Chapter 15: Umi's Confession

Cephiro Castle Refugee Camp

Umi was walking through the refugee camp, looking for Raxx. It pained her to see these people going through so much, again. First when Zagato kidnapped Emeraude, then when the country nearly crumbled to nothing, and now the Zill invasion. It was like a non-stop barrage of drama and hardship was hitting the people of Cephiro.

She was jolted out of her thoughts when she heard an argument going on up ahead. She could see a woman with a small child arguing with a guard by one of the tents where the sick and injured were being tended. She headed that way to see what was going on.

"I told you, I don't want that... Thing near my child!" the woman yelled angrily. "Find me someone else to help!"

"Ma'am, there is nobody else who can help you right now," said the guard. "I understand his being here is... questionable, but he's only here to help. Plus, you're distressing everyone around here."

"I don't care! Those animals are the whole reason we're here in the first place! And I won't have my daughter being seen by one of them! You shouldn't have even let it in here in the first place!"

Umi could feel her hands tightening into fists and she stormed over. "Don't you dare talk about Raxx that way, especially in front of me!" she yelled.

"Oh, Magic Knight! Sorry to disturb you," said the guard.

"Who do you think you are butting in?" the woman demanded. "This has nothing to do with you, Magic Knight or no!"

"It has everything to do with me!" Umi shot back. "You're talking about Raxx like he's some kind of monster trying to hurt you! All he's doing is trying to help!"

"Well, nobody asked him to! Besides, he's one of those Zill creatures anyway! Why would he ever want to help us?"

"Because it's the right thing to do! And he's not just helping you, you know! He literally saved my life when I was captured by the Zill! He left them behind, gave up everything he knew, just to be here to help take care of people in need! And you should be ashamed of yourself, not just for putting him down after all that but for putting your own hate and prejudice before the well-being of your child!" Umi had to pause to catch her breath.

The woman was stunned silent, unable to come up with a good response. Not only that, but people were staring at her now.

"What if I go in with the two of you?" asked Umi. "Will that make you feel better about him treating your daughter?"

"I... Very well," she finally said.

The three of them entered the tent, where Raxx was seated. Umi knew right away he had to have heard everything that went on. She gave him a small smile and was glad to see him return it.

"Welcome, please have a seat," said Raxx to the woman and her daughter. "Now what seems to be the problem?"

"She was... burned when we had to flee our village," said the woman. "The Zill attacked us three days ago and we came here."

"I was afraid of that," said Raxx, before smiling at the little girl. "Don't you worry, I'll have you feeling better in no time at all." He popped open a Zill first aid kit and removed a small tube of some kind. He squeezed out a light blue cream onto the burn and gently rubbed it in.

"Hey, that feels cold!" said the little girl in amazement.

"And I bet it feels a lot better, too," said Raxx as he gently bandaged the burn.

"Yeah, it doesn't hurt anymore!" she said with a big smile.

Raxx smiled and turned to the girl's mother. "You need to apply this to the burn once a day for the next two days and apply a fresh bandage each time. In two days, she'll be as good as new."

She was quiet for a moment as she took the tube from him. "Thank you," she said, looking away as she left with her daughter.

Raxx watched them go. "Well, that wraps it up for me today," he said, running his fingers through his emerald hair.

"You've had quite a busy day," said Umi. "Capturing a ship and then practically running a clinic afterwards."

"Yeah, but now it's over," he said as he looked at her. "Now, what do you say I clean up and then we get out of here?"

"Yeah, I'll wait outside," said Umi, getting up and exiting the tent.

A few minutes later Raxx exited the tent and they both left. As they walked, Umi said, "I still can't over the fact that you're so good with medicine."

"Yeah, I'm a full-fledged medical officer," said Raxx. "I can do everything from major surgery to basic first aid. When I heard that there were people here injured and sick, I knew where I needed to be."

"Wow, I managed to land the attention of a doctor," said Umi, "my dad would be celebrating if he heard that." She couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, a military doctor, but yes," said Raxx with a smile. "Listen, Umi, I want to thank you."

"Thank me for what?" she asked.

"For standing up to me back there," he said. "It's the first time since I've been here that anyone had my back. It...it means a lot to me."

