The Day the Moon Shines
By: deep.Indigo

Chapter 4: Kurushiminagara Samayoinagara Nani kara Nigeru no ka
(While I Suffer, While I Wander, From What Will I Run Away?)





The next morning, Vyse was energetic and leading the others into battle with great zest. He, Enrique, Fina and Aika manned the battle stations, while Ramirez skulked in the background, having been ordered by Vyse to just watch for this time.

Within moments, they engaged the first of the two accompanying warships. The battle opened with a preemptive strike from the Delphinus' cannons.

"I'm sure we can win this with the Moon Stone Cannon, guys! We just need to get the ship into a good postion..." Vyse explained quickly to the rest of the party.

"Leave it to me, Vyse!" Aika cheered, already at work on the controls.

The Delphinus slided through the air gracefully, its metallic form a falcon at home in the skies. After several shots were exchanged by both sides, an opening finally arose. Pulling up behind the other ship, Vyse readied the Moon Stone Cannon. Ramirez, still in the background, had to admit that there was a certain quality to their fighting style. Perhaps it was because of the power of the Delphinus, but they fought together very well in addition to that. So, despite his low opinion of the pirates, he wasn't really surprised when the Moon Stone Cannon wiped out both the warships in one shot.

"Yeah!" Aika cheered, high-fiving Vyse. "We did it!" Vyse gave a cocky grin in reply, and there was a general air of excitement among the crew.

Enrique's expression, however, grew grim, as the Delphinus turned and engaged the remaining ship, the Auriga.

"It's not over yet," he reminded the others. "Now we have the toughest one left to go."

The opening shots of the battle were fired, and things started off as smoothly as one could hope for a battle against one of the Admirals. Becoming overconfident, Vyse and the others continued the battle in the same fashion, waiting for the Moon Stone Cannon to recharge, that they never noticed that the Auriga was getting closer and closer with every pass.

A fatal mistake, had they been in any ship but the Delphinus.

Only the tough hull of their ship kept it from being split apart when the Auriga suddenly rammed into the side of the ship. As it was, though, the Delphinus sustained major damage.

Vyse cursed loudly and colorfully, and had the situation been any less severe, someone surely would have chastised him.

"Fina! Damage report!!" he called over to the young Silvite girl. "Enrique! How long until the Moon Stone Cannon is fully charged?!" he switched over the Prince of Valua. "Aika!! Move us away from the Auriga before he can do that again!" he finished, directing his orders this time to the carrot-haired rogue.

"Aye-aye!" came the response from the addressed crewmembers.

/Shit!!/ Vyse cursed mentally as Fina told him the extent of the damage to the Delphinus, and Enrique informed him that the cannon was at 80%. /He was planning to do that all along, wasn't he? Shit. Shit! Gotta think of something, fast!!/

"Do you want my advice, 'Captain'?" Ramirez's bemused voice sounded from behind them.

Vyse grimaced. The last thing he needed right now was Ramirez lording it over them.

"You can keep your 'advice' and shove it, Ramirez!" Aika snapped before he could reply, however. "Vyse! I've got an idea—let's speed up the ship just before Gregorio tries that again!"

"Okay!" Vyse replied, relieved at not having to deal with that problem himself.

The Delphinus shifted its course, keeping its distance from the other ship for the time being.

"Vyse! The Moon Stone Cannon's ready to fire again!" Enrique called from his station.

"Great! We'll wait for the best opening!" Vyse replied.

As could be expected, the Auriga began closing the gap between the two ships. This time, though, Vyse kept a careful eye on the distance between the two ships, and conserved fuel for the time being. A few shots were exchanged, but it mostly came down to waiting for both sides.

As soon as the Auriga came close enough to ram them, Vyse had Aika use the magic engine to cast a Quika spell over the ship, and shortly after, as expected, the Auriga came careening towards the Delphinus—and thanks to the Delphinus' increased speed, it careened right on past. As soon as they were out of range of the Auriga, Vyse noticed that due to the angle at which they had escaped, they had a perfect shot at the Auriga with the Moon Stone Cannon. Quickly setting up the Cannon, Vyse took advantage of that shot, and with a blaze of lunar power, the cannon blast tore the sky asunder and hit the Auriga.

