The Priestesses' Regeneration Song that Connects the Worlds

by aquagon

Two months later, Inuyasha's group welcomes back Miko and Yasha together with their friends from the alternate Earth. Now, they must fulfill the mission they were given by destiny: become the Seirei to save the world the Dragonia. While many hardships await them, they will also receive the help from a world called Ar Ciel... Sequel to Entwining of Destinies.

8. The Dragons and the Priestesses (2)

He and Fileia guided them through a few cliffs that had holes with some interesting shapes that were roughly carved on the rocks: arches, triangles, and there was even one that seemed like a large natural window. Once they crossed this last one, they found themselves in a wide valley that was part grassy, part rocky with a waterfall that fell into the river running through it. And a bit higher above the rest of the place, they could see several caves and a few nests around, with some dragons resting near the river, on the grass, or flying around on the skies above.

Fileia and Elaer landed without much trouble, and after dissolving the barriers, they helped their friends to dismount. On the other hand, the boys had some problems landing: Roger had to use his power over the earth to create a soft landing spot for himself since he ended up crashing on his stomach, while Gerardo flung helplessly before ultimately crashing head-first on the ground.

Miguel descended without much problem, and while Henry wiggled about a little, he also landed relatively safely. Carlos on the other hand ended up turning himself into a living stick on the ground due to landing too hard on his legs, while Kember crashed and rolled for a few meters before stopping due to not being able to reduce his speed enough.

- "Whoa, talking about crash landings…" – said Kagome amused and saddened at this.

- "They really suck at landing…" – said Inuyasha sweatdropping.

- "We can't really blame them" – said Fileia as Gabriela, Tiffany, Miko and Yasha went to check on the boys – "They seemed to be mostly focusing on trying to fly well, and looks like the change to landing isn't something they have mastered yet" –

- "Well, it's just a question of practice" – said Elaer shrugging with a smile as Gabriela helped Gerardo stand up; Miko did the same for Roger, Yasha for Kember and Tiffany for Carlos. Miko and Gabriela also sang their healing songs just in case – "Plus, they won't really get wounded thanks to their dragon armors" –

- "But they should still be careful" – said Kagome worried as she saw how the boys were getting healed – "I don't want to imagine what could have happened if their landing ended being on the rocky side or near a cliff's border" –

- "Yes… In these cases, it could have been much worse" – conceded Fileia while the boys dismissed their armors and walked to them – "That's part of the reason why it's better that you only fly on a dragon for the time being, at least until you learn how to fly and land well" –

- "Sorry about our disastrous performance…" – said Gerardo ashamed – "Looks like we're still far from actually flying well" –

- "No worries, as you're still beginners on this" – said Elaer smiling – "Just make sure to be careful when you pick a landing spot on the future" –

- "Yeah, we'll do" – said Henry – "So, what we gotta do to get ourselves a dragon?" -

- "Well, the procedure is simple, but whether it'll be easy or not depends on the dragons and yourselves" – said Fileia.

- "What do you mean?" – asked Gabriela intrigued.

- "Basically, you must connect with a dragon mentally to see if you can empathize with it" – explained Elaer – "If your feelings echo with each other, the dragon will agree to become your partner. Otherwise, you'll get rejected and you'll need to find another dragon to try again" –

- "So it's some sort of psychological test to see if we're compatible?" – asked Kagome.

- "Yes, that's the gist of it. In my case, I could establish the connection pretty easily with Tisela" – she said as she stroked her dragon's head.

- "But Kalae required me a couple hours to find" – sighed Elaer turning to his dragon, who looked at him with pity – "Let's just say that I got rejected many times and leave it there" –

- "Sounds like you had lotsa bad luck" – said Tiffany.

- "So, any recommendations or advice you can give us before we go and try it ourselves?" – asked Gerardo crossing his arms.

- "Just two ones: first, never try to connect with a dragon that isn't of your same element, as dragons won't accept anyone who doesn't share at least the same main element as them" – said Elaer – "And second, keep your mind open and answer honestly any questions the dragon might have about you. If you aren't sincere, they will be more reluctant to form a partnership with you" –

- "Only with a same-element one and make sure to be honest…" – said Henry with a hand on his chin – "Gotcha. Okay guys, let's hurry and do it!" -

He then ran off to a black dragon that was resting on a nearby part of the grass.

- "Hehe, looks like he couldn't continue waiting. Okay, let's get going then" – said Gerardo looking at the others.

- "Yeah!" – said everyone. To their surprise, Henry was already in the middle of conversing with the black dragon, though they couldn't hear what they were talking about: both he and the dragon had their eyes closed as they faced each other.

- "So, Henry… Why do you wish me to help you?" – asked the dragon within his mind – "I see you have no Dragonian blood in your veins, and that you are still a novice when it comes to our world's matters" –

- "I came seeking a dragon partner because I need help" – replied Henry concentrating on his mission and his friends – "Also, the Dragon Gods have chosen me as their Candidate to Seirei of Darkness, and I can't uphold that position without a partner" –

- "So in other words you will be working to save our world from its destruction, correct?" – asked the dragon with interest.

- "Yes, and that's why I ask you now… Will you agree to become my partner?" – asked Henry finally.

- "Considering what you have told me, and the feelings I could receive from you, as well as your potential emotional power and lifeforce… Yes, let us now form the pact that will bind us for the rest of our lives" – said the dragon – "Give me a name, and recite the pact spell" –

- "In that case, I will name you Anryuujin!" – said Henry smiling with closed eyes – "But… how's the pact spell?" –

- "Hmm, a peculiar name, but I don't find it bad in the slightest. As for the spell, repeat after me…" – said the dragon – "Ist alttyaok leiya Draggyacch, baprou ukialesa zosph pheltela oli zosphaael bialr faleasa yapal dea bious'eath ical…" –

- "Okay!" – said Henry as he concentrated – "Ist alttyaok leiya Draggyacch, baprou ukialesa zosph pheltela oli zosphaael bialr faleasa yapal dea bious'eath ical!" -

As soon as he finished pronouncing these words, the black dragon emitted a soft roar and he shot off six beams of black light toward Henry, which he also returned after they reached him, greatly surprising his friends as they looked on. Both started shining as the Elemental Seal appeared under them…

- "Ist Cielba colteile Henry ical e zosph yiules cehalf!" – was what Henry heard the dragon say. After a couple moments, they stopped shining and they noticed that the dragon had its size reduced to that of a small dog, similarly to the smaller forms Fileia and Elaer's dragons took while they were at home.

- "Congrats!" – said Gerardo as he went and patted Henry on the back – "Looks like your pact attempt was a success!" -

- "Yes, it was" – said Elaer smiling as he and Fileia clapped their hands – "And it's pretty amazing you could find you partner so quickly" –

- "Hehe, I guess" – said Henry blushing a bit and rubbing the back of his head as Anryuujin saddled on his shoulder – "Looks like we're gonna be together for a lot of time, partner!" –

The small dragon replied by just growling softly.

- "Not to mention you were also the first one!" – said Roger fired up – "Okay, time to go search for mine!" –

- "And the same goes for me!" – said Gabriela skipping around.

- "And we're gonna get ours too, right Miko?" – asked Yasha as he smiled at her.

- "Yeah! We've waited so long to get a partner too!" – said Miko clapping her hands in joy. So they separated and started searching for the dragons they would connect with. Gabriela found a white one that had a magnificent appearance next to the river, though the mentioned creature was busy eating up an animal similar to an ox that lied motionlessly next to him.

- "Umm… Can I talk with you for a second?" – said Gabriela focusing on sending her thoughts to the dragon.

- "Hmm, what is it? I'm hungry and I'm in the middle of my lunch" – replied the dragon back.

