Heart
of Melting Blood
The
Whistling Gale
Written
by: Lone Wolf NEO
Conceived
by: Lone Wolf NEO
Author's note: Soul Calibur, Guilty Gear, Tsubasa Chronicles, Gunslinger Girl, Saishuu Heiki Kanojo and several more titles are copyrighted to their respected owners. The Whistling Gale, the third instalment of the Heart of Melting Blood saga, takes place several fan fiction months after all events that took place in Legend of the Moonlight and TWAAW's Machine Edina Arc ended. Lone Wolf NEO does not own any or all real-life features or whatever facts featured in this story. He does, however, own the copyright to all his original ideas in this fiction. The author would really appreciate it if readers do not plagiarize everything inside this story without his knowledge.
Chapter
10
We
Are Travellers
"Where am I?" asked Shen.
He found himself floating inside a sea, suspended inanimately in the element of liquid matter. He was alone, accompanied by no one or nothing. Whether this was merely a part of the travel he and the group were taking, he could not tell, yet he knew one thing for sure:
"Where is Miss Mriya?!"
Frantically he looked around. He saw her, floating helplessly not far from the surface. Shen swam up towards her, struggling to move through the uncharacteristically heavy water. He could care less of his safety; it was she he was more worried of. He would rather die than to let anything approach her and do her any harm.
Then a giant sea snake appeared. The aquatic creature encircled Shen for a while before it screeched and attacked him. Shen evaded its initial attack, but was hit by the sea snake's powerful tail slam and sent flying out of the sea. He fell back and was caught by the sea snake; the aquatic predator displayed its ferocious array of teeth and squeezed Shen tightly between its coil, and he was choking for air.
Something rammed the sea snake. It was so strong it forced the sea snake to let go off its prey. Shen was sinking toward the bottom of the sea, unsure of what had happened just now, until he saw the silhouette of a great white shark swimming past him. He felt a fast vortex rotating around him that kept him suspended in the water; the same vortex was preventing Mriya from sinking deeper into the abyss.
Then he watched, in complete amazement, how the great white battled the giant sea snake and won the battle by crunching the serpent's body, instantly killing its opponent. The great white devoured the now-dead snake and approached Shen in a cautious manner. He was caught in fear: was the sea snake not enough to satisfy its appetite? Was it going to eat him as well?
The great white shark, inexplicably, halted. It stared at Shen for a long time, as if it was conveying him a message. Shen returned stare at the battle-hardened great white shark, body full of scars and wounds, and instead of fear, he was now inquisitive.
"What… do you want from me?"
Slowly he approached the great white and reached for its snout when he suddenly choked.
He forgot he was still inside the sea!
Shen struggled to get back to the sea surface. It was a fruitless attempt as he twitched and became paralyzed; now he descended to the deep blue, unable to save himself, unable to save Mriya.
He drowned.
x-x-x-x-x
Shen opened his eyes.
He was no longer inside the sea. He looked around and found himself lying on a deserted street. He looked upward and was greeted by Mokona and Negi who were looking down at him. "Oh, dear… it was only a dream…" His head felt dizzy, as if he had been sleeping for a whole day. Groaning in low voice, he sat upright and shook his head. "Where are we?"
"It seems we have arrived at a place strange to us," Negi answered. Mokona agreed and excitedly jumped around the area.
"Strange?" He looked around and saw Mriya lying next to Negi. Quickly he approached her and gathered her in his arms. "Are you alright, Miss Mriya?" She said nothing to answer; she was too deeply in sleep to notice him asking. He held her and noticed that neither he nor she was drenched in sea water. "How did we get here?"
"Oh, you mean how did the portal send us here?" Negi asked. "I don't know what happened, but Mokona told us this might be the place."
"This place?" Shen observed the area; from the environment, he was guessing they had arrived in an abandoned city, far from any civilization. He lifted Mriya in her arms, stood up and shrugged dust off his body. "I don't really quite understand, but we should find somewhere to stay."
He looked around again and noticed something missing. "Where is the red-haired man?"
