Episode 8: 暗い運命! Dark Destiny!

"メドレーとユニティ の、マジック神 美男子戦士, 水泳松岡!チームのためと将来のために、消え失せろ !"

(I am the Swimming Guardian who fights for Medley and Unity! I am Suiei Matsuoka! For the team and for the future, your time is up!")


Flashback: 5 Years Before the birth of the Magic Six (6 Years before Alexa's birth, Year 4994 X.I.),
Coronation of the Royal Families
Location: Hawakoto Kingdom, Aqua Duniya

The six brides walked across the aisle, heading to their beloved husbands while a large crowd of the kingdom's audience watched with tears of joy.

Magnus Marotta, Tatsuhisa Tachibana, Nobunaga Nanase, Toraichi Matsuoka, Tsubasa Hazuki, and Daisuke Ryugazaki stood side by side at the end of the temple; dressed in their white cloaks and their respective colors of gold, green, purple, red, pink, and blue.

During the exchanging of vows between the brides and the grooms, a cloud high above grew dark and a shadow of vortex energy swirled in. The audience huddled in fear as lightning struck around before the cloud dissipated to the man standing before them.

"You…" growled Toraichi, "What are you doing here?"

"It's not you this time," said Theagenes, unveiling his face from his cloak, "But I see that soon you will be blooming with children."

"What do you want?" asked Daisuke, narrowing his eyes.

"A deal," replied the Dark One, "You all got your wishes…now I must ask of a payment in return."

The audience looked around in fear of what was about to occur. Magnus readied his Dragon Sword and said, "You said that there was nothing to give back to, demon!"

"All magic comes with a price, dearies," chuckled Theagenes, "But since you're all so obsessed with your future children…I'll make it a simple price; tell me their names…ALL of them; the ones that you prophesied them to become heroes."

"And what makes you think that's a sufficient price?" asked Tatsuhisa.

"The names can be powerful weapons with origins of their etymologies," he replied, "Each name you give to them will determine their future."

"Our child will be Haruka," said Nobunaga, "For his name will clear up all the flowers with his perfume."

"Makoto is our son," added Tatsuhisa, "For he shall be sincere to all."

"Nagisa will be the seaside that's full with sunshine and happiness," nodded Tsubasa.

"Rin, for he will be dignified to all who loves him," smiled Toraichi.

"Rei, because of his beauty," answered Daisuke.

"Ah…such lovely names indeed," said the Dark One, "But I'm afraid some of those names also have darker meanings…Rin…for being cold…Haruka for being distant…aloof…"

"Are you saying that our children are potential for darkness?" growled Nobunaga.

"No but…it all depends on the final name…" he said, looking at Magnus and Idaina, "Tell me…what's his name?"

"Why should we bother to tell you?" replied Idaina, "You monster!"

"Honey, don't step to his level," said Magnus before he stared at Theagenes.

"Remember the price…" hissed the Dark One.

Idaina took a deep breath before she answered, "Alexa…his name is Alexa; the savior of mankind."

"We shall see," said Theagenes, "Now. I will return for when they are at the age of swimming. That's the price and the agreement that was made. Ta-ta."


Days Later:

Idaina went down the halls alone, carrying a torch as she was heading to one of the private rooms of the fortress. Her family had kept long-riddled prophecies that were translated by a friend named Kaarina.

She placed the torch down and waved her hand over a series of circles that patterned a larger circle.

"Star…eye…water…" she pressed and the door flared to life. Once it was safe to walk in, the newly queen reached to a shelf of books that were hidden here for who knew how long it has been.

Grabbing one of the books, she flipped open the pages and found what she needed.

"They are in that place…" she muttered, "And they want us to bare them as a child? Even though we don't know what kind of people they are?"

"You already know the answer to that," said a voice.

She turned to see a man with light brown hair with heterochromatic eyes of pink and green. The length of this person's hair was long that it almost touched the ground and wore outfits that almost looked like a tree.

"So you're the voice who've I heard?" she asked.

"Indeed," he said, "I am the trees and the flora of realms…with this as being one of many."

"Tell me, what do you know about our children? Who are they really?" asked Idaina.

"Ah yes…those gentlemen…are very, very special," said the male figure, "They were…per say…heroes. Heroes from another world that stretches out to many other lands. The book you have there shows one of the many worlds outside of this realm."

Idaina looked at the book and flipped the page to see a beautiful land that had a city resting on a body of water surrounding by massive land beyond with a name barely readable as "Lyn…"

"Their powers will be as what this world needs…water," said the entity, "And their powers will grow more than that."

"Yes I get that, but what I don't understand is how…they got here? How does it relate to Prince Julius' legacy? They can't be one of the same?" she asked.

"That cannot be said," he answered, "For that secret is vital for their mission…that will lead them to their destiny."

"And this mission?" she began.

"To rebuild their clans and establish rules…they will swim through a trial by fire…they will see the eyes of the darkest evil to ever exist; and if they weaver once, they will die."

Idaina turned the page again and saw what looked like a massive battle of the heroes fighting someone of great evil before it showed the next page of pure happiness and joy. What could it mean for this universe?


