bijoukaiba: Seto has been kidnapped *o*!
Kenshin: We must save him!
Vash: Yeah!
Miroku: ?_? But how?
bijoukaiba: Easy! Get Mokuba to shoot people with a big blowtorch, baby!
Naraku: *dancing about uneasily* Aww! I wanna shoot people with a big blowtorch!
Miroku: DIE! *shoves staff down his throat*
Naraku: Gak. *X__x*
bijoukaiba: .......................... here's Chapter 7....................................... *weirded out O_O*
Vash and Kenshin: *sweatmarks*
Disclaimer:
Johnson: Legally speaking, bijoukaiba doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh, Rurouni Kenshin, or Fire Emblem.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 7: Summoning The Flarenix and Seto's In Love!
It was morning. Mokuba had found the discarded backpack of his brother, and, remembering what the Nikotayos had said, had begun to strategize. With all those spears, and with only some chain mail to defend him, Mokuba shuddered at the thought of what could befall his brother. Looking through the backpack, Mokuba scavenged for something he could use to stop the Nikotayo people. The first thing he grabbed?
The blowtorch.
~~~~
Kenshin looked up uneasily at the sunrise. Marth stood beside him. Looking at each other, they gave a small nod, then continued gazing at the sky. Kaoru and Sanosuke watched them. She spoke to her tall friend.
"Seto, you think?"
"Definitely. They didn't eat anything for dinner or breakfast, so they gotta be worried."
"I'm worried too. Seto didn't come back overnight. Do you suppose everything's all right?"
"Everything will be all right Kaoru. At least, I think everything will be fine... I sure hope so."
~~~~
Everything was blurry as Seto began to open his eyes. He heard two voices that were counseling over him.
"Yes! Dat's him! He steal our pretty paper called 'comic strip' and green 'T'!"
"Oh really?"
Seto's vision cleared. Two men stood before him. One was the prisoner he had freed. The other one was... well, looked similar.
He was only a foot shorter than Seto, and he wore some sort of clothing that could almost be described as resembling shorts, made of what appeared to be deer fur, from its small white spots on the pale tan hue of the fabric. He wore a leather belt around his waist, and his chest was bare with the exception of tribal paintings of red, green, black, and blue dipping up and down in intricate patterns all the way up to his neck. There, he wore a necklace made of small bones, shark teeth, and black glass beads. On his face, he had a chin piercing of bone, and two thin red lines and a thick blue line painted under each eye. His forehead had two green dots painted on inside two black lines. He wore a headdress made of what appeared to be shark teeth, two peacock feathers, and various feathers from different birds. He wore his black hair in a ponytail and his complexion was like that of rich reddish-brown natural clay.
Shaking his head, Seto saw his hands chained up to two 'arms' extending off of the tall wooden post he was tied to. Tied to? He was hanging there, like a target. He decided to try speaking to the clannish beings.
"Excuse me!"
Apparently, it worked. The two tribesmen turned to look at Seto.
"What you want, stinking swordsboy?"
"Where am I? Untie me right now!"
The tribesmen spoke to him.
"No! You steal our pretty relics!"
"Yeah, you stinking pig!"
Seto looked at the prisoner with a dirty glare.
"Hey buddy, you gave me those artifacts! I didn't steal them!"
"We no care! We kill you!"
"I am Chief Tanno, and we no like thieves."
"But I didn't-"
"He stoled the treasures! He stoled them!" screamed the affiliate of the tribe.
"No, YOU 'stoled' them! YOU gave them to ME to save YOUR sorry ass!"
"Dat's enough!" Chief Tanno stood panting after finally breaking in. "Let me show you what we do to thieves."
Warriors from the Nikotayo tribe began to climb up onto the small raised area of land that Seto's wooden executing spot was. They all had spears with sharp ends made of sharpened stone. They threw jeers at him in their native tongue.
Well, this was it. It was finally over. Seto had come so far, and now he was never going to live to see another day again.
I'm going to miss Mokuba. And Kenshin and Marth. I'll never understand how I felt for them. And it's just really bad too... without me, they can't rescue Serenity... and now that medicine will never get through... and all those children will die because of me.
He hung his head, awaiting the final chapter. A muscular person went up to him. Vigorius is what Chief Tanno called him.
"Vigorius! Stab him good!"
