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Chapter 10

Setsuna awoke from her sleep troubled. She had dreams of her last training session with Owin. She remembered how she basically fought him for five straight days, in the plane that they had brought her too. In that plane, time passed differently then it did in this plane. Their five days equaled about a half day here. No matter how tired she was, Owin would not allow her to sleep. All he would do was heal her so that her wounds no longer hurt. The white healing spell did not heal her fatigue, & still, even though she could barely stand on her feet, Owin would not allow her a moment's rest. You're progress is too good to stop now, he would say happily as she fell to the floor from exhaustion. He would press her & press her into constant fighting. Every time she would lose, being too wounded to continue. Even now she still remembered the pain. Being run through with his sword. Being shot in the neck. Having her head cracked open by a knee. Having her arm broken. Though she no longer bared the injuries, her body still remembered. Setsuna was so tired that when they had arrived back home she went straight into her bed & passed out. She looked at the clock groggily & nearly screamed. She had apparently slept for three straight days, & now it was twelve o'clock. Setsuna hurriedly got out of her bed & nearly fell from the strain. "You shouldn't push yourself right now" she heard a voice say from behind her. She looked to see that Helmer was sitting on a chair nearby. "I…I'm late for class" Setsuna said as she struggled to get up, her body barely responding to her demands. "We explained everything to Negi. He is willing to overlook your absence" Helmer said as he walked over & helped Setsuna back into bed.

"But…Ojou-sama" Setsuna began, only to be cut off by Helmer. "Brother & I have been watching her, through intervals. Nothing has happened to her" Helmer said as tucked Setsuna in. "I'm sorry for all this" Setsuna said. "Don't be. Your rather lucky. In our home, you would have only gotten one day of rest before the training began again. I explained to brother that your build is weaker than ours, so he was willing to let you rest a bit longer".

"…has anything happened?".

"Nothing of importance. Nicol Bolas has left us, apparently having other matters to attend to. Your friends have been themselves, & Negi was angry about our training methods. He & Brother got into another argument".

"Negi-sensei & Owin-san?".

"Yes. Considering how often Negi pushes himself, I don't think he has any right to get angry, don't you think?" Helmer asked, & he & Setsuna laughed.

"Thank you very much, Owin-san. I don't know if I can even move right now".

"It's no problem. Brother said to wake up already, you've missed too much time for training. I told him to leave you alone" Helmer said as he got up to get her some water.

"Helmer-san, why is Owin-san rushing through my training so much?" she asked.

"He's not actually. That training is normal" he said as he sat down & gave Setsuna the water. Setsuna took it but did not drink at first, staying just staring at the cool water. "I can't believe people could live through that. To me it seems as though he is rushing me" she said.

"You lived through it didn't you? Don't worry about it so much. We had different builds than you people did, so we could afford to train more. Anyway, this is just to prepare your body for the Warsong. If you didn't go through this training, your body could explode the day that you finally use it. Your training is more like preparation" Helmer explained.

"I could explode?".

"Yes. From the raw, unchecked power. You are not a natural born Keldon, so the warsong will be even more strenuous on your body. If you can learn it that is".

"Were your body's really so unique?" Setsuna asked as she finally sipped the tea.

"Setsuna, in the Multiverse, just about every power shows itself at least three times. Perhaps it is under a different name, but always at least three. That is a peculiarity of the Multiverse. That is what makes the Warsong so unique. It never repeats itself. In all of the Multiverse's recorded history, the Warsong is only used in one universe: our home. We still haven't discovered why, but no other universe in the Multiverse has been able to support the Warsong. You are also a peculiarity yourself".

"How?".

"Your build is nothing like a Keldons, you belong to a backwater universe in the Inner Rim, & there is no power in your world like the Warsong. & yet, despite all that, you have the potential to learn the Warsong. We can hear it in you. It is very quiet, very hushed, but we can still hear it. It's just waiting to come out. Hopefully you will be able to bring it out".

"But Helmer-san, why is it that it is so important that I do learn it? I barely know you & Owin-san, but you both just appeared from nowhere & told me all these things. Its like…like I'm being forced to learn this, being forced into this situation & no one's even bothering to ask what it is that I want" Setsuna said, tears beginning to come out, falling into the cup of tea. Helmer could only stare at her for a few seconds so that she could compose herself, before he finally spoke.

