Cosmic Whispers(Archival Version)(Violence, Language, Blood)

Chapter 1

Yoshiro had been riding for a day and a half when he finally entered the city he was supposed to be in. He stopped by a coffee shop and walked up to the counter placing some money on the counter, "Just a regular black coffee, please." The barista nodded and walked over to get his coffee, "We don't get many cross-breeds here." Yoshiro blinked, "You're a kilf, you are a half-breed." The barista laughed slight, "We're are half-breeds, but you're a full Kitsune, just half-arctic at the very least." Yoshiro sighed slightly as he too his helmet off, "The blue eyes gave it away, didn't they?" The kilf handed him his coffee, "That and your gray hair, a pure arctic kitsune would have brown eyes and white hair in the winter." Yoshiro nodded and drank his coffee, placing another ruby on the table as a tip, "Thanks for the coffee." The arctic kilf nodded, "You're welcome."

Yoshiro headed out and got onto his bike, but saw two kids pushing around a smaller kilf. He placed his helmet on the handlebar of the bike and stood back up, walking over to them, "Hey! You leave her alone!" One of the kids spoke up, "Why should we! She's a cross-breed!" Yoshiro grabbed one of them by the collars, "Because I can find your parents and tell them what you've been doing here. Maybe you won't listen to me, but you'll listen to them." The other boy turned around and looked at him, lifting his leg to kick him in the shin, "You're not my dad!" Yoshiro let go of the collar and moved out of the way of the kick, "No, but I can find your parents, their scent is on your clothing and trust me, you two can't do anything that hasn't been done before." One of the boys looked at the other one, "This man seems serious, let's go! We'll see you later, Alvina!"

The two kids ran off, and Yoshiro knelt in front of the Kilvish girl, "Are you alright." Alvina nodded, "Yes." Yoshiro frowned, "Come here." Alvina backed up, "You're a stranger." Yoshiro shook his head, "My name is Yoshiro Miyamae. I'm commonly known as the progenitor of the Kilvish peoples." Alvina blinked, "Wait, are you Grandpa's daddy!?" Yoshiro tilted his head, "Who's your grandfather?" Yoshiro looked at Alvina's face and realized immediately, but she told him anyhow, "Grandpa Tsuyoshi!" Yoshiro's face went blank as his mind tried to process the fact that he was a great-grandfather. Alvina frowned, "Are you alright, mister?" Yoshiro shook his head slightly, "I'll be fine, I'm Tsuyoshi's father, yes. I guess that I'm the great-grandfather that you've never met."

Alvina walked over to him and hugged him, "It's okay, Grandfather told me stories about you and how you're so brave." Yoshiro picked her up and looked at his bike, "Where do you live?" Suddenly the Barista spoke up, "What are you doing with my daughter!?" Yoshiro looked back, "She's your daughter?" He moved Alvina to one arm and extended his hand to the Barista, "I'm your grandfather-in-law then." The Barista shook his hand, "So you're the Yoshiro Miyamae, should've recognized you by your facial features and blue eyes. My name is Arthon, Alvina here is my daughter, it's good to meet you." Yoshiro nodded, "Likewise, mind if I stay a while?" Arthon shook his head, "Personally, I don't, but the manager might. Alvina gets to stay because it's take your daughter to work day."

Yoshiro nodded and carried Alvina into the coffee shop, he placed her down and looked at the manager, "Mind if I stay here for a bit, my grandson's one of your workers." The manager looked at him, "Do you plan on buying anything?" Yoshiro placed a sapphire on the counter, "I assume that this will cover the costs of a coffee for each hour I'm here." The manager frowned, "So you're planning to stay for four hours? Fine." Yoshiro nodded and Arthon started to open his mouth, but Yoshiro shook his head to say no, "Let it be, boy." Arthon nodded and Yoshiro sat down and took a book off the shelf, a coffee was brought to him and he drank it while reading. Alvina walked over to him, "Great-grandpa, how come you never come to visit before." Yoshiro looked at her from his book, "Came to visit, you mean. Well, I've always been busy."

Alvina frowned, "With what, Great-grandfather." Yoshiro placed his hand on her head and looked up at the ceiling, "How old are you?" Alvina frowned, "84 years old, I'll be 85 this week." Yoshiro nodded, "Being a father, Balthoron was born 85 years ago, you've probably already met him and he's probably said a lot about me." Alvina nodded, "He told me what happened six months ago, he said that you lost someone. Have you found them?" Yoshiro felt like a wound was torn clean open, his chest felt like it was completely empty. He thought he had moved on from Rogelio's death, but it just wasn't so. He tried to hold back his tears, but Alvina hugged him, "I'm sure you'll find him." Yoshiro hugged her tightly, "I didn't lose him in that way, sweetheart. He's, I don't know how to explain this, but he passed away."

Alvina frowned, "What did he pass away?" Yoshiro frowned and looked her in the eye, "He's given up the ghost." Alvina looked scared, "He let loose a ghost!?" Yoshiro sighed, "Alvina, listen to me, he's taking a dirt nap." Alvina frowned, "A bed is more comfortable though." Yoshiro sighed and started to think of other euphemisms, "He bought the farm." Alvina smiled, "So he's farming." Yoshiro shook his head, "He croaked." Alvina tilted her head, "So your best friend was a frog, great-grandpa, stop confusing me." Yoshiro sighed and just decided to go straightforward with this one, "He laid down his life so that I could continue living, Alvina. He's no longer amongst the living." Alvina frowned and hugged tighter, "I'm sorry, Great-Grandfather!"

