{Date: 10/16 - Sunday}
{Time: 11:30 AM}
"Alright, Mama! We're heading out!" Adrianna called out from the front door, grabbing the car keys off the key holder on the wall.
"Alright! Que todos se diviertan!" Chelsey called back out from the living room.
Adrianna giggled softly, turning toward the rest of us with a playful smile. "Alright, let's ride!~"
We all began to leave the house one by one, heading toward Chelsey's vehicle, a blue, luxury X-Class Mercedes Benz truck that seemed to shimmer within the sun's beautiful glow. Orika and I were slightly blown back from the beauty of the truck, stopping in our tracks to admire the vehicle.
"I'm riding in the trunk," Olivia yawned, making her way to the back of the truck.
"I'm with you, I like the way the wind hits my hair. Really makes me feel like I'm on stage," Rain chuckled, following behind Olivia.
Autumn stretched lightly as she followed behind Rain and Olivia. "C'mon Sakura, I'd rather hear you yap about your next tournament than listen to Olivia and Rain make the next saddest hit."
"Nothing says 'I love you' more than shitting on your siblings' dream huh..?" Olivia asked, her tone sarcastic as she watched Autumn approach the trunk, leaning against she edge with her head resting on her arms.
"You know I'm just joking. Geez, you're just as much of a drama queen as Aunt Aubrie," Autumn said, climbing into the trunk and sat back to help Sakura on.
Sakura held Autumn's hands, using Autumn's assistance to hop into the trunk of the trunk then smoothed out the skirt of her sailor suit. "More like the exact opposite of her mom~ Olivia is way more calm compared to Auntie Aubrie."
Olivia rolled her eyes and turned around to sit next to Rain, letting out a soft sigh then put her earbuds in her ears. "Whatever..."
Adrianna chuckled softly at the four, turning toward me and Orika, watching us walk toward the truck. "Alright, let's head out~ El día no se está volviendo más joven~"
I smiled at Adrianna, circling over toward the passenger side of the truck. "Right, the day isn't getting any younger, but it is still young..~"
{Adrianna liked that a lot...}
{Bond with Adrianna increased.}
"Hmm..~ I guess someone took Spanish classes before. Might give Ryder a run for his money," Adrianna teased, glancing at Ryder with a mischievous grin before hopping into the truck.
Ryder scoffed softly, opening the truck door and hopped inside. "As if. I am Multilingual, knowing over 20 different languages including Hawaiian, Japanese, and Spanish."
"Someone's getting competitive already..~" Desiree chuckled, holding the door open for Orika to get in first.
Once we were all settled into the truck, Adrianna started the engine, the beautiful roar of the truck filling the air. Sakura let out a loud exclaim of excitement, her voice slightly muffled from the growls of the truck. We couldn't help but to laugh, Sakura's energy increasing ours by the second.
Once the truck was fully warmed up, Adrianna drove off from the driveway, our journey around the legendary city, Destiny Central, now coming to a start.
"So, Ms. Nomura. You and Orika are here for Holiday Training huh? What are you planning to do while you're here in Destiny Islands?" Adrianna asked, her gaze flicking toward me before focusing back on the road.
I shrugged my shoulders lightly, watching the scenery speed by us as we drove down the street. "I honestly don't know. We kinda had... complications the first day we arrived. Our plans were post poned for now."
"Ahh, I see. By the way, you and Orika were all beaten up yesterday. What happened? You didn't run into those dumb Lost Syndicates did you?" Adrianna asked, wanting to know what happened to me and Orika.
"Nah...It wasn't whoever they are. It was actually with myself. I know it's gonna sound crazy, but I was basically fighting myself..?" I began, glancing at Adrianna with an awkward expression, scratching the back of my head. "You know, a manifestation of my fragmented mind..."
"It doesn't sound too unrealistic to me," Adrianna said, coming to a stop at a red light then sat back in her seat. "We deal with things even I can't exactly explain, have power not many even experience. I can understand what you mean."
I gazed at her face, seeing an entire story inside her eyes behind her warm smile and knew she's seen what it's like on the battlefield. "Can I ask you something?"
Adrianna looked over at me, her hands steady on the wheel. "Sure, hit me."
