People on the streets fought Tem. They made an attempt to eject her from their street, but Tem refrained from striking a single blow despite their determination to fight.
Tem, Kou, and everyone else saw their close friend Yumiko save them in time. After preventing the attackers from harming Tem, their wariness gradually vanished. They were perplexed as they gazed at her. The same boy who had earlier stolen Tem's food bag raced through the crowd and banged into Yumiko's midsection. He slammed towards her and gave her a strong hug. Yumiko's gentle grin caught his attention, he looked up.
"Big sis, Yumiko! I'm so happy to see you!"
Yumiko chuckled sweetly, and soon she was surrounded by friends. They started asking questions in all directions. Some people wanted to know how she was doing since the day she left the town.
Tem and Kou were in an awkward circumstance. Everyone seemed to have known Yumiko as their mother or as someone who would help them start anew. Tem turned to look at the smiles on people's faces. She gave her neck a quick scratch from behind.
It appeared that Yumiko's younger brother was the boy who had taken their food. One of the people Muro threatened to kill if she disobeyed the "Sun's Order," although it was still difficult to understand how important she was to the order.
"Yumiko. We can't tell you how happy we are to see you!"
Yumiko gave a nod. She was delighted to shortly see them. After that, she invited her mother for a quick hug. The local children soon began shouting at her and approaching her. They were bursting with joy, and Kou's awful memories were soothed by their pleasure. Despite their miserable life, he was glad to see the children smiling.
Yumiko continued to face Tem and the crowd, and it appeared that Ralphie had followed her into the crowd as well. It was obvious that these individuals needed to eat, and that realization inspired him to come up with a solution.
Kou was surprised to learn that Yumiko was friends with both his captain and Ralphie, and he felt strange about it. He started to attentively and pleasantly think.
"Huh. I guess now it would make sense. Apparently Ralphie and Yumiko already know about, Tim's transformation."
"I've lost him for a moment, only to then meet him the day later as somebody completely else."
"I think these people shouldn't really know about his name, it would cause a havoc to see a girl holding a boy's name..."
"I do wonder..."
Yumiko then took a more somber mood. She turned to face the people attempting to battle Tem. She sighed at the absurd ideas of the throng and uncomfortably moved forward.
Everyone could hear her young, assured voice. She went over everything and pretended to be a little let down. She realized that these people were frightened by strangers.
"Everyone. Please, step away from her. She's my friend."
"She's here to help us, to stop the "Sun's Order" from destroying our lives. I spoke to her the day before, and there's been some misunderstanding between her and the Empress Oriyana."
"I want you to treat her with respect and let her wander these streets. Nothing bad will happen to you. I promise you, all..."
"She's our ally, and so are her friends."
Tem was being trapped by people who felt embarrassed. They apologized after dropping their pipes and straying. The people were gracious enough to invite her to the area despite their continued mistrust.
It only took Yumiko's great words. Her reasoning men, women, and kids soon started to move out of the way in unison. Tem was no longer under attack. Later, Yumiko's family extended an invitation to visit them at their home.
It was the only house in the district where one could reside. The mattresses were entirely destroyed, and the interior wasn't really strong enough to sustain anything. The water was dirty brown and there were no blankets for them to wrap themselves in.
The brother, Phillip, entered the room after Yumiko had introduced the three to her mother and brother. He was glancing into the food bag he took while feeling ashamed.
His mother, Isabella, briefly outlined why it was wrong for him to steal to him. As Tem calmly observed them, he apologized to her. She didn't look angry, nor did she seem saddened.
"Phillip. You shouldn't steal other people's food, even if we're hungry."
Then Phillip closed his eyes, gently extended them, and started to quiver. His stomach grumbled inaudibly, indicating to others around him that he was starving.
"I'm really sorry for stealing your food, miss. Please, I'd like you to take it back."
Tem crossed her arms and angled her head to the side. She saw Phillip's cheeks begin to flush as a result of his stomach grumbling. Tem observed him silently for a brief period of time before suddenly giggling faintly.
She had the friendliest face anyone had ever seen. Her appearance was positively dazzling. It was enthusiasm, which made Phillip feel ashamed of himself. Despite his age, he began to feel a little uneasy around Tem, but she quickly chatted to him in a very loving manner.
"Keep it for yourself."
"You need it more than I do. I'm sure you haven't eaten something fresh for days. Just try not to swallow it too much, so that it doesn't get stuck in your throat."
Phillip's eyes widened. He didn't think what he heard was true. His eyes began to tremble in disbelief. His cheeks flushed even more than before, and Tem nodded in response, suggesting that he should open the bag and eat the goods.
