The Next Generation 26

Magicman: I'd say something right now but I'm at a loss for words. This does not bode well, seeing as I'm about to write this chapter and all. Oh wait! I thought of something! I have a theory. To write anime you have to listen to anime. Did it make sense? I thought not. On with the story!





Allen Schezar stood alone in the castle guardroom. In his hand he held a sword. His eyes looked about the room. Weapons racks lined the walls and a large mat lay on the floor for men to train. A door led off to the shower area and another door, closed, was the room's exit. He nodded. This would do.

He had just come from a meeting with the generals. The mission was to take place under the cover of night. Folken Fanel would fly the group around the enemy's lines and deposit them part of the way to the fort, leaving them to complete their journey on foot. Allen had only a few short hours to himself before they left.

The ex-knight lifted his blade and took a stance. His form was clumsy, he noted, irritated. He slipped up performing a manoeuvre that he used to be able to do in his sleep. Sure he hadn't held a sword in two decades, but he should be better than this! Grimly, he performed the manoeuvre again.

Slowly Allen twisted his blade in once familiar patterns. Slowly his fingers began to remember their old strength. Slowly skill returned to his swordsmanship. Slowly...

"I don't think I've seen you around the castle before. Who are you?"

Allen turned at the voice and stared intently at the newcomer. Dressed in loose training pants and a shirt, she tapped the flat of her katana on the side of her leg as she watched him, head cocked to the left. Her right ear was decked out with at least a dozen earrings. But her sandy brown hair, short and boyish, was what caught his attention. That and her flaring red eyes that studied him curiously. He turned to face her and bowed slightly, an old habit that he had never been able to break.

"I am Allen Schezar." He said. "And it's no wonder that you don't know me. I have just arrived a few hours ago. I will be joining the group that is supposed to save this country."

The girl half smiled half smirked. "Well then I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Yukari Kanzaki Albatou and I'll be going along too." She grabbed Allen's hand and shook it.

Allen reeled slightly. Hitomi's daughter? Gods, they looked alike.

Yukari grinned and lifted her sword. "So, you want to duel? I could use the exercise! Being stuck in a hospital for a day will do that to you."

Allen smiled. Yukari's gung-ho attitude was just like her father. It was an interesting combination. "I'm afraid that I wouldn't give you much of a challenge. I'm way out of practice."

"Then take the time to get in practice again. Come on" Yukari wheedled. "Duel me!"

Allen couldn't help but laugh. "Alright. If it will make you feel better". He held his sword up in one hand. "Engarde?"

The duel was short and swift, with Yukari winning hands down. She looked at him incredulously as he went to pick up his sword from across the room where she'd knocked it. "Boy! You weren't kidding when you said you were out of practice!"

Allen shrugged. "Well what can you do? You can't teach an old dog new tricks, as it were. I hope I gave you your exercise though."

Yukari shook her head. "You were really good once before. Why not be really good once again? Besides" she added, "You're not that old!"

Allen snorted. "Please! The correct term is 'mature'."

The odd pair laughed.

For the next few hours Yukari worked with Allen, trying patiently to get him to recall his old skills. His reflexes were coming back with a vengeance and when they finally quit he could put up a decent fight against the young spitfire.

They sat down on a bench to rest and Yukari eyed speculatively. "What have you been doing to forget how to fight? You must have had a lot on your mind to stop practising."

Allen sighed. "Let's just say that I needed to think, to sort out my life".

"Did you?"

Allen sighed again. "I don't know."

Yukari shrugged. "You don't want to talk? Hey, that's fine with me. We've all got something in our past that we don't want to share, even sweet little old me!"

Allen snorted. "Sweet? Yeah right!" Suddenly he laughed. "Oh alright. Go ahead and tease me out of a bad mood!"

Yukari laughed too and got up. "Wanna go again?"

"Sure, why not?"

Their swords had clashed a few times when someone standing at the door coughed. The duo looked over. There, in the doorway, dressed in her green and black armour was Hitomi Kanzaki.

Allen watched her dispassionately. She looked more mature that he remembered and those glittering eyes were eyeing him icily.

"Yukari" she said, not taking her eyes off of Allen, "I see that you've met our guide on the mission."

The red-eyed girl may not have been the smartest to come down the block, but she was no idiot. She could sense the crackle of tension between her mother and Allen. Even if she couldn't have sensed this, the flames in her mother's eyes would have tipped her off. She looked surreptitiously at Allen and saw ice shining, cold and hard. These two knew each other all right. They knew each and they hated each other.

Hitomi continued. "We have two hours before the Vione leaves. You two should pack.

Yukari nodded. "Alright mom. I'll catch you later Allen." She sheathed her sword and left the room, edging past her mother. She wondered if it was a good idea to leave those two alone. 'They look like they'd start duelling to the death' she thought.

Hitomi and Allen did not start fighting. This was the first time that they had laid eyes on each other for twenty years. The last time they had met Allen had tried to rape Hitomi and he had been thwarted. That memory was on both of their minds

They continued to watch each other unpleasantly. Then Allen moved, sheathing his sword. He nodded in greeting. "Hitomi. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Too long". Hitomi practically snarled the words. "What are you playing at Schezar?"

"I'm playing at nothing. I'm here to help my country. And then I'm going to leave."

Hitomi laughed. "You expect me to believe that? You expect me to believe that the man who practically sold out his country twenty years ago would want to save it? Ha!"

