“Well, if that’s the general consensus, that’s the plan we should stick with,” he said.
Ayumi let of a sigh of relief. The growing tension in the room faded away, and she didn’t intend for it to return. She hatched an idea.
“So Adam and Cody-san need to prepare themselves, and Albright-san needs time to rest. Dee’s well rested, and Daniel-kun won’t be doing any fighting. Since there are two days left to wait, why don’t we use today to relax a bit and have fun?”
“What do you mean?” asked the Creator.
“Well you’ve all spent your time here in hectic situations, so you probably haven’t gotten to see all there is to see in Kyoto. I’ll take you guys around the city and show you a good time before the big battle.”
“Party today, die tomorrow, huh? I wouldn’t mind getting to enjoy this place a little.”
“I don’t know if that’s wise,” Adam said. “If my double or any of his agents are walking around, they may initiate an attack if they see me.”
“That’s why you’re not invited,” she replied. “You’re going to be busy, remember? Take the time to be alone and train for the match, right?”
That sounded about what he had told her earlier. He looked the Creator, expecting a reason to object.
“I think that’s a fine idea,” he said with a wide smile. “I’ve always wanted to see the city.”
“Alright! That’s the spirit, Daniel-kun! Let’s get going! Oh, wait, somebody needs to shovel the path. Daniel-kun, you should help me do it. Come on!”
She dashed over and practically dragged the Creator from his seat. He hobbled with her to get his coat and shoes on while the others shifted from their seats in the living room.
“Are you alright with staying here?” Dee asked Adam. He nodded as the two got up.
“It’s better that way, and I should continue to work on perfecting the elemental powers.”
“Ok,” she said. “I’ll look for something to get for you while we’re out there.”
“You really don’t have to,” Adam said.
“I want to,” she said, leaving the room. Ayumi’s words and grinning face from earlier flashed in his mind, but he quickly dismissed them. He was about to leave the living room when Cody stopped him.
“Let’s talk, hm? I think you and I will benefit from sharing some information.”
“Oh, sure,” Adam said awkwardly.
“Not here though,” Cody said. “There’s a spot not far from here I wanted to see while I was here. It’s a good place to talk.”
“I don’t suppose you’re trying to lure me out to a secluded spot to kill me, are you?”
Cody threw him a confused look. “Why on earth would I do that?”
“Never mind, I’m just talking nonsense. Don’t worry about it. I’ll get my jacket.”
Chapter 26
The Path of Philosophers
The Creator was more than impressed with his tour of Kyoto. The ancient city was rich in history and culture that his vast knowledge knew nothing of. Ayumi had taken them up and down the city for hours and they had barely touched the surface of all there was to see.
Walking close to the Creator, Dee was even more captivated by the beautiful city. Mathias was a little less interested, walking in the back of the group and casually observing the ladies of the city. Whenever Ayumi caught him staring off where he shouldn’t be, she promptly elbowed him in the gut and went on with her guided tour.
Some time after noon, the group stopped to rest near the gate of a historic Japanese castle. Ayumi stretched her arms over her head and groaned in earnest.
“I’m starting to get hungry, what about you guys? There’s a great soba shop close to here. Not like the kind you get in a store, this is authentic Japanese cuisine at its finest. Trust me, you’ll love it.”
“That sounds good,” the Creator said. “I was starting to get a little hungry.”
“Alright, let’s get going. It’s less than a kilometer from here.”
The four of them started on their way. Ayumi led the way, but after a few steps noticed that their party was one short. She turned back and saw the Creator standing behind them. He was looking through the gate of the castle, which was currently closed off.
“Ayumi, what is this place?” he asked.
“Nijo Castle,” she said. “It was the residence of the Shogun during the Tokugawa era, but now it’s a historic sight that people can visit. We can’t go in though; it was closed early this year for restoration.”
“He’s in there,” said the Creator.
“Who is?”
“The Baggins.”
The others cast worried looks on the hulking gate of the castle. Behind it, the complex stood out behind a series of walls and snow covered trees, a symbol of the military rule of an old Japanese government. So it was, the place where their antagonists waited for the battle to come in two days time.
“Well, at least we know how to find the place,” the Creator said calmly, joining the rest of the group again. “Let’s not linger, hm? I’m sure we’re all ready to eat.”
“How do you know about this place?”
Adam followed Cody as he read through the guidebook the Creator had left behind at the house. They had gone from the main road to paths that were not entirely cleared from the snow yet.
“My father talked about this place,” Cody answered. “He visited Kyoto when he was younger and went to this spot. The place we’re going and this path are good for thinking about things.”
“Why is that?” Adam asked.
“It’s called the Philosopher’s Path. I guess an old philosophy teacher used to come and walk here, so it was named after him.”
“Where does it lead to?”
“A temple called the Golden Pavilion, but we’re not going all the way to the end.”
“I’ll let you lead the way then, since you seem to know your way around this place better than me.”
“It’s all thanks to my father really. He had lots of interesting stories about this place.”
“What did he have to say about you coming all the way out here?” Adam asked.
