EPISODE 2; AI KIRISAWA

After the incident with Bunnyos Extremos, I remained unconscious for three straight days. When I finally opened my eyes, I found myself in a large unfamiliar room with everything a boy my age could wish for. But the best part was that I woke up to find Ayumi looking after me.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"You‟ve been unconscious for three whole days. My father and I have been taking good care of you" Ayumi said.

"WHAAAAT?!" I exclaimed in shock.

I struggled to sit up and that‟s when I realized that every single bone in my body was exploding with pain. I didn‟t want to look weak in front of Ayumi so I didn‟t scream.

"You must be hungry" Ayumi said as she called one of the servants to bring me breakfast.

I forced myself to sit up. I did not find it comfortable at all not to say in the least bit amusing to have stayed in a girl‟s house for three whole days. One of the reasons was because Wanye always advised me saying,

"Never depend on a girl for anything. If she helps you once, it‟s fine, but allow her to help you more than twice and she‟ll think she owns you"

No way was I going to become some girl‟s boy toy!

I ignored the pain and struggled to my feet.

"What are you doing?!" Ayumi yelled angrily.

"I‟m not supposed to be here and I think I‟ve overstayed my welcome. I‟m outta here" I said stubbornly.

"You can‟t just leave!" Ayumi argued.

"Watch me! Thanks for everything Ayu but I‟m not some kind of leech to depend on you for everything!" I said.

"What did you just call me?!" Ayumi roared.

"I didn‟t say anything dear little Ayu" I said with the intention of making Ayumi angry.

That my friends…was a bad move for in the next moment, there was a huge hole in the wall of the room. I ran out as fast as I could with Ayumi right on my tail.

"CALL ME AYU AGAIN AND YOU‟RE DEAD!" she yelled angrily.

"Why are you so angry Ayu?!" I added more fuel to the fire.

"THAT‟S IT! YOU‟RE DEAD!!!" Ayumi roared.

I just didn‟t understand why I enjoyed making her so angry. As we ran around the house, we bumped into Sir Kirisawa and I tell you, he didn‟t look pleased at all.

"Ayumi Kirisawa! Behave yourself! That is not how guests should be treated in this house!" Mr Kirisawa scolded.

"Yes father" Ayumi said obediently.

Then she gave me an angry glare. I knew she was offended and I wanted to apologize but I just couldn‟t find the right words.

"Your sister wishes to see you Ayumi" Mr Kirisawa said.

"You have a sister? Can you introduce me?!" I exclaimed excitedly but Ayumi gave me an even angrier glare and I knew it meant „BACK OFF!‟ so I remained silent.

"Don‟t worry, Ayumi‟s sister also wants to meet you" Mr Kirisawa said with a smile.

I‟d really like to meet Ayumi‟s sis. I just hope she doesn‟t have a bad attitude like Ayumi does" I teased Ayumi.

"I should have just killed you three days ago when I had the chance" Ayumi muttered and walked away.

I laughed. I didn‟t know then that Ayumi was being serious.

Ayumi climbed the long, winding staircases and eventually arrived at a huge white door at the end of the long corridor. She sighed and opened the door.

Inside the room were a lot of beautiful paintings and at one corner of the room was a big white bed, decorated with precious stones. The room itself was painted white; the ceiling was painted like the sky with angels surrounding a heavenly ruler.

Ayumi walked to the bed where her sister lay.

"How are you today Ai?" Ayumi asked with a worried look on her face.

"I feel weaker and weaker with each passing moment. It‟s been exactly five years since I was cursed by the Nightmare King. You know what that means don‟t you Ayu?" Ai said sadly.

"It‟s all my fault. You took the curse that was meant for me. I should be bedridden, not you" Ayumi said sadly as she sat beside her bedridden sister.

Ayumi and Ai were identical twins so they looked exactly alike.

"I‟ve always told you not to blame yourself" Ai said.

Ayumi remained silent.

"I heard you brought a stranger home. I‟d like to meet him" Ai said.

"What makes you think it‟s a guy Ayumi asked.

Ai laughed.

"Because the look on your face just now is exactly the same look mom used to give dad whenever he was about to go on a dangerous mission" Ai said.

"Well, you‟re right about him being a boy. His name is Zan and he‟s the most annoyingly stubborn being I‟ve ever met!" Ayumi growled angrily.

I was downstairs having a chat with Mr Kirisawa.

"Ayumi told me you have control over one of the most powerful sigils" Mr Kirisawa said.

