Hello, dear readers! I have returned with another chapter! It took a little longer than expected since I had a few tests to study for, but I pulled it off if I do say so myself. This has both a serious aspect and a happy aspect. I think it's the perfect mix for once. Now, here's hoping you enjoy it because I put a lot of effort into it. Have fun!


Chapters 9: Trip to Vinto

Training didn't last as long as I would have liked. My emotions were already a bit on the feral side today and were whipping about in my mind as I practiced my fighting skills, both with weapons and with my fire. The Dragon remained silent, even allowing me to sense its approval as I began to use some of its power in small portions. We would train our minds as well as my body to become the best fighter in Circus. Just as I was about to call it quits for the day, I heard footsteps approaching and turned to see Jiki, Nai, and Gareki all coming inside the training room. Gareki pointedly avoided my gaze and I knew that we would be back to that same situation as before when I told him we couldn't ever kiss again.

"Hey, Cleo!" Jiki called to me. "You looked like you worked up a sweat while training today."

"I had some things I had to think about and figured that they would stick if I did this at the same time," I told him as I pushed my sweaty bangs from my eyes.

"You're welcome to stay with us for a bit," Jiki said and I beckoned for him to carry on with whatever he had planned for the two boys as I walked over to a bench. I sat down with a sigh and watched the scene play out before me. "We're going to be heading out on a mission tomorrow and this is just so that I know what all of you are capable of. I've already seen what Cleo can do and she is a force to be reckoned with. Now it's up to you two."

"Nai won't be fighting," I told Jiki seriously. "I won't allow it."

"Even if he needs to defend himself when he's alone?" Jiki asked me and I could see a serious gleam in his eyes.

"Even then," I told him. "He won't be alone because I will always be there, regardless of the situation."

Jiki sighed in frustration but put his smile back in place. "Fine then, we'll accommodate Cleo's wishes. Gareki, let's see what you've got."

I knew that this would be painful to see but what I hadn't been expecting was my own involuntary action. Gareki ran at Jiki, aiming a punch at his head when Jiki moved fast, swifter than a regular human, and flipped Gareki hard onto his stomach where Jiki kneeled on his back. I had already moved the moment Jiki grabbed Gareki and formed my falchion, pressing the tip of my blade against Jiki's throat. He looked rather surprised at how much faster I moved and I was in the same state as Jiki slowly straightened up, keeping his hands up in a nonthreatening manner.

"I guess I didn't realize how serious you were with your orders to protect them," he said with a small laugh. He turned his gaze to Gareki and glared at him. "Do you really think you can protect Nai like that, Gareki? That was rather pitiful, if I do say so myself. Right now, the enemies aren't desperate and, with time, if you continue to be this slow then you will be killed and not even Cleo will be able to save you. This is why you won't be put with Nai whenever he needs protecting. Maybe you should just leave to go back to Karasuna, where you can live a normal life."

As Jiki turned around to walk out of the room, I called out to him. "Maybe you should cut him some slack, Jiki. Everyone who first started fighting with Circus was weak and pitiful once. Hell, I was even an absolute wreck when it came to fighting and I'm very sure that Gareki has done much better than I did at the time. He's rather untrained in how to fight against supernatural beings and that should be enough to stop your derision with him. All he needs is to be taught."

"I'm only telling him the harsh truth, one he needs to hear in case he thinks that the luck he has had so far will never run out," Jiki said before leaving the room with wave and a jovial declaration to have fun tomorrow.

"He's right, you know," Gareki said as he got to his feet. "We've only been lucky the entire time. If I was just taken down in seconds flat by an agent of Circus, what good am I fighting with a Varuga?"

"From what I've seen, you've been doing one hell of a job so far," I told him. "Most people wouldn't have made it this far."

"That's still not what I want. I want to fight the Varuga like you all can, without having to worry about if I'm good enough." With those last words, he completely walked out of the room and Nai and I were left alone in the training room.

"Will he be ok?" Nai asked me hesitantly and I could see that worried look on his face. "He won't break tomorrow, will he?"

"He'll be fine and he'll never break, little Nai," I explained to him. "If it would make you feel any better, just for tomorrow I will go with his team while you stick with Jiki. Does that sound alright to you?"

"Of course!" he yelled before running over to me to give me a relieved hug. "Thank you so much, Cleo!"

"You're very welcome, little brother," I whispered, feeling warm from the happiness rushing through my veins. "Now, I must head back to my room so I can take a shower. You are welcome to hang out in my room until I am done."