Yoshiro hugged back, "It's okay, sweetheart, you didn't know." Alvina nodded, "So..." Yoshiro sighed slightly, "Arthon, I'm taking your daughter on a walk so we can catch up." Arthon nodded and Yoshiro picked Alvina up, "Come on, sweetheart, you can ask me anything you want. But I need to clear my head a bit right now so I'm going for a walk. Alvina nodded and Yoshiro carried her out of the coffee shop and he walked down the road with her, she was silent, but Yoshiro walked past an ice cream shop, "Hey, would you like some ice cream?" Alvina frowned, "That's for little kids." Yoshiro chuckled slightly, "Suit yourself, excuse me sir." He pulled out a few rubies, "Can I have vanilla ice cream, and please don't use a scoop you've used to get chocolate, I'm allergic to chocolate." The elf nodded and scooped up some Vanilla, as Yoshiro took the cone, Alvina frowned, "I want ice cream."

The elf looked at her, "What flavor do you want, little missy?" Alvina frowned, "Strawberry." The elf nodded and gave her a strawberry ice cream cone. Yoshiro paid for that as well, Alvina looked happy as she started to eat her ice cream at a far faster pace than Yoshiro. When Alvina was done, Yoshiro sighed slightly, "You got it all over your face, kiddo." Alvina frowned, "Why do you eat it slowly?" Yoshiro shrugged, "I haven't had ice cream since before Balthoron was born. I'm usually busy, either with my job or my off hours job." Alvina gasped, "What's your off hours job?" Yoshiro looked at the sky as he walked into a park, "I'm an adviser to your grandaunt Hiromi, your other grandaunt Harumi has been a leader for a long time so she can help out with helping Hiromi." Alvina nodded, "Mind if I play in the snow?" Yoshiro placed her down, "Stay where I can see you." Yoshiro smiled softly as Alvina played in the snow, he was reminded of his own childhood, when he would do the exact same thing.

Chapter 3

Sven walked through the streets of the city at night, it was unusually cold to him, but then again, unlike his family, he wasn't part arctic. He wondered how his mother felt, but knew that she was in a warm room, back at the house. He however heard a crunching of the snow behind him, "Lilah, I know you're there." Walthari spoke up, "Lilah wouldn't be so careless, Nephew. You seem bummed out ever since we got here." Sven sighed slightly, "Just, I feel like I'm drifting away from everyone. Uncle Walthari, do you know what it's like to be a Menschilche on Verbana, and a Vampiric one at that?" Walthari sighed and folded his arms, "Master Erasmus has said some good things about you, considering the Menschilche and the Dragons are enemies, that has to count for something."

Sven sighed, "Uncle Walthari, my own sister is diurnal, my parents are diurnal, my brothers and sisters are diurnal. My own girlfriend is diurnal!" Walthari shrugged, "Your point being, Sven?" The Vampire turned and glared at Walthari, "I'm different from all of you! It's almost as if I cannot co-exist!" Walthari scoffed, "Has your father ever told you what I am, Sven? Has he ever told you stories of what I have done on the battlefield?" Sven shook his head, backing off slightly from Walthari's tone, "No, he hasn't. What have you done?" Walthari looked at the full moon, "I'm a former berserker, boy. I used to almost literally tear people apart on the battlefield. It's even worse for me, because I had control, boy. People hated me for what I was, and the only ones that wanted to praise me were the Lupines, though I was raised by the Kitsune."

Sven sighed, "It's not the same." Walthari growled, "Of course it's not the fucking same, but you have the same four choices! You can sit here and bitch about your predicament for the rest of your life! You can off your self, and forever be branded a coward. You can accept it and just move on with your life. Or you can do like I did and do something about it!" Sven shook his head, "You don't understand, my condition is not something I can get rid of." Walthari shook his head and turned around, "You were made into what you are against your will, but you made the choice to pursue that vampire, to try to bring him to justice. I never got such a choice, I was born a berserker, I've lived my entire life as a berserker and only recently have, through hard work and meditation become a war monk. Like I said, you have four choices, pick one of them."

Sven watched Walthari walk off, he was upset at what Walthari had told him, but suddenly heard a voice speak up behind him, "What he said is true, baby brother." Sven turned around quickly to see the Kani Deity, Mariita standing behind him, "Leave me alone, big sister." Mariita sighed, "And what are you going to do if I don't get out of your way, you know that I'm stronger than you are, even as a vampire, baby brother." Sven went to strike her, but the Kani caught the punch and drew him into a hug, "No one can help you if you don't allow yourself to be helped." She sighed slightly, "You remind me a bit of Uncle Takeshi, really." Sven frowned, "Let go of me." Mariita shook her head, "I know you're not going to bite me, baby brother, so please stop." Sven knew she was right, he wasn't going to bite her, but he struggled and escaped the hug.

Mariita frowned slightly, "So you're going to refuse the help from your family?" Sven shrugged, "Most of them don't even care about me anyhow." Mariita frowned, "That's a lie and you know it, Sven. We love you very much, we just don't hear from you that often or in some of our cases, never." Sven sighed, "Why don't you take time from your schedules to try to talk to me when you're in Mus territory!? Or how about Galina who is starting to show signs of aging while I still look like I'm in my prime!" Mariita sighed, "Sven, some of our siblings are very busy and I generally stay around here, the Arctic Kani welcome me as if I was one of their own. It's a great feeling, even if my own biological mother doesn't want me around that often, but that's not the point, the point is that you need to take the initiative and start trying to contact our family more often."