"Sigils? What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Ayumi exposed her sigils to you and you revealed yours to her. Tell me boy, which clan of Dream Knights do you belong to?" Mr Kirisawa asked.

I didn‟t understand what Mr Kirisawa was saying so in a deliberate effort to sound sarcastic, I quickly said,

"The Lion Clan"

Mr Kirisawa seemed to think about it for a while.

"Is anything the matter?" I asked.

"It‟s funny. The Lion Clan of Knights are descended from the royal family. I thought they were all killed" Mr Kirisawa said.

"Oops! It looks like he took my joke a little too seriously. What am I going to say if he questions me" I wondered.

"What is the nature of your sigil?" Mr Kirisawa asked me and I began to get the feeling that he found me suspicious.

I thought back to my battle with Bunnyos Extremos.

"My sigil is light natured. Your daughter called it „Hikari no fukushu‟. I don‟t know what it means though" I said.

"Light‟s revenge? Your sigil then is the Nightbane isn‟t it?" Mr Kirisawa asked me.

"Yes, it is" I answered.

"I see. It‟s an honour to meet you…uh…what was your name again?" Mr Kirisawa asked me.

"My name is Zan, just Zan, I don‟t have a surname" I said.

Mr Kirisawa remained silent for a while.

"Sir Kirisawa, it‟s my intention to leave you now. Thank you for your hospitality but I don‟t want to be a burden on you or your family" I said as I stood up to leave.

"Spoken like a true knight. Zan of the Lion Clan of Dream Knights, you saved my daughter‟s life. I would be honoured if you would stay with us for a while"

I stopped in my tracks.

"Why does he respect me so much?" I wondered.

"What would make you stay. Just name it" Mr Kirisawa said.

"Just one thing, I wish to earn my keep so if you would make me one of the servants in your house, I‟ll have no choice but to stay" I said trying to sound important.

"Fine, if that is your wish. I have enough servants but there is one job in this house that I can only assign to someone of your calibre. I want you to take care of my daughter" Mr Kirisawa said with a sad look on his face.

"Who? Ayumi? But Ayumi is much stronger than I am" I said honestly and man, I didn‟t feel good admitting that I was weaker than a girl.

"Not Ayumi. I‟m talking of my other daughter, Ai, Ayumi‟s younger sister. She‟s not well and…she‟s only got one more day to live. Just make sure she stays at home, no matter what happens, do not let her leave the house" Mr Kirisawa requested.

I nodded.

"Thank you. I‟ll be paying you of course" Mr Kirisawa promised.

"No, that‟s not necessary. Just give the money to my Uncle Ananse, he lives in Lower East Side Dream City. He‟ll know what to do with it" I said with a nervous laugh.

"I‟ll find him" Mr Kirisawa promised.

"Zan! ZAN! COME HERE IMMEDIATELY!" I heard Ayumi calling in her usually annoying tone of voice.

I sighed and climbed the stairs. I met Ayumi at the top of the stairs with a frown on her face.

"My sister wishes to meet you" Ayumi said as she led me into Ai‟s bedroom.

When I saw Ai, I became confused. She looked like a clone of Ayumi with a smile. In fact, I couldn‟t tell the difference between the two sisters. All I knew was that Ayumi was standing beside me and Ai was lying in the bed. "What‟s your name?" Ai asked me.

Her voice was much lighter and sweeter than Ayumi‟s strong commanding tone.

"I-I-I-I… How can there be two Ayumis" I said.

"You‟re such an idiot Zan, she‟s my twin sister, Ai" Ayumi said emotionlessly.

I frowned at Ayumi. She ignored me as usual.

"My name‟s Zan, just Zan, it means „dream‟" I introduced myself proudly.

"Nice to meet you Just Zan. I‟m Kirisawa Ai" Ai introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you too. But „Just‟ isn‟t part of my name, I meant…"

"He has no surname" Ayumi rudely interrupted.

"That‟s rude Ayumi!" Ai scolded.

"Well yeah! I know I don‟t have a surname but I don‟t like being reminded that I don‟t have one" I scolded Ayumi too.

"Whatever" Ayumi ignored me.

"I‟m your new bodyguard Ai!" I said with a laugh.

Then I noticed that Ai didn‟t look happy. I glanced at Ayumi for an explanation but she seemed angry.

"So my dad hired you to make sure I don‟t leave the house right? Well you don‟t need to worry because I can‟t even move my body!" Ai yelled.

I was horrified.

"What did I say wrong?" I wondered.

I hadn‟t realized then that a bodyguard to a girl is like hidden cameras in the bathroom.

