FCL64: Here is chapter sixteen. I only have partial rights to Ayaka, Kaien and the bounty hunter. I do, however, have full ownership of the demon hobo. No one else.

Kiyoshi: Demon hobo?

Newt78: Demon hobo?

FCL64: That's what I said. Readers, Newt78 is my sister…

Newt78: Can I give the demon hobo a hug?

Kiyoshi: What?

FCL64: Kiyoshi, you know she has a strange obsession with hobos.

Newt78: Well?

FCL64: I don't think he'll actually be referred to a hobo in the chapter… but be my guest.

Newt78: YAY! (gives the demon hobo a hug) Here's the chapter!

FCL64: Sorry it's so long, and I apologize if it's a bit confusing.

1214 A.D.

Ayaka pov

Kaien and I have been traveling together for several years now. It's almost odd how easy it was to readjust to living with him. I guess we're just too close for our own good. It's strange that we get along as well as we do though. We're opposites, yet I don't remember ever getting into anything more than small arguments with him.

We trek through the demon plane searching for a man we've been told can give us more information on the lockets that never leave our sides. It is nightfall when we finally arrive in the village we were told he could be found. We inquire of a woman living in a small hut where we can find him. She looks around nervously and says, "He doesn't like strangers knowing where he lives. He's paranoid. You'll have to find him on your own. I'm pushing him by telling you he does live here, in this area."

She begins to shut her door, but Kaien places the palm of his hand on the oak, keeping it from moving. I pull a bracelet of solid gold set with diamonds from my bag. "Will you tell us for this?"

She glances around. "About a mile past that next hill is a river. Cross it, then go left for a mile. His house will be there, hidden in the trees. Please don't tell him it was I who told you."

"We won't. Thank you." I drop the bracelet into her hand, and the door snaps shut.

We follow her instructions. The sun has long since set when we arrive at his door. Kaien raises his hand and knocks, the sound echoing through the deserted woods.

A shuffling comes from inside. The door creaks open, revealing the face of an old man. He doesn't open it far enough for us to see more than that. "Who are you?" he snaps. "What do you want?"

"We're looking for a man by the name of Zuberi."

The man's blank eyes stare off at a point behind us. But even though they see nothing, they are very expressive. They are narrowed. He does not like us. "Who is looking for him?"

"Kaien and Ayaka," I reply. "We have some jewelry we would like to know the true meaning of. We were told Zuberi is the man to see."

"Who told you?" This old man is very suspicious. The woman was right in saying he was paranoid.

"I never caught her name," Kaien said good-naturedly. In reality, it was a man who told us to look for Zuberi, but that is irrelevant. He asked us not to tell his name.

When we do not receive a response, I tell him, "We are willing to pay you."

There is a silence. "I cannot help you." The old man takes a step away from the door.

"I am not afraid to use force," Kaien threatens, moving to push the door open. It doesn't budge. The old man is holding the door shut with the exact same amount of force Kaien is trying to push it with. There is more to him than we thought.

"Come, Kaien. He is obviously not the man we are looking for. We should try somewhere else," I say calmly. Kaien looks at me, understands what I want and nods. I direct my words toward the old demon in front of us. "My apologies for disturbing you so late at night. Goodbye."

The door snaps shut.

"Well," Kaien says. "Now what? I don't care what you say; I know that's him." He whispers to avoid being heard by the subject of our conversation.

"I know it's him too. We're going to camp out on his doorstep until he agrees to see us."

He chuckles. "Fun."

It's three days before his door opens again. "You two are stubborn. Come in, come in."

Kaien looks at me. This man, this Zuberi, is quite a different person today. We cautiously enter his hut and sit down at the table he indicates. He has gray hair, speckled with white which comes down to cover most of his face in a scratchy mustache and beard. He is slightly hunched over and clothed in an old green shirt and baggy pants. His blind eyes wander through the room, but they don't seem to be wandering aimlessly. When he speaks, we catch glimpses of sharp front teeth. There are sharp claws on the ends of each of his fingers.

The hut has only one room. In it is a small stove, a bed, a table and chairs. Nothing else. He sets a cup of tea before each of us and takes a third chair. "So, what can I help you with?"

"Why would you not help us before?" I ask before I can stop myself.

"If I helped just anyone, I would have no privacy. My door would constantly be pounded on by people who do not truly need my help. You are obviously quite determined. So I ask you again, what can I help you with?"

I glance at Kaien. He nods. I remove the locket from my waist, as does he. We place them on the table and slide them toward Zuberi. He picks mine up first, feeling each edge of it. He repeats the process with Kaien's. "Fascinating. I rarely come across artifacts with such power."

"Yes," I say quietly. "We already knew they have power. But we haven't a clue as to what that power is or how to draw it out."

"I do not know if you should try to draw it out."

"What?" Kaien asks.

"Dangerous, these are. Very dangerous. Do you know where the gems were found?"

