Wow! I am really impressed by the way in which this story grows! 12 chapters already! And there are5 more waiting to be finished and delivered!

Anyway, it is a real shame to inform you that our Thursday campaigns will have to be cancelled, at least until this semester ends (we begin classes on February the 28th), since must of us are busy on Thursdays. I have got classes from 8 to 10, from 1 to 4 and choir rehearsal from 6 to 9 (no time at all).

But... I will be hoping to start a new story during this semester.

Thanks for your support!

Now, let's begin with what brought us here today: (I apologize if I wrote any term here the wrong way... I am not used to Japanese words).

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What about...?

(Bonus Chapter #3)

I sat beside the window and looked out as the plane began to move... It had definitely been a great birthday celebration! But, for some reason, what I could not take out of my head was the thing I would otherwise want to forget about: the short conversation I had had with my father... And why did Sianodell have to betray me when he knew what I thought about my father?

Gea... may I talk to you- I heard Sianodell ask, he was now sitting beside me. I nodded, but did not look at him directly. –I want you to forgive me for what I did... But I was forced to!

You do not have to apologize- I told him. –It is not like you are his servant and you did it because he commanded you to. That would be the only thing I would not forgive!

It is a laughable thing to think, though- he said, with a strange sort of smile. –Did you like your birthday present- I nodded. I was still not in the mood for a chat. –When I went away from the University was because I had found out that I could find the fire crystal at the Earth Continent. The zone is filled with dark dwarves... pretty good fighters, dark dwarves. I got to get the crystal, but I had to fight to get it. To get to make the fire stone, I had some help from your mother and another sorcerer- he took a deep breath. –She has a great control of fire.

I know- I answered. –I have always admired her very much. That is why she had always been my model, I want to be a firecaster like her, you know?

Yes- he said. –May I ask you what you and your father talked about?

I asked him why he had chosen my mother- he seemed very interested in what my father had answered. –He said she is an amazing person: powerful, smart, beautiful, sexy... Then, he said that he really loved her, and she knew how to make him happy... But I would obviously not believe that and he admitted that he had used her to get what he wanted... Though it took quite some time for her to accept the power he had offered her...

Yes, I know... The Kihlstroms have always been troublesome- he said. –I have heard that their clan fell when the Resurrection years ended. It is been almost a hundred years since someone heard something from the Kihlstrom leader. But that leader was not your father... Do you know something about your grandparents?

No- I answered as I shook my head. –I have only met my mother's parents...

And... what are they like?

Well, my grandmother is also a powerful firecaster, though I think my mother is much more powerful than she is... My grandfather is also a firecaster, but not as powerful as my grandmother.

So... I guess being such a powerful firecaster is something carried within your genes... specially the "X" chromosome- he suddenly changed the subject. –How did the game end back at the University?... I had to leave early. That was precisely when I discovered where I could find the stone.

We won- I answered. –Kaworu finally got to take the flag away from Professor Drake- I smiled kind of mischievously. –I have noticed he has a really strange kind of relationship with the young girl.

I thought I was the only one who had noticed that- he said with a smile. –So many details, so much attention. It is strange... What else did you and your father talked about- why did he have to bring the subject back, when I thought the topic was already over?

I told him to show himself as he really is...

And he did it- he asked, impressed. –What does he look like?

Well, you know he is a dark elf, too. He is tall, very tall. He has got dark eyes and short hair...

I hesitated for a short while. Should I tell him about...?

Do you remember when you told me about Hell's Black Fire- he nodded. –He showed it to me.

He managed to control it- he asked. He did sound impressed and I could tell some fear on his face.

He possesses it, but he cannot control it. That is what he needed my mother for. Actually- I took the fire stone out of my pocket. –He gave me a small part of it as his birthday present.

May I borrow it for a while- he asked.

I hesitated a little bit, but handed him the stone.

Now, be careful because things are going to get hot around here- he warned.

And so it was. The temperature began to raise inside the plane, but it dropped immediately back to normal.

It is strange- he said. –I do not perceive any difference. Perhaps it takes a real, experimented firecaster to get to use it... This stone is indeed a very practical gift- he handed me the stone back. –You have heard what you can do with it, but you also have to be very careful with it. If it gets out of control, it can burn you, even if you wore gloves for safety.

We remained silent for another moment. Once again I doubted how much I could tell him.

I also asked him about the curse... But he did not say much about it. He just said it was our curse and that maybe I could find a way to beat it, but that his time is almost over and there was not much he could achieve. I still cannot understand what he meant with that... Now that I think about it, he told me something I had already heard before... He said necromancers have the gift to play with death, but death also plays with them.

That is a very common way to refer to what necromancers do...

I have decided to ask for help to control my Necromancy...- I said aftera while.

That is great- he said. –Just what you should have done from the start. Who is going to help you?

Well, my roommate, Vanessa, I do not know if you have met her... She said she would get me an interview with Mr. Strauss. I really hope he can help me.

Yes... I think I saw your roommate during the Christmas dinner we had with Mr. Strauss... Black eyes; short, black hair; dressed in purple- I nodded. –Seems like they are somehow related...

He took one of my hands and gently touched his cheek with it. I suddenly felt the horrible feeling of that strange energy running through my body and small pain in my lower abdomen that slowly began to grow. I could hear Sianodell scream as I tried to get my hand off his face.

What do you think you are doing- I asked him as I moved a little bit away from him... That had really scared me. –Why did you do that?

I just wanted to show you... A spell is something you have to summon and learn to control. That one you just did was a Death Touch... Not a very powerful one, though. If you had been powerful enough, you could have killed me... But it really hurts.

