Updated May 18, 2005

Yeah, I know it's late, but schools' almost over with. I promise I'll finish this before August... heh...

chapter six: warming up

After letting Roku, Hyouko, and Dante recuperate and gather their thoughts, the girls dragged them downstairs to the dining room, forcing them to apologize for what they did to everyone last night last night. Roku bravely took the stand and spoke for himself and on behalf of Hyouko, and Dante, who were both still suffering from the rude awakening that Hikari had administered.

"Ahem." Roku cleared his throat as he stood from his seat, "I'm sorry if I worried everyone..."

"Which you DID!" Kana interrupted him. Rakka pulled her back down, motioning her to be quiet.

"Again, I'm sorry." Roku said, "It'll never happen again..." He looked to the floor in shame.

The girls observed the way Roku presented himself. His jeans and shirt were wrinkled to the point that it took the effect of crumpled paper. His hair was nappy and matted to his forehead; something that Roku usually took great care to avoid. His eyes were bloodshot, and dark circles appeared underneath. He struggled to maintain his balance as he stood. Rakka, who sat closest to him, smelled alcohol on his breath.

"What exactly did you do last night?" Rakka asked, waving the air in front of her with her hand.

"Uh..." Roku looked up in thought and scratched his head. "We went drinking."

"You WHAT?" Nemu yelled. "You're not allowed to drink alcohol in Old Home!"

"UH... excuse me? We weren't IN Old Home." Hyouko pointed out.

"Shut up you." Nemu hissed. "Go home now, before I hit you." She then pointed to Dante, "You go home too! I should tell Gordon about this!"

Hyouko shrugged and headed toward the exit. Dante, on the other hand, was trying to explain to Hikari that he didn't talk to any women while they were drinking.

"I don't care!" Hikari yelled. "Now out!" She pointed toward the door.

With his head hung in shame, Dante followed suit with Hyouko and exited the room, quickly heading back home.

"Well." Roku said, smiling to everyone. "Now that that's over with..." He began to walk away.

"STOP!" Nemu yelled out. Immediately Roku froze in place. The hair on the back of his neck, as well as his head, stood straight up. He nervously turned to face the girls, knowing that they were going to scold him to death.

"Sit." Nemu commanded. Roku instantly returned to his seat. "We're not done yet. You gave us all a scare last night, not to mention that we didn't get a wink of sleep. You can't just go off and pretend nothing happened." She looked at the others, smiling to each of them as a light bulb flashed in her head. "I believe a suitable punishment is in order."

"Agreed." Hikari said happily.

"Yes." Rakka added.

"Abso-frickin-loutely." Kana chimed in.

"Now." Nemu said, putting a finger to her chin. "To make it fair, I believe that we each get to punish you accordingly. Since the Summer Harvest Festival is coming up, meaning there's a four-day weekend for all of us, I think that we each get a day to enslave, excuse me, I mean punish Roku. Rakka'll have today, Hikari, you get tomorrow, I'll get Monday, and Kana will get Tuesday. Agreed?"

"Actually, I have work tomorrow." Hikari pointed out. "The bakery needs extra help to make enough dough for the festival."

"Fine, we'll switch days." Nemu said. "Now do we have an agreement?"

"Agreed" The girls said in harmony.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Roku asked.

"NO!" The girls yelled back, making Roku lean back in his chair and fall to the floor.

(PC)...

"Dammit." I cursed myself as I walked back to my room to change. "If I'm going to do slave work, I might as well dress like one". In my room, I found a plain looking blue T-shirt and a pair of black shorts. I then found a pair of beat up, black leather boots and slipped them on. I then pocketed my cigarettes and lighter, and headed down to the kitchen where Rakka told me to wait for her.

Inside the kitchen, Rakka was preparing a breakfast of sausages and pancakes. She hummed to herself as she worked. I tapped her on the shoulder, getting her attention.

