After saving us from the Orcish Warmachines, Hikiri led us to his hut, located deep in the Tahrongi Canyon. Inside were all sorts of books on alchemy, as well as stacks of papers of his own research. On the walls were carvings of various transmutation circles he seemed to be making, in order to perform alchemy without the use of crystals. When I looked at who was cooking food in the fireplace, I saw a goblin.

"What the!" I yelled. "What's a goblin doing here, Hikiri?"

"Relax," he responded. "Scunex is a good friend of mine, and he has helped me on my research for many years. He is quite trustworthy, and has opinions on nearly everything, making him great for an intellectual conversation."

Intellectual conversation from a goblin? I was beginning to wonder if Hikiri had gone mad from his years of research. If he had, then asking him to make a cure for Konami's mother probably wouldn't be such a great idea.

"Your eyes," Scunex said, looking at Konami. "your eyes are that of a first generation born from a person infected with trankuj."

"...What's trankuj?" Konami asked Scunex.

"It's a very cruel disease that the moblins first encountered while digging their city," he replied. "it slowly eats away the infected person until nothing is left, not even bones. By slowly, I mean over many decades, and the entire time is filled with pain and suffering. It's odd, though, that trankuj is never passed on to younger generations, but an immunity is."

"Is there a cure for it?" I asked.

"No," Hikiri stated. "but I read of a race of people that existed when the three crags of this world were being created. They researched many things about alchemy, and came extremely close to finding the cure for trankuj."

"So... she will die... my mother... will just... die." Konami said in despair, with tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Kazu," Hikiri said to me. "I was not there for your first sixteen years, and that is something I cannot hope to be forgiven for. However, I will try my best to make my apology. I will focus everything I can into researching this race and their cure, and then once I find it, progress on it until it is complete. It is the least I could do for not being there for you as your uncle."

"I'm sure you didn't learn any actual fighting techniques as the Dark Knight, Batosai, either," Scunex said. "let me help you with that." He walked outside, and I followed, but Konami decided to sit on the steps and watch.

Scunex came up to me and put his hand on mine, drew a circle similar to one I saw on the wall, then pressed it. The circle glowed green, and I could feel his energy pulsing through me, and my energy through him. It was a very peculiar feeling, but once it was over, he looked at me and said, "You are quite ready for the first of the dragon techniques- Ryu Sanjuu Dageki: The Dragon Triple Strike."

"Ryu... Sanjuu Dageki?" I asked him.

"Yes," Scunex replied. "Ryu Sanjuu Dageki is the first of three attacks I learned from the Dragoon, Erpalacion, long ago. He told me that all you have to do is focus on the one thing you want most out of the battle. No matter what it is, if your focus is strong and your intention pure, the Ryu Sanjuu Dageki will come to you."

He used a transmutation circle to lift part of the ground up as a pole for me to attack. I looked at the pole, closed my eyes, and cleared my mind. 'I wish to learn the Ryu Sanjuu Dageki...' I thought to myself. 'so that I can protect the weak from the fangs of the strong.'

I could feel a small charge of energy flowing through me, different than my own. This energy felt strong, like that of a dragon itself. I opened my eyes, and released three strikes quickly, each having stronger force behind it than the last. This power of this technique reduced the pole to rubble, which left me in shock.

"Very good, Kazu," Scunex said to me. "you may yet defeat the darkness within your heart after all."

After lunch, we said our good-byes and Konami and I went back to wandering Vana'diel, searching for a cure for her mother, and helping those in need of it as we found them. Back at the hut, Scunex and Hikiri were busy researching the mysterious race of people and the cure they almost made.

"Scunex," Hikiri said. "you taught him the first technique, didn't you?"

"Yes Hikiri, but I have a feeling that he'll need it." Scunex admitted.

"He will need much more than the Ryu Sanjuu Dageki if he ever finds his father" Hikiri said, looking off in the direction that Konami and I walked off to.

"Kazu?" Konami asked as the sun was setting.

"Yes, Konami?" I responded.

"Why did Scunex say that you'll defeat the darkness within you? Haven't you already done that?" She asked me.

"To be honest..." I said. "I'm not sure. However, I'll be ready for whenever that day may come."