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Chapter 19: Forever My Feelings...
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"Waiting, always waiting..."
The words seemed to echo out to Daisuke as he continued at a steady pace, not truly knowing where he was going, except that he was following the feeling inside of him. The power seemed to flow all around him, like will-o-wisps as they wove their way through the dark night.
"Kyu?" With cocked his head slightly, eyeing the redhead with slight concern, and Daisuke petted him.
"It's okay, With," he said softly, directing his gaze off to the distance, where he thought the source of the sound was, "but... I think I can feel something..."
"Kyu?" again, the rabbit-like creature stared up at him, "Kyuu!"
"Don't worry," Daisuke assured him calmly, "I'm sure Dark is fine, wherever he is. Let's just keep on going forwards..."
He stopped abruptly at the sound of footsteps, and With began to hiss in a less-than-friendly manner. In a matter of seconds, the noise increased and the redhead took a step back, hastily looking for a place to hide. It wasn't long until he found himself crouching behind a thick tree that had been less than a few meters away from where they stood. Silencing With, he took a look at where he had been, and caught his breath.
A single, familiar tall figure was striding through the darkness, as if they didn't have a care in the world, Isn't that... Dark? But, how could this be?
With 'kyu'-ed softly, grasping tightly onto the redhead's shoulder, while he kept his eyes on the figure - Daisuke nodded, confusion welling up inside of him, as he remembered that they only had a few hours to retrieve the rest of the broaches.
"And so, I will always wait for you... no matter how long it may take, always... I will be waiting..."
The redhead frowned slightly as the words floated softly around them, and noticed that the tall figure had stopped as well. After a while, the silence was broken by a high-pitched voice.
"Dark! That is you, isn't it?!"
"..." Daisuke strained to work out who the newcomer was. A small shadow ran towards Dark, who had turned to face them, and he could hear the echoing voice growing louder with every heartbeat.
"From the truth, to the lie... we no longer know..."
"... who are you?" Dark's voice was the usual that the redhead knew, "I don't think we've met before."
"... I... I need to speak to you," stuttered the other figure, "about the... the Niwa family."
"How do you know about the Niwa family?"
"As time passes, unfazed, in the eyes of another..."
"Well, you see... I have to ask them something, and I need the help of both the Niwa and Hikari family..."
"The seams of life, death, pain, agony, peace... all clash as one, and never is the way of life simple. I wait, and I always will, to find the meaning behind my life, but, even now I don't know, and... fate has its own ways to decide the reality."
"... what's your name, kid?"
"Ak... Scarlet. You can call me Scarlet."
"Hiding my identity to others, sometimes I wonder if what I'm doing is right. Maybe I have no purpose in life, but still..."
"Scarlet, huh? Never heard a kid with that name before, but I think I recognise the hair..." Dark stopped, "did you know that I was connected with--"
"Yes," Scarlet fell silent, "... you see... I, well, Celes, knows of the Niwa and Hikari families, so..."
"Well, if you already know," Dark sighed, "spit it out."
"... I'll always wait, with the Flames of Time, hoping for the best... but if not, I can always hope..."
"The curse..."
"Although some say that the future cannot be changed, no matter what, I still believe--"
"... it cannot be lifted away simply by love alone..."
"--the future can be changed, if the holder thinks so--"
"... you might live on for many years, through other people, but still..."
"-- always hoping for the best – a fool's dream. Unable to tell the difference from dreams and reality..."
"... you can change it. One day... it will change."
"... I will never know the truth."
"... how come you said such weird things?" asked Dark, most likely frowning, "Are you being possessed or something?"
"..."
Before anymore could be said, a beam of white power shot through the darkness, and Daisuke yelped in surprise, completely taken aback by the sudden change of events. He fell silent again, trying hard to remain calm as he tried to remember where he really was.
What was with all that talking beforehand? he wondered, while With cocked his head in acknowledgement, And Scarlet-san... what was she trying to say before that...? And that attack, it was almost like...
