Chapter Eight — He Was Tired
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep."
--Robert Frost, 'Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy
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Satoshi strode up to his father's mansion, feeling much more energized in the new day. Krad's magic had done wonders for his body, healing the deepest wounds, mending the shallow ones. There were still bruises dark enough to be seen and scratches that were nice and visible, but he was better. Much better.
"Satoshi-dono?"
The guards at the gate frowned at his approach. He ignored it. He realized he was not his usual kept self and that he was less than pristine, but he could do away with perfection for now; there was work to be done.
"Open the gates."
Without a word the men stepped aside and pressed a button that allowed the iron wrought gate to slowly creak open. Without a backward glance Satoshi slipped through and walked up to the house, absently rubbing his left shoulder. He was wearing light clothing, just a loose gray shirt and black trousers, but the weight of it still pulled on his muscles and he could feel a knot forming above his shoulder blade. It was the arm that he had used to drag Dark out of the vault. Bloody thief was heavier than he seemed.
Satoshi did not stop his determined pace until he had entered the mansion, dismissed any servants he came in contact with, and stood outside his father's office, the wooden door inches away from his face. He hesitated only a moment before taking hold of the knob and stepping inside, without knocking.
It was dark, as it usually was, but the curtains were drawn, not even allowing a small sliver of light to slip through. The high backed chair behind the cherry wood desk was turned away, but there was no need to guess who sat in it.
"Father, I need to use your fleet of men and have full access to all of your files and documents associated with the artistic history of the Hikari." Silence followed. Satoshi felt his impatience growing. He did not have time for this. "Father."
The chair moved slightly but did not turn around. A voice was expected, the usual chagrin or indifference, maybe a suspicious questioning, but none of these came. It was hauntingly quiet in the office. Satoshi frowned. He knew this reaction all too well and knew the exact cause for it. It sickened him.
"Father."
The chair moved again. "Take what you need. Whatever you want."
Satoshi waited for him to say more but none came. "Thank you." And then he left the room, closing the door behind him.
He waited in the hallway outside and leaned his back against the door, suddenly drained. The stale silence encased behind him was only one of the many stories recorded in the Hikari dairies on The Mystic's Dream. So powerful was the beauty and magic of the Mystic, so unnaturally real was its countenance that those who had gazed upon it fell into a miserable trance of a sort, encased almost entirely by the statue. It stuck in men's eyes and filled women's hearts. It branded a person with its sight, consuming them so that they thought of nothing but its beauty. Awe…well, it would seem too kindly to call it that. Admiration…more so.
Obsession. Absolutely.
Satoshi recognized that in his father. He was obsessed with the Mystic now that he had seen her, so much so that he no longer cared for anything else. Not his estate, not his welfare.
All the more reason for Satoshi to find the Mystic and a way to destroy it.
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Riku had made a wonderful picnic feast, including all the goodies that Risa loved. But Risa couldn't seem to find a temptation for them. She just laid there on the picnic blanket under the parasol, staring up at the blue sky while Riku waded barefoot through the passing waves, relishing in the warmth of the day. The food lay untouched in the picnic basket.
"We haven't done this in a long time," Riku said. "Just relax. I forgot how pretty the beach could be this time of year."
But Risa wasn't listening to her. She was closing her eyes and remembering the night before.
There was something familiar about that kiss. It was the scent, the feel of it. What did it remind her of again? It was a good feeling; something comforting. Things that made her feel safe and calm and serene. Like the night. Like the smell of nightfall, when the air is cool and fresh, mixed with clean cotton. Why did that aroma strike her as familiar?
"Risa, I was meaning to ask you…did you hear the news this morning?"
Risa opened one eye to look at her sister before closing it again. "No. You know I don't like to listen to your radio in the morning. Why?"
"There was something about another theft of artwork, but it was really vague. I think they mentioned Dark as a suspect, but the thing is that nothing was stolen and nobody was spotted."
Risa sat up, fully attentive now. "Well, why did they report it then if there's nothing to report?"
Riku glanced over her shoulder and shrugged. "They don't know. Whoever is the Commander of Police issued a warning order. He wanted people to know that there is an artwork stolen and that the police department wants any information about it. But according to any of the officers who were present, there wasn't any artwork at all. Just a vault with nothing inside. Not even a pedestal or glass case." She looked down and kicked at the water around her ankles. "I was just wondering if you'd heard about it, since you like to track Dark so closely."
