A/N: I do not own Pokemon Rangers.

I said I was gonna update this soon but... CNY this year was a hell lot rowdier so I didn't get the time I expected. Instead was friendly gambling with my cousins. The start will seem shaky, crappy, whatever it will be called but that's usually the aftereffects if I don't write after a long time.

Sebun looked dumbfounded. "My… Guardian…?" he asked. "But I'm no magician! If anyone deserves to get a Guardian it should be Hinata."

"This is the part where I detest the most," Raikou shook its head. "You don't need to be a magician to qualify to be a Channeler, despite what legends may say."

"But… Why?" Sebun asked the large cat. "I… I'm not sure if I can handle being a Channeler."

Minami groaned from her spot by Suicune. Leaning against the Guardian, she asked, "I wonder if all non-magicians are like this." Suicune's red eyes looked at Sebun for a while.

"It differs. Those who are learned in legends will be more of awe. Others like him, will be more stunned than the rest," Suicune answered. "At the very least you took the liberty to read up on Guardians while you could." He watched Raikou explain to Sebun thoroughly why he had chosen him. "I can't say I'm impressed. I expected Hat Guy over there to earn the approval of Regice. Not Raikou."

"Personally I didn't even expect Sebun's determination to give him the chance to be a Channeler," Minami commented. "And as for me, it was not a choice I can avoid. But hey, you don't see me complaining about being a Channeler."

"That's because when you first got the Crystal Bell at 13 you spent much of the time freaking out whenever I sent a thought string out to you," Suicune said as he shook his head. "Eventually you got used to it and even started talking back to me. And we started the whole 'I say one thing, you answer with a witty remark' thing after that. No wonder you became the woman you are now: sharp, sarcastic, brooding and cynical." Minami jabbed Suicune's side hard with her elbow. "See? Point proven."

Minami huffed and looked at the sun setting over the ocean. "Five years with you at the back of my mind, your very symbol hanging from my neck, yeah. It was weird wasn't it? That day my teacher gave me the black box and told me, 'One day, you will be the Channeler for the Guardian that looks over this town'. The next day he went missing and never returned. I opened the box and found the Crystal Bell with the sign of Suicune on it. Remember what happened next?"

"Of course. I sensed the magic in you and asked for your name. You started freaking out and demanding me to show myself. When I said it's impossible to, what did you do? Mutter to yourself 'I need to cut down on the drugs'," he told her. There was an awkward silence after that although one could see Sebun nodding and asking about some of Raikou's explanations. "Come to think of it, were you on drugs back then?"

"Anti-depressants and sleeping pills, not really counted. Those were doctor's prescriptions," Minami reminded Suicune. "I ran to the magician next door and demanded to know what's going on. She taught me about Guardians and their legends. That's how I know I was to guard the Crystal Bell and call upon your powers whenever crisis falls. And I'll continue that till I pass on to my student. Heh, good times. The line might die with me though, I'll have you know that now. There's no saying what may happen when we finally confront Euron."

"You have so little faith in me, I'm hurt," Suicune said in a faux sad voice. "I won't let you die just like that. I'm sure the other one won't either. Someone has to protect the town after all. You're the only magician from Aqua Town remaining after the magician campaign a few years back when Shinbara was coerced to work for Euron and other magicians are to be 'dealt with' ."

They stopped chatting when Raikou walked over to them with Sebun. "Finally accepted your Channeler status?" Minami asked.

"Lord Raikou explained everything to me. My inner desire to restore Oblivia to what it was before and will do anything to do so. Of course I won't resort to abuse and usage of threats like what happened to Shinbara. That's Euron's area, not mine. I will be stronger to save my fellow people," Sebun declared, the golden light of the sun reflecting a determined glimmer in his eyes.

Minami blinked. "Wow. I don't think I ever made such a passionate speech about patriotism when I first came into the Channeler job. Anyway, welcome to the club. I'll be at your training thing every day. Be warned though, I can be demanding."

"Yes I think it's best you prepare yourself, Yugawa Sebun. Minami has insanely high standards to expect from you," Suicune nodded. "It's getting dark soon. I'm sure it's been an insanely long day with us already into the first week since Euron arrived in Almia. We need to keep up our spirits to defend this village."

Minami nodded in agreement. She held up the bell. "Agreed whole-heartedly. We should head back to the village," she said. Suicune's form rippled and instead of vanishing into air, small orbs of light stayed around before rushing into the bell. Raikou left in a similar fashion, only heading towards the clouds in the sky instead of into the charm.

She took off first into the woods. Sebun ran after her. "Wait, then what was that place?" he asked as he jogged to keep up.

"Partner Farm's beach extension. It's quite a distance from the village, although considered village property, it's right at the village borders," Minami answered. "Plus nobody from the village wanders that far. I found it when I came back from Nabiki Beach."