- "Sorry about that. It's just that I was wondering if you'd like to make a pact with me…" – said Gabriela in an innocent tone.

- "Hmm, will there be lots of food in there for me?" – asked the dragon with interest.

- "Of course!" – said Gabriela not liking how the dragon was behaving.

- "Hehe, thinking I'm just a glutton or something?" – acknowledged the dragon with some embarrassment – "And while I really like eating a lot… I still can sense your amazing potential and powers… Yes, while you still haven't shown them in full, I can feel you are the Priestess of the Dragon" –

- "Was it so easy to see?" – asked Gabriela.

- "Yup. I felt the special waves only the Priestess emits a few months ago when my twin established a pact with her… But both seemed to have vanished a long time ago" – said the dragon sounding sad.

- "I'm sorry…" – said Gabriela.

- "It's not your fault. And I guess you're the Priestess that is going to replace the one who made the pact with my twin, right? If that's the case, I'm honored someone as important as you is willing to form a pact with me" – said the dragon with determination – "So please, recite the spell that will complete our pact" –

- "Okay," – said Gabriela as she closed her eyes, clasped her hands in front of her chest and started reciting the same spell Henry did – "Ist alttyaok leiya Draggyacch, baprou ukialesa zosph pheltela oli zosphaael bialr faleasa yapal dea bious'eath ical!" -

- "Ist Cielba colteile Gabriela ical e zosph yiules cehalf!" – replied the dragon, and after the exchange of white light beams between both and the appearance of the elemental seal, Gabriela found herself with a small white dragon perched on her head when the lights dimmed down.

- "Okay, now we're partners!" – said Gabriela smiling – "Pleased to meet you, Drago!" –

- "Huh!? Why are you giving me that name?" – asked the dragon looking below to face his partner.

- "It's nothing! I just thought it'd be a good name for you" – said Gabriela giggling.

- "And I even got the same name as my twin… Well, considering you're exactly like the Princess when she came all that time ago, I can't say I'm surprised. Anyway, don't forget to give me food once we get to the city!" – said Drago flapping his wings with excitement.

- "Okay, okay! I won't forget about it!" – said Gabriela a bit exasperated.

- "And… can I finish eating up my Elcae before we go?" – asked Dragon leaning his head to a side.

- "Uhh… yeah, as you want" – said Gabriela shrugging her shoulders confused. Drago just jumped off her head, went to the ox-like creature he had been eating, morphed back into his large size and continued eating. Gabriela just turned around to not see him eating.

Next was Tiffany, who was locked in a staring contest with a red dragon that was lying on the rocky areas a bit away from the river, but that ended when the dragon breathed some flames over her.

- "Ahh!" – screeched Tiffany covering herself with her arms and hands as a fire-elemental barrier appeared around her, blocking out completely the flames – "Hey, what was the big idea!?" –

- "Nothing. It's just that I didn't like how you were looking at me" – answered the dragon in a matter of factly voice.

- "Whoa… It's so weird having someone talk inside my head…" – commented Tiffany – "But anyway, I came here to get a partner dragon, and I'm not gonna leave until I get one, okay!?" –

The dragon just answered by breathing more flames on, which were again blocked by Tiffany's elemental barrier.

- "Again!? Why you're so mean!?" – asked Tiffany irate.

- "This time is because I don't really care for your bratty attitude. You know dragons can refuse to make a pact if they don't like the person that asks for it, correct?" – said the dragon in a severe voice.

- "Yeah… I know that…" – said Tiffany annoyed at being talked down.

- "And also… I have to admit I'm finding it funny to breathe on you" – said the dragon in a somewhat mocking tone.

- "Hey! That's not funny for me!" – said Tiffany angry.

- "Hoho, so you're as fiery as your elemental alignment shows. And furthermore, it seems you're the current Candidate to Seirei of Fire, huh?" – said the dragon in a tone that was half mock, half respect.

- "I don't really get if you're praising or making fun of me…" – said Tiffany crossing her arms.

- "In any case, I'll be honest with you: I really like your assertiveness, but your general behavior could be improved quite a bit. Plus, it'd be cool for me to be the Seirei of Fire's partner" – said the dragon in a dreamy voice.

- "So… We're gonna be partners then?" – asked Tiffany changing her frowning face to a smile.

- "Sure thing!" – said the dragon nodding – "Now, come and recite the spell" –

- "You got it!" – said Tiffany as she closed her eyes – "Ist alttyaok leiya Draggyacch, baprou ukialesa zosph pheltela oli zosphaael bialr faleasa yapal dea bious'eath ical!" -

- "Ist Cielba colteile Tiffany ical e zosph yiules cehalf!" – said the dragon as he shot six red light beams toward Tiffany that she unconsciously reciprocated as the elemental Seal appeared under them both. After the lights dimmed down, Tiffany found she had a small red dragon clinging to her shoulders like a stuffed animal backpack.

- "Yay! This is so cool!" – said her jumping around – "I've got my own dragon now!" –

- "Oh, so we're being braggarts now?" – said the dragon in a bemused tone. He then proceeded to blow flames on Tiffany's behind.

- "Ahh! What're you doing!?" – said her as she tried to use her control over fire to extinguish the flames – "Are you crazy or what!?" –

- "It's a punishment. Every time you act like a spoiled kid, I'll torch you" – said the dragon growling softly in a way that resembled laughter.

- "Arghhh… Whatever…" – said her crossing her arms.

- "Anyway, happy to be with you, partner" – said the dragon smiling.

- "Yeah… I hope we get along well and that you don't get me all burnt up… Flameck" – said Tiffany divided between amusement and rage.

- "Hmm, I like that name!" – said the dragon laughing.

Next was Roger, who had been walking around to try and get his own dragon, but all the yellow ones either flew off or buried to get away from him as soon as he got close to them.

- "Oh, come on! Why are the dragons getting all spooked when I get to them?" – said he in frustration after this happened four times in a row – "Am I really so much of a bother to them?" –

- "More like they sense that your sense of humor is horrid, and think they would have their minds collapse if they allowed you to establish a connection with them" – said a voice below him.

- "What!? Who're you!?" – asked Roger scared as he looked at his feet. A few seconds later, a yellow dragon, with wings slightly smaller and front claws larger than the dragons of other colors, emerged from the land about a meter away from where he was standing – "Whoa!" -

- "Sorry to have startled you… but I needed to have a good laugh there!" – said the dragon laughing.

- "Heh, and you say my humor sense is bad?" – said Roger with a mocking smile – "Yours would make anyone mad!" –

The dragon briefly froze in response.

- "Heh, charged as guilty. The other dragons aren't really fans of my little pranks and jokes either" – said the dragon in a bemused voice – "But if you can make puns so easily, it means I'd be able to enjoy a good laugh whenever I wanted, right?" –

- "Yeah, that's right" – said Roger nodding – "But can I count on you to help us for more serious stuff too?" –

- "Of course. You're the Candidate to Seirei of Earth, and I'd be a failure as a dragon if I didn't get serious when it counted!" – said the dragon extending his wings with pride.

- "Counted to ten, to a hundred or to a thousand?" – asked Roger laughing. The dragon froze once again.

- "Hehe, you got me there" – said the dragon – "In any case, I'm willing to make the pact with you if you find me suitable enough" –

- Sure! Let's do it!" – said Roger nodding. He closed his eyes and extended his open hands to the dragon – "Ist alttyaok leiya Draggyacch, baprou ukialesa zosph pheltela oli zosphaael bialr faleasa yapal dea bious'eath ical!" –

It was now Roger's turn to go through the sequence the others had experienced before, this time with the rays they both shot each other being yellow in color. Once the light dimmed down enough for him to acknowledge again his surroundings, he found himself with a small yellow dragon grabbing from his upper arm.

