Recalling the Spirit #34
I do not own Miazakyi's characters.
O-kay. I have a HUGE review reply backlog. So, I'll be getting it all over with now.
REVIEW REPLIES FOR CHAPTER #33Taiy-chan: The second half was in bold because fanfiction did something funny. Pah, made me angry. Yes, Tamiko was overreacting, but that's because the dragon half of her took over. (I can tell you this now because of my backlog!) I realized that chapter 33 was really long. I didn't mean for it to be! You're Pauline-Taiy mush is coming soon, don't worry.
Star-shimmered dragon: You read all thirty three chapters in one go? Oh my goodness! It must have taken you ages! Thanks for reading and reviewing it!
LadyRainStarDragon: I enjoy putting plot twists in my stories. I find stories without them are boring! Thanks for your review!
MSK: I try to update as fast as I can! It's just that I do have a life outside of writing, and the whole November- December was a really busy time for me. Or maybe I was just procrastinating. Yay! I'm glad you liked my longer chapter!
Sakura Blossom-Cilla-85: I disagree. It's because her Dragon/spirit side that made her do what she did is controlling her. Tamiko DOES have a brain….she just sometimes doesn't use it.
Jessica-chan: Oh my gosh! You are brilliant! You saw straight through my plot twist! I like Morgaine Ferio mush. It makes me go all mushy inside.
Aharah Musica: I know the ending was OCC, and I meant it to be. Maybe I made it a little over the edge OCC though. Thank you for your input!
Linda: YOU are not it my story.
Mimipenguin: You're right. Maybe you should just keep it to yourself and then at the end of the story if you are right you can brag in your review. Thanks for reviewing!
Orion Kohaishu: I loved your review! Thank you for reviewing! I hated writing Tamiko like I did. I don't like making my characters bad. But, hey, sometimes you have to do things you don't like, and there was a sort of vindictive pleasure to it. I liked writing Ferio too!
REVIEW REPLIES FOR CHAPTER #34MimiPenguin: Actually, Morgaine, along with most of my other original characters, are a lot like rag dolls, in a sense. I take little pieces of people, like looks, character traits, personality, etc., tiny little things, and use those as the base of the character. Then I make them up from there. Morgaine's power over wind is actually derived from Fuu Houji, like Pauline's is taken from Umi and Caitlyn's from Hikaru. Other then that, she's my own invention and a reflection of people around me. Thanks for reviewing!
Taiy-chan: Yes. Morgaine went temperamental. Like she so often does. Thanks for saying this chapter wasn't rushed! That's the main thing I was worried about!
MSK: Thank you. I'm glad you think so!
Sad to say, Tamiko and Akira are fighting in earnest, so somebody's going to get hurt.
Jessica-chan: It takes me a VERY long time to update, but I'll try to speed up the process! Thanks for reviewing!
Sakura Blossom-Cilla-85: Who's crying? And who's an idiot? I'm sorry, I don't understand.
Aharah Musici: I really liked your reaction. It was funny.
burningfate: I know, we haven't really spoken for ages!
The character Caitlyn has been frankly a little difficult to write, but I'll try to improve on her personality when she pops up in the story. Any ideas how to alter it?
Caitlyn goes angry in this chapter. I'm not sure if you'll like it or not. But hey, I finally reviewed!
I know…Lantis just…walked off…it was very strange…bye bye Mr. Lantis…
I know! There were so many characters, but I needed them all! Did you recognize where I got Binti and Bou Lee's names? Frankly I needed a Chinese and an African name and I could not think of any, save those. Thanks for reviewing.
Ai Tennishi: I really enjoyed your review. I have a bit of a problem with sloppiness in my chapters but I am trying to fix that, and goodness knows my chapter aren't short anymore. Did you read the whole story in one go? If you did you might've noticed that my writing styles have changed drastically as I progressed through the year and nine months that I've been writing this story. Glad you like the Akira/Tamiko mush.
Onaip: It takes me sooo long to update! It really does! I'm glad you liked it though.
ebacusta: Thank you for pointing it out. I'd like to say however, that that was very long ago, and since I'm pretty much over my anime obsession, I don't really use Japanese except in my story chapters when one of my characters speak it.
Also, I don't think there is a correct spelling in English for "arigateau" because the actual word is all Japanese characters. So, lets just put it behind us, shall we?
IF I MISSED ANYONE I AM VERY SORRY! I WILL REPLY TO YOU NEXT CHAPTER!
THANKS FOR YOUR REVIEWS AND SUPPORT EVERYONE!
Hmm, unless there is anything else I need to say I guess I'll begin the chapter!
LOYALTY
Guenivere suppressed a shiver as she once again looked at the sky, praying for the sun to rise. The Elemental of Light possessed a wild imagination, and around every forest corner it seemed something would attack her. The slightest shadow became the silhouette of a murderer, his sharpened blade upraised, the wind rustling the leaves on the tall oaks around her a wild beast approaching. Casting her mind about for other things, she realized that she was getting her dress dirty and frowned.
Oh, great. My dress is ruined. And on top of that my hair is a bird's nest, my mascara's smeared, I don't have my lip gloss with me and I've got dirt under my nails…I am not even going to think about the state of my shoes…
Her thoughts were interrupted as a screeching noise split through her mind, not bothering to go through her ears first. She clapped her hands over her ears anyway in an attempt to stifle the deafening noise and screamed, collapsing to her knees. She squeezed her eyes shut, a jarring pain in her head accompanying the whining.
Against the darkness of her lids there was a flash, and suddenly a hazy figure appeared out of the black. She was but a child, with raven black hair down to her shoulder blades, and bright blue eyes with no pupils.
A circlet of gold rested upon the girl's forehead. Guenivere realized that the girl was blind, and was therefore confused when the wraith met her gaze. Then the child spoke.
"Two will come to join the fight:
One from dark
One from light.
One each to be claimed by Ice and Fire,
Though each will start neutral, they will both conspire.
Light bright as the heavens,
Dark black as night.
Half spirit, half human, the both of them are,
Light a girl born from an angel afar,
Dark half devil, though his soul is not marred,
When each join a side, the fight will commence:
Let the war of the Elementals begin."
"Who are you?" Guenivere called out, her voice pleading. 'What do you want from me? I just want to go back home!"
The girl-child smiled gently. "I am a preserved memory of what once was, remnants of who I used to be, left behind to inform you of what will soon come to pass. You are the Elemental of Light. You must join your side."
Guenivere shook her head. "No! This is all crazy! I don't belong here! I'm going back to Earth."
The wraith spoke again, but this time her voice seemed harsher, and her gaze seemed cold. "You must stay. This is all larger then just you. Shall I show you what will happen if you refuse to join your side?"
