Part 10

I couldn't believe what I just heard. Xunakiy was in a coma? How would she wake up? When would she wake up?

"Where is she?" I asked Larxene.

"Her bed's over by the corner." And she pointed over to the far corner to the room. She was silently sleeping, only to be awaken by unknown means. I rushed over to her, and just stood there.

I had never seen Xunakiy asleep. She always seemed like the energetic kind that almost never slept, except when the sky grew darker. She seemed at peace, which almost made me feel better. Almost. Hair was covering parts of her face, and I gently brushed it aside.

"I know how much you care about her…" Larxene started. "I'm really sorry to let this happen."

"You know what?"

"Huh?"

"We will find out what's behind all of these comas, and end it once and for all!" I yelled.

"And you know what?"

"Eh?"

"THIS IS A FEMALE-ONLY CIRCUS! IF YOU GET CAUGHT, WE MIGHT NEVER MEET UP AGAIN!" Larxene shouted.

"But Larxene, the fact that you're shouting all of this out will make it even more obvious that men are here…" Vexen stated.

"Oh, shut up!"

"What are we to do, then?"

"I'll just say that I would do some monster hunting whenever I need to meet up with you."

"You're a Hunter too?" I asked.

"Of course I am!"

"May we ask what your weapon is?" Vexen said.

"It's…this." She pulled out a bow and a quiver of arrows from nowhere. The bow was a dark shade of blue with jagged lines jutting back and forth across it. No doubt she chose it for the resemblance to lightning.

"And how much Saku would you say you have on you?" I asked.

"Well…" She put away her weapon(s) and simply said that she had a lot.

"What do you mean by a lot?"

"A lot as in…"

"As in…?"

"Two hundred and fifty thousand."

"HOLY CRAP!" Vexen and I shouted.

We heard footsteps coming our way, and we quickly hid inside a nearby wardrobe. Both of us had to put up with personal space being invaded by the other's.

"Little Bookworm! Get your hand off my face!"

"Big Bookworm, watch where your guns are!"

We both stopped arguing as the footsteps got louder and louder.

"Arashi?" A woman called out as we heard someone enter the room.

"Um, y-yes?"

"I heard some voices. Is there anyone else besides Senritsu in here with you?"

"No, no one else is here."

"All right then. I was just checking." The footsteps got softer until we didn't hear anything at all. Then we both sighed a sigh of relief. Then we heard Larxene giggling. We both fell outside the wardrobe to see what was happening.

"Larxene? What's going on?" I asked. She still kept going.

"Larxene?"

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" She burst into laughter.

"What the hell!?"

"Little Bookworm and Big Bookworm!? That's hilarious!"

"Blame Big Bookworm for that! He's the one who named us!"

"That's your f-fault—HAHA—for not signing your name in yourself! HAHAHA! Oh, y-yeah. You should just call me Arashi while we're here."

"Arashi?" Vexen asked.

"Yeah. Senritsu over there named us. She said 'Arashi' would be written as 'storm' in her language."

"Senritsu?" We asked once more.

"She also said that 'Senritsu' would be written out as 'melody'."

"She's quite creative, Xunakiy…" Vexen commented.

"We don't have time to contemplate this." I said. "We have to find the man who's causing this."

"Fine! I'll go with you."

"Hey, Little Bookworm?" Vexen asked me. Larxene got another giggling fit. "Do you know where our other companions are?"

"Oh crap!" We completely forgot about Tidus and Yuna. We just rushed over here the minute the circus ended.

"Other companions?" Larxene finally asked.

"You didn't happen to see a guy with dirty blond hair and a girl with short brown hair, did you?"

"Nope."

"Crap…"

We left the room, and searched all over the Fun Flower District. We decided to give up, but then we heard Tidus yell from a pace nearby.

"Did you hear that!?" Larxene shouted.

"Of course I did!" We rushed over, and then we saw Tidus face down on a table.

"Tidus! Who did this to you!?" I yelled.

"I didn't get hurt…I'm just so full…" He pointed over to a sign, and it said…

"Eat thirty plates of food and get one hundred thousand Saku?" Vexen read.