Sven sighed and just walked past her, he walked onto a bridge and saw many of the Kilves go about their business. The snow wasn't coming down particularly hard, so it didn't really bother him all that much, he closed his eyes, "If people here found out what I am, they'd try to kill me." Before he could continue, he sneezed slightly and a female Kilf grabbed him, "Boy, you're going to catch your death out here! We need to get you inside!" Sven sighed and looked at her with his red eyes, "Ma'am, do you even have any idea what I am?" The female Kilf shook her head as she led him into a house, "Honey, I'm home and I brought a guest." Sven watched as a female arctic elf walked down the stairs, "Ah, welcome to our home, you're welcome to stay the night, Mr...?"

Sven raised his hand slightly, "Just call me Sven, Mr. Miyamae is my grandfather." The female elf nodded, "Alright, Sven. You eat regular food, right?" Sven nodded slightly as the female Kilf looked at him, "We know about you and how you're a vampire, but we're not sure if you only drink blood or not." Sven shook his head, "Mind if I watch some shows during the night, I'm nocturnal and all and don't want to be bored. Don't worry, I'll replace anything I eat and drink, I promise." The kilf shook her head, "Oh, don't worry about a thing, Sven. You're a guest in our house and we want you to feel welcome. Just don't have the volume up too high, alright?" Sven nodded and walked into the living room, where he turned on the holoprojector and started to watch some shows.

Chapter 5

On the other side of the city, Akira woke up in the guest bedroom of a house, it had been a while since he had come here and he was more than happy to visit his own parents. Minako looked at him, "Good afternoon, my love." Akira blinked, "Wait, afternoon! How long did I sleep?" Minako smiled, "I let you sleep as long as you needed, our daughter is with your parents if you're wondering." Akira nodded, he got up and felt immediately sore, "I need to start relaxing more, honey." Minako frowned, "Why, what's wrong?" Akira patted himself on the chest, "I'm getting old, I'm nearing eight hundred years old." Minako nodded, "You should relax more, but you know that Alvina's birthday is still this week, correct?" Akira nodded and his ears perked up as he heard Yoshiro's voice speak up, "Setsuko, please give that back."

The couple turned to see the young female kitsune dart into the room and Yoshiro turn the corner too fast and slam into the doorframe, "Son of a! Setsuko, give that back to me, now!" Minako looked angrily at Yoshiro and then looked at Setsuko, she gasped when she saw what she had taken from Yoshiro, "Give that back, sweetie and go to time out." Setsuko frowned, "I don't wanna." Yoshiro growled while pinching his nose which had started to bleed, "Setsuko, you have two choices, you can give that back or I can take it back and I'd rather not have to steal something back from my own little sister today." Setsuko looked at the amulet and threw it at Yoshiro, she was clearly upset, "Take it! I don't want it anyway! It's a stupid thing anyhow!" Yoshiro caught the amulet and put it around his neck, "It's the last thing I have to remember an old friend of mine. Anyhow, Dad, I'm going to go talk to grandma and grandpa, see if they can't watch over Balthoron while I take Elbereth out to a romantic dinner tonight."

Akira got out of bed and Yoshiro smirked, "You know Dad, it's illegal to be walking around in your smallclothes around here." Akira frowned, "Sometimes I wish you were a little boy again, that way you wouldn't be a smartass." Yoshiro shrugged slightly and walked out of the room, leaving Akira to get dressed. Akira kissed his wife, "I'm going downstairs and going out on the town, it's been a while since I've seen my youngest sibling. I'd ask you to come with, but with Yoshiro and Elbereth going out, Mom and Dad are going to need some help with our daughter and grandson." Minako nodded and kissed him back, "I understand, my love." Akira smiled and walked out of the room and downstairs where his parents were waiting, he hugged both of them, "Mom, Dad, I'm going to go see my brother, Minako is going to stay behind to help you out."

The two of them nodded and waved him off, Akira walked out of the house and started down the road. He felt a bit nostalgic as he grew up in this area, before it became a Kilvish settlement, back when it was purely a Kitsune city. He wished that the Kilves were around when he was young, or that the Arctic Elves lived in the city, but it wasn't so. He was happy that his hometown had come a long way. As he walked down the streets, he noticed a lot had changed, but when he turned down a certain street, he noticed that he was in the neighborhood he was told about in the letter he had gotten. He looked for the house number and when he found it, he walked up the the door and knocked on it. He waited for a couple of moments, but a female walked to the door, "Akira! It's been so long!"

Akira blinked slightly, "Excuse me? I don't think we've met." The female frowned, "Our parents named me Satoshi when I was born." It took Akira a moment to process this information, "You're my sister now?" The female Kitsune nodded, "Please, call me Maiko." Akira hugged her, "Alright, Maiko. May I come in?" Maiko nodded, "Of course." As Akira walked into the house, he heard Maiko come out, "Hey, Kazuki, come meet your brother-in-law." Akira watched as a male Kitsune came out to greet him, "Hi there." Akira was shocked that this was a forest kitsune from the same region that Minako was from, "It's nice to meet you. Though I'll be honest, it's a bit of a pleasant surprise to find out that I've got a sister. But I love her all the same, so your letters mentioned a child." Maiko nodded and led Akira upstairs to a room where she motioned towards a child that seemed to be alone and shy.

Akira frowned slightly, "He has no siblings?" Maiko shook her head, "None, and he doesn't really talk to new people." She turned towards the child, "Hotaka, your uncle has come to visit you." Hotaka looked at Akira and frowned, withdrawing a bit, Akira looked at his sister, "Stay with me, it'll make it easier for him to grow accustomed to me if someone he trusts is here." Maiko whispered, "How do you know?" Akira sighed, "Yoshiro was like this at Hotaka's age." The two older Kitsune walked into the room and sat down, Akira looking at his nephew, "You remind me a lot of my eldest son when he was your age." Hotaka frowned, "Are you really uncle Akira?" Akira nodded slightly, "Yes, I am. It's good to finally meet my nephew. You've probably heard stories about Yoshiro, but when he was your age, he was just as timid and shy as you are."