Kaarina slammed her staff on the ground as the void around shimmered a new splash of stars soaring across, lining up into various symbolic constellations.

Six stars have fulfilled their destiny…but now a new generation of their existence is born…continuing their quest that shall end the darkness. But the price to pay…for such a conquest...

The future seer gasped as a black spot of ink covered one of the stars, turning it into a model of a black-hole.

"The Darkness…it has begun," she trembled, dropping the staff.


~Several Years Later: The Seventh Night of the Purification Ritual

Time: Early Morning

Alexa woke up in his bed and turned to see the others standing around him.

"Alexa!" sighed Makoto in relief as he wanted to hug him but couldn't as they were still in the ritual even though they were not in the water.

"W-what happened to me?" he asked.

"You were observing the stars but then…you passed out," said Rin.

"I…I did? Oh no! I feel so bad for not being able to…" blushed Alexa.

"Don't worry about it," replied Haruka, "We'll have another night together."

"Yeah!" agreed Nagisa, "Alexa-chan is always fun to hang out with! Right Rei-chan?!"

The megane nodded and they all went down for breakfast. The sun had yet to rise up but this final day was the most important one for they will finally receive their water magic and become apprentices as well as starting to become swimmers.

They walked in pairs heading to the large hall where their families waited for them.

"Suuuugoooiiii!" smiled Nagisa, "All of our families and friends too!"

Rin waved to Sousuke and Aki while a group of swim instructors walked in to meet their future students. Ama-chan was also present for she had taught them several courses of their education and a few others.

"Brother!" said Sergi, wanting to hug Alexa, "I'm so glad you're okay! We were all so worried for you!"

"I'll be fine," he smiled, "And once it's all said and done, we can all go to the beach!"

A group of other students; Nao Serizawa, the Kirishima brothers, Shiina Asahi, the Mikoshiba brothers, Aki Yazaki, Kazuki Minami, Takuya Uozumi, Shouta Nakagawa, and others stood nearby with Sousuke Yamazaki. The Magic Six learned that they will be part of their classmates for the swim program next month as a large starting class.

At the ring of a chime, the food was served.


It was almost sunrise on the watery world as Haruka sat on the tree again, wondering what the future would really hold for him and the others.

"Haruka-senpai" said Rei's voice.

Haruka looked down to see the megane at the base of the tree, "What's the matter?"

"Isn't it forbidden for you to be up on that tree?" asked Rei.

"I already covered my hands in water so it won't affect the purity," he answered.

"Still but…" he began as the others showed up.

"Haru-chan it's almost time!" said Nagisa.

"I'm so glad we're gonna be done with this!" yawned Rin as he stretched his arms out, "A week's long ritual is nice but it's getting a bit too much for me."

"We'll be alright!" smiled Alexa.

Makoto wanted to hold his hand as his heart was slowly aching a little. Clearly something was going to happen but what was it?


Time: Midmorning

As the sun shined all over the kingdom, the heroes were in the Purification hall still chanting the way through the ceremony in the water.

Haruka, Alexa, and Nagisa gave prayers to the Suiei Gods and rotated with Rin, Rei, and Makoto for a series of dancing and hymns to songs.

This seventh day was very important for them as it would allow them to become one with the water finally and because of the intense magic being unleashed, the parents were not allowed to enter the hall.

I don't know what you saw last night, thought Makoto, but I swear…I will protect you!

All seemed well as it was almost time for their noon break. Rin smiled to Haruka while Nagisa blew a kiss to Rei, prompting him to blush.

"I'm so glad," smiled Alexa, "We'll finally embrace and…"

His words were cut off as the room shook gently. They stopped dancing for a few moments and wondered if something was happening outside of the hall.

"T-that sound," gasped Alexa as he could hear that same tune from last night, the ringing of small bells.

Before the others could reply, a violent tremor knocked them off their feet but Alexa's body was glowing and his eyes were dull.

"THE SAME AS LAST NIGHT!" shouted Makoto.

"NO!" cried Rei.

"ALEXAAAA!" shouted Haruka, Rin and Nagisa as the final star floated his way up towards a fixed point where a rip in space-time opened.

A violent of shadows erupted and swirled all over the chamber.

"I swear to the heavens!" growled Rin as he summoned his Shark Tooth Sword but it flew off of his hand as the Dark One stepped into the scene, wearing a cloak that matched its shadow and its face hidden behind a mask that covered its vision.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" asked Makoto.

The Dark One flicked his hand, throwing Rin, Rei, Nagisa, and Haruka across the area to knock them out.

"STOP THIS!" shouted Makoto.

The two gasped as swirls of water shielded Alexa as if the water sensed the danger.

"T-the water…" gasped Makoto, "It's keeping him safe!"

"Foolishness!" growled the Dark One and waved his hand to unleash tentacles of shadow to grab Alexa.

Makoto gasped and rushed to grab Alexa, crying out for him, "WAKE UP! DON'T GIVE INTO THIS! ALEXXAAAAAA!"