Seto stared forward. He decided to grit his teeth and bear it. He hoped that maybe somehow, someone would view him as taking death bravely.
Suddenly, a blast of fire struck him in the back. Howling in pain, Vigorius leapt off the small land mass and into the surrounding lagoon. Seto looked to see where the fire came from. In the nearby tree! And pushing away the brush, Mokuba poked his head out.
"Seto!"
"Mokuba!" His brother waved at him. Seto yelled,
"Thank God you're alive!"
"Likewise! Don't worry Seto! I'll try my best to keep them from hurting you!"
Seto gulped. He trusted his brother... but still... he hoped he really could trust him. There were still sixteen warriors standing.
Warrior after warrior each took turns trying to gouge Seto, but yet almost all fell without leaving a scratch on him. Only three were able to actually stab him, but then they fell from a fireball in the back or shoulder or head. Mokuba's aim had been too keen.
As fireballs flew after screaming warriors in the lagoon, Chief Tanno ran up to the tied up Seto.
"Okay, okay! You win! I'll untie you! Just make the Mokuba child stop firing! EEYAH!" He barely dodged a hurtling orb of flames. Seto obliged, and soon he was finally standing on the ground. He was bleeding minorly, but it was enough to feel like hell. Seto didn't care; it was good to be at least alive.
"You free." Chief Tanno said, as he ran off towards a large thatched hut of wood and reeds, located on a larger body of land near the edge of the lagoon. "But we still no trust you, stinking swordsboy!"
Mokuba rushed out of the tree and Seto climbed down the tall landform to his brother.
"SETO!"
"MOKUBA!!"
They embraced each other tightly.
Mokuba began crying.
"I was so scared while I was up there. When I saw you take those three hits, I thought at first you would die after each thrust! I kept worrying that I would bring about my brother's death... but you're alive!"
He sobbed against his older brother's shoulder. Rubbing the back of his younger brother, Seto soothed Mokuba.
"Shh... there's no turning back when your destiny calls... you did the right thing, you stood brave and strong... and you saved me."
Mokuba slowly began to stop crying as the brothers held onto each other for a little bit longer. Gently pulling his sibling away to face him, Seto spoke with a smile, something he rarely did.
"Back there in the mountains... when we fought Arcticus... you asked if you could use my blowtorch."
"Yeah..."
"Well, because you have proved able to wield it, I have decided that you may keep the blowtorch, Mokuba. Just one condition. When I need you to shoot something, you shoot it. Okay? That's the only detail in the matter."
"I'd love to wield it! Yeah!"
He began to dance in a circle, oddly hugging the blowtorch against himself.
"Yay! I get to shoot people! ON COMMAND!"
Using the shoulder strap attached, Mokuba flung the blowtorch over his shoulder. It fit him perfectly. No wonder Seto had thought it was small!
Seto sat down.
"Well, I guess it's time for us to head back to the Kamiya Dojo. I can't wait to see Marth and-"
"No."
"But why not, Mokuba?"
"I dunno, this place just seems suspicious. Maybe Chief Tanno-" Mokuba gave a wink. "-Knows a little bit more about this place than we do."
"Oh... I see..."
They walked over to the hut. On the way, they passed a small tepee. Curious, they decided to stop there. A kindly old medicine-woman, like Megumi, lived inside, and she gladly treated Seto's minor wounds and Mokuba's minor finger burns.
After getting bandaged up and sipping tea with her, they went to go see the Chief. He was leaning against a chair made of wood.
"Oh crud, not you again! We know you didn't steal our artifacts, so go away!"
Two warriors with singe marks held up spears in Seto's face. Pushing their spears aside fearlessly, he marched up to the Chief.
"We wanna know if there is anything nearby like the green letter and comic strip."
"Oh, so you lookin' for artifacts, eh?"
Mokuba groaned.
"Duh! Stupid question! Of course we are!"
"We keep secret, you see. Remember executioning spot? There secret underground chamber there. Maybe you get spirit from underground, you give it to Simetra, spiritual leader and artist of Nikotayo. Only then can you see Ollopa, musical person. But you can't see them yet. You must pass the Nikotayo test, to see how brave and strong you are."
He began laughing, then Vigorius (who appeared to be his right hand man) began to laugh too, and soon the guards of Chief Tanno's hut were laughing too. Seto looked around at them confused.
"Oro? Well, I-"
Mokuba rolled his eyes.
