Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Juniper always knew that they were different. It wasn't hard to notice the way everyone always looked at them. The disgust that filled everyone's eyes. They weren't exactly treated kindly either. No one in the tribe liked them. They knew that much. And they were aware of why they were hated.

Even if everyone hated them, Juniper knew that at least their mother loved them. But, that was it. Their father wasn't around. Juniper didn't know much, but was able to understand that he was dead. And that it was the tribe who had killed him. They were never told the details, but could guess why they had killed him.

"Mama? If the tribe doesn't like us, why don't you hate them?" Juniper remembered asking one day. They had been confused why their mother never seemed to want revenge for anything the others did.

"They only did what they thought was right. I did something that was against the rules. I have no right to hate them for my mistakes." Their mother had replied.

"But... they don't like us."

"Be kind, Juniper. Never let hatred fill your heart." Was all they got in reply.

Juniper had nodded and promised that, but didn't really understand. They were still just a young child, not even 100 years old yet. But, if their mother wanted them to be kind, they would try. They wanted her to be happy and if that made her happy, they would do their best.

Unfortunately, they learned that even kindness couldn't save you from the hatred of others.

Juniper had been playing outside alone. No other children were ever allowed to play with them. Their parents never let them. Juniper was used to it. They were simply playing around in the dirt, drawing picture with a stick.

Some high-ups in the tribe approached the house and had asked for their mother. Their mother came out to talk to them. Juniper ignored it. They weren't part of the conversation. They simply kept drawing.

That was until they heard their mother gasp. Juniper looked. The other members of the tribe had stabbed her in the chest. She locked eyes with Juniper.

"Run!"

Juniper trembled. They didn't want to run. But, the bad guys started approaching them now. Juniper gulped and then booked it into the forest, running as fast as their tiny legs could carry them. They heard the pursuers behind them.

Would they be able to outrun them? Juniper had no idea. They hadn't been into the forest much. Never had a reason to. These guys chasing them knew their way around a lot better. Was this hopeless them?

Juniper kept running. They didn't know where they were going. As long as they could lose the people behind them, they would be okay. They could find somewhere later. They just needed to get out of this chase alive first.

The ground suddenly vanished under their feet. Juniper only now realized they had run off a cliff. They cried out as they fell down. They landed at the bottom in a lot of pain. Everything hurt. They didn't know if they could move.

"Is it dead?"

Juniper stayed as still as possible. They were face-down. If they could hide any signs of life, they might be able to get away. They doubted these people cared enough to take their body back. They had just been called an it, after all. These people didn't even see them as a person.

"Looks it. Let's go tell the boss. The freak is finally dead."

Juniper held their breath as they heard the pursuers leave. Once the sound of their footsteps faded, they opened their eyes and looked around. They had no idea where they were. And now they were hurt.

They barely managed to sit up. There were a lot of cuts and bruises on their body from the fall. Juniper started crying. Everything hurt and they were all alone. Their mother was dead. They had no one.

And then, the air changed. Juniper quieted and looked around. A purple hue started to form in front of them. The next thing they knew, a dragon was staring them down. A giant purple dragon.

"Don't cry, little one." The dragon spoke. Telepathically. Its mouth didn't move at all.

"W-who are you? Are you gonna eat me?" Juniper was scared. They had no idea what to do. Why was a dragon here?

"I am Eclipsa. Your tribe calls me a Kishiryu."

"You're... a Kishiryu?" Juniper repeated, "Why are you... here?"

"I was summoned here by you. Your feelings reached out to me. I wish to help you, little one."

"Help me?"

"I will raise you. I will not let you die."

Juniper was still hesitant about what was going on, but nodded. If this was a way to survive, they would take it. This Kishiryu seemed nice. Maybe they could trust her words.

"But... the Kishiryu are... supposed to help the tribe kill the Druidons..." Juniper mumbled.

"What of that, little one?" Eclipsa questioned.

"I... am half Druidon." Juniper stared at the ground. "That's what mama says, at least. She says that papa is a Druidon."

"Just as not all humans are good, not all Druidons are bad." Eclipsa replied.

"You don't care?"

"You are a young child. I will not harm you."

"I... I'll trust you... Eclipsa." Juniper said, "I... um, my name is Juniper."

"Nice to meet you, little one. Let us find a place to call home."

Eclipsa gently placed them on her back and they took off into the sky.

...

Eclipsa located a cave for them to make their home. Juniper was placed on a rock to sit on. They watched as Eclipsa cleaned the area up and started making things with some of the boulders in the area.

"It is not much, but we can live here. We can build it up more as we go." Eclipsa told them. "You are hurt, little one. Let me heal you."

Juniper found themself surrounded by a weird purple light. When it faded, they saw that all of their injuries were gone.

"You can heal people?! That's so cool!" Juniper exclaimed.

"Only those who have a pure heart."

"Pure heart?" Juniper repeated.

"Despite everything that has been done to you, you remain pure. You do not wish for their demise. That is why you were able to connect with me." Eclipsa explained.

"So... does that mean I'm gonna be a Ryusoulger?" Juniper questioned. "But... I don't have a master..."

"If I deem you worthy when you are older, I shall teach you my ways. You can inherit my powers as your own. But, only if you remain the kind one you are now."

Juniper nodded. "I'll do my best, Eclipsa! I'm gonna be a kind Ryusoulger who saves the world!"

"I look forward to it, little one. Do not let me down."

This was not what Juniper had ever expected to happen in their life. They had always been amazed by the current Ryusoulgers, but doubted anyone would ever try to take them on as an apprentice. Somehow, their master might just end up being a Kishiryu. Life was certainly about to get way more interesting.

...

Juniper grew. Eclipsa raised them as her own child. The two of them were bonded. They had formed a very strong connection.

Juniper was just reaching 150 years old when Eclipsa finally decided it was time to see if they had what it took to become a Ryusoulger. Juniper was very excited to begin training. They wanted to prove their worth.

"Little one, I ask of you one thing. Why do you wish to have this power?" Eclipsa began their training session with a question.

"Why do I want this power?" Juniper repeated. "Well, I want to be able to protect everyone. I want to show everyone that... that just because I may have Druidon blood in me... I can protect the world too. I want to prove I am kind."

"Very good answer, little one." Eclipsa nodded. "I will train you."

"I'm ready, Eclipsa. Uh, do I call you master now?"

"You may call me whatever you please."

"Then, I'll call you Eclipsa still. If I ever talk to anyone about you though... I guess I'll call you master."

"As you please, little one." Eclipsa replied, "I shall give you a weapon."

She summoned a sword. Juniper took it. They looked it over. It was the same one the Ryusoulgers used. They swung it a few times, getting a feel for the weapon.

"I know the tribe does not give this sword until they get their ryusouls, but it is the only weapon I have to give you. Use it well." Eclipsa said.

Juniper nodded. "I'll take very good care of it!"

"Then, I shall let you figure out how to fight with it. I shall watch and if you need advice, I shall give you what I can."

"Okay!" Juniper nodded.

They began swinging the sword around, trying to find the way they felt the most comfortable gripping it. They wanted to get this right. They needed to prove to Eclipsa they could handle this sword.

"Eclipsa? Have you ever given your power to a Ryusoulger before?" Juniper questioned.

"I have not. No one has met my criteria before you. Hatred tainted their hearts."

"I see... I swear I won't let hatred consume me! I'll be kind. Even if the tribe hurt me, I won't stoop to their level." Juniper promised.

"I have faith in you, little one."

Chapter Text

Time had gone by. Juniper had trained hard with Eclipsa. They were determined to become a Ryusoulger and help the world. It took a while, but just about 10 years later (which is honestly very short for a Ryusoul tribe member), they had finally been given that power.

"Little one, you have done well. I believe you are ready to have this power." Eclipsa stated after another training session.

"You think so?" Juniper was excited.

"You still have much you can learn, but I believe having this power will help you in that process." Eclipsa replied, "However, there is one thing."

"Eh?"

"As you are probably aware, the Ryusoul tribe uses Ryusouls to transform and fight. While yes, now Ryusouls are created by Kishiryu, that was not the case in the past. We simply adopted the system when they began to use them to store the power easier, especially when they sealed away the Kishiryu." Eclipsa said, "That being said, I do not believe my power will work in one properly as they were not designed for what I can give you. Power fades through generation. But, my power has never been used to fade. A Ryusoul cannot contain it properly."

"So... what does that mean for me?" Juniper questioned.

"I will give you the power in you. You will just need to will a transformation." Eclipsa replied.

"Okay! That's fine!" Juniper nodded.

Eclipsa lowered her head and touched Juniper's head. She transferred some of her power into them. Juniper was thrilled to feel power coursing through them. They finally could help people. They weren't a weakling who couldn't do anything.

"There you are, little one." Eclipsa pulled back. "It is now that I should tell you... some of my brethren have been awoken. If there is a need for them, that must mean the Druidons have returned to Earth. I ask that you find the other Ryusoulgers and work with them to stop this."

"The Druidons are back..." Juniper gulped. "Then... that means the Earth is in danger."

"Indeed."

"Are you going to come with me?"

"I will remain here. If you need me, I am but a call away."

"Okay." Juniper took a deep breath. "I''m gonna prepare and then head out. I'll find the other Ryusoulgers and join them. I just hope... they'll accept me."

"I am sure they will. You are very likeable."

Juniper smiled. They went into the cave, Eclipsa following behind. They packed a bag of essentials and then prepared to depart. They waved goodbye to Eclipsa and began their journey. Time to find the Ryusoulgers.

...

Juniper knew it would not be an easy task to find the Ryusoulgers. They had barely any idea where to look. They started near where their tribe was. That seemed like a good place to begin. They couldn't be too far away, could they?

They were wandering in the forest, searching for any signs of life. There was a town nearby, but they were hesitant to enter it. They had always been warned not to mingle with outsiders. But, they had to protect those people, so maybe it couldn't be so bad?

Right as they thought that, they heard a scream. It had to have come from the town. Juniper rushed toward the noise. If someone was in danger, they needed to save them!

They entered the town to see a creature attacking citizens. As it tried to slam its arms into a fallen citizen, Juniper rushed forward and knocked it away. They growled and faced the creature. This wasn't a Druidon, right? It didn't seem like one.

"Ryusoul Change!"

Juniper looked. Six figures appeared. The Ryusoulgers. They had found them at last. The group rushed forward to attack the creature. One of the Ryusoulgers called it a minosaur. Guess that was its name?

Suddenly, more enemies appeared. Now what? They were really out of the loop. At least the civilian behind them had fled. One less thing to worry about on the battlefield.

Some of the enemies turned on Juniper. Juniper held their ground and tried to fight them. They had never fought another enemy before. This was a lot tougher than they had thought. Should they transform?

"Ack!" They got struck and were sent tumbling across the ground.

Someone blocked another attack. The black Ryusoulger.

"Get out of here." He spoke to them, before going to help the others in their fight again.

"But..." Juniper wanted to protest, but stopped. They weren't very good at this. Maybe they should let the Ryusoulgers fight instead? But, they were a Ryusoulger! This was their duty!

Suddenly, explosions rang out. The Ryusoulger all got hit and fell to the ground. Their transformations were undone. They all were writhing in pain.

"This is bad..." The red one spoke.

A Druidon appeared on the battlefield now. Juniper forced themself to their feet. They had to fight.

"Die, Ryusoulgers." The Druidon spoke.

"We... won't give up here." The red spoke again.

"You can't even get up. No one can save you now."

Juniper took a deep breath and walked to the center, standing in front of the Ryusoulgers. "You forgot about me."

"And what is a child going to do?" The Druidon taunted. "You aren't even a Ryusoulger, are you?"

"What are you doing, kid?!" One of the Ryusoulgers yelled. "Get out of here!"

Juniper stared down the Druidon. "I... promised to protect people. I'm not letting you have your way."

The Druidon laughed. "Nice one. Too bad you'll just end up like everyone else."

"Ryusoul Change!" Juniper yelled, willing for their power to activate.

It did. A glow of purple surrounded them and the next thing they knew, they were transformed.

"What?! You are a Ryusoulger?!" The Druidon was not happy.

"Correct. And you are my enemy." Juniper held out their sword.

"Get them, minosaur."

The minosaur rushed forward. Juniper dodged and swung at it. This was not going to be easy. They were somehow managing to block most of the attacks sent their way.

However, they did end up getting hit. They were thrown back and knocked out of their transformation.

"This is a lot harder than it looks..." Juniper grunted.

The minosaur left with another creature. The Druidon had vanished as well. At least no one was going to die today. They had done something good.

But now they had six people staring them down. Juniper offered a nervous smile. One of them crouched down in front of them.

"You're a Ryusoulger?" They asked.

"Yeah! I'm one too!" Juniper nodded with a smile, though it faded to a frown. "Though... I'm not very good at it, am I?"

"Then you should leave it to us."

"Nii-san. Someone believed he could be a Ryusoulger. We should at least give him a chance." The one crouched beside them retorted.

"Yeah. Let's at least talk to the kid, Bamba."

Bamba sighed. "Fine. We can talk to him."

"U-um... my pronouns are they/them... please?" Juniper nervously corrected.

Everyone stared at them.

"Sorry!" The one beside them apologized.

"It's okay. I shouldn't be surprised." Juniper replied, sitting up. "I'm Juniper."

"Towa. Nice to meet you." The one in front of him said. "The red one there is Koh, the pink one is Asuna, blue is Melto, black is Bamba, and gold is Canalo."

"Towa, why are you being so friendly? We know nothing about this kid." Bamba scolded him.

"Come on, nii-san. I don't see why we can't be friendly. They're a Ryusoulger too!" Towa protested.

"Let's head back. We should get our wounds patched up before that minosaur comes back." Koh said.

Towa helped Juniper to their feet. Everyone began walking. Juniper nervously followed them all. This was not how they had expected this meeting to go. Hopefully they could make friends with everyone.

...

They arrived at a house. Juniper was told to sit at the table. Everyone stood around them. Juniper felt really nervous now. Would they be accepted by everyone?

"You looked like you had never swung that sword before." Bamba was the first to speak.

Juniper laughed nervously. "I've never fought another person with my sword before? I only trained alone."

"Eh?!"

"Didn't you at least fight with your master?" Melto questioned.

"That's... a complicated answer." Juniper left it at that.

"So, you're a member of the tribe?"

"Yep!"

"I... don't recall ever hearing of a purple Ryusoulger before..." Asuna mused.

"That's also a long story..."

"Is everything a long story with you?"

"Probably?"

"So, do you have a Kishiryu?" Towa changed the direction of the conversation.

Juniper nodded. "Yeah! She's really cool!"