"GET OUT ZAN! HOW DARE YOU MAKE MY LITTLE SISTER

CRY!!!" Ayumi roared angrily.

I was so shocked that I couldn‟t move until I was literally thrown out of the room by Ayumi.

"I told you not to expect much from Zan. All guys are the same. They think girls are fragile things that need constant protection, even dad" I heard Ayumi say, and at that moment, all my manly pride was deflated.

I walked down the stairs with my head hanging and if I had a tail, it would have been between my legs. I walked into the kitchen and out the back door. I met the servants chatting cheerfully. They noticed my presence and stood up to salute me.

"You don‟t need to do that. I‟m just like any of you" I said sadly.

"But the boss gave us orders to treat you with the same respect we would treat him with" one maidservant said.

"Forget about it, I won‟t tell him if you don‟t. Besides, I‟m a really ordinary guy" I said.

The servants relaxed but they noticed the sad look on my face.

"What‟s wrong?" one maid asked me.

"Mr Kirisawa assigned me to look after Ai but when I told her, she got really upset and Ayumi…Ayumi was really angry too" I said sadly.

The servants sighed.

"Though the Kirisawas are rich, I do not envy them at all. I really pity Ayumi and Ai. All their lives, they‟ve undergone intense warrior training. Their father is always busy so their mom was the only joy they probably had. But she died in her sleep seven years ago and Ai was cursed by a demon king. Since then, Ayumi has never smiled. She is only soft-hearted when she is around Ai so she‟s quite overprotective of Ai. Mr Kirisawa also thinks Ai‟s sickness is his fault so he always wants her in the house where she can be protected" the maid explained.

"Does Ai have any friends?" I asked.

"Well, she has us. She‟s really kind so she treats us as equals. Ayumi on the other hand is difficult to approach" another maid said.

"Tell me about it" I muttered.

"Don‟t blame Ai. She hasn‟t seen the outside world for five years" the first maid said.

"She must be really lonely" I said and that was when I realized that my greatest wish was to bring joy back to this family.

I heard the sound of a car and saw Ayumi and Mr Kirisawa enter a black patrol jeep.

"There they go again on a mission to save the world" the two maids sighed together.

"I‟m going to see Ai and explain myself" I said as I marched into the house and up the stairs but when I reached the huge white door, I began to have doubts.

I made up my mind and knocked.

"Come in" I heard Ai‟s sad voice and I became determined.

I walked into the room.

"Oh, it‟s you Zan" she said in a not so excited voice.

I walked to her side.

"Your father told me about the curse of the Nightmare king. But you know, when he said…I should never let you out of the house, I wasn‟t really listening" I said as I lifted Ai into my arms.

She seemed surprised. I noticed that her entire body was limp except for her head.

"What are you doing?" Ai asked me.

"I‟m taking you out for some fresh air" I said as I carried Ai out of the room and down the stairs.

"If my dad finds out…" Ai was saying but I didn‟t really care.

"I don‟t care if he fires me, I‟m not committed to him in any way" I said as I carried her outside.

The servants stared at me in shock.

"What are you doing boy?!" one manservant exclaimed.

"The boss won‟t find out if you don‟t tell him" I said with a smile.

Then, I placed Ai on the soft grass and sat beside her.

She stared at the sky in awe and took in a deep breath.

"Thank you Zan. I was wrong about you, Ayumi was too" Ai apologized.

"Could you guys leave us alone for a while?" I asked the servants.

They found my request suspicious but they left when Ai nodded.

"Ai, everyone thinks you‟re gonna die today, don‟t they?" I asked Ai.

"It‟s what the Nightmare king said. „This curse will slowly eat away this girl‟s spirit. In two years, she will lose the ability to walk. In three years, she won‟t be able to move her hands, in four years, she will only be able to move her neck and she will die exactly five years from now.‟ So far, everything he said has come true" Ai said sadly.

"Aren‟t you scared to die?" I asked Ai.

"I‟m not scared to lose my life. What scares me is the fact that, if I die, this family might forever be torn apart" Ai said.

"You‟re really brave Ai. I won‟t let you die. Close your eyes Ai and we will face this nightmare together" I said.

Ai was hesitant.

"I can‟t. Whenever I shut my eyes, I see him, the Nightmare king" Ai said. "If you really love your family then you must run towards your Nightmare instead of away from it" I said.

Ai nodded and shut her eyes. I held her hand and shut my eyes. I didn‟t know what I intended to do but when I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by darkness and Ai was standing beside me.

"Where are we?" Ai asked.