- "Knock, knock" – said the dragon in a playful voice.

- "Who's it?" – asked Roger playing along as he raised an eyebrow.

- "A dragon" – said the dragon smiling.

- "What dragon?" – asked Roger.

- "A dragon who's going to drag on you to the end of the world!" – said the dragon laughing. It was now Roger's turn to be frozen solid.

- "Oh, man, that was awful!" – said Roger cringing – "Now I kinda get how the guys feel about my and Miguel's puns…" –

- "Hehe, it was pretty good!" – said the dragon smiling – "And glad to meet you partner!" –

- "Yeah, same here. Maybe we'll be able to make some good puns together!" – said Roger winking at the dragon – "As for a name… I know! What about Daichi?" –

- "Huh? What kind of name is that?" – asked the dragon with a puzzled face.

- "Well, it's one meaning "earth" from one of our world's languages" – said Roger – "I can pick another if you don't like it though" –

- "Nah, it's fine!" – said the dragon – "Now we should go and meet up with your pals, right?" –

Roger nodded and they went to where the others that had already made their pacts were standing around.

Meanwhile, Carlos was trying to approach a light blue dragon with very thick scales that was near the river, though the dragon wasn't doing him any favors by blowing a blizzard on his direction…

- "D-d-d-d-d-damn i-i-i-it!" – said he shivering and with his teeth making castanet-like sounds – "Why I had to be an Ice-elemental?" –

- "What? Not enjoying the refreshing breeze I'm giving you?" - said a voice in his mind with a sarcastic tone.

- "Who's that?" – asked Carlos annoyed, but he then realized it – "No way… Are you the dragon who's trying to freeze me to death!?" –

- "Whoa, that´s how you feel it?"- said the dragon in an embarrassed voice – "Sorry, I didn't realize it was so cold for you!" –

- "Of course it is!" – said Carlos enraged – "These temperatures'd kill anyone that isn't used to being in such cold!" –

- "Oh, so that means you're from a tropical area" – said the dragon with interest – "Well, maybe I could get to know other places if I travel with you" –

- "And why haven't you gone to explore them on your own?" – asked Carlos not liking how this sounded.

- "I don't really like going too far from here if I can help it, as it's exhausting to fly for hours on end" – said the dragon in a lazy voice, making Carlos hit his forehead with his palm – "But since I can accompany you while you travel, that'd make things interesting enough to not get tired" –

- "And I don't get even a shred of respect for being a friend of the Seirei Candidates…" – said Carlos sighing in a lonesome way.

- "Hehe, yet you aren't one yourself. Still, I'm interested in being your partner" – said the dragon – "Shall we carry out the pact?" –

- "Yeah, let's do it!" – said Carlos smiling. He closed his eyes and focused on the dragon. After they pronounced the spells for the pact, they exchanged the connection lights, which were light-blue this time, and Carlos found himself with a small light-blue dragon on his shoulder.

- "Ok, welcome aboard, Chills!" – said Carlos laughing, but that only got him a snowball thrown to the face – "Hey, what's the big idea!?" -

- "What a lame name…" – said the dragon annoyed – "I'd have expected something cooler, like Crysphe, Cryalae, or so!" –

- "But I'm the one who gets to decide your name, so tough luck!" – said Carlos laughing. The dragon just sighed.

- "Anyway, it'll be interesting to travel with you, partner!" – said Chills – "Let's do our best!" –

- "Yeah!" – said Carlos.

Next, Kember was approaching a light-green dragon that was sleeping peacefully on the pasture. The dragon awakened with a drowsy face as soon as he got close to it.

- "Ah, hello" – said the dragon to Kember's mind – "What a nice weather, won't you agree?" –

- "Ah, hi" – replied Kember when he noticed how the dragon was looking at him and he realized the voice belonged to her – "Yeah, it's pretty nice but… I wanna ask you for a pact" –

- "Hmm, I see. Well, I'm not really suited to fighting, and I prefer to look at landscapes and sceneries. Flying around and seeing things from above is what I love the most" – said the dragon in a dreamy way.

- "Well, I'm an artist, so I'm always doing that to sketch and draw backgrounds, aside of drawing people and creatures" – said Kember with a smile.

- "Oh, really?" – said the dragon with interest – "In that case, I'd be very glad to help you in your battles provided you also agree to tell me to go for a flight whenever you want to sketch something!" –

- "Can I take that as a yes, then?" – asked Kember.

- "Of course! Now, recite the spell!" – said the dragon in an excited voice.

- "Okay! Here it goes!" – said Kember. Once they finished the establishment of the pact, Kember found a small dragon hanging from behind himself like a backpack.

- "Looks like you found that position comfortable" – smiled Kember.

- "Yeah, but I can also move to another place if I get bored!" – said the dragon – "And please, don't forget to give me a name!" –

- "Okay, how about Natura?" – asked Kember.

- "Hmm, simple but to the point. Not bad!" – said the dragon nodding.

Meanwhile, Miguel had summoned his dragon armor and was flying above the valley to meet up with the green dragons that were gliding above the place. Most seemed to be either running away from him or ignoring him completely…

- "Ahh…" – he sighed while trying to not lose concentration in order to keep control over his armor – "I imagined I'd have some trouble with this, but not so much…" –

- "Munchkin, tis be your name!" – said a voice behind him, and before he had any time to react, something hard crashed into him and grabbed him. They both spun around three times, but Miguel then felt that whatever had grabbed him had left him loose on the air.

- "Damn…! Concentrate, concentrate…!" – he said to himself in a hurry, and luckily he managed to stabilize and swoop up again a few seconds before crashing into the meadow – "Phew… that was a close call… But what the hell was that thing?" –

- "Thinking the same thing I do?" – asked the voice again – "If you don't, you've disappointed me!" –

- "No way… Are you a dragon!?" – asked Miguel shocked – "I've been guessing some dragons'd like some bad puns or pranks, but none as dangerous as this!" –

- "Hey, I didn't really wanna hurt you! I just was playing around!" – said the voice before its owner revealed herself: it was a large green dragon with wide wings – "See? I even placed an air cushion right on the place where you were going to crash!" –

Miguel looked at where the dragon was pointing with her head, and sure enough, there was a small fluffy cloud filled with some air currents in there that flowed in a direction opposite of the ground.

- "Whoa, well played!" – said Miguel amazed.

- "Hehe, I sensed you would be the new Candidate to Seirei of Wind, and since you look like the Commander of the Royal Knights, I wanted to make a pact with you" – said the dragon laughing as they both landed softly on the ground – "It's just that I wanted to play with you first!" –

- "Okay, okay… But let's not play games that dangerous again, agreed?" - said Miguel – "So, I should say the pact spell, right?" –

- "Yup! Go ahead!" – said the dragon. Miguel did so, and once the exchange of green lights ended, he found himself with a small green dragon clinging to his shoulder.

- "Okay, pleased to meet you, Eolia!" – said Miguel smiling.

- "Hehe, nice name! I hope we can be good friends!" – said the dragon.

- "Yeah, and pull some nice puns on everyone!" – said Miguel laughing – "Hey, we should even team up with Roger for that, as he's a punmaster too!" –

- "Yay! I'll be looking forward to your puns!" – said Eolia moving her wings excitedly.

As for Gerardo, he took off his shoes and jumped into the river. He had to dive into the deeper part, right in the basin under the waterfall, to find his dragon. After swimming for a few seconds, he saw there was a blue dragon resting on the riverbed several meters under the surface.

