Dragon Tears and Raven Curses - Chapter Six

"So Byakuen just disappeared, you had no idea where he went, and this man appeared out of nowhere. With feathers on his shoulders?" Seiji stirred his tea as he watched his friend heap lots of sugar into his. "Better stop that," he teased, "you're beginning to turn into Shuu."
Ryo glared at him, then took a sip in defiance. His lips curled from the sweetness. "Look, I know it seems unreasonable, but considering how our lives have turned out, it really can't be that bad. Can it? Besides that, the feathers were glossy black, and now that I think of it, his eyes were red."
Seiji frowned as he remembered the red eyes of the raven. "If he can turn into a raven, then he might have the power to cross the boundaries of the living and dead worlds."
"Hmmm?"
"Just thinking to myself. So after he blinded you, he disappeared. Do you have any idea as to what he was looking for?"
"I have my suspicions that it was the daughter. It's got to be! What else could he warn me away from?" Ryo glanced down at Byakuen, who satat his feet by the table and watched him closely. "I know he has some powers. He must have done something to Byakuen because Byakuen just disappeared. Too bad you can't talk," he said to his tiger, "otherwise we might be able to find out what happened to you."
"I have a different theory as to what this man might be looking for," Seiji began. Ryo waited patiently for him to continue, sipping occasionally at his super-sweet tea as he did. "I found the ghost of the woman, and she said that her daughter had her family ring, and she was going to use it to bring her husband back. Now, this woman said that the reason why the ring was so important was because of a jewel in it with magical properties. It was originally the tear of a dragon-in fact, the Queen of the Black Dragons, as she stated so herself- but it hardened into a stone. Now, I don't know if this is true-"
"Why not?"
"-yes, why not? The dragon that cried it knows where it would be located, and if we can find this dragon-assuming it's true-then we should be able to pinpoint where the jewel is. When we find the jewel, we find the daughter. Now, what are we going to do once we find her?" He regarded Ryo thoughtfully.
"We have to tell her what happened to her mother."
"Good place to start. From what the ghost has told me, the last time she saw her daughter was before she died. She hasn't seen her since. But what if she does know about her mother, and left to avoid the place where the death took place? What do we do then?"
"Look, we need to find out more about that raven guy!"
"That's just it about the raven guy, Ryo. We don't know if he really is a raven; we don't know if he is really after either the girl or the jewel. We don't know what is really going on." Ryo blew out a breath of annoyance as Seiji calmly stirred his tea and continued. "He might be after the land, or he could be after something else. He might know who we are, and he might be after something we have. He could just be a magician out to pull a trick on you. We don't know what is going on."
"That's why we have to find out!" Ryo pounded the top of the table with a fist. Byakuen growled, then nudged his large head against Ryo's leg. Ryo's fist uncurled itself and fell to the top of Byakuen's ears. He scratched them. The large cat purred in contentment.
"And what happens if we do find the girl and she does know what happened to her mother?" Seiji asked. "How would she feel, having two strangers come onto her doorstep, ask personal questions, and reawaken old wounds? What would we do then?"
"What if she doesn't know?"
"I think she would have found out by now. Admittedly, there are a few things that don't match up here. I believe you when you say something is wrong. But we really need to look at this from all sides of the view."
Ryo stared at Seiji across the table, then smiled. "Damn you for studying to be a shrink," he said.
Seiji returned the smile. "That's psychiatrist," he corrected lightly. Ryo shrugged.
"Close enough." He shot a quick glance at his wristwatch. "We'll have to be going soon if you want to be on the train on time." Seiji looked down at his own watch and nodded. "We'll have enough time to finish our tea though." Ryo took a sip and regarded Seiji closely. "Okay, what do we do now?"
"Just lay low for now. Whether that one man who you claim is a raven is what you think he is or not, remains to be seen. He may come back; he may never be seen again. We don't know. As it is, we'll let the matter slide until next week. I spoke with the woman; she claims her daughter will be able to bring her back from the dead. However, that doesn't explain how or why she hasn't done so after so long. There's more to this that meets the eye. We'll need to do more research about the child if we can. There, now I'm done with my tea."


