Sidestory 1 - Safe And Sound

"The stars are so pretty!"
"You think so, Cloudy?"
"Look at the constellations! Ursa Major, and there's the Minor-"
"You're such a nerd, Lacrima."
Lacrima blushed and half-glared at his little sister. "Your at fault, too! Who believes in magic anymore?"
"The sorcerers! And what about the Shamans? Do your history research!" Cloudy shot back.
"Are you two fighting again?" Gryphon asked as he approached the two, chuckling.
"Gryphon!" Cloudy cheered, running up to hug her much taller brother, grinning from ear to ear.
"You're late again. You're the one who called us here."
"Yeah, sorry. But the stars are so clear tonight."
"Gryphon, oh my- What happened to your eye?" Cloudy covered her mouth as tears welled in her eyes.
Gryphon placed a paw on his eyepatch, then slowly untied it. His eye was missing, replaced by the empty blackness that was his eye socket.
"Gryphon..." Lacrima murmured, studying the socket.
"I'll get a glass eye or something. Or I'll just keep wearing the eyepatch. It's not like a glass eye is going to give my sight back."
"What happened, though?" The oldest brother asked seriously. He narrowed his eyes at Gryphon.
"The-" His younger brother stammered for a moment. "The bullies at school got a little... too serious..." He trailed off.
"Cloudy, go in the house for a moment. I'll let you know when to come back out."
The girl frowned a bit but nodded and disappeared through the door on the back porch.
"Tell me everything." Lacrima ordered sternly.
Gryphon nodded slowly and sat down. "It was Jeremiah and his cronies again. They started beating on me, behind the school. Remember the fire a couple weeks ago? Fortunately, it only scorched the library and a few classrooms, but they thought I did it. They kept calling me a murderer."
Lacrima seemed thoughtful. "Right - one of the girls who died was Jeremiah's girlfriend, right?"
The younger brother nodded. "I think so. But I was in the library the moment the fire started, and they found gasoline traces in my fur. I don't know how it got there, but... They let me off the hook, for now at least. The police, I mean. Anyways, Jeremiah was convinced it was me, so..." Gryphon traced his empty eye socket. "He had a knife, and he..."
"Cut the optical nerve, and gouged out the eye. Right?"
Tears welled in the younger brother's good eye. "It hurt. It hurt so much. I wanted to scream, but I was gagged. I couldn't do anything. He did that on purpose, Lacrima - he gouged it out on purpose, with complete intent." He was shaking violently as he continued to talk. "I... I don't know what to say to Mizaki. She doesn't know yet."
"Calm down, and put the eyepatch back on so I can get Cloudy out before the stars are covered up, okay? I'll be here for you. I'll watch out for Jeremiah, too, okay?"
Gryphon nodded slowly as Lacrima began walking towards the back patio. He came back a few minutes later with Cloudy.
"Look at the stars. It's an omen." Cloudy said suddenly as she backed away from the siblings' telescope.
"What does it mean?" Gryphon asked, watching his little sister.
"It says something like "Tragedy will come, but you must stay strong. There's a happy ending."
"Whatever you say, Captain Sorceress." Lacrima muttered sarcastically.
"I'll keep that in mind." The injured mouse said thoughtfully.
"Hey, Gryphon?" Cloudy queried.
"Yeah?"
"You lost your eye, didn't you?"
Gryphon nodded slowly.
"It'll be okay."
The black-furred mouse suddenly hugged Cloudy, tears welling in his good eye.
"We'll all be okay. Because I'll protect you...

...I'll protect all of you."

