[I am going to tell you a story. It is not based on life. I do not want to offend anyone. My story has ideas from different cultures. It is not about any place or belief. But be warned, this story can portray hefty images. I hope you like my story, which is called Guardians of the Shining Girls.]
I killed my parents when I was eleven years old. Least that is what people have told me. I have dreams where I see myself standing in blood looking at my parents dead bodies.
My little sister is crying in the hallway behind me. All I can hear is her crying and a loud noise in my head. Everything else seems away like there is a wall between me and the world.
The blood on my hands turns into darkness. Pulls me down into a deep hole.
Then I heard a voice.
"Get up prisoner!"
A guard is banging on the bars of my cell. For seven years I was treated like a prisoner. I was allowed to be with the prisoners.
Three years ago something changed inside me.
The guards called it a riot. I do not remember it. After that I was put in a highly restricted cell. This was meant for only the biggest criminals in Japan.
In this cell, I had no bed, no window and no sunlight. The only thing I had was a hole in the floor for a toilet. I had to sleep on the floor and eat cockroaches for protein. The only food I got was potato salad and bread through a pipe.
The guard comes to my cell and unlocks the door.
"Your ten-year sentence is over "
he said.
I am confused. I do not know what is happening. All I know is this cell. Now I can leave? The guard tells me that I will meet with my probation officer.
He will explain the conditions for my release. I am taken to a room where a man is sitting at a table. He looks like an FBI agent, with a haircut and a sharp suit.
He introduces himself as Kubo Yashira, my probation officer and the head of G.O.S.S.I.P.
G.O.S.S.I.P. Stands for Guardians Of Systemic Sovereignty and International Protection.
It is a name for an organization that protects people.
Kubo tells me that they have reviewed my profile and think I can be a bodyguard for a Luminary. A Luminary is a woman with special powers.
I have never heard of such a thing.
Kubo says that my physical abilities make me a good candidate for the job.
He tells me that a Luminary recommended me for the position.
I am surprised.
I do not know what to think.
I spent most of my time in prison reading books.
I liked to read books and horror stories.
I especially liked the Cthulhu Mythos series. I do not like the author.
He was a racist and a xenophobe.
If he were alive today I would probably fight him.
Kubo explains that Luminaries have powers that go beyond science.
They are like idols and symbols. Every country knows their names.
Their powers are unstable and unpredictable.
That is why they need bodyguards, called Guardians to stabilize their powers.
I ask Kubo why Luminaries need bodyguards if they are so powerful.
He tells me that their powers can be dangerous if they are not controlled.
If the synchronization between a Luminary and a Guardian fails it can be catastrophic.
The human involved can even explode from the power overload.
I am still confused. I am also curious.
I want to know more, about Luminaries and their powers.
Kubo tells me that my sister is a Luminary and she recommended me for the job.
I am surprised.
I had forgotten that I even had a sister.
The time I saw her she was nine years old.
Now she must be nineteen.
I do not know what to think or feel.
Ever since that incident, my memories have been… fuzzy. As if my life only began the moment it happened.
"So why do these so-called Luminaries need bodyguards if they're all-powerful?"
"Good question," Kubo replied.
"You see, while Luminaries are indeed powerful, their abilities are unstable and completely unpredictable."
"That's why each of them forms a contract with a Guardian more commonly known as a bodyguard."
"A Guardian stabilizes a Luminary's powers through a very deep connection."
"However, very few candidates are capable of forming that contract."
He leaned back slightly in his chair.
"If the synchronization fails… the consequences can be catastrophic."
"Especially for the human involved."
"Their body can literally explode from the power overload."
"So you need me as a human experiment?"
"Exactly."
"What if I refuse?"
Kubo smiled faintly.
"Well, if the procedure succeeds, the benefits are quite generous."
"Five hundred thousand yen per month. Enrollment in a private academy that trains elite Guardians. A fully paid residence, unlimited food, and free travel privileges."
He paused for a moment.
"But if you reject the offer… you'll simply be released onto the streets."
"And let's be honest."
Kubo slowly lowered his black sunglasses, locking eyes with me.
"The chances of a convicted murderer like you being accepted back into society…"
"I find that rather unlikely."
Silence filled the room.
The tension was thick enough to feel.
"Fine."