"It was no trouble, really," said Umi. "When I heard the way she was talking about you, I had to do something. It isn't fair for them to judge you that way just because you're a Zill." She suddenly went quiet and said, "Even though I made that same mistake myself about Kefka."

"Oh? When did that happen?" asked Raxx, turning to her.

"When Hikaru was first meeting with Kefka, I kept telling her she shouldn't trust him because he was... one of the Zill," said Umi, looking away. "I wasn't willing to give him a chance, even though Hikaru defended him so passionately. When I heard that woman talking about you like that, it reminded me of how narrow-minded I had been." She started to feel a lump in her throat, but then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see that Raxx had come a bit closer, looking into her blue eyes.

"It's okay, Umi," said Raxx. "We were on opposite sides of the conflict at the time, and I would have been skeptical too if I'd known about Kefka and Hikaru. But what matters is that we've come together now, right?"

"Yeah, you're right," said Umi, looking ahead. She walked with him a little bit more before she finally asked, "Did you mean what you said back on the Adjudicator?"

"What do you mean?" He turned to her.

"About me... being beautiful," said Umi, starting to blush.

"I did mean it," said Raxx. "I meant every word of it. All of those qualities, your qualities, all of it makes you beautiful to me, Umi."

She stopped and turned to face him completely, her cheeks bright pink. She smiled and said, "I'm glad, Raxx. That makes me really happy."

Raxx smiled, his yellow fur rippling slightly. "I'm glad I make you happy, Umi," he said.

They continued walking, now staying close to each other. As she talked with Raxx, Umi kept thinking about all the time they had spent together, especially since the day he rescued her. Who would have thought, she wondered, how they would now be walking together like... like a couple. She found it hard to believe, but here they were.

She wasn't a child, not anymore. She didn't believe in fairy tale concepts like "love at first sight," or "star-crossed lovers." Yet, ever since that day on the Adjudicator, she had felt something for Raxx. And over the last days, it had only grown stronger and stronger. Now standing this close to him, it was becoming almost overwhelming. She felt like she was going to burst if she didn't say something. "Raxx? I need to say something," she finally said, stopping.

"Is something wrong, Umi?" asked Raxx, stopping as well. "Have I said something to upset you?"

"No, no it's not that. I... I'm not very good at this, so bear with me," she said. "When we first met, we were enemies. I thought you were just some evil invader trying to take over Cephiro. Then I got captured, and you took such a big chance to help me, to rescue me. I wanted to ask you then why you did it, why you would do so much for me, but there wasn't time. Then when we came back to the castle, I didn't know how to ask you.

"Now I'm here with you, right in front of me, and I still can't bring myself to ask why you risked so much for me. Or say what I mean to," she went on.

"You don't have to worry about that with me, Umi," said Raxx in a gentle voice. "If you have something you wish to say, just speak from the heart. Trust me, I'll understand."

Umi took a deep breath to steady herself. "Okay, I'll say it," she said once she was calm. "I know we haven't know each other long, but every day I can't help but notice you more and more. How you're such a strong warrior, brave and relentless. But at the same time, so kind and so willing to help anyone in need. How hard you work to care for those refugees, and the way you protected me during the mission today.

"I... I've come to care for you," she finally said, looking up at him. "Raxx, I... I think I love you. And I want to know how... how you feel about me."

Raxx just looked at her, his fur fluffing slightly. For one terrible moment, Umi thought she had gone too far. Then she felt his arms slowly encircle her, pulling her into a hug. She felt her heart skip a beat.

"Wait, does this... does this mean you feel the same?" she asked quietly, looking up at him.

"Does this answer your question?" he responded, leaning down and kissing her softly.

Her eyes widened at first, but slowly they closed and she leaned up into the kiss, wrapping her arms around him. As their lips parted she whispered, "I was honestly afraid you were going to turn me away. Why haven't you said anything before?"

"You're going to think this is silly, but... I was afraid of the same thing," he replied. "I guess we were both afraid of letting our guard down."

"I guess so. Guess we really didn't have anything to worry about," Umi chuckled.

"I guess not," said Raxx. "So, what happens now? This is all so new to me."

"We'll figure it out as we go, together," she said, leaning up to kiss him again.