But didn't tear it asunder.

To Vyse's surprise, the ship was still there. /Well, it figures, I guess,/ he mused. /It is an Admiral's ship.../ He shrugged and steered the ship closer to the other vessel, planning to hit it with the Delphinus' cannons. The other ship, though greatly damaged, responded by quickly flying underneath, running past the Delphinus to get behind it. Vyse responded by turning the ship in an arc, trying to keep the Auriga from getting a good shot at the back of the ship.

"Fina! Aika! Enrique! Let's get the cannons ready! We can't let him hit us again!" he called to his crewmates.

They replied in the affirmative and did the aforementioned task. The cannons were fired, scoring a direct hit on the enemy ship.

"YEAH!!!" Aika and Vyse cheered in unison as the smoking Auriga began to sink. "We won, we won!!"

Enrique tensed at first, fearing that the Auriga was doomed, but then relaxed upon seeing it was merely damaged. Gregorio and his crew would still live.

Although he would not allow his expression to chance, Ramirez was rather impressed. Gregorio's abilities were top-rate, and if Lord Galcian were not in charge, the one who would take his place would surely be the Ironwall Admiral. To defeat him was no easy task, as Ramirez knew from firsthand experience.

Vyse turned and grinned at the young Admiral. "So what did you think of that?" he asked.

Ramirez frowned a bit at his tone and shrugged as if indifferent. "Sloppy."

Vyse sighed, and rolled his eyes. "Nothing's good enough for you, is it?" he half-queried, exasperated.

Ramirez blinked. He hadn't quite expected Vyse to say that. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, we just defeated Gregorio, and all you have to say is 'sloppy'..." He sighed again.

Ramirez blinked again and frowned, feeling somewhat defensive. "You asked me what I thought and I told you," he stated, annoyed. "What more do you want?"

Vyse shrugged. "I guess you've got a point there. But I was just expecting something..." he trailed off, not finishing the thought. "Never mind it, okay?" he grinned.

"Hmph." But Ramirez didn't chase the subject anyway.

"Vyse," Enrique said then. When he drew the rogue's attention, he continued, "As we're going now, it's possible to ride alongside the Auriga. I would like a chance to speak to Uncle Gregorio face-to-face—to explain to him what we're trying to do. I believe he'll be receptive."

The brunet Air Pirate nodded with a confident smile. "Let's go then—Aika, Fina, Ramirez, you all coming, too?"

The girls agreed, but the Admiral frowned and replied, "I will stay here. I would also appreciate it if you did not mention to Admiral Gregorio that I am aboard this ship, even if he asks about it."

Vyse gave him an odd look, but nodded, and headed out with his three companions. Ramirez watched them go silently; he didn't want to confront one of his colleagues, even the most tolerable of them, under these conditions. Perhaps his pride would be his downfall, he mused, but he wasn't quite desperate enough to reveal himself as being in the custody of Air Pirates. He wasn't so far gone that he couldn't stand to wait for other chances. Simply going back as he was would be too humiliating; he had to repay Vyse in full if he was to return to Valua with his chin raised.



That night, as the Delphinus was receiving repairs on Esperanza, Vyse pondered what to do with Ramirez. He was being stubbornly avoidant, even though Vyse could feel that there was something inside of him that was burning...for what, he wasn't quite sure, but Vyse knew it was there. It had to be there.

Sighing, he wandered the corridors of the Delphinus. On a sudden whim, he entered the dining hall. He was surprised to see Fina there, sitting alone at one of the tables. She had been unable to sleep, due to a nagging sense that something was not quite right.

"Fina?" he called softly.

She glanced up at him, startled, but relaxed when she saw who it was. "Oh...it's you, Vyse," she murmured.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, "Having trouble sleeping?"

"Yes..." she replied, then hesitated. "I just had a bad feeling...but I can't figure out what it is..."

"About him?" he asked, not bothering to name the man in question.

Fina bit her lip softly and slowly nodded.

