Chapter Thirty-One: A Hidden Secret
Hikari sighed as she watched Kai and Kasumi leave, flying towards the horizon until they were no more than mere specks in the endless sky of light blue against pale white clouds. She glanced away from the window and was surprised to see her older brother watching her from the doorway. His emerald eyes hinted of worry and compassion mixed into an unfathomable expression. "Go away Haku," she said dryly, "I don't want to talk about it."
"You really did love him didn't you?" He asked his voice soft and gentle.
"Stop feeling sorry for me. Besides I'll learn to deal with it."
"If you're sure…"
"I'm sure just leave me alone!" Haku sighed and walked away, it was obvious in his mind that Kai's departure had affected her more than she meant it to. I just wish there was someway that I could help her overcome her sorrow, even get her interested in another boy. He grinned to himself wryly at the thought of Hikari interested in another; it probably wasn't going to happen. Kai was one of the rare ones who managed to look past Hikari's uncaring outer shell and at the sad and lonely girl that she was. The coldness was no more than a shield she used against the pain she felt living in the world, a mere mask conceived of the pain and suffering she was forced to overcome in her life.
Haku found Chihiro waiting for him in his room. "Is she feeling better?" She asked softly. Chihiro had felt nothing but concern for her friend after Hikari abruptly walked away from the group of her friends as Kai prepared to depart the castle with Kasumi. She gave no explanation to her actions, and before she left she looked as though she was somehow angered by Kai leaving.
"I tried to talk to her but she just pushed me away," Haku told her.
"I wish there was something I could do to help her."
"I do too."
"Perhaps I should go talk to her, maybe try to cheer her up a bit by telling her some jokes or something."
"Perhaps you should, but as a warning she shouted at me to leave before I finally did. She might try something more violent than shouting if you don't leave as she wants you to."
"As long as in the end she's feeling better, I don't mind." Chihiro walked out of Haku's room, hoping to mend the sorrows that seemed to have attached themselves to her friend after Kai left. She found Hikari crying when she entered her friend's room. Despite Haku's warning, Hikari did nothing to force her to leave when she tried to calm her.
"It just that I don't want him to go," Hikari told Chihiro softly when she asked what was wrong. "We've spent so much time together that…I've gotten used to his presence. It's almost as if someone close to me died."
"I know how you feel," Chihiro told her friend, trying her best to comfort her, "I felt the same way when Haku…left."
"How did you cope with the pain?"
"I just learned to deal with it I guess even though I kind of missed him."
"Well at least you had the bracelet; you could contact him whenever you missed him too much."
"I know, but I didn't. That's why we didn't find him until now."
"You have a point…why didn't you contact him then?"
"I guess I kind of forgot about it," Chihiro admitted, "I was just so caught up in daily events that I didn't have time to think about things like it."
"So I guess you kept busy to help you get over the pain of being separated from my brother," Hikari said softly, "so that you wouldn't have to think about him or the torture that he was facing."
"Yeah, I guess I kind of did just that. I mean I wasn't exactly busy on purpose, but there were so many things happening that there just wasn't time for me to think about him."
Hikari nodded in response. "Are you feeling better now?" Chihiro asked her friend, and left the room when Hikari nodded and looked away. It was obvious that there were things that she wanted to think about on her own. I'll have to thank Chihiro later for giving me such valuable advice, but now is not the time to do that. She stood up and walked over to the window. I wonder what Kai is thinking about right now, it can't be me. As Chihiro suggested there are too many things occurring for him to worry about me. She looked towards the distant horizon, where Kai had disappeared along with Kasumi only a few minutes earlier. Still, I wouldn't mind if he was thinking about me right now…in fact I kind of hope that he is. She sighed and reprimanded herself for thinking of such things; Chihiro was right when she mentioned that now was not the time to consider such thoughts.
She walked out of her room and towards the Royal Chamber, for she wished to relax and reexamine the current situation in greater detail. Hikari stood in front of the guards and said the familiar phrase before allowed entrance into the chamber. To her pleasure she found it empty void of any spirits who might wish seek its tranquility.