The shadows choked the final star and enclosed him rapidly as his hand reached out to Makoto before saying, "N-no….m-my true name i-is…"

Makoto reached out his hand to grab him but he stopped short as he realized that they weren't done with the purification. Alexa's hand sucked into the shadows and Makoto screamed out.

"The future resides on the other side of our choices," said the Dark One, "You hesitated just now to keep the rules intact…but doing so…"

The shadows dissipated into a pair of black wings on Alexa's body as a death-like mark floated in front of him.

"W-what is that!?" gasped Makoto.

"The Mark of Death," replied the Dark One.

"N-No! NO!" he shouted, summoning his vase, "Why are you doing this?!"

"This mark placed on him this very day belongs to the Dark Ones. In time, the darkness will grow more intense and by the sunset of his 21st birthday…his breath will be…the last."

"WHY MUST HE DIE!?" screamed Makoto.

"To fulfill my plans," laughed the Dark One, "For an Eternal Darkness…"

"ORCAAAA, ACIIIIID SPLASSHHHHH! shouted Makoto, unleashing a splash of acid attack but the Dark One threw lightning bolts at Makoto, knocking him down. The young boy spat out blood and barely got on his feet again.

"You seem to know some magic," said the Dark One, "But even as you master your powers…you will not win. The next time you try to attack me, you will die!"

Makoto braced himself for another attack when blasts of light struck through the room. He turned to see the parents arriving in the hall but he suddenly felt dizzy and fell to the water.


Evening:

The royal parents brought their children to their beds while Magnus and Idaina tried to use some sort of magical spells for a diagnosis. The Magic Six were all "asleep" while the other siblings were distracted on purpose to keep them away from this tragic event.

"This spell is enchanted to kill him," breathed Magnus heavily, "Our magic can't save him!"

"Our children…their futures…" said Nobunaga sadly.

"No, this pain has to be put to the side," replied Tatsuhisa, "I will not allow my son to know about this!"

"But will keeping the truth from them be the right choice?" asked Misa.

"We'll come up with something on our own," he answered.

"I really don't like this idea," said Toraichi, "It's bad enough with my brothers. How much more memories can we hide from this kingdom?"

"As long as it takes to keep it all at peace," answered Tatsuhisa.

"But…" began Daisuke, "If we really do hide it from them. How are we going to pay the price?!"

"Not to mention it's going to hurt us in the end," sighed Tsubasa.

"Perhaps Theagenes might know about this?" asked Idaina, "Clearly he's the Dark One. It has to be associated with him?"

"You mean that he would do this to us?!" gasped Akeno.

"That bastard! I knew we should've trusted him!" cried Rika.

"Let's summon him here," said Emi, "He's gonna pay for this!"

"I'm afraid my magic won't work for him, dears…" echoed the voice of Theagenes.

The parents turned to see the cloaked figure standing at the doorway as the man walked into the room, "Yes. I do possess the darkness but it's not the same one as the monster who entered to the purification hall."

"But all dark ones should be related!" said Magnus, "Why did you do this to my son?! REMOVE IT!"

"My magic won't work because this monster isn't from this land," replied Theagenes, "But I do know some stuff about it that might help you on the research."

"And that is…?" asked Tsubasa.

"This monster has a stronger level of dark magic compared to my own and the Mark of Death will indeed kill him on that birthday unless if someone is willing to take in his place," explained Theagenes, "That's the only way. No light magic can simply undo this."

He walked over to the child though the kings tried to keep him away from the boy.

"This child will also…become the Savior," said Theagenes, "He is one of the three that will repair the shattered world of Olympia Magna. However, with this death set in stone, another savior must take his place before the Dark One makes his final strike in the future."

"Where are the other two saviors?" asked Emi.

"And what is this Dark One really up to?" added Rika.

"You'll be having to pay the price for those questions," he chuckled, "I'll be back when they are ready for the swim lessons."

"WAIT!" shouted Toraichi but Theagenes vanished into the smoky clouds.

"He's gone," sighed Nobunaga, "So now what?"

"We need to protect our children from the truth for now," argued Tatsuhisa, "I know this is already a big problem as it is but we can't let it leaked out."

He took out a small flask vial and waved out his hand to Makoto as a glow of green energy flowed into the small tube.

"I only removed the memories of the purification rites and their days spent," he said, "You guys need to do the same with the others."

While some of them disagreed to do this, there was no point in arguing so they too followed the pattern and removed the memories off of Alexa, Nagisa, Rei, Rin and Haruka as the young boys still fell asleep with dreams of their futures ahead.

"We must also remove our other children's' memories of the purification as well as the kingdom's memories," said Tatsuhisa, "Before sunrise…"


The Next Day:

The Royal Families decided to take the children out to the beach together along with several of the villagers in celebration of their upcoming birthdays.

Haruka was already staring out to the sea while his feet were in the water. Makoto, Nagisa, and Alexa splashed around while Rin and Rei randomly chatted around with Sousuke and Kazuki.

Shiina, Nao, the Natsuya and Mikoshiba brother played toss up with a beach ball while Gou, Chigusa, and Aki sat on the benches to enjoy the sunlight.