"Setsuna, I am not trying to force you to do anything. If you want to stop…then perhaps I can convince brother to end it. I'd rather you didn't though. Your going to find that this training will help you immensely. Even if you are unable to master the Warsong. If you want to stop, we won't make you" Helmer said as he got up to leave. Setsuna stayed silent, tears running down her cheeks. He had opened the door before she finally said "Wait!".

"What is it?".

"I…I don't want to quit. I'm just…a little overwhelmed by everything. Please ignore what I just said".

Helmer stayed quiet before he finally left, saying "I understand".

Owin was laying down, sprawled on the roof with his hands behind his head, admiring the sky. It was near sunset, & the sky was painted a magnificent shade of orange as the clouds rolled by. A cool breeze was going by, & all the students of the school were heading for their dorms or homes, classes done for the day. Owin suddenly heard a familiar clink of boots on the roof, & his brother laid down next to him on the roof.

"How is she?" Owin asked.

"Sleeping. She's healing normally".

"When do you think she will be ready to train again?".

"Perhaps by tomorrow".

"Good. We mustn't let her slake too much".

"Hey, brother".

"Hmm?".

"Does she really need to train?" Helmer asked, with a slight hesitation in his voice.

Owin got up once he heard this.

"You know the answer, brother. We need her" Owin said with a slightly more authoriatic tone.

"But brother, if she doesn't want the power, they maybe we shouldn't force her. Aren't we only training her for our benefit?".

"Firstly, we are not training her for our own benefit. Secondly, she has said herself that she wants the training. Thirdly, you know as well as I do that we need her to rebuild our home. How in the world can we do that with only two people? We need as many allies as we can muster" Owin said, clenching his fist.

"But brother, I still think that what we are doing is wrong. We're using the girl!".

"We aren't using her. We will train her & make her stronger than she has ever been before, & in repayment, she will help us. I'm sure she won't have any objections to that".

"We're putting too heavy of a burden on her! Just because we are planeswalkers doesn't give us the right to just pluck her out of her world in order to help us with your own desires! She'll be nothing but a tool!".

"That's enough" Owin finally said. Though he had not raised his voice, it commanded enough power to cause Helmer to be quiet. Helmer stayed staring at his brother, waiting for him to speak. Finally Owin looked at his brother.

"Brother, I know full well the burden we are putting on Setsuna, but she is the only one who can do it. We have been searching for two hundred years for someone capable of mastering the Warsong. We can't afford to find one after all this time & just let it slip by our fingers. If we stop now there's no telling when we'll find someone else. It has to be her. Wilhelm is growing too powerful, especially now that he has learned plane-infusion. Wilhelm won't feel any pity in destroying any number of planes if it will help him achieve his plans. We have to stop him at all costs. You know the kind of person Setsuna is. If she were to know why we are training her, I doubt she would voice an objection. She would probably be more than happy to help us".

"In that case, than shouldn't we explain everything to her at least? You know she doesn't take betrayal very well. If we are entrusting her with something like this, we should at least have the decency to be completely honest with her about it".

Owin looked toward the sky & thought about the prospect. Could they afford to explain everything to her? Would she be angry when she discovered everything? If Owin could help it, he didn't want to have to her lay everything out for so easily.

"Why don't we wait until after she has at least awoken the song? Like after the initiation ritual. We can explain everything to her then" Owin said finally.

"Don't you think that defeats the purpose though? We will have already put her though much pain in that case".

"Not necessarily. We train her so that she receives the power just like we agreed. Then, once she has gotten the power, she can decide for herself whether she will help us or not. This way we hold up our end of the deal & the decision will be all her own. How do you feel about that, brother?" Owin asked.

"Can you honestly not think of a better plan than that?" Helmer asked his brother.

"That's the best plan I can come up with. It's not that bad is it?".

"No, but still I think we should be more honest to her about it. It feels to me as though we are betraying her. I feel wrong about this brother".

"No one ever said this would be easy. We must do as is necessary. It is our duty as the last of our kind".

"I understand that but…".

"Put it out of your mind, brother, we have other things to think about. Do you think that Setsuna will be ready for the initiation ritual soon?".

"After only two classes? Surely she will need more. Didn't we use to have to wait at least five years before we received the initiation ritual? & we are of Keldon blood. Surely she will need more time".

