The sun was just reaching its peak in the sky. With no clouds blocking it, its rays flew to the Earth, generously lighting up the field.
Husky stared up at Cooro and wondered how the boy could fly so vigorously and not get completely tired out. He shielded his eyes from the bright glare, feeling a bit queasy. He wasn't in his natural element in the sun – he could stand it while he was underwater, but traveling for so long without any water at all…it was almost torturous.
The four +Anima trudged on through the grass – Nana complaining about how hot it was and her clothes would stick to her, and Senri not saying much of anything. Husky figured that Kim-Un-Kur were used to the heat.
"Hey, Husky!"
The fish +Anima was thrown out of his thoughts and back into reality. Cooro had landed beside him, almost touching him – Husky's cheeks went pink, but he tried his hardest to hide it. "Wh-what?" he asked, trying his best to seem annoyed.
Cooro didn't seem to notice anything odd. "The small memorial I made to Mr. Fly is near here! We should go see it!"
Nana groaned. "Cooro, that guy used you and stole your Anima! Why, in the first place, would you ever make a memorial to him? And why would you visit it?!"
"Mr. Fly treated me well," Cooro replied, his trademark smile not wavering for even an instant. "He took me in, and gave me good food, and was really nice to me. He wasn't all bad."
Sighing, Nana told him, "If you ask me, I think you just can't hold a grudge." She left it at that, going back to complaining about her skirt and how it was making her legs look bad. However, she shot a glance at Senri, silently pleading with him to back her up. The Kum-Un-Kur, as usual, remained quiet and distant.
So their path was set – they would visit Fly's memorial for a brief minute, then continue onto the next town. Everyone but Cooro despised the idea, but one of them could convince the Crow +Anima otherwise. It was very hard to deny him what he wanted, though most of the time it was trivial things, like apples.
As the day pressed on, the four +Anima children trudged their way along the open field, stopping only once or twice to catch their breath or give Cooro time to gorge himself. Save for those few times, they were walking nonstop.
When the sun was beginning to creep below the distant mountains, in the evening, Cooro's face finally began to really light up. His face glowed like Christmas lights. "The memorial's right up here, guys!"
Nana and Husky were completely bushed by this time. "Why couldn't he have built the stupid thing closer to where we were?" Husky moaned, holding his sides and breathing heavily.
"If I'd known I would be walking all this way in my best dress, I would've given him a piece of my mind…" Nana breathed. "I need some water…!"
Senri was quiet, and looked absolutely normal. He turned his head to the two bemoaning children beside him, and his expression didn't change. Though maybe he as confused by what they were doing. After all, it had been an enjoyable trip…
"It's just over this hill!" Cooro called out. Waving his hand, he pointed forward. "C'mon, guys!" Laughing joyfully, he turned and sped over the hill's crest, and down to where the memorial was.
As he neared it, though, he stopped. He definitely hadn't left that there…
Someone, or something, was down at the memorial. A gray cloak was draped over their body, obscuring everything but a leg. This person obviously hadn't noticed Cooro, and kept staring at the memorial. A cool chill swept through the small valley, causing the cloak to swirl and dance. The hood fell down, revealing a mess of silver hair.
Cooro was intrigued. Slowly and carefully, he inched his way down the hillside, making sure not to disturb whoever it was down there.
It took him the better portion of ten minutes to reach his destination. The boy was, for a change, serious. Who could be here…?
Slowly and nonchalantly, he stepped beside the person wearing the gray cloak, admiring his work. Fly's face was drawn on the rather large rock, and a small inscription had been left below it. A surge of pride washed through Cooro's body.
He stood beside the person in the gray cloak for a few minutes in total silence. Finally, though, he broke the ice. "He was a great scientist, wasn't he?"
There was yet another momentary silence.
"Great? I guess you could say that. But I'd describe him as evil, if you ask me."
The urge to agree with whoever it was came over Cooro. "Yeah, I guess…"
"I'm glad this all the memorial he got. The man was a menace to all +Anima – I'm actually surprised he even got something devoted to him." Contempt was heavy in the way this person spoke of Fly. In fact, it was so natural that even Cooro found himself angry at the scientist. He had stolen +Anima to fuel his own selfish whims, and…
What had come over him? Cooro shook himself back to reality – he'd never thought about Fly that way before.
At that point, Husky, Nana, and Senri came over the hill, traveling downwards rather quickly. All three came to a stop behind Cooro, apparently just as surprised as he was that someone else was there.
"Who're you?" Husky asked, putting up a defensive front.
"I'd like to ask you the same question," the person in the gray cloak replied. But whoever it was did turn around, revealing their face to all four +Anima.
Cooro's eyes were wide when he saw the face of the boy in the cloak. He did a double take before exclaiming, "Zeke…?!"