"Oh it's you, Roku." She said. "Mind helping me cook these pancakes?" She handed me a spatula.

"Actually, I mind." I said sarcastically. "But do I have a choice?" I smiled to her and began cooking the pancakes as she kept an eye on the sausages. As we worked in the kitchen, I couldn't help but notice that she would wipe her eyes every now and then. After closer observation, I noticed that she was crying softly to herself.

"What's the matter?" I asked, flipping a pancake onto a stack of three.

"Hm? Oh nothing." She clearly lied.

"No. There's something wrong." I said, pouring a ladle full of batter onto the griddle. "Come on, tell me." Again, I was able to see what was on her mind, just like the time with Naota and Nemu. I felt a strange aura emitting from her.

She sniffed a bit and looked at me. "Well, it's just that when you were missing, we thought that you had your Day of Flight."

"Who me?" I asked, tapping the spatula on myself.

"Yes." She giggled. After some silence, she sighed out loud. "I hope nobody has their Day of Flight... not even me. I still wish that Reki and Kuu were here..."

I was shocked to hear this, especially from Rakka. Throughout the past month that I've known her, she always talked about the Day of Flight, saying how wonderful it was.

"Don't you think that's a little selfish?" I asked her, finished cooking the entire batch of pancake batter.

"Why?" she asked, finished with the sausages.

"Well, if you think about it, if you wish that on everyone, doesn't that mean you're being selfish?"

"Well..."

"If you don't want anyone to have their Day of Flight then how do you think they'll feel? Sure you'll be happy with everyone around you forever, but for how long? Everyone else will think that they failed as a Haibane and then will fall into the depths of depression. Eventually, their depression will trickle down onto you and then you'll be depressed." I turned to look at her. She hung her head and sobbed quietly.

"But, I just want everyone to be happy here."

"If you truly want them to be happy." I said, "Then you'll accept it."

She laughed softly, "I've heard that so many times... but I never listen..."

"Look, just think of it this way. If somebody has their Day of Flight, then that means they'll be happy wherever they end up. If they're happy, then wouldn't you be happy?"

"I've heard that many times, too... but you're right. I have to stop thinking this way... nothing lasts forever."

"Exactly. That's why you should enjoy your time here in Glie."

She smiled at me, wiping away tears from her eyes. "Thanks for the advice." I smiled back at her, noting that she no longer had a strange aura lurking around.

I tried to lighten the mood. "Have you noticed how Nemu is acting lately?"

"Yes." Rakka said. "It's almost as if she's trying to take over for Reki."

"Oh?" I started. "You mean Reki was as bossy as Nemu?"

"No." Rakka giggled. "Bossier."

We both laughed together as we prepared to serve breakfast.

At the dining table, I served the girls hearty portions of Pancakes, sausages and bacon. When they each received their meals, I served myself and sat down to eat. I looked around and saw that except for Rakka, everyone else was eyeing me, as if to keep a look out for anything that I'd do. Hikari faced her plate, though every now and then she would peek at me from the corner of her eyes. Nemu faced my direction only to space out and turn the other way. Rakka was clearly enjoying her meal, probably happy about the advice that I had given her. Kana, on the other hand, leered at me with evil eyes. Her glare looked as if she were trying to challenge me, trying to provoke me to do something bad. Annoyed, I finally spoke.

"What?" I snorted.

"What, 'what'?" She hissed back.

"What are you looking at me for?" I put down my fork.

"I'm keeping my eye on you, boy..." She placed an entire pancake into her mouth and chewed.

"'Boy'?" I shouted, "What do you mean 'boy'? I must be at least one or two years older than you!"

The other girls giggled as I said this.

"What?" I asked.

"Stupid." Kana growled, "I'm four years old. You're only one month old."

"What?" I shouted, "No way! I'm 18 years old!"

"How would you know that?" Kana said, "You know nothing of your past."

"Well, I know that I'm 18 years old." I said, pointing to myself. "You look like you're about 17."