Ryo watched Seiji walk to the train depot, and cheerfully waved his friend goodbye as he entered the train. After standing there for a few moments, the smile fell from Ryo's face. He glanced over sideways where a pay phone was. "I refuse to let matters rest," he told himself firmly as he walked over to the pay phone. "I know there is something dreadfully wrong!"
He searched around in his pocket for yen and pulled the phone off the receiver. "And even though you are not here to help me, you also aren't here to stop me!" he continued defiantly. He slipped the coins into the slot and punched in numbers. As he listened to the phone ring on the other end, he hoped whom he was calling was home.
"Hello?" Oh good, she was!
"Eh, hi, Nasutei!"
"Oh, hello Ryo."
"Did I catch you at a bad time?"
"No, not at all. What can I do for you?"
"Well, I was calling for some information on dragons."
"Dragons?"
"Yeah. More specifically, dragon tears and the Black Dragons and anything else you might have that will be of some use."
"That would take some time to compile. Do you mind if I did that and sent it to you by mail?"
"No, go right ahead. You have my address, right?"
"Yes. And if you don't mind my asking: why do you need information on Black Dragons and such-like?"
"Well, it involves some things that had been happening around here. I'm not really sure what, but it seems to be tied in with dragons and stuff like that. That's why I need the information."
"Okay." Ryo heard distant shuffling, and the sliding of drawers. "Okay, I've taken down dragon tears and Black Dragons. Is there anything else?"
"Yeah, anything about the magical uses of dragon tears, if you can. I don't know if you can find it or anything . . ."
"I wouldn't worry about it. Grandfather has a great amount of information on mythical creatures and items, and I wouldn't doubt that he has quite a bit about dragons."
"Okay. Thanks Nasutei!"
"You're welcome Ryo. And you will be by Friday for dinner with Jun, Touma, and myself, right?"
"Yeah, because I have to take Yayoi out Thursday evening, I will be staying in a hotel for the night, swing on by to see you, and then be back here."
"Do you want to wait until Friday for the information or do you desperately need it?"
"Truthfully? I desperately need it."
"Okay. I'll send it and you should have it by Wednesday."
"Sure. Thanks again!"
"You're welcome."
"Bye!"
"Goodbye."
Ryo hung up, blowing the air out of his lungs. He was glad to have Nasutei for a friend; she was the sort of person who would do anything to help anyone. Having easy access to obscure information had its bonuses too. He jogged back to the jeep he drove and climbed in. He drove away from the train depot, not noticing the raven that watched him from a lamppost.


Ryo did not bother to wait until he was home to read his mail Wednesday. Sure enough, just as Nasutei promised him, there was a package of information there. As he sat in the jeep, he tore the large manila envelope open and pulled out the three pieces of thick paper. The first one was titled, "Color subgroups." He decided to read them in the order of how they were placed in the pile as he remembered Nasutei's organized ways.


In the years past, there are many legends of dragons existing. The types of dragons differed from region to region, climate to culture. They were sometimes viewed as good, sometimes viewed as evil. Among the types of dragons thought to be known, there was one particular group of dragons that seemed to stand out more so than others.
This group was split into several subgroups that constituted by their colors. Each group is said to be ruled by an immortal male or female dragon of that color, and each color could be corresponded to an element. Commonly, there are the red dragons that controlled the heat or fire. An immortal male red dragon known as the king ruled them. The other groups followed the same pattern. The yellow dragons, ruled by an immortal female, controlled light. The black dragons, ruled by an immortal female, controlled non-light or darkness. The blue dragons, ruled by an immortal male, controlled air. The green dragons, ruled by an immortal female, controlled water. The white dragons, ruled by an immortal male, controlled cold or ice.
Legends have it that they were very peaceful creatures, and could not stand the thought of killing humans or inflicting unnecessary pain upon animals. They died out when they refused to fight back against humans who destroyed them, and the rulers-who were immortal-fled to the deepest regions where the climate was most suited for their element.


Ryo appeared thoughtful for a moment. "So," he began, "if the black dragon queen could control shadows and she fled to the place most suitable and matching of her element, then yeah, I suppose a cave would match that. But there are so many caves! How do I know which one to look for?"
He pulled out the second piece of paper.


"Dragon Tears"
Whenever a dragon cried, it was because they were unable to do something within their power to stop the situation that placed them in the mood to cry. This manifests their power in such a way that a tiny proportion of their talents to control an element seems to seep into the tear.
Each tear, once it leaves the touch of the dragon, turns into a perfectly dewdrop shaped jewel. The colors differ depending on the emotion of the tears. It is said that these are the color of the dragon's subgroup, and an inner light of their emotion shines from within it. As an example, if the tear was cried from a rage, then flickers of red could be seen within it.
Because the dragon's power seeped into the tear, with proper methods it may be retracted and used.


Ryo sighed as he stared down the papers. This was getting complex. He reread it in order to understand, and then shifted onto the third and last paper.


"Sightings of each color"
There are legends pertaining as to where the dragons went. Accordingly, the fire and the earth dragons live together mutually in an active volcano in the Hawaii region. The ice dragon and a few living offspring are said to live in the deepest parts of Antarctica. The water dragon lives beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The shadow dragon lives in a cave located in the Hiei Mountain range in Japan. No one knows where the air or light dragons went to, though they are suspected of leaving this world for another.
Dragons are said to be creatures of languages, being able to speak and understand all languages. They can easily blend into large crowds of people, though their eye shape and color never change. Unlike other dragons whose eyes are slit like a cat's, these dragons' eyes are round and florescent, much like that of a solid marble. Their eyes do not contract at the light, for there are no pupils or irises. People were sometimes spotted with these eyes, for these dragons may also shape-shift into any form they wish to have, though their weight essentially never changes.
People should be aware of soft-spoken individuals who prefer not to show their eyes or throw their weight around in any form.


"Is that all?" Ryo looked over the three pieces of paper, and then sighed. "Well, considering how specific and unusual the topic I gave her, it was probably the best I could do under the circumstances." He lightly tossed the papers into the passenger seat and turned the key. The jeep roared to life. "Now, since Seiji isn't here to stop me, I will also go looking for that dragon." He shifted and backed out of the parking lot. As he drove down the dirt road, a brief thought occurred to him. "But where do I start?"


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