"No, I haven't heard anything." Risa was glad her sister was facing away because then she wouldn't notice the blush that stole across her face. No, she didn't know about the thievery, but there was a resounding 'yes' on the subject of her contacts with Dark. "But you've never been interested in anything to do with Dark, Riku. Why the interest all of a sudden?"
Her sister paused a moment but then turned to face her sister. "I don't really know, actually. I guess…ever since that night at the museum…" She let her eyes wander and as they looked up an expression of recognition changed her features. "Hey, I think that's…" She smiled her sweet, polite smile and waved.
"Who are you looking at?" Risa asked. Riku didn't answer right away.
"Good morning!" She lowered her arm, still staring at a place above Risa's head and field of vision, probably on the sidewalk up the cliff face. "Oh, well, I think he's coming down to say hi to us."
Risa tried to peer around the parasol. "Who?"
"Hiwatari."
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She had been here.
He could feel it.
The Mystic had been roaming the town in the flood of the moon, leaving behind the intoxicating odor of her presence. Satoshi walked along the cobblestone streets and knew that his steps were mimicking hers. She had come this way, but where was she headed?
A glint caught his eye near the cliff railing. When he bent down to pick it up he felt the jolt of magic that is possessed. He almost dropped it.
So.
The Mystic had returned, had been set loose prowl the earth again. She would wreak the havoc that he feared and soon the calls would be coming in: people are missing, people are dying, people are loosing their will to live. Things would get chaotic. Things would get bleak. And all the while the Mystic would be deteriorating. Satoshi held up the piece to the light. It was a shard of glass, spirals of the flame and ice it took to make it swirling together through its clear face. The sunlight shining through it was warped, twisted around in the fashion of ordinary glass, but instead of casting prismatic colors and shapes across his face and body, it cast jagged lines of absolute blue.
A definite piece of the Mystic.
When Satoshi lowered his arm his immediately locked onto the beach below, where the flawless white sands submitted lazily to the coming tide. But there was a difference on the beach today. It appeared in the form of a green parasol and a short-haired girl standing, ankle-deep, in the tide in her pink shirt and blue shorts.
"Good morning!" Riku Harada's greeting was coupled with a smile and a wave. Satoshi didn't want to seem rude, so he waved back, albeit quite unenthusiastically. For a while now he had noticed that Daisuke had found solace and serenity in Riku, and for that he had come to think of her in great respect. Even though she didn't know about Daisuke and Dark, she seemed to accept his absences without diminishing from their relationship. She was a smart girl.
Satoshi thought a moment and then glanced back at the shard in his hand. The Mystic passed through here…maybe if she left behind another clue to her whereabouts Riku might have found it. It wouldn't hurt to talk to her, and he didn't mind. It was only Riku.
He looked for the wooden stairs that led to the beach face. He sighed. Another chase, another disaster at stake. But this time the prospect of catching the perpetrator was not a joyful one. This time it would be laden with fatigue and misery.
Goddamn. He was so very tired of this.
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"Good morning, Hiwatari-san," Riku said as she watched Satoshi stride towards her down the beach. She frowned a little at the look of him. He looked much healthier than the last few times she'd seen him, and he wasn't limping either, but he didn't look the way he usually did. He looked…haggard? Tired, to be nicer. He was still clean-cut Satoshi Hiwatari, but there was a five o'clock shadow clouding his entire presence.
"Good morning." He glanced back up at the cliff face before he focused his full attention on Riku. "I wanted to ask you something, Harada-san." He stopped at the water's edge, squinting at her through the sun's rays.
"No problem." Riku strolled out of the tide, her the coolness of the water swiftly replaced by the warmth of the sand. "It looks like you're feeling better."
"Uh, yes. Yes, I am."
She smiled. "Daisuke will be happy about that." She noticed that Satoshi looked away at that. Even Daisuke had noticed that Satoshi took to their friendship in a tentative manner; almost as if he felt uncomfortable having a friend in the first place.
"Harada-san, I'm…looking for something that I lost somewhere around here. Have you found or seen anything odd?"
Riku frowned, shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. What are you looking for?"
Satoshi didn't answer directly. "Well, I'm looking for something that could resemble this." He held up his upturned palm and she saw a glinting piece of glass lying in his hand. "Have you seen a piece like this nearby?"
"Oh, that's beautiful," she breathed. She liked the way the sun danced inside of the glass. "No, I'm sorry, I haven't seen anything like that. Have you, Risa?"