Hikari chose a spot to sit in front of the cabinet in which she and Kai had found the Emerald of Dragons. Memories of the events immediately following spiraled about in her mind; she closed her eyes and pictured Kai as a fragment of Emerald broke. His eyes hinting of the hunger and lust he felt and of the way he gazed longingly at her. Do you really love me or was I just imagining things? Is it that my eyes have deceived me into believing an unreal illusion and that you are really in love with Kasumi? Do you really care for me or am I only kidding myself into believing that you do? I wish I knew if the one you loved was me or Kasumi, and if that was the reason why you left me. A single tear fell from her right eye and onto the ground below to splatter on the wooden floor. It was followed by others until they streamed down her face in a never-ending cascade.
She didn't wipe them away, she didn't want to. Silently she cried until she heard footsteps approaching the room, Hikari quickly stood up and wiped away the remaining tears. By then she had stopped crying. The door opened to reveal her brother Yoshiro who walked towards her. "You've been crying," he told her softly. "Rather recently if what the others told me is true."
"What do you want?" Hikari asked coldly, unwilling to reveal the reason of her tears to her brother.
"I just wanted to see if you were feeling better, but from what I see and have heard you were crying again. Care to tell me what's been bothering you?"
"What if I don't want to?"
"Then you're turning down a chance to receive some pretty helpful advice from your older brother, besides we're going to leave soon."
"I think that I'm going to turn down your offer."
Yoshiro shrugged, "if you really don't want to accept my offer that's your problem, but we really have to go. Chihiro and Haku have been searching for you because they're worried that you're going to get left behind."
Hikari followed Yoshiro as they left the room and walked towards the Central Chamber, "where are we going anyway?"
"Well we're going to search for opal, but as we don't know where it's located I'm not exactly sure of where we will be head. First we have to head over to the phoenix colony; their council wants to talk to us about the war against the Evil One and something about the Opal."
"I see… so I guess that Haku and Chihiro don't want to leave me behind because supposedly I have some kind of connection to the Opal through the opal that I found with Keiko."
"Exactly and supposedly they need both you and Keiko in order to find your opal." They found Haku and the others waiting for them in the Central Chamber.
"Hikari where were you?" Haku asked, exasperated. "Chihiro and I have been looking all over for you!"
"I was in the Royal Chamber," Hikari replied mildly, "Yoshiro found me there." Haku chided himself for not thinking of the Royal Chamber when he heard Hikari's reply, you fool you realize that she tends to spend a lot of time there! Why didn't you think of it! At least Yoshiro thought of it and found her.
"Well I'm glad that he found you, anyways we have to leave and supposedly we need both you and Keiko to find your opal."
"Yoshiro told me the same thing." She muttered to herself before transforming into a dragon. Keiko decided to ride on her this time. Yoshiro looked at her as Zeniba clambered onto him, annoyed that she had chosen his sister over him, but ignored the feeling of jealously. I'll just fly close to the two, in case something happens to them. He told himself as he flew next to the two friends as they soared into the azure sky.
Well at least I might get the chance to see you soon, Hikari thought to herselfwistfully. Maybe then I'll the answers to the questions that I seek.
Chihiro looked back frequently at both Keiko and Hikari worried that they had fallen behind or attacked. Stop it, she told herself firmly. They'll be fine, and besides Yoshiro's watching over them.
Natsuko, who was flying to the right of Hikari, would often glance over at Yoshiro. Her sapphire eyes glistened with worry. Natsuko, are you feeling okay? Yoshiro asked her, for he had noticed her frequent stares.
I'm just thinking about something. She snapped at him. You don't have to worry about me.
You sound like Hikari whenever she's angered by something, or when she's unnerved by something.
I do?
Yes you do, I've been with her long enough to note her habits and behavioral antics. Now what's wrong?
If I'm not willing to tell you what's wrong?
Yoshiro didn't reply, and instead stared straight ahead at his brother and Chihiro. Realize that I'm not trying to force you to tell me what's unnerving you. I just thought that you wouldn't mind sharing your troubles with those who care about you.
Then I'll tell Rin, or maybe Chihiro. She's good at listening. Natsuko told him smugly.
Okay then, I'll listen to what you have to tell them. Natsuko glanced at him, and he turned his head to look at her. They glanced at each other for a half a minute before glancing away.
Hikari sighed she was annoyed by their stare, something about it made her feel uncomfortable. Is there something you want to tell us?
No. Yoshiro replied simply. They landed minutes later at the phoenix colony, the glistening walls of the city caused Keiko to once again stare in wonderment awestruck by the city's glory.