- 'Great… The only water dragon in the area was one sleeping in the river…' – said he with frustration as he swam further in while trembling - 'I know I can dry off my clothes easily once I get out, but damn… swimming like this is awful… and this water's cold…!' –

- "Hehe, you're complaining so much" - said a voice directly to his mind – "You know I can reject your offer for a pact if you turn out to be too much of a whiner, right?" –

- "Are you… the dragon I'm looking at?" – asked Gerardo. However, he began to drown at that point, so he had to summon his armor – "Ahh, much better. I'm still wet to hell and back, but at least I don't have to worry about drowning" –

- "And wouldn't it have been better to summon your armor before dipping into the water?" – asked the dragon with an amused voice – "Water elementals are supposed to be smart, yet you seem to not be demonstrating that quality much" –

- "Someone please kill me…" – said Gerardo facepalming – "Not only the many stupid mistakes I made during our previous journey… Even now I continue missing the obvious and not thinking stuff as much as I should" –

- "Whoa, sorry!" – said the dragon alarmed – "I didn't think you'd take it so badly!" –

- "It's just the truth…" – said Gerardo moving his head from side to side – "No matter how much I try, that's what happens to me all the time" –

- "Hmm, yet you still seem to have a good head on your shoulders" – said the dragon – "Plus, you remind me of the Prince that came some time ago that made a pact with my twin sister" –

- "So in other words, would you be okay with us making a pact, despite how problematic I could end up being?" – asked Gerardo with a hopeful tone.

- "Yup! Now let's go to the surface so you can say the spell!" – said the dragon as she swam up. Gerardo followed her, and once they had surfaced and left the river, he dismissed his armor, clapped his hands to make the water on his clothes fall down around himself to not continue freezing due to it, and placed his hands over his chest while facing the dragon. Once they both chanted the spells, they shot at each other blue light beams, and once the lights this provoked dimmed down, Gerardo found himself with a small blue dragon on his shoulder.

- "Great, now I've got a dragon partner!" – said Gerardo smiling at her.

- "Yup! And I hope you don't mind if I also help you with your romantic life when the time comes!" – said the dragon amused.

- "Hey, you don't need to do that!" – said Gerardo blushing.

- "Oh, but I will. You seem to be quite the closet romantic, yet you still haven't found a girl for yourself" – said the dragon smiling in a dreamy way.

- "Ugh… And I should give you a name, right?" – asked Gerardo.

- "Yup. Please, give me a pretty good one!" – said the dragon with excitement.

- "Okay, how does Iadla sound to you?" – asked Gerardo.

- "Hmm, the same one the Prince gave to my sister… I really like it, so it's approved!" – said the dragon moving her wings.

- "Okay! Pleased to work with you, Iadla!" – said Gerardo patting her head.

Next, Inuyasha and Yasha were walking up to two red dragons that were looking at the rocky walls leading to the mountains.

- "So Nii-san, are you really that interested in getting a dragon partner?" – asked Yasha with interest – "And after you said that you were better off working alone?" –

- "Don't make me repeat it Yasha" – scoffed Inuyasha – "I've been workin' with Kagome, Miroku and the others for some time already, and if having a dragon's gonna help us rip Naraku to pieces and beat Tenebross, I'll get one!" –

- "Oh, interesting!" – said a voice in Inuyasha's head, which made him go alert and growl – "Seems like I've got quite a feisty partner candidate! And one that's not even a Dragonian!" –

- "Any problem with that, you!?" – asked Inuyasha to the voice, noticing that Yasha also had heard that and was getting sad – "I can be as good a partner as any guy from this world!" –

- "Sorry, I didn't mean that you would be inferior due to not being from around here" - said the voice in an apologetic tone – "Rather, it would be pretty cool to have someone like you as my partner!" –

- "Oh, really…?" – said Inuyasha in a doubtful voice.

- "Brother, looks like they're siblings too" – said another voice in both Inuyasha's and Yasha's head, much to their surprise – "And not only that: looks like we've got connections to them both too!" –

- "I see! That makes it even more interesting!" – said the first voice.

- "So, you're okay with us being partners?" – asked Yasha – "I couldn't come before because I couldn't use the dragon powers, but now I can, I wanna get a partner like you! And Nii-san also wants one!" –

- "Sure! It'll be great for me and my brother to have partners as exceptional as you two!" – said the second voice – "Plus, you're friends with the Seirei Candidates and the Priestesses, which only makes you two even cooler!" –

- "Argh, stop the flattery already and let's get goin' already!" – said Inuyasha frustrated, though he felt it was great that the dragons weren't discriminating them for being hanyou.

- "Hehe, I know. We dragons don't really care about your world of origin or race: as long as you can use Seirei magic and the Power of the Dragon, we can establish a partnership. And having unusual partners is a pretty unique experience in itself too" – said the first dragon.

- "So go ahead. Choose which of us you each would like as a partner, face us and recite the spell!" – said the second dragon.

- "Yeah, let's do it!" – said Inuyasha smiling with decision.

- "Coming!" – said Yasha excitedly. They underwent a similar sequence to Tiffany's, and by the end of it, they each had a small red dragon: Inuyasha's on his shoulder and Yasha over his head.

- "And I've got a dragon!" – said Inuyasha smiling – "Ok, let's show these bastards what we can do!" –

- "At last, I got my dragon!" – said Yasha holding it aloft on the air to then hug it – "It's great!" –

- "Pleased to meet you too!" – said Yasha's dragon – "Now, don't forget to give us our names!" –

- "Yeah yeah. Are ya fine with Gouka?" – asked Inuyasha.

- "And I'd like to call you Pyrafile" – said Yasha.

- "Hmm, interesting… Mine is a name with Dragonian roots, while my brother's name is in a language I've never heard before!" – said Yasha's dragon.

- "It's pretty unique, so I'll take it!" – said Inuyasha's dragon.

- "Okay. Let's get 'em, Gouka!" – said Inuyasha fist pumping.

- "Glad you liked it, Pyrafile!" – said Yasha smiling.

- "Yup! And I'm glad to work with you from now on too!" – said Yasha's dragon.

- "By the way, it seems that only Kagome and Miko are still missing their dragons" – said Gerardo as he and the others approached Inuyasha and Inuyasha – "Should we go and see how they're doing?" –

- "Yeah, they could get in trouble or sumthin'" – said Inuyasha crossing his arms, to which Gouka replied with a soft growl.

- "Not to mention they could end up with dragons like mine!" – said Tiffany angry as Flameck growled at her. She growled back at him in response.

- "And I'd like to see what names they give their dragons and the like!" – said Gabriela as she patted Drago.

- "Yeah. Miko's been as excited as me about getting her dragon, and I wanna see how she does it" – said Yasha with excitement as Pyrafile emitted a soft growl from his head.

- "Okay, it's decided. Let's go and see!" – said Gerardo as everyone walked either behind him or at his side to where Kagome and Miko where. As for the two sisters, they were in front of two beautiful white dragons that were sitting on the grassfield taking a nice sun bath.

- "Ah, hi!" – said Kagome to one of the dragons – "Nice weather we're having here, huh?" –

- "Umm, hi…" – said Miko while she hid behind Kagome, peeking a bit from her side.

- "Ah, nice afternoon, right?" – said a voice inside Kagome's mind – "Resting under Soleia's light like this is so refreshing and relaxing…" –

- "Not to mention pleasant…" – said another voice in Miko's mind. Like Yasha and Inuyasha, they both could hear the two dragons' voices due to their shared mental link.

