The Day the Moon Shines
By: deep.Indigo

Chapter 6: Eranda Kono Michi, Tatoe Arehatete Itemo
(Even If This Path I Chose Becomes Dilapidated)





"YEAH!! We made it through the Dark Rift!!" Vyse cheered as the Delphinus soared into the blue sky from the black sky rift.

"We rule!" Aika cheered, punching a fist into the air. "Now we just have to get to Yafutoma and get the Blue Moon Crystal!"

"I find it amazing how you make it sound like such an easy thing," Ramirez commented, his first unprovoked statement for the day.

Aika and Vyse shrugged a little, then both grinned. "It can't be any tougher than what we've done up 'til now!" the latter reasoned.

Ramirez silently admitted that this was true, and though he was impressed that they had actually made it through the Dark Rift, he of course didn't tell them that. There was no point in making their egos swell any further.

As the Delphinus and its crew's morale soared through the azure sky, they passed a minor sky rift, and then, moving north, they encountered a vast wall encircling an unseen area; many portions of it were dilapidated and fallen. The compass jumped hysterically as they moved on, and stopping briefly to inspect the area, they discovered that it was an ancient Yafutoman structure called the Guardian Walls. A similar event had occurred only minutes earlier with the nest of a bird called an uguisu, which was a sign among sailors that a human city was nearby, and the two almost simultaneous discoveries only helped to bolster the already towering morale of Vyse and his crew. Once the two discoveries were recorded, the Delphinus moved on towards a distant island country, presumably Yafutoma, and even Ramirez was looking forward to visiting the strange land.

They were roughly halfway from the Guardian Walls to Yafutoma when they were attacked by out of nowhere by a double-ship with a red sail and a blue sail accompanied by a small fleet of ships with brightly colored purple and red paper sails.

The crew of the Delphinus was rocked violently to one side when the attack connected, and yelling in surprise, they moved immediately into battle mode. Although the ships astoundingly could move high into the sky, beyond the range of normal gunfire, the Delphinus' torpedoes could still reach them, and before long, the normal boats were defeated and on the run. However, there still remained the odd double-boat, which had for some reason stayed out of the battle, and now loomed ominously before them.

"Man, what is that thing, anyway?" Aika wondered. "It's one ship...or maybe it's two...or is it one?"

"It's getting closer..." Enrique noted just before it swooped by and came to a sudden halt next to the ship.

"Hey, what the heck—?!" the scarecrow-haired piratess exclaimed. "What the heck do they think they're doing?!"

"I'm willing to guess they aren't the welcome committee!" Vyse said. "Come on, let's get on deck and see what they want! It looks like there's only the two of them!"

Vyse ran, closely followed by Aika, Fina, Enrique and then Ramirez, out of the control room, leaving Marco to hold their position, and made his way to the deck, where the two invaders, nearly identical in appearance, waited.

"Westerners..." a voice called down to them from the strange Yafutoman ship.

The five looked up to see two dusky-skinned men, almost identical in appearance, glare down at them. They both had black eyes and strangely style black hair; however, the armor of the one who had spoken was red, while the armor of the one who had yet to speak was blue.

"...You are a long way from home," the blue-armored one called.

"Yeah, we noticed," Vyse yelled up at them. "What do you want?!"

The two men stood. "I am Jao," stated one with the red armor.

"I am Mao," the one with the blue armor declared. "It is our quest..."

"...to collect one thousand swords," Jao completed. They leaped down from their ship onto the deck of the Delphinus, both of them landing perfectly, and faced Vyse and the others. "You have..." Jao, and then Mao stated, "two options. You can surrender and give us your swords..." Mao began, and Jao finished, "...or you can die, and we will take them."

"Nothing doing!" the Blue Rogue snapped, pulling those swords from their respective sheaths. "You want them, you'll have to fight me for them!!"

The two Yafutoman pirates laughed out loud. Jao said, "You wish..." and Mao continued, "for an honorable battle?" Jao stated, "That is how we prefer it! But..." Mao spoke, "by yourself, you are no match..." and Jao completed, "for the two of us."

Jao took a step forward. "If any of your companions wields a sword..."

Mao stepped up to join him. "...Then let him fight beside you."

