The Girl in Black

Two weeks had passed since Raishun had first arrived in Dadabarunga. Though he despised waking up before the sun was in the sky, it was something he had adapted to after several rude awakenings involving Castor, his scroll, and some inappropriate videos playing loudly on speaker. It had also become a custom to change his password nightly, not that it helped prevent the red-haired man from doing what he pleased. Even though the mornings were full of misunderstandings and excuses as to why strange sounds came from the living room, patrolling the village by day and training at night put him oddly at peace.

Today was no different, he stretched his tired arms over his head as he watched Carmila train with the dummies in his backyard. Her movements were so relaxed, like grass blowing in the wind, yet each strike with the heavy claymore in her hands tore the dummies apart with the force of a hurricane. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't tear his eyes away from her, at least until he felt a sharp knock to the back of his head that nearly knocked him off his feet.

"Hello? You there RaiRai?" Castor teased with a playful frown, "You're in the middle of an important lesson with your teacher remember?"

"Right sorry!" Raishun replied quickly with tears stinging the corners of his eyes.

Both of them were standing by the fence that surrounded Raishun's backyard. Each one held their Imperial arm, but they weren't there to fight.

"Alright, I'm gonna repeat everything since you were left breathless by the woman of your dreams." He flashed a toothy grin when Raishun attempted to sputter out a response, "To unleash the power of your Imperial Arm you have to pay a toll. No two tolls are the same, just like no two Arms are exactly the same. Normally Imperial Arms are passed down through a ceremony where Varnya Uldren, The Creator of Blades, explains the toll and abilities for the Arm. Problem is you just up and found it, so we got nothing."

"To be fair it was a very lucky find," Raishun murmured dejectedly.

"Agree to disagree, now we're gonna have to experiment to try and find out what it is."

Reaching into his pants pockets, Castor started pulling out objects and placing them on the ground. A can of soda, a toothbrush, a half-used stick of chalk, and lastly a pocket knife. The last item sent a shiver down Raishun's spine and he took a step back.

"Uhh, you know what? W-why don't you tell me what your toll is? You know lead by example and all that!" He said with a weak laugh.

Castor froze for a moment. Slowly the ever-present laid-back aura he exuded was replaced by a sullen weight. His eyes went dark as if he were just told that the world was coming to an end.

"My toll is a psychological one. Whenever I tap into my Imperial Arm's power, I have a nightmare of my loved ones being killed in horrible ways. It can't be avoided, and I can't change the outcome of my dream. It's something I have to face every night since I use it's power every day protecting the village."

By the time he finished explaining, Castor's body seemed to have aged forward several decades. Dark bags underlined his eyes, and he was hunched over as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his back. His fingers trembled weakly at his sides. Raishun had never seen him in such a state, he could only stare at the man in shock until Castor smiled weakly.

"Wanna see something neat?" Reaching down, he undid the leather bindings keeping his Imperial Arm tied to his palm. The moment the crimson stone hit the floor, the red color in Castor's hair seemed to melt away, leaving behind only a dark brown color.

"You'll experience a change like this too," Castor explained, reaching down and tying the stone back to his palm. The red color instantly returned to his hair, and the depressing air surrounding their conversation returned to its usual lightheartedness. "It might not be hair color, but you'll take on a trait of your dyad when you use their power. If the bond between you two is strong enough then you might be able to use both your semblances at once, just like the Reclaimer of Dawn did."

Raishun didn't know who this "Reclaimer of Dawn" was, but he nodded and went along with what the man was saying.

"Well come on then, let's stick this knife in your hand so we can start." Castor grasped the knife in one hand and grabbed Raishun's wrist with the other. He raised the knife above his head dramatically and prepared to stab it through his student's palm.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!!!" I already know my toll!" Raishun scrambled backward and clutched his hands close to his body. "It's emotions! Emotions are what give it power!"

Castor put on a disappointed frown and let the knife slip from his fingers and fall to the floor with a dull clunk. "Come on you couldn't have said that before I was getting pumped up to slice and dice?" He sighed and began to pack up the items. "Oh right. Here." He reached into his back pocket and threw a wadded up ball of bandages to Raishun, who caught it after fumbling a bit.

"What's this for? You're not still gonna stab me are you?"

"It's not for you, it's for the Imperial Arm." He gestured towards the hilt of the black sword, "We don't want anyone accidentally touching it. Since we finished a whole lot earlier than expected, you can help me with charity work instead."

"Charity work? Like what a soup kitchen?" Raishun replied right as he finished tying the cloth around the crimson hilt. With one last tug to secure the bindings, he shot the older man a quizzical look, "'Cause I don't think they allow swords in the kitchen or at least Carmila doesn't."