Hotaka frowned, "Heroes are never timid." Akira sighed slightly, knowing full well how much his son hated to be called a hero, but also knew that he had to play along to earn Hotaka's trust, "Heroes aren't always brave. What makes a hero is their heart and you have a good one from what I hear. Someday you'll be a great hero, just like my son." Hotaka withdrew a bit, "I don't wanna be just like him. I wanna save people." Akira nodded slightly, "And you will, I promise. Your first step in becoming a hero is warming up to your family, like me." Akira held his arms out for a hug and Hotaka slowly and cautiously walked towards him. Eventually he reached Akira and the two of them hugged, "Uncle Akira, will you tell me a story about my cousins?" Akira smiled slightly, "Of course, though with your mom's permission, you can meet some of them."

Akira looked at Maiko who frowned, "Only if I come with him, big brother." Akira nodded, "Of course, little sister, he trusts you the most and like I said, without you, he'd become a nervous wreck." Akira let go of Hotaka, "Go get ready and we'll take you to your cousin, Tsuyoshi's place where most of everyone is waiting." Maiko sighed slightly as Hotaka ran off to get ready, "You really did have a shy kid like my own son." Akira nodded, "Of course, little sister. Look, it's not really that big of a deal, they're usually fine so long as someone they trust is near them. You get ready as well and I'll take you to Tsuyoshi's place. I forgot who all is there, but I know Walthari is still there." Maiko nodded and left Akira in the room alone, Akira walked out of the house though and waited for the two of them to walk out. When they finally did, he started to lead them towards Tsuyoshi's house, happy to spend time with his sister and nephew.

Chapter 7

Yoshiko sat on a hill alone during the night, looking up at the lights in the sky that she had come to know as an aurora. They were very beautiful and she wished that Cornelis could be here to see them for himself, but she knew in her heart that he had died long ago. Her long gray hair flowed in the wind as she wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin on them, "It's been a hundred and thirty years since I've come to this planet... and two hundred and fifteen years since I was cloned, I've come a long way." She took one of her fingers and started to draw in the snow, she drew Cornelis' face from memory and sighed longingly to see the man who created her once more." Suddenly she heard a voice that she recognized, "What are you doing here, kiddo?" Yoshiko didn't turn away, "Takeshi, I could ask you the same thing."

Takeshi sighed slightly and placed his hand on his hip, "Well, Dad told me about how you left the house and I figured that you'd follow Yoshiro, he seemed to be coming here for a vacation and to spend time with his family. Dad wanted me to see what was going on." Yoshiko frowned, "I know you're concerned about me, half-brother." Takeshi nodded, "Of course, with Aiko gone who knows where and Hiroshi dead... twice, you're the only sibling I have left and I don't want to lose you." Yoshiko frowned, "What about Yoshiro and the others, you're Minako's son, aren't you?" Takeshi placed his hand on her shoulder, "Biologically, you're her daughter. Also Yoshiro and I haven't quite seen eye to eye after that whole incident months ago." Yoshiko remembered the war and the subsequent trial, but she didn't know of what happened after that, "What happened between you two, I thought you had forgiven him."

Takeshi shrugged, "He chose his path and honestly wants little to do with me right now, all I can do is respect his decision." Yoshiko nodded slightly, "I understand." She brushed her hair out of her eyes and looked up towards the stars, "When I first came here, I had just learned that I am a clone, I was created artificially from Kitsune DNA, not just any Kitsune, but his..." She leaned back slightly and just sighed, "I had come here, expecting him to kill me, in my eyes, I was just a cheap copy. He however saw me as my own person and he was right. Mom always loved me and was always there for me, then I became part of the larger family when Grandmother adopted my Mother as her own daughter. Mom was extremely grateful for that and I never saw her more happy in her life, she was happy that I'd have a family here on Verbana, but I keep thinking about the past, where I grew up." Takeshi sighed slightly, "Well on that front, I have some bad news and I have some good news."

Yoshiko looked at the ground, "What's the bad news?" Takeshi looked up at the skies, "Five entire factions went dark during the Human-Verbanan war. Taurus, Gemini, Libra, Scorpius and Cancer were all reportedly wiped out by the Leo Faction." Yoshiko sighed sadly, "And what's the good news?" Takeshi shrugged, "Well the world you grew up on is safe and has broken away from the Menschilche race, they have started to move on a different evolutionary path." Yoshiko nodded slightly, "I see, and the scientists that created me?" Takeshi frowned, "They all died of old age, Yoshiko. They weren't young when you were born to begin with and it's been two hundred and eleven years since your creation." Yoshiko nodded slightly, "I'm going to go for a walk." Takeshi sighed, "Sis, are you going to be alright?" Yoshiko stood up and shook her head, "I don't know at this point."

Yoshiko walked into the city itself and sighed slightly, she knew that everyone that she grew up with aside from her mother was dead deep down, but Takeshi had confirmed it. It hurt her deeply, but she didn't cry as she remembered Cornelis telling her that big girls do not cry. Yoshiko walked into a cafe and sat down, a young Arctic Kitsune male walking over to her, "Excuse me ma'am, but the cafe is closing, you're going to have to leave." Yoshiko looked at the young man, "Alright." The young man looked at her, "I'm sorry to do this, even though you're the most beautiful Kitsune I've ever met." Yoshiko nodded slightly and exited the cafe, she walked through the streets, which were empty, leaving her to her thoughts alone. Suddenly she heard a man's voice, "Hey, get in here, you'll catch a cold out there." Yoshiko turned to see an older Arctic Kitsune in a house, she shrugged as she had no where else to go except back home, so she walked up to the man who looked at her, "Minako, I think you should come see this."