The question was answered by a deafening roar as Iori re-emerged from inside ruins. "GAH! Where is that stupid creature?!" he screamed and spat a mouthful of dirt. He saw Mokona jumping around in joy and chased after the fluffy white creature. "Hey! Meat bun! Come back here! Why can't you be more careful in sending us out of that portal?"
"Iyaa… Mister Red-Haired is scary!" Mokona mocked and hid behind Negi's back. "Please help me!"
Iori snapped at the taunt Mokona was making and shook his fist in anger. "Don't try making me, meat bun!"
"WAAI! He called me meat bun!" excitedly Mokona cheered, much to Iori's dismayed fury.
"Hey! Hey, you guys!"
The group looked at the source of the voice. A girl was shouting at them, and she looked distressed. "Hey! You must leave this place right now! It's too dangerous!"
"What is she talking about?" This was answered when a flash bang exploded near the group. It was not fatal but the detonation was sufficient enough to send them running from the area. "Damn! Is this a battleground or something?" Iori exclaimed as they hid behind remains of a wall.
"Thank goodness you people are alright," the girl said as she met up with them. "It's too dangerous for strangers to be in this place--" Her voice was drowned when more explosions trembled across the coastal area, and she had to shout. "Because this is a battlefield!"
"Who the hell are you?" Iori demanded. "And what kind of people would go and have a war at this place?"
"I'm Higurashi Akane!" the girl replied. "And I can't answer that question, sir! Not before we leave this place in one piece! Look over there!" The group looked at where she was pointing. From the two sides of the horizon, came two troopers fully equipped for combat. "This is going to be a hectic day for everyone here."
"Who the hell are they?" Iori asked.
"They're two of the strongest clans in Jezebel Town," Akane replied. "The group to the left is led by Captain Kuga Natsuki, while the group to the right is under the command of Mistress Nao Yuuki." At the same time, the two formations halted and their leaders walked forward, facing each other in a tensed up silence. "They're here as a part of the agreement."
"Agreement?" Negi asked.
Akane nodded. "Since the municipal council issued the law that prohibits the usage of Avatar in Fighting in Built-Up Areas four months ago, they have to settle their disputes somewhere else, and this is only one of such places."
The clan leaders undid their cloaks, revealing themselves as women. The group was astounded, but not Akane and Mokona.
"WAAAA! Kuga-sama is so charming!" Akane exclaimed.
"She's pretty!" Mokona cheered.
The said woman (donning racing gear complete with goggles and armed with dual Magnums) signalled at her comrades to take position behind the ruins, while the other person (she was wearing regular schoolgirl uniform and equipped with metal claws) grinned and wagged a finger at her opponent.
"Oh! Looks like Nao-sama is up with something!" Akane later added.
The two women, then, summoned creatures from nowhere and assumed battle stance. Their followers whistled in approval at their leaders, and the group became ever more curious. "Kuga-sama and Nao-sama are famous for their strong Avatars. Too bad they always disagree with each other, because they could use their ability to help developing the city we're living in," Akane explained.
"That woman's using a wolf as her familiar, while the other one uses a half-human female spider," Negi spoke. "They look strong. Not many people can summon a familiar with that tremendous strength display."
"Doki!" Mokona pointed at Negi. The group looked at him, who stared back at them with a puzzled look on his face. "He has the feather!" Mokona declared.
"Uh… what? What?" Only after Iori took the feather from his cloth did he realize what Mokona was excited of. "That's strange. How did that feather get to me?"
"I have no idea, but," Iori uttered and examined the feather, "if this is what and why we are here, I suggest that we keep an eye of things similar to this." He, then, handed over the feather to Shen. "Here. I think you might--"
An energy bomb exploded near the wall. The battle had started! It took the sheltering group by surprise and Iori accidentally let go off the feather. "No!" Shen ran after the feather (Mriya was left to Iori to look after) and the chase brought him to the middle of the battleground. Without taking care of the chaos or energy projectiles that were flying across the battleground, Shen pursued the feather and managed to capture it before it flew out of reach.
The newcomer was, certainly, distracting the battlers. "What the hell is that man doing?" Nao interjected. Natsuki stopped controlling her Avatar and ordered her followers to stop firing. "He isn't from this region. What is he doing here?" she spoke.