"Krad..."
Daisuke flinched slightly at the call of the blond's name, but before he could work out what was happening, a flash of bright light engulfed the entire area, destroying the darkness completely. The scene faded off, and the redhead found himself floating in a sort of void-like area, where the light started to fade off slowly.
"Now where am I...?" he asked out loud, looking, "This... doesn't feel right to me..."
"Do I even know what I am doing here?"
He shivered, as the voice seemed to cut through the silence sharply, and held onto With tightly, "Why does that voice keep on coming back to talk...? A memory? Scarlet-san's mind?"
"Maybe fate is merely a word to push those who do not care away from the truth..."
Looking around him, it didn't take Daisuke long to catch sight of something that seemed to glimmer unnaturally. Wading over to it, he noticed that it was another broach, emitting a small, light-green aura.
"And so is the way life begins, and as it ends, nature takes its place... this is the balance I have sworn to protect, no matter how long it takes..."
"The supporting flame..." breathed the redhead, "of nature?"
The glowing suddenly increased, as if the call of its power was forcing it to agree with his suspicions. Without another thought, he took it, and, almost at once, something passed through his mind, that didn't belong to him.
"Ne? Akane-chan, aren't you coming today?" called an excited female's voice, "Come on! It's your birthday today, so stop studying!"
"Hmm... but Celes promised to tell me something special today... so I don't think she'd approve of me going off like this..."
"Huh? But it's your birthday! If that Priestess wants to tell you something, she can tell you tonight, no? Come on! Just do this once for your friends!"
"... okay..."
'Akane'...? Takada-san? the redhead wondered, as the voices faded away slowly, but... how... how is she connected?
Seeing an open portal form, and shaking his head at the confusing turn of events, Daisuke entered it and it faded away, as a scattering of black, white and golden feathers fluttered by it.
---
Shiro was scurrying ahead while Satoshi sauntered behind, caught in the suspicion of his own thoughts.
"Hikari-san? Are you alright?"
"Fine," he replied shortly, "so... what exactly is our destination?"
"Well, I'm just following the power within me," the smaller boy tapped his chest, "you see, Ice and Fire are opposites, no? And the Fire power has been found, so my other affiliate is Water, so that's where I'm going."
"Water..." the blue-haired boy frowned, "so that's the next one. Do we have to do anything specific?"
"Specific?" Shiro repeated blankly, "Well, that's what we're gonna find out in the end."
"..."
"Let's just not dawdle and waste time here. Come on, Hikari-san!"
:So... now we're in an endless chase after 'supporting flames'...: thought Satoshi as he forced himself to follow after the other boy, :why is it that I have to find myself in these situations?:
They fell silent, as they continued through the misty surroundings that they had entered not too long ago. Strangely enough it wasn't cold, and clouds of faded white mist burst out with every step they took, although Shiro ignored all of it.
Satoshi, on the other hand, found the setting slightly uncomfortable, but decided better than to speak of it. Instead, he mentally took notes of his surroundings, the current situation that they were in and what the consequences would be if something bad were to happen.
"Is this..." Shiro's voice cut through the stuffy silence, making the blue-haired boy jerk out of his thoughts, "the end of the line?"
Looking at the general direction the boy was looking at, he noticed that they seemed to have reached a solid wall, with no signs of weakness or openings that would gain entrance to whatever was beyond it. With a slight sigh, Shiro turned around to face the taller boy, looking slightly depressed.
"I was hoping to see her again, face to face," he said huskily, "but I guess it was never meant to be."
"..." :what is he talking about?: wondered Satoshi, noticing the icy blue aura that began to surround him, shimmering like a frozen lake, and wisps of power that seemed to escape from his body.
"I'll use my power to break the seal," stated Shiro simply, "and you can go on, Hikari-san."
"Why..."
"Water is my affiliation," he explained, as the aura got stronger, "so with the use of my power, I can help you go on. When you find her, please, send my regards..."
