Chapter 7: A Fateful Night
"He did what?" screamed Kefka, driving his fist into a wall terminal.
"Admiral Rahksha has decided we're not up to the task of stopping the Magic Knights," said Raxx. "So, they're calling in the Black Dragon to deal with them."
"They're sidelining us in favor of a common mercenary, now that's a blatant insult," said Jiang angrily.
"He's no common mercenary, though," said Meex. "This is the Black Dragon we're talking about, the most powerful battlemage in the Imperium. They say he once killed 200 opponents at once with a single spell."
"Sounds like fairy tale horse hockey to me," said Tino. "Why should we believe that story?"
"Because he's got the credentials and history to back it up," said Raxx. "Never lost a target before, not even the one time he was hired to bring down a rogue Admiral. This guy doesn't play games."
"Well neither do I," growled Kefka, looking at the shattered terminal. "I can't believe that the Admiral is going this far."
"To be fair, we did bail on the mission, sir," said Tino. "Regardless of the reasons, that's a red flag. For all we know, he thinks we're going soft."
Kefka let out an irritated grunt and walked to the other side of the room. "I'm going out for a bit," he said. "I need to clear my head before I do something I'll really regret." He practically slapped the door panel to open it and stormed out.
"What do you think he's planning, you guys?" Tino asked the others. "I've never seen him act like this before."
"Whatever he decides to do, there's only one question that bears answering," said Raxx. "Who's going to stand with him when he makes that choice?"
Cephiro Castle
Hikaru was lying in bed, trying her best to get some much-needed sleep. Unfortunately, it was eluding her yet again. If she had a 100 yen coin for each sleepless night she'd had in the last few years, she'd be a rich girl. But alas, that wasn't to be her fate. She sat up, letting out a frustrated sigh and rubbed her forehead. "Maybe a short walk would do me some good," she said.
After changing back into her clothes, she left her room and began walking through the castle halls, frequently looking out the windows to gaze at the night sky. That's how she noticed the odd shape darting around across the stars. "Wait a minute, isn't that-?" She narrowed her eyes to see better and sure enough, she saw a Zill mobile armor flying about, doing all kinds of aerial tricks in the sky. "Is that Kefka?" she wondered. There was only one way to be sure.
Kefka let out a loud whoop as he flew straight up into the air, and then allowed himself to drop down through the sky towards the ocean below. He waited until the last second, then activated the engines and pulled up, flying low over the water, kicking up a huge wake behind him. He soared back up into the sky, laughing even more. Just then, his radar began to ping; someone was approaching.
He turned around just in time to see Rayearth fly up, armor gleaming in the moonlight. "Hikaru, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"I could ask you the same question," she replied. "Where's the rest of your team?"
"Back on the ship," he said. "I...I needed to be alone for a while. I think you know why."
She didn't reply right away. "I still can't believe they did what they did today...to all those people."
"Neither of us can," said Kefka, "and neither can most of my squad. It was so...unnecessary."
"Tell me the truth, Kefka, the whole truth," said Hikaru, looking right at him. "Did you know they were going to do that? Did you know at all, or have any idea?"
"On my word as a warrior, Hikaru, I didn't know anything," he replied. "I only knew about our personal mission, and that was it. Nobody told me the Adjudicator was going to perform an orbital strike."
She stared hard at him for a moment, wishing she could see his face instead of his mech. "Alright, I believe you," she finally said after a moment that felt like an hour. "So why are you out here right now?"
"I needed to blow off some steam," said Kefka. "What about you?"
"I guess you could say I had to do the same thing," said Hikaru, looking off to the side.
"Maybe we could blow off that steam together," said Kefka, "if that's okay with you."
Hikaru looked up at him. "What did you have in mind?"
"Want to show me some more of those fancy sword techniques of yours?" he asked, drawing his energy blade.
In spite of herself, Hikaru smiled and drew her own sword. "Okay hotshot, let's see what you got."
The two began to spar, blades clashing as they slashed, spun and dodged in the sky. Eventually their fight took them back to the ground, where Kefka got to show off some of his impressive martial arts moves as well. Not only was it a great stress reliever, but the two of them were actually having fun now. They seemed evenly matched, although Kefka would say Hikaru had the better style.
Finally, sweaty, and exhausted, they stood apart from each other, panting.
Kefka's mobile armor knelt and opened its cockpit, allowing him to step outside. "Okay, that was exactly what I needed," he said.
Hikaru exited Rayearth, sending the Rune-God back to his home dimension. "Yeah, you're not so bad, you know," she said.
"Thanks, but you've got the more interesting moveset," said Kefka. "You say your family owns a school that teaches the art of the blade?"
"Yeah, it's called kendo," said Hikaru. "My brothers and I have trained pretty much our entire lives."
The two of them continued to talk, sitting on the cool grass under the moon. Kefka was surprisingly open about himself and his life growing up. How he, like all other young Zill, had been inducted into the Academy at the age of six, how he'd been raised in the infantry, had managed to qualify for the mechanized unit, and how easily he had excelled. How he had been made a squad leader when he was 12, how he'd founded the War Wolves, and how he'd earned most of his medals.
"Hey Kefka, I wanted to ask you something," said Hikaru. "Why haven't you removed your helmet this whole time?"
"Zill are forbidden to remove their helmets unless instructed by a superior officer," he answered. "To do so is a sign of independent thought, and that's viewed as a threat to the uniformity and functionality of the unit. To the Zill, total conformity to the way is essential for us to operate at peak efficiency."
"You can't show your face to anyone ever? Not even to your friends?" she asked him, surprised. "That's...I can't imagine how that must be. I know you're probably used to it, but to me...that just seems sad."
"I suppose if I think about it, it is," said Kefka. "It's like I've given up a piece of who I am to be part of something much bigger. Although, since I've come to Cephiro...and met you, I've begun to wonder if it's worth being part of."
Hikaru gasped faintly and looked at him. "Because of...me?"
"Yes, as crazy as it must sound to you," said Kefka. "Something about you, Hikaru, has awakened something within me I never knew was there. Your courage, your conviction, your heart, and your strength of spirit, I've never met anyone like you."
Hikaru was surprised to feel her cheeks starting to burn slightly and she felt a burst of warmth in her chest. "I...well, thank you," she said, only to inwardly kick herself for not saying something more substantial.
"Thank you for talking with me, and for being willing to listen," said Kefka, standing up.
Hikaru got to her feet as well. "I guess we'd better both be getting back before people start wondering where we are," she said. "I guess I'll be seeing you again soon."
"I don't know," he said. "That's another reason I'm glad I saw you tonight. The Admiral I serve under, Rahksha, has called in a dangerous mercenary to come after you and your friends. A battlemage called the Black Dragon. He'll try to either capture the three of you or kill you outright." He looked right at her. "Promise me that you won't underestimate him if you encounter him, and don't be reckless. Run away if you have to, but please...be careful."
Hikaru slowly smiled and nodded. "Okay I will. Thank you Kefka for telling me."
"Of course," he said, turning to go. "Goodnight, Hikaru." He boarded the mobile armor and took flight again.
Hikaru watched him go, putting a hand over her heart. "Goodnight...Kefka."