Vyse sighed. "I really don't know what goes on in his mind at all."

The female Silvite agreed sadly, "His moods keep changing...at one moment, he seems willing to communicate with me—with us—but then the next moment, he becomes hostile again..."

"Yeah," Vyse sighed, running one hand through his hair. A moment of silence lingered in the room; then Vyse, unnerved by it, broke it.

"Hey, Fina... What was he like as a kid?"

Fina glanced up at him, surprised. "Why..." she began, not knowing quite where to begin. "He was...rather enthusiastic. He was always full of energy, and so headstrong... He was always at odds with the Elders for some reason or another, and as a result, always getting punished..." She smiled a bit nostalgically. "He never let that get him down, though."

It had been said before that Vyse and Ramirez were similar, at least in spirit. /...But still.../ Vyse thought to himself, /...it's almost frightening. I would swear that she was describing me as a kid.../

"In the couple of years before he came down here, though," she continued, growing slightly morose, "he grew much calmer, and was much more obedient towards the Elders... That's why they felt they could trust him with descending to this world. Why do you ask?"

"Hm?" the Air Pirate said, startled out of his musings. "Um, I was just wondering....about his childhood, I guess...which reminds me...what was your childhood like, Fina?" he said, attempting to shift the focus of the conversation.

She smiled fondly, if not a bit melancholically. "Well...there weren't many children on the Great Silver Shrine..." she recalled slowly. "There were only Ramirez and myself. But I was happy. He was like a big brother to me, and I truly loved him and my mother. She used to sing to the two of us..." Fina sighed a bit, feeling nostalgic.

"Is your mother still alive? Or..." Vyse trailed off. He had a sudden sinking feeling that he asked the wrong thing.

The smile faded from Fina's lips. "No..." she answered quietly, and the smile returned, more sweet and sad than before. "But...it's all right. She was always sick, ever since I'd been born... My mother always had to be confined to her bed; she couldn't walk, you see. At least when she died, her spirit could be free to fly anywhere..."

Vyse remained silent, bowing his head slightly in respect to the woman he had never met.

The Silvite girl sighed a bit. "You would have liked her, Vyse," she commented softly. "She was always gazing up at Arcadia, saying she wanted to go there one day... Ramirez loved her, too. You see, he—" But she suddenly cut herself off, as if remembering something, and glanced away, looking a bit guilty.

Vyse remembered suddenly his conversation with Ramirez the other day. He knew why she had stopped talking, and decided not to press the point.

"Sounds like both of you had pretty lonely childhoods, though..." he murmured.

"Well..." Fina hesitated, not knowing what to say. Finally, she offered, "We had each other."

Vyse nodded. "Yeah, that's true..."

Silence again enveloped the room. At a loss, Vyse brought up something Enrique had told him. "Fina..." he began softly, "Enrique said you have a really nice singing voice. I was wondering...could you sing for me?"

Fina's face abruptly turned bright crimson. "He...told you that?" she queried in a small voice.

Vyse sweated a bit. "Yeah... is something wrong? He seemed quite impressed..."

She laughed nervously. "It's just that...I usually don't sing for an audience."

He smiled comfortingly. "It's okay if you don't want to."

"Well...if you really want me to..." She smiled shyly at him, still blushing, but not as intensely.

"I would like you to," Vyse stated simply.

Fina, still smiling and blushing prettily, cleared her throat and softly sang a sweet lullaby in a language Vyse didn't know; probably the native language of Silvites, he assumed. The handsome rogue listened quietly, smiling, admiring her vocals. Enrique was right; she was a really good singer.

When she finished, the veiled girl glanced over at Vyse, as if seeking his approval.

"...It was a very nice song..." he said quietly, almost afraid he would break this beautiful moment.

Fina blushed a bit and smiled, pleased by the compliment. "Thank you..."

Vyse grinned back at her. "Will you sing again for me sometime?" he asked.

The pale-blonde girl blushed a little deeper, but smiled more widely and nodded. "I'd like that," she agreed.

