3rd Anniversary Short Story

[healingbonds]

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(1)

Snow & White: Congrats on staying alive, dear Sage~!

Snow: I’m so proud of you, being alive in such a cruel world~!

White: I want to thank you for smiling and being in good health, dearie Sage!! And so....

Snow & White (big): Here’s a special surprise for you~!

Figaro: As a thank-you for all that you do for us, we’re going to present you with a little impromptu storytelling~.
We have a couple of abnormal folks in the crowd, but not to worry. If the story gets a little too grotesque, I’ll Possideo your memories away!
Alright, let’s begin in ascending order by height. Starting with Mitile....

Mitile: Um, but Sir Snow and Sir White are usually shorter than me.....

Figaro: Oh, right. Erm, Sir Snow, Sir White, we’ve had enough of you looking like that, so can you go back to your usual forms?

Snow & White (small again): Can’t you ask nicely~?

Figaro: And.... begin!

Snow & White: Once upon a time, there was an adorable pair of twins!

Mitile: Um.... who embarked on a journey with their big horse!

Riquet: And they repented.

Shino: And the ultimate warrior Shinodeus.....

Arthur: Saved a village ravaged by magical beasts!

Faust: He studied hard and always remembered to finish his homework....

Heathcliff: A... And one day he met the twins’ horse!

Chloe: And began dancing with it, when!?

Rutile: They both caught a whiff of some delicious soup....

Murr: Along with the rank scent of lucre and conspiracy!

Owen: .........
Huh? What....? I’m supposed to add on? To this fantasy tale?
....I see. I’ve got a good one. Then....

Figaro: << Possideo >>

✦✧☾✧✦

Nero: Uh... And....
Their limbs intact, the twins and Shinodeus and the horse all gathered.....

Rustica: To host a lovely wedding at the white house by the lakeside.

Cain: Hey, nice! Then who came rushing to attend this wedding!?

Shylock: A woman with a lot of baggage.....

Bradley: And a man with a lot of baggage.....

Figaro: These mysterious figures turned out to be!

Oz: .........
Me.....?

Mithra: I defeated Oz.

Lennox: In order to avenge him, Shinodeus embarked on a journey all alone.....
And the story continues onto a tumultuous part two.....

Snow & White: Wait, it keeps going!?

Lennox: ......Looks like it does.

Faust: When he said ascending order by height, I assumed you’d be the one to wrap things up.....

Shino: Heh.... Shinodeus is too grand to end in one act.

Cain: All right then, Sir Sage! Looks like our story will go on into the second act!

Heathcliff: Rustica, I’m just curious. Who’s getting married to whom?

Rustica: Everyone?

Mitile: Including the horse? I guess that means we’ll meet a baby horse in act two!

Mithra: As my dinner?

Rutile: No! That’s not what you had in mind, right, Mitile?

Oz: ......I....

Arthur: I understand. You were simply asking if it was your turn to speak. Next time, we’d like to hear your story too, Sir Oz.

Oz: Yes.

Murr: Next time let’s do it in order of how fast we can run~!

Chloe: Sounds fun! Sir Sage, look forward to the rest of our tale!

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(2)

Snow & White: Time for another story for our dearest Sage! Here’s part two~!

Snow: We’re going to tell an impromptu story as a relay in the order we make it to the finish line. We’ll all start running from here, and the goal is by dear Sage~.

White: No magic, okay~? All right, Sage. When you’re ready, blow the whistle!

(Whistle blows)

Snow: Oh....! And the race is on!

White: We must hurry too! In the lead, we have....?

(Footsteps)

Lennox: .......!

Snow & White: Lennox comes in first~!

Lennox: Once, upon a time, a traveler....!

Cain: Agh, dammit! I lost! A traveler was, uh, in search of some medicine.....

Shino: .....Dammit, I’m in third....!? And he got lost, in the woods!

Arthur: ....You’re all so fast! Erm, he got lost, and discovered a mysterious cavern!

Murr: Made it~! And inside that cavern he found....!

Faust: .....Pant.... Wha.... What did he find..... Um... A glowing..... glowing cat-rabbit.......

Rutile: ....Whoo! Goal! What’s a cat-rabbit?

Faust: I just made it up.

Rutile: Then I guess the sweet cat-rabbit told the traveler where he could find the medicinal herbs he was searching for..... Woah.....

Mithra: Pant... pant.... No way..... No way I’m slower than you.....?

Bradley: Hold it! Me! Me! I got here first! Mithra, you’re after me!