We headed back to my room and he took a Rabbit with him so that he wouldn't be lonely while I took my shower, brushing its fur kindly while the thing made noises of joy. I shook my head and went into the bathroom, staying under the water once I had cleaned up for as long as I could until the water began to evaporate before it even touched my skin.

I don't understand you, the Dragon said. We control fire and yet you seem to love the water?

"You love the snow," I reminded her. "Snow is just frozen water. I do have a question for you, now that I think about it. If you don't like water, then why pick the top of a mountain for the place to meet with me in my dreams? I figured you take to a volcano or something."

That question has two answers, she said. The first answer would be for practicality's sake. We are a white Dragon, which means that we stick out in any other environment. Also… it was the first time I ever saw snow that day and it was very beautiful. I prefer that landscape to any other so far.

"I have to agree with you there," I told her. "The top of a mountain is quite a beautiful place. I also love to be wherever there is a thunderstorm. It's as if you can both see and feel the power of nature right before you."

Also agreed. … I guess you aren't as bad as I first thought. I still don't like you as of yet. We are meant to be destroyers, not protectors.

"Let's try and change that fate," I said softly.

She stayed quiet after that and I turned off the water, hopping out of the shower to dry myself and then wrapping a new towel around my waist so that I could walk out of the bathroom. I ruffled my hair and immediately saw Gareki and Nai talking about something, the Rabbit now gone and they both turned to look at me. I saw Gareki's cheeks flush a little at the sight of me and I rolled my eyes as I walked over to my dresser.

"You're staring," I told Gareki. "It's kind of creepy."

"You're the creepy one, not me!" he insisted, looking like his brain had just been fried from the sight of me in just a towel. "You always keep walking around like that whenever you get out of the shower!"

"Earth to Gareki, this is my room for now," I told him with a devious grin. "If you don't like what I do in here, then don't come in at all. Go somewhere else!"

I turned him around and began to force him towards the door when he yelled, "Alright, I get it! Stop pushing me around!"

"Glad we've come to an understanding," I told him before walking over to the dresser to grab some clothes.

As I pulled out a black long sleeved shirt and shorts, I heard Nai ask, "So what are we going to do today?"

"I'm up for anything," I told him as I began walking back to the bathroom so I could get dressed. "You two talk it over and come to an agreement over what we'll do for now. It can honestly be anywhere on this ship or outside of it. I can take the heat for sneaking us out."

I heard silence fall in the room as I shut the door behind me, changing quickly and brushing my hair out to its normal messiness before leaving the bathroom. Both of them had a happy smile on their faces as I came outside yet neither one of them spoke until I sat down on the edge of the bed to wait for their decision. Finally, Gareki and Nai took a step closer to me and gave me a smile.

"What's the verdict?" I asked them suspiciously.

"I didn't want to decide without you, but Gareki and I came up with a solution," Naid said happily. "We decided to let you surprise us by taking us to wherever you want to go."

I nodded and jumped up to fly over to the window, hovering there as I looked down to see where we were. I was surprised to see that the ship had landed and that the area around us looked awfully familiar. I grinned before saying, "I know the perfect place. We'll just have to sneak out by flying out of here."

I opened the window as wide as they could possibly go, which was actually far enough to fit all three of us through, I flew over to grab Gareki and Nai before flying through the window. Nai made a noise of shock before I flew up higher, close enough for him to touch the clouds. He seemed so excited and overjoyed that I giggled before changing my course just enough to head in the direction of a huge forest. I went a little lower our toes almost touched the tips of the trees but kept flying faster until I reached an enormous clearing. I slowed down and began to descend before finally landing in the clearing.

It was a place that I had discovered back when I was searching for Nai. The trees lining and spotting the clearing were cherry blossom trees, littering the grass with their petals. The clearing was covered with dark green grass and colorful flowers everywhere. A bright blue river meandered down a hill into a large pond with a waterfall, fish swimming lazily within the waters with their scales flashing with every color of the rainbow.

"I found this place a while ago," I told them happily. "In fact, back before I joined Circus, this is where I used to live. I created a special barrier around the entire perimeter of this clearing that no Varuga could get past. This place is quite calming and the biggest cherry blossom tree here still has the hammock I set up between a few of its branches."

Sure enough, we walked further in and a huge cherry blossom tree grew from the center of the clearing, one that had almost a treehouse formed in its branches made from different pieces of fabric. I thought back to the day I pulled this off and it brought a smile to my face. I stole the fabric I needed from different clothes lines outside and brought them back to this place before climbing the tree to string them up. It didn't take long at all and I was rather proud of myself for my achievement, especially since it rained that very night so I watched it pour from my hammock with a contented grin. I shook my head, dragging me back to the present, and set both Nai and Gareki down before flying over to the tree. I landed with a plop in my hammock and lay back with a happy sigh.