"Seems like it. And our companion here failed." I commented. "By the way, where's Yuna?"

"She's over there." Tidus pointed again.

Yuna was surrounded by dozens of other people in the open restaurant, and when I counted the plates, she was very close to winning.

"C'mon, Tidus! You're not quitting now are you!?" She yelled.

"I'm just so full…" He replied.

"Whatever!" She went back to eating at an alarming rate.

"Where does she put all that food?" Larxene asked.

"Who knows…"

Yuna held up her last plate, and went over to the cashier to get her prize money.

"Woohoo!"

"So, what in the world are you going to use the prize money for?" Vexen asked.

"I don't know! But if something comes up, I'll be sure to get it!"

We introduced Tidus and Yuna to "Arashi" and we decided to wander back to Aiko's.

"Nice to meet you again, Arashi!" Aiko greeted.

"Wait. You to knew each other?" I asked.

"Of course!" Larxene answered. "Aiko was the one who first took us in before we went on to the Fun Flower District!"

"That's right!"

We ate homemade sweets, and since it was Larxene's first time eating Vexen's baking, she ate up most of what was there.

"Arashi! Stop taking it all!" I demanded.

"But this tastes sooooo good!"

"Don't worry, I'll make some more!" Vexen assured us.

"See!"

"But you're being a glutton!"

"Shut up!"

"Hey! Little Bookworm!" Tidus yelled.

"What is it?"

"Why don't we spar outside!"

"Um…sure?"

We went outside, where no one was watching, and we both took out our swords.

"Let's see how good we are!" He lunged at me again. I took out Hakuro, but it slipped out of my hand. "Gotcha now!" I just bent over to pick my sword up, but then I saw Tidus' shadow pass me. "No fair!" It seems he had missed.

"Oh, um, sorry!"

"It's okay! Okay, this time it's for real!" He came at me again, and I hoped I would perform another special attack, like the last time we battled, but the words never came. I just guarded his sword as it was nearing my head.

"Surely you can come up with more of a challenge!" He taunted. I just threw him off. "If you're not going to attack, then I will!" He raised Caladbolg over his head, and then, his sword started glowing. "Sea…Dragon…Wave!" All of a sudden, blue shockwaves started flying towards me, and I was knocked back a ways.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I can tell that this is your first time handling a sword!"

"More or less…"

"You see, think of the sword as an extension of your arm."

"A sharp extension?"

"Yes. A reeeaaally sharp extension. You see, there are many varieties of weapons, ranging from Arashi's bow and arrow, to Big Bookworm's guns. But you can only fell how strong your opponent is by using a sword."

"I kind of get it…"

"Good! Let's try it one more time!" And with that he attacked me once more by running and then jumping at me. I skillfully parried away the blow. "Are you starting to understand it?"

"I think I am."

"Good!" Then he came at me really fast, and he was already behind me. I didn't feel anything, but for some reason, my sword was split in half. Not being shattered, but it was split from the tip, all the way down to the bottom of the hilt, with the steel wing attached to the white part of the sword.

"Oops."

"It's alright. I can always get another one." I looked at it again, and I picked up both of the swords. They both seemed incomplete, but at the same time, they still looked like good weapons.

"Wait a minute!" Tidus yelled. Those are dual swords! I don't understand how I could've seen it before! Your dual swords could either be used as one or two swords." I forgot about it too. After handing it to me, Doremi stated that it was a dual sword. I can't believe I forgot after just two days.

"Really…" I help up a fighting stance with the black and white swords, and I practiced swinging them around. Both felt balanced in my hands.

"Let's try it one last time!" For the final time, he lunged at me, and I was able to block and counterattack each and every one of his attacks. And I also felt another super attack come to me. Tidus performed one too.

"Sea King Attack!" He yelled. A bright blue mass of swirling cuts was aimed right at me.

"Night Magic: Heavenly Wolf Blade!" I called out. I combined them again, slammed them on the ground, and sent a gigantic shock wave towards him. The two attacks were battling each other. When it seemed one would win, it would come right back. Then in one explosion, Tidus was knocked back by about ten yards.