I scratched the side of my head and closed my eyes, letting out a soft sigh as I thought about how to word my question. "You mentioned Lost Syndicates right, are they not the normal Syndicates or something?"
"Nah, these guys are something new. I know...I killed one of them to get back the masks my father gifted to Charlotte to use against them," Ryder answered, looking at his Mask of The Ace and his second mask, the Mask of Fortune. "The Lost Syndicates are abnormal and seeking vengeance.."
I glanced back at Ryder, sensing that he's had his fair taste in hardships on the battlefield. I looked ahead, watching as the city moved past us as Adrianna began driving again. "I know Judgement is the True Syndicates, but... why are you all fighting against the Lost Syndicates?"
"It's because they are primarily targeting us. The Syndicates we're upset about the outcome of Papa's battle against Lotus 20 years ago when Papa defeated and killed Lotus," Adrianna answered, laying out the entire reason for me, leaving no room for interpretation.
"And you all have enough time to hang out like this? You all seem to be out daily," Orika said, not knowing if Adrianna understood her or not.
Adrianna tilted her head slightly, acknowledging Orika's point. "Yeah, but that's only because Old Karma and New Karma actively protect Destiny Islands from the Lost Syndicates while Charlotte's Mafia protects basically the rest of the planet."
"Yep and after the Sanctuary Agency killed Barbara Pace, the Syndicates went hiding again to regroup. We are in a time of peace right now," Desiree hummed, adjusting her sunglasses to block out the sun.
Orika looked a bit surprised, for more reasons than one. "Whoa, you can speak Japanese too?"
"We have two Japanese siblings, Rain and Sakura, of course we learned it so we could speak to them. It's just like with us and Olivia, who speaks French with her mother, or us and Adrianna, who speaks Spanish," Desiree chuckled, getting comfortable in her seat and smiled contently.
Adrianna glanced in the rearview, noticing Desiree relaxed in her seat and checked up on Rain and the others riding in the trunk. "Alright, let's switch topics~ Where do you want to visit first? We have an array of choices..~"
I looked at Adrianna then looked down at my phone to check the map. Genesis floated down upon my lap, looking at the map as well to find the places tourists would most likely go.
"How about...the arcade?" I asked, my eyes glued to the map as I studied it carefully.
"Alright, to Gamers Paradise we go!~" Adrianna said excitedly, driving off toward Destiny Plaza where most of the attractions were.
{Time: 11:30 AM}
We made it to Destiny Plaza, it's beautiful palm trees and large interconnected buildings showing just how much of a perfect resort and home Destiny Islands can truly be. Adrianna parked the truck within the main district of the plaza, allowing each of us to hop out.
I looked around my surroundings, admiring the large buildings and the bustling streets around us. In front of us, there was a large fountain with a statue of Shiro Moji within the middle.
"Whoa, is that your dad?" I asked, glancing at Adrianna with an impressed expression flashing on my face.
Adrianna smiled at the statue, letting out a soft, nostalgic sigh. "Yeah, that's our papa...The Legendary Destiny Hero, Shiro Moji. Every time we hang out, we always come here because this is the only way to see him currently."
Orika tilted her head slightly, gently holding my hand then looked at the statue of Shiro. "Is he...dead?"
"Surprisingly, he's still alive. It's gonna sound really crazy, but we believe he became a god. Last we heard of him, he was on another planet entirely," Ryder said, walking ahead with his hands behind his head. "The only ones who will ever truly know where he is are those who have the Natural Stigma of the Mojisola."
I rose an eyebrow, wondering what the stigma would look like. 'Hmm...Maybe that's a potential reason why they are being targeted? Maybe they want to know where he is...'
Genesis noticed my usual analytical gaze had returned, a bright smile playing on her face. "I'm guessing the gears are finally turning again?~"
I broke out of my trance at the sound of Genesis's voice, glancing toward her with a soft chuckle. "You can say that...I guess I'm also curious about Shiro now that I'm here. It's not every day you hear of a Legendary Figure like him."
"Well, if you wanna learn more about him and his legend, there is a Museum here at the plaza. We can check it out after the trip from the arcade!" Adrianna said, marching forward behind Ryder and Desiree.