The two of them laughed together, the awkwardness from before gone, and the air felt suddenly renewed, as if a breath of fresh air had swept the room. The two smiled at each other, their worries, for the time being, forgotten.



Outside the room, Ramirez, who had been eavesdropping, pushed himself away from the wall, against which he'd be leaning, and stalked away, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the welling of jealousy in his heart. He wasn't entirely sure what it was directed towards. Either their closeness as friends...or something else. Returning to the captain's quarters, he collapsed facedown onto the bedding.

"Mmph," he muttered to himself through his pillow. The makeshift "bed" was hardly comfortable, but Ramirez wasn't about to ask for any favors. He didn't want Vyse thinking he had Ramirez in his debt, after all.

/Why do I care if those two become involved with each other? It's none of my business.../ he brooded. /Besides, Fina's made her choices. If she wants to dirty herself with these wretched Air Pirates, that's her concern. She's an adult; she doesn't need me to watch over her anymore./ He sighed, and rolled onto his side. Things had been much simpler when he was a child. /...Why can't things be the way they were back then? Even though I suffered...even though I was ignorant...wasn't there a certain pleasure in being innocent? At least, then, I had my dreams... How ironic. If I hadn't been so innocent, my innocence wouldn't have been taken from me..../

Ramirez turned around on his back and stared at the ceiling without seeing it. "Hahaue..." he murmured.

"Ramirez?"

The Silvite swordsman bolted upright; Vyse had returned to his room and was staring at him quizzically. The young Admiral felt his cheeks start to burn, and making a face, he turned away.

"What do you want?" he muttered.

"...Are you all right?" the handsome youth asked, a little concerned.

Ramirez gave a short, mirthless laugh, disgusted by the question. "Are you completely clueless or are you just stupid?" he snapped. "Of course I'm not 'all right'!"

Vyse sighed. "Fine, then. Do you want to talk about it, or am I wasting my time?"

The silver-haired young man scowled and glanced away, saying nothing.

"I guess that's a no."

"Your powers of perception are simply amazing," Ramirez muttered, voice rife with sarcasm, as he laid back down.

The Blue Rogue walked over to Silvite's 'bed' and looked down at him. "Are you this rude to everyone, or am I just a special case?" he asked, annoyed.

Something inside Ramirez snapped, and he shot to his feet, glaring at Vyse face-to-face. "I heard you flirting with Fina," he snarled in a low voice. "Don't you dare do anything to her, or I'll make you regret it."

Vyse stepped back, surprised at the sudden outburst. Looking at the other man, he smiled slightly. "Heh. I didn't think you cared about her..."

Ramirez clenched and unclenched his fist, still glaring at Vyse, barely managing to control his jealousy and rage and keep from striking the taller young man down. It was bad enough that now he had to make up excuses to explain away his otherwise unexplainable temper; he didn't need to start a brawl on the pirate's own ship. Finally, he glanced away, glowering at the floor. "....."

"Hey, you don't have to worry about it, okay? Fina and I are just friends..." Vyse spoke, attempting to calm down the wrathful man.

Ramirez turned around, trying to calm himself down, and walked over to the other side of the room. "...Just friends?" he repeated. "Are you certain of that?"

Vyse sighed. "I can't predict the future, Ramirez. She's just my friend now, but I can't tell what will happen..."

The self-righteous Silvite turned around, his eyes narrowed. What kind of gall was that? He opened his mouth to tell him off one last time, to voice his disgust with the Blue Rogue and to triumph with the final word, and said, "You slime...do you think I can be deceived like that?! Humans are all the same—you're just being kind to her now so you can take advantage of her later! Well, I can see clearly through your ploy, and on your life, I won't allow any of your plans to come to fruition!!"

Except it didn't come out quite like that. What he actually ended up saying was, "You like her better than me, don't you?!"

Vyse stared at him. "What did you say?" he asked, bewildered.

Ramirez turned bright red, realizing too late that he had completely said the wrong thing. "........"

The Air Pirate tried a different tactic. "What did you mean by that?"

"Nothing, it just came out wrong," the Admiral muttered, a little too quickly.

