"So you'll be leaving today?" Hitomi asked as she looked at the two silver haired boys. "Yes, we have to keep moving" Yazoo nodded. "Well, at least let me give you these supplies. They'll help you on your trip to wherever you're going" she handed them two backpacks. "I also packed you two some lunches for the road. Hopefully that'll last until you get to the next town" she smiled. "Thank you for your hospitality" Yazoo smiled. "Come back here sometime and visit, okay?" Hitomi waved to them as they walked into the snow. "Okay" Kadaj nodded. They walked off to the base of the mountain to a cave hole.
"What's in there?" Kadaj peeked inside. "I'm not sure, but be on your guard" Yazoo walked in with Kadaj close behind. Water dripped from the ceiling into a puddle, causing an echo in the cave. Kadaj felt the water drop onto his head and he looked up. "How does water get in here?" Kadaj thought to himself, but then remembered where he was going and caught up with Yazoo. They exited the cave to a cliff. "Looks like we'll have to climb" Yazoo looked down, the wind blowing in his hair. They got down on their knees and slowly started to climb down the cliff. As they climbed down the colored cliff, the rock Kadaj's hand was on, gave away. "Kadaj!" Yazoo reached down to catch Kadaj, but was unsuccessful. Kadaj fell and crashed onto the edge of some small platforms until he had landed at the bottom. "Are you okay, little brother?" Yazoo jumped down and ran over to him. Kadaj let out a small cry and looked up at Yazoo. "I'm tired" Kadaj whimpered. "It's okay, we can take a rest here" Yazoo lifted Kadaj into his arms. "No, Yazoo. I'm not fatigued. I'm just, tired of all this pain" Kadaj layed against Yazoo's chest. Yazoo looked down at Kadaj with worried eyes. "I want to be strong. I want to fight. I don't want to be weak anymore. I want to be as strong as you" Kadaj felt a few tears stream down his cheeks, but tried to wipe them away so Yazoo wouldn't see. "It's okay, Kadaj. It's alright to cry, it's normal for any strong person to cry" Yazoo smiled. "Will you teach me how to be strong?" Kadaj let more tears go down his face. "Yes, I will teach you how to be strong" Yazoo nodded and started to head back onto the trail.
They walked into what looked like to be a small broken village. "Where is this place?" Kadaj asked. "I'm not sure, but by the looks of it this village used to be under water" Yazoo looked around at the coral, starfish, and sea shells all over the ground. "Brother, I think I can walk" Kadaj looked up at him. Yazoo carefully set Kadaj down, but Kadaj leaned to the side and almost fell over if Yazoo wasn't there to catch him. "Thank you, brother" Kadaj nodded. "I'll help you walk around until you can stand on your own" Yazoo said. They slowly walked around the village until they got to a shell looking house. "We can rest here for a bit" Yazoo layed Kadaj down on one of the beds and sat next to him. "Yazoo, what are sea shells?" Kadaj asked. Yazoo turned to Kadaj, surprised that he asked a question about it. "I think they're shells that are in the sea. I heard from one of the people at the inn that where they come from, if you put a sea shell to your ear that you'll hear the ocean" Yazoo explained as much as he could. "The ocean?" Kadaj raised an eyebrow. "It's like a huge area of water" Yazoo said before Kadaj could ask the question. "Can I have a sea shell?" Kadaj sat up. "Sure, wait here" Yazoo got up and walked out the door. "The ocean. I like that name. I want to see the ocean" Kadaj thought. Yazoo came back in shortly with a light blue sea shell. "Try it out" Yazoo handed it to Kadaj. Kadaj held the opened part up to his ear and stayed silent for a while. "So you hear it?" Yazoo whispered. Kadaj nodded and handed it back to Yazoo. "You try" Kadaj whispered. Yazoo held it up to his ear and heard the sound as well. "So, the ocean sounds like that?" Kadaj asked. "I'm guessing" Yazoo gave the shell back to Kadaj and he carefully put it in his backpack. "I want to see the ocean" Kadaj said quietly. "So do I" Yazoo agreed.