Vyse glanced back at Enrique, who nodded and took a step forward. Before he could advance any further, though, Ramirez placed a hand on his shoulder, restraining him.

"My apologies, Your Highness," he said in a neutral tone. "But since I am a better swordsman than you, please allow me to fight this battle."

Vyse, Aika, Fina and Enrique all stared at the silver-haired youth, who kept his gaze trained on the Prince of Valua.

"It is true that you are better with a sword than me, Ramirez," Enrique said after a few seconds. "But you don't have a sword."

"I will if you lend me yours," Ramirez countered calmly.

Enrique blinked, then looked over at Vyse, who nodded once.

"Let him borrow it," said the brunet captain. "He's so eager to fight, after all..."

The corner of Ramirez's mouth twitched upwards once as Enrique drew his sword and gave it to him, but other than that, his expression did not change. "I can't risk you getting yourself killed, Vyse," he commented dryly as he walked up to join the Air Pirate.

"Aww, how cute," Vyse said sarcastically, "Ramirez cares whether I live or die."

"Weren't you paying attention the first time I told you? It isn't whether you live or die. It's whether I kill you or your stupidity kills you," Ramirez replied dryly.

The two Tenkou pirates watched the exchange, sweating slightly.

"Foreigners certainly..." Mao began, and Jao concluded, "are strange."

"Yeah, well...we're unusual by anyone's standards," Vyse grinned, moving into battle position.

"Westerners..." Jao began; Mao concluded, "prepare yourselves."

"The same goes for you," Ramirez stated smoothly. "Now that I'm in this battle, both of you will die."

"Rude," Jao observed, taking up a battle stance.

"And overconfident," Mao added, moving into a fighting position. "Come at us, westerners..."

"If you dare!" Jao concluded.

Vyse and Ramirez did dare, and with a flash of three green blades, they charged at the twin Yafutomans, Vyse facing Mao, Ramirez attacking Jao.

Fina, Enrique and Aika hung back, watching the fight. Although Mao and Jao were unarmed, they had considerable strength and talent; even faced with Vyse and Ramirez's power, they were holding their own.

"Hey," Aika whispered to her friends, "d'you really think it's a good idea to let Ramirez have a sword?"

"It's a little late to do anything about that," Enrique replied. "Besides, Vyse said it was all right, and I trust his judgment. Besides, my preferred type of sword, the rapier class, is quite different to what I understand he is used to, so that may have an effect on things."

Aika scowled. "Yeah, well...for some bizarre reason, Vyse seems to have a blind spot where Ramirez is concerned."

"Vyse is trying to befriend Ramirez," Fina said. "I don't think he's being too soft on him or anything."

The redhead shrugged. "Yeah, you are right," she conceded. "But still, I think we have to keep a closer eye on Ramirez. It's just crazy to think that he's not planning to stab us in the back when we least expect it."

"I'm not saying that we should trust him entirely, per se," Enrique argued, "but at the same time, if we want him to feel welcome and at ease, and gain his friendship—or at the very least, remove his hostility—then some measure of trust is necessary. Would you want to be friends with someone who obviously didn't trust you?"

Aika made a face, and Fina giggled a bit, despite the battle that still raged in the background.

"I like to think I'm a little different from him," the redhead muttered grudgingly.

Fina was about to make a comment when a scream pierced the air. The three looked sharply in alarm at the battlefield to see Ramirez pulling Enrique's sword out of Jao's body, and Jao collapsing and clutching at the bloody wound left behind. At first it looked as if the wound was mortal, but Jao managed to back away, with Mao coming next to him, having been defeated by Vyse in a less violent manner, to help him.

"Oh, good, now you're together; that will make it easier," the three heard Ramirez say, and he moved to attack the two at once. However, Vyse blocked him and held him back, giving the Tenkou pirates time to retreat further.

"Westerners, you are strong," Mao declared.

"We...will meet again," Jao breathed, stopping the flow of his life fluids with a fist in the wound. With that, the two leaped over the railing of the Delphinus, causing Aika, Fina and Enrique to come running up in shock; but the two had landed on their own ship, which rose and moved away as soon as they were in a safe position.

"We are the commanders of the Tenkou pirates," Mao called to them, his strong voice carrying over the winds.