Vyse regarded the Silvite for a moment, then shrugged. Most of the time he couldn't understand the man; why should this conversation be any different?

"'Night," Ramirez finally muttered gruffly, lying down and pulling his blanket over him, his way of saying the conversation was over.

"...Goodnight," Vyse replied. It was obvious that there wasn't going to be any more discussion tonight, so he prepared for bed and attempted to fall asleep himself. Both young men fell asleep fairly quickly that night, but neither of them slept peacefully. Vyse kept waking up, and Ramirez continued to dream...

"Hahaue..."

She looked just like she had in life, her pale blonde hair bound into a long braid, and still clad in the white dress she always wore. He knew, though, that this couldn't possibly be real. She was dead.

"No...you're not her. She's dead..." he whispered, trying to deny what he saw before him.

"Am I dead?" she said, her voice soft, like always. She smiled slightly. "I certainly do not feel dead..." To drive her point home, she pinched a cheek and winced slightly at the pain, then smiled at him.

Ramirez shook his head, his silver bangs tracing his face. He was his current age, not the age he had been when she had died, and garbed in his now usual military uniform. "An illusion," he whispered. "Or a dream." Even so, he stepped forward, reaching out to touch her himself. She reached out one hand and clasped his.

"I've missed you so much..." Her voice was quiet, but it managed, as always, to reach the listener's ears. "What have you seen, in your travels?" she asked, smiling slightly.

Her hand was cool and soft, just as he remembered it... Ramirez shook his head again, refusing to believe it. "Far too much," he murmured, a pained look splayed across his face. "I'm almost glad you died, so you couldn't see how dirty Arcadia is...haha...ue..."

The look on her face was one of confusion. "...But...I'm not dead, Ramirez... I'm right here..." Her voice was little more than a whisper.

"No, you died a long time ago," Ramirez protested, unable to look her in the face. What was going on? He didn't understand. "I remember you dying..."

"Are you sure? ...Perhaps it was just a bad dream." Her voice was soothing, just like it had been back then.

The silver-haired young man felt himself buckling. It would be so good to believe her, to believe it could go back to those days, but.... "Perhaps this is the dream," he whispered in reply. "It doesn't seem real..."

"Do you really think that?" she asked, a bit sorrowfully. Sighing softly, she changed the subject. "Did nothing good happen to you on Arcadia?" she questioned. "Are there truly no good people on the planet?"

Ramirez hesitated. Regardless of whether or not this scene was real, could he really tell her the truth, when she had believed in those wretches all this time? But on the other hand, how could he lie to her...? Still, he had already slipped, saying the world was dirty; if he hadn't said that, she wouldn't be asking such a question. "There are...many different kinds of people," he eventually replied, diplomatically.

She smiled, seemingly content at this news. "Do you have friends now? You used to be lonely, even with Fina and I..." She paused, and without letting him answer that question, asked another. "Have you found someone you can love?"

His thoughts flicked suddenly to Vyse, but Ramirez certainly didn't love him. Still, then why had he thought of him when she asked...? "...No."

A clock chimed in the background, and she questioned, "Are you certain?" Except it wasn't her voice anymore, nor was it her; she had suddenly become Fina, who was regarding him with such a serious look on his face...

"What do you mean?" Ramirez queried, too startled to ask what had just happened.

"Are you sure you don't love anyone?" Fina asked him, again.

Ramirez did not reply, and looked away from her, toward the window 'hahaue' had enjoyed looking out of. Only, the window was no longer there.

"What happened to the window?" he demanded, growing increasingly panicked at the sudden changes.

"What do you mean? There never was a window," Fina replied, her expression blank.

At that moment, he heard a waterdrop splash into a body of water somewhere in the distance. Quickly, he turned to see whatever it was that was taking place behind him. When he did so, though, Ramirez felt Fina's hand, which had still been in his, slip away. He turned back, and there was no longer anyone—or anything—there...simply empty blackness.

"What..." he murmured, wide-eyed. He took a step forward in the darkness, trying to feel his way around by touch. But there was nothing tangible. "This is a dream..." he said aloud. "It has to be a dream..."