I smiled at her then glanced at Orika, interlocking our fingers together. "Let's go have some fun~"
Orika nodded, following behind me as we began to catch up to Adrianna. Sakura, Rain, Autumn, and Olivia hung out behind us, taking their own leisurely pace to chat and hang out together.
We finally made it to the arcade, Gamer's Paradise, a large building sitting between a movie theater and a local pizza place. The building had an array of bright neon lights, the sign above the building flickering with a variety of beautiful patterns.
Inside, we were all met with the sounds of families and friends alike enjoying a wide multitude of games and machines around. The noises of the machines around is created a symphony of different melodies and chimes all at once.
"Alright, we're here. Rain, you know where we are going," Olivia said, grabbing Rain's wrist, dragging him along with her to play the Guitar Hero Arcade.
"Wait a second, Olive," Rain said, stumbling forward and his phone fumbling in his hands.
Autumn chuckled softly at the two, looking down at her phone to check her messages. Before she could settle in on her screen, she was suddenly pulled along by Sakura. "What the—!?"
"C'mon, Autumn, we have high scores to beat in laser tag!" Sakura declared, marching toward the line for laser tag.
"Wh-What?! I'm not playing that game, that equipment is so hot and heavy!" Autumn protested, groaning softly as Sakura continued pulling her along.
"Sometimes, I'm glad I live in New America and not here, but I really enjoy being here because of their different personalities," Ryder said, placing his hands in his pockets, a small smile curling on his lips as he watched the four split off in their groups.
Adrianna chuckled softly at Ryder's comment, shaking her head slightly and began walking off to find a game to play. "They can be a handful sometimes, but they are the most unified group. Probably more unified than the Sanctuary City Girls..~"
"My my, your bias is showing, Mamas..~" Desiree purred in a teasingly flirtatious tone, walking off to follow behind Ryder.
Adrianna blushed slightly, a soft giggle escaping from her lips, rubbing the back of her neck then let out a soft exhale. "Maybe..~"
I walked toward Adrianna, watching as Ryder and Desiree disappeared to play on the claw machines. "Mmm, some sibling rivalry huh?"
Adrianna turned toward me and Orika, her usual smile returning to her face. "Yeah, but it's not too serious. My half sister, Anabel La Rio, and her brother, Leo La Rio, are basically captains of the Sanctuary City faction of New Karma and I'm the captain of this faction, so we do have a bit of a rivalry going on."
Orika understood where Adrianna came from, giving her a soft smile. "I guess I can kinda relate to that. My cousin and I are currently in a rivalry for my grandmother's mantle."
"En realidad? I wish you the best in that then, if you need any help with training, I'm always training with Anake Celene since I already graduated college with my degree," Adrianna said, excited to offer us a bit of training while we were here.
"You know, I kinda like this human...Her Spirit is strong and her power level is off the charts..~" Cerebral said as she stood next to me in her Hound Form, a dark, cerebral chuckle escaping her lips.
"For some reason, I don't think she's being evil when saying that..." Genesis said, looking down at Cerebral with her head tilted slightly.
"It would be nice to be trained by the daughter of a legend," Orika said, bowing toward Adrianna politely.
Adrianna smiled at Orika, nodding her head and let out a pleased hum. "It would be my pleasure. Now, how about we all find a game to play together, hmm?~"
"Sounds like a plan," I said, smiling at Adrianna, ready to enjoy our time at the arcade.
With that, the three of us went off on our own to play various games together ranging from racing games, puzzle games, even a bit of VR games the arcade offered. This outing began to feel different, without my usual worries on my shoulders, I actually felt free without judgement.
{Time: 5:30 PM}
After a few hours of hanging out at the arcade and watching a movie from the theater connected to the arcade next door, we decided to stop by the pizza place on the other side of the arcade for dinner. The pizza place was their favorite place to eat and their personal recommendation.
Walking inside the shop, the immediate scent of pizza wafted our noses, welcoming our hunger inside. Adrianna decided to order the pizza for all of us, allowing us to wait outside in the outside dining area.
After a few minutes, Adrianna walked back outside with two boxes of pizza in her hands. "Alright, stuffed crust pizza for dinner tonight!~ Let's chow down!"
"Finally, I'm starving," Olivia sighed, setting her phone between her lap and sat back in her seat.