When she mentioned her sister's name Satoshi whirled around in surprise, his hand quickly closing on the shard piece. Behind him Risa sat under the parasol, eyeing Satoshi questioningly.
"I don't know. What does it look like?" The way she said it sounded weird, and when she stood up and walked toward them she was looking at Satoshi as if she were angry with him. He, on the other hand, looked, for the slightest second, like a nervous wreck. "Hello, Hiwatari." She didn't even both with being polite.
Satoshi nodded. "Morning, Harada-san." He held back a moment before he offered her a look at his token. "Have you seen anything like this around here?"
She glanced at the shard and then quickly looked back up at him. "No." She held his gaze for a second longer before turning back around and heading towards the refuge of her parasol once more. Riku winced and her rudeness.
"I'm sorry, Hiwatari-san. Risa's been acting…strange lately."
"No need to apologize." He pocketed his shard. "I better be going."
She smiled. "I hope you find what you're looking for."
"Me too. I guess I'll see you at school." He started to walk away. "And, if you see Niwa, could you tell him…thank you." She nodded.
"Of course, although you could always tell him yourself."
Satoshi only nodded before turning his back to her and walking away. Riku started to watch him leave, glanced at Risa thoroughly ignoring him under the parasol, and then decided that her afternoon had suddenly freed itself and she could do with a good hunt.
"Hey, Hiwatari! Hiwatari-san!"
"Riku, what are you doing?"
But Riku didn't answer her sister; she'd follow her soon enough anyway. "Hiwatari-san!" Satoshi stopped walking and looked over his shoulder. "Hey, would you mind a little help?"
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Daisuke slung the shopping bag over his shoulder as he strolled along the sidewalk back home. He never did mind running errands for his mother, but today all he really wanted to do was lie down in his bed and sleep. The magic Dark had used the night before and taken more than a lot out of him, and he felt a good day's rest would help him feel better.
Daisuke sighed. "Just listen to yourself," he said, speaking to no one but his conscience. "Hiwatari probably had to go through a lot more just to resist Krad. I shouldn't be complaining."
"Don't be so hard on yourself."
"Dark?" Daisuke had never really heard Dark sound so deadpan before. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine." But he didn't sound fine. "And Daisuke, I'm sorry about last night. I wasn't thinking when I…I should have warned you."
Daisuke smiled a lazy smiled and continued walking. "You don't have to sound so sad; I'm all right. Tired, but all right." He listened to Dark's grumblings inside of him. "But, then again, that's not the only thing that's worrying you, is it? You're still worried about The Mystic's Dream."
Dark didn't answer.
Daisuke knew better than to press him when he was brooding so he let the conversation die. He continued on at a languid place, dreaming of his bed back at home. But the day was still young, maybe he'd give Riku a call. Or maybe Satoshi to see how he was doing.
A glint caught his eye. Daisuke stopped walking and squinted. Off to the side and hidden underneath some bushes was a large piece of glass, carved smooth on one side and jagged at the other, as if it had broken off of something. "Hey Dark, look at this." Daisuke moved towards and picked it up. The minute the glass was bathed in the sunlight the rays began to dance inside of it. "Wow," he breathed, holding it up between his fingers. The colors that it should have shed didn't appear, only a bold, royal blue.
"That's an odd trinket," Dark said. "What do you suppose…?"
"I don't know, but it's really big." Daisuke laid it across his palm. It practically eclipsed his entire hand. "Whatever this broke off of must have been huge." He looked around. "I wonder what--,"
Another glint.
"Hey Dark, did you see that?"
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Satoshi couldn't have put himself in a worse situation if he tried. Here he was, trudging along the beach with none other than the Harada twins in his wake. When Riku had offered to help him he had been hesitant to accept it, but she had insisted on helping him. What was he to do? He had to admit, the extra eyes would be helpful, and right now he wasn't one to deny a better chance at finding the Mystic.
What he hadn't counted on was Risa joining them.
He could tell she was still angry with him after their talk under the cherry trees, and he wasn't all too disheartened by her cold demeanor. He was the only one of the two who knew of their shared kiss, and he did not relish the chance to be in her presence. Yet here she was, unrelenting in her persistence to come with. She hadn't wanted to be left alone.
And here Satoshi was, stalking across the beach in a heat of nerves.
"You're walking too fast!" He closed his eyes in frustration as Risa's voice called to him from somewhere behind. "Could you slow down a bit? It's too hot."
But he didn't slow down. He continued at his rigorous pace.