Suddenly, we heard a sinister laugh and I saw a man clothed in black armour and wearing a black crown on his head.

"Ai, I think we‟re in your worst nightmare" I said.

"So have you finally decided to face me, Ai Kirisawa?" the man said.

"Nightmare king!" Ai exclaimed in fear.

I could feel her trembling.

"Don‟t fear him Ai" I whispered.

"Don‟t let go Zan. Please don‟t let go of my hand" Ai pleaded.

"I‟m not going anywhere without you Ai, I promise" I promised her.

The Nightmare king laughed.

"I‟m really honoured to see that at least one Kirisawa fears me" the Nightmare king boasted.

"Don‟t flatter yourself! Ai, I‟ll take the lead. Follow me when you find your courage" I said.

"What are you planning to do?" Ai asked me.

She was still scared.

"Nothing much. I AM PRINCE AYZAN NIGHTBANE! IN MY TIME OF NEED I SUMMON THEE SIGILS OF LIGHT! HEED MY CALL!!" I roared.

In a flash of light, I was clothed in golden armour and the Nightbane was in my hand.

"I see you inherited the Dream king‟s sigil, how distasteful!" the Nightmare king growled as he summoned a black sword.

I charged to attack him and we fought. Ai stood there watching us with a frightened look on her face. I was so engrossed in my battle with the Nightmare king that, I hadn‟t noticed that, he was creating images from the darkness. The darkness formed Ayumi and Mr Kirisawa.

"Sis, I‟m glad you‟re here. I knew you wouldn‟t abandon me" Ai said happily.

Ayumi looked really angry.

"Don‟t call me sister!" she yelled.

"What? Ayumi, it‟s me, Ai" Ai said.

"I know you but you‟re not my sister! It‟s because of your weakness that mom died! You should have died instead!" Ayumi roared.

"Ayumi? What are you saying sis?" Ai asked.

"Ayumi is right. You‟re nothing but a burden to this family, it will be better for us all if you just died!" Mr Kirisawa scoffed.

"NOOO!!!" I heard Ai scream.

That was when I first took notice of the evil images the Nightmare King had created to torture Ai.

"Ai! Don‟t listen to them! They‟re not really your family!" I called.

But in that single moment I got distracted, the Nightmare king got the upper hand and knocked me to the ground. He pointed his sword at me. I turned to look at Ai and I saw her crying.

"Ai, don‟t doubt that Ayumi loves you" I said.

Ai looked at me and nodded. Then she wiped her tears.

"You‟re not really Ayumi and my dad! They would never ask me to give up on life!" Ai roared.

"No! She‟s finding her courage!" the Nightmare king seemed distressed.

"I AM AI KIRISAWA OF THE KIRISAWA CLAN OF DREAM KNIGHTS! OBEY ME SIGILS OF WATER! I SUMMON THEE!!!" Ai roared.

In an instant, she was surrounded by twisting pillars of water. She was clothed in sea blue armour and a sword made of ice crystals appeared in her hand.

Ai attacked the fake Ayumi and Mr Kirisawa and defeated them easily. Then she faced the Nightmare king and battled him as well.

"You can‟t defeat me Ai" the Nightmare king said.

"This is my mind and my body! You don‟t belong in my dreams NOW GET OUT!!!" Ai commanded and a blinding flash of light illuminated the darkness.

When I opened my eyes, I was back at the Kirisawa residence, lying on the grass beside Ai and I noticed that she was holding my hand tightly.

"Ai, Ai, wake up. You won the battle" I said.

Ai opened her eyes and sat up.

"How do you feel?" I asked her.

Ai stared at her feet and tried to move them. They moved easily. She smiled.

"Now try standing up" I said as I helped her to her feet. It wasn‟t difficult for Ai to stand.

"Zan! I can walk!" she exclaimed in joy as she leapt into my arms. I felt really uncomfortable hugging Ayumi‟s twin sister.

"Now what do you say about leaving the house for a few hours?" I suggested.

"But you will lose your job if you do that" Ai said worriedly.

I smiled.

"I‟d say my job here is done. You don‟t need me to look after you anymore" I said.

I saw tears in Ai‟s eyes.

"Don‟t cry. You have a new life. Live your life to the fullest. It belongs only to you" I said in an attempt to sound philosophical.

"Thank you Zan" Ai said gratefully and I led her out of the estate.

We strolled through Dream City talking, laughing, seeing the sites and having fun. I took Ai shopping though she was of course shopping with her credit cards. She offered to buy me some clothes but I refused because I hadn‟t forgotten Wanye‟s advice not to depend on girls.

