Disclaimer: All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.
AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter 33: Second Task – Trial by Water
Hogwarts Castle, Scotland
January 1995 ~ February 1995
Shortly after the New Year, Ryuu received a hint about how to solve the riddle of the egg by way of Cedric Diggory through Satoshi; whom the sixth year had waylaid in between classes when he couldn't find Ryuu. The hint to take a bath with the egg hadn't really made much sense but he'd gamely followed through with the suggestion. He didn't have any luck until he dropped the thing into the tub when it slipped out of his wet hands and caught the tail end of a song being sung when he'd slipped beneath the water for a moment while retrieving it. He spent a few minutes listening and memorizing the song, letting the words of the two refrains run through his mind several times before he drained the water, got out of the tub, and dried himself off.
Once he was dressed, he carried the egg into the living room of his parents' Hogwarts' apartment and dropped down onto the couch beside his mother. He set the egg aside for a moment as he reached out and tentatively placed his hands on his mother's stomach so he could feel the baby kicking inside of her; his earlier mixed feelings and insecurities over the baby long gone now that he'd had time to get used to the idea. He was actually looking forward to greeting his new little brother or sister a little later that month and spent what little free time he had with his mother (Luna often joining him). Reluctantly pulling his attention away from the as yet unborn child, Ryuu gathered up a pen and parchment as he quickly scribed out the two short verses he'd learned from the egg.
We can not dwell above the ground,
you must seek us where our voices sound.
A treasure we hold in our caverns cold,
can you take it from us, are you so bold?
You will have but a single hour to look,
for this much needed treasure that we took.
Do not flounder on your path through the dark,
least you lose your treasure at the hour's mark.*
He spent a few minutes trying to interpret the riddle before he dropped his pen in disgust and brought out his pan flute in hopes that he could think clearer if he played for a bit. His mother hummed along as he played one of the first songs she'd taught to play seven years earlier and Ryuu felt his frustration over the tournament melt away as he pretended, for just a moment, that he was once more back in Japan with his family with no worries and no cares beyond his lessons. Ryuu was startled out of his peaceful trance when his mother suddenly gasped and he twisted around and stared in shock as he saw his mother grasping her belly while leaning forward, a dark liquid soaking her pants and the couch.
"TAKASHI!"
Ryuu flinched back a bit as his mother yelled for his father at the top of her lungs and continued to clutch her belly. Fearing something was wrong, Ryuu did the only thing he could; he used his flute to summon Dobby and when the elf appeared he pointed towards his mother. The elf took one look at the pregnant woman and popped away with a startled squeak of pure joy; leaving a confused Ryuu in a growing panic. His father tore into the apartment a moment later, having been in his office going through paperwork, and rushed to Taki's side.
"Dobby just told me," Takashi soothed as he dropped down onto the couch beside his wife and gathered her in his arms. "I sent him to fetch Madam Pomfrey. Did you want me to carry you into our bedroom or did you wish to go up to the infirmary instead?"
"Bedroom is fine," Taki gasped out once she caught her breath. "I don't know what made the little one so impatient all of a sudden; it was like someone flipped a switch."
"Ryuu-kun, go grab several towels and bring them to my room and then wait by the entrance; Madam Pomfrey should be here any minute," Takashi ordered as he lifted Taki into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.
His parents' quarters became a flurry of activity for the rest of the night and Ryuu was left worrying and floundering as he heard his mother cry out a few times until Hatake pulled him out and took him to the dojo to have him train for a bit. His uncle also explained that there was nothing wrong with the baby or his mother; that she'd just gone into labor a bit earlier than expected which helped Ryuu calm down a bit though he still worried. He slept that night in his uncle's quarters, his emotions too out of control for him to stay in his dorm room. Satoshi and Kimura joined them as well in order to prevent any rumors springing up about inappropriate behavior as had happened briefly at the beginning of term between Satoshi and Ryuu.
First thing the next morning, Ryuu was dragging all three adults back down to his parents' apartment where he found his mother wrapped up in blankets on the couch cradling a tiny bundle in her arms. His father looked a little worse for wear as he carried a breakfast tray to his wife; looking as if he'd spent the entire night tugging at his hair and worrying (which he had). Ryuu hovered just inside the entrance, torn between wanting to see his new sibling and make certain his mother was fine or disappearing to give his parents a little privacy.
Taki ended his indecision when she glanced up and smiled at him before calling him to come meet his little brother. Ryuu slipped forward hesitantly and sat down beside his mother at her request and before he knew what she had planned she'd placed the small babe in his arms; making certain he cradled the baby's head and neck in the crook of his arm.