"The next time we meet...will surely be your deaths!" Jao yelled, and with that, the dragon-shaped double ships soared high into the heavens and out of sight.

Once they were gone, Vyse turned to Ramirez.

"You didn't have to try to kill them, you know," he said angrily. "They might have been willing to kill us, but that doesn't mean we should have been trying to do the same thing. Plus they were unarmed!"

"You would have preferred to surrender your blades?" Ramirez queried coldly. "That seems out of your character, Vyse."

"That's not what I'm talking about!" the young captain argued. "We had swords. They had their bare fists. Why did you have to try to cut Jao into little pieces?!"

"Oh, geez," Aika muttered in the background, placing her hands on her hips. "They're arguing again."

"He was the enemy," Ramirez stated flatly. "If you don't destroy an enemy immediately, he may come back stronger to destroy you later."

"Dammit, Ramirez, you're getting creepier and creepier every day!" Vyse shouted, sheathing his cutlasses. "I swear you're doing this deliberately just to freak me out!!"

Ramirez smirked lightly. "A valid guess, but not everything I do is centered on you."

It was a blatant lie, but Vyse had no way of knowing that.

"And what about the sword you used?! Enrique lent it to you; you had no right to use it to try and take a life!" the brown-eyed pirate snapped.

Ramirez regarded the rapier in his hand, still dripping with blood. "It is impolite to return a dirty sword," he conceded.

"You missed the point entirely—" But that was as far as Vyse got, for Ramirez took a quick step forward, grasped the pirate's left sleeve, drew it around the blade of Enrique's rapier and pulled the sword through, effectively cleaning off the blood.

Vyse gaped. "You just—you just—I can't believe you just—"

"Here is your rapier, Your Highness," Ramirez said, turning to Enrique, who hesitantly accepted the proffered sword. "My apologies for dirtying it."

At that, Vyse's anger doubled. "You'll apologize for getting an easily cleaned sword dirty, but not for ruining my shirt?!"

Ramirez glanced back at him. "What are you complaining about?"

The Air Pirate stamped his foot, thoroughly vexed. "You got me all bloody!!"

"The look suits you," the silver-haired young man replied calmly, the edge of his mouth twitching upwards.

It took a moment for the implication of his statement to sink into Vyse. When it did, he throttled the air to keep from throttling Ramirez, then stalked off past him towards the door leading back into the Delphinus.

"I'm getting changed," he muttered as he passed Aika. "Take over the helm for me, would you?"

"Aye-aye, Captain," the redhead sighed as Vyse retreated into the ship. She turned to Ramirez and glared with all her might; he had the gall to look slightly amused.

"You," she intoned, pointing a finger at him, "are IMPOSSIBLE. C'mon, Enrique, Fina, let's get back inside."

The three left, with Enrique and Fina glancing back at Ramirez, who remained on the deck.

Once they were gone, Ramirez laughed out loud. /That was fun,/ he smirked mentally as he turned toward the nearest guardrail and walked to it, admiring the spacious skies. /Let's see if he can hold to his infantile philosophies now./

Ramirez enjoyed the feel of the wind blowing past him all the way to Yafutoma.



"Stupid frickin' Ramirez, can't believe he got my shirt all bloody, he's just lucky I have a spare," Vyse muttered to himself as he balled up his now stained shirt and threw it in a corner. "I'm nice to him, I give him all these frickin' breaks, I even comfort him when he has a goddamn nightmare, and how does he thank me?! He cleans Enrique's stupid sword on my shirt!!" Pulling out a replacement shirt from his drawers and drawing it over his shoulders, he continued to rant, "Well, this is the last goddamn straw!! I'm sick of trying to be his friend!! He can friggin' rot for all I care!! Stupid, stupid Ramirez..." Replacing his scarf and belt, which were still clean, Vyse stormed out of his room and made his way to the control room, still steaming.



The Delphinus docked at the main capital of Yafutoma, and Vyse were greeted by a crowd of locals who stared and commented on their strange appearances—and confirmed for them that they were indeed in Yafutoma. Two royal guards ran down, and claiming that the Lord Mikado wished to meet them, escorted them to the royal palace and brought them before the royal family.