“He doesn’t know,” Cody said, closing the guide. “He’s not a part of my life anymore.”
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, it’s fine. You didn’t know. I don’t bring it up all that often. You see, five years before I got involved with all the Other Universe business, he got called away from home. He said it was some sort of peacemaking situation and he left my younger brother and I with my grandfather. Then he just plain disappeared. When I got older I tried looking into it, but there were no records of him going anywhere. He just up and disappeared.”
“Do you think he’s alright?”
“He probably ran off with some woman and got as far from us as possible,” Cody said. Adam could sense the resentment that was built up within the boy. “My mom died when my brother was born, so he’d been taking care of us alone. It’s not unreasonable to think he would want to just dump us and run.”
The two of them were quiet for a time. Adam thought he should say something, but he didn’t know how to reply to the situation. He decided to wait an appropriate amount of time to change the subject, but he didn’t get the chance.
“We’re here,” Cody said. He pointed to the right at a small temple off of the path. “Honen-in temple.”
The shrine sat unoccupied and covered with the snow from the night before. The path hadn’t been cleared off yet, so the two would have to make their way through it on their own.
The outside of the temple was a simple set up: a few ornamental stones surrounding a sand garden which was not visible to the two visitors. The interior of the temple was closed off during the winter, so they decided to do their talking in the snowy garden.
“I’m sure the Creator left out a lot of details when he was convincing me to come here,” Cody said. “How did all of this get started? Why are you people here?”
>
“I guess it starts with explaining exactly who I am,” Adam started. “A few millennia ago, the Creator decided to remove all the parts of his personality he considered detrimental to a loving god. The end result was an embodiment of these negative aspects, me. Fast forward to now, when I decided I wanted to do the same thing. The thing is that the Creator made it so that after a while I could understand right and wrong, but the byproduct of my actions never got that.
“So he came to this city to cause some kind of trouble and I felt responsible for him so I followed him here. Then the Creator and the rest of them followed me to bring me home. They decided to stay when they found out about my other half.”
“And The Baggins came with them?”
“The man who came with the Creator had a gold mask, not a black one like The Baggins. But something happened to him that caused The Baggins to take control of his body. That’s why the Creator got you.”
“That’s what gets me the most,” Cody said. “He came to me begging for help, and he’s the one who knowingly brought The Baggins to this world. As far as I’m concerned, he doesn’t deserve the help and should get his just desserts.”
“So why did you decide to help?”
“Because if I don’t, then The Baggins would have free range to do to Earth what he did on Carvon. I lost a lot because of the war, and I’m not about to lose all I have left if history repeats itself here.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to stop him again?”
Cody looked up at the sky. “I honestly don’t know. During the war, I had some of the Creator’s powers and that’s what allowed me to be on an even level with him. But I’m out of practice, and those powers are gone. For all I know, he’s only gotten stronger. So I can’t really say how things will go.”
“Don’t expect to fight him alone,” Adam said. “I’m willing to fight along side you, as are the others.”
“It’s kind of you to offer, but this is really something I’ve got to do myself,” Cody said solemnly. “For whatever reason, fate’s called me to this place to finish what I started a year ago. I intend to make sure it is settled once and for all this time.”
A sharp wind blew over both of them. Adam drew his arms close to his chest to fight the chill. Cody closed his eyes and let the wind blow over his hair.
“I’m sure the feeling is the same for you and your opponent,” said Cody. “If you separated him from your body, he must be someone you want to be rid of for good, right?”
“I hadn’t considered it at the time, but I had no idea that he would ever turn out to be anything more than a cluster of emotions in a glass ball. Under different circumstances, things could have been different. But I know him well enough. He’s too dangerous to keep alive.”
“It’s the same with The Baggins. That’s why it’s so important that we come out the winners.”
“Are you confident that you can?”
“Honestly, I’m not.” Cody pushed aside some the snow with his foot and stared at the weathered stones beneath it. “At this point, it’s hard to be sure about anything. That’s why I needed this time to make sure that I can be sure. I need to get back in the mindset I was during the war, as well as practicing my swordsmanship.”
“And that’s why we’re here?”
“It’s a good place to sit and think.” Cody moved over to a stone bench and brushed the snow from it. “So since we’ve got the time, let’s sit and think. I’m sure you’ve got some unanswered thoughts you need to mull over as well.”
Adam considered not sitting down. His fingers and legs were already starting to get numb from the cold. Cody had closed his eyes and began his meditation. Adam felt strange being a part of the situation. While he often took times like this for reflection, it was always a very personal moment. Sharing this time with someone else was an incredibly foreign concept.
“Just go with it.” That was Dee’s voice in his head, the voice of reason. And he knew it was right. Quietly, he swept the snow from the bench and took a seat next to Cody. He closed his eyes, letting his mind drift away into the silence of the winter world.
The Creator was standing on the front porch when Cody and Adam returned later that night. When Adam caught his eye, he gave them both a smile.
“How did it go?” he asked.