"How can you tell?" Hikari asked, suddenly interested in this topic.

"Well, if you compare her to a 17 year old human, then she'll have similar features... minus the wings, of course."

"That is true." Nemu added, "Sumika tells me that I'm about 19 or 20."

"Ooh! How old do I look?" Hikari asked.

"I'd say 16 or 17." I said, resuming my meal.

"And Sumika tells me that Rakka looks like she's 15." Nemu said.

"Whatever." Kana said, "I'm still older than you, Roku. So I can call you 'boy' or 'young'un' or whatever I want."

"Whatever." I said, wiping my mouth.

The rest of the day went by smoothly. I had turned the entire kitchen spotless, as per Rakka's command. After that was done, I did the rest of Rakka's daily chores, including watching the children, taking out the trash, and keeping the den in order. When I was finally dismissed at around nine o'clock p.m, I went straight to my room to bathe myself, deciding to skip dinner.

"Damn." I thought to myself as I scrubbed my body with a hand-towel, "How can she do that everyday?"

After finishing my bath, I headed to my kitchen to prepare a small snack for myself. As I walked over to the kitchen, I noticed the full size mirror that stood next to the entrance. Feeling a little playful, I strapped my holster around me and began quickly drawing my gun, pointing it at my reflection on the mirror.

"Getting' faster every time..." I proudly said to myself. After a few hours of doing this, my arm felt heavy. I decided that it was time for me to sleep and prepare for Nemu's wrath. Before lying down, I checked the clock. Its face read "one fifty-one".

"Great." I thought to myself, "Only five hours of sleep..."

Almost instantly, I was within the grasp of the sandman.

(PC)...

"Time to get up!" Nemu yelled into Roku's ear, forcing him to wake. As he slowly rose from bed, he rubbed his eyes a little and yawned.

"Yes ma'am." Roku said, still half asleep.

Nemu saw that her yelling didn't do much to wake him, so she sprayed him in the face with a spray bottle full of water. Roku flinched as the cold mist hit his face like a brick.

"I'm awake, dammit!" He said, wiping his face with his pillow.

"Yeah, right." Nemu said, putting her hands on her hips. "Your punishment from me is to clean the North wing of Old Home."

"The whole thing?" Roku asked, looking at Nemu as if she were crazy.

"Yes." She said, tossing him a set of keys. "These open the tool shed near the incinerator. You'll find everything you need there. Now get to work!" She pointed out toward the exit.

"Can't I eat breakfast..." he looked at the clock on the wall, which read "four thirty", "What the...?" He said as he scratched his head.

"You can eat breakfast when it's ready." She said, leaving the room. Roku threw keys onto the floor, angry that Nemu had wakened him two hours before he had anticipated.

"Dammit." He said, as he got up to change into his work clothes.

The North wing of old home was nearly uninhabited. Inside, the fluorescent lights above flickered and buzzed. Roku went into the first door that he came upon and opened it. In a split second, a wall of dust hit his face like a brick wall. Immediately he ran back out into the hallway, coughing and dry heaving on the floor.

"Goddammit." Roku cursed himself, spitting dust from his mouth. "How am I supposed to clean that?" He tried thinking of a way to enter the room without suffocating from the large amount of dust. As an idea flashed into his head, he ran back to his room and took a towel from the washroom. Soaking it with water, he wrung it so that it would be damp, and placed one end on his mouth. He then wrapped the rest of the towel around his face, tying the ends together behind his neck.

Inspecting himself in the mirror, and satisfied with his appearance, he ran out into the hallway, failing to see Kana carrying a large box of objects in his path. He crashed into her, making a loud thud as they both fell to the floor. The box spilled its contents onto the floor, creating a huge mess. Roku, quickly sat up and spotted Kana, leaning against the wall.

"Watch where you're going!" Kana yelled, rubbing her backside.