"What's her name? My Kishiryu is called Tigerlance."

"Eclipsa."

"How did you meet her?"

"She... saved my life."

"Well, Towa's getting along well with them, huh?" Koh whispered to Bamba.

"How old are you, Juniper?" Melto asked.

"Uh... 160-ish." Juniper replied.

"So, you and Towa are quite close in age then."

"We are?!"

"Yep."

"Awesome!" Juniper smiled at Towa. At least there was someone close to their age they could get along with.

"I'm going to guess you haven't had many friends." Canalo spoke.

"I..." Juniper got quiet. "Never had friends. Eclipsa is my only friend."

"Well. That decides it. Welcome to the team!" Koh smiled at them.

"Eh? Koh?" Asuna said.

"What? We can't just leave them alone? They have no one." Koh replied.

"I'm sure we'll get along well." Towa said.

"Looks like you might have another kid to deal with, Bamba."

"I guess so."

...

"You should learn how to fight now that you have people to train with."

"Okay. I'll do my best."

A little later that day, Towa had drug Juniper out of the house. The two ended up in an empty space in the woods. Towa wanted to fight with them.

"Though... you don't have a changer? Or a Ryusoul?" Towa questioned.

Juniper shook their head. "Eclipsa gave me her power in me. I just have to will myself to transform."

"Your master didn't give you a Ryusoul?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Juniper asked.

Towa nodded.

"Eclipsa is my master. She trained me."

"Woah... that's cool." Towa said, "And... you said she saved your life?"

Juniper nodded. "Yeah. Some bad guys were trying to kill me. I lost them but... I was hurt. She came to me and saved me. Took me in."

"Are your parents dead?"

"Yeah..."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Shall we fight?"

"If you're ready."

They brought out their weapons. Towa let Juniper take the first swing. The two spared for a while. Towa gave pointers where he could to help Juniper fight better.

"There you are."

They were interrupted after a while by Bamba.

"Nii-san! Did you see? They can fight better now!" Towa said.

"I see that. However, I still don't trust them."

"Why not?"

"Why would we never know anything of a purple Ryusoulger in our history until now? Something isn't adding up right here." Bamba stated, his arms crossed.

Juniper gulped. Was Bamba going to hurt them?

"Do you have an explanation, Juniper?" Towa asked them.

"Um... Eclipsa said she... never found anyone pure-hearted enough to give her power to until me." Juniper said.

"Likely story." Bamba didn't seem to believe them.

"Leave them alone, nii-san! Give them a chance!" Towa yelled.

Bamba eyed up Juniper. "Fine. But, if this turns out that you're not on our side, expect no mercy."

Juniper took a step back. They were used to their life being threatened but... having it be from someone they were trying to befriend...

The scene was interrupted from getting any worse by a call on their changers. The minosaur had been spotted again.

"Let's go." Bamba headed out.

Towa glanced back at Juniper. "I'm sorry about nii-san."

"It's okay. I'm used to people threatening to kill me."

"Oh?" Towa seemed concerned by that.

"We can talk later. Let's go." Juniper said.

"Right." Towa nodded.

They two kids rushed to the scene. Everyone else was already there. Now that they were all gathered, they stood in a line and transformed.

"Ryusoul Change!"

"The Valorous Knight! Ryusoul Red!"

"The Wise Knight! Ryusoul Blue!"

"The Stalwart Knight! Ryusoul Pink!"

"The Gusting Knight! Ryusoul Green!"

"The Regal Knight! Ryusoul Black!"

"The Glorious Knight! Ryusoul Gold!"

"Eh? We're supposed to do intro calls?" Juniper was very confused. "Um... I got it!"

"The Kind Knight! Ryusoul Purple!"

The six Ryusoulgers placed their sword tips on top of each other's. Towa grabbed Juniper's arm and made them do the same.

"These swords will be used for justice!"

"Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger!"

Juniper had no idea what any of that was. They were lost. Eclipsa never mentioned anything about that stuff. Well, now they knew.

"Let's go, everyone!" Koh called.

They rushed into battle. More of the other enemies showed up. Juniper fought their way over to where Towa was.

"What are these things?" They asked.

"Drunn soldiers." Towa replied.

"Okay."

The two fought together to take down the enemies. Juniper was having fun. They had never gotten to fight with someone before. They liked being able to have someone to have their back right now.

They were distracted when suddenly the ground started rumbling. They looked. The minosaur had grown giant.

"Eh? They... do that?" Juniper was distressed.

"Yeah."

"Tyramigo!" They heard Koh yell.

"They won't come. No radio waves can get through now." The Druidon returned.

"Does that guy have a name?" Juniper whispered to Towa.

"Wiseru."

"Right."

"We can't call our Kishiryu!"

"This is bad."

"Enjoy the end of the world, Ryusoulgers." Wiseru taunted and then vanished again.

"Radio waves..." Juniper repeated.

"Can we override the waves somehow?" Asuna questioned.

Juniper focused deeply and called for Eclipsa. They needed her now more than ever. If no one else could get their Kishiryu, they might be the only hope.

"I don't see how..." Melto replied.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Canalo asked.

"If we go to our Kishiryu we can get them, but..." Melto said.

"That'll take too long." Bamba finished. "The minosaur is already attacking the town."

"Can we fight the minosaur this way still?" Towa asked.

"Doesn't seem easy, but we have no choice."

Suddenly a roar sounded. Everyone looked around.

"What was that?"

A shadow loomed over them. The flapping of wings reached everyone's ears.

"Eclipsa!" Juniper yelled happily. She had heard them!

"Little one. You have found them." Eclipsa spoke to them telepathically.

Juniper nodded. "We need your help!"

They pointed to the minosaur. Eclipsa nodded and attacked.

"That's your Kishiryu?!"

Juniper nodded, a bold smile on their face. "Yep!"

"How did you call her here?" Melto asked.

"We can communicate telepathically." Juniper replied.

"Eh?!"

"You are very confusing..." Asuna commented.

Juniper glanced back at the fight. They asked Eclipsa if she could communicate with the other Kishiryu and call them here.

"I can try, little one." Was her response.

Juniper waited anxiously. Eclipsa was doing well to hold her own against the minosaur. Everyone seemed quite impressed. Hopefully this was going to make everyone trust them more.

"Tyramigo!" A cry sounded.

"She did it! She called the others here!" Juniper jumped up and down excitedly.

"She... can do that?"

"Yep!"

"Let's go!" Koh stated.

They threw their Ryusouls and the Kishiryu combined into a single form. Juniper watched in amazement.

"Can you do that, Eclipsa?" They questioned.

"I can, but I don't want to." She replied.

"That's fine."

With them all working together, they managed to take down the minosaur. Everyone gathered back down. The Kishiryu left except for Eclipsa. She landed beside Juniper and stared down all the other Ryusoulgers.

"Do you like them?" Eclipsa asked.

Juniper nodded. They liked them. Mostly. Bamba had threatened to kill them so... But they were getting along well with Towa!

"I shall take my leave then, little one. Stay safe." Eclipsa took back to the sky and left them.

"Well, guess you really are a Ryusoulger." Koh said.

Juniper nodded. "I... Did I do good?"

"Yeah. You did a lot better this time."

Juniper glanced over at Towa. "It's thanks to Towa for helping me train a bit."

"You two certainly have clicked well." Asuna commented.

"Kind knight, huh?" Bamba stated.

Juniper nodded and faced him. "I promised my mom I would always be kind, even to those who hated me."

"Very well."

"Let's go home. I'm hungry." Asuna said.

Koh, Melto, and Asuna left. Canalo went in a separate direction. Juniper looked at everyone in confusion. Who did they follow?

"Can they stay with us, nii-san?" Towa asked.

Bamba stared down Juniper for a long time, before he sighed. "I guess."

"Come on! Let's go then!" Towa grabbed Juniper's hand.

"You all don't live together?" Juniper asked.

"No."

"So, where are we going?"

...

They ended up in a cave. From the looks of things, this was where Bamba and Towa had made their home. It reminded Juniper of their own home.

"Where did you live before you came here?" Towa questioned them.

"In a really big cave. Eclipsa found it." Juniper replied.

"At least you're used to living in a cave then."

Juniper nodded. They were very familiar with what it was like in a cave.

"I'm going to start cooking. Behave." Bamba stated and went somewhere just outside of the cave.

Towa grabbed Juniper by the arm and started showing them around. It was a little funny how Towa liked them so much and yet his older brother really wasn't a fan of them at all. Juniper was glad that they had finally found a friend, though.

"So... you said that you're used to people threatening to kill you?" Towa hesitantly said.

Juniper nodded, taking a deep breath. "Yeah. I... don't wanna tell you much right now but... everyone in the tribe hated me for things out of my control. They... threatened me a lot."

"What about your parents? Did they love you?"

"Dad... died before I was born. Mom was killed shortly before I found Eclipsa. Mom loved me a lot but... she couldn't protect me from everyone else hating me."

"That's what you were referring to about always being kind?"

"Yeah. Even if I was hated, I wouldn't stoop to their level."

Towa took a seat on the floor. "Your Kishiryu chose you because of your kindness?"

Juniper sat down as well. "Yeah. That's what she told me, at least."

"I really don't understand why anyone would hate you. You seem really nice."

"I... it's something I can't really tell you."

They couldn't reveal their identity. Maybe Towa wouldn't care if they told the truth. But they were worried about how the other Ryusoulgers might react. If any of them found out they were half-druidon... would they never be able to be friends with everyone? The tribe hated them for that fact so was it that unlikely these ones might hold some of those same biases?

"I understand." Towa reassured them, "We only just met. I am prying into your life a bit heavily, aren't I?"

"Maybe in the future I'll explain things more." Juniper said, "I... hope we can become friends."

"I hope so too!"

Chapter Text

The next morning, Juniper woke up early. The sun was just starting to rise. They sat up and stretched. Yesterday had been very chaotic. They had done a lot. At least they felt fine. The injuries and bruises from the fight had been treated very well. There was not much residual pain from any of them.

Juniper looked around the cave. They didn't see Bamba or Towa anywhere. Had both of them already gotten up and moving for today? Juniper had no idea what any of these other Ryusoulgers were like still. Today was the time to start learning. If they were going to be working together, they had to all get to know each other more.

They got up and went searching for where either brother was. They found the two of them just outside the cave. It looked like they were cooking something.

"Good morning, Juniper!" Towa noticed them and waved.

"Morning." Juniper replied, coming to sit next to him.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah."

Juniper noticed that Bamba was still watching them with distrust in his eyes. Hopefully starting today they could work on that. They needed everyone to trust them. They were on their side. There was no reason for this hostility.

But, the fact there was distrust just made Juniper more certain they could not let any of these other Ryusoulgers know that they were half-blood. If perhaps they had met all of these others before the Druidons started trying to destroy Earth again, maybe they could have disclosed that information. But, with the current state of everything, it seemed like the safest thing to do was keep quiet until they needed to tell them.

"What's the plan for today?" Juniper asked.

"After breakfast we should go meet with everyone again. You should get to know everyone better." Towa replied, "Right, nii-san?"

Bamba glanced his way for a moment, and then went back to focusing on what was being made. He didn't make any comment.

Towa offered an apologetic smile to Juniper. Juniper shrugged in reply. They understood the hesitance. They had just kind of appeared out of nowhere. It was a bit suspicious. After all, the tribe probably thought they were dead. No one would have ever known of their existence, especially as a Ryusoulger.

And with the fact that the way they transformed was completely different from everyone else, it only would raise suspicions. Juniper wondered if there was a way they could get the same transformation device as everyone else and use it. Would that make everyone trust them more?

"Can you tell me a little bit about everyone?" Juniper requested of Towa. They wanted to make sure they didn't accidentally say something rude and get off on the wrong foot with someone.

Towa nodded. "Sure."

The two kids talked for a while. Once they ate, the three of them set out to go meet up with everyone once more. They went back to the house. There were two more people in it than last time. They were apparently the actual owners of the house. All of the Ryusoulgers were just crashing there.

Juniper was cornered around the table once more. Looks like more of the talking was going to happen. A lot of new things had come to light since the first talk they had.

"You have a lot of explaining to do." Asuna was the first one to speak. "Just who are you?"

"I... don't feel comfortable disclosing that information." Juniper replied.

"Where are your parents?" Melto asked.

Juniper didn't answer. How could they say the truth? If they told everyone that the tribe was responsible for the death of their parents, wouldn't that make them more distrusted? If the tribe had reasons to kill their parents, wouldn't that mean something was wrong with them as well?

"Juniper. Where are they?" Melto repeated.

"They're dead. Can't you see that?" Towa came to their defense.

"Oh... I'm sorry. It wouldn't be an easy thing to want to discuss then..."

"Looks like Juniper has told Towa more than we know." Koh commented.

"Because they like me." Towa taunted. "You guys are too mean to them."

Juniper awkwardly sat there. They appreciated Towa trying to help, but worried it would make things worse in the long-run for them.

"How did you find Eclipsa?" The conversation got back on track courtesy of Canalo.

"She found me." Juniper replied.

"Eh? You didn't have to unseal her?"

Now Juniper was confused. "No?"

Then they remembered Eclipsa mentioning how the other Kishiryu had been woken up. Was that what they were referring to?

"You really are a strange case..." Melto sighed.

"Who is your master?" Bamba questioned.

Juniper hesitated again. Would anyone even believe them on this one?

"Eclipsa. She did her best to train me." Juniper stated as confidently as they could.

"So that's why your fighting is so bad."

Juniper frowned and looked down. They hated that it was true. If only they could've found a better way to fight.

"Nii-san! That isn't nice!" Towa scolded.

"It's the truth." Bamba replied, "They can barely swing that sword around."

"They were trained by a Kishiryu! Give them a break!"

"Why would a Kishiryu be the only one to train them? Something is wrong here."

Towa clenched his hands into fists. He was shaking in anger as he glared at Bamba. Juniper was worried a fight was about to break out between them.

"Bamba does have a point. Nothing about this makes sense with the current system the tribe had going for them." Melto stated, "There is something you aren't telling us, Juniper."

Juniper stared at him. Their gaze kept falling. Nerves were coursing through them. Was this it? Were they going to be abandoned by everyone again?

"We just met them. Of course they aren't willing to tell us everything." Towa came back to their defense once more. "You keep threatening them and think they'll talk so easily?"

"So they've told you the truth then?" Koh asked.

Towa shook his head. "No. I don't know why things are so different for them. But, I won't pry unlike you guys. Can't you see how upset it's making Juniper!?"

"Towa, you're being too trusting of them." Bamba stated firmly. "They're hiding something."

"Because they can't trust us. Because you all assume they're a bad guy!"