Behind him Risa scowled at his back. "He's not even listening to me!" Riku, who had been holding back to keep her sister company, shrugged.
"Well Risa, maybe if you were a little nicer he'd be a little slower." She gave her sister a knowing look and then jogged forward to catch up with Satoshi. Risa watched her sister go with narrowed eyes.
"Well if he was a little slower maybe I'd be a little nicer!" She watched Riku level with Satoshi, exchange a few words, and then jog on past, straight for the water. She waded right into the waves and tucked her hair behind her ear, bending over a bit to inspect the sand beneath the waters. Satoshi didn't even glance at her but stared straight ahead. Risa sighed, already bored.
"Hiwatari-san? Hiwatari! Hiwatari!" He didn't respond. She groaned loudly, (enough to make sure he heard), and then ran a little ways so that she wasn't left completely behind. She made it within three feet of him before she called his name again. "Hiwatari!"
Satoshi abruptly stopped walking and spun around to face her. It was such a sudden movement that Risa had to dig her heels into the sand and lean back to keep from knocking heads with him. She had time to note that his usual calm, blue eyes were now searing with the fire of annoyance.
"Harada-san, please. I am very grateful that you and your sister offered to help me, but during this search I would very much appreciate it if we kept the talking, and screaming, to a bare minimum." He was inches away from her face, his breath tickling her skin. She couldn't find any words of retaliation so she nodded instead. "Thank you," was all he used to reply before turning back around and resuming his rapid walk.
That was one of the things that made Satoshi Hiwatari so odd and mysterious compared to the rest of their generation. Although he barely raised his voice higher than its usual baritone, Satoshi could make fires freeze with the intensity of his words. And it was also in his demeanor: that calm, cool way he carried himself. He was always so sure of what he was doing and how to control the people around him. Risa felt her heart pounding. The way he had stared her down had been so absolute that it almost frightened her.
Frightened her, save for the blush that suddenly heated her complexion. That was another of the amazing mysterious of Satoshi Hiwatari.
Without meaning to or being aware of it in any way, Satoshi was incredibly handsome.
"Hey, Hiwatari-san! Risa! Come look at this!"
Both Risa and Satoshi turned to where Riku was. She was some ways out into the water, on top of a rock that jutted out from the sea like a large bowl. The waves were still large enough to climb on top of it, but just barely, so that every now and then water grazed over its top, keeping the bowl filled to the brim every time. Riku was standing along its jagged rim, staring down into its mass of water. "Come out here…I think I've…well, I don't really know what this is."
Risa took a mental note at how far out she was. About twenty feet. She gotten far.
"Riku, do you really want us to go all the way out there? But what about the waves?"
"Oh, you'll be fine, Risa!"
Without a word against it Satoshi headed straight for the water, striding right in. Risa watched him go and, for some reason, took offense to his lack of hesitation.
"All right, I'm coming."
She hurried into the water, momentarily morning her dry skirt. The ocean was cold, and Risa was surprised that her sister and Satoshi were not greatly affected by it. But she sucked in her breath and continued to wade her way through the water, the sand beneath her feet dipping lower and lower as she came closer to the rock.
"Riku, are sure about--," Risa's foot suddenly missed the sand and was stepping down on nothing but water. She started to go under, the water almost completely submerging her face when a hand reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her up. She gasped in surprise and saw Satoshi staring down at her, his hand clamped around her wrist. He was already climbing up the rock, his other hand clinging onto a handhold in the stone. Above him Riku was watching, her hand stifling a smile.
"Yeah, about that…it gets a little deep around there."
Risa sputtered. "Thanks for the warning." She reached for the rock as Satoshi hoisted her upward, supporting her until she had found a firm handhold and foothold. She glanced at him and attempted a grin. "And thanks for saving me."
He only nodded. Risa reached up for the rim of the bowl but couldn't quite grasp it. She frowned. She was just a little too short. "Riku, could you help me?" Her sister appeared over the rim again and reached down to give her sister a hand.
"You'll have to boost yourself up a little, I can't reach you."
"Well, how did you get up there?"
"I jumped up and hoped I'd catch the edge."
Risa rolled her eyes. Sometimes it seemed that her and Riku were just a little too different.
"Here." Satoshi was suddenly at her side, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her upward. He was taller than her, so all he had to do was lift her a foot or two and she could reach Riku's hand. Before she could dismiss it, Risa noticed that despite his biting attitude, Satoshi's touch was extremely gentle.