He paused for a brief period of time. He gawked in wonder at the food. Heaven was what he could see. Even when Tem had finished, he strained to reach forward again, barely managing to hold it back. He was more nervous this time than the last, and Tem's countenance rapidly turned dull.
She didn't take the food back. Phillip had no choice but to eat when she persisted in encouraging him to do so.
All of Tem's friends were understandably flabbergasted by her choice. They shared a single glance at her. They were as perplexed as Phillip to see her refuse the food or even share it with someone else.
After a few seconds, Ralphie eventually smiled at Tem and realized that she wasn't being at all selfish with the food. She waited patiently for Phillip to fully open the bag before he quietly closed his eyes.
He opened it, and a broad array of food caught his gaze. The sandwich contained lettuce, beef, and a variety of other ingredients. A tasty sauce with a pleasant scent enveloped the bread and drizzled down its body.
Phillip took a full swallow. He had to react immediately. He promptly threw his mouth forward. His eyes quickly widened as his teeth tore through the sandwich. His eyes were sparkling, and they mirrored the sandwich.
He enthusiastically wowed and downed the chunk he had taken. After a brief period of stuttering, he rapidly started to bite through it. Everybody grinned at him, and Yumiko's eyes barely managed to contain tears.
She was glad to see that her family was finally enjoying some of the best food. Even though she was a "Sun Soldier," Yumiko frequently struggled to provide her family with any kind of nutrition. Her payment wasn't exactly modest.
She had originally looked for food. However, it was impossible because the wealthy residents of the city were never open to helping.
Following his joyful experience, Phillip gave some of the leftover food to his mother. She gladly accepted it, and both of them benefited from it. They finally gained some strength, and after a brief pause, Ralphie asked for more information.
Isabella was thrilled to provide an explanation for the horrific treatment of the residents in their district. She was hesitant to explain, but she did it nonetheless since she knew that Tem and the others would benefit enormously from it in their efforts to fight the "Sun Soldiers."
"There's not much I can tell you about the castle and their forces, but the day that Muro arrived on our island, our lives started to fall apart...."
"Muro is a horrible man, who's been taking our people as hostage to use them as subjects for his experiment. Every person that you see in this area was experimented on at least once. Many of people died, and most of the children were too young for the test..."
"This demolished district you see now was once a vibrant street with people having everything they could've asked for; jobs, families, homes, food, water. But, quickly it started to tear apart."
"Muro gathered the 'Sun Soldiers' to his side, by willing to rich them with everything they asked for. Our only defenders, and our only soldiers of the island were taken to the side of evil."
"My husband was once a polite, kind and helpful man, but he too, fell under Muro's control. We don't know what caused the 'Sun Soldiers' to join up with Muro, but they started to treat poor people with dismay."
Isabella spoke softly. Everyone could see from the way she spoke that she found it difficult to talk about the past, but they needed to know.
Yumiko also waited calmly. Her fearful, anxious, and sad countenance concealed her smile. She felt nervous. She shivered and grabbed her legs tightly. Her mother's words were difficult to hear in their fullness.
That was picked up by Tem, Ralphie, and Kou while she was in a quiet position. She remained still, without even moving one inch.
"Muro's priorities are his experiments. He doesn't care about people's health. For a while, his experiments didn't work at all, but after a few days, it started to piece itself together."
"The first subject that worked, he came across, was Empress Oriyana. Her royal blood caused his first experiment to work. He created a potion that would give any human a special power. Powers such as the elements that some people control. Some abilities that pirates and marines across the world control."
"Despite putting Empress Oriyana unconscious, she survived, and that caused her to work under Muro's commands. Despite that, she's the only person in the castle who tends not to harm people, unless the people themselves disturb her."
"Soon, the potion that Muro mixed together, with Empress's royal blood, began to extend. He tested it on two women; Tinna and Rika, the two women who are now Empress Oriyana's defenders."
"The potion insisted a special type of ingredient that caused these two girls to receive special kind of abilities. He transformed them into a warrior whose powers transformed them into a humanoid snake. Now, whenever they want, they are able to transform into large creature that combines their human torso into the snake's tail."
Tem familiar of the two girls. She managed to recall their faces as she had first encountered them in the sauna of the Empress Oriyana. She remembered that the two women spoke with snake-like tongues.
Her gaze was fixed on Isabella's face as if she were a target waiting to be shot. She listened intently while showing attention and attentiveness. Muro needed to be stopped, and something had to be done to win back the "Sun Soldiers."
Yumiko then carried on to continue the story. She was gripping her left shoulder, which had her tattoo, and staring down at the ground. The mark that served as the "Sun's Order" tattoo's insignia.
"Then, after testing on multiple people, Muro figured out that women's blood was more sufficient to work in the potions. He decided to come up with 'Maiden Selection'. A ceremony where the 'Sun Soldiers' gather a group of fifteen women and tricks them into believing that they would work as maidens."