They reached the edges of the field that the majority of the tents that housed the people from Aqua Town were located in. The sky was already a dark blue when they reached the edges of a large campfire someone had built. Sebun sat down and immediately started up a conversation with some of those sitting around the campfire. Minami took a seat some distance from Sebun as she looked at the fire. She felt immensely bored now that night had fallen. There was nothing to really do at night. Sure, fire and light spells came in handy but there was always the chance of being found and captured when a magician is alone. She heard that story plenty of times and had no intention of it happening to her.

"There you are, Minami," came Hinata's voice behind her. Minami turned around. Hinata was glaring down at her. "Where. Were. You?"

"Around the village," Minami answered. It was the truth. The beach was at the village borders.

Hinata crossed her arms. "Then kindly tell my why my Tracer wasn't working earlier when I was looking for you," she demanded.

Shock flashed through Minami's brown eyes. "A Tracer? You know how much I hate being Traced," Minami reminded angrily.

"A necessary precaution that I have to take," Hinata answered with desperation. "We're being spied on! I can't afford to lose anybody right now! You've been a good friend and are practically a younger sister to me. I don't want to imagine what happened if you were caught by the Oblivian army!"

Hinata's outburst cause Minami to freeze. "What…," she asked but Hinata held up a hand to stop her.

"Someone told the King along with evidence of some sort that the Revolution is real. The King has gotten wind of it and he's heading here straightaway," Hinata explained. The light of the fire caused unshed tears in her eyes to glimmer. "And if Kira is right, he will demand an ultimatum: let the village hand us over and he won't attack or he will join the attacking line personally. You remember what Kira said about Euron?"

"I hope for us to never encounter the King while our forces are still so weak. But nevertheless, in such a case, defend the targeted town to its fullest. Accept no surrender," Minami repeated. "But… It's not our village. Hitomi has the last say in everything."

"I know. While you were gone I called the villagers together," Hitomi said, walking in from behind Hinata. "I've never seen so much diversified opinions at once. Half wanted to surrender you over to the army while the other half said that no way the Revolution will be responsible for the peace of Chicole and want to protect this land with their own power. Even now, the villagers are still arguing. I hope Mr Axe can do something about it. I heard that he's the person here who can convince the villagers to compromise." She sighed. "I just hope they decide quickly."

"And they will," a loud voice boomed beside them. Minami jumped in shock, and assumed a defensive stance. Hinata and Hitomi followed suit but relaxed visibly when they saw that it was just Axe. "I have managed to get the villagers to reach an agreement. We will continue the training and take on the army when they arrive."

Hitomi fell in deep thought for a moment. "If that's what they say. I'll head over to inform Sebun now. Mr Axe, can you come with me to explain the situation?" She headed off towards the large bonfire with Axe where the said person was laughing at some joke someone cracked.

Minami shrugged. "That settles that. We should rest for the night soon." She turned to Hinata. "How's the search going?"

"I can't pinpoint one of them anywhere in particular except the tomb of ice," Hinata answered. Then she looked accusingly at Minami. "Well it could gone faster if someone was just around."

"I'm sorry!" Minami quickly apologized. "I went to find Sebun and found the sign of Raikou with him. Of course someone has to do the honours."

Hinata's face went from anger to shock in an instant. "Sebun? Raikou? You're joking," she pointed out. Her shock increased further when Minami shook her head. "That's absurd. Sebun's a warrior, not a magician."

"Sir Raikou said that the requirements for Channelers was flawed. For one, a Channeler doesn't necessarily be a magician," Minami corrected Hinata. "We should really get some sleep. We should rest up while we can so that we can prepare ourselves for the incoming army."

Hinata agreed wordlessly. Hitomi came running back. "Come one guys, we have to wake up early tomorrow if we want to get anything done," she said. "I was away at the village square all day. So what happened while I was gone?"

"While you were gone huh…," Hinata started to say. "Well, I managed to isolate the general location of the golem of ice…"

"Fuusei Natsuya, wake up."

Natsuya rolled over to his side, ignoring the voice calling him. The last few days of training were insane. He deserved this rest.

"Wake up!"

The command was louder now. He scrunched up his face and felt for his pillow which he pulled over his exposed ear. Finally, some peace.

"Fuusei Natsuya, wake up right NOW!"

A pair of hands was shaking him now. He opted to shrug them off and remained still.

"Very well. Rain, heed my call and descend from the skies. Pluvia!"

WAIT! That voice! Blue Eye! His eyes snapped open instantly. "Rifiuto!" he quickly said as his hand shot out towards the ceiling. Light spilled forth from an orb in the center and spread outwards. A reflective surface flashed whenever a water droplet made contact with it. Blue Eye looked at the shield in satisfaction for a while before she willed the spell to end. The reflective surface shattered when Natsuya could see that the rain receded. "Do not do that again!"

"Why not?" Blue Eye said, her blue eyes dancing with amusement. "You were able to execute the reflection spell perfectly when you failed to maintain it after five seconds of light drizzle yesterday. I should do that more often. Maybe you can master defense faster this way. Now get up and get ready. Now that you mastered reflection, we have covered all the defense points. It's time for the real offense."

Natsuya looked at her incredulously. "That powered up Thunderbolt isn't enough for you?" he asked.