"To hell with that!" So saying Nao ordered her minions to open fire. In an instant, thousands of energy-based missiles found their way toward the unwary Shen. He saw the attacks coming but was in no position to escape or defend. He could only proceed to cover the feather and crouched to minimize damage he might take when the missiles hit.
"Sir!"
The projectiles exploded -- before it ever got him. Shen discarded off his cover and watched the smoke that dissipated several feet in front of him.
And he was startled.
It was here. Again.
The great white shark -- he recognized the creature (or rather, its apparition) as the one he encountered in the dream. The tell-tale battle scars and wounds proved him right; it was the same beast that saved him from the giant sea snake. He was astounded, and so did his partners and the battling clans.
"That's the Avatar of the Seven Seas!" Akane exclaimed. "How did he get it?"
"He has a familiar, too?" Negi uttered.
"One of the strongest Avatars in this world!" both Natsuki and Nao shouted aloud.
"Master…"
The voice rang inside his head. Shen could have sworn he was hallucinating, yet the voice was too real to be a dream. He stared at the great white, and realized it was speaking to him.
"What do you want from me?"
"Master, allow me to serve you. Allow me to become your defender."
He was not sure what the apparition was talking of, but Shen nodded to answer 'yes'. Slowly he stood up, clenching the piece of feather tightly, and stared at the soldiers. "Then please help me retrieving Miss Mriya's feathers. I'm depending on you."
"Your wish is my command, Master."
He eased his stance. He took a deep breath. Then he glanced at Nao and her clan. "I don't know what business you have here," Shen spoke, "but please leave us unharmed. We aren't intending to provoke you." The Avatar did the same, glowering deeply at the people, as if ready to pounce at them.
"What? You're telling me not to harm you?!" Nao interjected and fired a ball of dark energy. Shen's Avatar summoned a shield and deflected the projectile back at Nao; she was forced to materialize an energy shield to protect her from the projectile. "Ah! It's too strong! Everybody retreat!" She fled, and so did her clan members.
Shen turned his attention to Natsuki. The satin-haired woman stared at him for a long time, as did her followers who were ready with their weapons. He was ready should his adversary provoke him with act of aggression.
"I never thought to see someone summoning the Avatar of the Seven Seas that easily," Natsuki uttered and lowered her weapons. "State out your name, stranger, and the reason you are here."
"My name is Shen, and I come here to retrieve something important," Shen replied.
"Ah, I see," Natsuki replied with a grin. "That's why I saw you chasing something down here. It must be very precious to you, isn't it?" Shen and the Avatar glowered at Natsuki, long enough to make her Avatar growl defensively. "Oh, I see. You don't want anyone to interfere with your… responsibility, I can see that."
She waved him a salute, said "until we meet again, Mister Shen," and turned to her followers. After saying a couple of words to them, she led them as the clan walked away from the battlefield and disappeared.
"Sir!" He turned around and saw Akane and the rest of the group running toward him; Iori was struggling to piggyback Mriya as he followed the worried Negi. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm alright," he replied and looked at the feather piece he was holding. "This is just one of many feathers we're going to look for."
"You're so amazing, sir!" Akane exclaimed (and Mokona cheered to emphasize it). "How did you get to summon Daimaou? And where did you acquire such willpower to do that?"
"WAAI! Shen is wonderful!" Mokona cried out.
Shen shrugged. He stared at the great white shark that nodded and turned into a ball of light, which then entered his body. It was warm as the orb became one with his inner force, and he did not feel any complication from the assimilation.
He later proceeded to glance at Mriya. He sighed in relief to know that she was unharmed in the ensuing chaos. "I highly thank you for looking after her," he thanked Iori. "I couldn't possibly protect Miss Mriya while saving the feather at the same time"
Iori snorted. "Don't even say it," he insisted and looked at the Ukrainian woman. "I got this feeling I had met her before. I just don't know when."
"Well, I'm glad everyone's alright," Akane uttered. "But we have to leave this place. It's unsuitable for travellers like you. I suggest looking for somewhere to stay at nearby town."