The five stood in a line before the aged King, who sat upon a throne at the top of three steps; to his left stood the lovely young princess. To his right, at the bottom of the stairs, were two men with the distinct appearance of weasels, both of whom glared distrustfully at them. The King and Princess, who were the ones who counted, looked upon Vyse and his party benevolently, but Vyse was slightly nervous regardless, though he had the good sense not to let it show.

"Visitors from the land of the setting sun," Mikado said in a low but pleasant voice, "what brings you through the Dark Rift to our land?"

Vyse stood a little straighter and nodded politely. "We're on a quest," he told them. "We're here to explore your lands, and more importantly, we're seeking out the Blue Crystal."

"The Blue Crystal?" Mikado repeated. "Hmm...I believe that you are referring to what we call the 'Magatama'. It has been missing, however, ever since the time of the Old World. It can be located somewhere in Mt. Kazai, which is near here; however, the interior of Mt. Kazai is extremely dangerous, and no one who has gone there has ever returned."

Vyse nodded. "We understand that it's dangerous, but the importance of our mission outweighs the risks," he replied. "We have to get the Blue Crystal."

"Hmm..." The King of Yafutoma regarded the young pirate silently for a moment, and then nodded. "Very well. I will assist you. However, in return I would like you to retrieve the Magatama for us."

"Sire," the older of the weasel-like men spoke then, "as your advisor, I must strongly counsel against cooperating with these...people. They are westerners, and cannot be trusted. We must purge them from our midst!!"

"Kangan, I appreciate your concern," Mikado said to him, briefly redirecting his gaze. "However, I believe that these young people can be trusted, so be reassured. And besides, Moegi, you have always been interested in the Western culture, have you not?"

"Yes, Father," the young Princess replied demurely.

Turning back to Vyse, he continued, "If you can retrieve the Magatama for us, I shall grant you anything you desire."

"Thank you...actually, I was wondering if we could borrow the Crystal ourselves," Vyse replied.

The King frowned slightly. "That alone I cannot grant," he said. "The Magatama is a symbol of the successor to the throne, and it is necessary to choose an heir. At the very least, I would like for it to remain in Yafutoma while you are here."

Vyse sweated a bit. "Uh, I guess so..."

"I will send a message to the ship parts dealer, down at the port, to escort you to Mt. Kazai," Mikado stated. "You may leave at any time. However, I recommend that you take a look around Yafutoma first, to settle down from your long trip."

"Thank you very much," Vyse said, and the five were dismissed. Walking outside the palace to the exit to the city, Aika was the first to speak, as usual.

"Hey, Vyse, what are we going to do about the Crystal?" she queried. "They want it, so we can't just take it from them..."

Ramirez shifted his eyes over to her to watch the conversation, but said nothing as Fina added, "We might be able to persuade them to give us the Crystal, but if it's such an important symbol to them, it's possible that won't work..."

Vyse shrugged. "Let's not worry about it now," he said. "For now, let's just concentrate on getting the Crystal in the first place."

"Good idea," Aika nodded. "Best to take it one step at a time."

"Er...speaking of one step at a time..." Enrique spoke up.

"Yeah?" Vyse asked, turning to him.

Ramirez caught the glance Enrique sent his way before continuing, "Er...how many of us should go to Mt. Kazai?"

/Not a bad attempt at a diplomatic way to say, 'What do we do about Ramirez?',/ the aforementioned thought with slight amusement as Vyse narrowed his eyes and, turning his gaze to Ramirez, frowned at him.

The Admiral and the Air Pirate stared each other down for a full minute, the silent tension rising in the air, until Ramirez finally said, "What His Highness meant to say was, 'What do we do about Ramirez?'. Judging from your extended silence, you seem to need a translation."

Vyse scowled at the barely veiled insult, placing his hands on his hips. "I know what he meant," he growled. "I'm just trying to figure out what the heck to do with you."

"Any ideas yet?" Ramirez queried, and forced himself to bite back another insult; provoking Vyse too much would end up costing him.

"A bunch," Vyse replied. "Keelhauling comes to mind."

Aika snickered, Fina looked clueless, Enrique looked alarmed. Ramirez, whose knowledge of sailing was horribly antiquated and outdated, and whose brief firsthand experience had hardly afforded him familiarity with everything about it, knew not the meaning of the term, so he maintained an indifferent mien. He had a feeling it was something he didn't want to happen, though.