Blue Eye shook her head. "The magician is probably going to have an abundance of speed spells at her disposal. She's not going to stand there while you struggle to remember how to summon a Thunderbolt. She's going to know you're summoning one and she will take the chance to strike you down first. Therefore you need to have the knowledge on how to counter her movement and stall her before using the ultimate strategy that I shall teach you today. Don't forget to bring along your sword as you'll be learning a new fighting style that I came up with."

Natsuya groaned as he sat up. "Do I get a rest only when I'm dead? I've been at your training programme for the past week! I can't possibly train all 7 days until the King arrives."

"Oh quit whining," Blue Eye chastised. "I did consider that. Also, I'll tell you something cool: Fuusei Hajime will be here by next week."

Natsuya's head snapped up immediately. "Hajime? But… Why? Isn't it too soon? I mean, it's been only a week."

Blue Eye shrugged. "How would I know? That's what the message from Hayate says anyway. I'll be waiting at the usual place once you're done." She left the tent after that.

Natsuya sighed and stood up. Might as well change and head out. After changing into his uniform, he took his sword from a weapon stand near the door and headed out. Someone jumped on him from the back.

"Well if it isn't our local prodigy, the untouchable Fuusei Natsuya," a familiar voice said before Natsuya could make any protest. "How's your training progressing?"

Natsuya rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here, Seitou?" he asked, pushing Dazzle's arms off him. "Shouldn't you be doing big bad senior things instead of camping with the juniors?"

Dazzle smirked. "I was sent there by Hayate. Since Red Eye isn't here to coach you, Hayate figured that I am up to task to train you."

"But Blue Eye…" Natsuya started to say but was cut off by Dazzle.

"Blue Eye already knows. In fact we're both teaching you today. How else would she decide to impart her ultimate energy blade technique?" Dazzle pointed out. "Come on, let's go get something to eat. I came here all the way from Angel Village on foot and I'm starving."

Edward rescanned the letter that Purple Eye had sent him. The King had told him to stay behind in Oblivia, claiming that at his age, his body would not allow him to take the excitement. Also with his side job as a doctor, somebody had to see to the health of the people in the castle. He flipped through the book searching for that elusive name. Books marked with the archives of Tsukishiro Kazuki, Ratoyama Talga, Yugawa Sebun and Oda Hitomi on a table beside him. He found Kano Hinata contained in the book that he was currently holding. Now all it left was Shimizu Minami. Strange though. That name tickled the very edge of his mind. He took down the first book he saw in the 'Shi' category. Browsing through the book, he did not find the name. According to Purple Eye who questioned the knight who brought in the letter, the girl runs a magic shop with another magician. The only magicians who should be in the main town are only people from other regions, especially after the campaign a couple of years back. He was onto the third book of emigrants from Almia and still no results.

There were only five volumes of foreigner archives in the library. Ironic, he thought as he scanned through the pages. We are lacking in technology and yet we have a whole department dedicated to keeping tabs on the citizens. He had already gone through them all and still no sign of Shimizu Minami. The girl could not be an illegal immigrant. If she was able to get approval to start a partnership shop with Kano Hinata that means her record existed somewhere. He really wished at least one capable magician was left behind to help him find the archive. The only accomplished magician in the castle was some fresh graduate who was in charge of managing the younger apprentices. The next archives were the locals only. Within minutes he found the archive he was looking for. But still he picked up his Transceiver. He was really glad one of his top spies managed to invent this before the King announced his next target. It was a small box that transmit voices via magic waves through the air, which can only be accomplished by specialists of Air. A few more copies were made and tested but it was only the first run of the Transceiver in the actual world. Purple Eye had communicated with him earlier with the box. Turning the dial on the box to Purple Eye's name, he pressed the button and waited for Purple Eye to respond.

"Yes Edward?" Purple Eye drawled out from his side. "I have a briefing to attend to."

Edward chuckled. "Patience, young General. I finally located the records of the entire list of people you sent me. Albeit some difficulty. But that is not the reason I contacted you for."

Purple Eye hummed a little. "Really? What is it then?"

"Shimizu Minami. The magician girl who initiated an attack on the junior knights, I heard. She is not an emigrant, but from Aqua Town itself. In other words, this girl has lived in Oblivia all her life."

"Fascinating," Purple Eye said sarcastically. "What of it?"

"The magician campaign a couple of years back. Do you remember it?" Edward hinted.

There was silence on Purple Eye's side. "What else did you find out from her records?" he asked.

"Interesting you should ask," Edward answered, reading through the archive a second time. "There was no information recorded in the archive since she was ten."

Name Legend:

Sebun – Sven
Minami – Summer
Hinata – Solana
Euron – Ellois
Hitomi – Kate
Axe – Arley
Natsuya – Ben
Blue Eye – Blue Eyes
Hajime – Kellyn
Dazzle – Keith
Red Eye – Red Eyes
Purple Eye – Purple Eyes

Next chapter will be slightly different. I want to develop Sebun's character further so the next chapter will be about him. Also I found out that this story will take an insanely long time to complete. Especially if my plotbunny keeps breeding!