The Tragedy at Swiss High

"Gryphon, you're going to be late for school. Get a move on."
"Right, Dad. Sorry."
"Why're you so late thismorning, anyways?"
"It's another foreboding feeling. You remember what happened the last time I had one of those?"
"You fell and cut your arm open, yeah, I remember. Be careful, alright?"
Gryphon nodded quietly. "I will. Thanks."
Snatching his bagged lunch from the counter, Gryphon rushed out of the house and began to run down the street. The high school wasn't too far off, about five or so blocks.
He got there as soon as the bell rang and sighed.
"Kishitani. You're late." Gryphon's first-period teacher commented as he entered the classroom.
"Sorry, Teach." The black-furred mouse said with a shrug.
"Do you have an excuse?"
"There isn't an excuse for my sorry ass. I got up late, is all."
The science teacher frowned and glared at Gryphon as the student made his way to his seat.
"Since you were late to class, Kishitani, you can answer our bell ringer for us today." The teacher slammed her pointer stick to the board. "What are the three main types of rocks?"
"Sedimentary, Igneous, and Metamorphic." The black-furred student replied with a grin.
"You're lucky you learn as much as your brother. And that you're almost as smart as him." Gryphon frowned at the amount of emphasis on "almost."
-=-
Classes seemed to take an eternity to pass, but finally Gryphon was at his free period. Sighing with relief, he made his way to the library. His head was pounding, and it was quiet there.
Gryphon sat down and opened a novel he was about halfway through with reading. Only a little while later did he catch the scent of smoke. He closed the book and stood up, only to nearly choke at the amount of smoke that blew in his face. He coughed.
"Kishitani?" Gryphon heard the librarian.
"Mr. Toole?" The student called back, beginning to choke on the thick black smoke.
"Where are you?"
"Near the window."
Gryphon felt a paw grasp his arm. Mr. Toole was sweating heavily and coughing up a storm. The black-furred mouse glanced at the window, then charged through, wincing at the pain from the shards. He pulled the librarian through with him, then ran back in and began to usher the other students in the library outside. Finally, when he was sure the library was empty, he ran back outside and collapsed on the pavement. He was coughing heavily as the black smoke began pouring out of the broken library window. A couple students - friends of Gryphon - picked him up and began half-dragging, half-carrying him away from the school building.
"Where's the firefighters?" A voice called. Gryphon recognized it as Donovan Phonic, a couple grades below him.
"They aren't here yet." A voice snapped back. Cammie Vey, Twelfth Grade - one above Gryphon.
Gryphon coughed again.
"We need the paramedics." Donovan whimpered. "Or he'll die."
"I hear sirens!" Another student called out. Mizaki. She began frantically waving her arms and the firefighters began to pull around to the school. One of them pointed to Gryphon, and he was hauled into an ambulance and placed under a breathing treatment, The ambulance was rushed to the hospital.
-=-
Gryphon's breath came in rasps and his eyesight was blurry as he blinked awake.
"Wh..."
"Oh. You're awake, Mr. Kishitani?"
"Call me Gryphon." The student rasped. "I'm just a kid, Ms. Nurse. You don't have to show any respect."
"Right, Gryphon." The nurse replied. "I'm Ms. Foxford."
"Nice to meet'cha." Gryphon rasped, coughing again.
"Take it easy. You inhaled a lot of smoke back there."
"I know. I was getting everyone else out."
"You're a hero, y'know. A lot more students would've died if you hadn't jumped through that window."
"How'd ya hear about that?"
"The other students are talking about you. You jumped through a window to save the librarian and then went back inside. That takes guts."
"Good thing I have guts, then."
The nurse smiled. "You have some visitors."
She pulled back the ER curtain to reveal a throng of students, all smiling and holding some sort of "Get Well Soon" gift. Gryphon felt tears trickling down his cheeks. In front of the students were his siblings - little Cloudy and his older brother, Lacrima. The three embraced, laughing slightly. Lacrima and Cloudy moved to the other side of the bed and Gryphon watched as the students left their gifts and dropped little hints of "Get Better Soon," and "It'll Be Alright."
"How many died?" Gryphon asked suddenly as the students left the room, leaving his siblings, the nurse, and himself.
"Three." The nurse replied unsurely. "It would've been more if you hadn't rescued the students in the library. A couple of classrooms and the library were torched."
Gryphon smiled slightly. "That's good. I made a difference, then..." His voice was still raspy.
"Big Brother Gryphon saved the students, yes he did~!" Cloudy cheered, hugging her older brother again. Lacrima smiled. "You're a hero, Gryph."
Suddenly, everyone went quiet as a middle-aged mouse came into the room, holding a police badge.
"You're Kishitani, right?"
"Technically, all of us - minus the nurse - are. But yeah, I'm Gryphon Kishitani." The student replied.
"We need to question you. Is that okay?"
Gryphon nodded slowly, taking a couple short breaths of oxygen. The officer sat on the bed next to him.
"Do you know what time the fire started?"
"Somewhere in free period - which is 10:00 to 10:42."
"Do you know what started the fire?"
"I'm sure I smelled gasoline."
"Where were you when the fire started?"
"In the library."
"We found traces of gasoline in your fur while you were unconscious. What do you think about that?"
"I'm not sure. I was reading until the fire started - you can ask Mr. Toole for confirmation." Gryphon began coughing again, and the nurse fumbled trying to get the oxygen to him.
"The students say you broke the window to rescue the librarian and the other students in the library. Is this true?"
Gryphon nodded, peeling back a bandage to reveal several cuts on his arm. Nurse Foxford gently re-wrapped the patient's arm afterward.
"Thank you, Mr. Kishitani. This is very informative."
The black-furred mouse nodded as the officer left the room.
"I think they suspect me." Gryphon half-whimpered. "I don't know how the gasoline got there, but I didn't start the fire."
"If you started it, you probably wouldn't have gone back in." Lacrima pointed out as Gryphon was seized by another coughing fit. Soot landed on the blanket he was covered with.
"You inhaled minorities of ash and soot when you breathed in the smoke." Cloudy whispered. "They've been trying to wash it out, right?"
The nurse nodded. "He has to drink plenty of water to flush it out of his system. He'll probably be in the hospital for a week or more."
"Okay. That makes sense." The patient's little sister replied. She turned to Gryphon and smiled.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Losing an Eye