It was quite a nice day though no one knew what happened (except for the parents). Already, Tatsuhisa and Magnus could see the "Death Mark" on Alexa's body as the children played happily.

"He wants to annoy us about it," whispered Daisuke.

"And it will only grow," sighed Toraichi.

"I've hidden the vials safely," said Tatsuhisa, "No one will find them easily."

"Is it really true there's nothing to undo this?" asked Nobunaga.

"Maybe not to undo…but we can slow it down," replied Toraichi, "I got an idea…"


Yamazaki Hut

"And you're gonna let this weight be on my shoulders?" asked Hosoya Yamazaki.

"Your wife was killed by that same curse, wasn't it?" replied Toraichi, "After she gave birth to Sousuke?"

"Well yes, but…it was after I found out she made a wish to give birth to a child though she was sterile. In exchanged for that price, the Dark One took her life," he answered.

"Then what makes you worried?" asked Toraichi.

"Because…Sousuke is a potential candidate to become someone of great darkness…like the Dark One," he said, "And something is going to trigger that…I know it."

"I ask of you to help and in return we'll do our best to monitor your son," said Toraichi, "He is after all…going to be in the same class with Rin."

"And that's…what I'm afraid of," replied Hosoya.


2 years after the purification rite (most characters are about 8 – 9, some 10 years old)

Hawakoto Pool Room #1

"Awwwwww!" sighed Nagisa, almost wanting to cry.

"We were totally close!" replied Rei as he saw the timings of the team and their opponent team consisting of Shiina, Natsuya, Momo and Nitori.

"It's alright guys, we did great!" smiled Makoto while Haruka dried up his hair with a towel.

"But now that I think about it," said Rei, "I feel like we haven't practiced enough on our exchanges."

"That might be," he answered, "But I wonder how Alexa and the others are doing with their swimming."

"Hmm, me too," replied Nagisa, "Why is Alexa separated from all of us? The parents just kept him in a solo group."

"Well he is with Aki, Sousuke and you Haruka-senpai and with Rin-senpai, right? For the freestyle individual?" asked Rei.

"Yes," said Haruka.

"He should do one of the medley races with us!" smiled Nagisa, "That could cheer him up!"


In another room…

Alexa stood on the diving block and lowered himself, preparing to practice his diving again. After a moment of silence, he propelled himself off and finally hit the water correctly and made his way through the freestyle.

Sergi walked in with Seijuurou and Takuya while the former went up to the benches and watch. The other two joined up to the older brother and complimented him on the diving.

"Thanks!" he smiled, "I'm so glad to finally make it."

"The others are requesting you to join a relay," said Seijuurou.

"…I…um…I'll think about it," he answered, "I just don't know if I'm ready."

"Well then let the others know soon, alright?" asked the red-haired.

Alexa got out from the pool and walked to the locker rooms. As he got dressed, he heard strange, harsh whispers echoing around.

I keep hearing this, he thought, feeling frightened, why?

"It's calling for you…" echoed the whisper.

"Leave me alone!" said Alexa, covering his ears.

"Your friends cannot protect you…" the voice continued.

"STOP IT!" he cried, going down to his knees.

"You're the savior…save yourself…before it's too late," the voice said.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" shouted Alexa, unleashing a blast of water across the room that narrowly missed Makoto, Haruka, Rei and Nagisa. He gasped to see them as he was worried that he might have hurt them.

"A-Alexa!?" asked Makoto, rushing over to him while Rei and Nagisa stayed behind Haruka in fear.

"It's alright," said the olive-oiled haired boy, "It's just us. You and I."

Alexa looked at him and answered, "I keep hearing things…its scary. The reason why I can't swim with others is because I'm worried I'll hear these noises and I'll disturb our competition!"

"You heard something? What was it?" asked Makoto, hugging him.

"Whispers…it keeps saying the same thing over and over again," he replied, blushing at the hug.

"Do you hear it at night time too?" asked the taller boy.

"I do…sometimes," said Alexa, "It's scary!"

"Then come to my bed," smiled Makoto, "I'll keep you safe at all costs!"

"Rei-chan you should sleep with me too!" chuckled Nagisa, "I know sometimes you get scared from nightmares also!"

"NAGISAAA!" answered Rei, blushing.


As time continued to pass onwards, the Magic Six began to train further into swimming and their magical water abilities. Haruka, Rin, Sousuke, and Alexa mastered the freestyle while Makoto and Momotarou specialized the backstroke. Ikuya, Nagisa and Nitori worked on their breaststrokes while Rin, Sousuke, Seijuurou, and Rei participated on their butterflies.

Deciding to become better-rounded, Rin, Alexa, and Rei went further in training with Nao and Natsuya to work on all four of the swimming styles.


1 Year After:

Sousuke made his way through the butterfly as quickly as he possible. He could feel the strength of his arms and legs while Rin readied himself on the block. As soon as he touched the wall, Rin soared his way in as Sousuke was amazed as time slowed down.

Once it was over, the four saw their times and realized that it was still a very, very slow improvement.

"Well at least we're doing the best we can!" smiled Rin, "Soon we'll be able to show off the kingdom and…"

"Forget it," said Sousuke, "It's not for me."