"Looks like you got it! How 'bout we search for some more monsters to kill! I think you still need to practice!" I had no time to decline because he started dragging me away from the house.

"Don't you think everyone will worry if we just leave like this?" I asked.

"Don't worry! I doubt they'll worry that much!"

We didn't have to walk far to find monsters. Most of them were pretty weak though. After getting the hang of my sword, it wasn't hard.

"You catch on pretty quick, Little Bookworm!"

"Thanks."

"Hey! Here comes another pack!" With that said, monsters that were larger than the ones we faced before appeared.

"This one looks strong! You ready?"

"You bet."

We charged, but before we could swing our swords, it grew swords for hands and slammed them on the ground. We were forced back a few yards.

"These look a bit too strong…"

"You think?"

We ran over, aiming special attacks at it, but it was barely scratched.

"I think these are 'Ichi-level'! Maybe we need to get the others!"

"Good idea." We ran for our lives, dodging the attacks in rapid succession. "How far did we wander from Aiko's house?"

"A long way."

The monster was charging an attack, and it looked almost unavoidable from where we were.

"HOLY CRAP!" We both yelled. We were about to be disintegrated.

"I never thought it would end this way!" Tidus whined.

"Me neither."

"Oh! Stop you're whining!" We were suddenly grabbed by the back of our collars and the next thing I know, I'm watching the ground speed past me.

"Ingus! Refia!" Tidus cheered. "How'd you find us!?"

"We could remember your whines anywhere, chocobo-head." Refia replied.

"Shut up! I am not a chocobo-head!"

"Can we focus on getting out of here." Ingus reminded us.

Both Tidus and I adjusted our positions so that we didn't look like hunted animals. The monsters that were gaining on us were not only large and powerful, but also fast. We all sighed when we saw the house coming up.

"There it is—" Then a blast from a monster had forced us off our chocobos. They were about to strike again, but then we heard bullets fire and saw arrows protrude from the majority of our adversaries.

"You didn't think we'd let you start the party without us, would you?" Larxene's voice playfully asked.

"Arashi, Big Bookworm, and Yuna to the rescue!" Yuna sang out.

We all got up, and started our counterattack.

"Magic Wave: Dragon King Sword!" I shouted. I sliced two of them in half.

"Sea King Attack!" Tidus destroyed another one.

"Aeroga!" Refia used wind to ensnare most of them.

"Shadow Art: Arrow Multiplication!" Larxene fired just one arrow, but more and more appeared, and destroyed the majority.

"My turn!" Ingus took out a sword. "Ars Arcanum!" He unleashed a volley of slashes from a magically powered sword, taking out some of the last ones.

"Let me have a go!" Vexen shouted. He fired bullets from both guns at once, but that didn't seem like enough to finish them off. "WHAT!?"

"Just wait a while…" Yuna added. The monsters slowly started dissipating within seconds.

"How'd you do that?" I asked.

"I laced some of the bullets with poison magic." Yuna said with a smile.

"Never mind that because…"

"We did it!" We all shouted.

"This calls for sake!" Vexen shouted.

"Now you're talking!" The girls replied.

"No! You can't get drunk!" Tidus and Ingus objected.

"Why not!?"

"Because the last time you both got drunk was that of when you nearly killed off our chocobos for food." Ingus explained.

"You still remember that!?"

"They seriously did that?" I asked Tidus.

"Yeah…one of them wouldn't stand to ride with either of the, again, so we had to get a new pair of chocos."

"You know what, we can just get drunk later and we can all just get our rewards back at city hall, okay?" Yuna suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Refia agreed.

"Leave it for the girls to be the bossy ones of the group…" Tidus muttered.

"What was that you said?" The girls turned back with a disturbingly happy smile. All of us were frozen with fear.

"I-I d-didn't say anything." Tidus choked out.

"Good!"

"What the hell is causing all the noise!?"

It seems that we actually woke up Aiko from her afternoon nap, and she scolded all seven of us for it. Eventually, we were able to escape her wrath and head over to the town of Renhi without getting involved with another serious battle.

