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The Winding Stairs
Chapter 3
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Blue winced visibly as he poured more potion onto the deeper of the wounds, mentally kicking himself for the nth time that night for not acquiring any form of healing magic before this. Honestly, with all his planning, one would think he'd at least get one magic spell that dealt with nasty bruises, but no...he had to concentrate on offense instead. Bah. If Rouge were here, he'd be laughing so hard he'd develop hernia.
Didn't Liza have a Starlight Heal spell in her ensemble?
Blue did consider asking her, but a mixture of pride and the wish to not get a punch in the face stopped him from entertaining the thought any further. Biting his lip, he grabbed a handful of tissues to dab at the dripping potion. He honestly doubted she'd do much to help him, anyway. From the anger she'd shown earlier, he'd be lucky if she didn't throw him a furious dose of Flash Fire instead. A sigh escaped him as recollections of the earlier exchange drifted into his mind.
Even now, close to half an hour after what had transpired, he still couldn't reason out why they had all been so...so furious. Couldn't they see that that was the extent of what he could do? While the Region Map was indeed spectacular, it wasn't a miracle. Neither was he a miracle-maker. He couldn't do anymore than he did. He accepted that. Why couldn't they?
Gen's words from earlier rang loudly, for the thirtieth time that night.
"...About time you tried to save someone with that thing, isn't it?"
He wasn't out here to save people.
"...Other than trying ta kill your brother, that is..."
But that was his fate, his destiny. He couldn't wish otherwise, and he wouldn't want to. There was no point in wishing for something that could not be changed. People spoke of choices, yet such a concept did not exist in the Magic Kingdom. His masters always said that everyone was created with one purpose in mind, one role to be fulfilled. When each played his or her role to the hilt, that was when the perfect society was achieved.
The perfect balance.
Choices only gave way to distractions. What use would a carpenter have if he was distracted by his artistic trivialities? What could a mage accomplish if he entertained the thought of mastering the sword? Choices were destructive. Hence those who wished otherwise were the foolish. Blue was anything but foolish.
So why couldn't he shake the feeling of stupidity that plagued him? Was it because of his lack of understanding? He still couldn't reason out the cause of his companions' erratic behavior. They seemed to think that there was something else he could do. What in all the regions could make them think that -- believe it so fiercely?
"...I don't understand. I just don't."
"Neither do we understand what goes on in that pretty little head of yours."
Blue looked up as a foreign voice infiltrated the quiet sanctity of his room. The door was open -- how could he have forgotten to lock it? Had the issue troubled him that much? -- and Gen stood, leaning against the frame languidly, one hand resting lightly on the bruised area. Blue subtly held back a wince as he noticed the ugly black and blue beginning to form, not to mention the horrid tear in the shirt. It looked like someone had to buy some new clothes before they left for...
Blue stopped at that, a more important thought overriding the rest. What made him think Gen would continue following him? Or any of them, for that matter?
When Blue didn't say anything at his entrance, Gen sighed, waving a free hand at the room, "Can I come in?"
"...Yes."
The swordsman stepped in, sharp eyes not missing the tiny droplets of blood staining the floor. While he had sustained numerous injuries, most had been artificial cuts that could be easily dealt with using a quick healing spell or just a handful of potions. He had to give majority of his thanks to the strong armor he made sure he always wore. Now, Blue, on the other hand...what defense could that ornamental robe really give? Yet the stubborn mage refused to wear anything more practical. It was tradition, he'd said, when Gen had irately demanded why.
Tradition for all Master Magicians to wear such robes.
All Gen remembered thinking at that time were two things: one, that magicians were all dweebs.
Two, that the young mage before him was quite the patriot. So very dedicated to his home.
It reminded him of his friends in Wakatu -- all of them had such devotion to their homeland, their cause. Up to the very end, when Wakatu was that close to destruction...they stuck by the land of their birth. Gen saw a spot of that loyalty in Blue, the strange mage in his ridiculous jeweled robe and his haunting sapphire eyes, who had come up to him without a second's hesitance to ask about that which was considered taboo to anyone who spoke to the gruff swordsman.
For some reason, he trusted the young man almost at once about his reason for attaining the gift. He had been straight as an arrow, hiding nothing, revealing everything.
It was almost frightening, the extent of his honesty.
"I must acquire the gift and master various kinds of magic."
"That's one of the worst pickup lines I've ever heard."
The look on Blue's face when Mei Ling said that...Gen shook his head. Silence was right. Just like then, he was still just as confused. Honest confusion. Like a child.
"Are you just going to stand there all night?"
The sardonic voice broke him from his reverie, an arch of his eyebrow adorning the mage's face. Gen had been standing still for, oh...close to five minutes now and Blue was getting tired just watching him. Throwing aside the wet tissues, he immediately grabbed the roll of bandages nearby and started tending to the wound. Thank goddess -- all three of them, even -- that he had actually paid attention during those few first-aid classes. His peers had deemed it unnecessary, thinking that healing magic would be more than enough. Obviously not.
A wince as his fingers provoked a particularly nasty spot. He couldn't hide it in time from Gen's battle-weary eyes.
Sauntering over to Blue's bed, upon which he was perched, the Wakatu swordsman pointedly grabbed the bandages from his hands and, settling himself in front of the former, began expertly wrapping up the wound. Blue blinked, not moving as Gen continued his work, trying too hard to hide the disconcerting feeling this closeness was bringing him. Even during his training, all injuries were to be tended on his own. No help was given, not even from his masters. It was a way to teach him independence, they said.
Well, it would have been nice if they'd taught him how to bandage himself properly too, but evidently, even the masters had thought it unnecessary. All was dealt through magic. Blue could practically count the number of times he had to bandage himself manually on one hand.