"Juniper really has gotten you completely enamored, huh?" Asuna commented.

"Eh?" Towa stared around at everyone with wide eyes.

"You just believe everything they say without question."

"I still see no reason why they would lie! They're a Ryusoulger!" Towa argued.

Juniper remained silent. They had just caused more problems. Maybe they should've stayed away...

"Juniper, unless you tell us what's going on, we can't trust you." Melto said to them as gently as he could. "So please, why are you such a strange case?"

"I can't disclose that information." Juniper replied.

"You're an enemy then. We can't trust you. For all we know, this is something the Druidons have put together."

Juniper felt tears stinging in the corners of their eyes. Why did they ever think things would be different? The tribe was the same no matter who it was they were talking to.

"That's a bit extreme, Melto!" Towa protested. "They're not a Druidon!"

"Wiseru can mimic humans. Who is to say Juniper could not be doing the same."

"You're all the same!" Juniper yelled. "I hate this stupid tribe! You're all the same! I don't know why I thought it would be different... I should've known better..."

"All the same...?" Towa repeated. "Juniper-"

"Why don't you just kill me like the tribe killed my parents then?! Obviously you guys don't care about anyone who doesn't meet your standards! You hate anyone who is different no matter how they act!" Juniper yelled and then ran out of the house.

Juniper didn't stop running until their legs gave out on them. Tears were flowing down their face. Everything hurt. They had thought they could escape their past but it just kept coming back to haunt them.

"I... I try so hard to be nice and yet... no one trusts me..."

"I do."

Juniper jumped at the sudden voice. "Towa?!"

Towa was behind them. He offered a small smile and sat down beside them.

"Why are you... here? Won't everyone get mad at you for talking to me?" Juniper asked.

"I don't care. I'm mad at them. You don't deserve how they're treating you."

"I... But I don't want you to get yelled at again..."

"It's fine." Towa shrugged off the concern. "Anyway, the... the tribe..."

Juniper nodded. "Mom... was hated for a choice she made and... they also hated me for her decision as well."

"Your father... isn't from the tribe, is he?"

"No... I'm not purely part of the tribe."

Towa sighed. "And they hated you so much they killed everyone involved..."

"They tried to take my life the day they killed my mom. I managed to fake them out and that was when Eclipsa found me."

"How come she didn't give you a ryusoul?"

"She said something about how power wanes through the generations but since she had never given her power a ryusoul wouldn't be able to withstand it."

"I see..."

Juniper glanced up at the sky. "Do you think I can somehow prove myself to them?"

"I'm sure if you explained what happened to you and your family, they would understand."

"They... accused me of being a Druidon..."

"I... I'm sorry about that. I can't believe they would throw such a major accusation like that around so easily."

Juniper wished they could tell Towa the truth. That technically yes, they were a Druidon. But, they couldn't. They were scared to. They were afraid how everyone else would act about it. Especially if they thought that they were somehow manipulating Towa.

"I... need some time before I approach them again." Juniper said quietly. "I need to calm down or else nothing good will come out of the conversation."

"Take your time." Towa replied. "I'll stay with you until then. I don't really want to see them right now either."

"But... they're probably really worried about you. If they think I'm somehow manipulating you to trust me... then they'll be really concerned about us being together unsupervised."

"I don't care. I can't just leave you on your own. You could use some help until you get better at fighting."

"I... won't stop you. I... I'm glad to have a friend."

Chapter Text

Juniper and Towa spent the rest of the day hanging out and doing whatever they could. The next day was spent doing more training. Juniper desperately wanted to be able to fight just as well as everyone else. Whether they wanted them to fight with everyone or not, they still needed to be able to defend themself better than they currently were.

"Stop. You aren't gripping the sword properly." Towa stated.

"Eh?" Juniper stared at their current posture.

"See how I hold it? It allows for a lot more flexibility." Towas explained as he did a few moves.

"How do you... hold it that way?"

Towa repositioned Juniper's hands to grip the sword. Juniper stared down at the new position. It felt off. They were so used to holding it the other way.

"I'll try my best to hold it this way." Juniper nodded.

"Shall we try and fight again?" Towa questioned.

Just as Juniper was about to reply, a scream sounded from nearby. The two kids looked at each other.

"We should go check it out." Towa stated.

"Okay." Juniper agreed.

The two of them ran off toward the source of the noise. Hopefully whatever it was wouldn't be too bad. But, unfortunately, it was a minosaur. That wasn't good.

"Ryusoul Change!" Towa quickly transformed and rushed into battle, fending the minosaur away from a civilian.

Juniper hesitated, but then transformed as well and rushed to help. The two of them attacked the minosaur as best they could. With Juniper still struggling to properly swing their sword, it was rough.

"Wish..." The minosaur spoke.

As they both sliced at the minosaur again, suddenly their transformations came undone. Both were startled by the sudden change. The minosaur attacked back and sent them both crashing into a wall.

"What is going on...?" Towa whispered.

The minosaur lost interest in them and left. At least they were safe for now.

"It... somehow can take away our transformations..." Juniper said, "That isn't good."

They got to their feet. Neither were seriously injured. Just a few bruises from the attacks.

"I... know you don't want to but... we should go back to everyone. We need to work together to solve this." Towa said.

Juniper felt dread rising in them at the thought of going back. Would they be safe doing so?

"Just... go without me. I'll catch up with you later." Juniper tried to get out of it.

Towa shook his head and grabbed Juniper by his hands. "I can't just leave you out here with that minosaur. I don't want you to get hurt."

"But... won't they just hurt me themselves?"

"I'll protect you. We'll sort out this misunderstanding. Okay?"

Juniper took a deep breath and then nodded. "I trust you, Towa."

...

The two arrived at the house. Juniper hesitated entering. They were scared. As much as they normally didn't care if people hated them, this time they did. They wanted to be liked by the other Ryusoulgers. They had to somehow get them to trust them.

"It'll be alright." Towa reassured them.

Juniper gulped. They took a deep breath and nodded, Towa held out a hand to them. Juniper accepted it and the two of them walked into the house.

Everyone else was already gathered, seeming to be discussing the minosaur themselves. Everything went quiet when the two of them came into view.

"Towa. You came back. With them." Bamba was the first to break the silence. He was giving Juniper a hard glare.

Towa took a step forward and placed himself defensively in front of Juniper. "They're one of us. They don't deserve this hatred you all have for them."

"We can discuss this later. We need to focus on the minosaur right now." Koh interrupted.

"We ran into the minosaur. That's why we came here." Towa stated, "It... was able to cancel our transformations."

"It did the same to us." Asuna said.

"Do we know where it came from?" Juniper hesitantly asked.

"We have a lead." Melto said, "There's a wishing stone. The minosaur said the word wish so... the stone may have created it."

"An inanimate object created a minosaur?"

"That's what we have concluded."

"So, what do we do?" Towa asked.

"We were planning to go and visit the stone. To confirm if it truly is the host of the minosaur." Melto explained, "If it is... then we will figure out how to proceed from there."

"We can destroy it if it is." Bamba stated.

"Destroy it?" Juniper repeated. They went to say more, but quieted as Bamba gave them a cold look.

"Do you have an objection?"

Juniper gulped. They shook their head. They did have an objection, but worried about arguing.

You couldn't kill a rock. A rock wasn't a living thing. You can't kill what isn't alive.

"Let's go." Koh interrupted the tense standoff that was happening.

"You stay out of this." Bamba addressed Juniper. "We don't need the help of someone who doesn't know how to fight."

"Eh?" Juniper frowned.

"Nii-san!" Towa glared at Bamba.

"I don't understand why you trust them so much." Bamba stated, "They have proven to be keeping secrets. How can we trust them when we don't know how they became a Ryusoulger? They aren't even wearing any type of clothing from the tribe either."

"You met their Kishiryu! Why do you believe they're an enemy?!" Towa yelled back.

Juniper shrunk back. They felt awful about tearing apart Towa and Bamba. It was obvious Towa really admired his older brother and yet... now all they were doing was fighting because of them.

"Towa... it's okay... I... I'll hang back." Juniper interjected quietly.

"But-"

"I'm just going to get in the way... it's okay."

"If you let them push you around, you'll never get anywhere. You need to stand up for yourself, Juniper." Towa stated.

"But... I'm just causing problems here... we need to defeat that minosaur. We don't have time to be fighting because of me."

"Which is why they should let you come."

"Towa..."

"Uh... why don't we get going?" Asuna broke up the argument. "Come on, Towa."

Koh and Asuna drug Towa out the door, Melto not far behind. Juniper gulped as it was just them and Bamba left in the house.

"Stay away from Towa if you value your life... druidon."

Juniper froze in place. "D-druidon? But..."

"We'll prove that you're one of them. Just you watch."

Bamba walked past them and out of the house. Juniper fell to the ground. Tears were stinging in their eyes again. They hated this. All they wanted was to belong. And yet... they were hated here too.

Juniper got to their feet and walked out of the house. They glanced around the town. Maybe they should just leave... Tell Eclipsa she made a mistake. They couldn't do this if everyone hated them so much. And if they assumed they were a Druidon just from the fact they were a little different... how easily could they find out that they were truly one?

Juniper began to walk to the woods. They didn't get too far when they heard a scream. As much as they tried to reason that they should let the Ryusoulgers handle it, they went to investigate. That minosaur was back again. Juniper stared at it as it terrorized people.

"I... I promised I would protect people... I can't... I can't break that promise..." Juniper whispered.

They took a deep breath and then transformed.

"Ryusoul Change!"

They ran at the minosaur and attacked it with all their might. It wasn't a lot. They still had a lot to learn about how to fight, but it allowed the citizens to flee from the area. They had at least saved some people.

And then, the minosaur somehow canceled their transformation once again. Juniper tried to still fight just using their sword, but it wasn't enough. The minosaur hit them hard and they went rolling across the ground. Juniper groaned. That hurt a lot.

They forced themself to their feet again and charged once more. They couldn't give up. They had a duty to protect people. They had to keep fighting. If they gave up now, they barely did anything good.

The minosaur hit them hard once more. Juniper crashed to the ground.

"Oh? A lone Ryusoulger here?" A voice spoke.

"Wiseru..." Juniper grunted.

Wiseru stood before them. "Well, killing one of you is better than nothing. Your wishes aren't doing much for this minosaur anyway."

Juniper didn't know what Wiseru exactly did. All they knew was a sharp pain coursed through their body, making them scream in anguish. They heard Wiseru laughing. The pain was unbearable.

Is this the end? Were they going to die? At least if they died fighting, maybe the Ryusoulgers would respect them a bit.

"Juniper!"

Juniper heard someone yell their name, and then everything went black.

...

Juniper opened their eyes. They blinked a few times to clear their vision. What had happened? Where were they? Are they dead?

"Juniper... you're awake..."

"Towa...?"

Juniper managed to turn their head to the side. Towa was knelt beside them. He looked relieved.

"What... what happened?" Juniper asked.

"Wiseru... almost killed you." Towa replied, "If... if we hadn't gotten there when we did..."

"I would've died..." Juniper finished.

Towa nodded. "Yeah... um, everyone is still unsure about you but... I think maybe they trust you a bit more now. There was no reason a Druidon would kill one of their own."

"What about..." Juniper trailed off. Did they really want to know Bamba's opinion on them after earlier?

"Nii-san... still thinks you're hiding something dark from us but I think everyone agrees you are not a Druidon." Towa replied.

"The minosaur..."

"Nii-san... broke the rock in half and... it made two minosaurs instead of just one now..." Towa mumbled, "This is getting worse by the minute. And as long as we wish to defeat the minosaur, we can't do it. It just eats our wishes."

"What do you guys have as a backup plan then?" Juniper asked.

Towa shrugged. "We really don't have one. We're just continuing to fight. I should be fighting right now but... someone had to make sure you were okay."

"You should go now. I'll be okay on my own for a bit." Juniper insisted. They would need as many hands as they could to win this fight.

"I... okay. Ui and her father are here if you need anything."

Juniper nodded. "Good luck, Towa."

Towa nodded and gave them a nervous smile in return. He left the house, calling the others on his changer to ask where to go.

...

Juniper was glad when everyone returned and stated that they had found a way to defeat the minosaur. And incidentally, Bamba destroying the rock had actually been good in the long run. Now the stones could give each piece a break from being wished on so it wasn't overworked. Juniper wasn't sure how that worked but didn't want to ask too much more into it.

"So... what are we going to do about this kid?" Asuna was the first to direct the conversation to being about Juniper again.

Juniper gulped. They were growing nervous at the thought of their life being discussed again. They wished they could just leave and disappear from everything again. But, they were too injured to get far. They had no choice but to remain here for now. Hopefully everyone would be a bit kinder to them than before. That was all Juniper really wanted. To finally have a place amongst the tribe.

"I think we can say we were wrong to assume you were an enemy. Especially wrong to accuse you of being a Druidon of all things." Melto started the conversation, addressing Juniper directly. "We are sorry about that. But, it still does remain you are hiding a lot from us that we really need to know to understand why you are here now."

"You said the tribe killed your parents?" Koh broke into the conversation. "Will you explain why? If you know."

Juniper stared at the ground. They didn't really know how to explain this without giving away too much information. They had to be very careful with their words.

"Juniper told me that it was because their father is not from the tribe." Towa answered for them at their silence.

"Eh? Just for that they were both killed?" Asuna questioned. Everyone seemed very shocked by the answer.

"Dad... didn't have a very good relationship with the tribe in general..." Juniper mumbled, being very careful of how they said things. "They assumed mom would realize this but she remained firm that he wasn't a bad guy like they were trying to say he was."

"I see..." Melto said, "They feared your mother was being used to harm the tribe."

"But, why did they also try to kill you then? What did you have to do with any of this?" Towa asked worriedly.

"What?!"

"Ah... right..." Towa gave Juniper an apologetic smile. "The tribe tried to kill Juniper the same day they killed their mother. Their father had been killed a while beforehand."

"The tribe... wanted you dead just because of who your parents are?" Canalo asked.

Juniper nodded. "They... never liked me."

"I see why you didn't want to tell us anything. That sounds horrible to have to have gone through." Koh said, "Can I ask how old you were?"

"Not even 100 years old yet."

"So that's why you have no indication of belonging to the tribe... because you were cast out."

Juniper nodded.

"And then, your Kishiryu found you and took you in?" Asuna asked.

"Yeah... after I lost the people that were trying to kill me, she came to me and saved my life." Juniper replied.

"Well, I guess you've proven to be trying to help. You still have a lot to learn but, I hope we can get along despite our initial meetings." Melto concluded.

"I hope so too." Juniper replied.