Suddenly, the blackness behind the child warped and changed, until the two were standing on a blood-soaked battlefield. Corpses were everywhere, hundreds and hundreds of corpses littering the ground. A few battles were still continuing. A girl wearing red clothing shot a torrent of fire at an enemy, tears streaking down her face for the loss of her raven haired friend who lay dead at her feet. The middle-aged man she was fighting against retaliated. He threw an attack back, metal shards striking the teen in the heart. The man's charred carcass fell to the ground with a dull thump, and the Elemental of Fire slumped to the ground, blood pooling under her, a striking contrast to the sudden whiteness of her skin. She stopped breathing.
Across the field, an old woman waved her arm, and dead Elementals rose, reanimated with the semblance of life. They began to attack a screaming Vietnamese girl who was calling her power over wood to protect herself. It was not enough. The Elemental of Wood went down, but not before a branch for a nearby tree wrapped around the Elemental of the Dead's throat. The woman let out a cry, and she died, life escaping her at the same time as it did the Vietnamese girl.
An Oriental woman clothed in white stumbled over to a dead Irish man's body. "Akira!" She cried. "Akira!"
Guenivere was trembling, and she could feel bile rising in her throat, but let out a scream at what she saw next.
A young man rose from his throne of ice, a blade made of the same substance in his hand. He strode towards a rock, where a line of white-clad people stood, their gazes hopeless. There was nothing that could save them now.
One by one, they stepped forward dully. One by one, the man slit their throats, their blood pouring onto the sacrificial stone. His eyes shone with a sharp, keen, level gaze that only the most insane possess.
One woman fought back. Of African decent, she held a Chinese babe in her arms. "You will not take Bou Lee. You can't take my baby!"
The blade in the man's hand flashed, and the woman collapsed to the ground. The killer plucked the baby gently from the woman's lifeless arms, and cut the child's throat. The little baby girl didn't even have enough time to let out a cry.
Guenivere turned away from the terrible massacre, fighting down the urge to vomit. Movement among the dead caught her gaze.
A kneeling man with his green hair pulled back in a ponytail cradled a dead girl roughly his own age in his arms. His sobbing could be heard in the silence that encompassed the battlefield. The girl had a cut above her left eyebrow dripping blood down her face, and another cut running from shoulder to middle finger on her left arm. It was obvious that was not what had killed her, however. Stray sparks of electricity still wandered along the girl's features. She had been electrocuted. Dark auburn hair fell across her pale face, the ends frizzled and charred. Her dark brown eyes were dulled with death. Across her neck swung a Celtic necklace: a circle quartered into four. The man smoothed her bangs away from her white face, and stroked her cheek, tears rolling down his own. Guenivere strode towards him, wanting to give him some sort of comfort, before she realized that this was a vision and he would not be able to see her. Therefore she was shocked when he raised his head, and his golden eyes looked into her own.
"You." He said, and his voice was filled with anger intertwined with deep sorrow. "This is what will happen if you do not choose a side. You will arrive back to your home safely, but everyone else, every other Elemental in the world will die. Will you be able to hold the guilt of knowing thousands died because of your cowardice throughout your life? How DARE you try to put yourself before the lives of others!" He looked away from her and at the girl in his arms. "Morgaine…" He whispered to himself, stroking her face, and then he raised his head again, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. "Don't let this happen."
There was a flash, and once again, Guenivere was in the darkness with the blind girl.
"Do you see now?" The child spoke, her voice echoing with an ethereal tone. "Do you understand?"
Guenivire was still shuddering from what she had just witnessed. "How could that man see me?"
"It is unimportant. Will you join your side?"
"What are you? A spirit of the dead?"
"Will you join your side?"
"Why was that man sacrificing everyone?"
"Will you join your side?" The girl-child's voice was firm. It was obvious she wouldn't answer any questions.
Guenivere nodded. "Yes."
The girl reached forward and touched Guenivere's forehead. "Do not forget." And she disappeared.
Guenivere's eyes shot open with a gasp, the forest scenery coming into view. Once again, the bile rose in her throat, and this time she did not hold it back.
Once done she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and made a face. "I guess I must 'go find my side'…"
She began walking again.
Ferio had heard the same shrieking noise in his mind. Leaning against the nearest tree, he winced at the pain that shot through his head in accompaniment with the noise and squeezed his eyes shut.
The blind raven haired girl appeared from the darkness, and spoke the same prophesy she had told Guenivere.
"Two will come to join the fight:
One from dark
One from light.
One each to be claimed by Ice and Fire,
Though each will start neutral, they will both conspire.
Light bright as the heavens,
Dark black as night.
Half spirit, half human, the both of them are,
Light a girl born from an angel afar,
Dark half devil, though his soul is not marred,
When each join a side, the fight will commence:
Let the war of the Elementals begin."
Once done, she watched him closely. "Ferio, Elemental of Shadow…do you know why I come?"
Ferio's eyebrows furrowed as he thought over what she had said. "Do you want me to search for the Elemental of Darkness and the Elemental of Light?"
The young girl smiled, a little sadly. "No. You know that is not what I wish. I have already spoken with the Elemental of Light."
Ferio frowned. "There's a good side and a bad side. The Elemental of Light is obviously destined to join the good side, and the Elemental of Darkness to join Kyu and help with the sacrifices, or the 'bad' side. Do you want me just to search for the Elemental of Darkness?"
"You are blinding yourself from the truth. I am surprised with such actions coming from your open-minded character. There is no need to search for the Elemental of Darkness. Think. The Elemental of Light, Guenivere, is the daughter of a mortal man and an angel. She is a halfling." She paused for a moment to let that sink in, before she added: "Just like you."
Ferio's eyes widened, but he was not overly surprised. "So…I am the Elemental of Darkness. I know I'm a halfling, but I don't know my spirit side."
"You are the child of the Devil."
"What?" Ferio felt like he was about to be sick. He glanced down at his wrists. The blood that was punding through his veins…was the Devil's?
The girl nodded sadly. "Yes. You are Ferio, the son of the mortal woman Maya and the Devil, and you must face Guenivere in the final battle. Will you join your side, Elemental of Darkness?"
Ferio's stomach plummeted. "I would…" He had to clear his throat before he could speak again. "I would have to betray Pauline, Akira, Tamiko, Caitlyn, Linda and Morgaine."
"To join Kyu, yes you must betray them. But were you not planning on doing that from the beginning? You had an inkling of premonition that you would need to do this, so you gathered ample information on them. Surely this cannot matter to you so much?"
Ferio looked away from her clear gaze. "Things have changed. It will be…difficult." His throat closed on him, and his fists curled into balls. If he joined his side, then he would have to kill those who stood in his way: and those would be the female elementals and Akira and Tamiko. The people who had been so kind to him. And…he would have to kill Morgaine.
"Would I have to kill?" He finally asked. His voice was soft, and his eyes were still staring at the dark floor.
"Yes" The girl's voice was also quiet. "I'm sorry. But more will die if you do not join your side. Need I show you?"
"No. I understand. All Elementals will be wiped out." Ferio's voice was a monotone, but then he suddenly burst out. "I can't kill them! I can't kill her! God, please don't make me kill her!" He didn't say whom, but the raven-haired child seemed to understand.
