Val's Return

Nezumi climbed up to the mountain's summit, and the others followed one by one. The group gathered side by side at the peak and looked around.

Their surroundings looked as if carved by hand.

Hundreds of mountains encircled one plateau where a cozy village sat. The plateau was quite large, housing thousands of wooden buildings and structures.

They all looked down at a seething mass of people. Everyone in the crowd shared an expression that implied they were awaiting something.

Hashira arrived at the summit, and the crowd erupted in cheers. But the shouts quickly halted as they all reassumed their previous facial expressions.

Raijah wondered what the crowd was waiting on.

Val was the last to reach the summit, and the others blocked her view of the village.

She took a deep breath, and the others moved around to make room for her at the summit.

When the crowd saw Val, they erupted into wild cheers, even louder than the applause they gave Hashira.

Even the children in the crowd participated in the cheers. They jumped up and down with excitement.

Val's face lit up with joy.

"I guess they didn't forget about me."

Raijah continued to look around and the air filled with the pungent smell of freshwater.

His eyes locked on a water reservoir with bright blue water. The river split the plateau in half, and it stretched through the entirety of the Shi Mountains.

Its countless curves and blue water gave it the appearance of a blue dragon.

Val caught Raijah's eye and said, "that's the Takoizu River. The river is a tribute to Blue the dragon. It splits the Shi Mountains in half and separates the districts of the most dominant families."

"The side we're on is the Shi family's district, and the other side is home to Nezumi's family. The Kamakura."

Across the river, Raijah noticed a civilization with noticeably different architecture.

"So," he pointed to a statue at the center of the river, "is that a statue of you?"

The large statue depicted a woman standing over the river. She had one foot in the Shi's district and the other in the Kamakura's.

She had her arms stretched outward, and she held a sword horizontally.

"No," Val laughed, "that's the statue of Saku. She's the most prominent member of the Shi Family."

"Oh. For some reason, you two look almost identical."

"Yeah," Val replied, "I get that a lot."

"Come on," she said, motioning for the others, "let's get down there."

Although they were still chanting, the crowd made a path for Val and the others.

One man stood at the end of the path with his left arm spread out and an inviting grin on his face.

He wore a long, sleeveless, black cape that covered his right arm, and he had an unbuttoned garment underneath. Although he was a ways away, they could still see his defined muscles.

"Father!"

Before the others knew it, Val bolted toward the man and almost tackled him as she hugged him tightly.

Her father and every other member of the Shi family shared Val's most evident features. They each had black hair and an equally dark iris.

Val introduced Cora, Raijah, and Teo to her father and the rest of the Shi family.

After the introductions, Val's father, Ujinari, made an announcement.

"Both my father and my daughter have returned!" he shouted, "as fellow members of the Shi family, let us celebrate the return of our own!"

For the next few hours, the Shi and Kamakura came together to celebrate.

Raijah and Teo instantly became the center of attention and spent most of their time avoiding the women of the tribes.

Val and Cora, on the other hand, were able to enjoy the celebration under Ujinari's seemingly protective shield.

As the celebration wrapped up, Val and Raijah sat on one of the surrounding mountains.

They stared down at the two villages. Now that the sun was setting, the brightest light came from the water of the Takoizu River.

"That was pretty crazy," Raijah said, trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah," Val giggled, "you and Teo couldn't catch a break."

"Speaking of Teo," Raijah responded, "where is he?"

"He's getting his hair done by one of the Kamakura's hairdressers. She just met him a few minutes ago, but I think she might already have a thing for him."

Cora leaped up to the mountain and joined Val and Raijah.

"I was wondering where you two were," she said, "by the way, Val. Your father is incredibly nice."

"He gave me these cool dragon earrings. They're identical to the ones you're wearing right now."

"Yeah," Val replied with a smile, "he's almost too kind for his own good."

"That reminds me," Raijah began, "your father. What happened to his right arm?"

"That black cape that he wears covers his right arm. And I noticed that when we first got here, and you hugged him, he only used his left arm. Even throughout the celebration, I never once saw him use his right arm."

"Well," Val said in a noticeably sadder tone.

"If you don't want to talk about it, then it's fine-"

"No," she said, "he lost his right arm when something attacked the Shi Mountains. It was also during that attack that I lost my mother."

Both Raijah and Cora were shocked by her unexpected response.

"Oh," Raijah said, trying to hide his shock, "I didn't mean to revitalize those memories. It must've been tough for you."

"It's fine."

Raijah thought of an idea.

"You know, I could just make him a new arm with my true divine prana."

"He probably wouldn't let you. To him, not having that arm serves as a memento of my mother. Besides, he's still pretty strong without it."

"But it's fine," Val put on a smile, "It's your first time in my homeland. I don't want the past to ruin it for either of you."

"Come on," she stood up, causing Raijah and Cora to do the same. "Let me show you something."

"I know when you envisioned the Shi Mountains that probably thought of some lousy collection of mountains."

"But, this mountain range is one of the largest in the world. It's around the size of a continent."

"Val!" A voice came from below them.

They all looked down and saw Nezumi standing on a rooftop.

"Where're you heading?"

"I'm going to show them our old training spot," Val replied from atop the mountain, "you want to tag along?"

Nezumi glanced at Raijah and said, "sure."

They all dashed away, following after Val.

Deep down in the ground under the Shi Mountains, in the planet's mantle. There was a hideout.

There was a man in this hideout. He wore two distinct earrings, one depicting an hourglass and the other a spiral. He stood in a dim room, lit only by a few torches.

The man adjusted his glasses and said, "it seems those artificial animals I rigged the mountains with paid off. Through those animals, I have eyes everywhere."

He tapped his glasses and began to see the Shi Mountains through an artificial lizard.

Val and the others neared the lizard, and the man began to grin as he saw Val run past. Her sword was sheathed and tied to her waist with her hakama belt.

The man tapped his glasses once more, and his eyesight returned to normal.

"She's returned. And she wields something of value."

The man placed his palm on the wall.

The wall split, revealing a vertical compartment that held a man's corpse.

"This is one of my more ancient creations. But it should be enough to get the job done."

"By inserting the DNA of many ancient animals that roamed the mountains, I was able to create a being that can undergo metamorphoses by tapping into the various foreign DNA."

"Although the procedure seemed successful, I never got around to testing this specimen."

"This is the perfect opportunity to test how genius I, Tensai was so many years ago."

He placed his palm on the corpse, and its eyes suddenly snapped open.

The once humanoid creature immediately began to transform.

Its fangs bared and saliva leaked from both ends of the creature's mouth. Its hair grew rapidly, causing fur to cover the human body.

Tensai stepped back and smiled.

"Such a beautiful creation."

"Go."

"I'd like to test the power of our adversaries before I make my move."

"Give both her and her friends a warm welcome to the Shi Mountains."