Jenna's Story

"Almost show time~!" Whisper purred out, opening a rather small coffin that laid on a rotten wood table, a satin white sheet covering it just to keep the coffin 'safe'. He had periodically dug this coffin up throughout the years, almost as if he could never part with it. Whisper's smirk was ear to ear at this point as he stroked a large orb, it's insides nothing put pure black. A void of pure nothingness. His mission, his plan, was finally coming together perfectly. After thousands, millions of years, finally he had found the perfect subjects to bring to "Ｉｎｆｉｎｉｔｙ". Ones that, no matter what they did, would eventually aid him in hi venture to gather all one-hundred and fifty pages. No matter if three were the only ones needed, his master desired all of them.

Whisper, since the moment the original four friends had even stepped foot in the realm, had always been watching. Always observing them for the slightest of flaws, cracks, as one would say. He needed ways to hit home, to make them stay. He found those ways, and within only about maybe a million or so years, maybe even less, all seven sins had finally gathered. Now the real show would begin.

As for the virtues, well, he had no apparent control over them. He simply was making an educated guess that they would just so happen to show up within three hours from now. Then, his beloved "puppets" would do his dirty work for him, with a little persuasion that those tiny, pathetic virtues would be their ultimate downfall without all the pages.

Oh how devious! Yes, absolutely devious! Once that was done, all he would have to do would b-

Crap, where had he put those papers? He needed to send those papers off to each one of the sins!... And Kouji. He couldn't forget Kouji. "Goddamn it..." Whisper hissed, gathering the papers he had put together about each Virtue, mainly just describing where each virtue would be located once the gateway would open. What they chose to do within the next hours or so would be up to them. Knowing Kouji, he'd mostly be on top of things, try and locate the largest group of his fellow 'comrades'... But wouldn't that ruin the fun of this all? Scribbling one more thing down on Kouji's paper he'd be receiving, it would direct him to the Ocean District. Now he was having fun. He grinned as he began rolling each separate piece of paper into a neat looking scroll, tied with a ribbon.

Chuckling, Whisper tightly gripped each copy, he climbed the wooden ladder, pushing the tombstone that hide the entrance to his lair aside, climbing out as he pushed it back into place, sealing that entrance. Without even a word, there were eight crows in front of him, each one in a matter of minutes having the ribbon tied around their necks and taking off to their designed targets.

---

Letter to the Sins

Hey! I thought you should know, but the Gateway is going to be opening soon. The rest of the virtues are coming. Perhaps, you would like their locations listed below? Good luck finding them before the others! Oh, and I'll send the virtue that has been right under your nose the entire time to one of you as well.

Temperance - Forest
Patients - Business/Residential
Humility - Red-light district
Chastity - Black Market
Kindness - Never Ending Winter
Charity - Never Ending Summer
Kouji - Diligence

~Yours truly,
Whisper

Letter to Kouji

Hey, the rest of the virtues will be showing up within an hour or two from now. I'll send them to the Ocean district, so wait there, okay? If their haven't arrived an hour from when you get this letter, then there might of been a slight complication, so you may need to go after them... Good luck Kouji, you'll need it for this. Here is the locations incase someone doesn't show up...

Temperance - Forest
Patients - Business/Residential
Humility - Red-light district
Chastity - Black Market
Kindness - Never Ending Winter
Charity - Never Ending Summer

~Your friend,
Whisper

---

The sun slowly began to inch above the thick foliage, shedding beams of light upon the skies of I n f i n i t y. While the rest of the Forest Region slept, Kouji had been awake for hours on end, anticipating the task that this day was to bring. Managing to linger off for a couple of hours, he finally submitted to his anxiety and summoned his guardians. It was time to discuss their strategy for the coming endeavor.

Today was the day that Kouji would form a pact with the Demi-God Heracles.

Spirit Gods, unlike regular spirits of I n f i n i t y, were spirits of both limitless potential and crippling inhibitions. Spirits who undergo a process called "Enlightening" are eligible to increase their power and mana tenfold, becoming Gods among their kind. However, the power an Enlightened achieves is attached with a price; specifically, the spirit is bound to contribute their most prominent trait in some beneficial way to the world. Their power binds them to servitude, and they are no longer free to pursue matters that concern themselves (including matters of politics and rule, hence why they are typically not seen out and about.)

Because forming a pact with a summoner is indeed a service, Gods (and 'Demi-Gods' alike, as Heracles did not complete his Enlightening entirely,) are able to pact and travel with Summoners. These enlightened spirits, however, are typically wary of who they ally themselves with, and typically issue strenuous tests to those seeking their power. Heracles, hailed far and wide for his strength, would most likely administer a test of valor and strength through combat.

Kouji sat in the hideout, discussing the matter with his Geri, Freki, and Hero. Having served a Spirit God, the Wolf Guardians were quite knowledgeable of matters of Gods and the tests they administer, and had proved to be quite insightful.