"Eh?" asked Rin while Momo and Nitori looked at Sousuke.

"I don't like losing because of someone else's errors nor having to split the victory up," he answered, "I think it's kinda lame."

"EHHH!?" growled Rin as he grabbed Souske by the goggles while Momo, Nitori, and one of the female instructors separated the two.

"Y-you…" said Rin, "How could you say that?!"

"GENTLEMEN!" shouted one of the instructors, separating the two, "Settle down!"


Rin sat down on the bench away from Sousuke as the two shared an awkward silence in between.

"How could you say this to me?" asked Rin, "I thought we all agreed to do this?!"

"I…I just…don't think I am compatible with a team," he answered, "I just…prefer to swim solo against the world!"

"A-against the world?" asked Rin, confused.

"Yeah," muttered Sousuke, "I mean, how you can trust your teammates? What if any one of them decided to go against you?"

"Sousuke…" began Rin but the other boy got up and said, "I'll see you later…if I even come back."

"Y-You're not going to quit are you!?" he gasped.

"…I won't, but…I'm not going to do things your way," replied Sousuke, "I'm going to join the Water Knights."

Rin's eyes widened in shock as Sousuke walked away from this scene while the latter cried to himself silently. The red-haired wouldn't understand Sousuke even though they shared a lot of things in common; from playing rock-paper-scissors, to watching the shoreline and other games they would play.

He got up and watched Sousuke walking further away as if it was the end…


5 Years after that (about 14 – 15 years old): In the Palace Gardens

"Haru," said Rin, looking up at him to the tree.

"Hm?" asked the dark-haired boy.

Rin used his magic to create a bubble staircase for him to climb on until he reached to Haruka.

"Is something the matter?" asked Haruka.

"No not really but…I've been curious," he answered, "How fast are you? Have you kept track of times?"

"I don't," said Haruka.

"But why?" asked Rin, "You know we have to keep those times for our personal records and what not!"

"I just…" began Haruka but sighed, "What do you want from me?"

"Hm, I like that," said Rin, "But…I must ask you; can you race with me? I want to test us to see…who's better."

Haruka's eyes narrowed slightly as he was already having a bad feeling about this. He turned to him and answered, "Fine. But you have to promise me one thing."

"Eh?" asked Rin.

"Whether you win or lose, don't take this as a way to feel guilty upon your actions," said Haruka.


Hawakoto Palace Library

Nagisa yawned as he and Rei were working on some notes to prepare for the upcoming exams. Even though they were given a bunch of different classes compared to the rest of the kingdom's students and scholars, they were all still treated the same.

"Rei-chan's so smart!" smiled the blond, "I wish I could be like you!"

"Nagisa, I think you're doing fine," replied Rei, "Is something the matter?"

"I…I just don't like how we are being tossed with more projects and deadlines!" he sighed, "It's not fair! We still got swimming practices and magical lessons too!"

"That may be the case but don't forget there's a bunch of students who are working to become the next Water Knights and their scouts and other rangers and they hardly get any sleep," replied the megane.

"Maybe…" he answered.

"I'll help you, Nagisa," said Rei, "Just show me what you don't understand at and we'll start from there. I certainly don't want to disappoint ama-chan!"


Later that night…

Rin stayed up reading some books about certain swimming techniques that he found fascinating. He lost to Haruka earlier today and despite holding back the tears, he was starting to get frustrated. Every time he competed Haru, it was like an endless pit of losing.

He wanted to at least win for once…but how?

With careful planning, he asked Rei to locate a book about swimming in larger bodies of water though the megane was slightly suspicious. In the end, he found the book and the red-haired thanked him.

I'm going to do this, he thought, and no one will stop me!

Rin got up from his bed and chanted, "Waters of teleport…take me to the shore!"

The red-haired opened his eyes and found himself at the western coast just as planned. The skies were clear and blue as the stars glittered all around.

"Amazing," he smiled as he felt the cooling breeze sweeping in. The endless ocean seemed all peaceful and calm.

"Alrighty," he said, "I have kept the cache hidden somewhere…ah there!"

Underneath a pile of logs were a few kickboards, poles, and some weights that he took in secret and was ready to try this regime on his own. He grabbed one of the kickboards and put on the chained weight to his ankle in order to build up some stamina.

He carefully made his way into the ocean but not far enough to be on the deep. He made sure that his feet touched the floor.

Rin swam his way across a certain length until he reached his goal and turned back around to add on the extra mile. It was indeed worth the exercise despite his legs starting to get a bit exhausted.

"So nice out…" smiled Rin, looking at the stars, "I wish I could swim happily with the others and…"

He gasped as he saw a massive growth of clouds looming over the coastline, creeping up like a rapid herd stampede. Thunder clasped and lightning struck, forcing Rin to make his way back to shore. However, the ocean waters began to turn violent as Rin was screaming out.


Akeno woke up with a gasp and rushed to Rin's bedroom as the lightning flashed in the scenery. She turned on the lights and saw the empty bed.