Stop gaping like a tourist. Chihiro told her friend somberly. I admit that it's pretty spectacular when you first arrive, but after a while you get used to it. Moreover we have to meet with the Council.
Keiko sighed, "You're right Chihiro, well let's get this over with so that we can get over to wherever we need to go and search for the opal."
We're going to Swamp's Bottom after this. Haku informed her gravely. From what Chihiro and I have concluded Sakura is there and we need to meet up with her as she may have some important information that may aid us in our search for the Opal.
"Sakura," Keiko asked confused, "who's Sakura?"
She's the dragon that we met in my river in the dream, Hikari supplied. The one that we read about when we went to the first Dragon of Nature's home, you know his daughter who lost the Great Opal.
"Oh that Sakura, I thought she was dead or something."
Technically she is, but she managed to become undead somehow. I think it has something to do with Chihiro; she is her ancestor after all.
"I see." She climbed off of Hikari, and watched as her friend transformed. Zeniba and Rin did the same with their mounts and watched as they transformed with the others. Together the eight friends walked towards the castle. Kasumi leaned against the entranceway as she had when they first saw her.
"So you're back." She told them grimly when she saw them. "For an extended stay I hope."
"Actually after this we plan to leave." Chihiro admitted.
"Suit yourself…oh and Hikari, Kai wants to talk to you after your meeting with the council. You'll find him in his room."
Hikari didn't answer as Kasumi walked away, leading the friends to the Council Hall. "His room is the one that he was in when I was here right?" she asked once they neared the chamber.
"Yep, it hasn't changed since when he first arrived here. Luckily for him the two rooms next to his were empty at the time so it wasn't too difficult for him to request that they be reserved for you and Chihiro."
They entered the Council Hall at that time. As before they found the council members seated in a balcony high above their heads. Kasumi parted with them at the entrance, heading in another direction. To Hikari's surprise she found Kai already in the hall and she stood next to him. They bowed when they saw the council members.
As before the woman who had spoken with them the first time they came addressed them and they replied as was expected of them. "I am pleased that you have all gathered here. Though it is unfortunate that Kasumi cannot make it to our gathering, but I suppose that you, Kai, will tell her once I have finished speaking." Kai nodded and she continued. "We are gathered here today to talk about the current situation in the war against the Evil One as well as the Great Opal. As you are well aware we are currently fighting against the Evil One and his minions many of which are based in what used to be known as the bathhouse called Aburaya. After His invasion there two months ago, he has begun to make it his headquarters as far as military arrangements go. His troops are stationed there before being sent off to war.
"There is a part of this that I am sure you are unaware of. The dungeon, in which you were kept, Kohaku was underneath a castle that is the current home of the Evil One. He tends to reside there whenever military affairs are running smoothly. As this is not the case he has been staying in Aburaya for extended visits albeit we are starting to believe that there is another reason he is staying there."
She paused for a second as if recollecting her thoughts before continuing. "I'm sure that many of you if not all are aware of a dragon by the name of Sakura that left the palace a few weeks ago. She was sighted by one of our own while they were flying towards Aburaya in order to gather information about the troops there. He came immediately to us afterwards as he felt that the information would of the importance to our cause. He was correct."
"Sakura as most of you know is Chihiro's ancestor and as a spirit she is in a way immortal and so for her there is no such thing as death. Rather what you know as death is a but a passing from your world into ours, and death for her meant that she was unable to travel between the barriers of the two worlds in a solidified form such as a serpent or a young woman. As such she was able to help Chihiro in this world, but would not be able to help her in the Human World. If she did she would be unable to defend her or assist her in any way and would therefore be reduced to the stature of a mere figure head. I'm telling you this because Sakura plays an important part in your search for the Great Opal.
"As some of you are aware of, Sakura inherited the Opal from her father who was the first Dragon of Nature. What you are not aware of is that the opal pendent that she inherited is not comprised of the Great Opal; rather it is only a clue to its whereabouts. Sakura hid the Great Opal when she got it from her father who ordered her to do so. She then destroyed any memories she had of its hiding place and used the opal pendent she received from her father to store portions of the memories she had of it.