"Hey, Kishitani."
The student stopped walking and glanced at his classmate. He realized it was his bully and his cronies and shivered, beginning to back away. He was snatched by his hoodie's strings and nearly choked as Jeremiah hauled him back over.
"Remember that fire a couple weeks back? That was you, wasn't it?"
Gryphon frantically shook his head as a "no."
"Don't lie to me, Kishitani."
The student whimpered and tried to shake himself away, but further movement tightened the hood around his neck. He kicked Jeremiah in the knee and jumped backward, loosening his hood. He turned to run, only to be confronted by the bully's crony, who kicked him back toward Jeremiah. Gryphon cursed as his back scraped against the pavement, leaving traces of black fur behind.
The black-furred mouse's eyes flew open with both horror and fear as Jeremiah pulled out a knife. The sunlight glinted off of the blade.
"Don't kill me." Gryphon whispered, shivering violently. "Please, don't kill me."
"We won't." Jeremiah teased. "That'd be too easy. You wouldn't suffer as much, either."
Before Gryphon could reply, the knife was plunged into his left eye. He screamed, but was quickly gagged by one of Jeremiah's cronies. Tears trickled down his face along with blood on his left side, staining his black fur. His screams were muffled due to the gag, and he watched in horror as the eye's optical nerve was severed and the eye fell out of its socket and onto the pavement. Blood trailed down the left side of his face.
Jeremiah's arm reeled back, prepared to gouge the other eye, but he was called for. He glanced over, met by the stern gaze of the principal, which quickly fell to Gryphon's. His mouth opened, slightly agape. He ordered Jeremiah and his cronies to the principal's office, and stared at Gryphon in a mixture of horror and awe. He untied the gag, but Gryphon's words were mumbled and incoherent as he tried to explain. The principal took out a cellphone and dialed the number for the ambulance, explaining it was extremely important.
"P-P-P-P-Principal Sano..." Gryphon stuttered.
"Can you tell me what happened?" The principal asked, horrified.
"He... g-g-gouged out my..." The student ran his claw around the empty socket. He pointed to the eye laying on the pavement.
"How could a high school student do something like that...?" Principal Sano muttered, mostly to himself. The ambulance arrived, and it was a pleasant surprise to Gryphon that Nurse Foxford was in the back, ready to treat him.
-=-
"You're in the hospital, again?" Nurse Foxford teased as Gryphon lay in his hospital bed. Bandages were wrapped around the left side of his face.
"I was assaulted."
"That's what I figured from the autopsy."
"How so?"
"It was a wild guess, but the scrapes on your back were from the asphalt, right?"
Gryphon nodded.
"You were forced back, and you fell and scraped your back on the pavement. That's what I figured."
"That is a wild guess, Ms. Foxford."
The nurse laughed. "I tend to be perceptive."
"How long will it be before I can be discharged?"
"Tomorrow evening."
"That short a stay?"
"We can't do much for you at the moment, unfortunately. There's no way for you to be able to see out of your left side again."
"I see."
Nurse Foxford pulled out an orange medical eyepatch. "I special-ordered this for you. I figured it'd match your outfit."
Gryphon laughed. "Thanks."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The Torching of the Volley Household