Mithra: Hah?

Bradley: Sigh.... Man, it’s been ages since I seriously ran. I’m honestly kinda mad at myself for losing to the curseworker.

Faust: It was a reflexive response to watching Leno’s back as he sped ahead.

Lennox: Sir Faust, it’s an honor.

Rutile: Mister Mithra, you need to keep the story going.

Mithra: Oh.... Sigh... Um, where were we..... Everyone died.

Bradley: I said I finished first. Fine. Or that’s what it looked like, but it turned out I protected everyone. Who’s next?

Heathcliff: .....Me. And I guess Mitile and Riquet are about tied?

Riquet: Mitile was faster.

Mitile: I win today!

Heathcliff: It was a close call. I didn’t catch what happened because I was running — where are we in the story...?

Murr: A traveler in search of some medicine ran into a glowing cat-rabbit in a cavern who told him where he could find the medicinal herbs!
Mithra almost killed them, but Bradley protected them!

Mitile: Mister Bradley.... I-it’s not like I changed my mind about you or anything, okay!

Bradley: Heh, I appreciate how consistent your reactions are.

Heathcliff: Haha. A glowing cat-rabbit, huh? What a novel, unique, and off-kilter idea — it feels so Murr.

Shino: Man, I’m so tempted to tell him the truth.... Another day of Heath being the most adorable guy ever.

Heathcliff: What are you talking about? Um, well, I guess the glowing cat-rabbit told the traveler that he could find the herbs at the summit of the mountain.

Mitile: It’s my turn! In order to reach the summit, the traveler.....

Riquet: Became a giant.

Snow & White: Goa~l.......

Chloe: Hang on! I got here first!
I’m so out of shape. I bet I ran faster when I was a kid! Oh, right, the story. Um....
At the mountain peak, there was a prince!

Snow: And the prince said to the giant traveler!

White: If you want the herbs.....
.........
Huh? Who’s next?

Nero: Hey~. How’s it going over there?

Rustica: Have you managed to weave a lovely tale?

Snow: Hold it! Hold it! You’re all walking, walking, walking!

White: You can’t just walk!!

Shylock: Oh my, I’m so sorry. I’ve forgotten how to run.

Figaro: Leno, you came in first? How cool.

Cain: I was a close second! Come on, Oz, you should pick up your pace too!

Oz: Why.

Figaro: He doesn’t even get why we’re doing this.

Arthur: Sir Oz, please run! Do your best!

Riquet: That’s right! Look at how we did it and copy us! You can do it!

Oz: ...........

Owen: Don’t look at me. They’re cheering you on.

Oz: ..........

Snow: Will Oz manage to live up to everyone’s expectations and run with all his might!?

White: Come on, what will it be!?

Rustica: If you’re not sure how to proceed, why don’t we just say it’s time to move on to part three?

Oz: Sounds good.....
To be continued in part three.

Snow: Wait, really!?

White: Sorry, dear Sage! It looks like our tale is about to get even longer!

Snow & White: Look forward to it!

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(3)

Snow & White: A story for our dearest Sage! Here’s part three~!
We’re in the middle of an impromptu story, told as a relay in order of how fast we can run! For those of you who missed it, Lennox came in first!

(Applause)

Lennox: Thank you.

Cain: I’ll beat you next time!

Shino: If I had his legs, I would’ve won!

Snow: Arthur. Could you summarize where we were in the story?

Arthur: A traveler became a giant, and was just about to learn from the prince at the peak of the mountain how he could secure the herbs he was looking for!

White: Right, right! Our story is stuck at a stand-still unless someone runs and makes it to the finish line!

Arthur: Sir Oz! I’m rooting for you!

Cain & Riquet: Go Oz!

Oz: ...........

(Footsteps)

Oz: ..........!

Figaro: Huh!? You’re actually running!?

Snow & White: Ooh, there he goes!!

Mitile: Dr. Figaro, do your best!

Rutile: Don’t lose~!

Figaro: Huh!? Oh geez.....

(Footsteps)

Figaro: ........!

Rutile & Mitile: Woo! Go! Go!

Shino: Nero!

Faust: Nero!

Heathcliff: Nero!

Nero: Fine, fine! I get it! I’ll run!!

(Footsteps)

Nero: ........!

Chloe: Oh, Nero’s fast.....!

Bradley: Come on, get serious, chef!

Chloe: Do you think we should root for Rustica and Shylock too?

Murr: They’ll probably only start running if they feel like it?