Their gaze drifted over to Bamba. He still seemed uncertain about them. At least he hadn't tried to interject anything into the conversation. Hopefully they could slowly prove they were on the right side to him.

"You did it, Juniper." Towa smiled at them.

"Thanks to you for helping me." Juniper replied.

Chapter Text

The next day, Juniper was able to get up and move around again. There were still some aches and pains from the damage that had been done to their body, but it was a lot more tolerable than yesterday. It would still take a day or two before they had fully recovered from the attack.

They had been offered to stay at the house until they were healed again. Afterwards, they were able to go to wherever they wanted. Juniper wasn't sure where else they would go at this point. They wanted to stay with Towa but still worried that Bamba wouldn't like them getting so close to his little brother.

"Good morning, Juniper." Koh was the first one up to greet them in the morning.

"Morning, Koh."

"Do you feel better?"

"Yeah. I feel a lot better." Juniper nodded. "Thank you guys for helping me... I'm sorry about all the trouble I'm causing..."

Koh shrugged off their apology. "Don't sweat it. If anything, it's us who caused all the trouble in the first place."

"If I had just been honest to begin with... a lot of this wouldn't have happened." Juniper mumbled.

"You had a lot of reasons to be distrustful of us." A new voice came into the conversation: Melto.

Melto and Asuna both entered the room now as well. Juniper was still a little wary of them all. They said they trusted Juniper now but...

"I learned to never tell the truth... because it always just made things worse..." Juniper mumbled.

It was an unfortunate truth. They never were able to openly talk about their family or their past without someone getting mad at them or worse, hurting them. They had learned fast to act like nothing was strange about them to keep themself safe from others.

"You really were hated for an act your parents did?" Asuna asked, "That seems... almost too cruel. Is there really nothing else to it?"

"If there is... I am not aware of it..." Juniper lied. They still were not comfortable telling anyone they were part druidon yet. That would have to wait for quite some time until they felt like they could really trust these people.

"That's fair." Melto replied, "Your mother probably wanted to try to protect you from the truth of the matter."

"There's no one left to really ask for any info about you though... guess we'll never really know what happened." Koh said.

"There isn't?" Juniper questioned.

"Ah, right. You must not know. The..." Koh paused. "The tribe was massacred by the Druidons when they returned to Earth. Practically no one is left."

"Oh..."

Juniper felt relief more than anything. Less people to potentially expose their secret to everyone. It was sad that so many innocent lives had been lost but it was good for them.

"Why did you guys think I was a Druidon anyway?" Juniper asked.

"Well... like we said, Wiseru can shift into a human so... with how secretive you were we kind of just assumed the worst." Melto explained.

"Are there no kind Druidons?"

"Kind? A Druidon? That's laughable."

"Right..."

That just solidified it more for Juniper that they could not let these Ryusoulgers know that they were half Druidon. That would be the end of them at this point in time. If they could prove their worth more and gain everyone's trust better, then maybe they could tell them the truth. But for now this secret had to be kept under lock and key.

"Anyway, let's get cooking."

...

After breakfast, Towa and Bamba came to the house. The conversation was mostly normal. No one was questioning Juniper anymore. Though, they still weren't exactly welcome in the conversation.

A while later, Canalo came to visit as well. Everyone was mostly relaxing. That was to be expected after fighting such a rough battle the day before. Juniper was kind of hoping something would happen to they could go out and fight. They wanted to fight with everyone for once. Try and prove they were part of the team now.

"How are you doing, Juniper?" Towa diverted from the rest of the group and joined Juniper in the room over.

"Alright. I feel pretty good." Juniper replied.

"I have a question... well, I guess it's more of a request."

"And that is?"

"Could I... meet with Eclipsa? I wanna talk to her. She seems pretty cool."

"Are we allowed to just leave like that?" Juniper asked worriedly.

Towa shrugged. "It'll be fine. They trust you enough that we can hang out again."

"Like we ever stopped."

Towa chuckled. "Can we go?"

"Let me ask her." Juniper replied.

They sent off a message to Eclipsa, asking if she would be willing to let Towa meet with her. They knew she was one for solitude. She only liked to interact with those she deemed pure enough. Surprisingly, she agreed, but made it clear only Towa was allowed.

"She said yes, but no one else." Juniper relayed the message back to Towa.

Towa smiled. "Awesome. Let's go then."

Juniper got up and nervously followed behind Towa. Towa simply said that the two of them were going on a walk. No one argued, just told them not to be too long.

Juniper led the way to where Eclipsa said she would be. It was not too far out of the town. But far enough away that no one would find her unless they were looking.

"Here we are." Juniper announced as they came into view.

"Hello!" Towa greeted Eclipsa. "It's nice to meet you!"

Eclipsa lowered her head to acknowledge his words.

"Do you like me?" Towa asked. He seemed a bit nervous.

"I do, young one. You are quite pure of heart yourself. It was only tainted because you knew no better. I can forgive that enough." Eclipsa replied telepathically.

Towa's eyes widened as she responded. "I'm glad. I... I do try to be nice as best I can."

"You've taken quite a liking to my child, have you not?"

"Yeah. Juniper... well, they're the first kid my age I've really gotten to hang out with who understands all this Ryusoulger stuff."

"We really did hit off when we first met." Juniper agreed. "It's fun having someone my age around finally."

"I'm sorry nii-san has been so rude..." Towa mumbled.

"I get it. I'd probably distrust me too."

"You two make a good pair." Eclipsa commented, nudging both of them gently with her head. "Do well to remain close. I don't think this friendship ending will be good for either of you."

"I have no intention of losing this friendship with Juniper." Towa stated.

Juniper nodded in agreement. They didn't see the two of them coming apart very easily. That had already gotten quite attached to each other. It would take something very major to break them apart.

Very major... like their identity. Juniper hated that realization. While they desperately wanted to believe Towa would still trust them, there was a lot of doubt. Towa was a Ryusoulger. He wouldn't take that information lightly.

"We should head back soon. Otherwise nii-san will probably come looking for us." Towa said.

"Okay." Juniper nodded.

They said their farewells to Eclipsa and began the walk back to the house. Juniper tried to distract themself from the thoughts of earlier.

"Ne, Towa? Do you think that maybe somewhere out there there's a nice Druidon who doesn't want to hurt anyone?" Juniper asked. "Not all humans are good so... does that meant maybe not all Druidons are bad?"

Towa thought on the question for a while. Juniper was quite nervous to know his answer. This would determine a lot of things.

"I mean, it could be possible but I feel like they wouldn't be on Earth. They'd probably still be on the planet they fled to or even the other Druidons killed them for being too nice." Towa finally answered.

"But, you think it might've happened?"

"I think it probably has at some point."

Juniper was very glad to hear that. So maybe if they just proved they truly were kind and on the Ryusoulgers side... maybe they could tell Towa the truth. It would still probably be a while for that, but it gave Juniper some hope. All they wanted was someone they could finally confide in with this secret and not be treated like an enemy. Was that too much to ask for?

Chapter Text

Now that everyone had determined that Juniper was probably not an enemy, things were going a bit smoother for them. There was still a little bit of wariness from everyone besides Towa. Juniper understood it, but they really wished that for once they could be fully trusted by everyone. Maybe after a few more battles with some minosaurs they could earn the complete trust of the group?

Speaking of battles, Towa had taken to continuing to help Juniper train. Juniper was still struggling to stop doing things the wrong way. They had practiced with their sword the wrong way for so long that it was a hard habit to break. At least Towa wasn't frustrated about how slow their improvement was.

Bamba was by far still the wariest of the group about Juniper. But, with the fact that Towa liked them so much, Bamba had no choice but to end up around them. He had gotten a bit friendlier with them and had even joined in one training session to give some pointers. Juniper was happy that they were making progress with building better relationships with everyone, even if it was a slow thing to do.

It was another day. Juniper and Towa had gone off into the town together to wander around. Towa was showing Juniper around still. There were quite a lot of places they had yet to see in this town. They wanted to have a better grasp on the layout in case they ever got separated from everyone again. They needed to know how to find their way back.

Melto had managed to craft a device similar to the changers they all had so that at least Juniper had a way to communicate with everyone. It was nice to be included like this. Juniper had never had friends before, after all. They were desperate to keep these growing friendships alive.

"Look! Dogs!" Towa exclaimed excitedly.

"Dogs?" Juniper replied.

"Yeah. Come on, let's see if their owner will let us pet them." Towa grabbed Juniper by their wrist and tugged them over.

There were two tiny dogs on a leash. Juniper stared at them. They hadn't ever interacted with animals before. They knew of some animals, but the tribe never had any that they got to be around.

Towa asked if they could pet the dogs. The owner said yes. She was smiling at the two young boys.

Towa crouched down and was happy to pet the dogs. Juniper hesitated for a moment, but copied Towa. They were cautious as they let the two dogs sniff their hand. The dogs were at least quite friendly.

"Good boys." Towa cooed at the dogs. "So cute."

"Thank you." The owner responded.

"What are their names?" Towa asked.

"The black one is Bee and the brown one is Pell."

Towa picked up the brown on a little and got close to its face. "So your name is Pell."

The moment was interrupted by a scream of distress. Juniper and Towa both looked toward the direction of the noise. Was there a new minosaur? Was it just a Druidon? What was going on?

The two kids rushed off after the noise. They had to go see what was happening. Towa was leading the way for them.

There was a very weird looking minosaur terrorizing people. Towa and Juniper skidded to a halt as it finally came into view. It seemed the noise of their footsteps caught the minosaur's attention as it turned to look at them.

Towa pulled out his ryusoul and began to transform. "Ryusoul Change!"

Juniper yelped in surprise at Towa rushed past them and into the fight. He had not hesitated at all to jump in while they definitely had. Then again, Towa had a lot more experience doing this than they did.

"Ryusoul Change!" Juniper activated their own transformation and joined Towa.

Before the two of them could reach the minosaur, Bamba appeared from the walkway above and jumped down. He was already transformed. Looks like he had also been in the area. Had he perhaps been watching them from afar?

"Nii-san!" Towa said in surprise.

The three of them began to attack the minosaur. Surprisingly, Juniper was having an easy time fighting this one. They had expected it to be a lot tougher, but the battle was going too well. It was almost taking no effort for the three of them to knock the minosaur down.

"Huh?" Towa said, "This minosaur's really weak."

"Don't let your guard down." Bamba warned, holding out his sword at the minosaur.

"What's up with this thing? Doesn't it have any better attacks?" Juniper questioned.

"S-stop!" Suddenly Creon appeared and placed himself in front of the minosaur, who was still on the ground. "Time!"

Creon and the minosaur fled. The three Ryusoulger exchanged glances. What was going on? Juniper expected to be confused but the fact that Bamba and Towa were also just as confused was not expected. This wasn't quite normal for them either then.

"After them." Bamba stated.

He didn't give either of them a chance to respond before he was already on the move. Towa and Juniper ran after him. Where exactly were they going now? Where was the minosaur trying to take them to? Did it have some sort of advantage in a different situation perhaps? Juniper was trying to figure out what they could expect to be met with. With how weak they still were in fights, they needed to try and assess the situations before getting into them as much as they could.

They ended up at a school. They went to a walkway above connecting the building together. The minosaur stood at the other end. Juniper looked around, trying to understand why it would go here of all places. This couldn't just be a random choice, right?

"Rururururu~" The minosaur said.

"Rururururu?" Bamba repeated.

"What does that mean?" Juniper whispered.

"There aren't any red foxes here!" Towa stated. "Prepare yourself!"

Without any more hesitation, Bamba and Towa rushed toward the minosaur. Juniper hesitated. This felt like a trap. Something didn't feel right about any of this. Why didn't they feel that?

As the two ran, the minosaur blew a whistle. What? Juniper was even more confused now. What was this minosaur's power?

"That's against the rules!" Creon called from somewhere.

The next thing Juniper knew, Towa and Bamba had vanished in a purple smoke. What? Where did they go? What had the minosaur done to them?

"Towa? Bamba?" Juniper called nervously.

They backed up. They were scared. What had happened? What did they do? They should go find the others. Maybe they could help?

Juniper untransformed and went back to the ground. They were about to set off and then they realized they had no idea how to get back to the house. That was not good. They were just going to get lost if they tried. Maybe they should just hide out here until the others came? But what if the others had already gotten caught by this minosaur too? What if it was just them left? No. They needed to have hope. If no one showed up soon, they would have to find a plan on their own.

...

Thankfully Koh, Asuna, and Melto came to the school with Tyramigo in tow. They hadn't gotten caught by the minosaur.

"Guys!" Juniper ran over to them.

"Juniper. Where's Towa?" Koh asked.

"Um... I don't know... the minosaur did something to Towa and Bamba. They vanished! I don't know what's going on!" Juniper replied.

"Vanished?" Asuna repeated.

Juniper nodded.

"What do we do?" Koh questioned.

"Kikesoul." Melto placed the ryusoul into his sword and activated it.

"Do you hear anything?" Asuna asked.

"Yeah. Let's go." Melto nodded.

He led the way into the school. They came to a classroom that had noises of distress coming from it. Koh and Asuna tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Hurry."

"It won't open!"

"In that case."

The two of them transformed and busted down the door. But, there was nothing. It was simply a radio that was playing the sounds. There was no one trapped in the room. It was a trap then, wasn't it?

"You totally fell for it!" Creon called from behind them.

The minosaur blew its whistle and Koh and Asuna vanished.

"That's against the rules!" Creon stated.

"Asuna!" Melto called.

"Koh!" Tyramigo said.

"Come on, Ryusoulger!" Creon taunted as he and the minosaur went down the hall.

"Tyra!" Tyramigo started to follow.

"Wait!" Melto called.

"Why are you stopping me?!" Tyramigo demanded.

Melto walked up to him and looked around. "This is a trap."

"Those papers are... rules." Juniper commented.

"If we break them, we'll end up with the rest of the group." Melto stated.

"Go slow then? They got taken for running." Juniper said.

The three of them began to follow after Creon slowly. They had to be very careful about their every movement. If they got caught breaking a rule, it was over. But it was a very slow process without being able to do anything but walk slowly.

"Tart. I thought of something." Tyramigo stated.

"It's Melto." Melto stated. "What?"

"Let's walk fast."

Melto looked back at him with a smile. They began to walk fast. That wasn't running. It wasn't against the rules. It definitely made things go faster.

They came across a woman in a lot of pain on the floor.

"Misako-sensei!" Tyramigo called in worry.

Her energy was sucked away. That meant... the minosaur came from her.

"There's a minosaur ahead." Melto commented. "But there's too many rules in the school. How can we fight?"

"Lead the minosaur outside?" Tyramigo suggested.

"Huh?"