"Nope. We're gonna be dealing with something a lot more terrifying than my cooking." Castor typed something into his scroll, gulped, then shoved the device back into his pocket. "Yona's just around the corner, prepare yourself while you still can."

Raishun heard them before he saw them. From down the roadway came the sounds of screams and the rapid thudding of boots on the dirt. A moment later and Yona appeared, flanked by two figures in gray uniforms. At their feet, a group of 3 children ran around in circles. Two of them suddenly looked right at the pair of Legions, and their faces lit up as they made a beeline straight for them.

"Uncle Castor!!" The two children squealed in delight. They closed the distance between them in seconds and threw themselves at the older man. With a hearty laugh, he lifted both of them onto his biceps and spun them around, eliciting a fit of giggles and playful screams.

"Felicia! Kira! I missed you, you little scamps!" He stopped spinning them, and his expression of joy turned to one of confusion. He lightly bounced the arm the girl was sitting on and hummed in thought. "Felicia... have you gained weight?"

Yona facepalmed, Raishun could hear Carmila sigh in defeat behind him. He could only watch in dismay when Felicia looked at Castor in shock. She sniffled and started slamming her tiny fists onto his shoulder repeatedly.

"I did not gain weight meanie!" She cried, orange curls flying higher into the air with every blow.

Castor screamed and tried to dodge one of her blows until to knock his head against Kira's fist with a pained grunt.

"You can't say that to girls Castor." The boy said in a deadpan voice and adjusted his glasses. "You're dumb."

"I'm not dumb!! I just can't stop the words before they leave my mouth is all!" He snapped, then turned to Felicia with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Felicia it was just a bad joke is all! You're light as a feather I promise!"

The girl sniffled, then wiped her runny nose on Castor's arm. "I-I'll forgive you. But don't make the same mistake again!" Her demeanor shifted, and she threw her arms around his neck. He seemed less than pleased with the state of his shirt, but sighed softly and turned to his student with a smile.

"You see, we got a deal with the people running the radar. They run an orphanage on the side, but taking care of kids and making sure everyone's calls aren't dropped with such a short staff tends to take a toll on people. So we take care of the kids every fall and winter, then give them back for the spring and summer."

He paused and looked at the children. "Say, where are Magnolia and Lewin? They feeling under the weather?"

"They got taken away by some adults," Kira replied, his eyes downcast. "Will we ever see them again?"

"Of course, they're friends, aren't they? They'll come visit sometime." He ruffled the boy's hair and lowered him and Felicia to the ground with a smile. "Besides, it just means you get to spend more time with Uncle Castor! Isn't that great?"

Kira nodded and huddled closer to Felicia. Turning to the last child of the group, Castor watched as they poked their head out from behind Yona. They wore a small black cloak, with the hood pulled low over their face so only their mouth was visible. They lifted their head, and a single crimson eye poked out from the darkness, examining him.

"Who are you, little fella?" He approached the child and knelt down to their level. He grinned and poked a thumb into his chest. "I'm Castor, the village hero and the best looking--"

The child clicked their tongue and looked away from him with a scowl.

"That's Morgan. She got here a week ago." Felicia looked at the girl and stuck out her tongue. "She doesn't talk, and she doesn't take her cloak even when it's hot."

Castor contemplated for a moment, then turned to Raishun. "Why don't you take care of her? I'm sure having her around would liven up the place."

"M-me? I mean I could try but I've never--"

"Awesome! You're a lifesaver RaiRai!" He scooped up Felica and Kira in his arms and began to walk away with Yona. "C'mon kids, Uncle Castor's gonna show ya how he won all those eating contests!"

Raishun sighed and stared awkwardly at the two radar workers. They nodded at him in thanks and left to return to their duties, leaving him alone with Morgan.

"So, you're Morgan huh?" He copied Castor by kneeling to her level before continuing, "My name's Raishun. I'm new here just like you."

"..." Morgan blinked but didn't respond.

"Morgan's a really nice name, it's nice and easy to say. My name's always been a bit difficult, people always confuse it with Raisin. Heck, even computers get confused and get my name wrong!"

"..." She continued to stare at him silently.

Raishun laughed nervously, "S-so what do you like to do for fun? Cooking? Drawing? Playing games?"

"...Reading." Her voice was high pitched, but the same hint of maturity that'd been present in Kira was there, along with a calmness he wasn't used to seeing in children. "I like books, but we don't have a lot of them."

Raishun grinned and rose to his feet. "I know a place with a ton of books, and you can read them all you want for free. Wanna go?"