"I've got nothing to lose anyway."
"Excellent," Kubo replied calmly.
"Thank you for your cooperation. We'll prepare your paperwork immediately."
Warm steam filled the shower room.
Water ran over my body as I rubbed my skin with a bar of soap.
"I can't remember the last time I had a proper shower."
Ten years of isolation…
And now this.
After finishing, I stepped out of the stall with a towel wrapped loosely around my hips.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a mirror above the sink.
I stopped.
Slowly, I turned toward it.
For the first time in ten years…
I saw my own reflection.
"…Was my skin always this dark?"
He hadn't even noticed how tall he had become.
Or how massive his muscles were.
Slowly, he scanned his entire body in the mirror, observing every detail the deep tone of his dark skin, the dense muscles hardened by years of labor, and his long hair that fell down his back like a black curtain.
He leaned forward over the sink, gripping the edges with both hands as he brought his face closer to the mirror.
The eleven-year-old boy he once was had died the moment he stepped into this prison.
That much was obvious.
"I haven't seen my own face for so long…"
He stared into the mirror, meeting the cold emptiness of his own eyes.
They looked like pits that swallowed every trace of emotion.
Years of isolation had worn him down until his face carried nothing but hollow stillness.
Then the memories came.
Sudden.
Violent.
The ones he tried to bury.
The ones that clawed their way back whenever his guard slipped.
Hoshiro's breathing sharpened as sweat rolled down his forehead. He quickly turned the tap and let cold water run into his hands before splashing it across his face.
The chill burned against his skin, but it helped him focus.
Eyes shut tightly, he tried to silence the past.
"Rejoice, Hoshiro…"
His eyes snapped open.
The voice echoing through the bathroom was deep and ancient, resonating like thunder rolling through a cavern. No human voice could sound like that.
Slowly, Hoshiro lifted his gaze toward the mirror again.
His reflection was gone.
In its place stood a creature shaped like a dragon.
Its scales shimmered with layers of darkness, absorbing the light around it. Two burning crimson eyes stared directly into his soul.
Hoshiro froze.
His lips parted slightly the only sign of the confusion rising inside him.
"You again…"
he muttered quietly.
"Is that any way to address a being as essential to existence as myself?"
"It's not really pleasant seeing you again, if that's what you mean."
The dragon blinked in visible shock.
As if it had never been spoken to so casually before.
"How dare you!"
"I am Yin, the very manifestation of nature's balance and the embodiment of primordial ideals themselves!"
"And you treat me like some kind of pest?"
"You're not some kind of pest."
"You're just a pest."
"You've been living inside me for almost a decade and you decide to show your face now?"
"Such insolence!"
The dragon roared, its jaws opening wide.
"You think this has been easy for me as well?"
"Do you know how many restrictions I placed inside your body just to exist within it?"
"21,555,219,192,047,526."
"Restrictions that continue multiplying even now… endlessly."
"After all these years, you've only managed to break one of them."
"The very moment we first met."
"I don't care about any of that."
Hoshiro's voice remained calm.
"It's time for you to keep your end of the deal."
"For letting you live inside me."
The dragon tilted its head slightly, as if recalling something distant.
"Ah… yes."
"The incident with your parents."
"You wished to know the truth about that day."
Yin slowly spread his wings.
They stretched wide, darker than the shadows around them. His scales resembled charred stone, while the plates across his chest carried a dull gray sheen.
"When you are at your weakest," Yin said slowly, "come find me within your own mind."
"And I will tell you everything you want to know about your parents."
Without another word, Yin launched forward.
His massive body passed straight through the mirror.
Through Hoshiro.
Like something diving into water.
The dragon vanished directly into Hoshiro's chest—where his heart lay beating.
Hoshiro staggered slightly.
His breathing grew heavy as he placed a hand over his chest where Yin had entered.
"…One day I'm going to end up in an asylum."
"In a white room."
"Wearing a straitjacket."
Suddenly-
Knock. Knock.
Someone was knocking on the shower room door.
A voice called out from the other side.
"INMATE! STOP FOOLING AROUND AND GET OUT ALREADY!"
It was the same guard who had taken Hoshiro out of his cell earlier. He was now pounding loudly on the shower room door.
Hoshiro hadn't even realized how long he had been standing there.
He quickly began getting dressed.