"Leave it to me!"

Tyramigo went ahead. He came to the teacher's room. He knocked on the door.

"This is Tyramigo! May I come in?" He said.

"Come in!" Creon replied.

Tyramigo entered the room.

"What is it? What?" Creon spoke. "Hmm?"

"Excuse me." Tyramigo walked to the desk and grabbed the minosaur by the arm, making it so it couldn't use the whistle.

"Trying to brute force it?!" Creon tried to separate them. He even summoned some drunn soldiers to try and help.

Tyramigo wasn't deterred and managed to drag the minosaur outside. He tossed it onto the ground. Melto and Juniper transformed and move in to attack.

"Good job!" Melto called. "Now we can fight freely!"

The two of them rushed into battle. They took on the drunn soldiers first. Melto was able to make short work of them. Juniper did their best, but it was hard. They took down one of their own at least.

"Omosoul!" Melto moved in and began attacking the minosaur.

Juniper stood back and watched. They weren't sure what to do. They didn't want to get int the way of whatever Melto was planning to do.

The minosaur was rolling on the ground, looking distressed. A broken soccer ball was underneath it.

"She broke something?" Melto said. "She's suffering because she broke a rule!"

"Melto! Tyramigo!" Koh called.

"Juniper!" Towa rushed over to them.

"You're back." Juniper let out a relieved sigh.

"We knew you'd work something out." Koh was talking to Melto and Tyramigo.

"Yeah!" Tyramigo replied.

"Let's go." Melto stated.

Everyone nodded.

"Threatening the children..." Tyramigo faced the minosaur. "Threatening this planet's future... is against the rules the most!"

Tyramigo grew back to normal size in his anger. And then a lot of energy was coming to the minosaur and it grew huge. That wasn't good.

"Dimevolcano!" Koh transformed and called into his changer.

"Mosa Rex!" Canalo did the same.

The three Kishiryu combined together. Koh and Canalo went into the mecha to fight. Everyone else watched the fight from below. It wasn't a hard fight. The minosaur itself was quite weak. It was easy to defeat it even when it was giant like that.

...

"How come you didn't end up in that place with us?" Towa was talking to Juniper as the two of them walked around the town again now that the threat was dealt with. Bamba was following behind them.

"I hesitated..." Juniper mumbled. "Sorry... I know I need to stop being afraid to fight but..."

"Sometimes waiting and observing is better than rushing in blind." Bamba commented. "You just do it too much."

"You need to get more confident in yourself, Juniper!" Towa stated.

"But... how?" Juniper questioned.

"Why don't we train with the others at some point? I think a change might help you." Towa stated.

"I... I'll try." Juniper nodded.

"For now, let's enjoy the rest of the day. I haven't finished giving you a tour yet."

Chapter Text

It was a few days later when Juniper had finally agreed to join everyone for a training session. Well, it was mostly everyone. Bamba and Canalo were not present for this one. Melto was observing everyone else for the most part. He wasn't a part of the fighting.

Juniper had started off by watching everyone. They were unsure about joining in still. They had never fought other people much before. Towa was the only one Juniper had ever fought so far. They didn't know how it would go trying to fight one of the others. They were still quite bad at fighting.

After everyone had warmed up and done some one-on-one practice, Juniper was asked to try. They had been put up against Koh. Juniper was nervous as they faced him.

"Don't worry. You got this." Koh said to them with a smile on his face. At least everyone was very encouraging.

Juniper nodded. They took a deep breath and steadied themself. On Melto's word, they began.

Koh was definitely a lot better at this. Juniper was constantly having to dodge his attacks. They had yet to get a single chance to try and retaliate. Though, it seemed they were agile enough to avoid all attacks. Koh hadn't seemed prepared for them to be able to dodge everything.

Juniper got the chance to attack back when Koh started to tire. He was putting in a lot of effort to try and get an attack to hit Juniper. Juniper took that opportunity to swing their sword at Koh. Unfortunately, Koh was able to block is with his sword and sent it flying out of Juniper's grip.

"I win." Koh stated.

Juniper awkwardly went and retrieved their sword.

"You need to be more open to retaliating during an attack." Melto said. "You can't just sit around and wait for an opening. It might never come in time."

Juniper nodded. They knew that. They knew they needed to stop being so afraid to take risks. But that wasn't something they were going to be able to change instantly. They just wished they knew why they were so afraid to fight. They had trained for this so why was it that they were so scared? They knew how to fight.

"Alright. Let's move on to trying some close-quarter combat." Melto continued. "Koh, Asuna, Towa. You three will fight each other. Juniper, it's best you sit out for now. At your current level I'm worried you'd just get hurt."

They went to a fenced in area. Melto and Juniper stood on the stairs leading down to it. Koh, Asuna, and Towa stood below, waiting for the practice fight to begin. Once Melto said they could begin, the three went at it hard.

Juniper watched with wide eyes as they all fought. This was a lot harder of a practice than they had thought would take place. The three of them were not hesitating at all to go at the others. Juniper hoped that someday they could get to that point as well. It looked like a lot of hard work.

Asuna decided to use an object in the area to aid her fight and threw it. Towa had dodged, but Koh had not. He fell onto his butt and was holding his leg. Towa went to charge back at Asuna, when Melto called for them to stop.

"Awww, it was just getting good!" Towa complained.

"You three fight on instinct too much." Melto began giving his observations to them, walking down the steps. "Towa in particular."

Towa glanced back at Melto, seeming both surprised and offended at the statement. Juniper awkwardly went down as well and went over to check on Koh. He seemed to be fine, just in a little bit of pain.

"Speed alone won't solve all your problems." Melto was still talking to Towa.

"What?" Towa replied. "What are you trying to say? I won, didn't I?"

Towa walked past Melto, patting him on the shoulder. Melto grabbed his arm and prevented him from getting any farther.

"I see." Melto said. "Then I'll make you understand."

"Don't you look down on me." Towa replied.

Without another word, the two of them began to transform. Juniper looked at Asuna and Koh. Both seemed just as concerned by what was going on.

Melto and Towa began to fight. They were not going easy on each other.

"What's wrong?" Towa taunted as he dodged Melto's attacks.

"Stop it, you two!" Koh called, but it was ignored. The three of them not fighting had to keep moving out of the way. Towa and Melto didn't seem to care that there were obstacles to this fight.

"You can't keep up with me!" Towa continued to taunt Melto as he nimbly moved around. It was true that he was fast.

"If you apologize..." Towa trailed off. He looked around. He was cornered with no way to escape.

"I've driven you into a corner." Melto stated, undoing his transformation. "Towa, you're fast. But that's all. If your speed is taken away, you can't do anything. Use your head more."

Towa averted his gaze. He canceled his transformation and stormed past Melto, leaving the area.

"Towa!" Melto called after him, but he didn't acknowledge him at all.

Juniper glanced around at the other three, before rushing off after Towa. Towa didn't even acknowledge them for a while. They just walked in silence.

"Towa?" Juniper nudged him. "What's wrong?"

Towa didn't reply. He just huffed and sped up. Juniper sighed and increased their own pace to keep up with him.

"Melto's a harsh teacher, huh?" Juniper nervously said.

"What does he know..." Towa grumbled. "I know what I'm doing."

"He had a point though. You did get backed into a corner and didn't seem to know how to get out of it." Juniper said, worriedly Towa might snap at them for agreeing with Melto on this.

"I'd have found a way in a real fight." Towa huffed.

"Where are we going now?"

"I'm going to find nii-san."

"You aren't going to tell him what happened, are you?" Juniper questioned.

"No!" Towa sent Juniper a warning glare. "Don't you dare say a word. Nii-san doesn't need to know."

Juniper held up their hands in defeat. "Okay. If you say so."

The rest of the walk was silent. Eventually they found Bamba. He seemed surprised to see both of them. They were supposed to be training with the others. But, he didn't say much at first and just let them join him.

Towa started kicking a rock he found on the path. He still seemed upset about what had happened earlier. Juniper wished they knew a way to help him cheer up. Unfortunately, they weren't the best at this.

"Weren't you guys going to train with them?" Bamba finally questioned.

"I stopped. Melto's too bossy." Towa replied. "Juniper followed me."

"They were doing too difficult training for me to join in on anyway." Juniper said.

"Onii-chan! Onii-chan, where are you?!" A voice interrupted their silence. There was a little kid calling for his brother.

The three of them went to go see what was going on.

"What's wrong?" Towa asked the kid.

"My brother's missing." The kid replied.

Bamba walked up to the kid. "Can I see that?"

The kid seemed a little scared, but handed over the painting he was carrying.

"That's..." Towa said.

"What is that slime?" Juniper asked.

"Creon uses it when he makes Minosaurs." Bamba replied.

Towa took the painting from Bamba. "So then the Minosaur..."

Bamba took out a ryusoul. "KunKun Soul."

After a moment of using it, he spoke again. "It's close. Let's go."

Bamba started to go in the direction the Minosaur seemed to be in. Towa handed the painting back to the little boy and then followed after Bamba. Juniper followed behind him. Then Towa suddenly stopped before he ran up the steps. He looked back at the kid and then went back over to him.

He knelt down in front of the kid. "What's your brother's name?"

"Shoutaro."

"It'll be okay. I swear we'll find Shoutaro-kun." Towa said.

Then he went back to Juniper and the three of them went off toward the Minosaur. Hopefully they could stop it before it did any damage.

The trail sent them to a warehouse of some sort. They stopped outside of it.

"It smells the same as the picture." Bamba said.

"Don don don don."

Drunn soldiers appeared.

"It's in there."

"Ryusoul Change!"

The three of them transformed and rushed into battle.

"Leave this to me!" Bamba called.

"Okay!" Towa replied. "Haya Soul!"

He took down the Drunn soldiers in his way and got into the warehouse. Juniper rushed after him. How they wished they had those things to use too. They really needed to see if they could get something to let them use other ryusouls.

"See~ My speed really is the best!" Towa hummed.

Juniper elected to not say anything. They had a mission to complete here. Now was not the time for that. Especially as the two of them noticed there was someone on the floor nearby.

"Huh? Shoutaro-kun?" Towa called. "Oh good. Your brother's looking for you."

Towa walked over toward him. Juniper hung back. This felt too easy. Something felt wrong. Why was he here and being protected by Drunn soliders? There had to be more to this.

There was a loud metal clang from somewhere. Towa and Juniper both jumped slightly and then looked at each other. What was that?

"What was that sound?" Towa said, before calling Bamba on his changer. "Nii-san! You okay?"

Juniper yelped as they saw a cage suddenly appear out of thin air above Towa and Shoutaro. The cry got Towa's attention and he noticed. He quickly dodged, but Shoutaro was caught in it. The cage vanished with him in it.

"Huh?!" Towa exclaimed.

"Where'd he go?!" Juniper yelled in worry.

"What's going on?"

"Where's Bamba?"

Towa rushed back the way they had come in. Juniper followed behind. Where the fighting had been, there was nothing. Bamba was nowhere to be seen. He also hadn't answered the call.

"Let's go back to the house. Hopefully the others are there." Towa stated, undoing his transformation.

Juniper nodded and copied him. The two of them rushed back to the house. Hopefully they weren't too late and something had happened. This was really confusing. Just what was going on here?

The entered the house in a hurry. It only was Ui and her father there when they arrived.

"Where are Koh and the others?" Towa questioned.

"Huh? Weren't they with you?" Ui replied.

Towa looked at Juniper in worry. Juniper shared the look. This wasn't looking good at all. The two of them left the house and went to a high point in the town.

"Mie Soul." Towa searched the town for any signs of them. "They're gone..."

"Eh? They... aren't visible?" Juniper gulped. "What is happening?"

"Where'd they all go?" Towa whispered.

Suddenly a cage appeared above them. Towa grabbed Juniper and pulled them out of the way. They both narrowly missed getting taken.

"Awesome!" A voice spoke.

Wiseru was on the roof with them. He was holding a brush and a notebook. Huh?

"I'm impressed you managed to avoid it twice." Wiseru commented.

"So that cage was your doing!" Towa said.

He quickly transformed and sped over to Wiseru. Juniper held back and watched. Towa tried to attack Wiseru, but his sword was caught.

"And locked." Wiseru said.

"Where are my brother and everyone else?!" Towa demanded.

"Behave and let me take you too." Wiseru punched Towa and sent him falling down. "Then you can meet them."

As Towa was falling, a cage appeared above him. Juniper watched in worry. Would he be able to dodge it? He was in free fall!

Towa managed to land and roll over to avoid it just in time. Juniper breathed a sigh of relief. He had dodged. If he got taken, they were going to be totally screwed over.

"Tch." Wiseru grumbled. "Stay still won't you? I'll get you later!"

Wiseru left. Juniper went up to Towa.

"So he got everyone else in those cages..." Towa stated. "So his next target is... ah! Canalo!"

"We need to find him and warn him." Juniper said.

"Let's go."

...

The two of them Canalo on the street with a girl.

"Canalo!" Towa called, rushing over to him. Juniper followed behind him.

"Go away. I'm in the middle of something with Natsumi." Canalo replied.

There were footsteps. They turned around. Wiseru was behind them.

"He... followed us... didn't he?" Juniper gulped.

"Indeed. Thanks for showing me the way." Wiseru replied.

"Who the heck is that?" Natsumi questioned.

"Natsumi, hide." Canalo said.

"What?!"

"Canalo. Watch out for the cages." Towa warned. "Nii-san and the others were caught in them."

"Cage?" Canalo repeated. "Is that the Minosaur's power?"

"Probably." Towa said. "It must be close by."

"Those cages appeared when Wiseru drew in that sketchbook." Juniper commented. "Could it be..."

"How observant." Wiseru held up the sketchbook. "This is the Minosaur."

"The sketchbook?!"

"You must not think much of us to reveal your scheme so easily." Canalo stated.

"Here's special service!" Wiseru said. "I'll show you its power!"

Wiseru opened the sketchbook and began to paint in it again.

"Showtime!"

A cage appeared behind them. It was over Natsumi.

"Natsumi!" Canalo ran to help her.

"Canalo!" Juniper yelled. That was probably exactly why Wiseru had pointed the cage there.

He got caught in the cage and also vanished. Juniper and Towa exchanged glances. It was now only the two of them left. This was getting worse and worse by the minute.

"Canalo..." Towa said.

"Now all that's left is you. I could care less about capturing this one. They can't do anything to stop me anyway." Wiseru stated.

Juniper wanted to be offended, but they couldn't really argue with his assessment.

"Haya Soul!"

The next thing Juniper knew, Towa had grabbed them and Natsumi and fled the scene. He brought them to a fenced off ditch.

"Thank you." Natsumi said and then left.