"My fault." Roku said, hopping back up to his feet. He reached out to help Kana get up. "Sorry 'bout that, but Nemu wants me to clean the North Wing." He flapped his wings a bit, shaking the dust off of them.

"Idiot." Kana said, grabbing a hold of Roku's hand and lifting herself up. "You think you can clean the whole North Wing by yourself?"

"I'll never know if I don't try." He said cheerfully, patting Kana on the back. She blushed a little as he did so. Immediately she pushed him away.

"Get back to work, stupid!" She yelled.

"Yes, master." He bowed, rewrapped the towel around his mouth and ran back downstairs.

"Stupid..." Kana said to herself, watching Roku jump down the stairs.

Roku worked the whole day, only stopping to eat a quick meal, or to use the bathroom. By the time dinner was ready, he was able to clean the entire first floor, and half of the second floor of the North Wing. Nearing dusk, he piled the old rotten furniture and other unusable items near the incinerator. He took an axe from the tool shed and began chopping the items made of wood into small pieces that made suitable firewood. Roku started a small fire using a blanket he found that was soaked with kerosene, and tossed it into the incinerator that was filled to the brim with items that were made of materials other than wood.

Wiping the sweat off of his brow, Roku took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it by placing it near the open flame of the incinerator. Leaning against the pile of wood, he puffed it a few times, and then finally took in a deep breath. He held in it his lungs for a few moments, and then exhaled through his nostrils. He stood there, gazing at the fire as it danced in the darkness.

"You should stop smoking." Roku heard a voice say.

"What?" Roku said, caught off guard.

"It's bad for your health." Nemu approached from under the shadows and into the light that the flames and the moon produced.

"Make me." Roku said sarcastically. He smiled as he took another breath from the cigarette.

"That's what she would have said, too." Nemu walked next to Roku and sat on the wood.

"Who?" Roku asked, looking up at the stars emerging from the sky.

"Reki." Nemu said, looking up as well.

"Oh..." Roku said, holding the cigarette in his fingers. He tried to change the subject. "So I see that you're taking my advice."

"What?" Nemu asked.

"Rakka tells me that you're starting to act like Reki. And from what I gather, that's exactly the way I advised you how to behave."

Nemu sat there and thought for a second. "Yeah." She said. "I guess you're right..."

"Heh." Roku chuckled to himself.

"Thanks." Nemu said.

"For what?" Roku asked, looking down at her.

"For the good advice. I would have never pushed myself to become this way until you read me like a book." She smiled to him. "So, thank you."

Roku looked back up at the sky. He thought about yesterday, when he talked to Rakka. "I wonder if she's the same way as well." He thought to himself.

"I think that's you're cue to say 'You're welcome, Master Nemu'." She laughed.

Jokingly, Roku bowed on his hands and knees, kissed her shoes and said in a British accent, "Nay, madam, for it is my duty to lay upon thee the advice of the heavens." He stood, turned sharply and walked away leaving Nemu sitting there alone, laughing to herself. She paused for a moment to catch her breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hikari slowly walking to her room.

"Hey, Hikari!" Nemu called out. "How was work?" Hikari ignored her and continued walking. She had a look of concern on her face, almost as if something was bothering her. Nemu assumed that she was just tired from work, and shrugged it off.

(PC)...

That night, I slept like a rock. No dream came to me, nor did anybody come barging in to wake me. I awoke the next morning to the sound of soft knocking on my door.

"Come in." I yawned.

Hikari opened the door and entered. She stood by my bedside, hands behind her back.

"Morning." She said softly. "Could you do me a favor?"

My few hours of rest were shattered as she said this. Immediately, I got up and started changing my clothes.

"Do I have a choice?" I asked sarcastically, walking into the washroom. "Wha'cha need?"

"I want you to deliver this letter." She slipd a small sheet of floded paper under the door. I picked it up and began the read the perfectly handwritten message.