"Toraichi!" she shouted, horrified as she ran back, "HONEY WAKE UP!"


Sousuke, Nitori, Momo, and a bunch of other Water Knights woke up to the alarms going around as one of the princes went mission. After finding out that it was Rin, Sousuke felt sick to his stomach.

What is he doing, thought Sousuke.

With orders from the royal family and to the authorities of the Water Knights, several of them were dispatched on a search for Rin across the island while the parents tried to locate the missing child through the magic.

However they realized that a cloud of darkness flooded over the area as they realized that it blocked some of their powers out.

Haruka felt shaken by this as he recalled Rin attitude earlier today echoing his mind:

I can't do this anymore! You ALWAYS WIN! I WANT TO QUIT!

"R-Rin…" he muttered silently.

"Haru-chan?" asked Nagisa.

"Haru?" asked Makoto.

Alexa immediately could tell that Haruka was really hiding something about this and that he was blaming himself deep inside. He walked up to him and said, "It's going to be alright. We'll find him."

"I know…but you guys will only slow me down," he answered, "I have to confront this alone! This is a problem that Rin and I must solve together!"

"H-Haruka-senpai!" replied Rei but Haruka already unleashed his teleport spell, sending himself to the trail that led to the coastline.


Sousuke rushed through the woods with Momo while Nitori went to the other coast with Kazuki and the other Water Knights searched through the Jangwa meadows, the forests, and a few other disclosed locations.

"He didn't walk through this way," muttered Momo, "Did he use magic?"

"It's a possibility but where could he have went?" asked Sousuke.

"Oh look there's footprints here!" said Momo, pointing to a small trail of feet.

"Alright, let's take it then and hope he didn't get too far!" replied Sousuke.

They continued to make their way when they saw someone going over the rocks. Momo gasped in horror while Sousuke's expression was just in pure shock and near paralyzed.

"Go alert the others!" said Sousuke, "I'll take it from here!"

Before Momo could protest, Sousuke rushed out through the last part of the meadows and heading towards the rocky ledge of the coastline. Sousuke realized that it was Haruka as the other boy waddled his way into the sea and swimming out towards Rin.

The disturbing part though was the storm wasn't a natural looking one; it was a cloud of darkness that seemed familiar to him.

T-that storm of darkness, he thought.

Sousuke was almost to the sands when he lost his footing and slipped on the rocks, knocking his head out in the process as he stumbled to unconsciousness.


Haruka struggled his way through the tossing waves but had not lost sight of Rin as the red-haired was becoming exhausted in the fight of the storm. He turned to see Haruka and reached out his hand.

"HARUUUU!" he shouted.

The two struggled to reach to their hands but as soon as they did, a blast of blue and red light shined off of them, dispelling the darkness and the seas calmed down. Rin's face grew teary and embarrassed with sadness mixed.

"Rin…" said Haruka, "Why the hell did you go out?! Don't you realize what you've done!?"

"…I'm sorry Haru," he answered, "The truth is…I envy your swimming…but at the same time, I'm inspired…but no matter how hard I try…"

"I may swim fast but…" replied Haruka, swimming with him towards shore, "I just don't pay attention to my times or competition…it's not my nature. I hate racing…but…I enjoy becoming one with the water. That's how I swim fast…I don't struggle for times, I open my heart to what I see as I swim.

"Rin, if you want to beat me in a race, then you have to put your heart out to the water and ignore the times…"

"But…" he began, "How is that even a race?"

The two reached to shore finally when they both saw someone on the rocks. They rushed over and gasped in horror to see Sousuke bleeding out from his shoulder.

"N-No! NOOO!" cried Rin, horrified.

"I-Is that…?" gasped Haruka.

"Sousuke…" breathed Rin, checking on the other boy, "Haru! We have to get him back! Hurry!"

"Rei has mastered his healing powers! We should get him!" he replied.

"I'll take us there, hang on!" shouted Rin.


The three appeared back at the palace when one of the nurses spotted them and alerted the royal parents to meet up with them. Akeno rushed to her son and hugged him with tears of relief while Toraichi examined the injuries on Sousuke.

"Where's everyone else?' asked Haruka.

"Waiting at the main hall," replied Toraichi before he looked at Rin. The son was horrified to look at his father's eyes, knowing that he is in severe trouble. With a nod, Haruka walked over to the main hall, worried about this issue but he knew that Rin will have to face his own consequences.

"Why did you go out?" asked the father.

"I…I just wanted to be a better swimmer," he said.

"By doing what you just did?!" he shouted.

"Torai! He's horrified right now, can't you see?!" cried Akeno, "Don't give him anymore grief like this!"

"Then he will stay in his room and write letters of apology to Haruka, Sousuke, and to the water knights. Also, no more swimming for a week!" he replied.

Moments later, Rei walked outside with the other families.

"I…I can help, please let me," said Rei, "We all love Rin and Sousuke's help is greatly appreciated."

After a nod from Akeno, the megane walked over to the unconscious knight trainee and waved his hand over to at least close up the bleeding through there was still stiffness on Sousuke's shoulder.

"That's enough for the night," said Daisuke, "Come now. Resume to your beds."