Towa was sitting down against the fence. He looked very stressed. Juniper didn't know how to help him. They sat down next to him.

"What can we do...?" Towa asked quietly.

Juniper didn't have any ideas. What could they do with just the two of them? Especially considering Juniper didn't know much about how to fight still.

There was noise nearby. Towa jumped to his feet, Juniper following.

"Who's there?!" Towa called.

Someone in purple armor approached them. Juniper gulped and took some steps back. This person looked dangerous.

"Gaisorg." The person replied.

"Gaisorg?" Towa repeated.

"What? Didn't Bamba tell you anything about me?" Gaisorg said.

"You know my brother?"

"Indeed." Gaisorg replied. "Towa... I know about you as well."

"Huh?"

Gaisorg had a sword in his hand. It looked very similar to the ones they used as Ryusoulgers, just purple.

Gaisorg rushed at Towa. Juniper yelped in panic and ducked behind a tree. They did not want to be involved in this. They would not last long against someone like this.

Towa transformed and fought back against Gaisorg. Juniper watched worriedly. They were confused. Why did this person know Towa and if they knew Towa, why were they attacking him?

"Just who are you?!" Towa yelled.

There was no reply. Gaisorg managed to toss Towa onto his back. Towa reached for a ryusoul, but Gaisorg knocked it out of his grip before he could use it.

"Do not rely on strength!" Gaisorg stated.

"Huh?" Towa lowered his guard slightly.

"Let me offer you a piece of advice." Gaisorg started to walk away. "Strength is not to be used as a crutch. Put it to use."

"Huh?" Towa looked confused. "Why?!"

He paused. Gaisorg was gone just as fast as he had appeared. Juniper came out of hiding. They picked up the ryusoul and handed it back to Towa.

"Why did he...?" Towa whispered.

"What?" Juniper asked.

"Master... said that before." Towa said.

"Eh? So... whoever that is knows your Master?"

"I guess."

"Anyway... we... need to figure out what to do." Juniper stated.

"How? What can we do alone?" Towa sounded hopeless.

"We have to try!" Juniper said. "Let's look to see if we can find where everyone was taken."

"O-okay." Towa nodded.

The two of them wandered around town, looking for any signs of things that could lead them to the others. It was seeming hopeless. And then a giant Wiseru appeared. Had he been painted as well?

"It wasn't only cages?" Towa said. "Even a giant painting became real? But... I can't... I can't do this..."

"Onii-chan!" The kid from before was back, still searching for his brother.

The two watched him for a moment. Juniper faced Towa.

"There has to be something we can do. We can't give up. The world is depending on us!" Juniper stated.

"But what can we do? Just the two of us... we won't get far."

"Towa!" Juniper grabbed him by the shoulders. "Get it together! We have to try something! Doesn't matter what it is, we need to try! If we give up now, we failed."

Towa was silent, and then his face lit up. "I have an idea!"

"Let's go! We don't have time to waste!"

The two of them ran off, Towa leading the way.

...

"Shall we get going now, me? And end the world?"

"Indeed, me."

"That's as far as you go!" Towa yelled.

Towa and Juniper arrived on the roof and faced off against the two Wiserus. They had a plan and had to hope that it worked.

"You're gonna return everyone!" Towa stated, holding his sword out.

"What can one little fly do? Go, me!" Wiseru said.

"Understood." The giant Wiseru moved to attack.

"Haya Soul!" Towa activated the ryusoul and began his plan.

Juniper stood back and watched. If this plan failed, they had one last chance that came down to them, but they hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Towa dodged all the attacks with his speed and made his way onto the sketchbook. Juniper watched worriedly. Hopefully this would work.

The giant Wiseru knocked him off the sketchbook and into a corner. He placed his staff in the way so Towa had nowhere to try to run to.

Towa lowered his head. "I surrender. Take me."

A cage fell on top of him and he was gone.

"Towa!" Juniper screamed.

"How disappointing, Ryusoulger." Wiseru commented. "Now, you get a front row seat to the end of the world."

Juniper gulped. "Why? Why must you do this? Can't we all live in peace?"

"As if." Wiseru scoffed. "Why would Druidons ever want to be kind to humans."

"Because humans can be nice sometimes." Juniper replied. They had to buy time for the plan to be put in action.

"You can think that all you want, but it doesn't make it true. Now, come, me. Let us go."

Before they could get far, the sound of footsteps echoed on the roof. Juniper smiled. The plan had worked. Everyone was back. They rushed over to join the others.

"You all!" Wiseru growled.

Everyone began to transform as they walked.

"The Valorous Knight! Ryusoul Red!"

"The Wise Knight! Ryusoul Blue!"

"The Stalwart Knight! Ryusoul Pink!"

"The Gusting Knight! Ryusoul Green!"

"The Regal Knight! Ryusoul Black!"

"The Glorious Knight! Ryusoul Gold!"

"The Kind Knight! Ryusoul Purple!"

"These proud souls will be used for justice!"

"Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger!"

Drunn soldiers appeared.

"We'll show you the chivalry of a knight!" Koh stated.

They all rushed into battle, taking on the Drunn soldiers with ease. Juniper felt a little left out as everyone used other ryusouls to fight with. They were still stuck with not even one to use.

Then came to fight to giant Wiseru. Juniper was stuck on the ground seeing as Eclipsa didn't desire to transform like that. They watched as the two mecha took on the Wiseru. It didn't take long to beat him down.

...

After the battle, Towa told Bamba about the encounter with Gaisorg earlier. The three of them were just outside the house while the others were in there eating.

"Gaisorg?" Bamba repeated.

"You know him?" Towa asked. "He knew about you. And... what Master said as well."

"That's... impossible." Bamba replied.

"Nii-san! Just who is he?" Towa demanded.

Bamba didn't reply. Towa was frustrated. That was clear to see.

"Towa... why don't we go for a walk?" Juniper tried to mitigate.

"Fine. Let's go." Towa turned away from Bamba and drug Juniper off.

The two of them stopped walking when they were far enough away. Towa sighed.

"If he knows... why won't he tell me?" Towa grumbled.

"Maybe he doesn't know?" Juniper suggested.

"He seems like he knows something."

"True... but maybe it's not to do with Gaisorg's identity."

"Let's stop talking about it for now."

"Okay. Um... what else is there to talk about then?" Juniper asked.

Towa looked at them for a moment, and then averted his gaze. Juniper was confused by the action.

"Um..." Towa mumbled. "There's um... something I want to... say."

"What is it?" Juniper asked.

"Well... I um... I like you. Like... a lot." Towa mumbled awkwardly, still avoiding looking at Juniper.

"What are you trying to say?" Juniper was lost on this conversation.

"I... have a crush on you..." Towa admitted, squeezing his eyes shut as he finished.

"Eh?!" Juniper let out a surprised noise at the revelation. "You... like me that way...?"

Towa nodded. Juniper wasn't sure what to do. They kind of did like him back but... was it wise to get into a relationship? And especially when Towa didn't know that they were a Druidon. It felt wrong but Juniper didn't know if they could bring themself to tell Towa the truth about their identity.

"Towa... I... there's something you need to know." Juniper stated. They were scared to say it but if they wanted to do this Towa needed to know the truth. Better they get hurt now than after they form a closer bond.

"What is it?" Towa looked at them nervously. Was he preparing for a rejection?

"I..." Juniper took a deep breath. "I wasn't completely honest about my past. My father was hated by the tribe because... because he was a Druidon."

"Eh? Then..." Towa's eyes went wide.

"I am half-Druidon." Juniper said. "I can't get closer to you with this being a secret. It doesn't feel right so... if you want to hate me, then do it. If you want to slice me down where I stand because I'm one of them, I'd rather it be by your hands than anyone else's."

"Juniper..." Towa seemed in shock still.

"I'm sorry..."

"What are you apologizing for? You're a Ryusoulger. Nothing else matters." Towa replied. "If a Kishiryu trusted you to save Earth, then I'll trust you too."

"Eh..." Juniper started crying tears of relief. They had been expecting to be hated.

"So... um... does this mean you like me back?"

Juniper nodded, wiping away their tears.

"Then... do you... want to go out with me?"

"I'd love that." Juniper replied.

"Just... we really can't tell anyone about this." Towa stated. "I don't think nii-san would be happy that I got into a relationship in the middle of all of this. Especially not when it's with you."

"I was going to ask the same thing. I don't want anyone to know yet." Juniper said.

"Then we're on the same page. Good."

"Thank you... I never thought anyone would accept me if they knew the truth."

"You've been doing nothing but helping us. I can't find a reason to hate you just for being part Druidon."

Chapter Text

The next day, Towa pressed Bamba for information on who or what Gaisorg was once more. Juniper watched from the sidelines. They had no right to get involved in this conversation. They doubted either wanted their input on anything anyway, not that they had much to contribute to this conversation. Even Eclipsa had refused to say anything when Juniper asked her if she knew of Gaisorg. She said she only heard the name in passing from another Kishiryu.

After a lot of pestering, Bamba did finally tell Towa about what he knew of Gaisorg. Juniper listened with interest. They certainly hadn't expected what was the answer to the question at all though.

"Gaisorg is an armor our ancestors created to resist the Druidons?" Towa repeated, seeming also shocked at the revelation. He sent a worried glance at Juniper.

It was still very weird knowing that Towa was aware that they were part Druidon now. Now the both of them were going to have their guts twisting whenever there was mention of killing all the Druidons or things like that.

"Yeah." Bamba replied to Towa, "But a long time has passed... and now the armor itself possesses its own consciousness."

"Eh?" Juniper let out a quiet noise at that info. The armor was alive?

"He said he knew about us." Towa stated.

"What?" Bamba turned to look at Towa.

"And not only that, he said the same thing Master did."

"So... is the armor itself walking around or does it like need someone to wear it?" Juniper questioned. "Cause if its option two..."

"Who is under that mask?" Towa questioned Bamba.

Bamba didn't reply. He was avoiding eye contact with Towa. Did he know something? Did he not think Towa should know?

"Nii-san, do you have any idea?" Towa continued to press the issue.

"It couldn't be..." Bamba said quietly.

The conversation was interrupted as they noticed some glowing objects coming down to Earth.

"What?!"

The three of them went off to see if they could find where one landed at. Whatever was coming down couldn't be good, could it? Unfortunately, it seemed not. They came to the back of a building after hearing voices to find Creon and another Druidon? It wasn't Wiseru. Who was this one?

"Tankjou!" Bamba said.

That was his name? Juniper glanced around, not sure what exactly was going on here.

"What? We defeated him before." Towa stated.

"Huh?" Juniper was even more confused now.

"Hey, we're in the middle of a touching reunion scene! Get lost!" Creon yelled at them.

"I don't mind. It'll only take a moment to bury them." Tankjou stated.

Bamba and Towa reacted fast, transforming. "Ryusoul Change!"

Juniper yelped at the sudden shift and quickly transformed as well. They really needed to get better at knowing when exactly to start transforming. They always fell behind the others on that.

The three of them charged at the two Druidons. Creon whispered something to Tankjou before they reached them. What did he say?

"I may have suffered an embarrassing defeat before, but it won't happen again!" Tankjou stated firmly. "Even if you have another Ryusoulger in the picture."

Tankjou kicked up dust at them and attacked, sending them to the ground. He threw two weird orbs at the three of them. Towa and Bamba sliced them in half. Guess they knew how to handle this? Juniper hoped so because they had no idea what Tankjou was capable of. They had to rely on the others for that.

"Like that's work!" Towa taunted.

"We won't fall for that attack again!" Bamba added. "We'll take you out in a second."

Juniper had a bad feeling about this. Tankjou didn't seem very concerned about anything. Shouldn't he be a bit more aggressive? Why was he not trying to attack them more?

Bamba began to charge up for a finishing blow, when suddenly explosions started happening around them. There was too much going on. Juniper barely knew what happened but suddenly the explosions stopped. They were away from the battle. Towa and Bamba were nearby. They must've planned an escape quickly.

"This isn't good at all." Towa sighed.

"Why is he alive...?" Bamba said.

"What are we going to do?" Juniper asked.

"We have to fight him. We killed him once, we can kill him again. Even if he has a new trick up his sleeve." Bamba stated.

Towa called the others on his changer to alert them that Tankjou was alive once more and then they set out to go find him again. It wasn't hard. There was mayhem where he was striking. People were running away in panic and there was smoke everywhere.

They saw Tankjou and Creon across a pond. There was a brief moment of silence as they stared at each other.

"I thought you ran away with your tails between your legs." Tankjou was the first to speak, taunting them.

"We're here too, Tankjou!"

Koh, Melto, and Asuna ran over to them. They quickly transformed and got prepared to face off with Tankjou once more. Juniper hated how they were the only one who had absolutely no idea about what this enemy was capable of. How long had he been dead for before they joined up with everyone anyway?

Everyone started rushing to attack. Towa hung back and pulled Juniper to do the same.

"Can you observe and try to figure out what his new trick is?" Towa asked.

Juniper nodded. "I'll do my best."

Juniper watched at the other fought. They tried to observe Tankjou and see if he was doing anything. Not much happened other than him knocking down everyone. He threw more of those weird bomb things and everyone sliced them open once more. Juniper stared at the bombs. There had to be something about them... but what? They seemed empty inside but...

Unless, they weren't empty and something had been set free when they were opened. Which meant...

Right as it clicked, explosions happened again. Everyone was in pain of the ground.

"Again?! What's going on?" Towa questioned. "Juniper?"

"You released something from those balls that explodes." Juniper stated. "It seems to react to our energy needed for charged attacks."

"Eh?"

"The gas!" Melto called.

"Gas?" Koh repeated.

"It's a gas made of condensed volcanic energy." Tankjou explained. "So, what will you do? If there is even a tiny spark, the whole city will burn."

Tankjou threw a lot of the balls and they opened around the town. This was bad. If they made any sparks, the gas would explode. How did they prevent that? Could they get rid of the gas? Or not cause any sparks while attacking?

"That means none of you can attack!" Creon taunted.

"So we'll just have to blow the gas away! Karu Soul!" Koh called. He blew the gas away.

"It's no use." Tankjou simply threw more down.

"They just keep coming... there's no end to them!" Towa said.

"Ah! Use a gas for a gas! Kusa Soul!" Asuna tried.

"What? Stupid!" Melto yelled at her. "There's no point if the gases just mix!"

"I thought it'd weaken..." Asuna replied.

"They're in a funk. Tankjou-sama! Wipe them out already!" Creon called. He had a lighter in his hands.

"Crap! If there's a spark..." Melto said.

Right before Creon could throw it, the match was put out. Someone else was now here and was attacking Creon. This was getting more and more confusing by the minute. Canalo also had come to join everyone.