"Seto, don't be stupid! You gotta do it now! They're laughing at you."
Chief Tanno cleared his throat.
"Yeah... but before you make choice, listen to what Vigorius say to you."
"Wait- first off, I wanna know- what does all this have to do with the artifacts?"
"Oh, I see, swordsboy curious." Chief Tanno chuckled. "You need to be Nikotayo member in order to go into underground chamber. If you pass Nikotayo test, you become an HONORARY member of the tribe, and they is allowed to go into underground too. When you get there, the spirit will give you a test too. If you pass, it will go with you to see Simetra, to be released. Then you go see Ollopa, he is musical master. You see, we need two spirits before he comes into play. You will be getting the second spirit."
"But who picked up the first spirit?" Seto asked, randomly eyeing some Serendipity Blossoms and Eagle Lilies growing nearby.
"That don't matter. Now then, since you will have the second of two spirits, we will gather around a big fire, and then the spirit giver who delivers the second spirit, dat's you, must play a melody on a flute. Then Simetra sprinkles some magic herbs into the fire, and if the ritual goes successfully, we will see the Flarenix!"
"The WHAT?!"
"The Flarenix! It is the god we worship as the Nikotayos. The Flarenix, the phoenix of the spiritual flames!"
"Oh... cool."
"Yeah, very cool! And so, you summon Flarenix, it will give you artifacts. Easy?"
"No. It sounds complicated... but I guess I'll do it..."
Chief Tanno nodded.
"Ah, you are very brave warrior indeed. There is something special about you, um-"
"Seto. Seto Kaiba."
"There is something special about you, Seto Kaiba. Me wish you luck, so hopefully you won't die."
Seto smiled nervously as the Chief ran off. Suddenly his eyes widened.
"WAIT!!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'YOU HOPEFULLY WON'T DIE'??!!"
"I think it means you're in way over your head."
Mokuba looked grim.
"Seto, I think you're in serious trouble............"
~~~~~~
There was a small grassy field in the west of the small village. Chief Tanno pointed at two thick wooden boards that appeared to be like a turntable. If it were a compass, one board would be on the 'east', one was parallel, to the 'west', and in the 'south' there was a deep pit.
Vigorius punched a Nikotayo over and stood near Seto, his eyes gleaming in smug pride. Looking up, Seto realized how tall this warrior was. Imagine the fright of fighting him!
Vigorius looked back at Chief Tanno, who nodded, and Vigorius nodded back.
Vigorius spoke in a deep voice, and the field seemed to tremble below him.
"This is the Test Of Strength! This is what you must do- you are to push on this wooden board with all your strength. A warrior will also push on the other board, trying to shove you in. The loser is the one who falls into the pit."
Mokuba walked over and sat down by Chief Tanno. Odd as it was, the leader of the Nikotayos seemed to have a liking for Seto's little brother.
"Go Seto! You can win!"
Seto looked at his brother and nodded. He approached the wooden board. It came only a few inches off the ground to allow easier movement, and it stood about a foot taller than Seto. As Seto placed the palms of his hands against the wood, he looked back at Vigorius.
"Say, who am I fighting anyway?"
Vigorius chuckled and grinned evilly, cracking his knuckles.
"Me."
"Oro! That's not good!"
Chief Tanno raised his hand.
"Begin!"
Seto began pushing against the wooden board, just like Vigorius. He decided to try turning around and walking backwards while pushing on it. It merely seemed to make the pit come closer. Seto turned around and began shoving like Vigorius. Suddenly, he seemed to imagine Kenshin and Marth at his left, helping him push. With that thought, Seto closed his eyes and pushed as hard as possible. Slowly but surely he began to edge forward, at the same time pushing Vigorius closer to the pit.
Angrily seeing he was only a few footsteps away, Vigorius grumbled.
"No more nice stuff!"
Exerting all his strength, he began to edge towards the side of the wood, where he could grab the edges with both hands. Pulling roughly, the wood fell away from Seto. As he went to go grab it, Vigorius suddenly slammed all his weight against the wood and-
SMACK
The wooden board hit Seto roughly in the face. His nose was beginning to drip blood, and stars were everywhere.
Mokuba booed.
"Hey! THAT'S CHEATING!"
Chief Tanno sat him down.
"No, it's not. There's no rule as to what you do against your opponent, just as long as you don't let go of the wood."
Mokuba looked back at the turntable.