"Seems like a decent plan," Kouji grunted, his fatigue finally hitting him like a brick wall, "A little straightforward for you, Frek, but it doesn't sound like this Heracles is one for mind games either."

"That meat head respects a head-on fight, Pup, so that's what we should give him." Freki chided, scratching his chin with his claw, "Keep the frog and the minstrel under lock and key- without their protection, he'll knock you out with one clean hit. Your pet, Geri and I will draw as much of his attention as we can, but it will be on you to lay as many shots on him as you can before we're out."

"Gotcha." Kouji responded, "You guys cool with this?"

Hero nodded, "Though not much of a plan per se, it would seem that our options are limited. We proceed as Freki dictates."

"Don't look at me," Geri frowned, "Frek's always been the brains. I just hit things with my sword."

Kouji nodded, pleased that he had finally gotten to talk about the event. This did little to soothe his nerves about crossing blades with another God, but it was good to at least have some semblance of a plan put together. For all of Freki's misgivings about forming a pact with him, he was surprised to find how much of an asset he had been during this past year.

He stood up, patting Jiraiya gently on his tummy. The old frog wasn't much for meetings of any sort, and he typically proved more than able to adapt to whatever plan the others had made later on, so it really wasn't a battle worth fighting.

Before the group could mobilize, however, Orfeo strode into the meeting room with far more grace than any normal person should this early. With his strumming hand, he presented a peculiar piece of paper.

"Forgive me, Young Master, but I'm afraid your engagement with the Oaf-King Heracles will have to be postponed." the butler bowed, "A letter to you from Whisper, sir."

Quickly swiping the paper from his butler, Kouji quickly read and re-read the letter, quite unsure of how to react. Though he had been preparing for his encounter with Heracles for the better part of a week, he was absolutely elated at the prospect of associating with another human again. He tried to contain himself as he allowed the rest of his guardians to read the letter, but he couldn't help but let loose the tiniest of grins.

After reading the letter, all consented that priorities had indeed changed- all save for Jiraiya, who seemed concerned after reading the letter.

"What's wrong, Jiraiya?" Kouji smirked, "Still waking up?"

"If only it were dat, Little One," Jiraiya frowned, "But I wonder if Whisper knows what he's doing? I've lived in de Ocean District all my life, and de air dere usually doesn't agree with humans passing through. Why not pick a place dat won't make ya sick?"

"Ah yes, I too have heard of this affliction, old friend." Orfeo interjected, "But I do believe that this is precisely why Whisper chose this spot to be our point of rendezvous. The poison usually takes a few days to begin to afflict the victim, and even when infected, it will dissipate once the ailed leaves the District."

"He could also be gathering us there to draw less attention to ourselves." Freki chimed, "If you gather at the one place in the world where you wouldn't want to meet, it will be the last place that the Sins check." He paused briefly, "Either that, or it's a trap."

Kouji stroked his chin thoughtfully for a while before responding, "I see what you're saying, Frek. I'm not entirely sure about Whisper myself, but we've known him for the better part of a year now and he hasn't deceived us yet. I say we go to the Ocean District- we need to pass through 'Summer' to get to the Ocean anyway, so we can pick up 'Charity' before we jump train. We'll wait there for a few hours, and if we don't get any shows, we'll leave and find them ourselves. Sound good?"

None had any misgivings at this point- this was what the Summoner and his group of spirits had waited for, and they were prepared both in body and mind. Without a second thought, Kouji recalled his guardians, and made haste for the train station with Hero close at his heels.

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The train ride had been rather uneventful- stepping into the golden shores of Summer was a welcome change of atmosphere from the rustic hideout. Kouji was brimming with anticipation; though certainly not without company, it had been a whole year since Kouji spoke with one of his own kind. It was a bizarre combination of emotions indeed.

"You smell nervous, Kouji," Hero sniffed, "Are you well?"

"Yeah..." Kouji smirked, "It's just...weird. Just a couple of years ago, I was surrounded by other humans. It feels so weird to say that I'm nervous to see one!"

"Weird, but understandable. You've been busy here in this world. I'm sure you miss seeing your own kind."

"Yeah...c'mon Hero, let's see if we can find this first Virtue!"

---

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She felt suffocated, it had been a year and several months after her aunt and uncle's death but the guilt continued to eat away at her. Her realization of her own selfishness was slowly killing her; the numerous of times she'd pitied herself and blamed her 'rotten life' on her aunt and uncle, the times when she said she'd rather die than have to live under their presence. If she was truly charitable, if really was a kind person, she would have realized that she was lucky enough to even have a family. She was drowning in a sea of guilt with no one there to save her. She watched expressionlessly as people bustled about the city without a care of what anyone else other than themselves were doing. Cars honked below, couples were making out in cafes, and mothers were dragging their children around in a hurry. Everyone was busy - too busy to even notice the girl standing on the edge of the ten story building.