Yoshiko watched as Minako came to the door, "Father-in-law, that's Yoshiko. She's my niece." Yoshiko smiled slightly, "Hi, Aunt Minako." Minako smiled softly, "Please, come in dear." Yoshiko nodded and walked into the house, she felt warmer almost instantly, "Thank you, Aunt Minako." The elder Kitsune smiled, "You're the clone of Yoshiro, huh? It's nice to finally meet you, I'm Sadao, I guess because of adoption, I'd be your great-uncle." Yoshiko nodded slightly, "Please don't call me Yoshiro's clone, sir. I'm his cousin, I'm my own person." Sadao nodded slightly, "Alright, Yoshiko. Make yourself at home, we have several guest rooms if you would like to stay in one." Yoshiko smiled softly, "Thank you, sir." Before Yoshiko could move, Balthoron came to investigate, "Miss Yoshiko!" Yoshiko smiled slightly as she saw Balthoron, "Hi there." Balthoron walked over and hugged her and she hugged back, "This is the first time I've seen you in decades. You've grown so much."

Balthoron smiled, "Is Miss Yoshiko going to stay here for a while?" Yoshiko looked around and then nodded, "I came to the north to clear my head and hopefully get some answers, I'll be more than happy to stay around here." Balthoron smiled and hugged tighter, "Yay! You're the best, Miss Yoshiko!" Yoshiko patted him on the head, "Balthoron, I need to get ready for bed, it's late and I really haven't had much sleep lately." Balthoron nodded and let go with a frown and Yoshiko smiled, "Listen, tomorrow, I promise that I'll spend time with you. You're my cousin's son and that means you're family to me." Balthoron smiled, "Okay!" Yoshiko was led to a guest room by Sadao, who looked at her, "This is where you can sleep, alright. Like you said, you're family, take all the time you need." Yoshiko nodded, "Thank you." She walked into the room and closed the door behind her, then walked over to the bed, laid down and quickly fell asleep.

Chapter 9

Yoshiro arrived back at the house without Elbereth, she had sent him back to Tsuyoshi's place because the two of them had gotten a call from Tsuyoshi earlier that day. No sooner did he walk into the door of his home did Sven come out of the room, "You promised you'd talk to me when night came around." Yoshiro looked at Sven and placed his hand on his son's shoulder, "I know, my son, but your mother came down with Hypothermia, she's at the hospital if you want to see her." Sven frowned, "I know you're not one for lying, but I can't believe you until I see it for myself." Yoshiro nodded, "Alright then, I'll call a cab and take you over there. I need to see your older brother right now though, he had a message for me, where is he?" Sven sighed, "He's in the kitchen, right now, Dad." Yoshiro nodded and patted Sven on the head, "Get a little sleep, this could take a bit."

Yoshiro walked into the Kitchen and saw Tsuyoshi sitting at the table, "I'm glad you're here, father." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "You made it sound urgent, son. What's going on." Tsuyoshi motioned towards a chair with a sigh, "You will want to sit down." Yoshiro nodded and sat down as Tsuyoshi leaned back, "So, you hear the news about the Kitsune kingdom?" Yoshiro nodded, "Shortly after I was discharged, Takeshi was approached to be the leader of the Kitsune Army. It seems that without one of Mom's children, they'll be helpless. It's the main reason Takeshi and I had a falling out recently." Tsuyoshi nodded, "Well he's here, and he's on an official military mission." Yoshiro folded his arms, "So it's finally come to this, huh. I guess I'll be moving out of the Kitsune kingdom again." Tsuyoshi nodded, "You're always welcome to live here." Yoshiro shook his head, "I'm going to talk to Bruno, see if I can't set up a small nation within the mountains."

Tsuyoshi blinked, "Why are you going to go and do that, I thought you were done with being a monarch?" Yoshiro shook his head, "I've studied the humans a bit during the last couple of months and they have a system of government that I would like to try for Verbana." Tsuyoshi shook his head, "Surely you don't mean communism." Yoshiro shook his head and folded his arms, "No, I'm going to set up a republic, specifically a democratic republic. It's something that caught my attention, a system of government that is for, of, and by the people, Or more accurately in my case, for, of, and by refugees and mercenaries seeking a new home." Tsuyoshi nodded, "It'll be great to see how it works, but do you honestly know how you're going to run this yet?" Yoshiro shook his head, "No, now, what else did you want to tell me about what's going on."

Tsuyoshi showed a map to Yoshiro, a location on it was marked, "There has been energy spikes in this region. As far as we know, this is a Dragon base and can only be opened up with draconic technology, which lies within your armor." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "According to this, it's at the base of the mountain on the other side. Think we can snowboard down there?" Tsuyoshi blinked, "Excuse me, Father?" Yoshiro pointed to a cable car system that led to a ski resort that was closed for right now, "It would take far less time to take the cable car to the summit of the mountain and snowboard or skii down than it would take to drive around the mountain. Especially since my bike doesn't have snow tires." Tsuyoshi nodded, "That's true, but wouldn't it be even faster to fly?" Yoshiro shook his head as Balthoron walked into the room, "Daddy, big brother, what are you talking about?"