"I'm going to make a hammock for my room," I told them as I dangled one leg from the side. "I miss this and I'm pretty sure that the rafters in my room would work."

I closed my eyes and just relaxed, inhaling the scent from the cherry blossoms and the flowers in the clearing as I listened to Nai and Gareki moving around below the tree. I heard Gareki make a noise of surprise and before I knew it, something had jumped on me with an ecstatic laugh. I opened my eyes to see a delighted Nai and Gareki was slowly climbing his way up to us. Nai must have climbed really fast up the tree to beat Gareki and I was deeply surprised.

Nai laughed at the expression on my face and said, "I remembered how you used to be an expert at climbing things, so I practiced while you were gone!"

"Little Nai, you didn't have to do that!" I told him with a smile before sitting up to hug him.

"But I wanted to!" he said. "I missed you while you were gone, so I did it to feel a little closer to you!"

And that's what it came down to. I was instantly reminded, albeit accidentally, that I had abandoned him. Even though it was to protect him from the dangers that were chasing after me, I left him behind and that must have hurt. Nai immediately pulled away from me with a horrified look on his face. It was then that I remembered that he could sense the emotions of those he was close to, the closer he was to that person the quicker he could sense emotions.

"Oh, Cleo, I'm sorry!" he told me, tears forming in his eyes. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad about that again!"

"It wasn't your fault," I said as I wiped his tears away with my sleeve. "I was just being silly, thinking like that. Don't be upset."

"Yeah, Nai," Gareki said and we both looked up to see him in the branch above us. "You know she's a weirdo. It's not something to be upset over."

"Hey, perhaps you should shut up before I pull you off of that branch," I growled, making Nai laugh a little.

I know he felt better now and I decided to grab Nai and Gareki, flying them over to the huge pool of water that the river drained into. I swooped down to lightly sent them on the grass while kicking off my shoes before flying upwards, then to stop flying altogether as I fell back down and into the water with a splash. I dived down further when I caught sight of a large pretty rock that had been cracked open a little to reveal its gemlike insides and I kicked off to reach the surface of the water. I pushed the bangs from my eyes and grinned at them before swimming in their direction. They ran over to the side of the pool as I pulled myself from the water with my prize in hand.

"Look what I found!" I said giddily.

"A rock?" Gareki said flatly. "I don't know why you're so excited about that."

"But it's not just any rock!" I told him joyously before I cracked it open to reveal the colorful gems made from different shades of amethyst. "It's a geode! This pool has thousands of them, so long as you know what to look for!"

I handed Gareki and Nai a half of the geode before jumping back in the water and diving down to the bottom of the pool. I became a little greedy when I found a rather large one, a geode that I had a feeling would fight to stay in its place. I managed to hoist the thing upwards off the ground and then flew upwards out of the pool because the geode was too heavy to swim with. Gareki shook his head in disbelief as I slowly flew over to them, lightly setting the geode down and pushing my bangs from my eyes again. I landed on top of it and looked down at them with a grin.

"So I see that what they say about Dragons is true," Gareki said as he crossed his arms with a smirk. "Dragons are greedy and like to have a horde of treasures to guard."

"How are we going to get it back?" Nai asked worriedly.

"That's easy," I told him before pointing to the horizon where the sun was beginning to set. "Look there."

They turned their gazes and watched as a plane made its way over to us. They looked astounded that I could see it from so far away, but I only shrugged as I waited for the plane to fly to us and land. I picked up the geode and flew it inside the first second the door opened. I placed it in the back seat before flying out again to stand on the wing of the plane itself. Jiki came over to the door and glared at me.

"Did you really sneak them out of Airship One?" he asked.

"Yes, but I took them to the one place where a Varuga could never touch them," I told him with a delighted smile. "This is my home and I have a barrier around the place."

As Nai and Gareki went inside, Jiki stopped me by saying, "Oh, no you don't. You are soaking wet and you aren't coming inside until you are dry."

I rolled my eyes and instantly erupted into flames for two seconds before I was bone dry again, giving Jiki a sarcastic smile. "Guess I can come inside now." I flew past him before he could say anything, watching him splutter in disbelief at my behavior. "Now let's head back to Airship One before I change my mind about being in here."

"I was even kind enough to bring you an ice pack for your head," Jiki told me, tossing me a blue pack that barely felt cold to the touch to me. "I can see the look on your face. It is actually cold. Your skin is just too warm, remember?"