"Sounds good to me," Negi replied.
"Well, then. I should be going, everyone. Oh, I forgot to ask your names," Akane spoke.
"I'm Negi Springfield," Negi answered.
Shen sported a Chinese honorary gesture. "Shen."
"Yagami Iori," Iori was the last to spoke. "And the woman here is…"
"Mriya," Shen spoke. "Mriya… Falken."
"Okay, Mriya," Iori replied and nodded.
"I'm very much pleased to meet the three of you, Shen-san, Negi-kun, and Yagami-san. Sore ja." Akane bowed to them and ran down the road. The group waved to her before they looked at each other.
"Well? What's next?" Negi asked. "We're already at this place, so where we should be going now?"
"I know not," Shen uttered and looked at his palm. "But the girl is right. We should find somewhere to stay before night falls."
"Yo."
They looked at the voice. They saw a red-haired woman in archaeologist outfit waving to them not far from the road they were going to take. "Now what?" Iori chided.
"Need somewhere to lodge in?"
x-x-x-x-x
Shen stared at her. So did Negi and Iori -- save for Mokona who ignored the tense atmosphere and flew around Mriya instead (the unconscious woman was lying on a couch in the house's living room). The red-haired girl mysteriously invited them to stay at her lodge just outside Jezebel Town, and she approached them as if she had known them for some times. Questions arose: who is she, and what does she want from them?
"I guess I should make the introduction quick and explicable," the girl uttered and corrected her vest. "My name is Sugiura Midori, and this is my house a.k.a. Gakuten Rangers headquarters. I was informed prior to your arrival, and at such have the responsibility to look after your welfare until you're done with this place." She, then, pointed to her face and winked. "I shall help you anyway I can."
Negi lifted his hand. "Anou, I didn't remember anything about… your kindly help. Who told you about us?"
Midori stared at him. "I thought that woman told you about us. Let's see… the Dimension Sorceress, if only I could recall her name…" She later laughed and clasped her hands. "Anyway, since I'm done with my intro, I'd like to hear your names."
"Shen," Shen replied.
"Yagami Iori," Iori uttered.
"Negi Springfield," the Welsh mage said.
"Mokona is here, doki-doki!" Mokona cheered and jumped onto Iori's head. "And this Mr. Red-haired is so scary he's awesome!"
"Shut the hell up, meat bun!" Iori jeered and chased Mokona around the living room. Mokona laughed and evaded Iori's claws even as it continue calling him 'Mister Red-haired'.
Midori laughed again. "You two just remind of Mai and her younger brother," she uttered and looked at the clock. "Speaking of which, they should be home by now."
And she was right. The door opened and the said persons walked into the house, arguing over what seemed to be the ownership of a-- "rice cooker?" asked Negi as he saw the kitchen appliance being carried by the boy.
"Oneechan, just because I'm a boy doesn't mean I can't do house chores like you always do," the boy insisted.
"Takumi, I did tell you to act like a real boy, didn't I?" his older sister reprimanded.
"And you, oneechan, never acted like what you're supposed to be," he snorted.
The argument stopped. The sibling couple looked at the guests and suddenly laughed childishly. "Oh, we're very sorry. We didn't know Midori-chan has guests," the girl uttered.
"Mai, these are the people we were told last week," Midori informed. "You did remember anything about it, didn't you?"
"Ah, yes! Now I remember." Clasping her hands, she bowed to the 'travellers' while elbowing her little brother to do the same. "I'm Tokiha Mai, and this is my little brother Takumi. Yoroshiku."
"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu," respectfully Takumi uttered.
"Okay, since everyone's here, why don't all of us go and have dinner?" Midori suggested and was responded by Mokona's excited cry. "Let's see… we should have steamboat and grilled beef with fried rice." Takumi suddenly volunteered and rushed to the kitchen; Mai followed him and before long their argument continued over who should be working on the meals. Midori laughed at the sibling quarrel before she led the 'travellers' to their room. "You should clean up before dinner. The ruins are surely a messy place to walk around."
"I agree," Iori uttered and shook his head. "I'm in serious need for a shower. My body smells like rotten flesh."