"Master!" Asuna called.

That was her master? Why was she here all of a sudden?

"Destroying the city like this... isn't very eco-friendly." Canalo stated, joining the rest of them. "Just have to get rid of the gas, right?"

He pulled out a ryusoul.

"That's..." Koh trailed off.

"Kurayami Soul." Canalo activated it. "Kurayami Soul absorbs whatever you want it to. So suck up the gas!"

He fired off a shot and a black hole formed, sucking up the gas. Tankjou tried to throw more out, but the hole took those ones too.

"The gas is gone." Bamba observed. "Now we can fight!"

"You think you've won? If I can't use the gas..." Tankjou pulled out two more balls and then grew giant.

"Let's go, Mosa Rex!" Canalo called. "Shadow Raptor!"

"That's!" Towa exclaimed.

"A new Kishiryu!" Koh said.

"Combine!" Canalo called.

"Let's go too!" Koh called.

The five of them summoned their Kishiryu to combine. Juniper frowned. They were still left out. Unless... couldn't they just join whether their Kishiryu was part of the mecha or not? They wanted to help too! Unless... maybe the other Kishiryu didn't like them because they were part Druidon... Was it possible for them to know that fact?

The next thing Juniper knew, they were sudden engulfed in a bright light. When they could see again, they found they were in fact in the mecha with the others.

"Juniper?!" Towa was the first to say anything.

"Uh... guess I'm allowed to join?" Juniper shrugged. They had a weird feeling that Tigerlance had brought them on board specifically. They might tell Towa that after this was over. Though, it might not be hard to guess considering they were in the spot with Towa.

"No matter how many you combine, the outcome will be the same!" Tankjou taunted them.

They all began to attack. It was weird getting to be part of this action. Juniper just followed along with what Towa was doing.

Unfortunately, Tankjou managed to get a good attack in on them, firing off a beam. The two mechas fumbled around from the attack.

"So strong." Towa said.

"Pukupuku Soul!" Koh activated a ryusoul. "Canalo, fly up at my signal!"

"Huh? Okay!" Canalo agreed.

Juniper felt like they were missing a lot of information again. Had they done something similar to defeat this enemy the last time? Were they banking on it working again? Or was Koh doing something similar, but different?

Koh sent an attack with the ryusoul, but Tankjou dodged it.

"Fool! I won't fall for the same attack twice!" Tankjou stated.

Koh kept trying, but each time Tankjou was dodging it. This was getting them nowhere, right? Why did Koh keep trying? Was this part of his plan?

"You getting desperate now?" Tankjou taunted them.

"Not at all! Look around you!" Koh called.

All the buildings that had been hit were surrounding Tankjou.

"I can't see!"

"Canalo, now!" Koh called.

Canalo flew up. "Kishiryu Neptune Black Hole Cannon."

The attack hit Tankjou and finally killed him. It was over. They had done it.

They met back on the ground and then onto a building roof. Canalo was standing there alone.

"So that's the Kishiryu from space..." Towa commented. "Shadow Raptor."

The Kishiryu in question stood before them. Juniper watched it curiously.

"Koh?"

Juniper looked. Koh was staring out at the burning town.

"If we had more power..." Koh said, "We could've defeated Tankjou before the city was almost destroyed."

"It's okay." Master Pink stated.

"Eh?" Koh looked at her in confusion.

Master Pink looked at Shadow Raptor. "Shadow Raptor! Call forth Shine Raptor!"

"Shine Raptor?" Koh repeated.

Shadow Raptor yelled into the sky and a portal opened. A very similar looking Kishiryu appeared.

"That's Shine Raptor." Canalo said.

Shine Raptor unleashed a beam from its mouth and the city was restored.

"The city..."

"So that's.... the power of that Kishiryu." Koh said.

"Shine Raptor and Shadow Raptor." Master Pink said. "Light and dark, the two together in one Kishiryu."

"How do you know that?" Asuna questioned.

"I heard from Set." She replied.

"Set?" Koh repeated.

There were footsteps. Everyone turned to look. A cloaked and masked figure was walking toward them slowly. Who was this? Juniper was done with how many new people they had met today.

The man pulled away his mask to reveal his face to everyone. He looked very familiar.

"Ui's father?!" Koh said.

"My name is Set. I live in the gap between light and darkness." He replied.

This was just getting more and more confusing by the minute...

Chapter Text

Everyone was staring down the man who claimed his name was Set. This all felt so strange.

"I was once one of the Ryusoul tribe as well." Set continued to speak to them all, "But now I borrow the body of Tatsui Naohisa in order to speak with you."

So he was Ui's father? But like, possessing him? Juniper was very confused and from a look around at everyone else, concluded they all were just as confused. Why was this happening? And why now of all times? Did this have something to do with what the minosaur was doing? They hadn't even found the minosaur yet, had they? This was from a minosaur, right?

"But why Ui's dad?" Koh asked.

"He once broke into the temple where my spirit slept..." Set walked into the center of where they all were standing. "...and disturbed my rest."

"An excavation?" Melto questioned.

"I never thought the Druidons would return to Earth." Set continued on.

"So the living being taken away and the dead returning to life is the work of the Druidons?" Canalo said.

"No... a minosaur." Set answered.

"A minosaur?" Towa repeated.

"Doesn't that technically mean it is the Druidon's doing? They make the minosaurs, don't they?" Juniper whispered to Towa. Towa simply shrugged in reply.

"There it is." Set said.

The sky above broke open like glass shattering to reveal a minosaur. The place it had entered from was a weird green place. Just where had it come from?

"Switch..." The minosaur spoke. "Switch."

"Switch?" Melto repeated. "Switch places and go to the next world?"

The minosaur's hands glowed green and suddenly Juniper felt like they were being pulled out of their own body. It was a very weird feeling. Was this what is felt like to die? Juniper forced themself to calm and soon felt back in their body.

"Don't lose focus! Your soul will be sucked up!" Bamba called in warning.

It looked like all of them had managed to avoid being taken by the minosaur. Unfortunately, they saw that the minosaur was sucking up other things' souls. This was not good.

"Those are other people's souls?!" Asuna exclaimed.

"It's sucking up their lives!" Melto said.

"Stop!" Koh yelled and transformed. He used the Nobi Soul and ended up wrapping around the minosaur. He was drug upwards by it and went into the other dimension with the minosaur. The rest of them could do nothing but watch as it happened and the hole in the sky closed up. They couldn't even try to follow him if they wanted to.

"Koh's gone!" Towa said.

"Koh!" Melto called his name into the sky.

Everyone was in shock. No one knew what to do. Was there any way to get Koh back? Did they just have to wait and hope he would return? Where did he even go? It didn't seem like any attempts at communications were going through to him. That was just making everyone more worried.

And then they all heard a noise and turned around. Koh was back and was falling back to the ground. Asuna pushed her way through everyone and caught him. He looked mostly okay. That was good.

"Koh." Melto rushed over to him.

"You okay?" Asuna asked as she set Koh onto his feet.

Koh looked himself over, before noticing there was something in his hand. A ryusoul.

"Where's Shine Raptor?" Koh asked.

"She disappeared somewhere."

"Shine Raptor saved me." Koh stated, holding up the ryusoul for them all to see. He had Shine Raptor's ryusoul now.

"That's Kagayaki Soul." Set said. "Shine Raptor is capricious, but she has deemed you worthy. Shine Raptor and Shadow Raptor are Kishiryu created from energy from space. They can traverse dimensions. If the two are combined..."

After that Set seemed to be having an issue speaking. His voice seemed to be changing a bit and the words were not coming out.

"No good, I can't stay..." Set said, "...in this body long."

He fell over and seemed to now be asleep. He was snoring quite a lot. Had Set left the body? What was going on here?

And the suddenly Tatsui woke up and began to move around. "Ah, I slept so well!"

When he sat up and saw where he was, he was very confused. Everyone seemed a little unsure about how to proceed with all of this. How did they explain any of this to him? Should they even try to?

"Where is this?" Tatsui questioned. "What are these clothes?!"

"Let's get him home..."

Once Tatsui was settled enough, everyone gathered to discuss what to do next. They had to stop this minosaur before it took more souls from people.

"The minosaur is stealing the lives of many and bringing the dead back to life and throwing both worlds into chaos!" Koh stated.

"So... what can we do?" Asuna questioned.

"We need to find the minosaur first and foremost to do anything." Canalo said.

"Where would the minosaur go...?"

"We need to find somewhere people gather." Melto stated. "It'll try to target many people at once."

"And then once we find it?" Towa prompted.

"Set said something about combining the powers of Shine Raptor and Shadow Raptor. We should try that." Koh stated.

"Then let's get looking for a place the minosaur might strike at before it's too late!"

They split up into groups to go and search around the town. They were looking for any locations that might be of interest. It was a lot of running around. Juniper wasn't unfit by any means, but today had been a lot and all of this was getting overwhelming.

Eventually, they were able to combine their findings and narrow down possible locations for the minosaur to appear at. They all returned to the house to go over what they should do. They needed to try and find one location and hope that one would be the right one.

"There's going to be a large event held here tomorrow." Melto pointed out a spot on a map. "It's likely the minosaur will target it."

"The minosaur will only appear for a brief moment." Koh stated. "That's when it'll take many people's lives."

"So... are we planning on a way to stop that?" Juniper asked. "We shouldn't leave those people in harm's way for our plan, right?"

"Of course not. We'll figure that out too." Melto reassured them.

"But... if we defeat that minosaur..." Towa said. "Then Asuna will have to say goodbye to her master again. And Ui... her mother too..."

"It's not goodbye." Canalo replied.

Everyone looked at him.

He grabbed his heart. "They're always in here. Whenever they want to see them, they're right there."

"Our souls... are one." Koh stated.

Asuna returned in that moment. She gave Koh a nod to what he said.

...

The next day, everyone set out early in the morning. They had to deal with making sure the civilians weren't going to get caught up in this fight. They went around the town and began taking down all the signs pointing to the event. Without signage, no one would know where to go. Hopefully they would think the event was canceled.

With that done, all that was left now was to fight. They all transformed and made it to the event. Only the organizers appeared to be there. Everyone else was nowhere to be seen. However, there were some Druidons around.

"Tankjou!" Koh yelled to get their attention.

"Why are you guys here?!" Tankjou replied. He didn't seem very happy to see them.

"That's our line." Towa shot back. "How many times are you gonna come back to life?"

"Don't interfere!" Tankjou drew his sword.

"Go! Get them!" Creon yelled at the Drunn soldiers.

Everyone rushed into battle without hesitation. Even Juniper was able to move alongside everyone without any issue. They had prepared for this. They were ready to fight and not hesitate for once. Though, their fighting was still not the best, so they stuck close to Towa and fought alongside him. Towa didn't seem to mind.

The sky broke open.

"Look!" Asuna called.

The minosaur appeared once more. "Switch..."

It left almost as quickly as it had come.

"The minosaur's running!" Melto stated.

"Shine Raptor and Shadow Raptor! Make their two powers one!" Master Pink entered onto the battlefield.

"Master!" Asuna said.

"Make light and dark one and defeat that minosaur!"

"Alright!" Koh said.

Koh and Canalo called forth the two Kishiryu.

"Combine into one!"

The two became one and a new ryusoul was thrown into Koh's hand.

"Go after the minosaur with Tyramigo using the power of Cosmo Raptor." Master Pink called to him.

"Leave this to us, Koh!" Bamba stated.

"Yeah!"

"Alright!"

Koh combined Tyramigo and Cosmo Raptor. He opened a hole in the sky to the place the minosaur was at and jumped through it. The rest of them remained and focused on the fight with Tankjou.

As the Drunn soldiers thinned, everyone started making their way toward the stage where Tankjou was. Everyone started to use other ryusouls to give them boosts. Juniper still had yet to acquire one. They were too afraid to ask where to get one or even if they could borrow someone's for a bit.

Towa was using his speed as usual. But, Tankjou caught him mid-attack.

"Your attacks are fast! Light! Cheap!" Tankjou taunted, before kicking Towa in the stomach and then throwing him off the stage.

"Towa!" Juniper rushed to him.

"Cheap? What am I? A cut of beef?" Towa yelled in retort to Tankjou's taunt.

"Take this!" Bamba had a ball on a chain. He was above in a balcony trying to hit Tankjou from above. His attacks were being dodged and deflected back to him.

"You think too highly of you technique!" Tankjou stated, before throwing the ball back.

The balcony broke and Bamba went crashing to the ground. Melto and Asuna rushed forward to try and attack Tankjou now. This really was not looking good for them. Everything that had been tried so far had been ineffective.

Asuna pinned Tankjou to the wall.

"You could fully develop your strength if you joined me." Tankjou said to her.

"Screw you! Like I'd ever join you! I'll never work with a Druidon!" Asuna went back on the offensive.

Juniper couldn't help but wince slightly at her words. She was technically working with a Druidon. Half a Druidon, perhaps?

"Then I'll give you the worst death you could possibly dream of!" Tankjou yelled.

He knocked the two of them down as well. This was not going well at all. Canalo was the last one to try his luck.

"You will regret the day you met us!" Canalo stated as he began attacking Tankjou.

Tankjou blocked an attack. "Who are you?"

There was a long moment of silence with that question. Tankjou also didn't know about Canalo? He died before meeting him too? How long ago had this Druidon been killed then? It felt like Canalo had been with everyone for a while from the way they acted with him.

"My name is..." Canalo tried to answer, but Tankjou attacked him.

"I don't care!"

Then why did he ask? Juniper sighed. Rude.

Canalo was sent sprawling onto the ground as well. Tankjou charged up a shot and fired it at them all before anyone could even try to dodge it. The attack hurt a lot, but somehow they all managed to get back to their feet after it. They had to keep fighting. They couldn't stop now.

"Give up!" Tankjou yelled at them.

"We will defeat you!" Towa stated.

"We're not giving up!" Asuna added on.

Everyone charged together. Juniper did their best to follow along despite their disadvantage in this fight. They still wanted to help if they could. They were part of the fight too.

Unfortunately, they were the first to get hit hard and sent flying. They landed against a wall and winced. Maybe they should sit out for a bit? No... they had to fight too. They couldn't keep hiding and letting everyone else do all the work for them.

"Out of my way!"

It seemed Juniper wasn't the only one to get tossed around. Towa was also thrown. Into Melto. Both of them went down. That had got to hurt too. Everyone was still taking quite a beating in this fight.

Asuna was the last one standing. She was struggling, but managing to hold her own. But then, Tankjou knocked the sword out of her hand. That was not good.

"You're finished." Tankjou raised his weapon up, prepared to strike.