Jenna squeezed her eyes shut as she began shuffling her feet towards the nothingness in front of them. Both her feet were halfway off the edge when she stopped. "This is stupid." Suicide just wasn't for her nor was it something anyone should treat lightly. She got here with the naive intention of experiencing the emotions that come with suicide - she was obviously an idiot. She turned around in embarrassment of her insensitivity unaware that her feet had slipped off the edge, her head turning around just in time to catch a glimpse of a door flash open behind her and suck her in.

---

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The sun was hot in the sky, the heat stabbing away at her arms and legs and she gazed around, absorbing the sights, smells, and sounds of the unfamiliar place. However as strange as the place was, she felt as if a great load had been lifted off her chest. The first thing she did was take off her baggy gray jacket - her shorts were already well suited to the new environment. After she had gotten herself comfortable, she stated the only obvious question that seemed to fit her situation, "Am I dead?"
If she was, heaven or hell, whichever one she was in was hot, had a train leading to who knows where, had a beautiful ocean, and had a blue-haired guy with a talking dog in it...........
....
................
"Hello?"

The heat of the never-ending sun was quickly proving to be a bit too much for Kouji. For someone as lithe as the young summoner, he had a peculiar inclination towards colder weather. He had not been in the new district for more than five minutes before having to remove his jacket.

As he wiped his sweaty forehead, he noticed his four-legged companion's nose sniffing uncontrollably.

"What's wrong, boy- erm, Hero?" Kouji inquired, quickly doubling-back on his initial 'pet name.' Even after a year, he still couldn't quite break the habit of talking to Hero as if he was still the same house-dog from Earth.

"Well, 'Master,'" he mocked, flashing Kouji a quick grin, "Nothing is wrong, exactly. I just smell something I haven't smelled in a long time- the smell of another human, fresh from the other side if my nose is still any good..."

Kouji immediately straightened up, unable to contain the sudden jolt of excitement. It was bizarre- he had been preparing himself for this moment for the past year, yet the prospect still hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Hello?"

Fortuitously enough, the source of the long-forgotten scent had found the Summoner and his Guardian, saving Kouji from scouring the city for her.

Trying to remain as approachable as possible, Kouji slowly walked over to the little girl. Purely out of habit, Kouji scanned her up and down, looking for any signs of claws, wings, or other Spiritly...things. He quickly glanced over at Hero, who nodded in approval.

Kouji cleared his throat, "Yeah, sorry about that. After being here for a year, you've gotta make sure new acquaintances don't have hidden arms, or claws, or other nasty things..."

He could see that this meeting was quickly going south, judging by the look of extreme bewilderment upon her face. Still, if she indeed was part of the prophesied Virtues, he would have to quickly gain her trust.

"Uh, but it's obvious that you're a human- like me!" Kouji smiled, trying to make that statement sound as normal as possible, "My name's Kouji, and I'm here to help!"

"And I am Hero," the dog interjected, bowing before Jenna, "It will be a pleasure to work alongside you."

"Oh yeah- my dog talks." Kouji sighed, hoping to have eased her into the 'Spirit-ness' a little slower than what was currently happening,"You get used to this kind've stuff once you've been here as long as I have...so uh, what's your name?"

---

---

She watched curiously as the strange man and his dog approached her, exchanging glances before getting any closer to where she sat. She tilted her head slightly to the right as away of saying, "What's wrong?" The duo seemed harmless enough but still, strangers were strangers.

After a moment of silence the man with the blue hair spoke,"Yeah, sorry about that. After being here for a year, you've gotta make sure new acquaintances don't have hidden arms, or claws, or other nasty things...Uh, but it's obvious that you're a human- like me! My name's Kouji, and I'm here to help!"

She was still completely, and undoubtedly confused. If she had learned anything about the two from the past ten seconds she had known them, it was that they had a lot to say. "And I am Hero. It will be a pleasure to work alongside you," the dog stated, bowing as it - or he, spoke.

She felt herself jump upon hearing the canine speak, she hadn't realized how human it's voice was until now. Had she met the two from behind a curtain she never would have guessed that the confident and stable voice had come from none other than "man's best friend"."Oh yeah- my dog talks.You get used to this kind've stuff once you've been here as long as I have...so uh, what's your name?"

She glanced back at Kouji, appreciating the fact that she had finally gotten a change to speak. "First things first, is this about that silly letter I got in the mail a week ago? The one about the um, what was it called? The Infinity realm? I thought that was just an intricate joke...." She paused, tapping her cheek thoughtfully. "But why am I here? Why are you here?" She paused again for another brief moment of thought. "Also, my name's...Jenna," she stated cautiously, staring straight into Kouji's eyes in an attempt to show him that she wasn't a weakling.