Chapter Four: The Big Storm

Yami and Rya had both been meeting at the rocks for a few weeks. They were instant friends that always enjoyed each other's company. Neither of them had met someone quite like the other before. Both of them would exchange stories about their world, and how they live. "That's a very beautiful pendant, Rya," Yami commented. Rya tried to hide her blush. She held the dark-blue stone, with a golden rim in her hands. The actual stone swirled with white dust, making it look like a storm seen from the sky.

"Thank you. My mother gave it to me just before she died. She told me that it had magical powers. My people believe a lot in magic, and only a select few have a lot of skill in it."

"That almost reminds me of Duel Monsters," Yami chuckled. "Everyone knows about it and tries to be the best at it."

"What are 'Duel Monsters'?" she asked curiously.

"Well, in my world it's a game where you use cards with monsters on them to fight each other. You see, you start off with 4,000 of what we call, 'life points'. Now the object of the game is to..." and Yami spent the rest of the afternoon explaining how to play Duel Monsters to Rya.

"Wow. I had no idea there were things like that anywhere. Your world must be wonderful," Rya sighed. Yami just laughed heartedly.

"I get by in it well enough. Well, I'd better get going. Be here tomorrow?" Yami asked.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" Rya laughed and jumped back into the water to swim home, as Yami did the same.

The next morning, Yami woke up to a loud crash outside. He looked out the window to see there was a huge storm outside. The rain was pouring down, the thunder was booming, and the lightening was thrashing. The first thing that came to Yami's mind was Rya. "Oh no! She might be at the rocks waiting for me! Even if she is a mermaid, she can't possibly be strong enough to swim in this kind of weather!" Yami thought and rushed to get dressed. Without even thinking of taking an umbrella, or a jacket, Yami ran as fast as he could to the beach. By the time he reached the shore, it almost seemed as if he had already been in the ocean. He was completely soaked, and freezing. "Rya! Can you hear me?" he yelled out to the water. "Rya!" he yelled again.

Little did he know, Rya had the same idea when she had woken up that morning. She could tell that the waters were rough that day. "Oh no! What if Yami–I have to make sure he's all right!" she thought and swam as fast as she could to the rocks where she and Yami would meet everyday. By the time she got there, Rya heard someone calling her name. It was drowned out by the thunder and rain. "Yami! Yami can you hear me?" Rya called out worriedly. "Maybe he didn't come today. Maybe he-" her thoughts were interrupted by the splashes behind her.

When Yami never got a response, he did something he knew he shouldn't have. He jumped into the water and tried swimming to the rocks. By the time he had gotten to the rocks, he was exhausted. Yami used the last of his strength to stand up and yell for Rya. "Rya! Rya where are–" but he was stopped by a huge wave coming up from behind him. "Rya-" he called, only to be blown off of the rocks into the water. He took a quick breath of air before another wave pushed him down into the water. The waves had pushed Yami miles away from the beach. Yami tried desperately tried to reach the surface again. However, his breath couldn't be held any longer. His hand was the only part of his body to breach the surface, before he began to sink again. Yami felt something clasp to his wrist before he passed out.

Rya had turned to see Yami's hand starting to sink into the water, when she dove under the water and caught him. "I can't get him back to shore, or keep him above the surface. What can I do?" she thought desperately. Rya then looked down at her pendant and closed her eyes. "Please cast a protective shield around my friend until he is safe," she asked it. In a moment, Yami was covered in a blue aura. Rya could only think of one place to take him. She swam further and further down into the ocean, to an underwater cave.