Vyse sighed in irritation when his comment provoked no reaction out of his intended target. "Doesn't anything get to you?" he asked in exasperation.

Ramirez studied the brunet rogue. "Letting things 'get to you' is generally bad practice," he replied. Moving straight to the topic at hand, Ramirez continued, "If you're going to take me along, I'll need a weapon. If you'd rather not risk a little more blood on your shirt, though, maybe it would be better to leave me behind."

Vyse glared at the insolent Admiral. "You know, on some ships, keelhauling is standard procedure for any sailor who talks to their captain the way you talk to me," he snapped.

"If you think it will help, by all means, go ahead and try," Ramirez replied, and received a perverse pleasure at the look of shock on the rogue's face.

"You're insane!" Vyse managed to say after a moment.

/Not knowing what keelhauling is helps,/ Ramirez thought, but had the good sense not to voice his internal comment.

Another moment passed before Vyse threw up his hands in disgust. "You've had plenty of time to cool down since you first started traveling with us," he said. "But maybe you need a little more time. Stay on the Delphinus while we go to Mt. Kazai."

/Your funeral,/ Ramirez mentally replied, but again, he bit back the rejoinder in favor of not pushing the agitated rogue too far. Instead, he just nodded and calmly accepted the order, which seemed to infuriate the Air Pirate further, though he didn't yell at Ramirez for it.

"Let's go," Vyse muttered, moving out into the city of Yafutoma, and his companions followed.



As they wandered the city of Yafutoma, the young captain thought to himself that perhaps Aika had been correct in some of her assumptions.

"It would have been easier if I had just left him back there..." he muttered to himself, thinking back on the incident that had brought the troublesome Silvite into their midst.

Vyse had been doing his best to keep his distance from Ramirez; he really didn't want to talk to him at all right now. He was beginning to feel that perhaps he had been mistaken in thinking that he had seen something in the other man. Still...there was that incident a few nights ago...

The rogue shook his head. He really didn't have the time to dwell on that right now. He had to get some supplies for the trip into Mt. Kazai; that was the most important thing to be doing right now.

He and his friends spent the next hour exploring Yafutoma, buying supplies and talking to the locals. Two girls, sisters named Urala and Kirala, even agreed to join Vyse's crew aboard the Delphinus, considerably lightening Vyse's mood; ever since he'd become its captain, due to one thing and another, he hadn't had the time to seek out crew members, and that made managing the giant ship extremely difficult. With those two helping them and Marco, it would make things much easier.

Finally, Vyse and the others went to the ship parts dealer, who flew them to the top of Mt. Kazai, since the Delphinus was unable to go to those altitudes. Using the suits he had given them, they made their way down through the extinct volcano, and after fighting a giant shellfish, they finally found the Blue Moon Crystal.

Celebrating with Fina and Aika, Vyse led them and Enrique out of Mt. Kazai. As they walked, talking cheerfully, the conversation turned somehow to Ramirez.

"Oh, him?" Vyse said nonchalantly. "I dunno. He's pushed me to my limit, you know... I figure maybe we could dump him here."

"Are you serious, Vyse?" Aika asked, staring.

"Why not?" Vyse shrugged. "I'm tired of dealing with him. He's completely unfriendly, and if we leave him here, he won't be able to follow us for a while, if at all. We could ask King Mikado to make sure he doesn't leave, as a favor for getting the Blue Crystal for him."

"You found a solution rather easily, didn't you," Enrique noted. "Before, you felt guilty about using the easy way out, isn't that right? Why has that changed?"

"He's one person, and here, he can't get reinforcements from Valua. This is the best place to leave him," Vyse argued.

Fina cast her eyes downward and said nothing.

Aika shrugged, folding her arms behind her head; she hadn't noticed Fina's action. "I agree with Vyse. Leaving Ramirez here won't hurt him or anyone else, and the people here are nice. He'll get alone fine."

"Leaving someone someplace where he has no friends or allies is...rather cruel, though, don't you think?" Enrique protested. "Especially since he has no way of leaving."

"Well, he hasn't exactly tried to make himself feel welcome," Vyse pointed out with a sigh. "I've cut him a lot of slack, but he refuses to give me any respect in return. It's hard to run a ship with people like that on board. Personally, I've had enough of him."