Hosoya walked into the scenes as the children were sent back to their dorms as he saw his son being carried by the nurses back to the hut.


Next Day:

Rei sat down in the library again, reading a book about some healing magic when he heard Nagisa approaching.

"Rei-chan!" smiled Nagisa.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Everything okay?" replied the blond, "You don't seem like yourself."

"I'm fine," he answered, "I just…"

"Just what?" asked Nagisa.

"I guess it's no use for me to hide my thoughts, right?" asked Rei, "Fine, I'll tell you but you have to keep this secret between us. You got it?"

Nagisa nodded as Rei answered, "When I was healing Sousuke last night, I wasn't able to heal the wound; just the bleeding stopped."

"But you've mastered quite a lot of healing powers, what stopped you?" asked Nagisa.

"…I don't know but I felt a tint of shadow inside of him even though he's conscious. My powers are almost like Alexa's except he can only detect emotions of the living…I can detect emotions of those who are semi-conscious or even unconscious," explained the megane.

"Like how I sometimes can see the dead!" gasped the blond.

"Hush!" he replied, "We can't let anyone else hear this. I'm frightened that Sousuke is going to go after Haruka-senpai and we must be the ones by his side."

"But why can't we tell Haru-chan?" asked Nagisa.

"It's for the best…we can't bring up anything that will make things worse," said Rei, "Well just have to make sure that neither of them get as close contact."

"However, what's the main secret…what did you find exactly about Sousuke?" asked Nagisa.

"…It's just as what Rin told us; he wants to swim solo against him, not as a team," he said, "The reason is that he…"

Rei looked over his shoulder before he whispered the truth to Nagisa silently. The blond's expression turned a bit grim and almost sad-like.

"I see," said Nagisa.

"That's why…we have to keep them away," replied Rei, "I don't want Haruka-senpai nor Sousuke-senpai to get hurt."

"But Rin-chan though…" answered the blond.

"Not as long as he knows our plan," said Rei, fixing up his glasses.


3 Years Later: Makoto's Discovery (about 17 – 18 years old for the main heroes)

The tall green-eyed young man walked his way through the corridors of the Tachibana family when he stopped to look at a painting of the Magic Six when they were kids. The family hired an artist to draw them standing together at the beach at the edge of the coastline of the water and sand.

Since then, the real copy was placed in the hallway of the Tachibana's and anyone going this way would always see such a marvelous piece of art.

However, another glance at it drew his attention when he saw a strange symbol next to him and Alexa. He was tempted to touch it but was worried that his oil from the hands would damage the pain. But a second look realized that it was actually a button. He pressed on it and the mural shifted around to reveal a passageway.

Worried that someone would head this way, Makoto used his water magic to dissolve into a mist-like cloud and drifted his way through the dark tunnel. When he got to the other side, he saw that it was a chamber that connected to the six palaces together and it was filled with various chemicals, tools and other seemingly magical objects.

"A-Amazing…" he muttered, walking over to the table where he saw a bunch of notes written by the late Queen Idaina's handwriting. However, it looked like the other queens were writing some notes as well.

"W-what is this?"

Makoto picked up the book and blew the dust off before reading some of the random pages he opened to. He saw a strange picture of what looked like a human brain and a wave of energy being absorbed into a small tube.

"Removing memories…wait a sec," he gasped as he dropped the book.

The tall man walked over to a cupboard and opened to see six vials with names of himself and the others on it. Makoto grabbed the vial of green fluid with his name on it and wondered if it was safe to drink. Giving it a shot, he opened it and gulped it down.

At first nothing happened but then his body screamed as a pain of fire scorched through his body and mind, taking him back to the past in ripples of visions.

"WAKE UP! DON'T GIVE INTO THIS! ALEXXAAAAAA!" shouted the Young Makoto's voice.

"N-no….m-my true name i-is…" moaned Alexa's voice

"The future resides on the other side of our choices. You hesitated just now to keep the rules intact…but doing so…"

"This mark placed on him this very day belongs to the Dark Ones. In time, the darkness will grow more intense and by the sunset of his 21st birthday…his breath will be…the last."

"You seem to know some magic. But even as you master your powers…you will not win. The next time you try to attack me, you will die!" the Dark One's voice echoed.

"My magic won't work because this monster isn't from this land. This monster has a stronger level of dark magic compared to my own and the Mark of Death will indeed kill him on that birthday unless if someone is willing to take in his place," said Theagenes.

"We need to protect our children from the truth for now," argued Tatsuhisa, "I know this is already a big problem as it is but we can't let it leaked out."

"We must also remove our other children's' memories of the purification as well as the kingdom's memories," said Tatsuhisa, "Before sunrise…"

"I keep hearing things…its scary. The reason why I can't swim with others is because I'm worried I'll hear these noises and I'll disturb our competition!"

"You heard something? What was it?" asked the young Makoto, hugging him.

"Whispers…it keeps saying the same thing over and over again," replied the young Alexa, blushing at the hug.

Makoto breathed heavily and clutched his fist to his heart before spilling tears; finally the truth made sense! The Royal Family took the memories away of that tragic past!