Yoshiro sighed slightly and stood up, walking over to Balthoron and picking him up, "We're talking about grown-up things, Balthoron. You're a good kid, but you wouldn't understand a lot of what's going on right now. Don't worry, I'll be sending you with Sven and Galina to see your mother, alright?" Balthoron nodded, "Okay!" Yoshiro hugged his son, tightly and placed him on the ground, "I love you, Balthoron." Balthoron smiled and hugged back, "I love you too, Daddy!" Yoshiro broke the hug and got on his radio, he pushed to the frequency of the local taxi service, "Yes, can you bring a taxi to Tsuyoshi's estate. There will be three passengers and the destination is the local hospital." Balthoron looked up at him, "What happened to Mommy?" Yoshiro smiled and knelt, "Your mother just needs a little more bedrest before she can come home, Balthoron, and seeing you will raise her spirits." Balthoron nodded and ran out of the room as Yoshiro looked at Tsuyoshi, "See them off, I'm going to go get my armor and weapons."

Yoshiro walked up to his room and as soon as he placed his hand on the locker that contained his armor, he felt like someone was behind him, so he turned around, to see nothing was there, "My brain is playing tricks on me, great." No sooner did he turn around to look at his locker, did he see something that astounded him, it was a little girl with green hair and green eyes. Yoshiro recognized draconic features immediately, "You... you're..." The little girl spoke up, "I'm your granddaughter, yes." Yoshiro blinked, he couldn't believe it, this girl looked like a forest elf, except with draconic eyes, "Who... who is your parent from my family?" Tsuyoshi spoke up, "I see you've finally met her, she's a half dragon. Her mother was wounded by a magical attack and I couldn't let this little girl die in the wilderness, so I took her in when she was very young." Yoshiro nodded and took his armor out of the locker and put it on.

Yoshiro knelt before the little girl, "Listen, I promise to get your father back in one piece." The Little girl spoke up, "Grandpa, you must promise that you're going to return as well!" Yoshiro laughed, "I promise, by the way, what's your name?" The little girl looked down, "Mommy called me Bellona." Yoshiro placed his hand on her head, "Well Bellona, I'll return in one piece, that's a promise and you can ask your father here, I always keep my promises, even if I'm a little late on the timing." Bellona nodded slightly, "Alright. You two be careful, alright?" Tsuyoshi nodded slightly, "Alright." Yoshiro turned around and walked out of the room and then out of the house, where he climbed into Tsuyoshi's vehicle, knowing that Lilah wasn't there. When Tsuyoshi climbed into the vehicle, he started it up and the two of them drove towards the mountain.

Chapter 11

The sun rose on the next day and Yoshiro woke up almost immediately, he made himself some breakfast and called the others. Tsuyoshi and Yoshiko walked into the Kitchen, Yoshiko looked tired, "What's going on." Yoshiro pointed to the food, "Eat up so that we'll have enough energy to deal with any trouble just in case." The two of them nodded and the three of them ate breakfast, Yoshiro smiling as he finished, "I would suggest that the two of you gear up. I'll be waiting outside with a snowboard." Yoshiro smirked and left the room, when he reached the board closet, he grabbed a snowboard out of it and walked outside with it. He placed his right foot into the strap and smiled slightly, as the other two walked out, Yoshiko and Tsuyoshi using skis instead. Yoshiro smiled, "Alright, are we ready?" Yoshiko nodded slightly and moved the goggles over her eyes and Tsuyoshi did the same, "Dad, have you ever snowboarded before?" Yoshiro nodded, "Yeah, I used to do it all the time. Alright, let's go!"

Yoshiro kicked the ground and pushed himself forward, he kept doing this until he built up enough speed to be comfortable. He glanced back and saw Yoshiko and Tsuyoshi remaining close to each other, but falling behind. Yoshiro looked forward and saw a tree coming his way, so he leaned forward while moving his legs slightly to turn the board away from the tree. Yoshiro was having the most fun he had in a long time and saw yet another tree coming his way, so he moved out of the way of that tree. He then saw an opportunity for a jump, so he crouched down, which further increased his speed. When he reached the jump, he leapt up and shifted his weight into a 360 degree spin, before landing back onto the ground. Yoshiro smirked underneath his helmet as Tsuyoshi's voice spoke over his radio, "Showoff!" Yoshiro laughed, "You're just mad that...." Yoshiro ducked under a tree branch, "Woah! You're just mad that you can't do that!" Tsuyoshi grumbled over the radio and Yoshiko giggled slightly, "It's good to see Yoshiro have fun."

Yoshiro saw a split in the path, "Yoshiko, you and Tsuyoshi take the easier route down to the bottom, I'll take the expert route." Tsuyoshi scoffed over the radio, "Seriously, Father, are you going to continue showing off today?" Yoshiro shook his head, "No. Figure that if this is my vacation, I'm going to make the most of it by having fun." Yoshiro turned to the left and started on the expert path. There was a jump fairly quickly and Yoshiro leapt over it, doing a backflip before landing on his board again, "WOO! I feel alive!" Tsuyoshi's voice spoke over the radio, "Seriously, are you only feeling alive when you're risking your life!?" Yoshiro shrugged slightly out of force of habit, "It's nice when people aren't shooting at me, yes." Yoshiko's voice crackled over the radio, "Yoshiro, please be careful." Yoshiro saw a rail and jumped onto it, grinding on the rail, while keeping his balance. He chuckled slightly, "Man, I wish I didn't have a helmet, but the snow and wind would get in my eyes and start blinding me."

