Author's Note: Another interlude chapter with lots of little vignettes; will segue back into the main story by next chapter. Note that this chapter occurs in a single evening; temporally, this all occurs within 2 hrs.

Chapter Twenty-Two: All Clear Night

There was scuffling behind Ryu's door, followed by a pair of startled yelps. It sounded like a hurricane blasting within, so confusing and rambunctious was the noise. Then, suddenly, the door burst open and two women were shoved out the threshold, both with very astonished and very miffed expressions upon their countenances.

The one who pushed them out was blushing such a bright crimson shade that his blue hair had a purple cast to it. His clothes were a bit ruffled and his shirt was no longer tucked. His hair was mussed and there were hints of lipstick along his collar. "Sorry," he managed to mumble, "but I think I'd rather be alone right now." Then he abruptly closed the door.

Katt leaned back against the door with a disappointed grunt. "What's with him?" she growled irritably. "How can he resist two beautiful girls practically throwing themselves at him? Eva's fat arse, he must be made of stone!"

Her compatriot, Nina, sank to the floor and banged the back of her head against the wood of the door. "I think I just lost my confidence as a woman," she sighed. Then she turned to Katt. "I told you this wouldn't work. And we made absolute fools of ourselves like that. I shouldn't have done that! It felt far too…too improper." She spoke softly, for words failed to express the depth of her unfathomable embarrassment.

"Yeah right," Katt drawled slyly. "I saw you getting into it once you started in on him. All that moaning wasn't just for his benefit, right?" Nina blushed to the roots of her blonde hair. Katt reveled in her little victory but immediately deflated. "I still can't get over how he just kicked us out. I mean, what were we doing wrong? I figured that two girls coming into a room like that must be every man's dream."

"Not Ryu's apparently," commented Nina dryly. "He has all the calmness of a corpse."

Behind the door, the women heard Ryu speak softly to himself, "All right, now it's time for a cold bath."

Katt's ears pricked up happily; a wide smile followed soon after. "Well, maybe he isn't so rocky as we thought," she murmured triumphantly.

"You know," Bow began drunkenly, "a lot of men would kill to be in your position."

He and Ryu were in the basement of the mayoral villa, which had been converted into a private bar. As to be expected of a party animal like Bow, the brew was only the best that he could get. It was also notoriously potent, so even Ryu was beginning to feel a little tipsy after only a few glasses.

And after what had happened in his room earlier, the normally laconic ranger felt that he needed a few glasses.

"They can have it," Ryu slurred, blinking to keep his bearings straight. "That was way too weird for me."

Bow just looked at him blankly. "Stone statue indeed," he said, and then tossed back another glassful. "So, aside from your astounding fortune with women, what else is on your mind? I've never seen you so riled up as to take to a bottle of bourbon before."

"And I've never seen you pass whiskey for bourbon," Ryu retorted. But he sipped his own glass and continued, "I've been dreaming a lot about my mother lately. About Gate. About Yua."

"Not Katt or Nina?" Bow suggested lewdly. The ranger punched him in the shoulder. "So what about these dreams?" the mayor of Town Ship said quickly, rubbing the new bruise.

Ryu became pensive, his emerald gaze distant and cloudy. Though his body sat in the bar, it was clear that his mind's eye gazed elsewhere. "I can't help but feel that there's something in the air. You know how I can always tell when it's going to rain? It's a lot like that. Something's coming, and it's going to be big. I don't know if I want to see it."

"What's that got to do with your family or Gate?"

Ryu shrugged. "Nothing, I guess. But whenever I get that feeling, I can't help but think about what happened in Gate ten years ago…well, it'd be close to eleven now. And Yua came back to me. Now I'm wondering if okasan will as well. I don't know—it's just a weird feeling."

But Bow just clapped his friend on the shoulder encouragingly. "I'm sure you'll figure it all out; you always do. At any rate, here's to your life—may it be less confusing by tomorrow."

Ryu nodded dumbly, not really believing it. A thought struck him. "Oh, that's right," he murmured, reaching into a pocket. He pulled out a wooden whistle. "I was making this on the side," he explained, handing it to the Grass Runner. "I never finished it, so it might not play as well, but at least it makes sounds."

Bow turned the instrument over in his fingers. "What would I need this thing for?"

"Don't know, really," the ranger admitted. "I just felt like making something. So I made that. I don't need it, so I figured I'd just give it to you."

"Sheeh," Bow whined, tucking the whistle away. "So what, I'm just a hand-me-downer? Sure, I'll take it—maybe it'll come in handy when I summon a servant or something. I have those now that I'm rich," he said with a laugh. Ryu grinned back.

Although he was feeling a little buzzed from the bourbon, Ryu managed to make his way to his room without any trouble. His confidence in his sobriety waned when he saw Nina standing outside his door, knocking lightly on it. At first, he thought he was just seeing things. But when he finally convinced himself that he was not affecting a drunken hallucination, he blinked in confusion.

"Is something wrong, Nina?" he asked gently. He wanted to kick himself; his words sounded slurred, even to his ears.

Nina practically jumped out of her boots at the sound of his voice. Hearing the slow, deliberate drawl to the tone, she tilted her head questioningly. "You were drinking?" she asked innocently, desperately, as if trying to steer away from some topic that she did not really want to touch.

Though slightly impaired, Ryu was still sharp enough to see through Nina's ill-played ploy. "Bow and I were celebrating are our reunion privately over a few bottles. Now, what's the matter? You look like you're about to keel over." Ryu meant it as a joke—a rarity in and of itself, caused mainly by the liberating nature of solid drink—but it came out as genuine concern.