"F-father…" he muttered, shaken by this, "W-why did you do this…?"

"Forgive me…" said a voice as Makoto turned to see him, "I really had no choice."

Makoto's expression was deeply in pain as he replied, "This whole time I was right…the sight I've been seeing on Alexa…that mark on his body. You were lying…I wanted to believe you…and mother.

"Makoto please, we were just trying to protect you all and…" he began when Makoto was walking way and grabbing the rest of the vials when Tatsuhisa grabbed him by the arm and said, "STOP! Listen to me! I'm your father!"

The son looked at him with his paralyzed expression before he answered, "I don't care."

Tatsuhisa stood speechless and Makoto left the room with the vials that contained the missing memories. He had to give them back so they could try to figure out how to save Alexa.


Makoto was on his way out to find the others when he saw Rin coming in his direction.

"Makoto!" smiled Rin before he realized that his facial expression was not normal, "W-what happened?"

"Come with me," he replied as the two went to the tree where Haru would go to but this time he wasn't there.

"Good, there's still time, but I have to hurry," said Makoto, handing the vial of red fluid to Rin.

"W-what the hell is that?" asked Rin, "Blood?"

"No. It's memories," he replied.

"M-Memoires?" asked the red-hair, "Of what?"

"About us…when we were kids, this is the answer to why I have been seeing Alexa and his behavior for the last 11 years," explained Makoto, "Just drink it and it'll make sense."

Rin took the vial and drank it and finally saw the series of visions that Makoto encountered. He was in literal shock for mere moments. As soon as he was back to reality, he looked at Makoto and said, "Don't give the vials to the others."

"W-what?!" gasped Makoto, "But they have to know the truth!"

"I understand but…it's been too painful for you and I to hold this," said Rin, "We'll keep them safe though when the time comes but we have to figure this out together."

"But you always said 'for the team'," replied Makoto, "Why are you backing out on this?"

"…it's already painful enough that we know," said Rin, "Besides I've been holding several issues on my own as well. Our parents were right, we have to set this pain aside and just take in what we have."

"R-Rin…" began Makoto, feeling upset by this response before he answered, "Then what are you going to do then if I keep this promise?"

"I won't tell the others either," said Rin, "As long as you don't say anything, I won't either."

Makoto sighed for a moment before he answered, "Fine. But you and I though, we got work to do. I'll meet you in the library later on."

"Where are you going?" asked Rin.

"Some fresh air," lied Makoto as he was already formulating a plan in his mind.


Makoto arrived at Sousuke's hut and saw the young man cleaning out his weapons. Sousuke gasped a little to see Makoto here as he wasn't really expecting anyone.

"I'm sorry to bother you," said Makoto, "But I need to ask you a favor for me."

"Is something the matter?" asked Sousuke.

"I know this is a concern of my own and Alexa, but I need to tell you this. In case if I fail to protect him. But I need you to keep this a secret from anyone, including Alexa," he answered.

"Protect him?" Sousuke answered, confused.

Makoto took a small deep breath before answering, "Alexa was born with the potential for great darkness."

"But if he's the Savoir of this world," said Sousuke, "A hero. His magic is as light as it gets."

"It's because I failed to protect him…during the purification," replied Makoto, "A tragic event happened and because of me, I…I am responsible for him now more than ever."

"How do you know about that?" asked Sousuke.

"I found a vial that contained memories of that day. After I drank it, I understood why Alexa acts so strange sometimes…and I could also see weird things happening to him also," said Makoto.

"I…don't understand," replied Sousuke, "None of this makes sense. What exactly did you do to him and what is going to happen to him?"

"Because of me, Alexa is destined to die on the sunset of his 21st birthday," he answered, "The Dark One cursed him by giving him the Mark of Death."

Sousuke's eyes widened a little as Makoto continued, "Since I found out that truth, I'm going to research all what I can…finding everything about Dark Magic."

"I'm so sorry," replied Sousuke, "I wish I could help you but my father does know some stuff about Dark Magic and the Dark Ones. Maybe he can be of some help."

"That would be great, Sousuke, thank you," smiled Makoto before he headed out the door.

~Episode 8 END~


~Episode 9 PV~

Kei: Now it's time...

Shouyou: You think you can take this world to yourself!?

Alexa: And who is this Chernboyl person to be exact?!

Kei: NONE OF YOU ARE TO BE IN MY WAY!

Makoto: ALEXA WATCH OUT!

Rei: No matter what happens, we will reunite the two sports together!

Nagisa: Make that three, Rei-chan!

Haruka: Next Time, Free! Operation Haikyuu! Part 1 - The Elephant's Foot -

Rin: We'll definitely show you all a sight you've never seen before! Our true powers united as one!


Mini-Break Announcement:

I will be out for Christmas from the 23rd - 30th for another trip to Phoenix, Arizona! However, I will finish up MomoTori's Arc by the 21st but there will be no updates on the 23rd. Book 2 will conclude before January 6, 2016!

Stay tuned! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Water Days and Happy All Holidays to whatever I miss!

Cheers,

~AveraxMagna