Chloe: You’re right! They’ve been doing whatever they want this whole time....

Rustica: Shylock. I came up with a new dance the other day.

Shylock: My, that sounds lovely.

Rustica: Doesn’t it? Won’t you join me?

Shylock: No, I think I’ll pass.

Rustica: I see. Then I’ll do it alone.

Shylock: Oh, it’s very lovely.

Murr: See! They’ll only run if they’re in the right mood!

Chloe: Yup.... They’re definitely free spirits.....

Snow & White: Owen, darling, you can do it~!

Mithra: Come on, Owen, run!! You’re making me look like a fool, you know!?

Bradley: Get a move on! Break a sweat for once, will you?

Owen: Shut up. I’ll never run, you fools.

Nero: .......! .....Pant, pant.......

Snow: And Nero crosses the finish line! He passed Oz and Figaro and secured the next spot in the rankings!

White: Now what happens in the story!?

Nero: ...T.......
To be continued in part four.....

Snow: So it continues.

White: Looks like our story yet remains inconclusive, dear Sage!

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(4)

Snow & White: A story for our dearest Sage! Presenting part four~!

Snow: We were relaying a story in order of how fast we can run!

White: And Nero has just crossed the finish line! Nero, give us the latest twist to our tale!

Nero: Uh.... Hang on, I wasn’t really listening to what was going on in the story......

Cain: Ahaha! Don’t worry! It doesn’t really make a difference!

Shino: You just sabotaged the whole point of this event so cheerfully.

Nero: Okay then.... The door happened to be unlocked, so he managed to steal the treasure lying inside!
How’s that!? That works with any story, right?

Faust: That answer just told us a lot about Nero: he’s incredibly considerate and had a poor upbringing....

Bradley: Look at those eyes. They’re shining like an innocent kid’s.

Figaro: .....Goal!

Rutile & Mitile: Whoo!! Dr. Figaro!!

Lennox: Well done. I’ll give you a check plus.

Figaro: Pant.... Pant... Oh god.... My sides are cramping up..... .....Where were we.....?

Mitile: Someone just stole the treasure!

Figaro: Okay then, the thief was captured!

Nero: He gets caught!?

Figaro: And the thief turned out to be....!?

Oz: ........!

Cain & Riquet: Whoo!! Oz!!

Arthur: Excellent work, Sir Oz! Your sprint was very dashing! And the thief’s identity...!?

Oz: Pant.... Pant.... Hh..... Pant..... pant.........

Arthur: .........

Oz: Pant.... Pant.... Hh.... The thief....

Arthur: Would you like some water, Sir Oz?

Mithra: Heh. You’re looking quite pathetic, Oz. ....Oh.

(Woosh)

Owen: Hmph..... I’ll tell you how this story ends before Oz can open his mouth.

Mithra: Owen!? You didn’t even run to the goal!? You used magic to fly all the way here!?

Owen: That’s right.

Mithra: Hah!? That’s cheating! You’re cheating, Owen!

Rutile: Mister Mithra.... I’m touched that our little game means so much to you.......

Owen: Shut up. Listen. I’ll tell you something nice.
The giant traveler, the glowing cat-rabbit, the prince atop the mountain, the thief who stole the treasure, the twins’ horse. They all.....

Mitile: Woah, he remembered the whole cast of characters.

Riquet: How dutiful. That’s quite honorable of him.

Heathcliff: I’m happy he remembered the twins’ horse....

Owen: They all see hell. A thunderous earthquake comes roaring their way, and before they know it......

Figaro: << Possideo >>

✦✧☾✧✦

Nero: Ah.... You okay there, Mister Sage?

Faust: Don’t worry. The glowing cat-rabbit is safe.

Lennox: As is the giant traveler.

Cain: Hey, Owen. There are kids here. Stop turning everything into a bloodbath.

Owen: And you’ve experienced that bloodbath first hand, Sir Knight. Maybe you shouldn’t be acting so high and mighty.

Cain: What do you mean?

Owen: I’m talking about the eyeball I stole from you!

Rustica: I did it....! I made it, Chloe!

Chloe: Great job, Rustica!

Rustica: It was a lovely trip. I was watching your back as you sped ahead of me — you looked so beautiful and lively, and it made me a little lonely.

Chloe: If you felt lonely, you should’ve ran with me, Rustica! Next time, try to catch up!

Rustica: All right, I’ll do my best!

Shylock: I’ve arrived too.