They arrived at the room. Big enough to accommodate the four travellers, yet small enough to fit in the house's limited space. "Well, I'll be waiting for all of you at the dining room. Okay?" Midori reminded and left. "Oh, yes. It's going to be rainy tomorrow, so I suggest you to stay here until it dissipates."
"What do you mean? We have feathers to look for," Iori spoke.
"Don't ask me. The weather's been acting weirdly for the past three months. Even the City Meteorology Department is baffled," the red-haired girl explained.
Shen cared nothing of it. For him, it was Mriya's feathers he should be more concerned of. Ignoring the self-proclaimed 'Gakuten Ranger' who left to the kitchen, he entered the room and carefully put Mriya on a mattress, before taking out the feather piece from his sleeve. Then, after staring at her face for a long time, he put the feather on her chest. It glowed -- at first it was faint, it later shone brightly and sank into her body. Almost at once, her cold body began to warm up and Shen could feel a flow of energy coursing through her nerves.
"Doki! She's waking up!"
They waited. Anxiously.
And then she opened her eyes.
"Uhm…" she moaned softly and turned her head to the right. Shen was holding her hand, feverishly staring into her eyes. "Who… are you?" weakly she asked.
"I'm Mokona!" Mokona introduced. "And these people are your friends! Doki!" Negi and Iori grinned, with the former waving to her as if saying 'hello'. "And this is Shen! He's the one who found your feather piece!"
Mriya turned her attention to Shen. "Miss Mriya, it's me. Do you remember?" he asked while tightening his grip on her frail hand. "I'm Shen. Remember? Kiev, where you found me?"
She looked perplexed. Then, to his surprise, she shook her head. "I don't remember… who are you?"
Shen was startled. She didn't remember? After all the hardships protecting the feather piece, she didn't remember anything about him? What was the revelation trying to tell him?
"Listen, Shen. You may be able to salvage the feathers, but that doesn't mean she will remember you. There's no absolute guarantee she will regain every piece of her memory."
"I see. This is the price Miss Yuuko had told me earlier…"
He let go off her hand, slowly stood up and walked out of the room. Mriya tried calling him back but he already closed the door shut. She tried standing upright and chased after her but then Iori told her to leave him. "He looks upset… did I just make him sad?" she asked and clenched her hands on her dress.
"I don't think you did, Miss Mriya," Negi uttered and sat next to her, putting Mokona on his lap. She looked at him, confused by the explanation and this made him laugh helplessly. "Well, I guess it's because you forget that you had met him before. But that's alright. You can get over it and become Mr. Shen's friend."
"Yeah, yeah, go figure," Iori spoke and approached the window. It already rained in the suburban and everything became drenched in the heavy shower -- including Shen. "Hey, meat bun, how the hell are we supposed to know when there's a feather out there? That finding was a fluke -- our luck couldn't go any better than that."
"That's simple! When Mokona detects the presence of feather, Mokona's eyes will open like this!" So saying its eyes widened and their retina shrunk to resemble cat's eyes. "See? If Mokona goes like this, that means the feather has to be somewhere around!" Then Mokona jumped off Negi's lap and landed in Mriya's arms. "Mokona will cheer you up! Mokona is an expert in cheering sad people! Doki!"
"We should inform Mr. Shen about this," Negi said before Iori told him not to. "But this is important to him, Yagami-san. Why mustn't I?"
"I wouldn't approach him if I were you, kid," Iori interjected. "For now, just let him clear up his mind. I bet he tries to tell himself he must accept her condition even if it's against his will."
x-x
Shen stood rigid. The fact that she did not remember him was too unbearable to cope with, and he fought to accept it like how his body fought to endure the heavy downpour. If he wanted to cry, he needed to because nothing was more painful than saving someone only to find the person unable to remember his deed, thus paying it back.
"Listen, Shen. You may be able to salvage the feathers, but that doesn't mean she will remember you."
"Miss Mriya…" He clenched his hand into a fist and shook it fervently. "I swear… I swear to myself… I will look for your feathers and return to them to you… until you remember…"
And the rain kept falling…