A white shirt and black jeans.
He gathered the long strands of his hair and tied them behind his head.
A few minutes later, the guards escorted him down the corridor to the release desk.
Hoshiro sat quietly on a bench, still trying to process what had just happened in the bathroom.
Was what he saw real?
And what did Yin mean by "when you are at your weakest"?
"Mr. Kamakiri."
Hoshiro snapped back to reality at the sound of his name.
A man behind the glass window at the desk was calling for him.
Beneath the window, a small metal slot slid open.
Inside were several items:
An identification card.
A wallet.
A stack of yen.
And a phone.
"Here are your belongings," the man said.
"They have all been provided by G.O.S.S.I.P."
"I wish you the best of luck moving forward. Have a nice day."
Moments later, the guards unlocked the prison's main gate.
The massive doors slowly opened.
Sunlight poured in.
The rays touched Hoshiro's skin like the warmth of an old friend.
The air felt fresher than the first sip of water in the morning.
Hoshiro slowly stepped forward.
Outside.
For the first time in ten years.
His eyes drifted upward toward the sky.
Clear.
Blue.
Endless.
It was a beautiful day.
For the first time in his life, Hoshiro felt as if he had stepped into a strange fever dream… instead of the endless nightmare he had been trapped in.
He inhaled deeply through his nose.
Then slowly exhaled through his mouth.
Carefully memorizing the feeling of his first breath of real air in a decade.
"God, that's so good."
That five seconds of breathing felt like heaven.
But the moment of peace didn't last long.
From a distance, a girl suddenly waved her arm high in the air, trying to get his attention.
"HEEEEEYYY!!!!!!!" (˶ˆᗜˆ˵)
"YOU'RE FINALLY HERE AT LAST!!!!!!!!"
⚞(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⚟
"I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU FOR SO LONG!!"
Before Hoshiro could even react—
She sprinted straight toward him.
Then she jumped.
A split second later, they both crashed onto the ground.
Half of Hoshiro's face was buried directly into her chest as she wrapped her arms tightly behind his head, pulling him closer.
"Oh! I've missed you, missed you, missed you, missed you, missed you, missed you, missed you, missed you, missed you so very, very, very, very, very, very much!!!" (≧ᗜ≦)
I struggled desperately to push her away, but her grip was absurdly strong.
He was practically suffocating.
"Ms. Kamakiri…" Kubo said awkwardly from the side.
"Could you please try not to choke your brother with your… uh… enthusiasm?"
"Wait…"
"Brother…?"
Hoshiro managed to mumble from beneath the crushing pressure.
With a sudden burst of strength, he grabbed her under the arms and lifted her entire body off him as he stood up.
The girl landed lightly on her feet, still smiling brightly.
Her long blue hair, tinted slightly with purple, flowed behind her in the wind.
Her eyes were a clear blue, like the surface of a crystal lake.
She wore an outfit that looked like something straight out of a pop idol concert. A short blue jacket, a crop top exposing her navel, and black shorts with decorative black and purple fabric flowing behind them.
She looked about the same age as Hoshiro.
"It can't be…"
Hoshiro stared at her carefully.
"Come on! It's me, Yoshida! Remember?"
"Your dad and my mom got married when we were both in preschool."
"I used to be scared of the monsters under my bed, and you'd always come comfort me."
"You remember now, right?" (ㆆᴗㆆ)
She gave him a playful wink.
Hoshiro scratched his chin thoughtfully, digging through his memories.
"…"
"Nope. Can't recall."
He casually dropped her.
Thud.
"Ouch!"
"You're so mean, Onii-chan!"
"How could you forget your own sister like that?!"
（＞∧＜）
"Stop calling me that," Hoshiro replied flatly.
"I haven't seen you in over ten years, and I barely remember you."
"If you were really my sister, why didn't you come visit me in prison?"
"For all I know, you could just be some random girl with a strange brother complex."
Yoshida sat on the ground, tearing up.
She seemed far more hurt by his words than by the fall.
(;﹏;)
"Enough, you two."
"It doesn't matter if you think she's your sister or not, you've been appointed to become her guardian either way."
Kubo's stern voice cut through the moment.
A sleek black limousine pulled up beside them.
He opened the passenger door.
"Get in."
"We have somewhere to be."