"Seto..."
Seto was too dizzy to fully concentrate, and his steps went wobbly as he continued trying to think straight and shove. The mental stress was too much, and Seto collapsed, panting. Vigorius began to push Seto towards the pit, Kaiba's body edging slowly nearer.
~~
Voices of Kenshin and Marth shook and rattled in his head.
"Seto!"
"Get up, Seto!"
"You need to fight!"
"You must get up Seto, that you must!"
"Go now! Get up!"
"FIGHT!!"
"You must be stronger to go on!"
Be stronger...
~~
As Seto neared the pit, he opened his eyes. Leaping up, he grabbed the board and shoved heavily. Vigorius was shocked at the resurgence of Seto's strength. He was virtually speeding towards the pit.
Seto's face grew red as he shoved. He was in the clear! Blood from his nose had now leaked onto his neck, but he didn't pause to wipe it away. For Seto, this had felt like it had become a battle of life or death.
Gritting his teeth, Seto shoved the board with all his might.
For Kenshin... and for Marth...
Ollopa screamed. Simetra gasped. Mokuba cheered.
Vigorius fell into the pit!
Seto fell onto his stomach, breathing heavily. It was because he had thought of them that he had won. But why? The more he thought of them, the stronger he felt. Physically stronger... and stronger in his heart too.
Vigorius slowly climbed out of the pit.
He grabbed a spear from a nearby warrior and knelt onto the ground.
"What's he doing?" Mokuba asked.
Chief Tanno wasn't sure.
"Because I have lost this fight, I have shamed myself and my family, and my tribe. I do not deserve to live in such shame!"
Just as he was about to run himself through with the spear, Seto slashed it away with his sword. Gazing at the split spear on the ground, Vigorius looked up at Seto.
"But... why?"
Seto did not realize it, but he was repeating the words of his sensei. Mokuba even blinked twice when he stared at his brother. For a split second he resembled Kenshin when he spoke.
"It was just one loss. You have won many more fights and made yourself proud. Everyone loses sometimes, but you can't sacrifice yourself for a loss!"
Vigorius stared, listening to Seto.
Those are the wisest words I've ever heard...
"Besides that, suicide is for cowards. You can die at anytime... but yet living, and facing down whatever is thrown at you each day, such as loss and guilt, that takes real courage. A long time ago, I lost a similar fight, but now it doesn't bother me enough to commit suicide, although I've made many more wrongs. I am living too, that I am."
Vigorius slowly stood up and beckoned Chief Tanno over (who, FYI, was also speechless after hearing Seto's oration). The other Nikotayos, including Ollopa and Simetra were curious as to what was happening.
Chief Tanno smiled at Seto and, speaking loud enough so everyone could hear, said,
"Congratulations, Seto! You are now honorary member of the Nikotayo tribe!"
With that, he and Vigorius grabbed Seto's hands and lifted them in the air for victory. The Nikotayos and Mokuba cheered!
"Yeah! Yay! Woo-hoo! Hey, you see that guy Seto? Yeah, he's MY big brother!"
~~
Pretty soon the ceremonies ended, and Seto followed Chief Tanno to the
'executioning spot'. A small stone door was engraved behind the landmass.
"There you go Seto! The rest is up to you and your brother!"
He ran off.
Back to the whole shadow magic thing, the door mysteriously opened for both of them.
Seto placed his hands on the shoulders of his brother.
"Give me the blowtorch, Mokuba. I'm going in alone."
"Why?"
"I'm the one who passed the tests. I'm the one who can go in there."
Mokuba nodded, handing his brother the blowtorch.
It was pitch black inside the landmass. Seto slowly took two steps in. Suddenly, the floor collapsed beneath him and he fell down, with a shout.
"SETO!!"
Seto fell towards the ground. When he would hit, there was no telling. A loud WHUMPH was heard as he fell onto the ground, and he struggled to stand up, panting. There was a curious deep indent in the wall, like some type of lever belonged there.
Honestly, I have no idea how many times I have escaped death.
Making sure that his sword, lantern, and blowtorch weren't damaged, he brushed himself off and held up his lantern, walking down a small passageway. A crack in a wall was in front of him. How could he pass through?
Turning around, he noticed a curious flower. It was green colored, with red stripes.
Merry Christmas...
Remembering the plant book, he found the plant on page 51.