"Your father and I decided to name him, Kenji," Taki announced as Takashi placed the breakfast tray on her lap before dropping his hand on her shoulder as they both watched Ryuu holding his little brother.
Ryuu's throat tightened a bit; he knew that Kenji meant strong (or healthy) son but more importantly was the fact that it was a name that meant second son. His parents had just reaffirmed his place as their first son even though he had been adopted and he smiled down at the tiny babe resting peacefully in his arms. Pulling the blanket back a bit Ryuu discovered that his little brother had his mother's soft red-blonde hair though it looked messy like his and his fathers. A moment later Kenji blinked open his eyes and yawned and Ryuu gazed into golden brown eyes he'd often seen smiling at him from his father's face.
Ryuu's familiars crowded around him after a few minutes, Shogun and Shinji perching on his shoulders while Tenji stood on his knees and balanced his forepaws on Ryuu's arm so the kneazle could peer into the blanket. Reaching out with a finger, Ryuu traced a line down his brother's cheek and smiled as the baby's mouth opened and automatically turned towards the finger. He then tapped Kenji on the nose which made the babe blink and chase his finger upwards with his mouth again.
When his brother began fussing a bit, Ryuu let him suckle on his knuckle while he whistled softly to Shinjin, the phoenix trilling a few soft notes in reply which immediately calmed the baby. When his mother finished eating, Ryuu reluctantly passed his brother back to her so she could feed him and Ryuu was dragged off for his own breakfast by Satoshi when it became apparent that the fourteen year old wasn't going to move on his own.
The rest of the day past by in a blur as Ryuu's thoughts kept drifting back to his new baby brother and if not for Hermione and Neville he probably wouldn't have survived his classes for the day. It wasn't until supper, when Satoshi asked him if the hint had helped with the egg, that Ryuu realized he'd never finished figuring out the riddle and he sighed as he wrote the two verses down for his friend wondering if maybe having someone else read through it their input would help him make sense of it.
It was while they were in the library searching through various books hoping to find a hint that Ryuu suddenly knew where the next task would be taking place. Hermione and Luna had been having another one of their debates about the creatures that Luna often saw; Hermione insisting that the creatures had proper names which would help those who couldn't see them recognize what she was talking about while Luna preferred the made up names her mother had invented for the creatures. Hermione had just given up and muttered something about leading a horse to water but not being able to make it drink when Ryuu made the connection between hearing the song from the egg under water and the first two lines of the riddle.
Once he knew the task would take place in the water, Ryuu started thinking about what kinds of creatures could live in the water and yet speak. Hermione came up with the answer the moment he asked the question of the group at large; mermaids. And Ryuu paled at the mere thought of being forced to deal with the underwater youkai; sure he'd gotten used to dealing the occasional youkai that managed to make it into the school but he'd never before stepped into a youkai's domain or faced them in their strong-hold. It would be pure madness and he couldn't seal them beneath the water if they chose to attack.
Jumping to his feet, Ryuu bolted out of the library and headed straight towards his father's office in a slight panic. When he found the office empty, Ryuu recalled that his father was currently in his parents' apartment with his mother and new brother. He'd just reached the entrance when he was waylaid by Hatake; who'd been warned by Satoshi that Ryuu had flipped out over what he'd learned about the second task.
"Whoa… slow down there, gaki," Hatake instructed as he snagged Ryuu about the waist and held him up off the floor until he calmed down a moment. "What's got you so wound up?"
The lake… the second task is to take place in the lake and they've gotten the merfolk involved. I have to swim to the bottom of the lake and face the demons in their homes for the task! I know how to swim but I can't swim that well… at least not enough to escape if they try to… if they… Oji, I can't go in the lake! I can't seal them under water!
"Don't you think you might just be over reacting a bit?" Hatake asked gently. "You don't even know if these merfolk are youkai or if they are just normal mermaids and mermen. And you have to admit that not all of the magical youkai you've encountered have been twisted; your father sealed the worst of the ones in the area a couple of years ago. Center yourself and take a moment to really think about what the task is going to involve and the fact that you know where it will take place now. Once you've calmed down; I think it would be best if you spent a bit of time researching the information available on the merfolk so you will know what to expect when you face them in the task."
I… arigatou, oji, I just… I never expected them to use youkai in any of the tasks. Or rather I never expected to be required to face the youkai some place where I could not seal them if things got ugly. Chikushou… how am I supposed to breath under water long enough to complete the task!?