"I'm sorry, I cannot tell you what I have now seen will come to pass. I am only able to inform you of the prophecies that I had seen in life, and the last prophecy that I had had that would be any use to you was the poem that I have already told you. I could not see anything else past my own demise. You have the freedom of choice, Ferio. Your life is yours to live. But you must deal with the consequences."
Ferio looked over the girl, noting the sacrificial white gown. "Was it hard for you to live your life normally when you were able to see the future?"
"I could not change what I saw. I could only watch helplessly as it came to pass."
Ferio nodded. "If I may ask, are you…were you…a Dragon?"
The blind girl nodded. "I was a former Dragon, yes. Will you join your side?"
Ferio took a deep breath, feeling heavy hearted. "Yes, I will."
The child bit her lip. "I know how hard it will be for you. Thank you." She whispered, and disappeared.
Ferio's eyes shot open, and he stood stock still for a moment, absorbing what had happened. Suddenly his emotions boiled over and he slammed a fist into the nearest tree, again and again. Finally, his energy seemed to run out and he slumped against the birch.
"I can't do it. I can't kill them! But I'm going to have to if I'm to take my place beside Kyu." His voice was dull and monotonous. "Or else everyone dies." In a rare display of emotion he began to sob.
"Why does life have to be so god damn hard! Did it ever occur to anyone that I might not WANT to join Kyu?" He ran his fingers through his emerald green hair that was a painful reminder, along with his golden eyes, that showed he was not completely human.
He remembered a time when he was little…
A six-year-old boy opened the front door to his large house, having just arrived back home from the Catholic school he attended. His green hair was an inch and a half long. Dry tears were sticky on his face, and his amber eyes were red and puffy. It was obvious that he had been crying.
"Oh, Ferio, you're home!" His mother's jovial voice came from the kitchen where she was most likely preparing him a snack. "What kept you?" She walked out into the hallway, drying her hands on a towel, to meet her son. Her long, black hair hung down to the small of her back, and her sea blue eyes, sunken in her face held the same touch of sadness and hopelessness that they always did. She once had been beautiful and carefree, but it seemed that a shadow had fallen over her. She dropped the towel and rushed to her son, kneeling in front of him and grabbing his shoulders when she saw the state he was in. "What happened to you?"
The little boy looked as if he was about to cry again. "I got beat up. I wanted to be friends with the boys at school so I went and talked to them and they said I was cursed and that I would take them all to Hell if I went near them."
The mother looked as if she was about to start crying like her son. "Did you hit them back?"
The boy shook his head. "The teachers say we'll be exp…escp…they won't let us come back to school if we fight."
"Did you tell one of the Nuns what happened?" Six-year-old Ferio nodded, and the mother gave a little sigh of relief. "And what did they do to them?" She pressed.
"Nothing." The little boy replied.
"Nothing!" The black haired woman exclaimed, horrified.
"Sister Eliza said that I was the devil's child. She said that I deserved what I got and that God hates me. Then she cuffed me around he head. But I don't want God to hate me!" The boy paused, and then looked up at his mother. "Mama, why did they say I'm the devil's child? I'm not the devil's child!"
The mother enveloped her son in a hug, letting her tears streak down her cheeks. "Ferio, sweetheart, you are blessed by God. Just…do me a favour, all right?"
The six-year-old nodded, distressed by his mother's sadness. He began to toy with the cross that hung on a silver chain around her neck. "Anything, Mama."
She sat down, and pulled him onto her lap. "Promise me that you won't listen to people who say that you are the devil's child. I am your mother, and you are my son, and that's all that matters. Just because you don't know your father…" and here she seemed to choke on her words. "Doesn't mean you're the son of a devil. From now on, I don't want you to trust anyone, because no matter what, they will let you down. When you feel emotions, don't let them show on your face, or else people will use you for whatever reason they please. You are smarter, cleverer, then they will ever be. Use them instead for your own devices. Hide your true self sweetheart, and then you will never get hurt."
"Do I have to hide myself from you?
The woman smiled sadly. "No, Ferio. You can always trust me. Just…no one else, all right? Just me. I don't want to see you getting hurt." She held him close to her, rocking him back and forth. Tears began to streak down her face. She would never tell Ferio that he was in truth the son of the Devil. It would hurt the poor child, scar him for life. It had scarred her. It was not her fault, nor was it her green haired child's.
"Only you Mama. Don't worry, I'll remember. I love you." Ferio replied.
The watery smile she had given him then wobbled. "I love you too."
Three days later his mother had been diagnosed with cancer, and died two weeks later, pale and wasted in the emergency room.
The young Ferio stood by her coffin at the funeral as it was lowered into the earth. His distant relatives whom he had never met had dressed him up in a too-tight second hand suit, unwilling to spend any of the money that they had now inherited on a weird looking boy they would soon orphan away.
The child's lower lip trembled, but he fought not to cry in front of all the strange adults. Mama was dead. There was no-one else in the world, now and forever, that he would be able to trust completely, and show his true self to. They would talk about him behind his back, loathe him for being different. He was by himself in the world, and he wouldn't allow these people to let him be seen crying. So he stored it away for when he was all alone.
Seventeen year old Ferio took a deep, shuddering breath. "I am the son of the devil." He always knew something had been different about him, that he wasn't completely human, but this? He felt like he was going to vomit. He gave a self-pitying chuckle. "No wonder Mom ever wanted me to trust anyone. Who would like the child of the Devil?" He looked down at his hands and found they were trembling. Loathing swept over him, hate for whom he was, for his power over shadow that his Devil-blood gave him. Bitterness entered his voice as he spoke one last time.
"I should go do the purpose that I was made for."
He set off in a different direction, searching for Jake, Lantis, Taiy…anybody on Kyu's side. He was going to join them.
"Tamiko, what?" Akira asked, bewildered as he jumped out of the way of another attack. "Is Kyu controlling you again? He's going to use you to get Haku! Your father is the Dragon of Japan! Fight against his control!"
Tamiko snarled, showing her fanged teeth. "Akira, you were, and remain to be, an idiot! This is the dragon side of the real me! Dia! You cheated on me, and I let my anger take control, and now my Dragon side has taken precedence over my human side. It's Ying and Yang! I'm NOT controlled! It's just…" She paused for effect. "My dragon side is…shall we say…a little more wild. It would do things my human side wouldn't. Like, say, killing you for example." She examined the claws on the tips of her fingernails. She looked back up again and met his eyes. "Don't you understand? Everyone has a Ying, their light side, and a Yang, their dark side. I just switched from my light side to my dark side is all. No. I know that I've been controlled on various occasions, but this is me." Her gaze softened, and she said quietly "Akira, my dark side is a part of me. I knew you cared about me, but if you were to have accepted me, you would have had to accept all of me. This is part of who I am." Her features hardened again. "But then I found out it was all a lie!"
"What are you talking about? I never cheated on you!"
"I saw you at the fire pit with Pauline!" She screeched, and swiped at him with her claws. They caught him across the torso and he let out a hiss of pain as he grabbed at the heavily bleeding would.
"Mo chara, I'm not going to fight you. Please, I swear I never cheated on you." His hoarse voice shook.
Emotions tore across Tamiko's face and she looked like she was about to cry. "I loved you." She whispered, and a tear slid down her cheek.
On the other side of the clearing Pauline called out to Taiy tauntingly. "You can't bring yourself to kill me!"
A whizzing stone hit her on the back of her head and she fell down to her knees, dizzy and disoriented. Taiy bent down and put a finger under her chin. "Admit it. You won't kill me either."
Pauline opened her mouth to protest, and closed it again. It was true.
He grinned. "I'm saving your death for the upcoming battle. Try to stay alive until then." He stood. "Tamiko! We should probably report back to Kyu now!" She didn't reply to his call.
She and Akira had locked gazes. "Come back with me." Akira said quietly. "I love you." He reached out a hand to her. Her hand lifted to take it when…
"Tamiko! Come on!"
Tamiko snapped out of her reverie and snatched her hand away. "We were told to kill them both!" She retorted, her gaze now like steel as she glared angrily into Akira's eyes. "Kyu will be angry!"
Taiy shrugged, and began walking away from the beach. Tamiko, after a moment of hesitation, followed him.
Pauline ran over to Akira. "You okay? You're bleeding. Well, I'm bleeding too but not as bad. They could have killed us but they just walked away! Why did they go? Do they think we're too insignificant to kill? Tamiko seemed pretty mad."
Akira winced. "You're babbling."
"Can't help it. So what the heck does Tamiko think she's doing?"
Akira's voice when he spoke was monotonous. "She thinks I cheated on her. She's joined Kyu." His eyes were filled with tears but he held them back. "She hates me now."
Pauline's jaw dropped. "But, you and her were so close! Why does she think that you're cheating?"
Akira shook his head. 'I don't want to talk about it. Let's just go back and tell the others that searching is pointless." He tried to keep the shaking from his voice.
Pauline bit her lip, but nodded. "Akira…"
"Shut up! Just shut up!"
A fall breeze blew softly through the open window, and into the cozy Japanese kitchen. A ceiling fan whirred slowly, and the refrigerator made a slight humming sound, the only two noises in the room.
A man sat at the large oak table under the fan. He was in his early fifties, with white streaks in his ebony black hair. His wintergreen eyes scanned the headlines of the newspaper that he was reading.
"Oh, Haku, I'm so OLD." came a cry from the bathroom down the hall. The man at the table rolled his eyes and continued reading. His wife waltzed into the room. "Look! I've got wrinkles."
Haku folded the newspaper in half and lay it down on the table. "Chihiro, they're barely noticeable. You still look younger then you are."
Forty-nine year old Chihiro pulled up a chair beside her husband, and sat down with a sigh. "It's not that. It's just…I have a daughter who's all grown up and in university. Now I have all this free time that I don't know what to do with."
Haku smiled at her tenderly, taking in her brown hair untouched by age and the crinkles at the corners of her lively eyes. "We all age."
She lay a soft, pale hand on top of his. "But you didn't have to." Her voice was suddenly serious.
Haku chuckled quietly. "How many times have we gone over this? I made up my mind. I wouldn't have been able to live forever, knowing that you wouldn't be able to with me." He reached out and stroked her cheek. "I wouldn't have been able to survive without you. Stop feeling so guilty."
"But you gave up so much for me…"
"It was my choice."
Chihiro nodded, and reached out to snag the newspaper from under his fingers. Quickly, before he could grab it back, she read the headline. "Oh no. A student has gone missing in Kyoto again…" She began to read the article and let out a gasp of horror. Standing, she threw down the newspaper, ran to the phone and punched in the numbers. "Hello? Hello? This is Chihiro Misuwara-Riviere. Yes. May I speak to Tamiko? I'm her mother." There was a pause. "What do you mean! That can't be right! Oh God! Have the police been notified? I understand. Thank you." Slowly, with trembling hands, she hung up the phone. Deathly white, she turned to her husband.
"Tamiko's disappeared. No one knows where she is."
Haku's eyes glazed over, and a cry of pain tore from his throat. His fist came banging down on the table. "Dragon Guardians! Someone's capturing and sacrificing my kin!"
"Haku! Did 't you just hear me? OUR DAUGHTER IS MISSING!"
He reached out and grabbed her arm. His eyes, back to normal, were filled with panic. "Chihiro, if the Dragons are sacrificed, our whole way of life will die!"
Her voice was cold when she spoke, her gaze icy as she stared at him, thinking that he was putting the Dragons before their daughter. "And if something happens to Tamiko, I will die." She shrugged off his arm and reached for the knife that lay on the counter. "Haku, she means everything to me. Do the Dragons come first for you?" She put the knife up to her throat. "Then do as you will. Search for them. Save them. Alone." She brought the knife plunging down at her neck.
With a cry, Haku lunged forward and grabbed the blade, a millimetre before it plunged into Chihiro's skin. Blood rolled down the knife and onto Chihiro's fingers. The blade had cut heavily into Haku's palm. For a moment, the pair was frozen. Nothing moved except the small beads of blood dripping onto the hardwood floor.
Chihiro raised her eyes, and was shocked to find tears streaking unchecked down her husband's face. She let go of the knife and it clattered to the ground.
"Haku…"
He grabbed onto her shoulders and shook her hard. "Don't you ever do something like that again! Ever!" He lowered his head and his own shoulders shook with sobs. His tears splattered to the ground, mingling with the blood.
What she had been about to do caught up with her, and Chihiro too began to cry from reaction. Her knees gave way and she collapsed to the floor, tears streaming. "Oh, God…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Haku knelt beside her. She winced, thinking he was about to shake her again, but instead he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, holding her tightly. She buried her face in his shirt and cried harder.
"I'm sorry, Haku!' She blubbered. "I'm so sorry!"
He didn't say anything, he only hugged her harder. Finally she pulled away, her sobs subsiding. Her face was blotchy from crying. "Thank you for saving my from myself." She almost burst into tears again, but forced them back. "I….I don't know…what possessed me to…" she gulped. "You're bleeding."
"It doesn't matter. I would have taken the knife myself if it meant that you would live. God, Chihiro." Tears still fell silently down his cheeks. "Never do that again." He stroked her face. "I love you."
Chihiro nodded dumbly, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.
Haku got shakily to his feet, and helped Chihiro up. "Pack up quickly. We're driving to Kyoto."
Chihiro stood up on her tiptoes and kissed her husband's cheek. "We will find our daughter." Her lower lip trembled. "We have to."
Surrounded by trees, Ferio was a little disoriented. He knew he was near where the Elemental girls, along with Akira and Tamiko, camped out, but that was all. There was a tingling in the air, and somewhere in front of him, a spark of light going on and off. He smirked.
"Jake. I know you're there. Come out. I need to talk to you."
Jake strode out of the shadows and into the hazy light that comes from the sun right before dawn.. Electricity jumped from palm to palm as he glared warily at the Elemental of Shadows before him. "What? Here for revenge for your girlfriend? Haven't had enough?"
"No. I'm here to tell you I'm ready to join Kyu in the upcoming battle." Ferio's voice was loud and clear. His mind was made up.
The Elemental of Electricity grinned. "Good! I knew you would. I knew all along you were only pretending to like that freak Elemental of Wind and her little friends. So, got any dirt on them?" He rubbed his hands together gleefully, a greedy look in his eyes. Once he told Kyu that he had convinced Ferio to take their side against all odds…he would exaggerate, of course…he would be in Kyu's favour and be able to take over as captain of the Elemental army instead of Taiy.
Ferio sighed. "This is me we are talking about. Of course I do."
"Well, let's hear it."
Morgaine shivered. "Of all the places to camp, we had to pick a creepy, dark forest. God, what were we thinking?" She muttered violently to herself as she leaned against a tree. "Starting tomorrow, we are scouting for a wide open area. Maybe we'll stay at that destroyed bathhouse. That would be much better then this, I'm sure." She covered a yawn with her hand. A false sense of security was beginning to lull her into sleep when she heard voices.
Startled, she jumped up, and winced when her arm gave a protesting twang. Against her better judgement, she left the clearing, hiding behind trees and bushes, approaching the speakers. When she caught sight of two figures, she ducked behind a birch. Her mouth dropped open at what she heard. Someone was revealing secrets, Akira's, Tamiko's, her and her friend's secrets! Someone was betraying them to one of Kyu's messengers. Curse this darkness! She swore. Come on, sun, rise…I want to beat the crap out of whoever's doing this!
And it did. Pink, purple and blue splashed across the sky as the sun slowly rose from the horizon. Morgaine let out a gasp when she saw whom the two figures were, and then she had to fight back tears.
She had absorbed the scene in a split second. Jake and Ferio. Ferio was betraying them all. He had lied to her from the beginning, trying to get the upper hand. Everything that she knew about him, everything he had told her, was a lie. She had trusted him.
Why does it hurt so much? I should just be angry! I still am, but…where is this crushing sadness coming from?
"Meet us at the cave later then." Jake was saying. "Go grab your stuff from your campsite. See ya." He turned and left, presumably for the cave.
Ferio put his head in his hands, his back to Morgaine's hiding place. She stepped out from behind her tree. "You traitor! You utter jerk!" She snapped, her voice cold, tilting slightly her head so the tears building up in her eyes wouldn't leak.
He spun around, emotions tearing across his face for a split second. They disappeared like they had never been, shock the only emotion evident on his features now. "Morgaine…what are you…?"
"….doing here, watching you betray us? Damn you, Ferio. I fell into your trap pretty neatly, didn't I? I can see it all now. You used me to get information on my friends. I trusted you completely, Ferio, like a fool. Damn you to Hell!" Her eyes flared.
Ferio shook his head, a sense of hopelessness in his gaze. "That's where I'll probably end up going, yes. I have to do this though. There's a reason. I…"
"Shut up. I don't want to hear another word from your lips!"
"Morgaine, I…"
"Shut up!"
"I'm sorry. Are your friends back at camp? I need to explain."
Morgaine's hands curled into fists. "You aren't going anywhere near my friends. You and I are enemies now, and I won't let you hurt them!" Her hands flicked open and wind began swirling around her feet weakly.
"Don't." Ferio said, walking towards her, concern flickering over his features. "You're completely drained of your powers. If you make them work now they will steal power from your life force. Ten years of your life, gone, because you wouldn't listen."
"I will pay the price if it means life instead of death for my friends!"
Anger glimmered in Ferio's golden eyes. "So you would give up ten years of your life? Over something so stupid?"
"I would die for my friends." Morgaine hissed. "But you wouldn't understand. You've never had any real friends, have you?"
Ferio recoiled. The barb had struck home. He took a deep breath before he spoke. "Look, if I speak to you and your group it would be one of me against six of you. Well, five if you count that you're pretty much out of commission. I'd be down without a fight."
Morgaine considered this. "Very well, I understand your reasoning. But how do I know that you will not ambush me?"
Ferio's heart gave a twinge. So, this was what it came to? He had done what he must to save hundreds of lives, but he with it he must lose any hope of his happiness? He wanted to reach out to her, take back all of his words, but he didn't. He couldn't. What was done was done. He said coolly. "I thought you said you trusted me."
"I did, once upon a time. But now? Fat chance."
It's all for the best. Ferio told himself sadly. She wouldn't have liked me once she found out I was the devil's child. It's better to save her the pain. It's better that she hates me now. But, I can't help it. I cared about her, and it's painful to think that…what might have been is lost forever."I swear that I will do nothing to harm you or the others." He said out loud.
"Can I trust your oath?"
"So, you think so little of me that I would go against an oath? I will swear by anything you can think of."
"Swear by what is most dear to you." Morgaine's voice was harsh. "If you hold anything dear, treacherous snake."
"I swear on my Mother's grave, may she rest in peace." His voice cracked a little. "Is that good enough for you?"
Morgaine's expression softened for a moment, but hardened again. "You will walk in front of me. I want no attacks from behind."
"Fine." He stepped in front of her and began to walk towards their camp, ignoring the pain and sorrow that seemed to have pierced his heart. It was the look that she had given him, like he was something so vile, so terrible, that he should just crawl into a dark pit and die. That he wasn't worth a proper death or burial, just to rot away in a hidden corner like a rodent.
Soon, too soon, they entered the clearing. Akira was sitting as far away from the others as possible, staring at the sunrise blankly, his face marred by sorrow. Pauline was punching a tree, again and again. Caitlyn was quietly sitting on a log, scuffing her feet into the dirt, and Linda was trying to coax a trillium bulb at her feet to bloom, which it was beginning to slowly. All seemed deeply immersed into their own thoughts.
"Hello." Ferio began. "I need to talk to you all." Everyone looked up at him, his or her eyes shining with emotion. There was complete silence in the clearing. Finally, Caitlyn stood.
"I'm sorry, Ferio. We just received some very bad news. Tamiko has…"
"Stop!" Morgaine barked. "Don't say anything else to him of any importance!"
Caitlyn's eyebrows furrowed, confused by what was going on.
Ferio let out a deep sigh, and walked over to a spot on the dirt. He sat, and watched as Morgaine chose to sit on a tree stump beside Caitlyn. He met her anger-filled gaze, and sadly turned away.
"I am sorry, this might be a bad time for you all, but I think you need to hear this. I joined Kyu's side."
There was a hiss of indrawn breath around the group, and Caitlyn jumped up from her seat. "You traitor!" She yelled, and flames burst into life on her palms. She made to attack, but Linda grabbed her arm.
"Caitlyn…I think we need to hear what he has to say. Then you can attack him." Linda's voice was frosty, and she glared at Ferio.
Caitlyn subsided back to her seat, but anger still blazed in her eyes.
Ferio closed his eyes for a moment. There was tension in the air, and hostility. "Hear me out. There's going to be a battle of the Elementals, but it can't start until the Elemental of Darkness and the Elemental of Light join their sides. If they do join, then hundreds will die in the war. If they do not…every Elemental and every Dragon will be killed."
Pauline let out a gasp, Linda put a hand to her throat, Caitlyn bit her lip and a flicker of horror sparked in Morgaine's eyes, but was gone in an instant. She observed him levelly as he continued.
"I don't know who the Elemental of Light is, but I am the Elemental of Darkness. I swear, I only found out this last night, along with the other thing I will tell you. I joined Kyu to save those lives.
Unfortunately, this has bad points. 1. I now have to kill those who I believe are right. 2. I had to betray all of you and tell Kyu everything I knew."
With a roar of rage, Caitlyn launched herself at him, and Linda had to grab her by the arms to stop her. "Caitlyn! Not yet!"
"GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY I SHOULDN'T KILL THE TRAITOROUS BASTARD!" Caitlyn screamed.
Ferio looked at Morgaine. She remained impassive, her cold face giving away nothing.
"I want to hear his story." Akira said quietly from his isolated corner.
Caitlyn said down again, muttering viciously. "My twin brother's a maniac. You owe me, Akira."
"But how do you know it's you who has to be the Elemental of Darkness who joins Kyu?" Pauline asked curiously, though the aggressive look had still not left her gaze.
"Aside from the fact that I'm the only Elemental who can control shadow and darkness, I'm also a halfling. Both the Elemental of Light and Darkness have to be halflings."
"What?"
"I'm only half-human. The Elemental of Light is the child of an angel and a mortal, I…" There he swallowed, clenching and unclenching his hands. When he spoke again his voice was filled with loathing he could not erase. "I am the son of my mother and the Devil." He was looking down at the ground, unwilling to see everyone's reactions. He heard stifled gasps of horror from a couple of people. Those cries hit him like armour piercing arrows, but he didn't let it show.
Still looking down, he continued. "My mother was a good woman. A faithful Christian. But one day the Devil took her unwillingly down to where he resides because of her beauty, and nine months later she had me. It destroyed her. She loved me very much, but she was scarred for life. She began to waste away. Six years later she died of cancer, without telling me what I was.
I found out today who and what I am, and I realize now that my life is not one meant for friends.
I'm sorry I've intruded on your lives. I only came to apologize for what I've done, and now you will never have to see me again. Forgive me."
He abruptly stood and left the clearing, submerging himself in the forest. Sadness panged him. He knew that he would never be accepted for what he was. No one would trust him. Everyone would be afraid of him, hate him. Heck, he hated and was afraid of himself. He would never have someone like his mother again, whom he could confide in and be his true self around. By telling the truth, he had just given away his last shot at happiness. He had nothing to live for, nothing to fight for. He knew then, with sudden clarity that without anything to fight for he would die on the battlefield, killed by an Elemental. At least this terrible emptiness, the lonliness inside of him would be short-lived…
"Ferio! Wait." A cry from behind him made him whirl around. He was slightly startled to find that it was Morgaine. She had obviously been following him. His eyes noted with concern that her wounded arm had begun to bleed again, since she had been moving it so much.
She stood there, vulnerable and unprotected. A soft breeze played with her hair. Her hands were curled into fists.
"What do you want?" Ferio asked, each word paining him to say. "I didn't attack anyone. I upheld my oath. You don't ever have to speak to me again, unless you want to extract revenge on me."
"Why are you leaving?" She asked softly, her eyes focused on his, her voice neutral.
"What, do you want to beat me up for what I've done? I've gotten enough punishment, more the you can ever imagine!" Like being rejected by the human race. "Go away."
Morgaine looked down at the forest floor, scattered by colouring leaves and pine needles. "Please, don't leave. I'm sorry, I was wrong. About you and your motives."
Wha…what does she think she's doing? Is she playing games?"What are you talking about? You can't seriously be accepting me for who I am. Listen, I've had to deal with enough, so just go away and stop playing head games with me!"
"It's not a game, Ferio. You're one of the few people who understand me and see the world the way I do. I don't want to lose you."
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. I can't believe it. After all I've done to her, she's still willing to trust me. This isn't right. I can't hurt her this way. I'm not going to burden her with me. I've got to get her to see reason.
"Morgaine, listen to me. I betrayed you! I used you to get information. I'm a cold-hearted sneak! And even if you were willing to accept me after that, I'm half-Devil! I've got corrupted blood running though my veins. I'm a freak! I've got green hair and yellow eyes! AND I don't know the full extent of my power. I don't know if the Devil in me will take over. On top of that…Oh God, why am I explaining? The label should be enough for you! I'm HALF-DEVIL, all right? I'm the Devil's son!"
Morgaine shook her head back and forth furiously. "That doesn't matter to me!" she cried out, her voice loud in the sudden silence.
Time seemed to freeze, and Ferio stared at the Elemental of Wind's face, as if seeing her for the first time. Her eyes, always so veiled, showed raw emotion, radiating like a beacon. And…
"You're crying?" He whispered, unable to believe it.
Morgaine wiped at the tears that rolled down her cheeks, but made no effort to stop them. "Now, you listen to me. I don't care if you're half-devil! You're still the person you are, no matter who your parents were. And you betrayed us with good reason. I'm still furious at you for that, but I understand. And…" She swallowed hard, tears still streaking down her face. "You're not a cold-hearted sneak. Sometimes you pretend to be, but you're not. Maybe it was stupid of me to trust you at first, because at the beginning you were using me for your own means, but then you changed. You're a caring, kind, selfless person, and I ca-"
"No, you're wrong. I'm a cold-hearted traitorous no-good sneak."
SMACK
Ferio's eyes widened, and he moved his jaw around a bit. His cheek stung. "You just hit me!"
"I don't want to hear you talking about yourself like that!" Morgaine said, her voice trembling. She was still crying. Ferio lifted a hand and gently wiped away her tears.
"Shhh. It's okay…"
She muttered. "I'm sorry for everything I said. Everything I did. You didn't deserve it."
"What's gotten into you? You never act like this!" He lifted her chin and stared into her eyes. For the split second that their eyes met, Ferio was struck by all the emotions that shone in hers as clear as day. Sadness, hopelessness, anger, frustration, tenderness, fear, pain and something that he didn't recognize at once, an emotion so powerful…
She pushed herself away from him and averted her gaze. "I can't help it. All my defences are down." She spread her arms hopelessly. "This is my true self. I can't hide anything when I'm like this. I'm subject to my emotions. I can't think logically."
He gave her a crooked grin. "Life isn't all logic."
The corner of her lip twisted up in a watery smile. "Well, it should be! I'm sorry, I can't seem to get control of myself." The tears stopped falling. Ferio chuckled.
"What?" Morgaine demanded. "What?"
His mouth split open in a smile to reveal even, white teeth. "You've got to stop apologizing!"
She laughed for a little while with him, but then stopped when she noticed he was staring at her intently. "What are you looking at?" She demanded, unsure of what she saw in his gaze.
He grinned. "I can't believe you think your eyes are plain. They're beautiful."
Morgaine raised her eyebrows, and then narrowed her commented-on eyes. "Are you teasing me?" She demanded of him.
Ferio looked affronted. He threw out his arm dramatically. "Me? Tease you? Oh, I dare not my lady!" He looked pleased when she snorted at his over-acting. "Seriously though, they're very pretty. A deep, rich brown."
Morgaine, her cheeks slightly pink, stuck out her tongue. "You are teasing me."
He winked at her. "Maybe."
There was a moment of silence, and then Morgaine spoke, her voice suddenly far more serious. "So…are joining them?"
Ferio ran his hands through his emerald green hair, and raised an eyebrow at Morgaine's expression. "Why are you peering at me like that?"
She shook her head slightly in wonderment. "I'm not the only one who's let all their guards down. It's obvious you don't want to go. It's shining all over your face."
"Ah, but you see, I have to. No matter how much I don't want to, no matter how much I am disgusted by him and his ideas, no matter how much I want to stay with you…and the others, of course, I have to."
There was another awkward pause. "You do realize we might never see each other again." Morgaine said, her voice suddenly hoarse. The green-haired teen opposite her nodded, looking suddenly weary and sad.
He reached out to brush her cheek with his fingertips. "Let's just pray we both make it out alive. If we do, we'll meet up again. Goodbye, Morgaine."
He was about to turn to leave. Morgaine, biting her lip and making a split second decision, threw herself forward and hugged him, burying her face in his shirt as tears once again began to roll down her cheeks. Ferio's golden eyes widened in complete shock and disbelief. Wha…? His features softened. Morgaine…
"Don't die on me, Ferio." She whispered into the coarse material. "Don't die."
He wrapped his arms around her waist, returning her embrace, stroking her silky short auburn hair and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Only if you don't." He murmured in reply.
They stood like this for what seemed like an eternity. Finally Morgaine drew away, her face a brilliant shade of red. "You had better go meet Jake now. You're most likely late as it is."
A small smile lifting the corner of his mouth, Ferio stroked her bangs out of her eyes. "You're right. But for some reason, I don't really care."
A hawk flew overhead, letting out a cry to another hawk, warning it away from its hunting grounds, saving the red-faced Morgaine from having to comment.
Ferio reluctantly drew away. "I think that is the signal that I should take my leave."
Morgaine glared sharply at him, worry for him shining in her eyes. "Don't you dare die, or…or I'll kill you!"
He laughed. "That makes loads of sense. Don't worry about me. Take care of yourself." He gestured gently at her arm. "I don't want you being killed. Please, please be careful. I know I can't stop you fighting, but….stay alive, all right?"
Morgaine nodded. "Goodbye, Ferio." Her lower lip trembled, but she forced it to be still. "Be careful."
He cradled her cheek in his hand one last time. "Goodbye." Then he turned and walked away, without looking back, leaving Morgaine standing there watching him leave, more confused then she was before she had confronted him.
I...care about him.
Caitlyn, back at camp, was fuming. "How could he? We thought he was okay and then he pulls something like this!" She cracked her knuckles. "Ooooh, just wait till the war starts. I am going to hunt him down and…" Flames burst to life in her palms and she hurled them at a nearby tree. The oak began to blaze.
"Caitlyn, calm down!" Pauline yelled, dowsing the tree with water. "You don't set things on fire when you're mad at someone! God! Think about it! We are in a FOREST! You set one thing on fire, and the next minute you've burned down EVERYTHING!"
"Don't you dare attack my trees!" Linda screamed, and slashed her hand horizontally in the air. Vines wound around Caitlyn's legs. The Elemental seared them from her legs, and launched herself at Linda with an angry cry, fists pummelling her friend, who was kicking and hitting her back.
"Stop it! STOP it! This isn't doing us any good!" Pauline screeched, and tried to pry them apart, succeeding only in receiving a fist in the face. "O-kay! Who did that!" She entered into the fray.
"ENOUGH!" Akira bellowed. The girls froze. Linda had grabbed onto Caitlyn's hair and was yanking it as hard as she could with one hand while the other fist had just connected with Pauline's head. Caitlyn had Pauline in a headlock, and Pauline had been kicking wildly, hitting both Caitlyn and Linda. They stayed in tableau as Akira spoke, his tone clipped.
"I no longer want to see immaturity from any of you. With Ferio off to join Kyu's side, the Elemental of Light will probably arrive soon to join you four, the War is not long in coming! Dia! You should be getting ready and saving your strength, not taking your stress out on each other!"
Ashamed, the three girls untangled themselves. "But," Caitlyn spoke up. "We have to find the leader of our side before the war begins so we can defend them. All we know is that he fought Kyu a while ago. We have to leave right now! He's somewhere in the Spirit World. Where's Morgaine? We have to go!"
Akira shot a glance at Pauline, who shrugged. "I didn't think it was my place to say."
The Irish man put a hand over his eyes in frustration. "Look, I was the one who fought Kyu."
Linda and Caitlyn stared at him. "It's true. Pauline already knew, but I guess she didn't want to tell you." He let out a growl as Caitlyn and Linda both shot Pauline dark glares and Caitlyn raised her fist. "STOP fighting! The last thing I need right now it to baby-sit four wild teenagers!"
There was a moment of stillness in the air, which Morgaine broke by entering the clearing.
"Well, did you beat him up? He deserved it, the jerk!" Caitlyn said angrily, addressing her friend.
Morgaine shook her head, a faint tinge of pink spreading across her cheeks. "No." She said quietly. "No I didn't."
Caitlyn's mouth opened in an 'O' of understanding. Linda looked back and forth between the pair, and then threw her arms in the air. "I don't get it! Did he beat you up? Crazy half-devil. Should've know he was a demon the whole time!"
Morgaine's gaze lifted sharply. "Don't call him that!" She snapped, anger flickering in her eyes. Linda raised her eyebrows.
"What? What'd I do? He's half-devil. How creepy is that? He's probably evil."
"Don't say that!" Morgaine said
Caitlyn broke in, trying to end the fight before it began. "Morgaine, there's something you don't know. Akira is the Elemental who fought Kyu. He's the one we've been looking for."
Morgaine's eyes widened as she let out a gasp, and then, closing them, she bowed to Akira. Linda followed suit. Pauline and Caitlyn exchanged looks, and then Pauline bowed.
"I bow to no one, especially my own brother." Caitlyn said, her voice a little harsh.
"Good." Akira replied hoarsely. "Get up, all of you. I find this really disturbing! You are my friends!"
"And you are our general." Morgaine replied, straightening. "We will follow your lead."
"You will not! You are my equals! She is my sister!" He added pointing to Caitlyn. "We will fight as equals, as will all the other Elementals that join us! GOD!"
Linda made a noise of complaint. While all the others had righted themselves, she still remained bowing. "Can I get up now? My back hurts."
Pauline laughed. "Linda, you idiot!" The atmosphere lightened. Akira turned away and retreated back to his secluded spot, mourning the loss of Tamiko. Morgaine approached him.
"Hey. I just heard what happened with Tamiko, and I wanted to say…"
"Go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat." Akira muttered angerily, knowing the curse as well as the wording of the curse would hurt her.. Morgaine took a step back and her eyes narrowed. 'May the cat eat you and the devil eat the cat.' Well…
"Is minic a bhris béal duine a shrón!" She snarled.Many times a man's mouth broke his nose. She thought.It's true. If he doesn't shut up, leader or not, I'm am going to sock him one!
Akira opened his mouth to retort, but Morgaine interrupted him. "Look, Akira. I know why you're upset. And…I know what you're going through. For the twenty minutes or so that I thought that Ferio had betrayed me, and us, I was all torn up inside. It hurt so much…"
"That's not the same." Akira growled. "He's doing it for a good reason, devil though he is."
Morgaine felt rage bubbling within her and fought to restrain it. Pauline came to the rescue, crouching down beside Akira.
"I had to face exactly what you're going through. It's painful, I know. When Taiy betrayed me…I just lay in the hospital after they had stitched up my head, staring at the ceiling. I didn't speak to anyone. They called me 'silent girl', and figured that the slice on my head had given me amnesia. Sometimes I wish it had. Then I wouldn't have to remember that day. I always hoped that somehow, he would go back to normal, come back and say it was all a mistake. But I know that there is no chance of that, so I just kind of moved on. I know it's hard." She took a deep breath. "But it had to be done. For two years I didn't see him, and he was all but erased from my memory, and then suddenly he has the guts to come back into my life. It opened an old wound that I thought had scarred over. And now I can't help but hope again. Pray that I can convince him to abandon Kyu. But that's not my point. I know what it feels like to be betrayed by someone you care about, but there is always that chances that you can get Tamiko back, so, don't give up. Promise?"
Akira looked at Morgaine and Pauline then over at Caitlyn and Linda. "Do you two have some heart-breaking betrayal advice to give? Jeez, who hasn't been involved with someone who's gone corrupted?"
Linda shrugged. "Nope."
"Ditto." Caitlyn added.
Akira sagged, shrinking in upon himself. "Let's just forget about this, all right? What's more important…is our battle plan."
The girls nodded, their faces serene. They had always known there would be a war, but its approach registered it as a certainty in their mind.
"Can I say one thing before we begin? If everyone doesn't mind?" Morgaine asked. "Could we please move camp? This clearing is a wide-open area surrounded by trees! We could be ambushed at any time, it's impossible to guard, it's difficult to see things at night because it is pitch black, and frankly, I think we need a change of scene. I mean, we camp in a clearing, we're fighting people in clearings…I suggest we make our home base at the bathhouse."
"It's deserted…" Akira started.
"That's good though." Caitlyn put in. "I like it! Let's go move our stuff now."
Tamiko grabbed a fistful of sand and let it slide through her fingers. Looking sideways across the vast beach, she could see the stone steps that led up to the bathhouse.
"What'll he do to us?" She asked the blue-haired Taiy that lay beside her, soaking up the sun's rays. Taiy shrugged, and flipped over so his back would feel the warmth also. They both knew that she meant Kyu.
Tamiko blinked, and asked her question again. "Surely you know?"
"He'll whip us. Beat us. He won't kill us, we're too powerful and useful for him to do so. We've made ourselves indispensable."
"Beat us?" Tamiko whispered, her voice a hiss.
Taiy pushed himself into a sitting position and his eyes met Tamiko's. "It's not too much of a price for saving someone you didn't want to kill, is it?" He lay back down again.
The oriental girl's eyebrows rose. "Why didn't you kill Pauline? From what I hear, you betrayed her. She makes you out like some sort of monster." Did he just flinch? "But you're not, really."
"What happened between Pauline and I…that was a long time ago. It's best left forgotten. I don't kill unless I have to." Taiy managed to keep his tone light and easy.
Tamiko let out a sigh, and picked up another fistful of sand.
"A small grain of sand,
On a vast, bustling beach,
Insignificant." She muttered.
Taiy sat up again. "What was that about?"
Tamiko shrugged. "It's a haiku. I used to write them a lot when I was younger. They're supposed to have two meanings."
Taiy frowned, and rubbed his arms, seeming as though something was bothering him. "Look," He blurted out. "I have to tell you…don't get mad at me, it's Kyu's idea. I only know about it because I'm the general of his armies…he's going to use you. He's capturing Dragons for sacrifices, but he hasn't captured the Dragon of Japan yet."
"So?"
"Don't you see?"
"No."
"The Dragon of Japan's your father, right? Kohaku River? Kyu's going to use you to lure your father into the Spirit World."
Tamiko gave a harsh little laugh. "I've heard that rumour. It can't be done. My father gave up his immortality years ago, for my mother. He has no power now. He's human, through and through. Don't you see? He's no longer the Dragon of Japan."
"Then who is?"
"I dunno. Some Japanese spirit or other. It doesn't have to be a dragon spirit, actually. Dragon's more like a title, since each one of them has a dragon as a guardian and mentor. My aunt Nile is the spirit of the River Nile in Egypt, and her other form is a crocodile. Each one of them has an animal form."
Kyu made a 'hmm' noise. "I didn't really ask you for the history of the Dragons, but that's interesting, I guess. Just as long as you keep your wits about you…I don't know how Kyu's planning to hold you hostage."
She smiled up at him. "Thank you for the warning."
There was a moment of silence, in which he eyed her speculatively. "Are you sure you know what you're throwing away to be here? Make sure you're certain, because once the war begins, you'll have to fight against everything you believed to be right once. Believe me, don't make a hasty decision."
Abruptly he stood and walked down to the edge of the water, where he let the waves lap at his feet. He left Tamiko with a lot to think about.
And Kyu's gone to meet the Elemental of Light. The war's about to begin.
And I've actually updated again! I know it takes me forever, but there you have it.
After this story is completed I probably won't be writing that much more fanfiction. I'm planning on publishing my actual stories, and that is going to take up a lot of my free time. But I've poured my heart and soul into this and I'm not going to leave it unfinished.
I put the Ferio- Morgaine mush in this chapter because the War's coming up and there isn't going to be a chance for romance in a long time. And I also felt that this would give more impact and understanding to the War. Will it? I don't know. Maybe it was just an excuse to write romance.
Until I write again
Josie