I am sorry... I am really sorry- I said, still scared. –I... I do not want it! I do not want to hurt anybody as I did with you.

Then you cannot get to control it... It is the same with the Cause Fear spell: You have to accept and understand it in order to control it- he began to explain. –As I told you before... the Death Touch depends on how powerful you are, but you can only use it once a day. Cause Fear affects people's minds, depending on the person, it usually works better on weak people... It usually works in short distances and its effect lasts around forty seconds... All you have to do is to learn the verbal and somatic components of the spell. Once you get to control them, they turn out very practical spells... Take for example what I did to Kaworu this afternoon- I laughed. –That guy must belong to some secret organization.

How would you say so?

How does he get so many explosives then?

I do not know- I said as I took the rose Kaworu had given me from the box in which I had safely kept it. –He even made this with an explosive substance.

I could tell some kind of fear in his face as he stared at the rose... It was obvious, though. He would not want to know anything about explosive things close to him after what had happened with the ring Mashauri had given him. I put the rose away, then.

How...- I did not know how to ask that so, I stood quiet for a while. –How did my father contact you?

Well, I was around the Earth Continent, making some deals, when he passed by and recognized me. He asked me what I was looking for so, I told him I was looking for a fire crystal. We talked for a while and he gave me a clue of where to find what I was looking for... When he asked me what I wanted the fire crystal for and I said it was to make a fire stone for you, he asked me to help him contact you- I looked at him suspiciously... and he accepted just like that- I was obviously not going to help him, for I know what you think about him, but he has his means to get what he wants. The small place in which we were suddenly turned dark, though it was broad daylight outside. Somehow I could still see him and myself among the shadows... He has got control not only above death but above shadows, also. That can be really intimidating- he admitted. –But your mother can get really intimidating, too... She has an infernal temper. She could have fried me up! And then, of course, I would have had to make her sick in self-defense- he leaned his head against the seat's back. –They are both very powerful. It would be interesting to see a fight between the both of them!

I gave him a piercing look. I definitely did not like to think about that possibility... What would happen if it became true? I would definitely not want to see them fight. What if she lost? Would she get killed? No... I definitely did not like to think about that possibility.

But... If he had not intimidated you, would you still have helped him?

I have a very sharp eye to detect intentions- he said. –I could tell he did not want to hurt you... He just wanted to see you. Look...- he looked deep into my eyes. –I did it to try to help you, my intention was never to betray you... I would never, ever, betray you. I would even give my life for you if it meant something to you- I opened my eyes widely. What did he mean? –Would you take my life?

I...- I could not continue. What was I supposed to answer? –I... You know I do not get along with anything that means death...

Yes, I know- he said with a smile. –I do not know... I love the romantic part of death... Besides, if you have lived a decent life, you will have a decent death but, if while you live you fall into shame, you will have a painful death... I am not lying: I would really give my life for you, and I would suffer a lot if you died and I knew I could not protect you: that is a lesson of life. Just like what happened between samurais in Japan when one of them fell into dishonor...- I could tell he had a special admiration for that culture in which he had been trained. –There is a ritual suicide for those who feel they have fell in dishonor and want to recover their honor (their family's honor, as well). It is called Sepuku.

He took out the knife I had given him and showed me what it was about. Apparently, the person had to make a deep horizontal cut in his stomach and bleed to death. It was a really slow and painful death.

But that is when the Kaishaku appears- he said. –The Kaishaku's job is to stop the pain. He or she has to make an incomplete decapitation... Incomplete, because he has to keep part of the head attached to the body, because, if the head was completely cut off and touched the ground, it would symbolize the suicide's dishonor. There is a special kata for that, perhaps I can teach it to you. Anyway, that is also a lesson of life: do everything that is necessary to stop the suffering. I am now wondering... if I decided to kill myself that way, would you assist me?

What- I asked, very scared. Did he really know what he was asking me? –No. I do not think I could... Would you really do it?

If I fell into dishonor, yes, I would.

You are really scaring me- I told him.

Fear only comes when you do not know what lies beyond... That is why we have to overcome everything, don't you think- he said. He always had that ability to keep me thinking about the things he said: so deep and meaningful sometimes but sometimes so difficult to understand. –That is what makes us different from the living deads. We have an essence, they do not. Take vampires, for example. Their essence is merely parasitical... that is the reason of their sadism, which may be considered interesting and horrifying at the same time. Tell me- he changed the subject once again. –What else happened when I was away from the University?

I told him everything that had happened while he was absent: the detailed ending of the game; Árama dating the blue Sentai Member; the strange scene with the giant robot that I watched from my room's window, Bahamut and Vanessa...

I have also got some information about those cameos we found in that mansion- he told me a while after I had finished the recount of what had happened during his absence. –They were used as a key and a ritual to get a legendary object- he looked seriously at me. –You should be very careful with that if you still have them all... the Kihlstroms were involved in that ritual... I still think the painting encloses much more mysteries... perhaps I should give the copy of it to Taltos for him to investigate it.

A few minutes later, we had reached the University.

I... want to thank you for what you did for me- I said as we walked back to our respective buildings. –I had a great time today.

You are welcome- he answered. –I heard about this place a few days ago ("rebuilt to resemble those amusement parks that used to exist on Earth before the fusion") and I thought you would like to have a good time in a different place for a change- we finally reached my building. –Good night, Gea.

Good night.

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Isn't this couple cute?

Yes, I know Aramir can get a little scary and philosophical sometimes, but he's nice... Gives you things to think about.

Anyway, tell me what you think about it. I like to see what you think about my chapters, specially my bonus chapters. (That means: please RRREEEVVVIIIEEEWWW).

Bye, bye.

Ruby.