"Sounds like you have your work cut out for you… go do your research and bring me your strategies in the morning when you show up for your morning training. We can look them over then and plot out the training you will need before the task."
Ryuu nodded and returned to the library and apologized to his friends for taking off like he had. He then spent the rest of the night researching spells, looking up information about the merfolk, and bouncing ideas off his friends. Hermione found several useful spells, Neville suggested a couple of useful plants, the twins knew about a few potions that might help, and Satoshi suggested Ryuu practice handling his staff or a knife in the water in case he needed to fight. Ryuu himself wished he'd gone for the title of Elemental the previous summer instead of Illusionist but it was far too late to worry about it now.
The rest of January saw Ryuu training like mad, brewing several potions, and ordering several items through owl order. He didn't spend a whole lot of time with his parents, new brother, or his friends during this time but when he did he always made it a point to avoid thinking about the fast approaching second task. His friends and family in the mean time slowly watched him pushing himself to his limits again; his complexion growing pale while his eyes grew dark smudges beneath them as he lost sleep due to worry and fear of the upcoming task.
He probably would have lost weight too if not for Luna appointing herself his designated meal watcher; often dropping herself into his lap (even in the middle of the Great Hall) and feeding him personally if he tried to skip meals. Ryuu soon learned it was just easiest to eat the meal to spare himself the embarrassment and to avoid his body from reacting to Luna's blossoming body pressing close to him.
On the morning of the second task, Ryuu woke early and dressed solemnly; his entire aura dark and depressing unlike the nervous excitement and determination that had filled him prior to the first task. He pulled on his silk pants, slipped on the diver's belt with fifty pounds of weights, strapped a long diver's knife to his left thigh, and secured the safety strap attached to the hilt around the belt so he wouldn't lose the knife if he dropped it. After that he tucked the hems of his pants into his knee high tabi boots spelled for comfort and flexibility, and laced the ties of the boots tightly so that his pants would not float free and his boots would not slip off easily.
Out of habit he pulled on the white silk shirt of his uniform and buttoned it up before tucking the ends into his pants. Over top he pulled on the silk jacket and buttoned it as well before slipping his hanbo on his back. Around his neck he wore his protective amulets and the silver necklace with the Dragon Ward etched onto it. Next he removed his wand holsters and slipped them into the pockets of his pants, securing one in each pocket.
Before he placed his wands into their holsters, he carefully attached cords to the handles and secured the one on his holly wand to his diver's belt and the cherry wand to his right wrist, so if he lost them at any point he could retrieve them easily enough. He then slipped on the fingerless gloves he'd worn during the first task and picked up the small pack that held his gillyweed, a couple of general healing potions, a bottle of Pepper-Up Potion, and a dozen polished pebbles of lapis lazuli and turquoise (two stones highly prized by the merfolk). He clipped the bag to his waist and gathered his subdued familiars; the three animals reflecting his current mood.
At the appointed time, Ryuu marched out to the platform that had been erected on the edge of the lake as if he was attending a funeral or worse… walking to his execution. His fellow champions, who had not seen much of him over the past month or so, seemed shocked by the changes in his attitude and physical appearance; not surprising since he looked something like death warmed over. Upon reaching the platform Ryuu stood off to one side and stared at the lake with horrified fascination as his stomach twisted itself into knots.
When told to prepare themselves for the start of the task, Ryuu slipped his staff on his back and took off his jacket, meticulously folding the garment before passing it to Hatake who would be watching over both his winged familiars and his belongings while he was in the lake. He took off his silk shirt next and folded it as well as several gasps sounded from the audience and his fellow champions as his scars were exposed.
The one on his back looked particularly gruesome with how pale he currently was; the ink stained skin standing out starkly against the rest of his skin. Over the past two years, as Ryuu had grown, the scar had stretched and spread, making it look even bigger than it had been originally and while it had smoothed out some, there was still an obvious dent where the basilisk's fang had shaved away the underlying muscle and tissue. The webs of burn scars on the outside of his forearms stood out clearly as well, the tracery of white scars glinting in the afternoon light as he tightened the strap of the bag on his waist and settled his staff across his back once more. The only ones that noticed the long slash across his abdomen were his fellow champions as the scar was mostly hidden by the waistline of his pants.
Ryuu ignored his competition and dug out a clump of the gillyweed he'd ordered from the apothecary and held it loosely in his left hand while his right hand passed Shogun and Shinjin over to his uncle before sending Tenji to sit with Luna and Himiko. He then slipped his right hand into the right pocket of his pants to finger the handle of his cherry wand while he waited for the task to begin. He grew pensive as Bagman announced to the audience that each champion was to make their way down to the center of the lake to recover a golden box that was being guarded by the merfolk. They would have one hour before their 'treasure' was lost to them forever.