Before anymore could be said, Shiro seemed to disintegrate, and was replaced by a small, ice blue flame, that shimmered through the mist. The wall seemed to gleam with the sudden approach of the flame, and, with ease, slid open, allowing Satoshi through.
Holding out the broach he had received, the blue-haired boy noticed that the center was suddenly glowing with power; the same power Shiro had possessed.
:So he was the spirit of Ice,: he thought grimly, pocketing it, :as expected.:
Stepping through where the wall had once been, he was greeted by a large, glittering lake. In the center, stood a statue of a young girl - hands clasped in front of her as if in eternal prayer, and, as the water reflected off it, made her skin look light blue.
"... the Supporting Flame of Water," he breathed, stopping when he reached the lake edge, "how am I supposed to reach it...?"
In reply, the lake shimmered, spilling the rocky area that surrounded it with an eerie blue light. As he watched on silently, the light seemed to enter the statue, and it moved slightly.
"..."
"You who seek the power of Water..." whispered a soft girl's voice, echoing around him gently, "please come closer. Do not fear, for the water will allow you to pass. We have seen the power in your heart, you are accepted."
Without bothering to work out where the source of the voice had truly come from, Satoshi did as he was told, and stepped onto the water. The ripples flittered through the sheet of blue water, but he remained standing. Shaking his head, he went towards the statue, the light growing stronger.
"For so long I have waited..." the voice beckoned him, "until this day... it is my duty to help you...!"
When he reached the statue, he noticed how young the statue looked: her hair was pulled gracefully behind her and she seemed to be wearing a long robe, eyes closed in serenity. On impulse, he took out the broach of Ice, and the two powers came in contact with each other, filling the entire room with unnatural light.
Her eyes opened slowly, and she sighed, "You are... the holder of Ice, Hikari Satoshi-sama."
"And you are the Spirit of Water, Undine," replied Satoshi, not knowing how he knew her name, "and on sight, you fell in love with the Spirit of Ice."
"Yes..." she closed her eyes wistfully, "Shiro was... special. Our powers held the same properties, and we felt like it was meant to be. But... when the Flame predicted its downfall, it separated us. For so long I have wanted to see him," she opened her eyes at the broach that he held, "but the Flame did not want it so. Shiro..."
"..."
Undine held out her hands, showing him her own broach; that was a sea green colour, "If I cannot meet him this way, then I will join you. And... when this is all over, I just hope our one wish for peace will come true..."
Taking the broach, he watched as she faded away slowly, her spirit transferring to the broach.
:So it wasn't always this way...: he thought, :for how long have they been suffering like this?:
He watched as the center of the lake opened up, and, without a sign of hesitation, he entered.
---
"... yes, it has always been this way," whispered a voice, as they watched him disappear, "and... like Undine said, it can't be changed until this is over."
Scarlet passed a hand over the Earth broach, "they don't know the history of the Flame, so... they have to learn it on their own."
'... Scarlet?'
"Celes?" holding up the required item, the girl frowned, "don't tell me already..."
'We don't have enough time to dawdle!' replied the priestess stressfully, 'How many have been retrieved?'
"... nine," she answered softly.
'Scarlet... I know this might be hard on you, but...'
Ignoring the rest of Celes' speech, Scarlet shoved the item away, "Is this what you wanted? Do I even know why I'm here anymore?"
She bent down, her usually blank face filled with unbound emotion, "I don't even know who I am anymore..."
As her vision began to blur, voices that she hadn't heard for a long time came back to her, and she gave a shuddering gasp – somehow it was so clear to her:
"Don't forget who you are. And your parents will always love you, so don't worry."
"I won't!"
"You're a good girl, and that's a trait that will always be with you. Just remember all of this."
"I will!"
"Take care, Akane-chan."
"Akane..." she repeated under her breath, looking at the feather she had been given, "I am..."
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