We were having a great time thinking about how we were each going to spend our reward money. For defeating some of the strongest monsters around, we would rake in a lot of Saku.

"I think I should get back to the Fun Flower District soon…" Larxene muttered.

"But we were getting along nicely!" Refia complained.

"Yeah, I have to complain about that too…"

"Hey guys, don't you smell something funny in the air?" I asked. In response everyone started sniffing, and they covered their mouths shortly after.

"It smells as if something's…burning." Yuna commented.

"Oh no…" Tidus said as he pointed ahead.

"HOLY CRAP! THE TOWN IS ON FIRE!" We all shouted.

We rushed over and did our best to stop the fire from spreading, but it had already gone through most of the town.

"Refia! Create an ice barrier to stop it from spreading while we try to evacuate everyone!" Ingus yelled.

"Right! Blizzaga!" Ice walls jutted out from the alleyways in between non-blazing shops and houses.

"That'll buy us some time!"

Yuna and Refia did their best by casting water and ice spells, while the rest of us rescued citizens from the inferno. About an hour into it, I saw monsters, but familiar creatures with them also.

"Little Bookworm!" Vexen shouted. He was pointing at the creatures that were dancing around the fires. "Th-they're—"

"Lesser nobodies." It was true. The deformed beings were the ones aiding the monsters. And then I saw one more figure. It was a man with short silver hair pulled into a ponytail. He was sitting atop one of the monsters.

"That's the man doing all of this!" I yelled. If I had a heart, I would've been filled up with so much rage and frustration. He was the one that put Xunakiy in danger. I was about to aim a strong attack at him, but Vexen placed his hand on my shoulder.

"You can't be thinking about that at a time like this!"

"Why wouldn't I be!? He's the one that put Xunakiy in a co—" Vexen punched me in my cheek.

"What the—"

"If she was in your position, what would she do!?"

"She…she would rescue everyone else first."

"And that's what you need to do! You said it yourself! We are going to get to the bottom of this! But we need to focus on getting people out of here!"

"Right."

Reluctantly, I rescued the rest of the people in the vicinity, and I thought that I could continue my pursuit of the man, but then I came across a man and a woman that were standing stock-still in front of a mansion.

"C'mon! You have to get out of here!"

"Please! You have to rescue my daughter! Hazuki's still in there! She's in the second story, but the stairs already went down." The woman begged. Hazuki was the name of the girl that was at the main desk at city hall. These were her parents.

"Don't worry! I'll get her out!" I jumped and took out my swords. I dug them into the wall to help me get up there.

Once I got up to a balcony, I jumped through the broken sliding glass doors, only to find myself in a preview of hell. "Dammit! Why do fires have to be so hot!" I opened about three rooms, all of them blazing. There was one last room, and she was there.

"Hazuki! Are you all right!?"

"Get me out of here!" She screamed.

I carried her, which made me feel a lot heavier. I rushed through the hallway, only to find out that the floor had already given way. I jumped, but I was only able to get Hazuki across.

"Let me help you up!"

"No! Your parents are worried sick! Just go through the doors, and jump! Your parents will be there to catch you!"

"But—"

"GO!"

She ran off and looked one last time at me before jumping. I was being a complete idiot for not letting her help. I tried to swing my leg up, but then my arm lost its grip, leaving me dangling on top of an open furnace. I tried again, but this time, it completely crumbled off, leaving me to fall.

I was waken up by a punch, which was from Big Bookworm.

"You could at least do it with a little bit more care, Big Bookworm." Ingus criticized.

"Shut up. It's his fault for not thinking this out rationally."

"What the hell was the punch for…?" I asked weakly.

"You're alive!" Tidus cheered.

"Where the hell am I…?"

"You're back at Aiko's house. We were able to contain the fire." Larxene said.

"How the hell—"

"No one knows how you were able to get out of there." Yuna said. "We just found you in an alleyway, with a note in your hands."

"A…note?"

"All it said was: I will wait for you at the Northern Castle."

((Another cliffhanger! MWAHAHAHAHA!! Okay, the next chapter will definitely be the last chapter in the Teien story arc. Nothing much to add here, except…READ AND REVIEW!!))