His hands started shaking as Bagman fired off a concussive shot from his wand, signaling the start of the task. He stood staring at the water for a full five minutes as the other champions dove in and headed into the depths as he wished he didn't have to be there. Moving woodenly, he shoved the clump of gillyweed into his mouth and mechanically chewed the rubbery worm-like plant as he slipped into the water reluctantly.
He swallowed the gillyweed and soon felt the piercing pain of gills forming on the side of his neck as he dropped his head beneath the surface of the water. Bringing his hands out in front of him, Ryuu kicked his now flippered feet (his boots having reformed around them as they changed thanks to the spells woven into them) and headed into the murky depths of the lake. After a while he drew out his cherry wand and used the underwater propulsion spell that Hermione had found for him to push himself quickly past the kelp forests where he could see dozens of grindylows lurking.
He never saw any sign of the other champions as he shot through the water, aiming for the singing voices he could hear in the distance. He briefly worried that he was the only one still down in the lake because he'd hesitated entering the water but pushed the thought from his mind because it only brought back his fear of what he still had to face. A shadow passed over top of Ryuu and he glanced up nervously to see the giant squid lazily marking him close to thirty feet above him and he used the propulsion spell a second time to speed away from the creatures because he wasn't certain if it was friendly or not.
Another fifty feet or so into the lake, Ryuu dropped down into the darker depths as he heard the singing growing louder. Slowing down a bit, Ryuu began searching for traces of the merfolk city he'd learned was somewhere on the bottom of the lake; his eyes darting left and right as if he expected to be attacked any minute. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt eyes watching him and he spun around and brought his wand to bear only to freeze as he saw a creature hovering just a few feet away from him.
Dropping his wand, he stared at the merchild, he couldn't have been more than a few years old; if merfolk aged the same way humans did though if they were anything like the other youkai this one could be a couple hundred years old instead. The child was staring at Ryuu just as intently as Ryuu was staring at him until the boy suddenly darted away, his tail swishing through the water and stirring up a cloud of dirt from the bottom of the lake. A moment of indecision later, Ryuu followed after the merchild; kicking his feet slowly as he swam through a series of craggy pillars that rose from the lake bed.
He'd just slipped down a little lower when he came across the child a second time and this time Ryuu slowed to a stop and watched the child peering around a pillar watching him with wide blue eyes; his green hair shifting in the current of the water. Slowly… so as not to frighten the child again, Ryuu pulled one of the stones from the pouch around his waist and held it up so the child could see the smooth green-blue, gold, and black pebble of turquoise and the merchild's eyes light up with excitement.
Ryuu then pointed to the stone, pointed to himself, and pointed to the child before bringing his hand up to his ear to indicate the song still filling the water. It took him a few minutes to get the child to understand what he was asking but once he did the child nodded enthusiastically and Ryuu smiled as the child led him straight to the village. He thought maybe… just maybe he'd been wrong to fear the youkai and was glad that his uncle had been able to make him see reason that day he'd first learned about the task. If he hadn't done the proper research he'd never have learned that he could use the stones to barter with the merfolk.
For some reason the small boy took Ryuu around the edges of the mercity before leading him through the maze of caves and pillars to the sunken ruins of an old castle. The boy pointed to the only door leading into the building before slipping inside and Ryuu slowly followed the child with one hand on his wand. Inside he found glittering globes of light chasing away the darkness to reveal four golden boxes sitting in a row on the floor; the treasure the champions were meant to find. A glance around the room revealed that he was the first one to reach the city and he wondered where the others were and why they hadn't made it first since he'd been the last one to actually start the task.
Shaking his head, he turned to the waiting merchild and held the promised stone out to the boy. The child swam right up to him and plucked the stone out of his hand (the amulet he wore ineffective beneath the water) and cupped it in his clawed fingers as he grinned widely; revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth. Ryuu gently reached out and tapped the child on the arm, drawing his attention back to him, and pulled out a piece of the lapis lazuli this time and gave it to the child as a thank you gift for bringing him to the treasure.