Murr: Goal! You’re in last place, Shylock! The ending of our tale hinges on you!

Shylock: Oh? If we’ve spun a happy story, I suppose that means I can’t cause an upheaval. How unfortunate; I love tumult.

Murr: Why don’t we give it a happy and tumultuous ending? Their hearts on fire, everyone lived happily ever after!

Shylock: Fufu, that would make it no different from reality. Though there may not be much of a difference between dreams and reality — to the youth, who worked hard to run this far....
I’d like to offer them an ending full of glittering hopes and dreams. Now what shall I do....

Arthur: I apologize. We’re still sorting things out over here.....

Oz: .....I can go.

Arthur: Wonderful! Well then, Sir Oz! Please give us the continuation of our tale!
Who stole the treasure!?

Oz: ..........
Bradley?

Bradley: Well, I am a bandit. It doesn’t not make sense.

Rustica: I will take on the task of carrying this story forward.
On a day when white flowers were in full bloom, Bradley said this to me:
"Please accept my feelings."

Bradley: Hold up. I had no say in this confession.

Rustica: And I responded: "I cannot. For my heart already belongs to someone."

Bradley: Don’t turn me down!!

Shylock: And then everyone celebrated with some delicious wine and lived happily ever after.....

Murr: Whoo!! Clap clap!!

Snow: Oh my! We have a whole story now!

White: It’s a four-part epic! Do you like it, dear Sage?

Mitile & Riquet: Um.....

Snow: What is it, Riquet, Mitile?

Riquet: I wouldn’t call this a story: it was too sloppy overall.

Snow & White: Oh my.

Mitile: I want to make it a proper story!

White: Guh.... These children have such high aspirations!

Snow: We want to live up to their expectations, but how....!?

Rutile: Why don’t we revisit the story and summarize it one more time all together?
Part five can be the final chapter where we give every character a happy ending.

Mitile & Riquet: Yes!

Arthur: What a great idea! Our story for Sir Sage ought to be a happy one!
And thus, Sir Sage — our tale will continue on to part 5!

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(5)

Snow & White: A story for our dearest Sage! Onto part five~!

Rutile: Now let’s all bring the story together!
This is our chance to use our imagination even more freely than before!

Mitile & Riquet: Yes!

Rutile: First off, Mister Leno. Is the traveler in part two Shinodeus from part one?

Lennox: ………
I didn’t give it that much thought.

Rutile: I see!

Lennox: I probably said "traveler" on the spur of the moment because I used to do a lot of traveling.

Riquet: I see…. You said the first thing that came to mind because it’s what you always used to do. Which means that Nero used to do what when he ran into treasure….?

Nero: Hm?

Riquet: Hm?

Nero: Huh~?

Bradley: Sometimes you just blurt out what you wanna do — like stuff that you wish you could do. In other words, he’s starry-eyed over me.
Bradley the Great, boss of the bandit gang. Right, Nero?

Nero: …….Uh……
…..Th…. That’s right……

Bradley: Stop balking and just take the damn lifeline, will you?

Nero: I’m not really balking. It was just too real….

Riquet: Huh?

Nero: Oh yeah, Riquet! Want me to teach you how to whistle?

Riquet: I do!

(Whistle)

Bradley: We can get back on track now.

Chloe: Oh, how does this sound? The twins in part one and the traveler in part two are the same!

Arthur: That sounds interesting! But if so, then why was there only one traveler searching for the herbs?

Chloe: Maybe they had to be separated!

Snow & White: Ouch….!
Can we not~.....? Can we not make this a story about twins who were separated for some unspecified reason~.....?

Chloe: Ah, s-sorry! But I don’t think they were separated by tragedy!
I bet they loved each other and got along like you do, Sir Snow, Sir White. So, uh…..

Arthur: How does this sound? The traveler was searching for the herbs in a cavern, so…..

Mitile: Maybe it was because their other half got sick!

Chloe: That’s right!

Riquet: We connected the dots! So one of the traveling twins had fallen ill.

Snow & White: A story of love! Okay, what happens next!?

Shino: Can we weave the ultimate warrior Shinodeus into this story? Make it nice, the way you guys just did with the twins.

Heathcliff: What was Shinodeus doing again? He saved a village, studied hard, did his homework, met the twins’ horse, danced…..

Nero: Shinodeus can do it all.

Shino: Well, yeah.

Lennox: And he embarked on a journey to avenge Sir Oz, who had been defeated by Mithra.

Oz: I will not be defeated by Mithra.

Mithra: You were.