Volatilus Violet. A lovely flower with green petals and red stripes. VERY DANGEROUS: This plant is a 'time bomb'. It has explosive results when this violet contacts with fire.
Seto plucked a flower or two from the plant, and placed them near the crack. Stepping back a great distance, he fired.
BOOM.
Seto was flung away, landing on his back. Sitting up while coughing away the smoke, he noticed that the passage way had been opened!
Walking through, Seto noticed that there was a large deep pit between him and a gate doorway. There was a small drain at the floor of the pit. What was behind the gate doorway, Seto couldn't tell. But ABOVE the door was a red emblem! Seto fired the blowtorch and the gate opened.
But how do I get across...
The drain suddenly began spewing out water, and Seto finally figured that he'd need to swim across! Leaping into the water, he swam quick enough to conserve his energy. Just as he almost reached the wall, the water began to drain. Seto picked up the pace and swam to the edge, climbing out of the pit, and then running under the gate (which had begun closing). As the gate slammed to the floor, Seto panted, sopping wet. Shaking his head as water droplets flew about from his wet hair, he stood up, and his head bumped softly against what felt like a knotted rope.
It was a knotted rope. But what was it for?
Seto pulled it, and the floor collapsed beneath him.
"WHY AM I GETTING A DEJA VU HERE?!" he shouted as he fell. Suddenly he fell on his butt onto a stone floor. Shaking his head and standing up, he looked around. A pool of water seemed to be hanging on the wall in front of him.
"What the-" he gasped as a transparent purple- 'something'- floated towards him. It resembled a masked face, only with jellyfish-like tentacles hanging off of the mask and the face underneath. It spoke to him in an unknown language.
"Teyko-veyo-maus."
"What the hell did you say? I can't understand you."
It spoke to him in English.
"This is the Spirit's Test Of Balance. In this test, you must face your fears as you walk across a small wooden plank over a deep pit. If you successfully cross the plank, I will go with you to the Nikotayo Village."
Seto nodded.
"I'll try."
The view seemed to spin around him as suddenly Seto found himself standing in a similar room to the one with the water pit. Only, there was no water in this hollow. A wooden board was spread across the pit. Dropping everything that might weigh him down, such as the blowtorch, Seto stepped onto the board with only his sword.
"This test will begin when you feel ready."
"Bring it on."
Seto began walking, foot in front of foot across the board.
This seems easy enough...
He began to pick up the pace.
Suddenly, he saw a jet of fire spew in front of his face from about eight feet away. Slowly, Seto laid himself onto the board and edged underneath the spewing flames on his stomach. Once he was safely out of the fire's range, he began to slowly stand up, wobbling mildly. He was one fourth of the way across. Two jets of fire licked near his feet. Slowly wobbling, Seto stepped over them. Now he was halfway there!
The plank began to wobble. It began trembling madly beneath his feet.
"Whoa..."
He continued walking slowly, with his arms outstretched for balance. Three fourths were done! He was almost there!
But then, in a heartbeat, the fear took hold. A giant hand slowly began circling near him. Every time he took a step, it came nearer. It was only six inches from his face, but he had about eight steps to go until he crossed over. Edging nearer, he finally was just two steps away when suddenly the hand grabbed him and squeezed him, then put him down. Then the hand smashed against the wood and it fractured into two pieces where it struck. Seto leapt up and barely stood across on the other side from the pit. Everything began to whirl around him again, until he was back in the room where he first encountered the spirit.
It flew behind him into the "watery portal" on the wall. Seto turned around and approached it slowly. The spirit approached him at the same time. He took a step back, as if uncertain. Suddenly, like a gunshot, the spirit flew against him, or more appropriately, into him. A cold feeling spread from his chest to the tips of his fingers, and he could see himself flying from the impact.
His feet slowly touched the ground, and he looked around. Everything was the same, only his heart rate was now a bit faster, and everything he saw was through a transparent purple color.
The spirit was his!
"Yeah!" Seto cried, lifting a fist in the air. Now, all that remained to do was leave this place.
~~
A passageway had opened for Seto, and it lead upward back into the room he had been in before, when he 'dropped in'. Using his sword, he decided to toy with the hole he saw earlier on, like a lever. A soft whirring sound was heard. He then realized that it was a giant fan that he stood over. As it grew in strength in breeze power, Seto felt himself suddenly being lifted by the wind power. Looking up to where he fell, he saw the light from the doorway, meaning a Nikotayo had to be there! Remembering what Kenshin and Marth had said in his visions, he reached for the light with his hand.
