Battle of the Masters
Chapter Three
by Shadou-sama

"Tyson! Do you even know where we are going?" Ray called out to the hyper active boy. Tyson was already across the meadow.

"It doesn't matter, he's going the right way." Kai told him. He consulted the map as he walked.

"Doesn't look like we'll get there soon." Shadra said as she looked over Kai's shoulder. She was a bit out of breath, but she had just ran to catch up.

"Did everything work out?" Kenny asked.

"Yep, I'm good to go," replied Shadra.

"What was the problem?" Kai asked gruffly.

"Oh, just some technical difficulties," Shadra replied, looking slightly away.

"Are you going to elaborate?" Kenny asked.

"No."

It was quiet for a few moments as the group thinned out. Kai, Max and Kenny walked ahead, Kai, of course, keeping his distance. Tyson was out of sight. Ray and Shadra lagged behind a bit.

"How come I get the feeling that you're not telling us something?" Ray asked. He had this feeling often, Shadra guessed, but Ray had never expressed it before. She knew he wanted to know what it was she felt she couldn't tell them.

"Because you're paranoid," Shadra quickly answered. She grasped her key tightly in her hand. She did not want to get into it.

"I don't think it's because I'm paranoid. There's definitely something you're trying to cover up. Like you always change the subject every time we try to ask you about your past," Ray said.

"That's because the past is the past. You can't change it so why relive it?" Shadra said vaguely.

"I'd at least like to know a little something," Ray told her.

"Why?"

Ray paused a second. "I guess I'd like to know why you do the things you do. There are some things that seem perfectly normal for you, yet strange for the rest of us. A lot of the time you leave me thinking 'Why the heck did she do that?' and I'd like to know."

"That's a difficult task you've set for yourself. I don't even know why I do things," Shadra replied, a bit philosophical.

"But it can't hurt to try."

"I guess not." Shadra walked silently for a moment, her hands now in the pockets of her black jeans, kicking some stones along. "I never knew my parents. They abandoned me and my sister before I can even remember."

"I know how that feels."

Shadra looked at him questionly.

"Well, my parents died when I was just a baby." Ray explained. "I was left in the care of the village elders."

"I never knew that. Guess I'm not the only one with ghosts in the closet." Shadra replied.

"Hn. That's one of the things I was talking about. Instead of skeletons you say ghosts." Ray said.

"That's because I don't like skeletons. Or mummies. They're creepy, dead bodies. I wouldn't want one in my closet."

"The souls of the dead are less scary then a couple of old bones?" Ray joked.

"Yes. Hey! It's not funny!" Shadra exclaimed when Ray laughed.

"Sorry. You just always seem so fearless. It's hard to imagine you're scared of something so little."

"Hey! It's not little! And I get scared about a lot of things."

"Like what?"

Shadra thought for a moment as they passed a clump of bushes marking the end of the meadow. "Losing Darker, losing my friends. What I'm going to do with my life. Dying. Stuff I guess everyone worries about."

"Somehow, this makes you seem more real."

Shadra smiled slightly at that. "To be real, you must have faults."

"True."

"Ray, what are you afraid of?"

"Same as you. Except without the skeleton phobia." Ray joked. Then he grew serious. "I'm afraid that I'm dreaming."

"Dreaming of what?"

"Of all that's happened since the Regional Tournament. I'm afraid that I'll wake up and realize that it never really never happened," Ray answered.

"Aww, that's sweet."

"How's my fear sweet?" Ray asked, a bit annoyed.

"The fact that your greatest fear is losing us."

"Yeah, well. Can't help it, can I?" Ray muttered.

They were silent for a few moments. "It's gotten kind of heavy." Shadra interrupted the silence.

"Your bag? Want me to carry it for you?"

"No and no. I was thinking our conversation. I guess that's why we keep Tyson around." Shadra replied.

Ray looked at her questioningly.

"We're without Tyson for ten minutes and we're already starting to talk about our greatest fears. Tyson keeps us upbeat." she explained.

"So he does have a use. I thought he was just decoration." Ray teased and Shadra giggled. "Hey, you never told me your greatest fear. You just told me some little things."

"Oh, well, do you really want to know?" Shadra asked, hoping he's say no.

"Yes."

Darn. She looked up at the sky. "My greatest fear is what I might become."

"That's a bit… uh, confusing." Ray stated.

"I guess it is."

"Are you going to tell me why?" Ray asked.

"I'll tell you when I figure it out myself," Shadra replied. "That's why it's my greatest fear, because I don't really know what it means."

Ray was about to say something when Kai, Kenny and Max stopped.

"The path to our cabin." Max presented grandly. It was a dirt path that was almost hidden by bushes and it looked like it snaked throughout the bush and tree forest.

"Where did Tyson go?" Ray asked.

"Uh…" Max said oh so smartly.

"I better go find him," Ray said. "You guys go up to the cabin."

"Hey, I'm coming with you!" Max stated. The two boys turned to leave.

"Maybe you should give your bags to us, so you won't have to carry them." Shadra said.

"Good idea." Ray and Max relinquished their bags and were off.

"I hope they can find him." Kenny said meekly.

"I'm sure they will." Shadra reassured him. "Let's get these bags up there."

She grabbed Ray's bag and Kai grabbed Max's bag and started along the path. It was a peaceful path, the only noise being the explosions of little brown birds escaping when the trio walked to close to their perches. As predicted, the path snaked along, but not so that the group had any trouble. An added bonus was the stairs that had been cut into the sloping ground that made it easier to walk up.

"I can carry Ray's bag if it's too heavy." Kai told her.

"Nah, Ray's a light packer and hey! If it's too heavy? I 'm not that weak." Shadra replied indignantly. Kai just shrugged.

"What were you and Ray talking about?" Kai asked quietly, after a few minutes.

Shadra thought for a moment, wondering if she should tell Kai. It would be horribly mean to Ray, because he had trusted her with one of his deepest secrets. She decided to tell a half truth. "We figured out why we kept Tyson around."

"Isn't he just for decoration?" Kai asked. Shadra laughed.

"Oh, that was just our first conclusion." Shadra explained. "But actually, it's because Tyson keeps things upbeat and light."

More silence followed as they trudged up the path towards their cabin.

They had almost reached their destination, at least from what the map told, when Kai tried to strike up another conversation.

"What's between Ray and you?"

"What? Nothing. Just friends." Shard stammered, severely surprised by the question. When she had recovered, she teased, "Why? Are you jealous?"

"No. Just wondering." Shadra could see he was lightly blushing. She came up with her own conclusion.

"Hey! Is that the cabin?" Shadra asked.