"Yes, this is a dream, where nothing is real," the voice of Galcian sounded as a hand touched his shoulder. "Or rather, everything is real, but in a way different from the waking world—making it unreal. You can't trust what you experience here, Ramirez."

The young Silvite turned to face his mentor. "Lord Galcian...."

Galcian smiled down at him nastily, and his hand slid down Ramirez's arm while he placed his other hand on Ramirez's other shoulder. "What are you doing, Ramirez, dallying so long with the Air Pirate?" the commander of the Valuan Armada inquired in a deceptively nonchalant tone. "Does he...interest you?"

"No!" he replied, too quickly. "I feel nothing for him. The reason I haven't escaped is...." He stopped, unable to finish that thought. Why hadn't he escaped yet? Why had he taken up that ridiculous offer of Vyse's? There was no logical explanation. He supposed he could claim he was spying, but what was there to spy on?

"The reason is...what?" Like a cobra striking its prey, Galcian grasped Ramirez's wrist and pulled his arm back behind his back, twisting it upwards. "You know you can't trust him...you should come quickly back to me. I am, after all, the only one you can trust in this world..." He tugged Ramirez's arm up a fraction of an inch higher, and the young Silvite almost gasped from the pain.

"What...what are you doing?" he asked. "You're...not really Lord Galcian...are you?"

"Of course I am Galcian," he whispered in Ramirez's ear. "Who else would I be?"

Ramirez let out a gasp, but it was due more to the shock of him doing this than the actual physical pain itself. "Then...why?"

"Am I not like a father to you, Ramirez?" Galcian nearly purred in his ear as he tightened his grip. "The father you've never had? And, in that fashion, do you not love me?" He chuckled. "Love hurts."

And with that, Galcian wrenched Ramirez's arm upwards, searing pain shooting through the young man's shoulder as it was dislocated.

Another gasp escaped Ramirez's lips, this one far more pained. He had been wounded in battle before, but...never like this, and not under these circumstances. With a cruel laugh, Galcian released the young man and allowed him to collapse to the floor...except there was no floor, there was only endless darkness, and surrounded by pain, Ramirez started falling... He was certain, as he fell, that eventually he would hit some surface—and, of course, on doing so, die. All he could do was wait for his own inevitable end.

"You won't die," her gentle voice whispered, and below him, in the way of his descent, she appeared. "Because I'll protect you."

"Hahaue!" Ramirez cried out, realizing in a flash that they would crash. "Hahaue!!"

He did crash into her, but for him, it was as if he had landed on a downy pillow. It wasn't the same for her...

Her

Body

Shattered.

"Hahaue!" he screamed. He had killed her. By simply existing he had killed her! He continued to scream out her name, tears flowing down his cheeks, the redness of her blood pooling around him and swaying through the nothingness like ether.

"HAHAUEEEEEEE!!!!"

Ramirez bolted upright, suddenly awake. Sweating and mouth still open from his cry, he stared at Vyse, who looked just as surprised as he held Ramirez's shoulder.



For whatever reason, Vyse had been unable to sleep very well, and had once again that night awoken. When he had, with an annoyed sigh, he shoved his face into his pillow and tried to concentrate on getting to sleep again. But as he did so, he slowly became aware of a strange sound. After a moment of listening, he realized with a shock that Ramirez was talking in his sleep. He sat up, and looked over at the sleeping Silvite. It had become evident from the words Ramirez mumbled and his expression that he was having quite a bad dream. He quickly slid out of bed, worried about him; Vyse knew you were supposed to leave someone having a nightmare sleeping, because according to people who did research on that sort of thing, once it was over they wouldn't remember it. But what if they were wrong? Besides, he didn't know what Ramirez was dreaming about...it might be better to wake him up before it got worse.

"Hahaue..."

Vyse blinked and strained his ears. "Hahaue"? Who or what was that supposed to be? He figuring it to be a Silvite word and reached over, placing a hand on one of Ramirez's shoulders, intending to shake him awake.

"HAHAUEEEEE!!!" At that moment, Ramirez screamed and bolted upright, suddenly wide awake. The two of them stared at each other, both considerably unnerved.