Enrique sighed. "Well, it is your decision as captain," he replied, though it was evident that the idea did not agree with him.

Fina remained quiet, uncertain and saddened about the idea. She did not want to leave her old friend behind, but it was true that he was becoming a hindrance.

They continued to talk among themselves as they walked up and out of the caverns of the volcano. After informing the ship parts dealer of their success, the young captain and his friends returned to the city of Yafutoma. The four stood before King Mikado and presented to him the Blue Crystal; there was some talk about the succession, in which Aika asked Moegi if she was to be the next ruler of Yafutoma and Moegi dodged the question. However, the topic was forgotten when Mikado declared that, in celebration of Vyse's amazing feat, they would have a feast in their honor. Ramirez was almost forgotten until Enrique pointed out that it was heartless to leave him on the ship and deny him food. Vyse considered it and, deciding that since he was going to abandon Ramirez in Yafutoma, acceded to letting Aika and Fina retrieve the subversive Silvite and have him join them at dinner.

Ramirez was surprisingly quiet and even-tempered the entire time, though, all considering; Fina wanted desperately to question him, but the memory of his anger when he'd revealed that he knew that she had spoken of him without his consent kept her tongue in check. Aika had no desire to speak to Ramirez at all, and the feeling was mutual, so their trip back to the Yafutoma palace was silent. Aika and Fina became more vocal when they met up again with Vyse, but Ramirez, who exchanged a brief glare with the Air Pirate, remained silent. Beyond the stare, though, Vyse paid Ramirez no more attention, and almost immediately returned to being his bright and enthusiastic self. Ramirez didn't care, or rather, he convinced himself he didn't care; during the feast, he just quietly watched Vyse and the others' easygoing and cheerful banter and antics as he ate.

After the banquet, Princess Moegi led Vyse and the others to their sleeping quarters. The talk on the way was mostly about the deliciousness of the food and thanks for the hospitality, but when they arrived at the rooms, Aika brought up the matter of succession again.

"How does it work, anyway?" she queried. "You never said when I asked earlier if you'd be next on the throne, after all."

"Er, well..." Moegi stammered, a bit abashed. "Let's see..."

From behind them, an unctuous and fruity voice laughed. "I will be the next King," the owner of the voice, the younger of the weasel-like men from the Yafutoman throne room, said triumphantly, "when Moegi and I are wed."

"I will never marry you, Muraji!!" Moegi cried, glaring at him past the surprised members of Vyse's group. "And you will never be the King of Yafutoma!"

"Oohohoho," Muraji laughed, bringing a hand up to his mouth. "And who will take the throne, then? Daigo is exiled from this land, after all, and I do believe that traitors cannot become King. Oohohohoho!"

"Why, you little—" Vyse growled, moving forward, but Enrique stayed him with an outstretched arm and faced Muraji himself.

"I do not know your motives," he said coolly, looking down at the advisor's son, "but that is not how a nobleman treats a lady."

Muraji shook. "You—you don't frighten me," he stammered. "When I become King, I'll see to it that all you westerners are thrown out of Yafutoma!!" And with that, he ran away.

/Looks like the dregs of humanity can be found anywhere,/ Ramirez commented to himself, glowering after him. Glancing briefly at Vyse, he mused, /I should follow him...make sure he doesn't cause any trouble and cause me any inconvenience. But Vyse won't let me go off on my own. I'll wait a moment longer./

"Prince Enrique, I'm sorry!" Moegi cried. "I'm so sorry that you felt you had to defend me like that..."

Enrique smiled away the apology. "Think nothing of it," he told her. "Where I come from, there are codes on how a lady like yourself should be treated. Well," he added, "it's not used very much anymore, but..."

"I'm sorry. Thank you," Moegi replied with a smile, bowing to him. "Thank you very much, Prince Enrique." She then walked past them and left for the palace.

Enrique gazed after her. Ramirez regarded him curiously, and noted how Aika elbowed Vyse, looked at him pointedly, and then smirked at the Prince of Valua cattily, as if conveying a silent message. Vyse grinned, but it was an embarrassed one. Glancing back at Fina, Ramirez saw that she was staring wide-eyed at both of them, not understanding what was going on. The white-haired Admiral, on the other hand, understood perfectly. He shifted his glance to Enrique, still gazing after Moegi. It seemed the young Prince was attracted to her...