"Because of this Sakura is the only one who knows the true location of the Great Opal. It is also believed that she hid her opal pendent in an icy stream and froze its waters on purpose so to guard it. As you may or may not realize the opal that Hikari and Keiko found is the only way to find this opal. The Great Opal and the other two are connected in a way that so far we have vague and indescribable, but it seems that it's this murky and unfathomable connection is the only way to reveal the Great Opal's location and Sakura is key to reviving the connection." She stopped and it was obvious that she had finished speaking.
"So you're saying that we should visit Sakura before searching for Hikari's opal?" Chihiro asked.
"Precisely, otherwise you would be unable to find the opal pendent that she possessed." The council woman told her icily.
"Then why did the scroll say that the opal pendent would allow the descendent to inherit the powers of the first Dragon of Nature and become a spirit if they so desired if it's untrue?" Hikari asked befuddled.
"Because the opal pendent would lead it to the Great Opal, technically the Great Opal was the power of the Dragon of Nature. It should also be known to you by now that the Great Opal is a powerful stone and would grant the wielder to become a full spirit if they weren't already one and so desired."
"I'm curious, but what does becoming a full spirit do to me?" Chihiro asked softly.
"It means that you would be able to gain the full potential of the elements under your control and you would also gain the powers and abilities of a spirit who was born in the Spirit World by parents who were both spirits. It also means that you would be unable to return to the Human World and assume your lifestyle there."
"You mean I would be unable to return?"
"Yes," the council member replied quite amused, "although if you wished you could still visit the Human World but only for short durations of time, such as a week or so. Why do you suppose that young Kohaku has never visited you until the barrier was weakened?" This silenced Chihiro and left her to ponder whether she really wanted to become a spirit or not. It would mean having to explain to her parents why she wouldn't be able to return and why she could only stay for mere weeks or days. She would also be unable to assume a normal life in the Human World as the council member had so kindly said.
"I'll let you think over whether you wish to become a full spirit or not Chihiro; you have plenty of time before you must decide. Though the benefits are found to be satisfactory to some others would only see it as a curse because of what needs to be sacrificed in order to become a full spirit. You are now dismissed." The group left the Council Hall; Kai followed them and directed them to their assigned rooms.
As expected Keiko was quite impressed by her lodgings and it took a while for her to get used to her surroundings. While Keiko explored her rooms and admired the furnishings, Kai led Hikari into his room and closed the door behind them.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Hikari asked once she entered his room.
"I was wondering if you were feeling better," Kai admitted, "you seemed pretty troubled when I left earlier today."
"I find and since when did you start wondering whether I was okay or not?"
"Well you did seem pretty angry when I left and I was hoping that you weren't too troubled."
Hikari didn't reply her emerald eyes were glistening furiously. Kai sat down in a nearby chair and directed her to another one next to it. "I suppose you were wondering about my relationship with Kasumi?" He asked softly.
"So then you admit having a relationship with her," Hikari asked.
"I do, but that was before I met you. I talked to her about it, and she decided that it was okay if I choose to spend the rest of my life with you instead of her."
"Then I suppose that you two kind of broke up?"
"Kind of, there wasn't really wasn't much of a relationship there in the first place. We were friends and nothing more. Neither of us really wanted to do anything really serious anyhow, we made that clear the first day we met each other. She's too… outgoing for my tastes and I'm too… serious for hers. If not for the Ruby we would have never met each other."
Hikari chuckled, "what made her think such a thing? Was it that you kept on mentioning facts and statistics about various topics?"
"Yeah something like that," Kai grinned, "and plus I kept on being really polite to her and her family, even after she made it clear that I didn't have to address her as anything other than just 'Kasumi'. It really annoyed her."
"It probably did, speaking of which how come you never addressed me in anything other than 'Hikari'?"
"I don't know I guess I was kind of tired of addressing everyone by formal honorifics and such."
"I'm curious but what is it about Kasumi that makes her too outgoing?"
"I'm not sure, she has a lot of friends and sometimes she's surrounded by boys and I'm not that fond of social gatherings and whatnot." Hikari nodded and gazed thoughtfully at Kai. There was something about him that she found oddly attractive. Something about him that lured her into a feeling of safety and serenity, and she peered deeper into his eyes hoping to find what it was about him that was so attractive in her mind.
Kai did the same. He too was curious about the strange and mysterious feeling that he encountered whenever he saw Hikari, something that made him feel oddly protective over her. As they stared at each other a connection slowly began to form and at the same moment they realized that they feeling they had about one another was mutual. At that moment they realized that they were falling madly in love with one another.