Vyse became uncomfortably aware that his hand was still on Ramirez's shoulder. What would he think? "Um..." he started in an uncertain voice, "...are you okay, Ramire...?" His voice trailed off when he saw with some surprise how fearful Ramirez's expression was, and then with shock as tears started to fall down from the young man's jade green eyes. He didn't think he'd ever seen Ramirez cry before—no, Vyse was sure of it. It was...frightening. The Silvite looked, for the first time, utterly fragile.

"Hey..." Vyse said in a soothing tone, placing his other hand on Ramirez's respective shoulder, "it's okay...all right? You're all right..."

With a sudden gasp, Ramirez fell forward into Vyse's arms.

Vyse, taken by surprise, wrapped his arms around the young Admiral's shoulders and held him as he shook, his tears wetting Vyse's shirt. "Ramirez..." he whispered, staring wide-eyed down at the young man in his embrace. "You..."

He was uncertain if the Silvite even heard him, as he did not respond. Ramirez continued to silently shed tears, his slender body trembling slightly.

Vyse, deciding that if Ramirez's nightmare had been so bad that it had forced him to this point, he really needed the comfort, allowed him to do so. Whispering soothing words, he stroked the shorter man's silver hair in what Vyse hoped was a reassuring manner.

It was quite a while until Ramirez calmed down. Slowly, he extricated himself from Vyse's arms, and, his face flushed, met the Air Pirate's gaze.

"Don't..." he began, his face still pained, though whether it was from anger or embarrassment or the memory of his nightmare was impossible for Vyse to tell, "...ever breathe a word of this to anyone. Ever."

Vyse nodded. "I promise," he said, simply. Part of him wanted to ask about the dream, or at least talk to Ramirez further, but the whole situation was so awkward. Perhaps it would be best simply to say nothing of it, and let the matter rest.

Ramirez drew himself away, breathing heavily. His emotions were in turmoil, and not simply because of his nightmare.

He had embraced Vyse...and enjoyed it. Crying in his arms, allowing himself release as Vyse comforted him...made him feel better. And now that he was separated from Vyse, he wanted to get close to him again.

Ramirez felt sick from the realization.

"Vyse..." he murmured in a low voice, his emerald eyes cast on the floor between their knees, "I...I, um..."

"Hey, don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I promised," Vyse said with a supportive smile, completely misunderstanding the other man's emotions.

"N-no, I..." But Ramirez's throat suddenly stuck, and he found he couldn't speak. /You don't understand...you've got the wrong message.../

"Do you want to talk about it?" the brunet rogue inquired.

"...I...if...that's okay..." Ramirez managed to murmur, casting his eyes away. What was he doing...? What did he have to talk about to a person like Vyse, anyway? Why...why...? Ramirez, unable to understand his own feelings, fell silent.

"All right, then." Vyse settled back down onto the floor. "I'll listen."

Ramirez's heartbeat quickened. He had just committed himself to Vyse! Now what? What would he say? Fearing a panic, Ramirez resettled himself, moving over next to the young rogue and wrapping his arms around his legs. "......What do...you...want to know?"

Vyse paused a moment, thinking of where to begin. "...You were calling out for someone named Hahaue. Who was that, and what happened?" he asked at length.

"I..." Ramirez swallowed nervously, his expression stricken. "...Hahaue means Mother in the holy language of Silvites, but... Well, I told you before that my birth mother died before I was even born... The woman I call 'hahaue' is actually Fina's mother..."

Vyse thought this over. It made sense, considering. And hadn't Fina said he had been hurt more by her mother's death? Still, though, he was curious about the dream. "...What did you dream about?"

As he thought of Fina and Lord Galcian asking about his feelings of love, Ramirez placed a hand over his mouth. He felt mildly ill; he realized now what they had been implying. Glancing over at Vyse, he shook his head slightly. It was both preposterous and embarrassing! Ramirez certainly didn't... "...I don't really remember very well."

"You sure?" Vyse inquired, in slight surprise. Without giving Ramirez a chance to answer, he continued, "I guess it doesn't matter. It's probably better that you don't remember, huh?"