"It already smells so delicious..~" Sakura gasped, her mouth watering to have a taste of the pizza.
Adrianna sat the boxes down on the table, taking her spot next to me. She opened the box, the golden beauty of the pizza shimmering to life before our very eyes. Albeit, we were all very hungry, so the pizza looked like the best dish we've ever laid eyes on.
One by one, we all began to take our slices of pizza, enjoying every bite. While everyone else was chatting between themselves, Orika and I ate silently, too busy admiring the taste of the pizza as it was the best food I've had in a long time since Kikyo's cooking.
"You two are awfully quiet over there, too shy to join in the conversation?" Autumn asked, her gaze meeting mine with a provocative smirk.
I rolled my eyes at her, using my napkin to wipe my mouth. "Sorry if me eating is bothering you so much, but I'll gladly join the conversation since I do have a question in mind."
Rain looked at me, raising an eyebrow and set down his phone. "What's up?"
"Well..." I began, my voice trailing off a bit as I began to think about how to ask my question. "You all seem to talk about Shiro a lot and I was just curious...what was he like when he was here."
Autumn grunted softly, closing her eyes and scratching the back of her head. "Uhm...well, we only really know him from the history books and from stories when Adrianna was little."
"Yeah, I'm the only child who has really ever met him. It was a very interesting experience. My mom calls their meeting a blessing in disguise. He was always so nice to us, nice to me...so when he disappeared, it really hurt..." Adrianna said, a soft, bittersweet smile playing on her lips.
"But, we do know he's still alive through Anake Celene and the Mojisola Deities! But the only people who knows where exactly he's located is Leilani, Celene, and Mama Ani," Sakura said, wiping her hands with her napkins with a bright smile.
'As I thought, Leilani is the bearer of the Vow of the Mojisola. Should've been obvious from her Bloodline Abilities...' I thought, crossing my arms as I listened to each of them.
"So why hasn't anyone told you where he is exactly?" I asked, my gaze shifting between each of them.
"Well, we know where he is. He's on an entirely different planet named Esoria and apparently, he is known as the Savior of Esoria. He's been there for the last 20 years," Adrianna answered, leaning back in her seat, looking up at the evening sky then pointed up at it.
"However, I know he's watching over us...the Golden Star is what guides and fuels me. It shines no matter what time of day it is and is always directly west of us, pointing to Hawaii," Adrianna continued, her tone a melancholic melody of nostalgia and bittersweetness, a soft smile playing on her face.
Orika and I looked at the sky as well, seeing the radiant golden star that twinkled brightly despite the sun still sitting near the horizon. It was a spectacle, no logic could explain such a phenomenon of why the Golden Star shone so bright, but my heart could feel the entire story behind it.
"It's so beautiful...is it the only star like that?" Orika asked, glancing at Adrianna with an amazed expression.
"As far as I know, yeah, it is the only star like that. It's been shining like that for as long as I can remember and it's the one thing keeping me going everyday," Adrianna hummed, glancing over at Orika with a bright smile.
"As much as people downplay Adrianna, she is the third Destiny Child despite not being our dad's biological daughter. She knows practically everything about him from combat to secrets, she was literally chosen to represent the Golden Star," Olivia said, her gaze distant as she watched a group of people making their way to the museum, grabbing her phone from between her lap.
Ryder felt his phone buzz, taking it out of his pocket to check it. He noticed he got a message from Olivia, opening the message and reading it. He looked up from his screen, subtly awakening his Unleashed State to sense around his surroundings.
He picked up on the group of people headed toward the museum then turned around to spot them within the crowd. He turned toward Adrianna, clearing his throat. "Since we're on the topic of our dad, we should make our final spot the museum. A lot of people want to learn more about him."
Adrianna immediately picked up the specific tone he used for his final sentence, a knowing smile playing on her face. "Right, it would be a perfect way for Hisumi and Orika to learn the multiple aspects of our Papa."
"That's alright with us, a trip to the museum wouldn't hurt," I said, turning to look at Orika for her decision.
Orika nodded, an excited smile curling on her lips. "Yeah, let's go~"
With our final plans for the evening set, we began to collect our trash and throw it away. We began to traverse down the plaza toward the museum, Orika and I excited to learn more about Shiro and his legacy.