And he was soon face-to-face with Chief Tanno and Simetra, and his brother!
"Mokuba! Simetra! Chief Tanno!"
"Seto!" exclaimed the tribal leader. "You back real fast!"
Mokuba stared at his brother.
"Whoa! Seto! Normally, your eyes are blue, but they're purple even in the white area! How did you do that?"
"I didn't. The spirit did."
He nodded at Simetra.
"Okay then, let's get this spirit out of me!"
"Right away!"
~~
Simetra lead Seto to her tent.
"First, to extract the spirit, you must drink this."
She handed him a small cup, with a blue liquid in it.
Seto took a sip then blanched from the taste.
"Ugh! What is this, piss?"
Simetra shook her head.
"Nope, it's a special potion."
Chugging it down quickly, Seto then stuck out his tongue. Mokuba laughed.
"Man, Seto! I wish I had a camera!"
"Shut up, Mokuba."
Simetra used a small rock to mash up some leaves in a bowl.
"Now then," she said, handing him the bowl. "Eat this."
"Yay. More shit." Seto said, using his fingers to scoop out the mash and put it in his mouth.
"ACK! THIS STUFF TASTES WORSE!"
Mokuba was bawling.
"You-haha-oughta see-hoohoo- the look on-heehee-your face, Seto! Hahahahaha!"
"SHUT UP."
What was worse was that the stuff was tough yet sticky and chewy, so he had it in his mouth for a while until he finally gulped it down.
Simetra smiled. Seto scowled at her.
"Is there any more eating and drinking involved?"
She laughed.
"Nope. Just follow me."
She led him to a small area of weeping willow trees behind the Chief's thatched hut. A small stone room was there.
Simetra placed a lantern inside, and showed Seto the interior. It had a small branch off the main corridor that led to the right, and the corridor went on for a little bit. At the end was a painting.
Seto began to walk towards the painting, but Simetra, unnoticing, turned down the branch.
"Now then, this is where you'll release the spirit. Do you have that, Seto Kaiba?" she turned around. "Seto Kaiba?"
She walked out of the corridor to see him, staring at the painting in awe.
"Who is that girl?" asked Kaiba.
He pointed at the painting. The girl in the painting was wearing a pink kimono. She had auburn-colored hair that was worn somewhat close to her face, and she had soft eyes in a pale-brown color. There was a hint of a blush on her cheeks, and she looked happy and serene in the picture. There was a gentle air about her picture, and it made Seto's jaw slowly fall from her splendor.
His cheeks began to glow red.
"She's so beautiful."
Simetra replied,
"Oh, I see you like that painting I made. I captured her image perfectly, didn't I? She was the first spirit giver."
"Do you know her name? Because I swear that I have seen that heavenly angel before."
"Oh, her NAME! Yes, her name, what was it... oh yes, I remember now."
"Well?"
"Serenity Wheeler."
Seto suddenly whipped around to face her.
"SERENITY WHEELER?!"
"Yes."
"She's the girl I have to rescue! It's because of her that I've nearly gotten killed so many times!"
"But was it worth it?" Simetra asked. There was a mysterious air about her. "You seem to like the rewards that lie ahead."
"Well..." Seto was beginning to turn red again.
"Do you love her?"
"......"
"Let your heart break free."
In the dark corridor of his mind, where Kenshin and Marth had been 'ghosts', the light that had been filtering in suddenly spread immensely and it was no longer dark. And Kenshin and Marth were now whole here. And suddenly... Yugi appeared, for some reason. And Kaoru, Yahiko, Sanosuke, and Megumi appeared whole too. And last to appear in his mind was Serenity.
Seto stood entranced at the picture for a moment longer.
"Do you love her?"
Seto smiled, feeling warmth spread through him.
"I do."
Simetra patted his shoulder.
"I figured so, after all, somewhere in time, the truth will shine through."
"Yeah."
"Now then, what say you and I get this spirit out of your body?"
"All right."
Simetra left the painting and turned down the branching corridor.
"Come on, Seto Kaiba."
"Okay, okay, I'm going."
As he left down the hallway, he stopped just before he turned away. He seemed to hear Serenity speak from the painting.
"Don't turn away... don't you turn away..."