- "It's good you're enjoying yourselves, but I want to ask you something" – said Kagome with decision having already realized who was speaking to them – "Can I ask you to be my partner dragon?" –

- "Hmm, interesting…" – said one of the dragons – "A novice priestess, yet one that harbors a great power…" –

- "And that isn't all, sister…" – said the another dragon – "The child at her side not only has a mental link with her, but she also possesses a similar degree of power despite her inexperience…" –

- "Well, yes…" – said Kagome trying to not sound arrogant – "It's because… Both myself and my sister Miko have been chosen as Assistant Priestesses to the current Priestess of the Dragon. That's why we'd like to have you as our partners" –

- "Pretty please…?" – said Miko a bit afraid.

- "This makes things even more mysterious… I think this is the first time I've ever heard of there being two Assistant Priestesses for a single generation" – said the dragon in front of Kagome.

- "Yes. And that's not all: the power they bear isn't one that a normal Priestess would carry" – said the dragon at their side pointing to Gabriela – "Notice how her waves are resonating with the ones of that young girl that is walking toward us!" –

- "Yes… They can only be telling us the truth then" – said the dragon lowering her head.

- "So, what you say?" – asked Kagome a bit nervous.

- "Will you… help us?" – asked Miko.

- "Of course! Now, go ahead!" – said the first dragon with excitement.

- "Recite the pact spell, both of you!" – said the second dragon with joy. Kagome and Miko did as they were instructed, and after the exchange of lights, they found themselves with two small white dragons near them.

- "Aww, so cute!" – said Miko cheerfully as she hugged her white dragon and began squeezing her as if she was a stuffed toy. The little dragon began screeching in protest.

- "Miko, don't treat her as if she were a toy!" – said Kagome to admonish her. Kagome had picked up her own dragon and was hugging her, though softly enough to not harm her.

- "Onee-san, don't be a meanie"- said Miko a little sad and annoyed, but she still relaxed her grip on her little partner – "If you got yourself down to my age, you'd have acted like this too!" -

- "We can test that out if you want" – said Kagome shrugging her shoulders to then place her dragon on the ground and change her age using her medallion. Upon doing this, she turned back into Miko's twin greatly surprising the dragons. She then grabbed her dragon again and hugged her with the same softness she had previously used, though she was also trying to not lose control over herself to not begin acting like Miko and give her example – "See? Even if my way of thinking is childish while I'm like this, I'm still hugging her in a way that doesn't harm her" –

- "And you'd do it that way even with your memory sealed?" – asked Miko while she pouted.

- "If she did that, she'd react like you, Miko" – said Gabriela after sighing a bit, fed up with that foolish argument. Drago growled softly from her shoulder – "But she'd start crying right away over not knowing where she was" –

- "And in any case, you'd do better to give them the names already. We should be going back to Soleila soon, as we've still gotta finish the preparations for the great debut you three will have before all Dragonia" – said Gerardo as he softly stroked Iadla's face, who closed her eyes pleased.

- "Ah right! I was forgetting about it!" – said Kagome as she used her medallion to go back to her true age. She faced her dragon afterwards – "Okay, how you like the name Shia?" –

- "It sounds pretty, so I'll take it!" – said the dragon moving her wings and tail in happiness – "Thanks a lot for it, partner!" –

- "Okay! Pleased to meet you, Shia!" – said Kagome patting her dragon's head.

- "Good going, sis!"- said Miko's dragon from her hands.

- "And about you…" – said Miko thoughtfully – "What about Neria for your name?" –

- "Hehe, I won't deny I like resting a lot, so it fits me pretty well!" – said the dragon – "And with that, our pacts are complete!" –

- "Yay! I'll always be with you, Neria!" – said Miko hugging her dragon.

- "And so we've all completed our pacts, right?" – said Henry crossing his arms and smiling while Anryuujin was sitting across his shoulders.

- "Yeah. We all have our dragons now!" – said Miguel pretty pleased with himself while Eolia made pleased growls from his shoulder.

- "Looks like it went pretty well for you all" – said Elaer pleased as he, Fileia and their dragons walked to them.

- "Yeah, and it was all thanks to you for bringing us here" – said Kagome smiling.

- "Indeed. We wouldn't have been able to get our dragons if you hadn't guided us to this place" – said Gerardo smiling.

- "Yup! Thanks a lot!" – said Gabriela hopping around.

- "Yeah! They're gonna be pretty helpful in battle!" – said Inuyasha.

- "But make sure to take good care of them" – said Fileia while putting on a serious face – "The dragons can dissolve the pact if you mistreat them or if you begin acting contrary to the Laws of the Dragon" –

- "So make sure to also behave yourselves correctly" – said Elaer while looking at everyone with severity.

- "We'll do!" – said Miko skipping around – "We learned a lot about taking care of them while we lived with you!" –

- "And our teacher at school always said the same thing!" – said Yasha – "So we're not gonna treat them badly!" –

- "Glad to hear you say that!" – said Fileia smiling.

- "Well then, since we have nothing else to do here, should we get back to Soleila?" – asked Elaer as he looked at his Dragtemn: it was 10:00 am already – "I know it's still early, but you'll want to have the Priestesses rehearse the song before the ceremony" –

- "Yeah… I kinda know how the song goes though I've never heard it… But I'm a bit nervous..." – said Gabriela lowering her head.

- "But we know you'll do it just fine" – said Gerardo placing a hand on her shoulder – "You're a pretty good singer: you're practicing lyrical singing all the time at home, and the queen told you that the other Gabriela and she herself were very nervous too when they had to sing it too" –

- "Plus, we've heard you even sang as one of the main voices for a choral recital featuring nothing less than the Carmina Burana!" – said Henry very impressed. This left Kagome and Miko speechless, but had no effect on Inuyasha, Yasha, Fileia or Elaer.

- "Oh, it's an opera from our world, don't mind us" – said Gerardo to explain it to them, which made Fileia and Elaer look at her surprised – "But it was really amazing: I was there with our parents, and we were blown off our seats when we saw her singing with the choir" –

- "And what's opera?" – asked Inuyasha crossing his arms while Yasha looked at them confused.

- "It's a kind of theatre combined with musical performances and singing" - explained Kagome – "Remember how Miko, Gaby-chan and I sang on our last journey together, or the songs Miko and Gaby-chan sang lately? They sing in that same way to tell stories" -

- "Ah, I think I got it!" – said Inuyasha nodding.

- "Yeah, me too!" – said Yasha smiling.

- "In any case, the point is that we're sure you'll do pretty well out there" – said Miguel smiling at her – "So rehearse all you can and do your best!" –

- "Okay, thanks!" – said Gabriela. While she still was nervous, she felt a bit better from that encouragement and smiled at her brother and friends in signal of gratitude.

- "And let's go back to Soleila then!" – said Carlos with excitement.

Their dragons jumped off their shoulders and transformed into their large forms: they shone in their respective colors and were surrounded briefly by their elements, growing pretty quickly. When they stopped shining, they had regained their original sizes.

- "And you can take advantage of this chance for a test flight" – said Elaer smiling.

- "Just make sure to tell your dragon where you want to go after you have mounted him or her" – said Fileia as she mounted her dragon.

- "Okay, here it goes…" – said Gerardo as he mounted Iadla. Instantly, a translucent blue bubble formed around him and covered him fully – "Whoa, what's this!?" –

- "Hehe, surprised? This is a special barrier we dragons put around our riders whenever we're flying" – said Iadla laughing at his surprise – "While you're inside it, you won't be affected by the temperature or the air pressure on the outside" –

- "Hmm, interesting. So it acts like a pressurized cabin in an airplane…" – said Gerardo as he looked around, which made Iadla look at him confused about what an airplane was – "In that case, I feel a lot safer flying with you now, Iadla!" –

- "Glad to know that! Well, are we taking off?" – asked Iadla eager to start flying.

Gerardo looked around and saw that already the others had gotten ready: their flight barriers were already closed and their dragons were preparing for take-off as well.