If Gen noticed his discomfort, he didn't make an issue of it. Finally, as he finished up the final touches, he asked nonchalantly, "You could've asked Liza to deal with this for you."
"Do you want me to die that much?"
A chuckle on the older man's part. Silence permeated the air after that, neither side having much to say. Finally, though, Blue did break the stillness with a question of his own, "Do you...Do I really look 'pretty'?"
Gen snorted good-naturedly from his seat on the floor, "Does Silence look like a butterfly?"
Blue's expression was the essence of doubtfulness; he couldn't really tell if that was a good thing. Lifting a hand to pull at a long lock of hair, he twirled it absentmindedly around his fingers, watching the blonde strands mingle with the dried blood on his fingertips.
"I do look a little different from the norm, don't I? But at home, nearly everyone looks something like this, with long hair and whatnot. Helps in the winter..." A pause.
"I guess I never realized how different it was outside home," Blue admitted, voice soft with wonder, "So many different people. Their lives, their worlds...and opinions. At the Academy, we were taught that the ultimate importance was the end result. The phrase, 'the ends outweigh the means' comes to mind. That was how they had always taught us to solve anything. Envision the end result and work towards it, using any and all means necessary."
"Anything...huh," Gen repeated, a touch of a frown on his face. "Your home sounds kinda...strict."
"They had to be strict -- it was the only way to ensure we didn't waste any more time than we had to. By disciplining us from the start to follow our masters, they essentially cut down half the time that would have been spent trying to keep us in order. So we weren't allowed to question; there was no need. They made sure to explain everything to us. All we had to do was follow."
"So they 'explained' how to solve stuff efficiently too?"
"Yes. Hence why I dealt with--with it that way." How strange. He couldn't even afford to refer to the former Space Lord by its name. As if he would be soiling its spellbinding mystique by simply uttering its name. A small, dry laugh. "I never thought it would garner such a reaction from you all, though. I still don't...understand it. Not even now. Somehow, I don't think I'll ever understand it no matter how many of you explain it to me."
It seemed like an ominous thing to say, with the accompanying thunder not helping. Yet it was all Blue could say. The only way he knew how to express his confusion.
"Can't blame ya."
Blue looked down in surprise. He'd half-expected to be strangled for approaching the subject; his comrades certainly seemed ready to do so before. As it stood, Gen simply stared at him with a strange, unidentifiable emotion in his eyes. Something like sadness, tinged with sympathy yet it wasn't quite pity. His lips were stretched into a grin.
"Can't blame ya," he repeated, if only so that Blue knew he wasn't dreaming this up. How could he blame the young mage for doing something he'd only been trained to do? It looked as if the young mage had been given a step-by-step guide to life that he couldn't pull away from. After hearing all that, the Magic Kingdom seemed like a scarier, freakier place than that Mystic domain -- Facinaturu, was it called? -- would ever be. It seemed all nice and cheerful, but the kind of lives their people lead...
Gen studied Blue subtly, from the strange yin and yang symbols adorning his robe to the four Arcana signs embossed on his jewelry. The latter really did seem more feminine compared to other males. Didn't he hear some time ago that the Magic Kingdom worshipped goddesses?
The Wakatu swordsman, who had always hung onto his masculine, samurai spirit with the pride of a stubborn lion, found himself shuddering minutely. The Kingdom felt more like a prison than a place of magic.
Blue wouldn't let it go as easily. "But what about--"
"--the children?" Gen interrupted, biting his lip, "No, I don't approve. I'll tell you right here, right now: I don't approve of what you did. If I had known what would happen before we went to that freaking place, I would've bound you up and taken you to Scrap with me just to stop ya." A tired sigh, as he rubbed his eyes. The clock showed that it was already past midnight. Way past midnight. They really need to get some sleep; it's been a bloody long day as it is.
"But I didn't. None of us did. So it's just as much as our fault as it's yours. And getting all angry about it...it isn't going help much at all. What can I do, try to kill ya? You'd blast me to hell and back with those damned spells of yours."
"No, I--" Blue halted his protests, his eyes traveling to Gen's bruised chest. "...Sorry."
The other only shrugged it off. "It's fine, don't worry," he assured, before biting his lip once more. Damn it, if he continued doing this he'd draw blood in no time! "...'Sides, I shouldn't have said that stuff about your, er...your bro. None of my business, you know."
"No, it wasn't."
Ah, that honesty again. Gen refrained from chuckling, knowing it would only confuse the younger man further. Blue continued, clearing his throat uncomfortably.
"Just one question?"
"Yeah?"
"Will you be leaving after this?"
Gen was surprised. "After the whole thing? Yeah, I guess."
"No, I meant..." Blue almost didn't want to ask this; on some twisted level, he would rather wake up tomorrow and then find his comrades gone. After all, wouldn't that preferable to knowing it now and not being able to do anything about it? However, his need to know got the better of him, as it always had. "I meant...are you leaving now? With everyone?"
Now Gen really did look surprised, almost confused to a point. It cleared within seconds, though, as he hopped to his feet and gave a gruff laugh, "Hell, Blue! You really think you can get rid of me that easily?!" Giving the younger mage a huge grin, he patted the latter on the back, the force behind them nearly throwing Blue off the bed. "I dunno about the rest...but I'm definitely sticking with you till the end. I didn't bring ya all the way to Wakatu for nothing, ya hear?
"...Besides, I'm interested in seeing this home of yours. Never been to the Magic Kingdom before."
Blue laughed slightly at that. "I'll bring you there then, after the duel. You probably won't like the magical aspect, and it really has no pungent beer or anything of that sort in Scrap, but...You'll like it there. You will," he promised.
Gen could only smile grimly at that.
***