Seto looked at her painting one last time, then stood by Simetra.
She knelt on the ground, lighting two flames by an altar.
"What should I do?"
"Just stand there, Seto. The spirit knows what it has to do from here on out."
She sprinkled a powder into the flames, then began speaking in her native tongue.
Suddenly, the cold feeling began to reemerge in his hands and a purple aura glistened around Seto's body. He fell to his knees, panting. His chest was suddenly flung forward and he spread his arms out wide, moaning. He cried out as the cold feeling spread to his heart, then exited his body. The spirit flew into a statue sculpted similarly to it.
Warmth spread into Seto's body as Simetra helped him stand up.
"That's it."
Seto looked at her.
"That's it?"
"Yes. Now, we ought to go see my brother, Ollopa. He'll help us out now."
~~
Ollopa stood grinning.
"I can't believe it. You actually did it!"
Seto laughed.
"Yeah."
"Very well, now then, first, you'll need this."
He handed Seto a flute made from a hard water reed.
"Now I need a piece of bark and a burnt stick to write with-"
"Just use some paper and a pen." Seto said, handing him these items.
Ollopa looked confused.
"It works the same way."
Ollopa wrote frantically, or more appropriately, drew diagrams upon the paper. He drew rectangles with circles inside, and he colored in some circles.
"Okay, now, what you must remember is that you place your fingers on the holes that match the colored circles."
Seto played a few notes.
"This reminds me of the Ocarina of Time."
"What?"
"Never mind."
Ollopa nodded.
"We celebrate when the sun is there in the sky." He pointed at a spot in the sky.
Mokuba commented,
"That'll be about four pm."
Seto nodded.
"I guess I better practice until then?"
Ollopa confirmed it.
"It would be for the best."
"Got it."
"All right! Now remember, at 'four pm', you must see us by the Chief's hut. Understand?"
"I understand."
As Ollopa walked away, Mokuba and Seto high-fived each other.
The Flarenix ceremony was gonna be so cool!
~~
Four pm arrived quickly, and soon Seto and Mokuba were out by the Chief's hut. A large bonfire was lit. Chief Tanno approached the flames and threw in a handful of green powder. The flames crackled in colors of blue and green, then the fire returned to its original color. He began to speak in a canter:
"As the fires and powders dance and mix, summon forth the mighty Flarenix! For who is the fiery phoenix? Only the majestic Flarenix! Your powers are undeniably grand, meet the flutist's fine demand! Feed the poor and strengthen the weak, give the hero what he seek!"
He turned to Seto, Simetra, Ollopa, and Vigorius.
"Play melody."
Ollopa began to play a melody on a lyre, Simetra shook two rattles, and Vigorius pounded on a drum. After playing their intro, Simetra nodded to Seto, and he began to play the melody on the flute. They went through, playing the melody twice, when suddenly, the flames began to roll about madly, until a loud shrieking bird cry was heard, and all eyes turned as fire in the form of a phoenix flew out of the flames and landed before Seto. He had no idea what to do, except to continue playing. It watched him intently, then plucked out three feathers. Two of them disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a blue "I" and white feathers. The other red feather just remained there, as if for decoration. The phoenix shrieked again, then flew back into the flames.
The chorus played their melody to its end, when Chief Tanno halted them.
Seto asked,
"It's over?"
The Chief nodded.
"All done. There's your artifacts!"
Seto picked them up with a smile and placed them in his backpack. Vigorius held up the red feather.
"I know what to do with this..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It had finally come time to leave the Nikotayo people.
"Wow, Seto Kaiba," Chief Tanno said, "I was right. There is truly something special about you."
"Thank you. I hope you and your tribe will return peacefully to your own time period... and your original village."
"Nah, we should thank you! If it wasn't for you, we would have lost our finest warrior, and we wouldn't have been able to summon the Flarenix."
Seto blushed and laughed.
Simetra winked.
"Oh, and I hope Serenity likes you, too."
Ollopa laughed.
"Because my sister does like you..."
Simetra hit her brother Ollopa. Seto sighed.
Vigorius walked up to Seto.
"Here, um... I made this for you..."
He held up a necklace. It had the red feather of the Flarenix from the ceremony fifteen minutes ago, and it was attached to a small jade sword. This pendant was on a leather cord. He placed it around the neck of the elder Kaiba.