"Geez Risa, you've gotten heavy," Riku grunted as she pulled her sister up beside her. Risa smiled at her.
"It's your cooking that makes me this way." She looked back down and watched as Satoshi gracefully began to climb up next to them. "Here, I'll help you." Risa knelt down and grabbed Satoshi's arm with both hands, aiding in his flawless ascent over the rock rim. He stood up beside her and straightened out his now wet shirt.
"Thank you, Harada-san," he said, mildly surprised by her help. She shrugged and decided to grant him a smile.
"Thank you, Hiwatari."
"Look." Both Risa and Satoshi looked up at Riku. She was pointing inside the bowl, her other hand rubbing her arm nervously. "Hiwatari-san, does that help in finding what your looking for?"
Risa stared at the bowl and then at Satoshi, and by the look on his face it was definitely something of importance.
Inside the carved out hollow of the rock were hundreds of jewels; rubies, pearls, sapphires and diamonds, each twinkling in the mixture of sunlight and seawater. Resting at its center, clearly different from the rest of the gems, was a glass piece broken out in the shape of a crescent moon, the light swirling inside of it casting royal blue prisms on the rest of the treasure.
"Oh my gosh. They're beautiful." Risa knelt down to get a closer look. "How did they get here?" She looked up at Riku who had moved to stand next to her.
"I don't know. The weird thing is that every time a wave comes it doesn't matter how strong it is; none of them move." As if to prove her point a huge wave came crashing over the rim of the rock, splashing into the hollow in such a way that the tiny jewels would have had to move.
None did.
"They're not real." Risa and Riku looked over at Satoshi.
"They're not?" Risa asked. He shook his head.
"No." He stepped forward, right on top of the jewels. Risa started, expecting the delicate stones to crush under his weight, but they didn't. "It's a façade; an illusion to make you think you see beauty when all it adds up to be is nothing but smoke and mirrors." He walked out to the middle of the water and reached down for the glass crescent. The moment he picked it up the jewels dissolved into nothing but ordinary pebbles. The Harada twins stared in amazement.
"Yes, Harada-san, this does help." Satoshi walked back to them and held the transparent moon to his face. "This helps very much." He tossed the glass piece up and a down a few times, testing its weight. Risa straightened up.
"May I see it?"
Satoshi looked at her with a raised eyebrow before surrendering the piece to her. She took it in her hands and was surprised by how heavy it was. It couldn't have weighed more than a pound or two, but the piece she held felt like a lead brick.
"It's odd," she said, turning it over in her hands. "Why is it in the shape of a moon?"
Satoshi shrugged. "I don't know." But in the tone that he said it Risa could tell that he did know, but was unwilling to share.
Riku tilted her head, her brow furrowed. "Hey, do you hear that?"
Satoshi's eyes suddenly widened and he dove for the twins.
"Jump!"
He collided with them, pushing them over the rock edge, towards the deeper waters. He went flying into the water after them as a huge wave came crashing over the opposite edge, strong enough that it flew high up into the air as it bashed into the hollow. Risa screamed as she plummeted into the water, the ocean silencing her cry as it engulfed her. There was a split second of frozen surprise before Risa could open her eyes. Riku and Satoshi had splashed down beside her, both floating around like ghosts. Satoshi opened his eyes to look at both of them and then motioned towards the shore where Risa could see the sand slope slowly upward towards the beach. She nodded with her sister and they started to swim for the shallows. But as Risa kicked she found herself going nowhere.
The weight of the glass was multiplied in the water, and it's volume was now preventing her from swimming. No…it wasn't preventing her from swimming, it was pulling her down into the water, where the ocean's current was stronger.
She began to panic. Even without the glass piece Risa wasn't as good a swimmer as Riku was. She could have dropped it and begun paddling forward for her life, but Satoshi had been so focused on it; had seemed relieved to find it. She couldn't just let it sink by itself.
Risa kicked and kicked but it only made her sink faster. Her pulse was racing. She was loosing breath. She wanted to scream but was afraid too. She looked up and saw Riku and Satoshi heading for the shore. She wanted to call out to them, to bring them back, but how can one cry for help when their voice is taken away by the sea?
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Satoshi stopped. He had been keeping an eye on Riku to make sure she was safe, but he had forgotten about Risa. How could he forget about Risa?
He pushed the water away from himself and whirled around. There she was, about three yards away from him, her hands still holding tightly to the shard as she slowly sank lower and lower. She was kicking franticly but going no where. She was going to drown.