"Asuna! Take this!" Master Pink threw her sword to Asuna, who caught it and managed to avoid getting hit.

Asuna stabbed Tankjou. She finally got a good blow on him.

"I will protect everyone!" Asuna stated.

"Everyone, focus you power into that sword." Melto stated.

Everyone began their finishers at that statement.

"Dino Slash!"

Asuna absorbed the power of their finishers into the sword.

"Damn you!" Tankjou rushed forward to retaliate.

Asuna broke his sword in half with her own and then slashed his across the chest twice. Tankjou cried out and then went up in a big explosion. They had done it. They had killed him once more.

Once things settled, everyone was gathered by the water. They all knew the hard part was coming. The dead were going to disappear once more. That meant Asuna had to say goodbye once more.

Master Pink started to walk away. Had she wanted to leave silently? Did she think that would cause less hurt?

"Master!" Asuna called out to her and chased after her up the steps.

The two conversed, but none of them below were able to hear what was being said. All they could tell was that whatever it was, Asuna was trying her very hardest not to cry.

Master Pink walked to the top of the stairs an began to glow. In a few moments, she had vanished. She was gone.

Koh and Melto went up to talk to Asuna. Hopefully they could cheer her up if she was upset. It seemed to work as she was laughing before long.

Chapter Text

“You’re swinging too stiffly. Be more fluid in your movements.”

It was another day. And another day of training. Juniper and Towa were sparring with each other. Bamba was watching them from the sidelines. Juniper was quite surprised when he started giving them some pointers on what to do differently. They did their best to listen to what he was saying and try it out. It was quite hard at times though.

To no surprise, Towa claimed the victory for their match. Juniper knew it would still be a bit before they were anywhere close to being able to win a fight against someone else. They had a lot to learn still and were very much still struggling with not grasping their sword the wrong way.

“You did a lot better, Juniper.” Towa smiled at them.

“You think so?” Juniper replied.

“You lasted a lot longer this fight.”

“You did, but you still are not holding your sword properly. That’s what’s causing the most of your stiffness. You don’t have enough space to move with it when you grip the sword the way you do.” Bamba stated.

“I... I’m trying...” Juniper sighed.

“Old habits are hard to break.”

“But, it’s okay! Juniper is doing better!” Towa stated.

“They are.” Bamba agreed.

“I wish I could’ve trained like you guys did...” Juniper mumbled.

“It’s a shame you didn’t get it easy.” Towa nodded. “I would’ve loved to have you there to train with!”

They were cut off from their conversation by Koh calling them on their changers to ask about doing a ryusoul trade. Juniper had no idea what he was talking about but Bamba and Towa seemed to. Juniper just tagged along as they went to meet up with the others. They hoped it would make sense what this was when they got there.

...

“It’s been a while since we traded.” Towa said as the three of them entered the house.

Koh, Asuna, Melto, and Ui were all there waiting. They seemed happy to see the three of them. Juniper still had no indication about what was happening. They were embarrassed to ask Towa so they just kept quiet and out of the way.

“I have most of everything so there’s not much point.” Bamba stated.

“Alright, let’s start!” Koh stated.

It was then Juniper kind of realized what was going on. Everyone had their ryusouls out. They traded them?

“I’m confused...” Juniper whispered to Towa. “I don’t know what this is.”

“We find the ryusouls out in the wild and all and sometimes we will trade them to get ones we want.” Towa replied to them. “I’ll have to take you on an adventure to look for some so you can have your own to use. I can give you some of mine that I don’t use much if you want too.”

“I... if that’s okay...”

“Of course.”

Juniper stood back and watched as everyone presented the ryusouls they were willing to trade. They even offered up explanations as to what they did. Juniper was learning a lot about the ryusouls. Hopefully soon they would have their own to use. It would be nice to get an advantage in a fight like everyone else did. It would be really helpful for them since they still were not the best fighter there was.

“Do you have a Tsuyo Soul?” Koh asked Bamba.

“Yeah.” Bamba pulled it out of his bag.

“Then let’s trade!” Koh held up a Fue Soul.

The two traded.

“Fue Soul’s happy to be in your hands.” Koh stated, and then looked at the Tsuyo Soul he had just gotten. “Tsuyo Soul, nice to meet you!”

“He talks to his ryusouls?” Bamba said quietly as Koh walked away. “What a weirdo.”

“Nii-san, don’t you have a Fue Soul?” Towa questioned.

“It’s fine.” Bamba shrugged and then held his hand in front of Juniper’s chest. “You don’t have any yet, right?”

“I can... have this one?” Juniper stared at him with wide eyes.

“I have no use for it.”

Juniper took it and stared at the ryusoul. “Thank you.”

Everyone else also began trading amongst themselves. Juniper just watched the mayhem. They kept playing with the Fue Soul they had in their hands now. It was strange to have it. And for Bamba to have been the one to give it to them. He had definitely lightened up to them, but this was a very big thing to do for nothing in return.

They discussed a lot of things. Juniper kind of got lost after a while. Tyramigo showed up at one point. They really didn’t know half of what was going on. And then Canalo finally showed up.

“Sorry I’m late. Oto insisted on tagging along.” Canalo said.

A young girl was behind him.

“Who is that?” Juniper whispered to Towa.

“His little sister.” Towa replied. “I forget you haven’t met her yet.”

“It’s Oto-chan!” Ui ran over to greet her. “Long time no see.”

“Yeah. Long time.” Oto replied.

“What sort of ryusouls do the ocean Ryusoul tribe have?” Koh asked Canalo. They were still talking about ryusouls?

“Actually, I just found a ryusoul I’ve never seen before.” Canalo stated and held up one.

“It looks pretty.” Juniper whispered.

“I’ve never seen it before either.” Melto said.

“I don’t know it either, tyra.” Tyramigo said.

“Bamba, you know it?” Asuna asked.

“No.” Bamba shook his head.

“Seriously...”

“That ryusoul...”

Everyone turned to look. Naohisa was speaking to them.

“Huh?”

“Dad’s turned into Set-san.” Ui said.

“Do you know this.” Canalo walked over and asked him.

“That is the ryusoul of the mystical Kishiryu Kanaesouryuu.” Set explained. “Kanae Soul.”

“Kanae Soul?”

“The power of Kanaesouryuu can grant any wish.” Set said. “Long ago the Ryusoul tribe fought amongst itself for this power.”

“Fought?” Koh repeated.

“Kanae Soul is...” Before he could finish, it seemed Set had been forced out of the body once more.

“Dad!” Ui ran over to him.

“Oh, that was a good nap. Wait a sec. I can’t see anything.” Naohisa said, putting on his glasses. “So you know... a friend’s been telling me the best ways to eat chicken wings if you snap it here and then suck on the tip. But you really don’t know how good something can be until you’ve finally eaten all of it. Right?”

He walked away shortly after, leaving everyone in the room very confused about what he was going on about.

“What was all that about?”

Bamba got back on topic. “So we can make a wish come true if we use Kanae Soul...”

“That sounds... like a big responsibility...” Juniper whispered.

Making a wish with it? Would it grant anything? Did it only grant one wish? If it fell into the wrong hands that could end really badly.

Canalo turned back around to face everyone. “I have only one wish.”

He began to set up as if to activate the ryusoul. “To get a wonderful bride!”

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” He was stopped by most of the group. That was not a very in depth wish.

They got the ryusoul out of Canalo’s grip with some effort and it landed on the table. Koh picked it up and looked at Canalo.

“Canalo, there’s more to marriage than just what you want. You need to think about the other person’s feelings.” Koh said to him. “You have to get a bride on your own merit or it won’t turn out well.”

“Damn your logic.” Canalo cursed.

“If we use Kanae Soul, we can put an end to this war with the Druidons.” Bamba stated.

“Can it really do something that big?” Juniper questioned.

“So, we would just need to wish for the Druidons to be defeated to end the fight?” Towa said, trying to nonconspicuously glance at Juniper.

“It won’t be that easy!” Melto butted in. “We need to think about this more...”

“We won’t know until we try.” Towa shot back.

“But what if we only get one chance and we ruin it?” Juniper prompted.

“Melto’s just saying we should think about it more!” Asuna joined in.

“Marriage is life for the Ocean Ryusoul Tribe!” Canalo got back to arguing for his point.

This was dissolving into chaos very fast. Juniper was starting to think Set’s words about what happened last time with the tribe and this ryusoul might’ve been more of a warning than a tale. Everyone was starting to argue about what to do.

Koh got everyone to shut up using Kusa Soul and then addressed them all. “Let’s all calm down and think about this.”

Koh then held up the ryusoul to his ear and seemed to be listening to it. “Kanae Soul... you...”

Oto took the ryusoul out of his hand suddenly.

“Oto-chan?” Koh said.

“You guys can’t decide on a wish... so I’ll look after it for you.” Oto replied.

Melto got level with her. “Oto-chan, give that back. That’t really important.”

“Melto-san, be quiet.”

Melto looked troubled by her words. Then Oto left the house.

“Oto...” Canalo said.

Melto dashed off after her without a word. Koh called after him and gave chase.

“This is getting confusing...” Juniper mumbled.

“We should probably follow them.” Asuna suggested.

“Good idea.”

The five of them went off to try and track down where the others had gotten to. Juniper felt uneasy about all of this still. They didn’t like what that ryusoul was doing with everyone. It was just causing fights between them.

They met up with the other in a field under a bridge. It was only Koh and Melto who were there.

“Where’s Oto?” Canalo asked.

“She was a fake, just Wiseru in disguise.” Koh replied.

“What?! You didn’t realize, Canalo?!” Asuna said.

“I thought she was a little more demanding than usual...” Canalo replied.

“More importantly, where’s Kanae Soul?” Towa asked.

“You didn’t let Wiseru get away with it, right?” Juniper added on.

“It’s fine.” Melto held it in his hand.

Koh took it from him. “Before, I heard the voice of Kanae Soul.”

“Voice?”

“Kanae Soul’s wish... is for peace.” Koh stated.

“It must be sick of being the cause of internal fighting.” Juniper commented.

“Yeah. It really hates that it’s the cause of so much conflict.” Koh nodded. “Like what happened with us earlier. Kanae Soul grieved that it even existed... and fled to the bottom of the sea, where no one could find it. And then many years passed...”

“But then I accidentally found it...” Canalo said.

“Let’s set Kanae Soul free in a place where no one will ever find it.” Koh stated. “Melto.”

“Right.” Melto nodded. “PukuPuku Soul.”

He used it on Kanae Soul and sent it up into space. Hopefully there, it could live in peace and not be the cause of any more fights.

“Kanae Soul, we’ll grant your wish for sure.” Koh called to it, then faced everyone. “Alright. We’ll combine out power with the Kishiryus’ to defeat the Druidons and bring back peace to this world.”

Everyone nodded in agreement to his words.

“So... how did you figure out Oto was a fake?” Canalo asked Melto.

“Oh... well... when I saw Oto-chan the day before yesterday... she said she was going to start calling me Melto-kun, but then she called me Melto-san...” Melto said awkwardly before walking away.

Canalo didn’t seem to know how to process that information.

“They’re getting along pretty well.” Towa teased Canalo.

“Hey, wait! What’s going on with you and Oto?!” Canalo started chasing after Melto. “What were you doing having tea with her?! I never heard anything about this!”

“Because she didn’t tell you!”

The rest of them were watching the fight in amusement.

“You’re gonna fall!” Koh called to them.

“Come on, stop it, you two!” Asuna called as well. “Hey, let’s go home!”

Asuna went over to break up the fight.

“Go stop them.” Bamba prompted Koh, who was hanging onto him and Towa’s backs.

“Let’s go!” Koh pushed the two of them forward as well and then ran over as Asuna accidentally knocked over the bickering boys.

Juniper awkwardly followed behind everyone. They didn’t know about getting too involved in this situation.

...

“You two have gotten a lot closer recently.”

Neither Towa or Juniper were prepared for anyone to catch on to the fact they were closer than usual. Of course, if it was going to be anyone, it would be Bamba who would notice first. He was the one around them the most out of the group. They just hadn’t anticipated him figuring things out so soon.

“What? Can’t we be close?” Towa replied.

“Something feels different about this closeness.” Bamba stated. “You both have been acting different around each other.”

“Have we?” Juniper tried to keep their voice calm.

“Yes.”

The two kids looked at each other. What did they do? It was obvious Bamba wasn’t buying the simple answer.

“Is that a problem, nii-san?” Towa asked. “Does it matter?”

“To me it does.” Bamba replied. “You’ve gotten attached to them too quickly for me to overlook things. I know something is going on. You can’t hide it.”

Towa looked at Juniper again. Juniper wished they had an answer. Did they just suck it up and tell Bamba or did they try to come up with another excuse?

“Not going to answer?” Bamba said at their silences.

“We... are dating.” Juniper forced out. They were terrified of what the response was going to be.

Even if they had gotten on better terms, would this be too much? They really hadn’t known each other that long. Would Bamba find it suspicious?

“Dating?” Bamba repeated, his eyes widening. “You two?”

“Yes. We’re dating, nii-san.” Towa stated. “And nothing you say is going to stop us.”

“If that’s what you want to do, I won’t stop you. Just don’t come crying to me if things go wrong.”

“Nothing is going to go wrong!”

“I’m not saying anything will. I’m just saying I advice against this but I can’t stop you.” Bamba defended.

“Why not? Why don’t you like it?” Towa demanded.

“Getting into a relationship with anyone in the middle of this is not a wise decision, in my opinion. Especially not someone you have to work with day-in-day-out. If you fall-out, it will hurt everyone.” Bamba stated. “That’s all I’m going to say. Like I said, I can’t tell you not to do this.”

“Juniper and I are fine. You’ll see!” Towa huffed, before dragging Juniper away.

The two ended up in a playground. Towa let out a frustrated sigh as he sat down.

“He has some good points...” Juniper mumbled, joining him. “It could be bad if things don’t work out.”

“But they will.” Towa stated firmly.

“I hope they will.”

“But we definitely need to get better at hiding things because if nii-san picks up on our exchanges when Druidons are mentioned, that is not going to end well.” Towa said.

“Yeah... guess we need to learn how to be a bit more secretive.”

“Don’t suppose you plan on announcing this to everyone else?”

“Not if we don’t have to.”

“Good...” Towa sighed. “Do you wanna go look for ryusouls? Give us something to do till things calm down a bit.”

“Sure.”

“I’m still really surprised nii-san gave you one.”

“I think he likes me more than he wants to admit. When he was mentioning all that stuff, he never made it about me. It was all general stuff so, I don’t think he minds that it’s me that you’re with.”

“Maybe...”