"Ugh. That's exactly what Nicol Bolas told me. I know that myself but somehow I can't help but think we should do it now. Something tells me she will need to go much quicker than before. I don't know what however".

"So are we back to you worrying about Wilhelm? She will be of no help if you insist on rushing her through her training. Rushed training is as bad as no training at all".

"I know, but I can't erase this feeling from my mind. Then there's also the fact that Wilhelm has learned plane-infusion. Only our master knew that forbidden technique, & Wilhelm killed him long ago. How could he have learned the technique when our master is the only one with the records about it?".

"Perhaps he found something out in another plane? Or perhaps another planeswalker showed him the technique?".

"I don't know but I think we need to look after this matter more thoroughly. If another planeswalker showed him the technique, it means he may have found an ally. Though, Wilhelm isn't the type to just suddenly find someone to work with".

"Hmm. What do you propose we do?".

"I think we should go investigate ourselves. I think we can leave Setsuna here by herself for a few days".

"Hands-on investigation then huh?" Helmer said with a grin on his face.

"That's right. Let's go tell Setsuna about it".

The young girl was dreaming. She was fighting someone, a giant man covered in jet-black armor, a man that completely towered over her, with a sword as large as himself. Lightning flashed overhead as rain pounded on her body. She looked at her hands & saw that she was wearing the most magnificent green armor she had ever seen. Every inch of her body was covered in the armor, & it looked strong enough to deflect a bomb, yet it was as light as a feather to her. She was not using her usual long sword, but rather a much larger broadsword, just as big as the one the man was carrying. She shouldn't have been able to lift it, yet the sword was as light as her armor, & she wielded it skillfully. The sword was beautifully engraved, & had the same jade color as her armor. Her environment however, was not so elegant. There were large abandoned buildings, tall skyscrapers that were old & decrepit. The sky was black as the storm continued, & the entire time Setsuna heard not a single sound. This disturbed Setsuna as the storm & rain should've been as loud as a hurricane, yet all she heard was silence. Until she listened closer. Then she heard what sounded like a song. It was a beautiful song, with a full chorus singing in a language she had never heard. They sounded as though they were singing of a great battle, & somehow, she understood the message they were trying to convey, but yet, not the words. She knew they were singing of two warriors fighting to the death, both of them living a sad existence. They were friends, & yet their lust for battle was tearing them apart. Suddenly, Setsuna's body began moving on it's own, & she charged at the enemy, who stood stock still. Time seemed to move slowly to her, as though she herself was running slow. She could feel the rain bouncing off her armor, could see as suddenly the man's eyes glowed a fiery red, & his hand moved his sword at lightning's pace. Their swords were about to smash-

"SEC-CHAN!!".

Setsuna was awoken by a large scream from her best friend, & before her eyes were even open Konoka had jumped into her arms & was hugging her franticly, crying into her shoulder. Setsuna's body ached, but all the same she patted Konoka's head & noticed that Negi & Asuna were standing at the doorway watching the two girls.

"Ojou-sama! What's wrong? Did something happen?".

"Where were you Sec-chan?! I was really worried about you! & then Owin-han & Helmer-han bring you home & you looked like you were dead!!" Konoka screamed with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah what happened with that? Was the training that hard?" Asuna asked as she stepped into the room & took a seat at the sofa.

"Ah, yes. I was training with Owin-san in another world" Setsuna explained.

"Another world? You mean like what he was talking about? Planes-walking?" Negi asked.

"Yes. I was gone for about half the day, but since time moved differently there, we actually spent about five days there training".

"You mean you stayed there training for five days?" Asuna asked at a loss fro words.

"Owin-san explained all that to me. He didn't let you sleep didn't he?" Negi asked seriously.

"Yes. We stayed training for the whole five days" Setsuna explained as Konoka finally let go of her.

"That's going way too far. There's no need to go to such extremes just for training. Don't you think I should talk to him about it?" Negi asked Setsuna.

"No, Negi-sensei, there's no need for that. I already feel much better than I did before".\

"Besides Negi, doesn't Eva-chan give us similar training?" Asuna asked.

"Hehe, now that I think about, that's true" Negi asked as he laughed scratching the back of his head.

"You all don't need to worry. Even though his training is hard, I do feel the results. I feel much stronger than I did before" Setsuna said trying to reassure them.

"Anyway, who was that guy that you three were with?" Asuna asked.

"Guy?".

"Yeah, the one that looked something like an elf?".