"Brother, I want to leave now. I think I feel better" Kadaj tried to sound convincing. "Your back doesn't hurt anymore?" Yazoo looked over to him. "No, I feel better" Kadaj got up and stood by himself, but limped to the side and was caught by the wall. "You're anxious to see the ocean?" Yazoo smiled. "I want to see it badly" Kadaj whispered. It was silent in the room for a while, and Kadaj felt uncomfortable by it. "Okay, we'll see the ocean" Yazoo nodded. "Thank you, brother" Kadaj got up and slowly walked over to Yazoo, giving him a hug. "You're welcomed, brother" Yazoo hugged him back. Outside, the sound of a motor caused them to look out the window. "What's that sound?" Kadaj asked. "Lets go see" Yazoo got up and helped Kadaj down the stairs. The two peeked out the front door to see a motorcycle with somebody on it, drive by. The person had blonde spikey hair and was wearing dark clothes. "Who was that?" Kadaj thought. "Should we follow them?" Kadaj asked. "No, they'd be a waste of our time" Yazoo shook his head. "Besides, you said you wanted to see the ocean, right?" Yazoo asked. Kadaj nodded. "Then lets go" Yazoo gently took Kadaj's hand. They both walked out of the house and down the path, but as Kadaj walked he looked back at where the spikey haired man had gone. "Why do I get the feeling I know him?" Kadaj thought, but looked back forward.
Walking through the log and quickly through the Sleeping Forest, the boys ended up at an excavation site. "Woah, where did the two of you come from?" one of the excavation crew asked. "We just came from the village past the forest" Yazoo answered. "Really now? It's amazing the two of you didn't get confused in the Sleeping Forest. Legend says that anybody who went in there without the Lunar Harp, would never come out again" she explained. "What's a Lunar Harp?" Yazoo asked. "The Lunar Harp is an instrument that plays beautiful music that wakes up the Sleeping Forest. We've excavated several of these in this area" she points to the holes in the ground. "What're you people doing?" Kadaj asked. "We're digging for buried items to export to certain places. Right now, there's a boat coming here to pick up some things to export to Wutai" she answers. "Wutai?" Yazoo thought. "If you need anything, you can talk to the boss near the tent" she points down at the ladder. They thanked her and walked over to the ladder and down. There they saw a man sitting in a chair near the remains of a dead monster. "Are you the boss?" Yazoo asked. "Yes I am. What can I do for you?" the man looked up from his map to Yazoo. "Do you know where the ocean is?" Kadaj asked. The man looked up at him, surprised at what he had just asked. "The ocean? It's right over there" he pointed south of where they were. "But unfortunately, if want to see it, you'll have to wait till tomorrow. We've just excavated a gold mine of elixers and materia. We're shipping them to Wutai today and we're going to be to busy too let anybody go out to the water. You might get confused for one of the crew or a ship could back up on you. We're really sorry about it" the man explained.
"I can't wait" Kadaj thought and looked up at Yazoo with a sad expression. "One of the rules to being strong brother, is to never give your hopes up" Yazoo smiled at him. Kadaj shook the look off his face and tried to show his confidence. "Can't we go on the boat to Wutai?" Yazoo asked. "I'm afraid not. That's cargo ship and if they find you on board they'll probably make you swim back over here" the man shook his head. Kadaj looked to the side, trying to keep Yazoo from seeing his hopeless expression. "Hey" the man said. "You two have never been to the ocean, have you?" the man asked. The both shook their heads. "I probably shouldn't do this, but I can sneak the both of you onto the ship and you can see the ocean at Wutai" he smiles. "Why would you do that?" Kadaj asked. "To tell you the truth, I never saw the ocean when I was a kid and I'm willing to help anybody who hasn't" he answered. "Thank you" the two said at the same time. "You see those crates over there?" he pointed to two empty crates. "One of you can fit in each one. I'll push the both of you on board and you should be okay from there as long as you don't get caught" he explains.
"Good morning" a man in a red uniform waved to the boss as he pushed the two carts past him. "How are you doing?" he waved back and drove the crates onto the ship. Inside one of the crates, Kadaj felt uncomfortable. "It's too small in here. I feel there is no air" he shut his eyes and held his legs close to his chest. In the other crate, Yazoo felt Kadaj's nervousness. The boss set the crates in the middle section of the ship near a window. "This is your stop. You two should be okay as long as you stay either in or behind the crates" the man whispered to them. "Thank you" Kadaj whispered back. The boat's bell rung a few times before the boat started to move. Kadaj and Yazoo quickly got out of the crates and hid behind them. "So, we're going to Wutai?" Kadaj asked. "Yes, Kadaj. And we'll be able to see the ocean" Yazoo smiled.