I do not own InuYasha or Magic Knight Rayearth in any way, shape or form!


Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

'The'Thoughts


PLEASE READ BEFORE BEGINNING CHAPTER!

AN: In hindsight, I didn't actually plan for this to have even a lick of humour, but I guess it somehow managed to worm in? Either way, I don't think this turned out as bad as I thought it did!

Anyway, I hope you all like this and please remember to review, but if you've nothing polite to say then don't bother saying anything at all!


~A Match of Two Souls~

oO-Worries and Antics Aboard the NSX-Oo

"It's almost time," Geo announced. "Just a few minutes left."

"Eagle, are you sure about this?" Zazu asked, looking up from his screen. "Forcing them to make a decision?"

"It's the only way to know who I'll be fighting, Zazu," Eagle told the younger boy. "The Magic Knights have already declared themselves obstacles to my goal; I need to know who else will stand in my way of reaching the Road to the Pillar."

The cockpit was quiet.

"Oi, Zazu!" Geo called out to the younger mechanic. "Why don't you go and check on the Fighter Mechs? I made some adjustments to their programs and I need to know if they'll work out right in battle. I'll even throw in a real good bottle of wine!"

Brown eyes sparked with excitement at the thought of liquor. "You got it!" he whooped as he sped out to the hangar.

"So," Geo started, once he made sure Zazu was nowhere near the cockpit, "What's really bugging you?"

Eagle said nothing as he placed his headset over his eyes.

"Is it that you would have to fight Lantis?" the spiky-haired Sub-Commander asked. He smirked when his friend flinched, knowing he hit the topic right on the head. "Eagle, you knew from the beginning that you would have to fight Lantis. After all, this is his home."

A few beats passed before Eagle finally spoke. "I only wish there were an easier way to go about all this. I knew I would have to fight Lantis, I knew I could possibly damage the lives of everyone in Cephiro, but becoming the Pillar is the only way—and the Road to the Pillar hasn't shown itself yet, and I…"

Geo's eyes narrowed as the Commander of the NSX trailed off. He knew, even before they led their fleet into Cephiro, that Eagle wasn't well. How ill he was, Geo didn't know. He only knew that whatever was happening with Eagle, it only grew worse the more mental energy he expended.

'Could he be—?' Geo thought worriedly. He couldn't check anything now, but the moment Eagle left to rest, Geo vowed to check on Eagle's stats. Something was wrong and if his friend wouldn't tell him what was happening, then he would find out on his own.

"There's something you're not telling me," the Sub-Commander deadpanned. "Spit it out."

Eagle flushed.

Geo blinked.

And blinked.

And blinked.

Was he seeing what he thought he was seeing? Eagle Vision, the best fighter on Autozam, Commander of the NSX, and pilot of the FTO was blushing?

Geo grinned. Now this was sure to bring out some juicy blackmail material! "Eagle~" he sing-songed, "Come on! I know you want to tell Uncle Geo all about it!"

"No."

"Eagle—"

"No!"

"I'll give you wine!" It was apparent that Geo thought bribery might work better than needling the young man.

"I'm not Zazu, and the answer's still no!"

"How about sweets? I'll even let you into my secret stash!"

"No! And I already know where your stash is, so it's not much of a secret, now is it?"

"Wait what? Eagle Vision, you tell me right no—"

"I won't tell you about her!" Eagle finally shouted.

The spiky-haired man smirked. "Her, huh?"

The blonde snapped his mouth shut, flushing harder.

"You liiiiiiike somebody!" Geo cackled. "How could you keep this from me, you bag of bolts!"

The blonde-haired Commander groaned in embarrassment.

Once Geo was done rolling about the floor and the laughter just nearly out of his system, he walked over to his friend. "Hey, it's okay, you know," he chuckled, "Everybody likes someone sometime in their life."

"Except, I probably shouldn't like her," Eagle grumbled, face still red, though not as it was before.

"Why not?" Geo leaned against his friend's chair.

"She is a Magic Knight, she weilds the red Mashin," the blonde revealed. "I'm her enemy, just as she's mine. I shouldn't like her, but—"

"But?" Geo parroted.

"But there's something about her that just draws me to her," he confessed. "Every time I try not thinking about her, I inevitably end up doing just that! Every time I try to think of her as my enemy, I can't! From the moment she entered my road…she's all I can think about…"

The Geo looked at his forlorn friend contemplatively. "No one said you couldn't like her, you know? You can't just control your heart like it's a computer and stop it from feeling. We live in a fully mechanized world, Eagle; emotions aren't always taken into account. If you really feel lost, just follow your heart."

"Geo…" amber eyes looked at his friend.

PING! PING!

Both men turned to look at their screens and their faces fell into serious expressions. A quick thumping was heard from the hall as Zazu stormed into the cockpit. "I-I," he panted, "I h-heard the comm-link!"

"It's them," Geo confirmed.

"Patch them through," Eagle ordered.

Two separate feeds were pulled up side-by-side on the holo-monitor. On one, Princess Asuka's face fizzled into sight and on the other were the faces of Princess Tatra and Tata. "Have you made your decision?"

"We will go to Cephiro," Asuka announced.

"And so will we," Tata and Tatra answered together.

"So be it," Eagle's eyes narrowed.


Adieu,

TsukiyoTenshi