"You're too good at this!"
"I've been playing video games my entire life, Mizaki."
Mizaki's cheeks puffed up angrily, but she quickly calmed down. "How's your eye?"
"Better than is was last month."
"That's good."
Gryphon's nose twitched. "Do you smell smoke?"
"Dad and Mom aren't home, though..."
His nose twitched again. "That's definitely smoke."
"Gryphon... I'm scared. I smell it too."
"Let's get out of the house."
Gryphon grabbed Mizaki's arm and began dashing down the stairs, only to be met with a wall of flames. Mizaki tripped and half-fell into the fire, saved only by Gryphon's outstretched arm. Flames began to cover her right side, and she screamed. "Mizaki!" Gryphon called out, rushing back upstairs to the bathroom. He grabbed the small trash can from beside the sink and used the tub faucet and filled it with water. No later did he rush out of the bathroom and douse Mizaki with the water. Her entire right side was scorched and sizzling, and she was whimpering in pain. Gryphon gently picked her up and glanced around the house. "There's another staircase, right?"
Mizaki nodded weakly. "In the back."
Gryphon, still carrying his girlfriend, rushed to the back staircase. He ran down and escaped through the back door. Whipping out his cellphone, he called the ambulance.
"It's an emergency. The house is burning - my girlfriend was burnt - I need an ambulance, pronto!"
"Can you give us the address?"
Quickly, Gryphon muttered the address.
"We'll be there ASAP."
Just after Gryphon made the call, he collapsed.
"...Gryphon?" Before the ambulance could get there, Cloudy stumbled upon her brother. He was unconscious, and wheezing from smoke inhalation. On the verge of death.
Cloudy closed her eyes, tears on the verge of showering down. "I knew I'd have to save you one day."
A black aura emanated from her paws. "I knew you said you'd protect me, but... It's my turn now, okay?"
Placing her paws on her brother's chest, Cloudy began to vanish. "My life in exchange for yours. That's the rule, I guess. Black magic is so costly. Then again, you're going to die, so it's an equal exchange." A single tear landed on Gryphon's cheek. "Goodbye. Keep on living for me, okay?"
The ambulance arrived after Cloudy had completely vanished. They loaded Gryphon and Mizaki and continued back to the hospital.
-=-
(After multiple plastic surgeries performed on Mizaki, and Gryphon's complete recovery)
"That's as healed as she can get, unfortunately."
"...Mizaki..."
"...Gryphon?"
The black-furred mouse held out a mirror.
"...Oh. It's okay. I'm fine."
"I really hope so."
"Just because I look different doesn't mean I am different."
Gryphon smiled, his paw raising to his eyepatch. "I know."

Parallel

"Little Gryphon, always getting yourself in trouble."
Cloudy's misty, dual-colored eyes were fixated on a stain-glass window. To anyone else, it would've looked just like that - a window. But to Cloudy, it was like a television.
"This is all my fault, huh? I guess I'm a bad sister after all."
She seemed unusually nonchalant. Her wings curled near her back, feathers white as snow.
"Watching him again? You seem quite obsessed with that mortal."
Cloudy turned around to spot a familiar angel with hair similar to Spearmint - white with somewhat dark green stripes in it. Cloudy's eyes lit up. "Haru!"
The boy laughed and smiled, sitting down beside her. His wings were a also that of a snowy white, as were many angels'. The two had been friends in life, and Cloudy was also saddened but happy when the boy appeared in heaven as an angel. He'd gotten into an accident and died only a few days afterward.
"Well, he's my brother. Why wouldn't I watch him?"
"You saved him. I can see why you would."
"Well, I don't think he knows, but now..."

---

"Escape? That's a laughable endeavor." Valencia shot, the excitement gone from her expression.
"That's your ultimate goal, though, is it not?" Randy asked, his tone cheerful.
"Well, yeah, but..."
"But nothing! I'll help you escape!"
"Alright, but how?" Youth cut in with an angry tone to her voice.
"We'll need the help of another group. Specifically, Gryphon Kishitani."
"You mean the twig with an eyepatch?" Youth questioned in reply.
Randall's cheeks puffed up as he tried to hold his laughter. "He is quite thin, yes."
"He passes out often while working." Tidus commented. "I'm sure he's malnourished. I haven't really seen him eat, either. He just pushes the food around on his tray."
Randy leaned towards Tidus, whispering so the other two couldn't hear. "They have an immortal on their team. That's how I found you."
"Who?"
"The kid with the cobalt glasses. You know, the one who never gets whipped?"
"Him? I've never seen him leave his cell, except to eat."
"Mmhm. He's an immortal. He prefers the name 'Enigma'."
"He's an Enigma, that's for sure."
Randy snapped back up and smiled cheerfully at the two girls standing parallel to he and Tidus. He then proceeded to pull two small chocolate bars and threw both of them to them. "A little welcome gift." He handed another bar to Tidus. "And you, too~"