(BGM: The Dragon Spreads Its Wings – Final Fantasy V)

- "Yes, let's get going!" – shouted Gerardo. Instantly, Elaer and Fileia took off before them, while next were Gerardo and his friends. Despite the barriers, they still felt a refreshing breeze passing near them.

- "Hey, this feels great!" – said Roger.

- "Yup! The barrier keeps the air pressure and cold out, but it still lets the wind in! And at a reduced speed so it won't cause you harm!" – said Daichi jovially.

- "That's a great way of traveling then!" – said Roger in response, which he relayed to his friends given that no one else could understand his dragon.

- "Yeah, it's nice to fly with the wind like this and all!" – said Gabriela excited from Drago's back.

- "And it's better than using the armors!" – said Miko in happiness – "You don't have to keep concentrated and all just to keep flying!" –

- "I think this is going to be our trips through our world even easier now!" – said Kagome excited.

- "Yeah! Going back and forth to search for these bastards's gonna be a snap like this!" – said Inuyasha excited.

- "But we should be careful to not stand out too much" – said Yasha – "They're gonna hide away again in another place if they spot us" –

- "And the people back there could confuse us with youkai too" – said Gerardo – "And if that attracts the attention of other youkai, it could go from annoying to very bad" –

- "Yeah. We gotta be careful if we ride them on our world" – said Kagome.

- "Not to mention we won't be able to ride them in the present of Kagome's world or in our own" – said Miguel with a disappointed voice – "Ahh, it'd be so cool if we could!" –

- "But anyhow, look ahead!" – said Gerardo excited: they were flying higher than before, with the valleys and mountains a few hundred meters below them, with part of the mountain range to both sides, and barely visible at the left in the horizon, the sea, while to the right they could see how the mountains gradually receded into the hills at Soleila's west.

- "This is incredible!" – said Miguel awed before the sight.

- "And we'll have lotsa chances to see something like this during our travels!" – said Henry excitedly.

After a few more minutes of flight, they left behind the mountains and hills, and glided until they landed on the far side of the northern bridge to Soleila. Once they had dismounted their dragons and that they had returned to their small forms, Elaer and Fileia guided them back to the castle.

{End BGM}

- "Oh, and you all might want to be in the castle this time around" – said Elaer – "Their Majesties have sent us word that they want to invite you all to have a banquet for lunch" –

- "Well, it's no problem with me" – said Gerardo crossing his arms.

- "Aww, but we wanna show you other things in the city, like our school" – said Miko saddened.

- "We'll have a chance to go there tomorrow, don't worry" – said Kagome patting her head.

- "Ah, that's true, onee-san. Besides, we have to rehearse with Gaby-nee too, right?" – said Miko smiling.

- "Indeed. As her Assistant Priestesses, you also must be present in the rehearsals" – said Fileia nodding.

- "Finding a place to finish reprogramming the song before the ceremony isn't gonna be easy with today's schedule…" – whispered Gerardo while sighing in a lonesome way. Iadla rubbed a wing against his face softly.

They all teleported again to the Seirei Plaza, and Fileia and Elaer escorted them back to the castle. Once inside, the queen and the king greeted them once again, this time accompanied by a woman in her thirties that was wearing a beautiful and delicate white and light green shouf: she had long blonde hair, brown eyes, and had a veil coming out from a simple silver hairband she had on her hair. She also had a white and yellow dragon flapping its wings next to her.

- "Welcome again, dears!" – said the queen in a happy voice as she eyed the dragons they now carried in a discrete manner – "I see your mission was a success!" –

- "Err… indeed, Mother" – said Gerardo embarrassed – "We fortunately could… accomplish it with no issues whatsoever" -

- "Indeed, Your Majesties!" – said Elaer as he and Fileia saluted them – "Prince Gerardo, Princess Gabriela and their friends did a splendid job out there!" –

- "It warms my heart to know our children are as capable as they always have been" – said the king smiling – "And I would like to call the attention of everybody present here to a more important matter: our Princess will be carrying out the Ceremony of Proof today" –

- "We heard about it, Your Majesty" – said Fileia with a serious face as she saw how Gabriela began fidgeting upon hearing that – "Is that the reason for Her Sanctity Selfaia being present here?" –

- "Indeed, that is the case" – said the woman that had been accompanying the monarchs in a humble voice – "Their Majesties summoned me here to oversee the Princess' rehearsals" –

- "We wish to make sure our dear Gabriela has undergone every possible preparation for tonight" – said the queen smiling, though everyone excepting for the Dragonians present here had been left agape.

- "Whoa, this is really serious!" – said Iadla from Gerardo's shoulder.

- "I didn't expect they'd go all out and call Selfaia-san here…" – muttered Miko.

- "And that reminds me, who are the Princess' current Assistant Priestesses?" – asked Selfaia with a serious voice. Both Miko and Kagome stepped in – "Hmm, interesting. It's strange that Mihoka didn't come back with Their Highnesses, but I guess it was inevitable that someone else synchronized with Princess Gabriela so deeply in light of her absence" –

- "Who could be she talking about?" – whispered Henry to the others behind Gerardo and Gabriela.

- "Who knows. Maybe that was the Assistant Priestess to the true Princess Gabriela?" – muttered Roger confused.

- "In any case, we should get ready. Princess, you will need to rehearse as much as you can so the Ceremony of Proof may end being as successful as it was during your first time carrying it out" – said Selfaia with a severe voice, to which Gabriela only nodded nervous – "Likewise, Miko… Oh, I'm glad to know you returned and that you finally have gotten a partner dragon of your own! But going back to the point, I know I have been teaching you this past month, but I must be even more severe today with you" –

- "I understand, Selfaia-san" – said Miko a bit saddened – "But… You haven't met my onee-san yet, right?" –

- "Oh, is she the older sister you once told me about? And I see she also has a partner dragon" – asked Selfaia with interest.

- "Yes, I am. My name is Kagome, pleased to meet you" – said Kagome bowing before her – "Thanks for having taken care of Miko" –

- "Oh, it was nothing. I saw great potential in her, and thus decided to give Miko training as a normal priestess of our world" – said Selfaia smiling – "Well then; shall we go to the music hall?" –

- "Yes, as time is of the essence right now" – nodded the king as they began walking the stairs up.

- "And we should…" – said Gerardo preparing to go after them, but the queen stopped them.

- "Oh dear Gerardo, remember that during the rehearsals only them three, we both and the priestess overseeing her are allowed" – said her with a sad face.

- "Indeed, as we do not wish to make Gabriela even more nervous while she is rehearsing" – said the king nodding.

- "Gerar…" – said Gabriela saddened. Miko and Kagome looked at her with pity and worry, and their three dragons also looked downwards.

- "But you have no need to worry: we will take good care of her, and we will call you as soon as the rehearsal has finished" – said the queen with a sweet voice.

- "That said, you might want to wait in the dining hall" – said Selfaia with a smile – "The rehearsal will have a break period at lunchtime, so we will be seeing each other there" –

- "Forgive me for not being able to go with you, Gaby…" – said Gerardo going to his sister and stroking her head. Iadla also squeaked at her in a reassuring way.

- "It's okay… I'm nervous, but I will still do my best" – said Gabriela smiling a bit insecure while Drago rubbed his face against hers – "Hehe, thanks Drago" -

- "And we'll make sure everything goes well up there" – said Kagome to reassure him while Shia also growled.

- "Yup! Gaby-nee is very important to us too!" – said Miko smiling as Neria winked an eye.

- "Okay. I will be counting on you two for her sake" – said Gerardo smiling. So the girls went up the stairs with the monarchs and Selfaia, while everyone else went through the door that led to the dining hall.

