Ok, no more blitzball...for now, anyway. Now, on with the adventure. Domo arigatou for the reveiws ^_^ keep it up!

No anime characters were harmed in the making of the last chapter.

Firey Remembrance

Chapter 6

Houjun sighed and sat back against his seat. His left arm was bandaged from his hand to his elbow and held in a simple sling to keep it from furthur harm until he could be treated by the healing mage at Mt. Reikaku. Alexander sat on his right, violet eyes gazing out the window of the carriage they were riding in. He had decided to accompany the young summoner until he left the mountain to assure his safety. Hikou sat on his other side, his arms folded against his chest as he made idle conversation with Kouji, who sat across from him. Watari sat beside him, his head resting against the wall as he dozed, worn out from the events at the stadium. He had five bandaids affixed on his left cheek covering a cut that ran from his cheekbone to his chin. Like many others, he had sustained a few minor injuries, but fortunatly no one was killed. The rest of the team was riding in another carriage that followed theirs. Tasuki, however, had declined to accompany them.

~*~

"Yer goin' ta Reikaku?"

"Yes," Houjun replied. Tasuki paused in bandaging his arm for a moment and looked up at him.

"I thought ya already had Ifrit, though, so why are you goin' there?"

"Well...I guess I don't really have to, but I feel like I should...to pay respect."

"Oh," the red-head muttered. He finished wrapping the damaged limb and gently nestled it into the sling around the sommoner's neck. "I guess dat I'll see ya later den." He rose and began to walk away.

"W-wait," Houjun began, catching Tasuki's arm with his good hand. "Where are you going?"

"Hmm? I got some things ta take care of, that's all," he replied without looking back.

"Oh," the summoner sighed, releasing his grip. "Alright, then. I'm sorry I asked." He lowered his gaze and waited for Tasuki to leave. Instead, his felt the other man's callosed hand warmly carress his chin, lifting it gently until their eyes met.

"Hey, don't let it get to ya. I'll see ya again." Houjun blinked, his voice lost in the amber depths of Tasuki's eyes. "I promise dat I'll always be around when ya need me, though. I promise."

~*~

'His eyes are beautiful...' Houjun thought, sighing softly. 'Familiar, too...like I've looked into them before...'

"You alright, Houjun?" Kouji asked, interupting his thoughts.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," he replied with a smile.

"Good, cause were just about dere. After the doc heals ya up, I'll show ya ta the shrine."

Houjun nodded and glanced out the window. Before he left Mt.Reikaku, he wanted to take in as much as he could. He didn't know when or if he would ever come to this area again, after all.

~*~*~*~*~

The small village that sat near the peak of Mt. Reikaku was a simple one. The homes were build out of stone and had been standing for over two-hundred years. At least, that was what the rumor said. No one was actually certain of its origins. Guarding the main pass to the shrine to Ifrit was the village elders home. Near it sat the infirmry, the interior of which was mostly white and soft colors.

Houjun sat on the examining table while he waited for Kouji to return with the healing mage. Hikou was waiting outside the room in case anyone was to try to attack the summoner and Alexander had disappered shortly after their arrival, which confirmed in the summoner's mind that his teacher had come to the mountain with more in mind than just protecting his pupil. His thoughts turned to his failed summoning at the arena and he sighed.

'When I looked into Ifrit's eyes...I felt like he would always be there to protect me...Maybe it was nothing after all...' The door opened and Kouji entered with a man dressed in a white, hooded robe. His eyes and hair were both a lovely shade of sea green and he carried a doll in his arms that had blonde corkscrew curls decorated with a red bow and dressed in a frilly, pink dress.

"Here he is, Serevy-kun(1)," Kouji said, gesturing to the summoner.

"Ah, I see. Looks like you injured your arm pretty good," Serevy observed, setting his doll beside the younger man."You can go, Kouji. I'll send him out when I'm through."

"No problem." The emerald-eyed man left, closing the door behind him.

"Now, let me see that arm," he said, tugging at it gently. After undoing the bandages, he held the wounded limb lightly between his hands and began to heal it; a light green aura spreading from his fingers.