Gareki grabbed me and dragged me over to his seat, setting me on his lap and buckling us both in as Jiki flew the plane upwards. I groaned and leaned against Gareki as he chuckled, placing the ice pack on my forehead and smiling when I let out a sigh of relief as I forced my flames deeper into my mind for the rest of the trip. Maybe because I comfortable for the first time while in a plane, I actually managed to slip into unconsciousness with my thoughts calm. When I woke up, I blearily opened my eyes to see that I was being carried through a corridor in Gareki's arms.

"Where's my geode?" I asked sleepily.

"Well, Jiki was the only one of us who could carry it, so Nai and he headed to your room to put it away," Gareki explained. "I figured that you'd be more concerned about me carrying you."

"I trust you," I told him before settling back to fall asleep again.

As I drifted again, I thought I could hear him say, "No, you don't."


The next day, we all headed to the wildlife sanctuary that went by the name of Vinto. I dressed in a white tank top with a Dragon scale pattern and skinny jeans. I had a zebra print belt around my hips that was tilted downwards on my right hip, my shoes with the same exact pattern. I was leaning against Gareki in the plane as he kept the ice pack on my forehead and I noticed his distant expression as he lightly traced his fingers along the skin of my forearm. He seemed entranced with the fire under my skin again and refused to look me in the eyes once, regardless of the fact that I was feeling a lot better this time while on the plane.

With a smirk, I snatched the beanie off of his head that he insisted upon wearing today and put it on mine, the blue tufts of hair on my head actually staying down for once with the hat on. "Give it back, Cleo," he said flatly. He wasn't acting normally and it worried me, but I did as he asked with a questioning look. He handed me his goggles, which I promptly tried on as he put on the hat, and then took them back when he was done. He went back to holding the ice pack to my forehead and tracing his fingers along the skin over the veins in my arm.

When we landed in Vinto, Tsukitachi took Gareki and me while Jiki and Kiichi take Nai to go with two members from the Life Division that looked out for the animals in the wildlife preserve. I hadn't been told why we were here yet, but it soon became revealed to me. Gareki had asked to see the source of Circus' power and Tsukitachi was indulging him as we walked to a cavern like space. It was like an underground lake with a bunch of animals coexisting together. I had only been here once and it was something that had to be done while training to become a member of Circus. It was awe inspiring and made everyone think about the world around us.

"This is where we discovered our power," Tsukitachi said softly so as to not frighten the animals watching us warily. "The animals that live in this wildlife reserve have been evolving into states of high energy production and regenerative capabilities. Through extensive research and cell extraction, we came across the reason behind how this is possible. We discovered the cell we called the Incure and placed it in Circus bracelets to develop a person's magical potential. It allows for a person to develop their own unique abilities."

"Is that how Cleo gained her powers?" Gareki asked.

"From what I have heard, she was a different case. Cleo, would you care to elaborate?"

"When humans join Circus, they are a magical blank slate," I explained to him. "That means that they have no magic within their bodies. I, on the other hand, had trace amounts of magic in my body from the start. Nai does, too. Over time before I joined Circus, I had to keep using it to make it stronger, like you would with muscles. After I trained at the academy and was given a bracelet from Circus, my magic was amplified tenfold and I could easily use it without so much as a thought or without straining myself."

"Nai has magic?" Gareki asked dubiously.

"Of course he does," I said indignantly. "Nai is an Empath. In time, he will only get stronger the more he uses his ability."

"So what would happen if he is given a bracelet with the Incure cell inside it?"

I felt my body stiffen as I stood straighter. "Let's say that this hypothetically occurs. His magic would follow the same path as mine and increase tenfold. He won't just be able to sense emotions, but he'll be able to sense thoughts as well. Thoughts are always tied to emotions, whether the emotions themselves are weak or strong. If it increases any more, he'll be able to influence a person by simulating a specific emotion within their mind. However, unless an increase of abilities happens naturally, there won't be a bracelet on his wrist so soon. I forbid it."

"Why?" Gareki asked. "Wouldn't you want for him to have his abilities stronger?"

"It's not that simple," Tsukitachi said. "The Incure takes a toll on a person both physically and mentally. It will tear you apart from the inside unless you put through vigorous training. It helps your body and soul learn to cope with the stress induced by the cell. If we just gave it to someone off the street, within three days that person would have a psychotic break. Within a week, their bodies would fail and they would die. We can't have our members or trainees dying on us."

"So you had to go through the training?" Gareki asked.

