciding what happens with my family…" Hiro said as he reached for the door. "And will you be telling Gado? He's their father, he deserves to know…" Okun said. "He's well aware…" Hiro replied. "And what will you do about Eiji? Even when I restrict his Ki… He's smart… He'll make the connection eventually…" Okun added, his voice almost confident and taunting as he spoke. Hiro gritted his teeth and grunted again but didn't respond. Not wanting to continue a conversation that had clearly already been weighing on his mind, Hiro opened the door and walked inside.
The following day Hiro, Gado and Eiji returned to the plateau where Eiji had been training for the past two weeks, meanwhile Kyuen and Taiyo chose to stay behind with Hikari as she waited to hear more news regarding Harrow's health. "They both seem so tense…" Eiji thought to himself as he walked alongside his father and uncle. "Does it have something to do with last night," Eiji asked himself as he remembered Hiro talking to a visitor at the door who he said was one of school officials looking for him, but Eiji found it strange that once Hiro had come back inside, he took Gado aside and the two of them had an unusually long and quiet conversation. "It couldn't have been about Hikari or else they would have told me and Taiyo…" Eiji thought. "Whatever it is has them both on edge… they've barely said anything all morning,"
As they reached the top, both Okun and Sumiko were there waiting for them to arrive, both of them carrying an oddly calm disposition as the Umitasora men approached. "Good, You've arrived," Okun said to them as Eiji dropped his bag to the ground and began to stretch. "That won't be necessary, Eiji. I've gathered enough information to be able to perform your Ki procedure," Okun added casually as if it wasn't something significant. "Wait, we're done? Just like that?" Eiji asked in confusion as he looked around at the rest of them. "Like I said the other day, you'll have a lifetime to train and hone your skills. My only objective here is to assess and restrict your Ki," Okun replied, but as he did he seemed to glance over towards Hiro.
"So… You're going to be limiting my Ki then?" Eiji asked as he suddenly began to feel some apprehension. "Will I feel any differently?" Eiji asked. "You'll be able to notice the difference in your Ki levels… but that's it," Okun replied. Meanwhile both Gado and Hiro sat off to the side with their eyes locked onto Okun and his every movement. There was an apparent air of distrust that was leeching from the both of them that hadn't been present in the two weeks before. The only person who seemed to be acting like themselves amongst the group was Sumiko, whose quiet disposition and occasional small smile gave Eiji some comfort. "How long does it take?" Eiji asked again, somewhat using his questions to put off the process. "It shouldn't take me more than an hour to isolate your own Ki from the natural flow of Ki that your body is connected with," Okun added astutely as he approached.
Okun instructed Eiji to sit on the ground as though he was meditating while Okun did the same directly behind him. Eiji felt the oddly cold touch of Okun's hands against his back, his own breaths short and filled with nervousness. "Wait I… Umm…Sorry, I'm just nervous," Eiji blurted out before Okun could begin. Sumiko seemed to respond promptly and took a seat in front of Eiji, grabbing his hands and giving him another reassuring smile. "It's going to be okay Eiji, you trust me right?" Sumiko asked as squeezed his hands in her own. "Yeah… I do…" Eiji replied as he was filled with a sensation that seemed to come from behind Sumiko's eyes. It was as though she had transferred her own assurance over to him, letting him know he was safe. "Okay… You can start…" Eiji said to Okun over his shoulder as he closed his eyes and waited for the procedure to begin.
"Just close your eyes and try to focus on what feels like you own Ki only," Okun said, his hands beginning to glow a greenish color that quickly enveloped Eiji's body. "It's been a while since I've done this…" Okun said to himself as the world around him seemed to melt away into a dark void that looked like the night sky. Like he was entering a dream, Okun stepped inside Eiji's inner mind and was able to see the vast and swirling streams of Ki that flowed in from the natural world and mixed with Eiji's own Ki. Inside of Eiji's psyche was the same endless landscape of the cosmos that he had seen during his incident. Okun seemed to be walking among the stars as he began reaching out to the threads of intertwined Ki and separated them one by one.
"His own Ki is quite strong…" Okun thought to himself as he continued his work meticulously detangling the webs of woven Ki. As he did, Okun could see the events of Eiji's life that had led him to where is today. The moments with his mother as a young boy which Eiji himself had trouble recalling. The moments with his siblings growing up as he watched them open their eyes and move on without him. The moments with Ren and Rei that brought him joy, and all of the moments he had worked tirelessly to not only study and learn as much as he could but to open his own eyes as well.
In time, Okun was eventually met with Eiji's memory of his time below the ruins inside of Okun's former temple. He watched as Eiji carefully traversed through the ruins, only to fall into the temple below. He continued to observe as Eiji activated the Ki pry Okun assumed had been destroyed and was whisked into the sky, floating above the planet as his Ki connected to the endless flow that moved the cosmos. A pang of guilt and shame ran through Okun as he thought about the instances in his past where the people he had tried to help fell victim to his own creations. "I am glad he survived…" Okun said to himself as he continued to sort the strands of Ki.
Suddenly a wave of insignificance and awe washed over Okun. His skin ran cold as he grabbed one of the strands he was meant to separate. "What is this?!" Okun thought as his body filled with a strange and unfamiliar sensation. His hands trembled around the wisp of Ki that he had grabbed, the trail of his leading off into the landscape of the cosmos that surrounded him and towards a singular jet black portion of sky which Okun had failed to notice until now. Okun shuddered as he watched the memory of Eiji seemingly taking notice of the same strange void-like patch among the stars. It was as though Okun had been faced with his own existence and mortality, a feeling that was incredibly rare for a Kami, and something Okun had certainly never experienced. He felt infinitely small, as the looming presence of something unknown permeated his mind.
Okun had lived for tens of thousands of years, yet in all of his time being alive he had never felt the kind of fear and confusion that was now coursing through him. Instinctively he let go of the strange and ominous thread, and it was only as he did that the rest of the strand seemed to realize itself in front him, revealing the singular trail of Ki that wandered off from the rest and led directly to the dark patch in the sky. "I… I fear I may have gone mad if I continued to hold on.." Okun said to himself as he took a step back to catch his breath. "Oh Eiji… you are interesting indeed…" Okun added as he prepared to leave the strange place he had entered within Eiji's mind. He had successfully severed all of Eiji's connection with the natural flow of Ki, albeit except for the singular odd strand that he himself could not explain. "I have a feeling that I could not sever that strand if I tried…" he said as he looked back, and as he did Okun could feel the sensation like he was somehow being watched. For a moment he wondered if it was just the sensation of Eiji's memory that he had confused with this feeling. He had watched Eiji come to the same kind of realization during the procedure, but it took only a second longer for Okun to be assured that what he was feeling was no memory… He was in fact being watched at that very moment.