And it was justified, for Nina did look uneasy. Her slender arms trembled; she hugged herself with those quaking arms, as if to stave off a chill. She looked away constantly and refused to meet Ryu's gaze. She looked helpless and uncertain.

"What's the matter?" Ryu asked again.

The Windian did not answer for a long, silent, awkward moment. The crease in her brow was a telltale sign of the turmoil within, for she was wrestling against herself over some idea she wished to express. Finally, though, she did. And explosively.

Before his drink-slowed mind could fully comprehend what was happening, Ryu found himself holding Nina in his arms, with the young woman wrapping her own arms around his neck. He felt the softness of her lips against his own, a trembling and uncertain kiss, exploring and desiring, yet afraid to venture further; the kiss itself seemed like a sort of test, wanting to see what would happen next. Ryu could feel something more behind that kiss, an expectation and a lust that Nina could not bring herself to voice.

She wanted assurance that her feelings were the correct ones.

He gave it to her.

Ryu pulled her close and returned the kiss as passionately as he could. Somewhere in the bourbon-swirled recesses of his consciousness, he understood that under any other circumstance, he would not be kissing her like this. He would not be throwing his whole being into the act; it would have instead been like with Katt or that awkward moment earlier, where he reserved at least some of his passion.

Not so here. A hand cupped Nina under the chin, tilted her head back, and Ryu drove forward, inspiring a delighted moan from his partner.

Then Ryu regained his senses and the barriers returned. He held Nina out to arms' length. Her smooth, elegant face was prettified by the blush that stole across her cheeks. She was breathing heavily, winded from the passion of his kiss. But she also looked disappointed that it ended.

"Why?" Ryu asked simply.

Nina looked taken aback by the blunt question. But she answered it without hesitation; after that experience, she found it impossible to hesitate around him, "Because…I wanted to show you that I really do care about you, Ryu. That…that thing Katt planned…I didn't want you to think that it was just a game. She and I both love you."

Tears glistened in her eyes as she began her confession. "I love you, Ryu. I really do."

She buried her face into his chest and gripped his shirt with both hands. "And if you don't return those feelings…I don't know what I'll do…but I know this feeling inside me won't go away, even if you don't love me back."

Ryu turned away from those beautiful, entreating eyes, so filled with the feelings stirring in Nina's heart. The sight was too much for him. "And if I say I can't return those feelings?" he ventured softly.

Nina looked like she was going to cry. "I said I wouldn't know what to do. And I don't." Those soulful blue orbs suddenly turned pleading. "You…you don't…love me…do you?" she whispered.

"I can't let myself," Ryu clarified. "For a number of reasons. I do love you, Nina. But I…I love Katt, too. Choosing between the two of you would be like asking me to cut off one of my arms."

Nina smiled when he admitted his feelings, and then suddenly face turned crimson. "You…you can love us both, Ryu," she suggested, though every word seemed like she was putting a dagger into her own belly, so complete was her embarrassment. "It isn't…proper…but I love Katt too, like a sister. I don't want her to be hurt just because you choose one over the other."

"There's another reason why I can't love you back," Ryu said stiffly. "It's because I'm a Dragon."

Nina shook her head violently. "Don't even go there, Ryu Bateson! Your heritage doesn't mean a thing to me. I don't care if Dragons are destined to bring about misfortune. I know that if anyone can beat fate, it's you."

The ranger chuckled, startling the Windian. "Katt said much the same thing," he said with mirth. "You two seem to have a lot of confidence in me."

Nina fastened herself to his arm and rested her head on his strong shoulder. "Of course. Because we love you. And because we know that out of all the people on this world, you have the power to do anything."

There was a cave to the west of the abandoned town of Gate. If a traveler followed the cave's winding tunnels, they would have been surprised by the lack of life. Even in tunnels, one could find all manner of creatures, from rock moles and rats, to cave bats and bears. Insects managed to carve a niche within the moister regions. Even plant life grew in the darkness: lichens and mosses, both phosphorescent and benign, covered the stalagmites and cavern walls.

But in the cave west of Gate, there was only Barubary.

And it was Barubary that one particular traveler sought.

In the cave, where darkness was abundant, the Demon Lord of Nightmare found it a simple matter to slip into the Demon Dragon's home. He gazed upon the great beast with what could have been awe on any other being. For Barubary was a massive creature, one of the great aberrations of the mortal coil. To view Barubary's sinister beauty was to view the act of murder made flesh.

"Awaken, Barubary," commanded Aruhamel in a voice that penetrated dreams, "and receive the orders of Habaruku, the mouthpiece of our Master."

A single green-and-purple eye snapped open. It looked like the window to hell and madness itself.

A smile crossed Aruhamel's lips. "It has been a long time since these eyes have seen the mortal world with wakefulness, hasn't it, Barubary? We have need of your services. God has need of your services. Will you fulfill them?"

The Demon Dragon rose his great head ever so slightly—a sign of affirmation.

"Excellent. Then I shall tell you the name of your foe: the Destined Child."

At the mention of that mantle, Barubary rose to his full height, filling the cavern with his dark majesty. He issued a roar so frightening that it could kill mortal men. Aruhamel listened to the nightmarish scream with an ever-widening smile.

"Do you remember?" Aruhamel pressed. "Do you remember how he bested you—a simple child, untrained and alone? How his claws scarred your steel-like carapace, how his teeth gnashed at your diamond-hard flesh? Do you remember his burning, scorching breath? Do you not seek revenge?"

The roar that came forth made the first seem like a cat's mew. The Demon Lord of Nightmare knew at once that the Destined Child would soon meet his end.