Oz: I will not.

Mithra: You will.

Oz & Mithra: ……….

Figaro: Oh, come on. The young ones are having a good time — can’t you get along for now?

Lennox: Then…. Why don’t we keep it ambiguous, whether or not anyone was defeated, and……

Murr: So it’s like, banned!? I know a lot about banned books! Want some advice?

Figaro & Lennox: No thanks.

Rutile: Why does Shinodeus decide to avenge Oz? Was there some kind of connection between them?

Murr: There was a lot of baggage!

Cain: Oh, I got it. The woman with a lot of baggage and the man with a lot of baggage at the wedding — that was about Oz.

Shylock: They both attended the wedding, so one of them would be Oz, and the other would be Mithra.

Rustica: So they disguised themselves to attend the wedding, and then they tried to kill each other.

Faust: What a nuisance…..

Arthur: If they were guests at the wedding, maybe Sir Oz and Mithra were Shinodeus’ friends or relatives?

Chloe: Why were the twins and Shinodeus getting married anyway?

Rutile: Um…. because they caught a whiff of some delicious soup and lucre and conspiracy!

Heathcliff: So a political marriage?

Bradley: Or they were after their partners’ cooking! A marriage devoid of love: they just wanted food!

Nero: Unforgivable…..

Mitile: Oh, how’s this? Shinodeus is actually the prince at the mountain peak!

Arthur: I see! So he’s the prince who tried to offer herbs to the traveler under certain conditions!

Shino: Huh….. Are you sure? Am I allowed to have such a neat role….?

Heathcliff: Why are you acting all modest now? Shinodeus, who was actually a prince all along — that’s really cool.

Shino: The Shinodeus within me is resisting: he says he can’t accept a role that puts him at a higher status than Heath…..

Heathcliff: The Shinodeus within you? We all know he’s you. And there’s nothing wrong with you having a grand role.

Shino: But……

Mitile: I think it suits you perfectly, Mister Shino! You’re so strong, I’m sure you can do anything!

Shino: Mitile….. You’re a good guy…. Let’s make you the royal physician.

Mitile: I’m working for a castle? That’s so cool! Yay!

Figaro: That’s great, Mitile.

Mithra: Hang on, I can’t accept this. Sorry, but a role that grand should belong to me.

Rutile: Huh, but why, Mister Mithra?

Owen: Why’d you butt in?

Mithra: I get jealous when someone has something nicer than me.

Nero: He’s so honest……

Rutile: But I think Shinodeus the prince works well with the story. Mister Mithra, would you be willing to accept another role?

Mithra: Like what?

Rutile: Like the glowing cat-rabbit…..

Mithra: Is it stronger than anyone else?

Rutile: Um, yes, it is.

Mithra: Then that’s fine. Make sure it’s a giant magical beast whose roar will send tremors across the skies.

Heathcliff: Murr, are you okay with that? The glowing cat-rabbit won’t be a cute, off-kilter creature anymore…..

Murr: Yeah! I’m cool with that! At least I am!

Lennox: No — we should make it adorable. At least let it meow…..

Faust: It’s fine, Lennox.

Lennox: But……

Figaro: Ahaha! You’re four hundred years old but you want the creature to sound cute? You’re surprisingly childish sometimes, Leno.

Lennox: Sir Figaro.

Figaro: No need to get all shy. I’ll transform into a glowing kitty-bunny-baby and meow all you want.

Lennox: Sir Figaro.

Mithra: So what do I do?

Faust: …..You are the ultimate magical beast: the glowing cat-rabbit, guardian of the cavern, also known as Mithra.

Mithra: All right. That’s a crazy role — I’ll take it on.

Faust: It’s not crazy! It was supposed to be a mystic creature.

Murr: It was glowing from all the mystery!

Mithra: I’ll do it: I’ll be the cutest, strongest, most mystical Mithra.

Arthur: So one of the twins steals the medicine from the treasure box guarded by Mithra of the cavern…..

Chloe: And returns to Shinodeus, the prince atop the mountain!

Snow & White: And they all lived happily ever after~♪

Rutile: We did it! Kind of!

Mitile: With brute willpower!

Heathcliff: W-we did kind of barrel through…. But it was full of twists and turns that kept me on my toes! It was fun!

Riquet: Did you enjoy it, Sir Sage?

Rutile: I hope you did!
Together let’s enjoy the many exciting, story-like days to come!

All: Sir Sage! Thank you for all your support, and let’s keep working together!

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