- "So, you think they will be having a hard time during the rehearsals?" – asked Henry frowning as they all sat to the table. He had Anryuujin looking around amazed from above his head.

- "I hope not… Gaby isn't a bad singer, as you all know, but I just hope Selfaia won't be too hard on her…" – said Gerardo crossing his arms.

- "You say it because she knows nothing about the traditions and customs the priestesses around here have, yeah?" – asked Roger raising an eyebrow. Daichi was also showing a doubtful gaze.

- "Keh… Kagome's not gonna have any trouble with that stuff" – snorted Inuyasha as he closed his eyes. Gouka nodded in agreement – "She could adapt pretty quickly to my time, so another world won't be any hard stuff to her!" –

- "Hehe, we know that. But she also has an easy way out thanks to her shared memories with Miko" – said Carlos laughing. Chills opened his mouth in a smile.

- "Urgh…!" – grunted Inuyasha as he gritted his teeth. Gouka facepalmed with one of his front legs.

- "And again they shot you down, huh? Nii-san?" – said Yasha with a smile while Pyrafile grinned.

- "Yasha…" – muttered Inuyasha while she gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

- "In any case, it's not like we're going to be able to do anything here while the rehearsals are in progress" – said Kember looking upwards at the hall's roof. Natura was looking around marveled.

- "Yeah. Looks like we can't do anything but wait until they're done… Honestly, I could settle down for a nap now…" – said Gerardo as he closed his eyes and made as if he was going to let the chair's back support his weight. Iadla then sat on his head and covered his eyes with her wings.

- "But…!" – said Tiffany looking at him with wide eyes while Flameck went agape on her head.

- "Yeah, I know… I have to go back to reprogramming the song" – said Gerardo as he just sat back up and brought up again the holo-screen in his Dragtemn, Iadla moving from his head to his shoulder.

- "Wait a second…" – said Tiffany as she stopped on her tracks before shouting. Flameck started laughing like crazy – "Hey! Bait-and-switching's not fair!" –

- "Hehe, I got you!" – said Gerardo laughing as he high-fived Iadla – "But well… I was not lying with saying I wanted to go to sleep, but Gaby's counting on me for this, so there's no time for resting now" –

- "Heh, and taking in account how awful you're at waking up early!" – said Miguel laughing, which Roger, Henry, Carlos, Kember and their dragons were also doing. Inuyasha showed him a mocking smile while Yasha just smiled in a bemused way, with Gouka sticking his tongue at him and Pyrafile smiling entertained. Gerardo just shook his head in resignation before diving back into the endless code lines. Iadla nudged him on the head from the left with a smile as he did.

A few hours later, everyone else stopped being bored, browsing the Draglimnt's sites, talking among themselves, or in Gerardo's case, programming, when the doors to the hall opened up and Gabriela, Miko, Kagome, the monarchs and Selfaia entered, all of them except for the queen and king accompanied by their dragons.

The three girls went and sat down immediately: Kagome and Miko next to Inuyasha and Yasha, while Gabriela went to Gerardo's side. The monarchs took their seats on the table's farthest border, while Selfaia sat a few chairs away from Gabriela.

- "Welcome back. So how did the rehearsal go?" – asked Gerardo intrigued.

- "It's so tiring… I've had to sing the same song over and over… Lady Selfaia tells me that I'm either committing a mistake when it comes to pronouncing some of the words… Or that I'm not managing to transmit the proper feelings when I do…" – said Gabriela sighing exhausted. Drago also let out a tired growl.

- "For us… It's that we still haven't managed to synchronize well with Her Highness to learn well the lyrics for the song" – admitted Kagome as she looked with a sad gaze at the table. Shia seemed dizzy as she lied on her head.

- "It's somewhat like what happened when we were practicing the Hourai Island song, right onee-san?" – asked Miko with a sad smile. Neria looked at her with sadness from her shoulder.

- "Yeah… But it feels worse because of how important this song is… If we fail it, we'll surely make Princess Gabriela look terrible in front of all Dragonia!" – said Kagome moving her hands with her eyes widened while Shia sat up on her head.

- "Well, well, calm down please. We will be having lunch right now, so take this time to relax a little. You can get on the mood again when we leave the hall and we resume the rehearsals" – said the king moving his hand in a gentle way to tranquilize them.

- "In any case… Father…" – asked Gerardo, feeling as if his innards were dancing as he said these words – "Is my sister performing according to expectations?" –

- "I wish I could say that is the case… But unfortunately, she still has to improve some aspects before she is ready for singing in front of everyone" – said the king shaking his head slowly.

- "Given she had already sung this song successfully, I was expecting she would have less problems with it" – said Selfaia with a puzzled face, her dragon also adopting a pensive expression – "At times it seems as if Her Highness had completely forgotten all lessons I have given her" –

Everyone froze up and looked at each other worried upon hearing these words.

- "But that is unthinkable, Your Sanctity" – said the queen with a gentle smile – "Gabriela is merely nervous before the prospect of having to sing before the world at large once again" –

- "Oh, I understand that, Your Majesty. It's just I found the difficulties she is having as peculiar" – said Selfaia with a pensive face while her dragon looked at everyone with suspicion.

- "Umm… What about us, Selfaia-san?" – asked Miko worried in an attempt to turn the conversation away from Gabriela, with Neria growling from her shoulder.

- "Well, it seems the lessons you had this past month have been useful, Miko" – said Selfaia with a proud smile – "While you still haven't gotten the lyrics down, your feelings are in the correct place. However, I do think your Ceremonial Dragonian pronunciation could be improved a bit" –

- "Yeah… But it's so hard… And I thought we could just let my feelings take care of the pronunciation whenever I started singing magic…" – said Miko blushing.

- "That would be the case if it were a normal song. However, the Song of Proof requires you all to be able to pronounce the words to it correctly, even though the song itself varies from a Priestess of the Dragon to the other" – explained Selfaia – "That is why it is so important that you synchronize completely for as long as the song is being sung, so there will not be any mistakes in the lyrics and their pronunciation" –

- "I'm sorry I'm holding you back so much too…" – said Kagome looking down while Shia patted her on the head with one of her front legs – "I've never really sung Dragonian magic… And I haven't synchronized with anyone aside of Miko in all my life either" –

- "Oh, don't worry about it, Kagome. You just need more practice" – said Selfaia with a tranquilizing voice – "That said I would have liked to give you the same training I have been giving Miko" –

- "Thanks, Selfaia-san. Still, that doesn't change there was no way I could have received that training due to us both being in different worlds with no way to cross between them both" – said Kagome with a smile.

- "I'm always available to give you lessons if you wish though. However… I doubt you'll have time, as I have heard you, Her Highness and Miko will be departing with the Seirei Candidates on a journey soon, correct?" – asked Selfaia with an inquisitive gaze.

- "Indeed. We must make haste in order so we might accomplish our mission of saving this world from Tenebross and his Shadows" – said Gerardo as he nodded in an energetic manner, which Iadla also confirmed with a screech.

- "But for now, please enjoy the lunch we will be having now" – said the king as the door behind him opened. There, a few maids and butlers dressed in multiple-colored shoufs came out carrying trays with silver platters and cutlery, which they laid before everyone that was sitting on the table.

Once they opened the trays, they saw a brownish kind of seasoned poultry that seemed similar to chicken enshrouded in large green leaves, diced pieces of a red meat covered in a soft yellow skin, a salad made up from red, purple and green vegetables, and an aquamarine cream. There were also a couple of glass jars that were filled with water, with a purple juice and a sizzling clear brown beverage.