Ryuu then swam up to the four treasures and studied them for a moment; noting that each one had a different word etched into the top of the box; the words were magic, wit, archery, and staff. Frowning, Ryuu tried to think of what the words could mean as there didn't seem to be any connection between one and the next even though the boxes were otherwise identical. The sound of voices fast approaching drew Ryuu's attention back to his location and he glanced out the door to see several adult merfolk converging on the ruins. Not wanting to be trapped inside of the small room in case the adult merfolk took offense to him bribing the merchild into helping him; Ryuu reached down and grabbed the box with the word staff on it, tucked it into his pouch, and headed towards the exit.
Just before he left the ruins, he glanced around for the merchild to say goodbye only to find the room completely empty. Shrugging he began turning back towards the door only to feel clawed hands grabbing hold of his legs and pulling him out of the room. Jerking around, he saw a dozen mermen glaring menacingly down at him and he pulled out his hanbo and used it to catch the door frame to prevent them from dragging him off as he tried to kick free of the three that were holding him. Several more of the creatures rushed forward to wrest his hands free of the staff and it wasn't long before he was parted from his hanbo; the merfolk quickly hauling him deeper into their village. Ryuu began panicking as he continued to struggle against the hands holding him, he had no idea what the merfolk wanted with him but he seriously doubted it would be anything good since they looked distinctly unhappy.
Meanwhile, up on the surface, in the stands that had been set up surrounding the platform that the champions had launched from; the audience was watching the lake attentively. They couldn't see what the champions were doing or follow them through the dark depths but they had a clear view of the chamber where the treasure boxes were being held thanks to a specialized monitoring charm that was linked to the magical globes that had been placed inside the underwater ruins to illuminate the room. The spell had been activated shortly after Ryuu had dropped down out of view and the crowd of teachers, students, tournament officials, ministry personnel, reporters, and guests had been eagerly watching to see which champion would reach the treasures first.
High up in the stands, where they had the best view of the magical window displaying the room, Hatake was sitting beside Kimura and Flitwick, the three of them softly discussing the chances of Ryuu arriving within the time limit allotted after his hesitation at the start. Around the half hour mark, the audience gasped as the view window spread over the surface of the lake revealed a young merchild entering the room.
A scattering of applause and whistles broke out after that when Ryuu slipped into the room on the fin of the small boy and the three instructors grinned at each other because not only did Ryuu reach the treasures in time; he'd been first. Murmurs broke out when Ryuu didn't immediately grab a treasure box and there was more than a little surprise when the teen passed a small piece of turquoise to the merchild before giving him a chunk of lapis lazuli. Ryuu then moved closer to inspect the gold boxes; the teen seemingly lost in thought as he frowned down at them.
When Ryuu started and glanced behind him there was more murmuring because they couldn't hear what the teen had heard since they could only see what was happening in the room. The green eyed fourth year then darted forward and picked up the box with the word staff on it and both Kimura and Flitwick groaned before passing a couple of sickles each to Hatake. The three of them had placed bets at the start of the task on which box Ryuu would take if he had a choice and Kimura had stated Ryuu would take the one labeled magic, Flitwick the one labeled wit, and Hatake had insisted that Ryuu would take the one with the word staff.
Hatake was grinning smugly right up until the crowd gasped as they saw clawed hands reach out and grabbed hold of Ryuu's legs. The audience watched with baited breath as Ryuu used his hanbo to prevent himself from being pulled from the room against his will as he struggled to free himself. Hatake wasn't the only one to let out a loud groan when the fourteen year old was swarmed by several merfolk and separated from his staff. They lost sight of Ryuu completely at that point as the fish-like beings hauled the teen away out of reach of the monitoring charms.
All three of Ryuu's familiars let out shrill protests while Nyanko, the unofficial fourth familiar, let out a loud yowl and dropped down off his perch on Takashi's shoulder. The kneazle and the cat ended up on the platform pacing back and forth in agitation while the two birds took to the sky and began flying out over the lake as they screeched shrilly.
In the mean time, the other champions began appearing in the ruins; Fleur arriving first and grabbing the magic box while Viktor entered at the same time as Cedric and the two wizards held a pantomimed conversation before they each reached out and grabbed one of the boxes; Cedric ending up with wit and Viktor with archery. Cedric was the only one of the champions to recognize Ryuu's hanbo and the older boy picked it up as he glanced around the room before he left with both treasure and staff in hand.
Just before the hour mark, the three seventeen year olds surfaced from the bottom of the lake and made their way to the platform. All three of them glanced curiously around for the youngest champion as they'd expected him to already be back; the evidence that he'd beat them to the treasure apparent. Hatake helped them out of the water and quietly questioned each of them if they'd seen any sign of Ryuu while they'd been down in the village and when they answered negatively he grew even more worried (Cedric silently passing the Japanese wizard Ryuu's staff). Up in the stands, Ryuu's friends and family were also growing concerned; all of them fully aware of how nervous Ryuu had been about this task and his mother and father both completely aware of how much Ryuu feared the merfolk would try something.