Tsuyoshi sighed over the radio, "Are you near the bottom, yet? Yoshiko and I area already there?" Yoshiro hopped off the rail and saw a massive jump and below it, a figure that looked like a quarter pipe. Yoshiro smiled and launched off the jump, he looked down and saw Yoshiko and Tsuyoshi standing there as he started to spin rapidly and do a couple of front flips. However he righted himself and landed in such a way that he dropped onto the quarter pipe to board down it and transfer his momentum from vertical to foward momentum. Yoshiro shifted his lower body to turn the board into a braking manuever and stopped the board. He took off his helmet, "Woo! I feel alive!" Suddenly Yoshiro heard someone clapping, "That was an impressive show, Yoshiro. Absolutely impressive." Tsuyoshi turned to look, "Takeshi! What are you doing here!?" Takeshi sighed, "I told you, I've been ordered to find out what this is. So Yoshiro, will you please open the draconic base?"

Yoshiro reached for his sword, but Yoshiko got in between the two of them, "Please! The two of you are half-brothers, there's no point in killing each other over what's in there. There's no reason for either of you to fight." Takeshi sighed, "Yoshiko, what are you doing here?" Yoshiro growled, "I could ask you the same thing! You had her tied up and gagged and then thrown into a closet!" Takeshi looked shocked, "Who did this to you, Yoshiko!? I'll bring them to justice!" Yoshiko frowned, "It was two Kitsune Soldiers." Takeshi looked at Yoshiko, "Did you get their names?" Yoshiko shook her head, "No, big brother, I didn't." Yoshiro sighed, "This is all touching and all, but can you tell me exactly why the fuck you are here in a kingdom on a military operation!" Takeshi sighed, "I'm here to see what's in this base and report to my king. Nothing else, I do not know why other kitsune soldiers came here as well. This much, I swear to you."

Yoshiro removed his hand from his sword, "Well then, if that's the case, I refuse to help you." Takeshi sighed, "I was afraid that you'd say that, Yoshiro." Takeshi walked towards him and pushed Yoshiko out of the way, "So I propose something, hand to hand combat, if I win, you open that door and let me see what's inside. If you win, I'll leave empty handed." Yoshiro nodded slightly and adopted a close quarters combat stance, "Ready when you are." Takeshi nodded and rushed at Yoshiro with a feint, Yoshiro however didn't go for the defense, he instead went for the offense, punching at Takeshi's face, forcing the older Kitsune back. Takeshi sighed, Yoshiro noticed something, the older kitsune hadn't been practicing for very long. Yoshiro charged at Walthari, ducking below a punch and grabbing the older Kitsune by the arm, using that momentum to throw him down to the ground and he quickly dropped down and placed his knee on Takeshi's throat, "I win."

Yoshiro stood up and held his hand to Takeshi, who took it and he helped his half-brother up. Takeshi nodded, "You won, and I did set the terms, Yoshiro. I'll head out." Yoshiro nodded, "Alright, I'll see you later." Yoshiro watched as Takeshi left and then turned his attention towards the base in sight, "So, this is it, huh?" Tsuyoshi nodded, "There's a scanner over there, from what we know, it checks for draconic technologies." Yoshiro nodded and walked over to the scanner, which activated and started scanning him, a voice spoke up, "Vs'shtak technology owrnauka, aldoer spical." The doors opened up and Yoshiro smiled slightly as he put his helmet back on, "Alright, let's go see what the dragons have left in this base, I'm sure it'll be a great surprise." Tsuyoshi nodded slightly and Yoshiko looked at where Takeshi was heading, "Are you sure he's going to be alright, Yoshiro?" Yoshiro nodded, "Yeah, he'll be fine. Come on." Yoshiro led them into the base, not knowing what he would find within.

Chapter 13

Yoshiro had split up from Basilio after he made sure that the Eidechse population could be sustained for a while yet. As he left the room, he saw the hologram rematerialize, "Take me to the archives." The Hologram nodded slightly and started to lead Yoshiro to the archives, it was a long and quiet trip, which wasn't exactly odd. Yoshiro was still marveling at the sight of the draconic technologies and how they were so advanced, he had never seen anything like this and believed that it would create a new technological leap within the Verbanan peoples. However, when they arrived at the archives, he saw an elf with draconic wings standing there, one look at the dark gray hair and he immediately realized exactly who it was, "Bahamut, what are you doing here?" Bahamut looked at him, "I could ask you the same thing." Yoshiro simply shrugged, "An energy signature was detected here and I got curious."

Bahamut nodded, "Your curiosity is what led you here, you're a warrior at heart, how can I know that you would not use our technologies and our knowledge to conquer the people of Verbana?" Another dragon spoke up, "Because he's my student." Yoshiro looked back to see Erasmus standing there in a half-dragon form, "Mentor." Erasmus nodded towards him, "Uncle Bahamut, I'm sure you recognize me." Bahamut nodded, "You were Tiamat's younger grandson, you're the monk, if I recall correctly, you were always meditating. You left Eltirana to come to Verbana, but why?" Erasmus folded his arms, "Because I couldn't get any sort of peace on Eltirana, everyone used to revere us Dragons and, I just wanted some peace and quiet on my new home, so I came here with the Eltiranans and slipped away. I've been watching my students, Uncle, if they're an indication of what Verbana's warriors can become, I think they're ready to gain our knowledge and our technologies."

