Review Response:

Electrikitty: I always thought so too, but at the same time, all the male characters add a certain charm to the series. And yeah, I will be going over the typos, thanks for pointing them out!

TheDarkKunoichi: All shall be revealed in due time, young Padawan.

Cerlia: Thank you Kindly!

VampireSiren: Interesting indeed

It's short, I know, but oh well.


Chapter Two

The Blue Dragon watched the strange girl from afar.

It was obvious that she was badly hurt, as every time she would move, a pain filled wince would mar her expressions, and she would freeze before going limp.

More often than once, impulse found him drawing the attention of villagers away in attempts to leave her undisturbed. . . why? . . .No matter how hard he tried,he was powerless to stop his feet from going to her. So, he hid in the shadows, just outside the entrance of the cave, just waiting and watching. Every time she whimpered, felt like a hot dagger to his gut, twisting and turning.

He clutched his stomach.

Sometimes, when she was awake, she would look into the shadows and right through him with such a forlorn expression, it was painful see. He wanted so badly to enter, to leave the dark, to comfort her . . . help her . . .,to do anything other than stand there and bear witness to her suffering.

. . . she's . . the enemy.

. . . kill . . her . . .

. . . He did not know why he saved her. She was . . . different. She was a stranger, an enemy that was here take advantage of his curse and yet . . . I don't want to hurt her.. . there was a part of him that said no, she's important. It was a place set deep in his bones, in his blood, and leaving her to die felt like he was betraying himself, his instincts.

So, he carried her.

He carried her back to his cave, where he carefully set her down.

He took a cloth to the nearby stream and wet it, so that he could wash away the soot and grime and blood.

He stole bandages from the village, so that he could wrap her flesh wounds.

He cut away her pant leg . . . strange . . . so that he could splint her leg in place, for it was obviously broken.

He cautiously removed her unusual clothing, silently apologising when he had to destroy the ruined garments, and placed his wolf's fur over her, resolving to find her some proper clothes to where once she awakes.

. . . if . . she awakes. The thought made his heart twist painfully.

Eventually, the strangers' breathe evened out, getting deeper, stronger. Feeling relieved, the Blue Dragon released and inaudible sigh and sat there, not knowing what else to do other than wait and watch.

So, he watched and he waited.


You are now our other halves. You will serve Hiryuu as you master, protecting him with you lives. You will love him and never betray him. You have been taken from your old life and brought to this one, so that you can use the powers gifted to you for good.

Serve him . . . other halves . . . old life . . .

. . . master . . . powers . .

. . for good.

For the longest time, Ren was drowning within the dark recesses of her mind. Voices she'd never heard echoed everywhere, like someone had placed an ever-looping radio in a massive cavern. Sometimes she thought she saw things, but they flittered by too quickly and didn't make any sense. Dragons? Castles? Red hair? Wh- what's going on?

It was a small mercy when the voices began to fade, nothing more than murmurs now, too faint to distinguish actual words.

It was so dark whenRen eventually opened her eyes, almost as if there was no difference between the two. Even so, she could tell she wasn't where she was before. It's so cold . . . so what is this warmth? She could feel something heavy draped over her, almost keeping the coolness of the air from affecting her. The ground, once again, was lumpy and sharp, digging into her back as if she were on a bed of earth and rocks.

How long does it take for a search and rescue?

As the new location and protective covering fully registered in Ren's mind, she realised that she must have been found by someone– anyone. She jolted and tried to sit up to search the room, but was met with immediate regret when she felt multiple parts of her body burn and ache in protest.

"Guah!" She breathed, the sharp intake of breath bringing more pain to her presumable bruised ribs. At the same time, she heard a soft shuffling off to her right, almost inaudible. What was that?

Trying to regulate her breathing, Ren slowing twisted her head as far as the pain would allow and strained to see anything in the darkness.

"H-hello?" She whispered, but being met with silence. Undeterred – refusing to believe she had gone crazy – she tried again. "I-I know you-you're there."

Silence.

"I'm R-Ren," she swallowed loudly, unsettled by the lack of response. It was like they were trying to convince her they didn't exist, but she knew they did. She could feel them, just beyond her – limited – field of vision. "What's your name?"

More silence.

I know you're there. Why won't you answer?

"Please, I-" she could feel the tears gathering in her eyes, "-I just want t-to thank you." Her brow furrowed and the corners of her mouth titled down, her voice adopting a watery attribute as it faded uncertainly. "Please?"

Nothing. Just deafening silence weighing down on-

"Don't. . . move," came a soft voice. Despite that, Ren almost jumped in surprise, halfway convinced that she'd never hear them speak. Once again, she heard a slight shuffle and – to her surprise – her saviour emerged from the shadows – just enough – for her to see his faint outline. "You're. . . still hurt."

There was a certain hesitancy in his gentle tone, as if he wasn't quite comfortably with the words he was speaking. Even so, she was just glad he had spoken up at all. "Yeah, I kind of guessed that," she responded, trying and failing to mask the relief in her voice. "But I'm alive, am I not? And I'm guessing I have you to thank for that?"

As her eyes adjusted more to the dark, not only could she see his form better, but she could now also make out the bandages that littered her arms. She could even feel – now that she was focusing – that her left leg had been immobilised, preventing the broken limb from moving in her sleep.

Turning her attention back to her saviour, she watched as shifted again with a miniscule nod of his head, the slight chime of bells sounding with the movement.

The cave lapsed into silence.

It was some time before it was broken again, but much to Ren's surprise, it was not herself that broke it.

"Your . . name," he paused, seeming to contemplate his words heavily before he continued, "is Ren?"

"Yeah, and yours?" She again, trying to tone down her eagerness.

Again, he paused.

"Blue. . . Dragon," he murmured as he slid down the wall to sit crouched on the floor, a naturally gentle undertone carrying his voice across the room. Ren imagined that even in a room full a thousand people, she would still be able to pick his out, his soft-spoken words unique in the way that, although hard to catch, it also commanded your immediate attention so that you strained to listen to him. "I am. . . the Blue. . Dragon."

Ren frowned in confusion once his words caught up with her. Strange.

"Is-" she paused. "Is that your name?"

"I don't. . . have a name," he admitted, timid and embarrassed.

Oh. She turned her head to the ceiling – minding the pain it caused – and didn't comment. What kind of person doesn't have a name? Immediately, she felt guilty for that line of thought.

"Well, what do other people call you?"

". . ." From the corner of her eye, she saw him stiffen and, like a slap to the face, she was hit with the realisation. Oh, no, Ren you stupid idiot. Quickly, she scrambled for something – anything – to say, but something else beat her to the punch.

Something small.

And furry.

"Py-kuu!"