Fifteen minutes after the hour, when Ryuu still hadn't resurfaced, Headmaster Dumbledore approached the lake and tried summoning Merchieftainess Murcus but got no response from the mermaid. Takashi pulled Taki close as they pensively watched the surface of the lake, ignoring the now empty view of the chamber, hoping to see some sign of their missing son making his way to the surface. Another fifteen minutes passed when the first stirrings of something happening finally appeared out near the center of the lake. Water began bubbling up, boiling out of the lake like a water fountain just being turned on. Not long after that a geyser erupted twenty feet into the air as a small figure was ejected from the depths of the dark lake.
Screams rang out as the figure tumbled back to the lake and hit it hard; splashing down hard enough to raise waves that rolled outwards even as the figure was pulled back beneath the water by dozens of clawed hands. Nyanko let out a loud call of 'Natsume!' before he disappeared in a puff of smoke as he reverted to his original form. A blast of air knocked everyone watching back as the unseen (except by the only two people in the audience able to see the youkai) wolf spirit launched himself out towards the center of the lake where Shogun and Shinjin were still circling in agitation.
Twice more the figure, whom most people finally realized must be the missing champion, surfaced and twice more he was dragged back down by the merfolk in the time it took for Madara to reach the center of the lake. The wolf spirit didn't hesitate once it reached the spot where Ryuu had last been, diving head first into the dark waters. The red symbol on his forehead shone brightly as he blasted the attacking merfolk away from Ryuu and grabbed hold of the now unconscious teen in his jaws before he rocketed back up into the sky. When he burst out of the water, he created yet another geyser that had the crowd gasping and clutching at their hearts as Ryuu hovered in the air instead of crashing back down to the surface as he had the first time.
Madara then bounded across the surface of the lake, carrying Ryuu towards safety as the merfolk surfaced yet again and gave chase through the water. Ryuu's unmoving body was soon placed on the floating platform and screams rang out as a pool of blood and water immediately began spreading out from his right leg. Once the teen was safely out of harm's way, Madara turned back towards the lake and viciously attacked the merfolk; destroying them in a rage for daring to harm his boy. Shinjin and Shogun were the first ones to reach Ryuu, their cries sharp and piercing as they dropped heavily onto the platform beside him as Tenji dashed up a moment later (the kneazle having needed to thread his way through a number of feet from the opposite end of the dock).
Madam Pomfrey, Headmaster Dumbledore, Headmaster Yamamoto, and Hatake were the next ones to reach the unmoving teen; Hatake having already been down on the platform as he'd apparated down shortly after Ryuu's familiars had began acting up. Takashi was torn between rushing down to his injured son and comforting his wife who'd begun crying and clinging to him the moment it became apparent something was wrong with their son; in her arms Kenji wailed plaintively as if he too knew there was something wrong. A few rows below Ryuu's parents, Satoshi held a distraught Luna in his arms as the diminutive blonde struggled to run to Ryuu's side; the nineteen year old knowing now was not the time to crowd around their injured friend.
Madam Pomfrey expelled the water from Ryuu's lungs and stomach first; his blue tinged complexion telling her he desperately needed the oxygen. Once she had him breathing, if some what erratically, she turned her attention to his wounded leg, using her wand to cut away the pant leg to reveal over two dozen puncture wounds in the thigh and calf; the groupings of three revealing that the merfolk had stabbed him repeatedly with their tridents. That was on top of the numerous scratches that covered his torso and arms from where the mermaids had scratched him with their sharp claws.
While the healer was cleaning and attempting to heal the multiple wounds, Dumbledore attempted to find out what happened at the bottom of the lake; unfortunately Madara had not spared any of the merfolk that had given chase and that included the Merchieftainess. The three older champions watched silently as their fellow competitor was patched up, all three of them thinking on how that could have been them; not realizing that the only reason Ryuu had been attacked was because of his grandmother's legacy.
Since Ryuu's birth name had been pulled from the Goblet the original three champions had questioned the kid's ability to keep up with them. Cedric had heard the earlier rumors about the things the kid had done in his first three years but had believed most of them to be gross exaggerations. After the teen had made it through the first task unscathed (if exhausted), the three seventeen year olds had taken a closer look at the rumors that surrounded the boy; the tale of him facing all four dragons at once making them wonder if there was any the truth in the tales they'd heard of Harry Potter growing up. Cedric especially since he'd have never been able to prepare for the first task if Ryuu hadn't passed him a note telling him they would be facing dragons.