Gerardo and the others were a bit flabbergasted about the dishes that had just been served before them, but tried to keep their composure the best they could as they started using the knives and forks to put part of each dish in their own platters.

- "By the way, I have noticed that you seem to have some experience with meditation and concentration, Kagome" – said Selfaia with a smile – "I have also noticed Miko more focused than usual today. Are you from a family of priests or something of that sort?" –

- "Yes, as a matter of fact" – replied Kagome nodding as she served herself a little water from one of the jars – "My family has been in charge of a Shinto temple for several centuries now, and since I'm the eldest daughter, we could say it's going to be my responsibility at some point too" –

- "Hehe, and I'll be helping you, onee-san!" – said Miko nodding and smiling with closed eyes to then serve the purple juice on her glass – "I'm a miko too after all, right?" –

- "Erm… Yes, her name is Miko, but priestesses in the religion of our world are called miko as well" – said Kagome blushing a little while the king, the queen and Selfaia looked at Miko with raised eyebrows – "It's a pretty common name though, and it's pretty hard to get the term and the names confused when you see them written" –

- "Oh, why is that?" – asked Selfaia with interest. The king and queen were also very interested, while their friends were smiling but had to keep to themselves the fact they knew what Kagome was talking about. They just kept on serving themselves some food to try to not get themselves involved into the conversation aside of listening.

- "It's due to our writing system" –said Kagome with a smile – "The language from the place Miko, Yasha, Inuyasha and myself come from, Japan, has three different writing systems, and names are generally written in one called kanji that is composed of ideograms, except for girls, who tend to have them written in a syllabic one called hiragana. Terms and words are mostly written in kanji as well, and since one name can be written with a variety of different kanji, it's hard to get them confused for someone who has studied it for a long time or has it as their native tongue" –

- "I see. Looks like you got your name after your future profession in a way, Miko" – said Selfaia giggling while Miko was looking at the ground with a strange smile and blushed. She then served herself some salad – "You also mentioned a word a bit ago, right Kagome? It was Shinto, so is that the name of the religion from your world?" –

- "Not exactly… Our world actually has multiple religions, the two main ones in our country being Shinto and Buddhism. Both religions coexist without problems, but since my family has always leant more toward Shinto, that's why we're the way we are" – replied Kagome to then grab some of the seasoned poultry and put it into her platter.

- "Though now I think so, it's quite strange your world doesn't have a single unified religion" – said Selfaia in a thoughtful voice as she placed a hand on her chin.

- "Oh, that's because no one has ever been able to find out if the gods we believe in even exist" – said Kagome as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Selfaia, the king and queen looked at her scandalized – "Well, in our case we do know the Shinto gods do exist because Shinto is a religion based on the worship to nature, and because our beliefs on them also serve partially as the source of the spiritual powers that Miko and I handle, but…" –

- "There're other worlds where the Gods' existence isn't a sure thing" – said Yasha crossing his arms as he stopped eating for a moment – "That's why they've got all sorta religions in them…" –

- "Hmm, that does not sound like a pleasant prospect…" - said the king leaving his fork and knife on the platter to then rub his chin while he closed his eyes and frowned - "It's true that would allow much more diversity in cultures, beliefs and lifestyles across the world, but…" –

- "Yes dear… In my opinion, that would also serve as a large source of conflict…" – said the queen while she lowered her head in direction to her husband. She then drank a bit from her water cup.

- "Yes, that's right" – confirmed Kagome lowering her head – "I said myself that Shinto and Buddhism are the main religions in our country, but in our world, the most widespread religions are Christianism, Islamism and Judaism, and while most nations advocate for religious tolerance and for people to be able to practice whatever religion they believe in the most… They have always been very conflictive and tried to impose their religion over others" –

- "That sounds terrible…" – said the queen shaking her head in disgust – "I mean, Dragonia used to be like that as well, a long time ago before the existence of the Dragon Gods was a proven fact and our belief in them was cemented throughout this whole planet, but even so…" –

- "Indeed… I can only guess that said imposition would only lead to wars, massacres and religious purges" – said the king as he cut up a bit of the meat he had on his platter to then look at Kagome and Miko.

- "That's correct, Your Majesty…" – said Kagome looking at the king with an anguished face – "For example, the Christians led a series of bloody wars called the Crusades almost a thousand years ago, and during them, when they conquered the city that served as their goal, they killed all the people, women and children included, that lived there and belonged to an opposing faith" –

- "By Kiols! Indeed, that is dreadful!" – said the king as his mouth opened and his eyes widened. The knife and fork fell from his grasp into his platter with a soft metallic clatter. The queen covered her mouth horrified as well.

- "I'm sorry… I guess this wasn't the best topic to talk about during a meal" – said Kagome looking ashamed at the monarchs, Selfaia and her friends.

- "No, please don't mind us. It is just we could not even start to imagine that the religious situation of your world was so rife in atrocities and conflict" – said the king a bit embarrassed as he picked up his cutlery once again.

- "In any case, terrible events like those do not happen anymore, correct?" – asked the queen with a smile and trying to sound hopeful – "You yourself stated that was almost a millennium ago" –

- "From the Christians at least. The current problem are the Islamists, as their most radical members are now attacking several important cities around the world and killing in horrible ways those who don't share their faith, not to mention their own codes of conduct and dressing are so horribly restrictive to women that they have even killed them over not following them" – said Kagome with sadness, once again leaving the Dragonians in stunned silence.

- 'I'd like to voice my thoughts on how repulsive I find all these events too, and I'd also have added the disasters several of the Popes have committed… But I don't want to out myself as not being Prince Gerardo in front of Selfaia and the staff here' – thought Gerardo crossing his arms.

- 'Whoa, Kagome seems to be up and about on world news! I thought she wasn't gonna have the chance between her trips and school. But yeah, that's why it'd be better to not believe in anything!' – thought Henry while looking at her with saucer-sized eyes.

- 'Yuck… Religion is really mucky in our world… I mean, I believe in God, but I don't really believe on the Church or anything… They've done and are still doing so many wrong things… I really wanna believe more on Shinto or the Dragon Gods' – thought Gabriela.

- 'And that's why everything's a mess back home… And also all the trouble and fights between dad and mom…' – thought Tiffany bitter and sad.

- 'And all that is why I'm an atheist in our world' – thought Miguel nodding and closing his eyes with an angry expression.

- 'Now they put it like that, our world is a real mess' – thought Roger placing his hand in front of his mouth after cleaning it with a napkin.

- 'So much for trying to forget the mess that we can read in newspapers and watch in the news after we left home' – thought Carlos shaking his head.

- 'I may believe in angels and in God, but I agree all that is wrong' – thought Kember.

- "Umm, in any case, that clears my doubts about why Miko seemed to have a natural affinity for being a Priestess, and why you both seem to be taking so well to the rehearsals with Princess Gabriela" – said Selfaia with a satisfied smile as she tried to redirect the conversation back to its original point. Everyone else sighed relieved and went back to eating – "Like I said before we started eating, you still have some points in which you need to improve, but if you make your best efforts, I'm sure the Song of Proof for tonight will be a success. I really am looking forward to it!" –

- "We know, Selfaia-san! And we're not gonna disappoint you!" – said Miko with happiness.

- "Yeah! We'll put all our efforts in making the Princess' performance memorable for everyone!" – said Kagome smiling with decision.

- "And I'll sing the best Song of Proof anyone has ever heard in this world, even better than my last attempt!" – said Gabriela nodding as she voiced this to everyone.

Selfaia looked at them three with pride, and after nodding at them in approbation, as well as everyone else in the room smiling at them, they continued eating lunch in silence, still nervous about the rehearsals and the performance, but feeling that things would somehow work out in the end.

{Ending: Sakuramioka – Local Bus}