DISCLAIMER: Same~

Chapter Five~

A black mage, a tad smaller then all the others, made his way to the village inn to check on the other Genomes.

Vivi Orunitia stopped in his tracks when he saw the tall, silver-haired man almost glowing in the soft sunlight in front of him, also heading towards the inn, white hakama billowing slightly in the wind.

"K-kuja~?"

The silver-haired man turned, managing to hear the small voice, and smiled warmly.

"Good day, Vivi."

Vivi nodded, though his eyes glowed with confusion, and went up to Kuja's side.

"What b-brings you here~?"

"The Genomes."

Kuja answered, voice darkened with concern.

The young black mage clasped his gloved hands together, something he had done whenever in thought, and his eyes brightened.

"Did Iifa come with you~? M-my children really enjoyed having her over here..."

Kuja's expression changed from worried to almost hurt, and closed his eyes, starting to walk to the inn again.

"Kuja~? Are you okay~?"

"...They're not here, Vivi."

"'They'~?"

The tall man stopped just before the inn.

"Kikyou and Iifa... Are gone."

Kuja entered the inn, shutting the door behind him, and the little mage could've sworn he heard the Genome sob.

He stood there, starting to feel confused all over again.

"'Gone'~? He didn't break up with Kikyou, did he~? Or are they...~? Oh, no..."

Vivi looked up, and continued to go on to the inn.

He came in to find Kuja staring pensively out the small window, leaning on the wall next to it.

"What's wrong~?"

Kuja answered, though he did not look away.

"...For some reason, I feel compelled to look at the sky whenever I think of Iifa and Kikyou."

"Does it make you feel better~?"

The tall Genome nodded, four feathers bobbing up and down with this motion, and assumed Vivi already knew of what had become of his wife and daughter.

"I saw Mikoto looking up at the sky a little while ago."

Kuja turned to look at Vivi, and the tear-stains on both sides of his face glistened in the sunlight.

"Really~?"

It was the black mage's turn to nod.

The Genome then turned back around, almost as if he wheren't interested.

Though he was.

Vivi stood there for a minute or two, feeling as if he should continue on and keep his former master's mind off his deceased loved ones, and unclasped his hands.

"Garnet u-used to sing when she felt sad."

"Really~?"

"Mm-hmm. She was really good, too."

"I know... I used to stop and listen to her whenever I came to Alexandria castle."

Vivi felt a small sense of victory as he watched Kuja's armored shoulders relax a bit, as if talking to the little mage lifted a great weight off them.

More was about to be said when the door creaked open and Mikoto entered, and was glad that she didn't have to look all over the village for Vivi and Kuja.

"The hut has been built. It is time to move the Genomes."

The black mage's oval-shaped, glowing eyes seemed to grow wider.

"Wow... That was quick~!"

Vivi felt a taller figure step up beside him.

"It's rather comical, if you think about it."

Vivi looked up to see Kuja, who was grinning, though the pain in his eyes never left.

Mikoto stood in front of the new hut thoughtfully, resting her hands from laying the smaller Genomes into beds, piles of nice, clean and warm blankets, and beds of hay.

Another one of the younger Genomes, still no taller then Vivi was once, came up beside her, and looked like he wanted to say something when he then gritted his teeth and fell on his knees.

"Hey~!"

Mikoto shouted in suprise, not thinking and got down on own knees beside the youngster.

She was glad she had shouted, for Kouga suddenly appeared by the Genome's side.

"Another one, huh~?"

Mikoto nodded, a feeling of dread worming into her heart, and watched on as Kouga carried the little Genome inside.

Zidane, Kuja, Vivi, and Inu-Yasha, who made himself comfortable in a nearby tree, came up to take a look at the hut when Mikoto stood up and turned to them.

"You don't look very suprised."

Zidane stated, his tail twitching nervously, his expression suggesting that was not all he wanted to say.

"It is daily."

"I see... Hey, uh, Sis'..."

"Hm~?"

"Do you think you, Kuja, and I are all gonna get sick, too~?"

His younger sister shook her head. She already knew what to tell them, and everyone else.

"We are not going to be effected."

Up in the tree, Inu-Yasha, who had woken up at an ungodly hour this morning and wanted to get to sleep, twitched his ears in interested.

"...We aren't~?"

"Correct. We have souls, thus, we have enough energy."

Kuja raised a thin, silver eyebrow, looking agitated, though he was actually very curious.

"What are you trying to say~?"

"Did Garland ever teach you of Clone~?"

Mikoto asked very plainly.

Kuja's heart nearly leaped at this, thinking he would never hear the name of his own former master again.

"...He mentioned the name 'Clone' once, but he never taught me anything about it."

His younger sister nodded, and continued.

"Clone was once a part of Terra, built by the Guardians as an experiment soon after the Decline. I know not how, or why, but it was blown off the planet soon after it's construction. Garland had said that the stronger souls of both Gaia and Terra were attracted to the blue light it mimics, hence the name, but he said it would not interfere with the assimilation... But now..."

"I get it... That's why the assimilation never took place."

Zidane mused. He had always wondered why nothing had happened after the Iifa Tree's self-destruction.

Mikoto nodded once more.

"Precisely. And, even if it did, it would have been a failure. The Genomes need the souls to survive, or else they'll reach their expiration date."

Kuja, who had looked away but still listened, felt a small pang in his heart. It was like the past was repeating itself.

"I was to have a limit on my life, too."

His thoughts where interupted by the sound of something landing on the ground.

Inu-Yasha stood up straight and stretched, and then leaned against the tree to rest his tired body.

"Why don't we just go up and destroy it~?"

"We won't know until we get there, but how do we get there and back~?"

"It is simple. The portal to Clone can be found deep in Oeilvert. It was hidden to keep intruders out."

"Jeeze, Sis', you sure do know alot about this."

Mikoto smiled a bit.

"I studied constantly during my short time on Terra. Garland taught me quite a bit, too."

"Um... W-will I be able to use my magic in Oeilvert~?"

Vivi finally spoke up, incredibly nervous about having to go through an area with a magic barrier, as would any mage.

"I'm afraid not, unless there is a way to break the barrier."

Kuja then looked, discomforting thoughts still lingering in the back of his mind, and felt the natural fear of a magic barrier welling up, for he was both white mage and black mage.

"I'm sure there is a source."

Zidane nodded, though he said nothing, and his tail noticeably twitched.

"Yeah... Let's get movein'. ...But, first, we need to pick up a few people."