"Setsuna immediately knew that she had meant Nicol Bolas. She remembered now that Nicol Bolas had cast that spell that erased people's memories, & knew that the three probably didn't remember the colossal gold dragon that had suddenly appeared from the sky.

"Oh, that was a friend of Owin-san & Helmer-san's. He's a planeswalker like them".

"Really? Is he helping you with your training too then?" Asuna asked.

"No, he just wanted to watch. He said that I had potential".

"Hmm. Well anyway, guess what Sec-chan?" Konoka asked suddenly excited.

"What is it, Ojou-sama?".

"We're having a field trip to Hokkaido!" Konoka yelled.

"Oh yes. That's right. It turns out that the principal needs me to help out with something in Hokkaido, so in order to not make it seem odd, he's declared it a special school field trip" Negi said with a smile.

"This is gonna be great! Now I can work off all the stress from training" Asuna said stretching & grinning.

"What is it that you need to help out on, Sensei? Is it similar to your mission in Kyoto?" Setsuna asked suddenly anxious. She had reason to be. The last time the school had had a school field trip, she, Asuna, Negi, & Konoka had all almost died from an attack from some renegade Kyoto magicians.

"No, it's nothing that dangerous. He just wants something delivered to a friend of his that he cannot get into contact with so easily. Besides, we don't need to worry about Tsukiyomi or Chigusa-san now that Owin-san had killed them" Negi said with a hint of sadness in his voice. Setsuna knew that despite the fact that they were enemies, Negi didn't want Tsukiyomi or Chigusa dead. If he could help it, he would've wanted to have been captured & brought to justice. To Owin however, she knew that killing them was simply a game, a way to alleviate his boredom & show Setsuna his strength. Whenever she had thought they had died for those reasons, Setsuna felt a small hint of guilt inside her.

"Aren't you excited, Sec-chan?" Konoka asked as Setsuna had gone quiet.

"Yes. I'm happy Ojou-sama, don't worry" Setsuna said.

"Now that I think about it, doesn't that mean that Owin-han & Helmer-han are going to come with us? Since they're bodyguards & everything" Konoka asked Negi.

"Yes. Since that is their jobs, they will be coming with us" Negi said.

"Somehow I get the feeling that the class is going to be a whole lot less excited when they find this out" Asuna said as she imagined all the girls giving Owin cold glances.

"I'll speak to Owin-san about that. Maybe I can convince him to leave everyone alone" Setsuna said. It had certainly worked the last time.

"Convince me to do what?" they had suddenly heard from the door. They all looked to see Owin & Helmer stride into the room.

"Nothing, it's just that we are having a trip to Hokkaido next week" Konoka said happily.

"Ah, Owin-san, about that, the principal said that as bodyguards, you & Helmer-san are to guard everyone during the fieldtrip" Negi said.

"I will not be able to. Brother & I have business to take care of" Owin said dismissively.

"Business?" Setsuna asked.

"Yes. The fact that Wilhelm has learned plane-infusion disturbs me. The only one who had known that forbidden technique was our master & Wilhelm killed him ages ago. This means Wilhelm may have found an ally. It is of dire importance that we look into this matter" Owin explained.

"You guys might lose your jobs if you just take off suddenly" Asuna warned.

"The whole point of taking the job was to find Setsuna. It doesn't matter now if we get fired or not. Besides, Setsuna will be more than enough to handle anything right now" Owin said looking at her with a grin.

"Eh? But Owin-san, I've only had two classes, there's no way I could have gotten any better that quick" Setsuna said.

"You'll see. Don't fight until you absolutely have too. Then you will see what I mean" Owin said as he materialsed the sword that he had given Setsuna for her training. He gave it to her handle first & she picked up the once heavy blade very easily.

"In any case, you all have fun on the trip. I doubt it, but if we end up coming back quickly, we'll try to catch up to you all. It would be nice to see the rest of this country" Helmer said with a smile.

"Setsuna, I leave it to you" Owin said as he turned & exited the room, Helmer following from behind.

"Some bodyguards they are" Asuna said.

--

Sorry about the lack of an update, but I just recently got over the cold & was unable to really work on this. Turned out that I was staying up way too late too many times & ended up getting sick from exhaustion. I decided that since I had posted in so long that I was going to make this chapter shorter than it originally was going to be. Here begins the Hokkaido chapters.