Allen shrugged. "Quite frankly, I don't give a damn what you believe. All I care about is getting the job done. And speaking of which, I should pack a few things. I doubt we have much time to get to my old fort, you know." He started to leave but Hitomi blocked his path. "Your manners are a lot poorer than I remember" he growled slightly.

Hitomi put her face right up to Allen's. He refused to back away. The fire of her eyes seemed to scorch him. "Let's get one thing in particular perfectly straight. If you even look sideways at my daughter then I will kill you. Am I perfectly clear?"

Allen laughed loudly at that. "If I were to even look sideways at Yukari she would fillet me alive and serve my guts at my funeral! I don't think that you need to worry about her."

Allen pushed past Hitomi and was almost out the door when Hitomi spoke again.

"Allen" she said, her voice low with condemnation, "Millerna may have forgiven you and Van may have forgiven you, but there is no way that I will ever forgive you."

Allen stopped. He slowly turned around and walked forward until he was face to face with Hitomi. He looked her straight in her burning green eyes and said with perfect control, "Then it is only fitting for you to know that I will never forgive you".

Hitomi's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What are you talking about? Are you mad that you lost your precious knighthood?"

"Think about it" he said, "I'm sure that your psychically gifted mind will tell you somehow." He turned around and walked away, leaving Hitomi to ponder his last statement.

***

Setto watched from his window as the Vione, his oftentimes home, disappeared into thin air. He wondered if he would ever see it again and immediately discarded the thought as pointless. Then he wondered if he would ever see the ship's occupants again and stopped to consider.

The commando group consisted of his sister and mother, the cat-girl twins, Gatti (he'd refused to let Naria go anywhere without him), Miguel, Jager (Asturia's only sorcerer), and that Allen guy. Setto didn't know much about him and that was why he suspected that Miguel was going. He and the older man clearly knew each other. In fact they nearly came to blows the first time they had seen each other.

What was so special about the guy? Setto sighed. He didn't suppose that he would ever find out.

His pondering was interrupted by a pair of soft arms that wrapped around his neck and hugged him gently. He smiled. "Sabrina. What a nice surprise".

He turned around and looked at the beautiful girl. She smiled at him and their lips met just briefly before she pulled away.

"Before you get too busy again" she said, "I have something for you."

"A present?"

"Sort of". Sabrina reached into her shirt pocket and pulled something out.

Setto leaned closer to get a better look at what he saw. It was a shiny black thread of some sort, wound into a braid. It had been intricately weaved into a figure eight symbol so that it seemed to have no beginning and no end. Suspended from a leather thong, it caught the light and absorbed it. He looked up at Sabrina, who was beginning to blush.

"Sabrina I'm flattered" he said, slightly awed. "It must have cost you a fortune! This material alone would bankrupt a small business! It catches the light but doesn't reflect it, it's smooth as silk, strong as cord, and as light as a cloud. Nobles would murder just to wear this! I've never seen anything quite...like..." Setto trailed off as he gazed at Sabrina. Or more appropriately at her long black mane of hair.

Only there seemed to be less than he remembered.

"Oh Sabrina".

Sabrina lifted her head proudly. "It didn't cost me a cracked copper piece. I supplied the material myself and I weaved it with my own hands. My mother taught me when I was little."

She took a deep breath. "Setto I want you to keep it" she said. "It may seem silly but I always want to be with you, no matter where."

"Sabrina..." Setto could not speak as a peculiar feeling grasped his heart.

"I might lose you in a few days" Sabrina whispered, nearly inaudibly. "This way I can almost watch over you."

Setto forced a smile. "Hey, don't worry about me girl. I'm sure that my good looks and charm will see me through this storm."

Sabrina nearly smiled and hugged him again. That feeling in his heart grew as he held her gently in his arms. For a moment he wondered what it was before the truth dawned on him.

He loved her.

Setto's first impulse was to tell the girl in his arms but he held it down. 'It's not the right time' he thought to himself. 'We'll be attacked soon and we may not survive. I won't do that to her.'

"Setto?" Sabrina murmured.

"Hmm?"

"What are you thinking all of a sudden?"

He stroked his hands up and down her back. "Nothing at all girl" he reassured her. "Nothing at all".

'I will tell her after the battle.'

***

Mark was unusually thoughtful as he watched the Floating Fortress leave Asturian airspace. His mind had stayed with Yukari's last words.

***FLASHBACK***

Yukari hugged Mark as Allen walked up the ramp of the small leva- boat. It was just Yukari now.

"I'll see you in a day or two, okay?" She reassured her jangled boyfriend. "Just be careful while I'm away." Suddenly her eyes looked haunted but she was quickly herself again.

"Don't go getting yourself in trouble now" Mark joked, kissing Yukari's cheek. "Van and Dilandau need me here to badly for me to go rescuing you."

Yukari giggled and sighed as he kissed her lips. It was a goodbye kiss, one both long and lasting, the good feelings staying after the lips had parted.

"Don't worry about me. Just try and hold down the fort while I'm gone." She winked at her boyfriend and boarded the ship. Then she was gone, leaving Mark with a sense of foreboding.

***END FLASHBACK***

"Hold down the fort".

Mark spoke the words in a speculative manner. Then his jaw clenched in determination.

"Damn right I'll hold down the fort!"





Magicman: Ooh! Bravado on all parts. So tell me, was this chapter good, bad, or abysmal? Please let me know. This is Magicman, signing out!