At the ball, they'd once again underestimated the younger teen; fully expecting him to be nervous and make a mess of the opening dance because he was too young to handle the attention of being center stage. Having played in the academy's orchestra for three summers had long since numbed Ryuu to stage fright though and with his attention entirely focused on his date; he never even really noticed just how many people were watching him. It had therefore been a shock to see the normally calm and collected fourteen year old practically panicking over the second task.
They thought it was just nerves because most of the spells that would help him in the task were far above his level. He proved them wrong again when they found he'd been the first champion to reach the treasure they had been sent to retrieve. Seeing him bleeding all over the platform, they had to wonder if the kid was some kind of seer and if he'd been afraid because he'd seen whatever it was that had ended up with him on the brink of death. It was the only explanation that made any sense to them since he hadn't displayed anything other than calm indifference once he'd gotten over his name coming out of the goblet.
It took over forty-five minutes for Madam Pomfrey to stop the bleeding; the trident wounds being resistant to magical healing due to the poison the merfolk coated the spear points with. The only good news had been the fact that the poison didn't affect Ryuu due to the basilisk venom and phoenix tears that were in his blood. Ryuu had woken up after the first twenty minutes and nearly stabbed the healer with his knife because he'd thought he'd still been under attack. Luckily, Hatake had been helping the healer and he'd been able to take the knife from the confused and panicked teen without too much trouble.
"Can you tell us what happened, Natsume-kun," Headmaster Yamamoto inquired when he noticed the teen was conscious.
Ryuu looked up at the older wizard with haunted eyes as he signed, They wanted my blood, shishou; they meant to sacrifice me to their gods in retribution for what my grandmother stole from them.
"What do you mean?" Yamamoto demanded with a frown.
Ryuu shook his head and closed his eyes as he dropped his head back onto the platform. There was nothing more he could tell the man without violating the promise he'd given to his father the day Takashi had given him half of the Yujincho. The Yujincho was the one book that Ryuu owned that he never read through or even took out. The Book of Friends was not a story book… it was a book of contracts containing the names of the youkai Natsume Reiko had come across throughout her lifetime.
Those youkai whose names were in that book were bound to obey whoever owned said book. And that book was one of the reasons that the youkai often sought out both Ryuu and his father. The youkai either wanted the book so they would have control of the youkai whose names were bound to the Yujincho or they wanted their name back.
The youkai often got violent when they didn't get what they wanted and when Ryuu had been younger they had hunted him endlessly for the book and for the spiritual power he had inherited from his grandmother. The demons that had been twisted by the dark magic that clung to most of Britain sought him out and often sought to harm him in their efforts to take what they thought of as theirs. They'd screamed, cried, and begged for his blood, his heart, his eyes, or worse and they'd terrified Ryuu for many, many years.
The fact that he could not hide his spiritual power like he could his magic meant that the youkai could sense him wherever he went. Ryuu found the magical youkai he'd encountered since returning to the British Isles were far worse than the normal youkai; the corrupted dark magic twisting their souls even further as it resonated with the magic and spiritual energy they possessed. A few examples would be the poltergeist Ryuu had sealed in his first year, the pixies that had attacked him in his second year, and now the mermaids.
Once Ryuu's leg had been securely bandaged after Madam Pomfrey stopped the bleeding, Ryuu was helped to his feet and given a pair of crutches that Professor Dumbledore had transfigured out of Ryuu's ruined pant leg. He was then asked to join his fellow champions so they could be given their scores for the second task and their instructions pertaining to the third task. He was a bit surprised when all three of the older champions asked him if he was alright; it was the nicest they'd been to him (not counting when Cedric repaid Ryuu for the information about the dragons by giving the younger teen a hint about the egg).
This time Ryuu ended up with the lowest score because he'd been the last one to return (through no fault of his own), he'd been well outside of the one hour time limit, and he'd had been retrieved by Madara (not that anyone knew who'd brought the teen to shore) instead of returning under his own power. A number of people booed Maxime, Karkaroff, and Crouch for giving him scores below five while Dumbledore and Yamamoto had given him sevens (he had been the first to find the treasure and had showed initiative in trading stones for the merchild's help), and Bagman had given him an eight. The other three champions had averaged sevens and eights from all of the judges. He was still in second place as far as points went though, with Fleur taking first since she'd been the second one to reach the treasure in the ruins.
