The next day, Chief Dawn publicly honored everyone who played a major role in protecting the Umi Tribe. The ceremony was held outside of the infirmary, one of the only places in the tribe that didn’t need repairs.

The ceremony broadcasted on radio and video transmissions. Although he was still in a coma, Dan Siratchi was honored. He was given the Hero’s Badge of Honor. My mom accepted it in his absence.

Princess Tuyette, who was in a wheelchair, was honored with a new medallion for her bravery and wisdom.

Master Kim Lee was honored with early retirement and a golden plaque. Lucius and Chief Kazan were named as honorary members of the Umi Tribe for the roles that they played in saving the lives of our tribe’s citizens.

I was honored as well. I was given a brand new sword made from platinum.  

Juicy (aka Yumi) received the highest honor of us all. She was given what they called a Shōkan Blade. It seemed to be really important, but all I knew was that it was an old relic from our shōkan ancestors.

Basically, everyone was honored except for the ones that actually defeated Kyro--the true Crimson Bloods. We never found their remains or even the remains of Kyro. We all assumed that they got caught in the blast, but to be honest we didn’t really know. The counterfeit crimsons that survived were taken to the underwater city to be imprisoned. Knowing Chief Dawn, they all will eventually be executed.

The next day, the princess told me that I was never officially an Umi Tribe protector because I named Dan Siratchi as my father instead of Chief Kazan. So, she gave me a choice: I could start the process to become an Umi Tribe Protector all over again, or I could go back to the Hikari Tribe with my father.

Although I decided to go to the Hikari Tribe with Chief Kazan, my doctor said that I couldn’t leave until my body was back to normal, especially my legs, which could take a while. Either way, I decided that I wouldn’t leave until Dan Siratchi had awakened from his coma so that I could say my goodbyes and thank him for getting me as far as I am.

It turned out that my injuries and the princess’ were very similar. After talking for a while we all,including the doctors, determined that our injuries were the result of us trying to use unperfected modes: Wind and Light. This conversation led to Chief Kazan finding out that the Hikari Dragon trained me. He immediately left to visit Gomorra City. 

When he arrived, he found that the city’s sign had fallen down, and the Hikari Dragon’s name was removed from the sign. After asking around, Kazan still didn’t get any information on where he could find the Hikari Dragon. All he knew for sure was that he was no longer in the city.

Being stuck in the infirmary was a drag, but it wasn’t so bad with friends stopping by. Juicy came by almost everyday, sometimes she would bring Broadie with her. Lucius visited once but he didn’t stay long and seemed to be in a hurry. My mother bounced from my room to Dan’s room about every ten minutes.

Almost everyday that went by the princess would ask her doctor a certain question and everyday she would get the same answer until one day when the princess asked: “Is my father still here?” 

Her doctor said, “No, Chief Dawn has returned back to Reef City.”

The princess sat up and said, “Contact Hugo immediately!” 

Her doctor said, “You mean, The Hurricane? But hasn’t he been exiled by your father himself?”

The princess said, “I am aware of that. But as long as my father isn’t here, I’m in charge! And you and I both know that Hugo is the only one who can heal me, so you get him here and you do it NOW!”

Next Chapter: INTRODUCTION TO BOOK TWO: