Title:
Duststorm
Chapter:
2: Courage
Summary:
A series of encounters between Isaac and Sheba. Excerpt from Chapter 2: "Courageous. A trait where one acknowledges and surpasses his own fears, simply for the sake of one's own convictions."
Disclaimer:
Golden Sun does not belong to me; I am merely someone who enjoys both reading and writing fanfiction.
Did you ever know that you're my hero?
You're everything I wish I could be.
I could fly higher than an eagle,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
- Bette Midler, Wind Beneath My Wings
And standing right there, atop the glowing aria of the Venus Lighthouse, in an alchemically charged battle, fighting with immensely powerful enemies for his life and the world, all he could think of was how brave she looked, when she took the Shaman's Staff from Ivan.
He knew there were many kinds of courage in the world, each different from the other; he did not pretend to claim to have seen all forms. Sure, he has encountered many brave people during his travels across the continent; he did not need to look much further - there was simply too much courage he could find just within the faces of his companions. Garet took a foolhardy risk leaving with him to protect Vale, Mia sought to bravely uphold the promise the Mercury Clan took to protect Weyard and Ivan was courageously forsook his life to rescue Master Hammet from the clutches of the evil Dodonpa. So he wasn't the naive innocent Venus adept he was when he left Vale to protect the world, just like how he promised the Wise One... and his mother.
But when she came over to him; not quite meeting his eyes but yet, not quite avoiding them either, walking with a rather adamant purpose yet still purposely bashful as though not really wanting to be doing that, he knew he had never seen such a paragon of courage so clearly before. She had a definite conviction with her, a calming aura which told him that even though they were enemies, foes on the battlefield, he knew that it would be simply alright; even though they were handing over an important artifact which could be potentially fatal to their quest.
And then, right at that moment, her lavender eyes met his, and memories of their last encounter flooded back to his consciousness, taking him past the combat arena he was in at the moment.
It was the night after his great Colosso win, when he was simply resting in bed, regaining back his strength. His friends, Garet, Mia and Ivan, were eating, resting and exploring town, in that particular order, for he knew Garet simply would not have passed up a chance to eat, Mia would be exhausted worrying about him and Ivan had always a curious personality that wanted to see every nook and cranny. He grinned wryly to himself as he thought of his loyal friends, only to be a little startled when a sweet voice rang out to him.
"What are you grinning about?"
The voice had a young, litlting feel to it, though there was a queer inflection which one does not usually associate with the freshness of such a tone. Maturity... and experience, he thought, as he analyzed it to himself. He immediately recognized the owner of such a voice as Miss Sheba, the prisoner-guest of his somewhat patron, Lord Babi.
Aloud, he said, "I was just thinking about my friends. They were pretty worried about me during my last battle, you know."
He casted his glance around the roon, and soon found his target, the smallish blonde girl with the curiously violet eyes. He was surprised to see deep fingerprints pressed into her smooth cheeks, as though she was worried about something, too. A warm glow grew inside him. "Were you as well?"
"Was I what?" she asked flatly, her eyes avoiding his, directed to the small of the corner of the room.
"Worried," he replied easily, a smile breaking on his face. He wondered why he was so happy that she was worried about him, but put it off as making a new friend. Heavens know that friends were a commodity in this taxing journey of his.
"A little," was all he got, as she mumbled to herself, with a faint tingle blushing her cheeks. She was furiously trying not to meet his gaze, and he found her flustered self a little cute at that.
"It's not what you're thinking alright. I just didn't want someone I knew to be hurt... or killed," she replied defensively.
He reached out for the small girl, and lifted her chin so that their eyes could meet. "I'm fine, see?" he said, while wriggling his limbs as if to further prove his statement. "Even that big guy is alright. For all Lord Babi is, he wouldn't just let any contestant of his competition to die, right?"
"I guess," was all she replied before looking away, a rosy blush gracing her cheeks again. "Were you afraid?" she asked, as walked over to the window, looking at the full moon which shone balefully across Tolbi.
"When?" he queried, his gaze following her.
"I don't know. Anytime. Every time. When you were out there, fighting with trained soldiers. When you were out there, battling creatures and monsters. When you were out there, just being out there. Aren't you afraid of all that?" Her smalls hands were trembling as she said all that.
Silence hung in the air as he thought of how he wanted to answer.
"I was." He corrected himself, "I am."
"See, I don't know how many more battles I will have to fight to accomplish my goal. Any one battle ahead of me could be fatal, and there's just no restart feature in real life, as opposed to the games we play. Death is too real to not be frightened of." He grinned somewhat nonchalantly. "That doesn't portray a Colosso champion in the brightest light, doesn't it?"
"No, that doesn't," she said quietly as she turned away from the window to study him. "But that portrays a most courageous man in the best light of all, I guess." She said that with a hint of a smile.
"Courageous?"
"Courageous. A trait where one acknowledges and surpasses his own fears, simply for the sake of one's own convictions. You're still fighting, aren't you? Even though you're afraid. That to me, is probably a very, very courageous thing to do," her voice firm with conviction.
She turned back to the window, staring out at the moon again before adding so softly, he almost couldn't hear it, "Something I could never. ever do."
'She has outdone herself this time,' he thought as her retreating back filled his vision. He yelled towards her, hoping she would understand, "There are many kinds of courage, Sheba! There's courage for standing up against your adversary and when faced with adversity! But there's also courage for standing up against friends for your beliefs! You have done it! YOU ARTE JUST AS COURAGEOUS AS ME, SHEBA! NEVER FORGET THAT!"
His words blew across the aria, seemingly had no effect at all on her. But then, she stopped ever so slightly, turn her head just a little, and with the faintest trace of a smile on lips, mouthed a silent, "Thanks, Isaac," before continuing on her way. Then, the battle began in earnest.
"Anyways," her tone back to normal, "I'm heading back to Lalivero, by the way. I've been doing some thinking since our last talk, and well, I was suddenly struck with the urge to visit home. I'm leaving first thing tomorrow, so I guess this will be our goodbye?" She laughed a little self-consciously.
"Really? You're heading back to Lalivero? That's good for you, isn't it?" he queried.
"I guess."
She sidled up next to his bed, her hands fidgety, though her eyes were trained intensely on his face. There was a strange look on her face, he mused. Then, she did something she had never done before, and gave him a small kiss on his cheek. "That's for good luck, goodbye and thanks."
"Thanks?"
"Yes, thanks, for giving me the least semblance of courage. Courage to confront my fears, and try to find my home." Her lavender eyes were staring at him with full earnest. That said, she slowly turned around and headed for the door.
Just as she reached the doorway, he finally found his voice again. "I won't say goodbye, you know."
"Huh?" She had a look of incredulity on her face.
"Instead, I'd rather say, "See you again,". So, yeah, see you again, Sheba," he said with a beaming smile.
She left with a smile on her face.
Author's Notes:
Phew, I'm really, really so sorry for my late, late update. It's just that life's been pretty hectic for me, what with my just going to the States to study there. Anyways, it's been some time since I wrote, so I'd hope this doesn't sound too bad. Haha. Thanks to my two lovely reviewers, SolStone and Aires Drake!. Izzyshipping huh? Haha, cool! Anyone else waiting in anticipation for GS:DS? Anyways, enjoy reading!