"Don't read it!" Hikari yelled, scaring me half to death. I followed her orders and folded the paper, putting it into my jeans pocket. I put on my holster and then on top of that, my shirt. I combed my hair and picked my teeth, making sure that I made myself presentable.

"Who do you want me to deliver it to?" I asked as I brushed my hair.

"... Dante." She said. I finished fixing my hair and exited the washroom.

"Really?" I asked, smiling to her. She began to perspire a little and chuckled nervously.

"Y-yeah. Tell him not to read it until tomorrow night... After the sun goes down." She said, scratching the back of her head.

"Fine." I said, pocketing the keys to my scooter. I opened the door for her, and motioned for her to exit first. She thanked me, and we both began to walk downstairs. Immediately, I was able to pick up an aura of worry from Hikari.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing." She said, shaking her head.

"No, there's something wrong." I said, standing in front of her. "Come on, tell me."

"IT'S NOTHING!" she yelled. She covered her mouth with her hands and if she had no control over what she had said. "Sorry." She said, running ahead of me, and into the dining room. I knew something was wrong, but wasn't able to figure out what it was. I shrugged it off, figuring that I would be able to find out later on.

Breakfast was quieter than ever before. I could tell that Rakka and Nemu were enjoying their meals. They each and a faint smile painted on their faces, indicating that they were no longer cross with me.

"Hopefully they aren't..." I thought to myself.

Hikari, on the other hand, didn't even bother to touch her food. Instead, she sat there, picking her biscuit with her fingers, until it was a mound of crumbs. I wanted to say something, but then held my tongue, remembering how angry she was when I tried to help. I decided that if she didn't need my help, I wouldn't butt in.

Kana clearly took a disliking to me. Though, after our little run yesterday, I wouldn't blame her. She tore into her biscuits, chomping loudly with every bite, all the while she glared at me, keeping an eye on me like a hawk.

"Do you have a friggin' staring problem, or something?" I said, slamming my teacup onto its saucer.

She instantly turned red, and dropped her teacup onto the floor. It shattered into hundreds of pieces, creating a wet mess. She looked down to the floor, and said nothing, not even a single come back or retort.

"Uh... Kana? I was just joking..." I smiled to myself, "If you really do have a staring disorder... I completely understand..."

Kana immediately got up from her seat and ran out of the room, leaving all of us confused as to what was going on.

Nemu turned and eyed me, "What'd you do to her?" She asked.

"I didn't do anything!" I said with my hand in the air. "I swear!"

later that same day

As I rode my scooter into town, I couldn't help but wonder why Kana had reacted the way she did.

"Whatever it is..." I thought to myself, "She's probably over it by now."

At around noon, I met Dante at the front door of Pop's Garage. Still in his pajamas, I delivered Hikari's message, making sure to tell him not to read it until tomorrow after sunset, as per Hikari's request. He took the letter and began smelling it, sniffing every inch of the folded sheet of paper.

"What the...?" I started. He finally noticed me, carefully placing the letter into his pocket.

"Want some coffee?" He asked.

"Nah." I rejected, "I'm Hikari's slave today." I said smiling. I noticed that he had turned white. I raised an eyebrow, wondering why everyone today is acting strangely. I shook my head and left as fast as my scooter could take me. Even though I didn't want to do any more chores, it was better than seeing Dante act like the way he was, especially since he has Hikari's letter.

(PC)...

As Roku rode back home, he spotted Kana leaning against a windmill. He stopped and observed her, noticing that she was in deep thought, gazing into the horizon ahead of her. He parked his scooter, a short distance away and walked over to her. As he approached, she turned and immediately stood on her feet.

"What do you want?" She shouted at him, gritting her teeth. She balled her hands into fists, shaking them at her sides.

"Um... I'm sorry if I said anything wrong... you know... back at breakfast..." He scratched his head, wondering what else to say.

"Leave me alone." Kana sat back down, figuring that it wasn't worth the time to argue with him.