Bahamut sighed, "I only recently allowed Yoshiro here to use our technologies and that's because of my great-grandson. You expect me to..." Yoshiro interrupted, "Bahamut, you and your kind have been watching over us for the past three thousand years. You said it yourself, you fear that we may become like those that had enslaved us, but that enslavement happened before I was born and there are more Verbanans that were born free than there are that were slaves at one point or another. We never wanted to be enslaved and we harbor a resentment for the Menschilche, yes, despite the fact that we used technologies that were left behind to advance ourselves into a spacefaring species within a generation." Yoshiro sighed and took off his helmet so that Bahamut could look into his eyes, "A lesson that I had to learn through bloodshed, a lesson that I had to learn through events that torment me to this day, is that if no one has the courage to take the step, to take a risk, then nothing will change."

Bahamut sighed, "Even so, you could be changing your entire planet for the worse." Yoshiro looked at his helmet and placed it on a console, "Bahamut, every time I go into battle, every time I draw my sword or one of my guns, I accept that risk. I fight for a brighter future, but I accept that I cannot win all the time. Your kind is important to us, there are legends about the dragons, if you're afraid that we'll turn out like the Menschilche, if you're afraid things will take a turn for the worse. Do not hunker down and hide in a shell, guide us. You and your people can guide us into a better future, one where I can finally put down my weapons and actually go out there and fulfill my childhood dream." Erasmus looked surprised as this was something he had never heard and was a side of Yoshiro that he had never seen, "What's that?" Yoshiro sighed, "I will admit that I have decided on forming a mercenary group, yes. Because until the ideal future comes to pass, the world will always need people to fight to protect those that cannot protect themselves."

Bahamut nodded, "Yet, they are still military." Yoshiro nodded slightly, "Yes, that is true, but I have no interest in leading them. When I saw the technology within this base, when I thought of what I could do with it, I began to think that I could finally escape war and do what I've wanted to do for the longest time. Ever since I was a kit, I would look up at the stars and wonder what lies up there, I've seen what is in our own solar system with my own eyes. However, I want to see what lies beyond our solar system, I want to explore the rest of the galaxy. Perhaps even be the first person from Verbana to see what lies beyond our own galaxy." Erasmus nodded slightly, "See, Uncle Bahamut. This is what the Verbanans are becoming. They're working together more and more, on bigger and bigger projects. They're coming together on more things, but you're too interested in staying isolationist to care, you should pay attention to the Kilvish nation, which was built within your territory. You have three different species living together in peace and harmony. You have multiple races in those species living in peace and harmony."

Bahamut turned away, "Yoshiro, answer me this one question, why did you choose to fight?" Yoshiro looked up at the ceiling, "Originally or my reasoning after Katriina was murdered?" Bahamut looked towards him, "Both." Yoshiro nodded, "Originally, it was because I was afraid. Ever since Katriina was murdered, I figured that if I didn't fight, some kid would have to get involved and take my place in the fight. I was always thinking, what if someone were to join the fight in my stead? Would they die? How would their friends and family take this? That is why I've been fighting in most wars as of late." Bahamut nodded slightly, "I see, perhaps you are ready for the draconic knowledge. However, what is the opinion of the rest of your world?" Yoshiro shrugged, "If you remember the Human-Verbanan war, we not only spared the humans, but helped them rebuild." Bahamut nodded, "Then perhaps you and your people are truly ready for the sum of Draconic knowledge."

Bahamut stepped out of Yoshiro's way and spoke up, "Si geou shala wer Verbanan xiekivi ekess urcaxa wer sum di Vs'shtak irthir. Thirku jihaia xanalre ekess Common." Yoshiro watched as suddenly holographic displays started to activate around him, Erasmus smiled as Yoshiro's mouth hung open in wonder, "It's like seeing a kid get his first toy." Yoshiro looked at everything around him, "All of this knowledge, all of this information, imagine what we could do with it. Excuse me, AI Program, can you show me a timeline of events within the galaxy ever since the Dragons first came here?" A timeline flickered to life and Yoshiro read it, however something on it made him concerned, "This event, right here. The Dragons and the Menschilche combined their forces, I never learned about that, what happened?" Bahamut frowned slightly, "Invaders from another galaxy came in, seeking to conquer, separately the Dragons and the Menschilche wouldn't be able to defeat these creatures on their own, so we formed a truce and fought them together with heavy losses to our already weakened forces. We won and pushed them out, but barely."

Yoshiro nodded slightly, "They might return someday, we should prepare for their return, just in case." Bahamut looked at him, "You were talking about exploration and now you talk about war?" Erasmus snapped at Bahamut, "You were always the one talking about isolationism, Yoshiro here is merely talking about setting up defenses in case of an invasion by these creatures. He's not talking about going into their territory and wiping them out like you are currently assuming that he is proposing." Yoshiro ignored their argument, "Can I see the designs of a draconic intergalactic engine." The designs appeared and Yoshiro looked at it, "Amazing, absolutely amazing. With this, we could cross our galaxy in a matter of days instead of years. This would revolutionize the way we explore our own galaxy and would even allow us to explore other galaxies! Show me the schematics of a draconic power source."

The schematics came to life and Yoshiro laughed slightly, "This is amazing, this makes the power we get from fusion look small. This is absolutely astounding, I never would've imagined something like this, I never would've thought of something like this! Alright, can you calculate the amount of time it would take Verbana to get to this technology on their own." A moment passed and a number popped up, "Yoshiro smiled softly, "We're going to have a technological revolution that allows us to advance several generations again." Yoshiro smirked, "Alright, this information is to be freely shared with the Verbanan peoples, can you transmit the data in your databanks to the Verbanans?" The AI spoke, "The total data capacity for the entirety of the Verbanan Archives is barely enough to hold the sum of Draconic knowledge." Yoshiro nodded, "Alright, so we just build something with more storage capacity, can you give me the schematics for that?" The schematics appeared on screen and Yoshiro smiled, "Excellent."