"However, the reason for gathering the women is not what people believe. Women are forced into the so-called alliance. They are forced to do unthinkable things, and told to share their blood with Muro to improve the collection of his potions."
"Since women believed that working as maiden would give them a respectful amount of money, they were certain that was their only way to help their families. But, after the three women are selected as the "maidens", most regret their decisions. Not a single woman had returned, but..."
"Tem... If you remember... I was one of those test subjects."
Tem was reminded by Yumiko of her experience being chosen as a maiden. Her words stumbled, and she was beginning to feel disturbed by her ideas. Tem's rage was evidently roiling in her mouth. Muro's objective was undoubtedly terrible. Before went out of control, she could hardly control her wrath.
"All I wanted to do was to raise money to help my family and people around this town, but as I said. That was not what Muro's intentions were. After I was forced to work for him, and do whatever he wanted, he took a sample of my blood."
"The moment he combined it with the potion, it worked without problems. He finally found a test subject that worked perfectly for his experiments. He put me through a test of combat, where I had to survive in a cage, battling one of the women."
"That woman's eyes were dull. She was brainwashed by Muro's ability, and then, to survive I had to kill an innocent girl. She was just a test subject, that didn't have a clue what she was doing. She was soulless. She was torn as paper; she was helpless."
"I didn't like it one bit. I was... scared... But, then, I was forced to be promoted into one of the 'Sun Soldiers', just like my father was. They trained me to become a proper swordswoman. I had to work for Muro for weeks, until I decided that it was enough."
"I ran away from the castle, and Muro's experiments started to decay. Without my samples of blood, the experiments were useless. My escape cursed Muro's control. He raged out and deployed the 'Sun Soldiers' to hunt me down."
"I was gone for some time, and then, one day, when I was trying to enter the castle. I was hoping to sneak into the castle's storage where food was held. But, that's when I came across you, Tem. I thought you were one of the test subjects that Muro had tested on, only to fail, but no..."
"You were somebody else. Someone who I've heard news about all over the radios, newspapers. I saw that your latest act was inside the 'Golden Wasakona'. I saw that you defended it and stopped, Sea Noble Byron from ruling that place."
"I believed that you might be headed this way, and in luck, that's what happened."
"Now that you're here.... There's finally a chance that we can stop this, and who would've thought... You actually decided to-"
A loud roar outside drowned out her remarks. People began to scream loudly. Children's shrill cries were resonating throughout the street as the voices started to fill its surroundings.
Through the broken window, Yumiko's family and Tem's friends watched the outside scene. They had nervousness and sweat written all over their faces. Isabella hugged Phillip with all of her weight, when he was scared.
Unaware of what was currently happening. Kou, Yumiko, Ralphie, and Tem all stood up to their feet. They forced open the door and stepped outdoors into the chaos of the street. Many individuals were lying on the ground, most of whom were harmed.
Everyone shared the same direction of gaze, toward the approach of someone.
They were observing a man. Fit on the uniform, dressed in darker clothing with brilliant yellow. The back of a cloak, and skinny black leggings. He had a black beard covering his face and covered his right eye with an eyepatch. Short, straight, black hair that was tingly on top.
On the back of the cape was a cutlass. He was exceptionally tall; his height was not average. His solemn expression persisted on his face, a confident face.
On both sides of his shoulders, the yellow sun symbol was sewn into his clothing. The third, who was larger, stitched the cloak.
The street echoed to the sound of his deep, powerful voice. He made an unexpected announcement.
"Strays such as yourself should know. Tell me where your perfect little feast-catcher is. Tell me where the girl, Yumiko resides!"
The person standing in the street's first row turned his right arm to the side. He punched a man in the face with a large, powerful fist. The man threw the bystander into one of the walls without restraint through the sidewalk. The starving, famished individual was killed with just one blow.
The mouth and eyes of Tem and her companions twitched. Tem had no idea what to expect from the man's presence. It was sufficient to cause drops of sweat to trickle from her forehead to her cheek.
Only one other person was visible, blocking the man's path. A woman. The man simply smacked the woman in the face and threw her to the ground, just as before.
His strength alone was horrendously immense.
In front of the man, the crowds scattered to the sides. Yumiko was standing close to Tem, Ralphie, and Kou when he discovered her. Her eyes recognized who the person in front of her really was. It was the "Sun Soldiers'" leader.
The man approached the group from the front. When he saw Yumiko's friends, he looked down and quickly exchanged view with Tem. He could see the seething passion consuming her eyes., the sensation of concealed power and wrath.
Garuda, the strongest among men. The strongest of the so-called "Sun Soldiers" was where they least expected him to be.
To be continued...