"The tournament is now officially half way over; only two more tasks remaining," Bagman announced grandiosely once the scores had been handed out. "The third task you will face is a Trial by Combat. When you chose your treasure boxes, you also chose the type of battle that you will be facing; magic, wit, archery, or staff. A hint of who you will be facing and what you will be fighting for is contained inside of your boxes. You will have just under two months to prepare for your battle as the third task will be taking place on Saturday, March twenty-fifth. Good luck!"
Ryuu stared at the box in his hands in disgust and was half tempted to throw it back in the lake; not because he'd apparently be facing an opponent in hand to hand combat (armed with just a staff) but because he was sick of the tournament. He hadn't even wanted to be one of the champions in the first place. Shoving the gold box back into his bag, Ryuu slowly began making his way to the castle; his familiars flying above him or trotting on his heels.
He was met halfway by his father, who swept him up into his arms and apologized for not anticipating how the merfolk would react to his presence in the water. His father barely set him back down on his feet when his mother pulled him into a hug, Kenji having been passed to his father the moment he'd let go of Ryuu. Luna's arms soon replaced his mother arms as the dainty blonde clung to him desperately. Ryuu dropped his crutches to hold her close, guilt filling him over the fact that he'd made her cry yet again.
This time there was no angry slap followed by a desperate kiss; she simply held him tightly as they stood there surrounded by friends and family. The flash of a camera going off had Takashi bearing down on Rita Skeeter and the sleazy photographer that always followed her around; he told them both in no uncertain terms that if the pictures they'd just taken ever made the light of day he'd see them in prison for exploiting children. Skeeter tried to claim Harry Potter was a public figure and therefore fair game but Takashi was having none of it and promised that Bongledash would be looking for even a hint of a picture being leaked.
Dropping his lawyer's name effectively saw Takashi being given the roll of film with the pictures on it (Sander Bongledash's reputation having soared in the past year since he'd taken on the Malfoy versus Natsume and Sirius Black versus the Ministry cases and won). It wouldn't stop Skeeter from printing a series of venomous articles about Takashi and how he'd corrupted the Boy-Who-Lived but Takashi was just happy to spare his son's personal life and reputation from being raked through the mud by the morally corrupt reporter.
After watching the miffed reporter retreat in anger, Takashi returned to the group surrounding his son just as Luna finally released Ryuu. Ryuu kept hold of Luna's hand as his other friends came up to hug him or slap him on the back, all of them relieved that he'd pulled through yet another mishap.
It would take two weeks for Ryuu's leg to heal enough to support his full weight (the poison making the wounds resistant to all forms of magical healing). During that time he spent most of his morning training periods in physical therapy to strengthen the weakened leg. There was a slight break on Valentine's Day, when Ryuu took Luna to Hogsmeade on their second official date and spent the day wandering through the shops and drinking butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks.
Ryuu had purchased a small bouquet with one pink rose, one white rose, a cloud of baby's breath, two ferns, and a couple pink and white moonflowers. He also bought her some freshly made fudge from Honeydukes and the two of them had shared the still warm treat while they walked. And though they held hands all through the date and even exchanged a few innocent kisses with each other they both avoided talking about whatever it was they had between them, though Ryuu had come close once or twice during their date.
Translations: Japanese to English
Arigatou – thank you
Chikushou – damn/damn it
Gaki – brat
Oji – uncle
Shishou – master
Notes:
* This riddle/song was based upon Rowling's original egg song but parts of it were rewritten and reworded so that it fit my version of the second task.
AN: And that's the second task done… with Ryuu once again facing his inner and outer demons; though this time he was once more at a disadvantage and facing far more than he usually does. The confrontation also serves to show that even though he is still frightened by the youkai on some levels, he is no longer as crippled by that fear as he had been when he was younger. He also recovered (emotionally) from the ordeal much faster as he'd not hidden himself away immediately after it was over; something that his date with Luna reflected (I think).
Props to Ethorin, who was kind enough to remind me that the rune story I mentioned in the past couple of chapters was RuneMaster by Tigerman; a rather epic story I recommend reading. It's very well written, highly entertaining, and COMPLETE! The last point an important point in all good stories. Next chapter will have the third task (which was the task added into the Tournament by Yamamoto to account for Ryuu's presence in the Tournament).
Until then, I'd like to thank all of my readers and reviewers and offer up some virtual donuts as I'm all out of cakes and pies at the moment. Or, I have home made bean dip, freshly made salsa, and chips if you aren't interested in sweets. I'd share the nachos I made but well… those are mine. lol. ~ Jenn…