"Our mother said they were found where the sun meets the sea," I tell him.

He doesn't seem the surprised in the least. "True, true. But there is much more to it than that." He already knew where they came from? He continues, "They come from the place where the sun meets the sea, where the sea meets the sky, where the sky meets the land, where the land meets the sun."

He has lost me. He is as good at what he does as they said he was. "What?" I ask.

"It is in that place that they would hold the most power."

"But how do we find that place?" Kaien asks.

Zuberi doesn't respond to the question. Instead, he answers it with one of his own, "Have you tried opening them?"

"Yes," I reply. "There is nothing in it, except a snap to hold it shut."

"Or to hold them together."

Kaien and I look at each other. Hold them together. I grab my locket and pull it toward me. It opens easily, revealing half a snap on each side. Kaien does the same. We move to place them together, but Zuberi suddenly snatches them away. "I think not," he says. "These are very powerful objects in themselves; I will teach you how to draw out their individual power. I will not be there when you connect them. And you would be wise to do that in a place far from habitation."

He carefully places the lockets back in our hands. "Close them," he commands. "Let your spirit flow into them. Ayaka, the sapphire is the sea, and the diamond is the sky. Kaien, the onyx is the earth, and the garnet is the sun." I am surprised he remembers our names, but he doesn't seem to notice my shock. Or he is ignoring it. "Ayaka, my guess is that you control the sea, and you Kaien control the sun. By using these lockets, your power over those will increase. The destruction you would be capable of alone is phenomenal. But it does not come without a price. It will quickly drain you of aura, and you will need sleep desperately."

"Thank you." Kaien stands, reattaching the locket to his belt. I follow suit. "One last question. What would happen if we did connect the lockets?"

"Your will would become one with the will of the universe. The sun and the sea, the earth and the sky…you would share intentions with all four of them. But if you connected the lockets in the place where the stones were found, the universe would share your intentions."

He stands and ushers us out. "Your payment," I say. I hand him a ring, set with a gemstone even I cannot identify. He smiles.

"Thank you but no. It has been my pleasure. And I know more about that gemstone than you do. I do not want it. Or any of the other pieces in your bag." I look once at Kaien. Then Zuberi says, "I have no problem helping criminals, but I will never accept payment in stolen gems." Then the door closes, a wall between us and the man who evidently knows more than he was willing to tell us.

"To somewhere with little habitation?" Kaien asks me, eyes alight with anticipation.

"You bet."

Eight days of travel later, we are alone. No other sentient beings for miles. We stand facing each other. "Aura first?" Kaien suggests.

I nod. "He said it would drain our energy quickly. Aura, then snap. Quick as you can."

We pump our aura into the necklaces. Kaien snaps them together.

OH MY GOD!

What's happening? I spin around, and so does Kaien. Back to back we look out at the abandoned landscape. It feels as though we are no longer someone else is here. There is no one in sight, but I have this feeling that someone or something knows we're here.

"Who's out there?" I call at the exact same moment Ayaka shouts the same thing.

We are on the same train of thought. What's that noise? Kaien's voice? But he's not speaking. I can hear…her thoughts?

The wind rushes around us, rain pounds down, lightning flashes, the stones rattle at our feet. Air. Water. Fire. Earth. I hear Kaien continue the same thought I am having. I wish everything would quit shaking. It's almost borders on frightening.

Suddenly it all calms. Not ceases. Just more calm. Lightening still flashes but less often and farther not so near. The rain is no longer pouring down. It only drizzles. The gusts of wind decrease in speed, but they continue to blow the dirt the dirt continues to swirl.

I want to be dry. I see lightening strike a tree very close to us. It bursts into fire covers every limb. The rain ceases and the warmth of the fire covers me, so hot it almost burns. I cry out and fall to my knees. It pulls my locket away from Kaien's and the connection breaks.

The rain stops. The wind ceases. The shaking of the ground stops. The lightning disappears. The fire diminishes but does not go out. Kaien pulls me to my feet.

"I'm sorry I had to be dry," he says. "I know that's what caused it."

"I know how you hate water. It's not your fault."

"But I'm the one who wished the rain to stop and a way to be dry. It's not a coincidence that lightening struck where it did, when it did." He feels bad.

"Kaien, you didn't mean it. I'm fine. I just can't handle heat as you can, and it caught me off guard. I'm fine now. Could you…?"

"Hear your thoughts? Yes."

"And it's more powerful there," I say. He nods. Then suddenly we are both falling. We hit the ground at the same moment and the last thing I see is his eyes drifting shut as we both fall asleep.

ffgs

Well, there you have it. Reviews...

Foxgirl Ray: Hope this cleared it all up. And it's no problem that you were confused at the end of the last chapter. I was serious when I said I wanted you to be confused. The last chapter was partially important info, partially set-up for this chapter.

animegrlsteph: glad you love it! Unfortunately, bad things can happen when they're together...as displayed in this chapter.