“As well as it could have, I suppose,” Cody answered. He didn’t wait for a response from the Creator and went straight past him into the house. The Creator hummed after being snubbed and turned his attention to the one who had stayed.
“He hasn’t been giving you any trouble, has he? That boy is reliable, but he has such a foul attitude some times.”
“Seems to just be with you,” Adam said.
The Creator frowned. “Well I wish he wouldn’t. I don’t like him treating me like the bad guy in all of this because of his hard times.”
Adam turned away and looked at the purple sky where the sun was setting. He decided that it was time he stopped being quiet.
“Don’t you think it’s reasonable to share some of the blame?” he asked. The Creator seemed surprised, almost insulted.
“I don’t think it’s really that fair to say, Iilil-ja,” said the Creator. “I’m not responsible for The Baggins becoming a warmonger and mass murderer. I’m not responsible for the terrible things that Cody endured.”
“You brought him to the Other Universe, didn’t you? You gave him the capabilities to fight on a level beyond that of a human. But you already had those capabilities. You could have stopped The Baggins from the moment he turned against that world and ended the war then. Instead you just watched it unfold.”
“Not acting isn’t the same as owning guilt.”
“Isn’t it? Your inactions led to the war.”
“You don’t understand, Iilil-ja.” The Creator’s smile faded and he became much more defensive. “I created the Other Universe. I created the life in it and gave that life the freedom to make their own choices and live their lives. Of course as a result there is suffering, and there are cries to me to save those in strife. Do you understand what that means? There are millions of planets in the Other Universe that host life. Do you really think I can attend to all of their troubles at once? That’s an impossible task, even for me.”
“What are you saying, that you just overlooked it?”
“I didn’t overlook it. Not intentionally. Do you think I would let so many innocent people die if I could have stopped it earlier?”
“But you found out about it. That’s why you sent Cody to the Other Universe. So why not just stop The Baggins yourself? Why not spare another innocent from having to go through what he did?”
“I thought he would be able to handle it on his own, but that ended up not being the case.”
“Well of course not, he was just a boy. Why would you think that he of all people could do that?”
“I don’t need to explain my reasoning.” The Creator’s tone was tense and gave Adam reason to pause. “What happened is in the past. Right now all that I’m concerned with is making sure things go differently this time around and Earth doesn’t become a casualty.”
“So why not save it? You have that power.”
“Not on Earth, I don’t.”
“Do you really expect me to believe that?” Adam decided that he would mirror the Creator’s hostile attitude. “You wouldn’t come here yourself if there was even a slight chance you could be harmed.”
“I have people to look after me.”
“Like The Baggins, who turned against you? The bounty hunter, who doesn’t trust you? Ayumi, another ordinary human? That just leaves Dee, who you’ve managed to get to follow you unconditionally through outright deception.”
“I beg your pardon, Iilil?” The Creator’s face didn’t waver into anger, but for a brief instant a seeming hatred for Adam flashed in his eyes. “Ms. Gatti voluntarily came into my service. I have never forced her to do anything, nor have I deceived her.”
“Then you must have
already told her,” Adam said, “where the man she’s spent years searching for is.”
The Creator froze up while Adam crossed his arms, waiting for an answer. “How do you know about that?”
“Last night, while Dee was waiting for you to come home, she told me about how she came to work for you. She told me that you would tell her where her master is. That was over a year ago, wasn’t it? So why haven’t you told her?”
“I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
“Well you certainly won’t explain yourself to Dee. What’s the matter? Why are you keeping her from that? Don’t you know how happy she would be to find that person again?”
“Of course I know that,” the Creator said. “That’s the reason I can’t tell her.”
Adam furrowed his brow. “What are you talking about? What’s the reason?”
The Creator exhaled. He was clearly frustrated from the conversation and the direction it had gone in was not helping him. “Dee will be happy when she is able to reunite with her master. But if I were to tell her, she wouldn’t be happy. She’d be very upset.”
The Creator was silent as Adam finally pieced together what he meant. He clenched his fist.
“How long have you known?” he asked.
“I knew the moment that she told me about him,” the Creator explained. “After hearing her story, I wanted to know immediately what happened to him. I never expected to find out—”
“That he’s dead,” Adam stated.
“Yes,” the Creator confirmed.
“So rather than tell her, you’ve lied to her for a year so that she wouldn’t have her heart broken? You didn’t think that keeping something like that a secret would come back to hurt you if she ever found out?”
“I don’t intend to tell her,” the Creator said. “Do you? Could you be the one to shatter that young girl’s dreams, Iilil-ja? Because I will not.”
Adam had enough of his counterpart, and without another word pushed his way past him and into the house. He moved straight to his guest room and closed the door quickly. The Creator’s talk had got his blood boiling, and without thinking he made a fist and punched the wall behind him. The wooden wall nearly splintered from the force, but it remained intact and Adam vented his frustration through a series of heavy breaths. He hadn’t been this angry about anything since before the night of the Winter Solstice.
The Kyoto Ordeal (Tales of the Other Universe Book 1) Page 25