"Of course," I told him with a nod. "The only difference is that my training didn't last as long as a regular human's would. It takes about three years before you can be declared ready to get a bracelet. My training took a year tops."

"If she wanted to," Tsukitachi said, "she could captain her own Airship. However, she refused and decided to stick with the one place that felt as close to home as possible."

Whatever else that was said, I didn't hear a word as I felt my stomach begin to hurt. This could only mean one thing and that was that there had to be a Varuga hiding somewhere in Vinto. I turned my head in the direction that I could sense it from and was about to fly towards it when I froze. I could sense Nai in the same area and I was about to bolt in that direction when I felt Gareki grab me by the wrist to stop me.

"What is it?" he asked me.

"There's a Varuga," I growled before wrapping an arm around his waist tightly, "and you're coming with me so I can protect you."

I was in the air before Tsukitachi could stop me, flying off towards the east to where I could sense the presence of the Varuga. It was faint like it hadn't transformed as of yet but I could still sense it stalking Nai. It only made me fly faster than before, pushing my Dragon side into letting me have the speed I would require to get there in time. The Dragon obeyed and allowed me to have what I needed with a gravelly purr. I heard Gareki make a noise of surprise and I looked down at him to see him openly staring at me.

"Your eyes have changed again. Your pupils are only slits and the red of your eyes is blazing like fire," he said loudly over the sound of the rushing wind. "And you're flying faster than ever before. You're channeling the powers of your Dragon side, aren't you?"

"We've come to an agreement," I explained to him. "So long as I kill enough Varugas to tide her over, the Dragon side of me won't take over or kill the ones I love. The only time it will happen is if I am under extreme duress. Don't worry, Gareki, this time I have a good handle on things."

He stared at me for a few seconds before finally nodding, allowing me to concentrate on flying. I felt the presence of a Varuga increase all of a sudden and I knew that it must have shifted from its normal form. I picked up speed as I felt it get closer and I saw with a gasp that Yogi and Nai were in the air after sending a huge dark purple creature to the ground.

I saw it get to its feet and try flying through the air after them when I intercepted it, stopping in front of it before saying commandingly, "Stop right now." It obeyed within a split second, its red eyes staring into my own and I could see the pain burning there. I knew I had to do something to help the poor creature and I had an idea come to mind to try out, one supplied to me by the Dragon. "Let's land for now," I told it and I slowly floated down to the ground as the creature did the same. Gareki looked at me in disbelief as I landed on the ground, lightly pushing him away to a safe distance as I looked back at my target.

"What are you doing?" he hissed at me.

"Shh," I whispered. "I don't want you to upset him." I turned back to the poor thing and a memory that belonged to the creature flashed through my mind. It was about being hunted by poachers and nearly killed until the man named Morano came to help him. He named this creature Kiri and I smiled a little before I commanded, "Change back to your original form, Kiri. I will help take the pain away as long as you trust me. I swear to you that I won't hurt you."

"Don't kill him!" a man screamed and I recognized his voice to be that of Morano. "Please, he doesn't deserve to die!"

"Stop right there," I heard Gareki say calmly. "She's not going to hurt him. When she says something, she means it. She will save him, so don't worry."

I nodded and looked up at Kiri as he slowly shifted back into his normal form. It was a huge creature that reminded me of a mix between a cow and a horse. It had white fur and an olive colored mane, two ivory horns sticking up from its head. Two rose tinted violet eyes stared back at me as it made a light sniffing noise. It looked a little frightened still, but I could see that it trusted me. I placed my hand on its nose gently and allowed for a white fire that looked like a heat wave to start covering it. The fire wouldn't hurt it but as the flames passed over its body, a black mist began rising over it and disappearing into thin air. Like a blast wave, the fire erupted into the air to form a huge dome that entirely covered all of the wildlife preserve. I could hear a few delighted roars from other animals before the dome disappeared, but I had created an invisible barrier that couldn't be broken after healing Kiri. The animal brushed his nose happily against my head and I laughed.

I turned back to the two Life Division members and said, "I told you that I would save Kiri. Not only that, but I healed the pain from all the other animals that had been attacked by poachers. I burned the memories and pain away. Also, I created a barrier around Vinto that has dual purposes. One purpose is to burn away the painful memories of attacks as animals enter and the other is that no one with evil intentions may enter. That means that you won't have to worry about poachers sneaking in here."

As Kiri nudged me with his nose again, Morano said, "I just don't understand…"

"That doesn't matter," I told him as I became serious. "My question is why did you turn poor Kiri into a Varuga?"