Satoshi immediately shot forward, parting the water in front of him as he pulled himself closer to her panicking form. When he was a foot away from her she looked up. The expression on her face, one of despair and fear, made him hesitate in surprised.
She looked so scared.
Satoshi floated in front of her face and started to reach for her when she squeezed her eyes shut and sputtered, air escaping her mouth in bubbles. It was no surprise; she had been kicking so hard that she was growing tired, and her muscle were dying for oxygen. She had been trying not to pant or gasp underwater and, in doing so, had choked on her own efforts.
Her eyes began to close; her mouth shaking. She had lost too much air and even though the surface was clearly visible above them it was still too far away. They wouldn't make it in time.
As a Commander, Satoshi Hiwatari had been properly trained in every way necessary to help save a life. He knew CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver. He knew how to bind an open wound and to suck out poison from a sting or a bite. He knew how to stem the blood flow and how to save someone from drowning. And he also knew how to give air when there is no other means to get it.
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Risa couldn't even begin to understand the relief of having Satoshi come back for her. Seeing him hover before her was a weight off her shoulders. At least she wasn't alone. But she could feel her lungs condensing while her heart beat strenuously, and she couldn't help the cough that escaped her lips. That cough contained more than half of the air she had left, and she could already feel the penalty of it.
She was getting dizzy and the water surrounding her was pressing painfully against her chest. Her vision was getting blurry. Her heart seemed too big. Her head was floating. Her eyes were closing.
Then she felt two hands gently cup her face and lips were pressed against her own and they were gentle and sweet and then air was streaming into her lungs and she could feel her head steady a bit and she knew she wasn't given minutes, but she had gained seconds.
Satoshi kept their faces locked together as he kicked upward, hoisting both her weight and the weight of the glass shard towards the surface. Before she knew it her head broke the surface and Satoshi pulled away. She gasped; sucked in a lungful of air..
"Risa, give me the crescent!"
She deciphered his words and held up the moon. Satoshi quickly took it and hooked it into his belt just as another wave rose up to meet them. Riku saw it from the shore.
"Look out!"
Satoshi looked up and grabbed Risa's hands, hooking them around his neck. "Hold on," he commanded, and he dove under just as the wave crashed.
Risa knew she was far too heavy, but she clung to Satoshi tightly. To her surprise he pulled them along with an astonishing ease, gliding through the water nearly effortlessly. At one point she felt her grip slipping, but he quickly caught her wrist, clutching her to his collarbone.
What seemed like hours later the sand came up to meet them, and Satoshi guided Risa from his back towards the shore. She pushed through the water and soon broke the surface once more as she clambered up the sand slope to the waiting shore and Riku.
"Risa!" Her sister ran forward and threw her arms around her, kneeling on the sand where Risa was struggling on all fours. "Oh my god, are you okay?"
She coughed. "Yeah. Yes, I'm okay."
Satoshi came crawling up beside her, collapsing on his back, panting and pulling in the air as if he couldn't get enough. Risa stared down at him, still held tightly in her sister's arms.
"Hiwatari-san, are you--,"
"Yes. I'm fine." He took off his glasses and wiped at his eyes. Riku looked back at the sea.
"What was that? The waves were so big and there's hardly a wind!"
"It was the glass shard."
"What?"
He unhooked the moon from his belt and held it up. "The moon is a water bender, calling in the tides and pushing them away again. This glass moon was created to do the same. It was pulling the waves towards us."
Riku looked down at Risa and they exchanged puzzled stares. Neither had any idea what he was talking about.
"Why…how could something be made to mimic the moon?" Riku asked. Satoshi gulped down a mouthful of air.
"It's all part of the façade. The beauty and majesty of the moon was copied, but instead of the beauty this replica brought about disaster." Risa saw that the look in his eyes suddenly changed into an immediate glint of hatred and anger as he stared out at the water. "It will always bring disaster."
He pushed himself up to a sitting position and turned to look at her. "Are you all right? Are you hurt?"
Risa shook her head. "No."
Satoshi waited a moment and then simply nodded, tucking his glasses onto his shirt collar. "Good." He started to move to stand but Risa reached out to stop him. He did, and he looked back at her. Risa slowly pulled out of her sister's embrace and leaned into Satoshi, quietly wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Thank you," she whispered, burying her face into his shoulder. "Thank you."
At first Satoshi did nothing, and then she felt the same hands that saved her snake around her shoulders and return the hug.