/Well, it's not my business,/ the Admiral thought, turning his back to the scene and entering the rooms. Vyse caught the action and followed him in, motioning to Aika and Fina to follow. Fina did so, and Aika tapped Enrique on the shoulder, who jumped slightly at the touch and blushed at Aika's knowing grin. The two of them entered the rooms, and with the others, prepared for bed—although what they were sleeping on were paper mats...

Ramirez waited for his unwanted companions to settle into bed before sneaking out. He hadn't bothered to change yet; there would be time for that eventually. For now, though, he stealthily made his way down the Yafutoman walkways to find Muraji.

Shortly, Ramirez did find him, and was surprised to find him talking to none other than his colleague, Belleza, the fourth Admiral of the Valuan Armada.

Well, perhaps he was not so surprised; he knew that Galcian had planned to reach the lands of the East by heading west. Ramirez should have known, seeing as he had been the one to tell Galcian that the world was round. That was not to mention that Ramirez also knew that Galcian had intended to send Belleza and Vigoro to Yafutoma. However, she being where she was, and he being where he was now, made things so fortuitous that Ramirez had to be surprised, considering his recent run of bad luck.

Belleza and Muraji were at the end of their discussion, and the two parted ways. Ramirez crept after Belleza; any mischief Muraji might manage would undoubtedly be mainly her doing, anyway.

She didn't get far before Ramirez saw his chance, strode up to her, and grabbed her shoulder. He knew Belleza well enough to leap back when she spun around, and when she struck, it was only empty air. She still saw who had accosted her, though, and Ramirez forced himself not to smirk at the shock on her face.

"Ramirez?" Belleza said in a low voice, straightening, a frown on her lips. Ramirez briefly admired her ability to recompose herself so quickly in such situations before she queried, "What are you doing here?"

"Is that it? No 'hello', no 'how have you been doing'?" Ramirez inquired dryly.

She chuckled. "Wherever you've been, it's given you a sarcastic sense of humor." She frowned again and regarded him. "But still, your disappearance has caused an uproar in Valua. Where did you go, and why did you leave your weapons behind?"

Ramirez's eyes narrowed. "Vyse," he began, but Belleza raised a hand.

"Say no more," she sighed. "I know how it is."

Ramirez smiled thinly and without humor. "I've been his prisoner since then."

"Hmm..." Belleza regarded Ramirez thoughtfully. "So Vyse defeated you, then? Pretty good, handsome..." she commented, mainly to herself.

"He got lucky," Ramirez snapped.

The cherry red-haired Admiral smirked lightly. "That kid is made of luck." Her smile increased. "But everyone's luck runs out sometime. For example, if he was still lucky, we wouldn't be meeting like this."

Ramirez shrugged and allowed himself an inobtrusive smile. "This is true."

"How did you escape, just now?"

The silver-haired Admiral chuckled a bit. "He's gotten...complacent around me," he told her. "He thinks I can be befriended, even trusted."

Belleza laughed at that. "Vyse, you might be good-looking, but you are such a fool," she murmured to herself. Speaking now to Ramirez, she continued, "So what am I to assume, Ramirez? Have you approached me to return to Valua with me after Yafutoma is conquered, or do you have something else in mind?"

Ramirez raised an eyebrow. "Have you something characteristically devious in mind, Belleza?" he queried ironically.

"You make your own decisions," she replied with a shrug.

The pale Silvite smiled then, not without humor. "I think you'll appreciate what I have in mind, then," he said. "Vyse humiliated me. I want revenge. I have told him to his face that I'm going to kill him. He doesn't seem to want to believe that I'm serious. Fina and Prince Enrique seem to also think I'm harmless, for some reason; only that annoying redhead knows better."

The crimson-haired lady Admiral chuckled. "Doesn't that sound familiar."

"So, I intend to use their falsely-placed trust against them," Ramirez continued. "I told them that I follow Lord Galcian only, but they ignored me... Whatever comes next will be their own fault."

Belleza shook her head, smiling. "Speaking of Lord Galcian, he has been worried about you," she commented.

Ramirez looked at her. "Oh?"

"Not especially, though," she added. "He knows you can take care of yourself."