"Okay." He said, turning around a walking to his scooter. He knew better than to pound an insult further into a ground, especially if a person of the opposite sex was the recipient. Before he rode off, he took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He then took in a deep breath and opened the throttle, throwing dirt into the air. He never noticed that Kana quietly observed him as he rode off into the distance.

After reaching Old Home, Roku parked his scooter. Hikari greeted him as he walked to the incinerator.

"Did you deliver the message?" She asked, looking down at the ground.

"Yeah." Roku said, stopping in front of the incinerator. He started a fire and shoved in the remainder of the non-wood items that he cleaned yesterday. "You need anything else?"

"No." She said, "You're free to go." She smiled at him and ran off into the West Wing, closing the door behind her. Surprised that he was done for the day, Roku walked around Old Home, taking in the scenery, and absorbing the warm atmosphere that he had finally grown accustomed to. He strained to forget the forced surgery that he had gone through, but somehow that memory would creep its way back into his head.

Wanting to get away from the past, he took a deep breath from his cigarette, and held his breath for a moment. He then exhaled slowly, letting the chemicals in the tobacco relax him, making him feel more at ease than ever before. He then yawned, and began walking some more. He then saw the small clock tower that was connected to the East wing. He then noticed that the clock on the face of the tower was no longer running. Its hands were stopped on the "six o'clock' hour. He went inside and climbed up the steep stairs, wondering why the clock had stopped.

At the top of the tower, his jaw dropped in awe as he saw that the gears were heavily damaged. The teeth of several gears were worn down by what looked like rust. He inspected the electric motor and saw that it's wires were all burnt and fried. He then saw that all the springs and pulleys were all deteriorating. Every time he touched anything, rust would gather on his fingers.

"Is this why she's upset?" He thought to himself, remembering that Kana was the one who always worked on the clock tower. "Maybe I can cheer her up a little..." He removed his shirt and threw it to the corner of the room. Kneeling in front of the large electric motor, he quickly went to work, removing several wires and rearranging them into the correct order.

"Damn, these wires are all smoked..." He grunted to himself. "Gonna need some new ones..." He searched the room, finding a bundle of fresh wires stashed in one of the many boxes in the room. Retrieving the wires that he needed, he went straight back to work, wiping the sweat of his brow.

later

Kana grudgingly walked up the stairs of the Clock tower. She was tried from all of today's events, and all she wanted to do was relax by working on the rotting Clock Tower.

"Man, I wonder how I'm gonna fix this..." She said to herself as she opened the door to the gear room. Immediately, she stopped in her tracks, spotting Roku hunched over the motor. He was so busy tinkering with the wires inside the motor cage, that he didn't even notice Kana stomp her way behind him. She saw a white cylinder sticking out of his mouth. She balled her hand into a fist, angry that he was "enjoying" his unhealthy habit in her Clock Tower.

"NO SMOKING!" She tried to snatch the cylinder out of Roku's mouth, but to her surprise, he wouldn't let go. "LEGGO! NO SMOKING DAMMIT!" She tried jerking it out of his mouth, only to have Roku follow every movement.

"Okay..." he said, finally opening his mouth. Kana fell back against the wall, holding in her hands...

"A lollipop?" She asked, staring at the wet, orange sphere on a stick that she held in her hand. "You were sucking on a lollipop?"

"If you wanted one, you should have just asked." He reached into his pocket and tossed her a blue lollipop. "Can I finish mine?" He smiled at her.

"Dammit..." she grit her teeth, balling her hands into a fist. She reached back, preparing to throw the candy at his head, but something caught her attention. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw that the poles that used to hold the gears were spinning.

"You did this?" She asked, walking over to him.

"Yeah." Roku took his orange lollipop from Kana and placed it into his mouth. "I was bored."

"Uh..." Kana inspected at the motor, confirming that it truly was repaired. "Thanks?" She was speechless.

"Heh." He scratched his nose. "Your makin' me blush." He walked over to the power switch on the wall and turned it into the "off" position. "These gears are all rusted down. What happened?" he pointed toward the face of the giant clock.