---

Randy hummed as he walked down the hall with Tidus, Valencia and Youth in tow. He stopped at Gryphon's cell and peered through the bars.
"Hello~?"
"Who is it?" Gryphon didn't look up.
"Look at me, silly."
The black-furred prisoner sighed and turned his gaze to the energetic immortal. "Who are you?"
"The name's Randall March. Nice to meet'cha."
"And those three?"
Tidus stepped up. "Tidus Willow, Valencia and Youth. We're a... team." The gray-furred prisoner seemed hesitant to say the last word, as though it disgusted him.
"We can introduce ourselves, thank you." Youth shot. Gryphon studied her multicolored hair and hazy blue eyes, automatically thinking of Cloudy, although the two looked nothing alike. Valencia simply nodded agreement.
"I'm Kishitani. Gryphon Kishitani."
Everyone froze as a shadow entered from the corner of Gryphon's cell. His face was a mixture of a grimace and an expression of awe.
"Phonic~!" Randy cheered. "I've been wondering where you were."
"I didn't know you were here." His voice was low and held distrust.
"Aww, c'mon. That's no tone to take when talking to an old friend."
Donovan merely scoffed and glanced at the opposite corner to where he'd been standing. Two more forms appeared.
"I'm Cam. Cam Vey. This is Enigma."
Enigma nodded a greeting.
Their team almost completely parallels our own. Donovan realized, glancing from Randy to Enigma and back.
"What do you want?" Gryphon's monotonous tone remained unchanged, although he seemed to be sitting in a less slouched position.
"To work with 'ya."
"To escape?" The prisoner queried.
"Mmmhm."
Gryphon nodded to Donovan, who reluctantly opened the unlocked cell door. The other team of four entered, and he closed it behind them.
"Nice to meet you." Enigma said in a quiet voice. He didn't look at Randy, but instead at the other three mice accompanying him.
"Nice to meet you, too." Valencia replied, although she didn't sound glad at all.
"Cam, take the cloth down."
The black-furred girl nodded slightly and carefully pulled it off.
Gryphon spoke, authority suddenly taking to his tone.
"This is what we have written out of a map so far, without the help of Eni. This is my cell-" Gryphon pointed to a small star on the map, "-which is where we are now, obviously. This corridor leads to the cafeteria, and from there to the gardens. There's security cameras out in the garden, which is why we've never tried escaping from there before. It's a foolish act."
Randy stared attentively at the map, watching Gryphon's movements and taking in his every word.
"Do you have any ideas as to where we could escape, though?" Enigma asked quietly.
"Likely places for successful escape are the watch tower and the backside of the cafeteria, where the windows are. The windows are barred off, though, so it might be difficult to get out unnoticed. I think it'd be best to try from the watch tower."
"How, though?" Randy queried, tilting his head to the side.
"Enigma is an immortal." Gryphon said suddenly, though dismissively. "He can use telekinesis to use a weapon or blunt object of sorts to take out the guard."
"Oh, I am, too!" Randy cheered happily. "An immortal, I mean. Each one has a special power."
Valencia and Youth's jaws might as well have been level to the floor.
"Eni's is called 'Past Storybook', right? Mine is 'Memory Manipulation'. I can read minds and alter memories and thoughts."
Gryphon seemed impressed. "You would be more useful, then. If we can avoid injuring anyone, the alarm is less likely to be raised. That, and you can make it seem as though we were never here."
Randy smiled, but Youth and Valencia seemed extremely angry.
"How can you just believe that?" The white-furred Youth shouted disbelievingly. Gryphon raised a claw to his lips, the signal for 'Hush'.
"Because it's true."
"But you believed him so easily!"
"I've had experience with magic before."
"What?!"
"Magic."
Youth stared away from everyone, disbelief still glimmering in her glossy blue eyes.
"I can show 'ya, if you want." Randy offered.
"How?" Valencia grunted, also sounding disbelieving.
Randy held out his paw and coaxed Youth to look back at him. "See how there's nothing there?"
"Yeah." Youth's tone was flat.
Suddenly, a Hyacinth appeared in his paw, its violet petals seemingly shining against the sunlight.
The two girls had to fight to keep their mouths from gaping again.
"And what about you?" Youth protested, glaring at Eni. Randy frowned, staring somewhat sadly at the Hyacinth flower.
"You would assault things like plushes and toys when you were small, am I right?"
Youth frowned, defeated. She sighed. "Alright, I believe you."
Randy's expression lifted. "Ok. I guess it's time for us to make a plan, huh?"