"I read about this sort of thing from our records... this is the Feather Sword Pendant. According to our legends, this can only be made with a feather from the Flarenix and a pendant of jade sculpted into a sword. This Feather Sword Pendant can be used only once for a miracle. So if you ever find yourself in trouble when you go hunting for Miss Serenity... this oughta come in handy."
Seto shook hands vigorously with Vigorius.
Chief Tanno added,
"Speaking of which, this is currently the only Feather Sword Pendant ever produced... so there is something VERY special about you, Seto Kaiba. Best of luck on your journey, take care of your cool little brother, and we bid you fond farewell."
With that, Chief Tanno said something to his tribe in a foreign language.
And Seto and Mokuba watched as everyone bowed to them... everyone... from common people to Vigorius, Ollopa, and Simetra. Even Chief Tanno was bowing. Seto smiled at Mokuba, and the brothers displayed common courtesy by bowing back.
As the tribe waved good-bye, Ollopa began to sing a beautiful tribal song as Seto and Mokuba walked off.
~~~~~~~
Seto and Mokuba were closer to the dojo.
"Can you believe it, Mokuba? Ten artifacts, and four more to go!"
"Yeah, Seto! We've come a long way!"
The Kaiba brothers walked and talked until they finally reached the Kamiya Dojo at sunset.
"Kenshin! Marth!" Seto ran to greet them. Mokuba also ran to greet Yahiko.
"Seto!" cried Kenshin. He ran over and put his hands on the shoulders of his apprentice, and Marth held on to Seto's hands.
"We wondered what happened to you..." Marth said.
"I'll talk after dinner." Seto said.
"And after a bath," Yahiko commented. "you two smell awful, nothing personal."
~~~
After dinner, Seto, Kenshin, and Marth had gone down to visit the hot springs at night. Not only so Seto would freshen up a bit, but also so he could speak with them alone.
"So, Seto," Marth said, shifting around a bit in the hot springs to his comfort. "What's up?"
"Well..." Seto said, toying with the Feather Sword Pendant around his neck. "I've had you guys on my mind a lot..."
Kenshin asked, "What do you mean, exactly?"
"Well, the thought of you guys made me feel weird. It wasn't love or hatred, but not really in-between... you guys seemed to make me stronger, and encourage me with your words. In my mind, you were always telling me to 'reach for the light'. I mean, not only that, but like you guys have rubbed off on me- like when I tripped up in the mountains, the first thing I said was 'oro!'. I'm probably just going insane..."
Marth and Kenshin smiled at him.
"I figured I went crazy."
Kenshin laughed.
"No, no, it's not that. Back when I was battousai, I had this sort of feeling when I met Kaoru."
Seto groaned.
"Oh man, I'm in love."
Marth laughed and Kenshin blushed.
"No, not in LOVE with us, you just like us. Like how Yahiko likes your brother Mokuba."
"Yeah... but I don't get this liking stuff... I mean, it's sort of been on and off for me and Yugi..."
Kenshin smiled.
"Don't you see?"
"See what?"
His smile grew warmer.
"Seto-dono... it's friendship."
Marth added,
"Yeah. It just feels weird because you've never really felt friendship before."
Seto nodded, and looked down at his reflection in the water.
Marth spoke shyly.
"Kenshin and I could be your friends... if you want..."
Seto smiled at the prince and the samurai.
"I'd like that."
They stargazed as the hot water soothed their tired muscles.
"Makes me just wanna capture a star." Seto said.
"Yeah," Marth added, "star-catching deep in the night..."
~~~~
Seto did end up telling them about Serenity, and he did grow to have friendships with Kaoru, Sano, Megumi, and Yahiko by the time he fell asleep. He learned how to perform the Ryu-Jut-Sen attack and the Ryu-Kazi-Sen attack, and he slept peacefully through the night.
And after being accepted as his friend, Yahiko woke Seto softly on the next morning.
"Hey, Seto-chan. Gotta get up, buddy. Kenshin and Marth have your assignment for today."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
bijoukaiba: *wipes away sweat * At last, Chapter 7 is done!
Kaoru: Your longest chapter.
Miroku: Well, just keep up the good work!
Vash: Yeah! Only four artifacts to go!
Jou: And the ending might be coming up sooner than we realize!
Bijoukaiba: *nods* But keep reading this story anyway! I have a surprise planned for the end of my last Chapter...