Ramirez kept his expression neutral. "Will you take a message to Lord Galcian for me?"

"Why not? We're helping each other out now."

"Tell him that I have not betrayed him by staying with Vyse; rather, I intend to subvert that pirate's power, as I just told you. You know as well as I do that Vyse will probably get all the Crystals first. Therefore, I'll wait until he has done so—and then strike. I'll find some way to contact Lord Galcian on my own between now and then, to update him on the situation, but I want him to know that much first."

She nodded. "I'll be sure to relay your message to Lord Galcian." Belleza paused. "What do you want done with your sword, Ramirez?"

Ramirez considered the question, then replied, "I will retrieve it when Lord Galcian brings it to me."

Belleza smirked at that. "You'll betray Vyse at his greatest moment of exaltation, using the sword that you left behind in Valua that will be returned to you by Lord Galcian himself...I love the symbolism. He'll hate you forever, you know—Vyse, I mean. There's no way a guy like him can ever forgive the type of betrayal you're planning."

Ramirez laughed at that. "Why would I care?"

"Just thought you might like to know," she replied, shrugging. "By the way, what do you intend to do if we succeed in conquering Yafutoma? We have already seized the Delphinus. There's not much he'll be able to do in that position."

"I wouldn't underestimate him," Ramirez replied. "If it happens, then what I have planned will be rendered unnecessary, in which case I'll simply return to Valua with you. But if he succeeds in fending you off—and knowing him, I wouldn't be very surprised if he manages it—then I'll stay with him. I believe that my method will be more beneficial in the long run, since Lord Galcian won't have to spend precious time and resources hunting after the last three Crystals; we can just let Vyse do all the work."

"Clever," Belleza smiled. "And devious. I like the way you think, Ramirez."

"Hmm..." he murmured, not entirely sure he liked being complimented by the female Admiral. "Be warned, though; if I'm to gain Vyse's trust, I will have to make motions against you and Valua."

Belleza shrugged. "Considering the benefits we will reap in the end? It's worth it. I will still try to conquer Yafutoma, though; I can't go against Lord Galcian's orders."

The shorter Admiral nodded, understanding completely. "Good luck."

"And you, too."

"Will you be telling Vigoro of what we've discussed?"

"That muscle-bound lunkhead? Vigoro is strong, but he can't act worth a damn. If he were in on this, he'd blow it all for sure. No," and Belleza shook her head, "the only ones who will know about this will be you and I and Lord Galcian. It's best that way."

Ramirez nodded and glanced over his shoulder. "I should return before I'm missed," he said, turning away. With a slight smirk, he added, "See you tomorrow, Belleza..."

Belleza laughed and turned away as well. "Hope to see you there, Ramirez."

The two parted ways, heading to the opposite ends of the battle spectrum.





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: Yeah, yeah, it was cheap, completely skipping the fight scene(s)...but we're lazy, and we wanted to get on with the plot stuff... I hope the readers will forgive us ^^; And from now on, we are flat-out skipping over or only briefly mentioning unimportant battles.
Ianthe: Actually, we never did much with unimportant battles...
Ayu: Quiet, you fool!! (*smacks her*)
Ianthe: Ow...I'm abused...

Ayu: Dammit, I hated writing for Mao and Jao. Damn their tag-team dialogue.

Ayu: Yes, that wasn't how the fight went in the game. It's called "creative license".

Ianthe: We didn't remember a lot of the specifics of what happened around this time—so just for this fic, we started a new game and played over four days—
Ayu: I played for seven hours straight one day!
Ianthe: —to get to the Yafutoma portion to refresh our memories. Don't you feel special?
Ayu: And we still don't remember a bunch of specific details ;_;

Ianthe: GODDAMMIT, IT'S THE MAGATAMA, NOT THE MAGA SPHERE!! Just because you can translate it directly doesn't mean that you should!! Besides, the Blue Crystal even looks like a magatama!

Ayu: In the fourth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Karkaroff's voice is described as being 'unctuous' and 'fruity'. I thought that that was so hilarious for reasons I'm sure Rowling never intended that I had to use it myself here.

Ayu: The title of this chapter is a line from the first ending theme of Slayers TRY, don't be discouraged. Full lyrics can be found 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))