Ramirez blinked, his face turning pink. "Uh...yeah," he muttered, turning away. "I'm...no, this is stupid. I'm sorry for bothering you." As he spoke, he crawled back into his bedding and laid down. "Good night."

Vyse was certain that there was something Ramirez was hiding, but it was late, and sleep sounded like a good idea. Besides, it was Ramirez's business if he wanted to tell him, right? Telling himself Ramirez would open up to him in his own time, Vyse turned to get back into bed. However, something stopped him, and he looked back over his shoulder at the young Admiral.

"Hey..." Vyse said softly, kneeling down next to him. Ramirez glanced up at him, and the rogue continued, "I want to be your friend."

"...Are you serious?" the silver-haired man queried quietly after a moment.

"Of course," Vyse smiled warmly. "I don't really understand you, or how you think, but I know one thing's clear...you've been hurt really badly. And...I want to help you get over your pain. Because I can't just leave you alone to suffer...that goes against my nature."

"...I... I'd...have to think about it..." Ramirez replied. Inwardly, he cursed himself. /He's just using you!/ he told himself. But despite that, he thought, in some small part of his being, that perhaps it wouldn't be so bad, to be friends with Vyse.

Vyse grinned down at the silver-haired young man. "Great!" he cheered. "Good night! I hope you sleep better this time."

"Good night...." Ramirez murmured. He doubted he would get any sleep, though...

Even after Vyse had climbed into bed, gone silent, and finally started softly snoring, Ramirez lay awake in his bedding, pondering this turn of events. /...I can't trust him. I can't afford to trust him.../ But the young Silvite couldn't deny that his heart felt more at peace than before, and that he felt a certain warmth he hadn't felt in years. Things were changing, and changing far too quickly.

Ramirez sighed. Just as soon as he got used to one way of life, the world turned upside down and he had to start all over again... Why couldn't he just be allowed to hate Vyse? Sitting up quietly, Ramirez gazed at the slumbering pirate. He slept so peacefully... The green-eyed Admiral smiled wistfully.

"Vyse..." he whispered softly, watching the moonlight make shadows across the Blue Rogue's face, "...I'll kill you."





NOTES: We own nothing except our ideas. Don't take our ideas. All properties of Skies of Arcadia/Eternal Arcadia [Legends] belong to everyone it is to whom they belong.

Ayu:
We hated writing that fight scene between the Auriga and the Delphinus. Neither of us specializes in fight scenes, especially not flight scenes between ships of any kind; our things are exposition and plot. As a result, it was extremely painful to write, and that's why it's so short and crappy. -_-;

Ayu: Did you all enjoy Ramirez's creepy dream? It's a little something I-chan and I dubbed "F*cked-Up Dream Theatre" (don't mind the censoring), or FUDT for short. Basically it's the weird, usually symbolic and almost always message-carrying dreams that have a tendency to show up in anime and such. I-chan and I enjoy using FUDT due to the ample opportunities to use freaky symbolic things to screw with a given character's head (in this case, Ramirez), and trust us, this is not going to be the last time you see it.

Ramirez: "Vyse...I'll kill you."
Ianthe: It's Heero Yuy! (*whimpers and doesn't know whether to hide or squeal with joy*)
Ayu: Speaking of Heero Yuy, Ramirez's seiyuu in Eternal Arcadia is Midorikawa Hikaru, who also voiced Heero.
Ianthe: squee.

Ayu: The title of this chapter is a line from an Ogata Megumi song by the title of Jerashii no Konseki (Traces of Jealousy). The translation can be found, as usual, at my lyrics site, Campus Lyrics!, the link to which you can find below.

Contact deep.Indigo: deep.Indigo@negativenergy.zzn.com
Contact Ianthe of d.I: ianthefira@rangersgrove.zzn.com (URL: Ranger's Grove (rangersgrove.tripod.com))
Contact Ayu of d.I: ensoph@goddess.zzn.com (URL: ~ T H E : E T E R N A L : M I N D ~ (theeternalmind.sterlingsylver.net))