"Um..uh..Serevy-sensei," Houjun began timidly. "This...this won't affect my summoning ability in any way, will it? I've never...injured my arm this badly...and I-"

"Don't worry, Serevy will heal you perfectly."

For a moment the summoner froze, his body stiffening unconsciously as he looked at the doll beside him.

"Did...did that doll just talk?"

"Hmm?" Serevy looked up and smiled. "Is something wrong? The muscles in your arm tensed up suddenly."

"Ah, no. No, it's ok!" Houjun insisted. The mage smiled and continued healing his arm as the summoner returned his attention to the doll again.

'It was just my imagination...it had to be...'

"Serevy is a skilled healer, you'll be better in just a minute. You don't have to worry about anything," the doll continued sweetly.

'Maybe I've lost my sanity?' he worried, his left eyebrow twitching a bit.

"There you go, all better," the healer smiled before he retrieved his doll, cradling it to his chest. "So, who's next, Elizabeth?"

"Nasch is next, he has a broken arm," the doll replied.

"Ah yes," Serevy nodded before turning to a wide-eyed Houjun, smiling as though nothing was amiss. "Take care of yourself, young summoner. You have a long journey ahead of you and you'll need to be in good health." With that, he left the room. For a moment, the summoner sat alone, questioning his sanity. The door reopened and caught his attention.

"Did I ferget ta mention Serevy's a ventrillaquist?" Kouji laughed as he entered the room, Hikou following him and closing the door.

"W-what?! Why didn't you tell me?" Houjun cried. "I thought I was going crazy!"

"Because it's more amusing to watch you freak out," the water mage chuckled, unable to help himself. He had learned of Serevy's odd hobby moments before they had entered the room and knew that Houjun's reaction would be similar to his own. The summoner crossed his arms and huffed as his two guardians had a laugh at his expense, but soon found himself joining them. They stopped abruptly as the door to the examination room slammed open again.

"Houjun! Hikou! Kouji!" Alexander cried out. Houjun hopped off the table, concern in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Kouji asked as the instructor stopped breathlessly before them.

"Shrine...problem... Go...now," he managed as he gasped for air.

"A problem at the shrine?" Hikou asked. "But what could be wrong with the shrine?"

"Let's go and find out," the summoner said, rushing past his guardians towards the door.

"What's da hurry. anyway? He can already summon Ifrit, right?" Kouji asked.

"I-Ifrit...gone... GO!" Alexander shouted, panting heavily as he pointed in the direction of the shrine.

"You go, I'll take care of him," Sakata said, entering the room and going to the blonde's side. Kouji nodded and ran after Houjun, Hikou racing beside him.

~*~*~*~*~

The trio ran up the stone stairs that led to the shrine of Ifrit, Houjun taking them nearly two at a time. They were almost there when he finally halted and stooped to inspect something.

"What is it?" Hikou asked, stopping beside him.

"Dat's... Dat crystal's da same color as da one in front a da shrine," Kouji gasped as he spotted the amber-colored, jagged fragment of crystal in the summoner's hand. Houjun shook his head in disbelief and bolted up the stairs.

"This is impossible, isn't it?" he tried to assure himself. "There's no way that it's the sam-" He froze at the top of the stairs, the fragment falling from his hands and clinking almost muscially against the stone as his eyes fell on the sight before him.

"It-it's been destroyed?" Hikou asked, eyes widening. Kouji stood beside him slack jawed. Houjun approached the broken remains of the amber-coloer crystal dome that had once housed the source of the shrine's aeon's power. It looked as though it had exploded from the inside as opposed to having been destroyed from the outside. He suddenly felt weak and dropped to his knees, a hollow ache filling his chest.

"Gone..." he whispered. "He...he's gone..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mwahahahahaha

R and R for more chapters ^_^

(1) Can anyone guess where Serevy is from? Anyone? Cameo to the winner. Please leave me with some way of contacting you, even if it's sending me a personal e-mail (aside from the reveiw, of course :p ).