"Well, I haven't had the time to maintain the gears." She admitted.

"You think your boss could spare us some? And a crane?" He looked up toward the ceiling, noticing that there was no way that the both of them could place each gear by hand. "This is gonna take some time... gonna have to remove the clock face... the hands..."

"Yeah... But you finished the most important part." Kana unwrapped her lollipop and placed it in her mouth. "Thanks." She turned away from him, trying to hide her red face. "You saved me at least a month of work... As you can tell, I'm still an amature at electronics."

"It's okay." Roku said, walking past her and out the door. "Does this mean that I'm free tomorrow?"

"No." Kana said, throwing the candy wrapper at his head.

(PC)...

later that night

That night, I had the same dream that I have had before. The dream where I enter a sad looking man's house, and slaughter him along with a young girl that I know, yet cannot recall her name. The ending to the dream remained the same. I would point the gun at my own forehead and pull the trigger.

Again, I woke drenched in cold sweat. This dream, I realized, would waft in my head forever if I do not find any answers for my actions. I read "five fifteen" on the clock hanging on the wall. Not being able to go back to sleep, I dressed myself, deciding to explore more of Glie. I realized that I hadn't even seen the outer limits of the town.

As I exited Old Home, I spotted a letter on the bulletin board, addressed to me. It read:

FEATHER ROKU,

YOU ARE TO APPEAR BEFORE THE HAIBANE RENMEI AT SIX O'CLOCK TONIGHT. BE PREPARED TO SPEND THE NIGHT AT THE TEMPLE.

Concluding that the Communicator wanted to talk to me again, I left the letter for the girls to see. Continuing on my way toward the south end of Glie, I felt the ominous presence of eyes upon me. Quickly turning, I saw nothing except for the morning fog, as well as the faded image of the Hill Of Winds. Shrugging it off as mere paranoia, I continued onward.

Reaching the South edge of the wall, I looked around and found several logs leaning against each other so that they formed a sort of cone.

"That's ood..." I said to myself. "Looks like someone put it there... for what though?"

"Who goes there?" A voice from behind called out.

"Huh?" I turned to face the sound. Slowly, the image of a cloaked man appeared, as if formed by the morning fog. I realized that it was the Communicator.

"Oh its you, Roku." He said, approaching me. "I wasn't expecting you until later this evening."

"Yeah." I said, standing a little more at ease. "Should we have our meeting now?"

"No." He said, shaking his head. "Tonight is a more suitable time."

"Oh." I turned back toward the logs.

"Have you been using you're revolver?" He asked suddenly.

"No..." I said, feeling the bulge of the gun through my shirt. "I don't see a use for it."

"You should try to find a way to use it often."

"Why?" I turned to face him. "Why am I the only one in town with a gun? Why should I use it here? This town is too peaceful; firing the gun might frighten the townsfolk..."

"The Tooga have their reasons." He turned away from me. "They are much wiser than I. Maybe you should consider their request." With that, he walked away, disappearing into the mist.

I stood there, not knowing what else to say. My thoughts once again ran through my dream. The gun strapped on my chest was a small reminder of that dream, and I didn't want to have it anymore. I took off my shirt and unbuckled the holster, removing it from my chest. My hand shook with fear as I held the holster and the gun away from me. I tried everything in my power to let go and walk away, but it felt as if my right hand were holding onto it on its own.

"DAMMIT!" I cursed myself, quickly strapping the holster back to my chest. "What's the point of having a gun here?"

end chapter six

disclaimer: with the exception of Roku, Gordon, Magdalene, Naota and the names "Horton" for the old clothes dealer, and "Dante" for the assistant baker, I do not own any characters that have made an appearance in the story. I did this for fun, not for money. If you own these characters, please don't sue me. Please don't ruin my fun. Also, if you wish to paste this onto your site, please ask permission first and give credit where credit's due.