Next, we went to a classy restaurant. Ai offered to buy me some food and I couldn‟t refuse. I had never eaten so much food in my life. It was almost sunset but Ai wanted to watch a movie. So, we went to the Bolabird cinema. (Note: Bolabird refers to scavengers, particularly vultures).

It was my lucky day for the movie of the best anime series, Naruto evolution was premiering at the cinema. Ai made sure we acquired front row seats and soon the movie began. It turned up to be a summary of the first three seasons of the series and by the time it was over, Ai was fast asleep. So I carried her out of the cinema and began the long walk back to the Kirisawa residence.

Little did I know that all hell had broken loose in the Kirisawa residence and this time, the devil was not responsible. Ayumi and Mr Kirisawa had returned from their mission. Immediately they reached the house, Ayumi rushed to Ai‟s bedroom but when she opened the door and switched on the lights Ai was nowhere to be found.

"Dad!" Ayumi called and Mr Kirisawa rushed to the bedroom.

"Where is Ai?!" he roared.

In a matter of seconds, the servants were lined up before him.

"Unless you all wish to lose your jobs, you will tell me where my daughter is!" he yelled angrily.

Ayumi frowned.

"Where is Zan?!" she roared.

The servants tried to cover up for me but the tension in the house was very high.

When I finally arrived at the Kirisawa residence, I heard angry voices coming from upstairs so I carried Ai up the stairs and into her bedroom. When I opened the door, I saw the angry faces of Ayumi and Mr Kirisawa. I placed Ai gently on her bed.

"What have you done to my daughter?!" Mr Kirisawa yelled angrily. "Sssshhh! Don‟t disturb her sleep" I whispered but Ayumi walked to me and gave me a terrible slap.

"What was that for Ayumi?" I asked in surprise but Ayumi grabbed my hand tightly and pulled me out of Ai‟s bedroom.

"Explain yourself Zan!" Ayumi roared angrily.

"I specifically asked you not to let Ai leave the house but you stabbed me in the back and took her out yourself. Now you bring my daughter back half dead?!" Mr Kirisawa roared angrily.

"She is not half dead. She is just tired and I don‟t need to explain myself to you. You had Ai locked up like a prisoner in this house and you‟d already given up on her. None of you deserve any kind of explanation from me!" I yelled angrily.

"You ungrateful wretch!" Mr Kirisawa roared.

"Get out Zan! GET OUT AND NEVER THINK OF COMING BACK BECAUSE I WILL KILL YOU IF I EVER SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN!" Ayumi roared angrily.

"Fine! I was planning to resign anyway. Just don‟t come looking for me after this. Tell Ai I‟m glad I met her and…I‟m glad I met you too Ayumi. I‟m sorry things didn‟t turn out well" I said sadly.

"Just leave before I commit murder!" Ayumi roared.

I walked out of the Kirisawa residence and returned to Lower East Side Dream City. When I arrived at my real home, I found the door locked. Our apartment had been confiscated by the government because Wanye had not paid his rent for over six months now. I had nowhere to go. Ananse had travelled and the Oboshis had moved to a different part of town. I was all alone and homeless.

I didn‟t know where to go so I just walked around the area. I hadn‟t gone far when I found myself surrounded by bullies.

"Give us everything you have!" they ordered.

"Leave me alone" I said as I walked past them.

I didn‟t really care about anything, not even my life.

"Hey, a tough guy aren‟t you?" the leader of the bullies blocked my path.

I tried to pass his left side but he blocked me. I tried to pass his right but he blocked me again.

"You had better show us some respect" the leader of the bullies said as he pushed me.

I gave him a blow that knocked him down and began to walk away but the other bullies pounced on me and held me tight. The bully leader stood up and walked to me.

"Apparently, you don‟t value your life!" he roared as he gave me several hard punches.

I was dazed but I didn‟t scream. I knew I could scare them off by summoning my sigil but I honestly didn‟t care. I felt abandoned and lost. The bully leader pulled out a pocket knife.

"See this? I could kill you if I wanted. If you want to live, bow before me and beg for forgiveness" he said.

"In your dreams! If I were even stuck between the devil, the deep sea, a crevasse and you, I‟d choose any of them as long as it isn‟t you" I said with a laugh and in the next instant, I felt a sharp pain in my gut.

I grunted and looked down. I had been stabbed. The bullies began to panic and they ran away. I dropped to the ground clutching my stomach. It hurt like hell. My vision began to blur and I felt tears in my eyes. I was thinking of Wanye and then, everything suddenly went dark.