http://clampfix.fanworks.net/kenichi/magi4-7.txt </head><body><pre> "The die is cast." JULIUS CAESAR Chapter Seven I awoke from a strangely dreamless sleep. It was odd at first, since I had had dreams consistently since I was eleven; But it was also relaxing to know that Zagato might have taken a break from tormenting me every single night of my life. ...Very thankful for that. Been a long time since I had a really relaxing sleep. I was feeling lazy, and lay on my bed for just a bit longer. There was a hard rapping on my bedroom door. "Go away. Lemme sleep just a couple of more minutes..." The door opened, and Rafaga's voice boomed me out of bed. "GET UP, YOU LAZY.....!!!" I needed no further prodding. I felt the bed race away from me as I leaped out, grabbing my clothing as I went to the bath. Mother would definitely like Rafaga. Anyone who could get me out of bed that quickly was sure to recieve her deepest respect. Breakfast was quick and delicious, although I was still unfamiliar with the fruit that was prepared for the morning. It tastes like something in between a pineapple and a peach, odd as that may sound. I was still a bit off- balanced by the way Clef and Rafaga were rushing me. Minutes later, I joined Clef and Rafaga in the Great hall. The anxiety was almost edible in the air. Clef's voice cut the silence like a razor. "It is time you started your own quest, Ken." "Start...? Oh, yeah." Much as I wanted to stretch my legs outdoors, I felt somehow wont to leave the palace and its comforts. "You will not be alone. Rafaga will accompany you." If Clef had told me that before yesterday evening, I would have called him completely out of his mind. But Rafaga had already begun to warm up to my presence, and he did not act as sullen as he was when first I encountered him. "What about you, Guru Clef?" Clef smiled, but there was something in his tone of voice that made me wonder about his true intents. "Not to worry. I must stay and watch the palace. I must put my powers forward to protect the remainder of Cephiro from being assimilated by Dis." The image of that creeping, mysterious darkness crawling all over Cephiro sent chills down my spine. "Rafaga will show you the way, and tell you what you must do. Put your faith in him, and do not falter." Falter, he says. A sudden gloom came over my face as I recalled the paintings in the stone. What if I'm wrong? What if Clef is leading me, just as he led Hikaru and the others, into something...? I quashed the thought from my mind like a bug. Concentrate on the task at hand. Presea entered with Mira at her side. The Pharle was dressed in the cloak I first saw her wear in our first meeting. Mira, however, was wearing a fairly rugged outfit and a small pack like a duffel bag was slung to one side. Wait a second... No, you can't mean... "Mira is ready, Guru Clef." Clef nodded at Presea's words, as did Rafaga. I, however, had other ideas in mind. "Guru Clef, you can't be serious!" All eyes turned to me in question. "Mira's too young to go on a journey like this. That and she's a just a little girl..." I stopped myself, knowing that I had then begun to sound idiotic. What, Hikaru, Umi and Fuu weren't girls when they came to save Cephiro? And who am I to say whether a girl can handle herself or not? I tried to justify myself nonetheless. "...I mean, it's too dangerous..." The adult side of Mira exposed itself again. "That's why the Guru asked me to accompany you both. With all that trouble, you'll need a healer." Mira's stern look and firm resolve ended it all. Even had Clef, Presea, and Rafaga considered against it, she would find a way to tag along. A strong will underneath the fragile facade. I had no choice but to relent. "Oh, alright. Just try not to get in trouble." Rafaga ribbed me gently. "She'll be too busy keeping YOU out of it." Hmmm... There was a joke in there somewhere. I just know it. It took me awhile to regain my bearings. Since the blue circle transported us outside of the palace, I was feeling nauseous. Twice, we had to stop so that I could let my stomach catch up with me. Rafaga and Mira, seasoned travelers as they were, patiently waited for me. At the tenth time I was feeling sick, Rafaga began to wonder if I had any ability to fight at all. We stopped momentarily in the cover of a shade tree. "At this rate, all Dis won't have to fight you. All he'll have to do is sit back and watch you drop dead from walking." I didn't know what was worse, Rafaga mad or poking fun at me. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that one, Rafaga." I sat on the tree's roots. "Tell me what I'm supposed to do now, Rafaga. Clef wasn't too particular about what I had to do in this 'quest' he's sent me on." The Dal sat down on an adjacent root, and Mira joined me on mine. "To beat Dis, you must have three things: A mashin of your own, More experience to gain confidence in your abilities, and the Heart strong enough to win at any cost." He turned his head to the sky and grinned. Smiling made him seem young. "Simply put, you beat him with heart, faith and steel." "Iv'e heard that one before." The Dal looked into my eyes once again. There was still a bit of apprehension within him, albeit subdued. "To gain your Mashin, you must defeat three guardians. They and they alone keep people away from the fourth mashin, and they are willing to face death before allowing anyone access." I grimaced. "Can't they just talk it over?" Mira answered for the Dal, in her strangely mature tone. "I hope so, for their sake..." For their sake? Why theirs? "Why should I fight them?" Rafaga spoke as if reciting them from memory. "The fourth is not like the other three mashin. Where the first three rely on their Knight's inner Kokoro or heart, the fourth does not." Rafaga stroked his chin nervously. "Clef says that it uses a kind of magic that is unique; no other can duplicate it. Something about the power coming from the earth...the soil." I pondered over what else to ask, but Rafaga had already stood. "Let's go. We have a long journey ahead." The forest we were in made the day seem like a subdued dusk. Rafaga said that it was high noon, but it was hard to believe in the pale pseudo-light that filtered down from the trees. The eternal tangle of vines and outcropping tree roots made it difficult for me to traverse. Mira and Rafaga had no problems, however, and they were soon quite a bit ahead of me. Iv'e always prided the fact that, being well-versed in the sport of Wushu, I was one of the most physically fit in my class, in spite of my small, slim build. Yet It was all I could do to even keep a pace with the Dal and Mira. Crossing deep forests was pretty much commonpalce for them, I suppose. My foot snagged on a root, and it sent me careening straight into the ground. I grunted ludly, but more out of frustration rather than pain. I looked up, and I had lost the pair. "Of all the..." No sense in crying over spilt milk. I picked myself off the ground...Hey! No sooner had I stood up than I was suddenly yanked skyward by my foot. Something was coiled around my leg and was right now hauling me off the ground like a crane. I was staring at the face of a giant goliath beetle. Well, what could pass for one. The large insect was up on two legs, and the tentacle that was grasping at my leg was one of two spouting from its mandibles. For some reason, I suddenly felt like one of those ginger snap cookies mother always baked for me. I punded my head. Clef never taught me any Magic spells or anything. Use your lance, fool... I summoned the weapon out of my glove. However, I wasn't able to get a secure enough grip on the handle and dropped the lance. Oh, terrific. Some Knight. Can't even hold his weapon right. That'd be good for a lot of laughs. Assuming that I actually live through this. "Rafaga, I hope you can hear this... HELP!!!" The beetle-creature released it's hold and I dropped like a stone into the underbrush with a Klumpth. Trust me, it feels the way it sounds. I peeked out of the brush long enough to see the bug-thing walk away, as if in fright. A faint rustling to my right caught my attention. Rafaga and Mira. Thank goodness they heard my call. Rafaga picked me out of the brush. "We heard your yell. What happened?" I pointed towards the escaping beetle. "That thing nearly ate me!" Mira snickered to herself. Rafaga, however, exploded in monstrous guffaws. There was something here I was missing, obviously... After a full minute of decapitating laughter, Rafaga managed to catch enough breath to explain. "....Ken!!!...That creature...wouldn't hurt a fly...!!!" "Oh? Then why...?" "Ascot's pets are playful but not intentionally harmful...!" Mira was still paralyzed with titters. "H...He...YOU scared him off!!!...hahahaha!!!!" Bal Ascot? The beast summoner? Rafaga had simmered down enough to notice what I hoped was a very annoyed look on my face. "Ever since Ascot left, his creatures have been roaming the forest. They like to play tricks on passers-by, but never harm them. Stars! Everyone in Cephiro knows that!!!" I left Rafaga and Mira to their little joke as I went and picked up my lance from the forest floor. Somehow, I felt that being eaten would have been better than going through all of this... We pitched camp for the night in the forest. Rafaga assured me that none of the creatures we saw were harmful. Nonetheless, I decided to take first watch. The small fire we kept was barely enough to warm us on this cold night, but the two Cephirians took to sleep naturally. Rafaga slept on the cool, soft grass. Mira did not seem to have trouble falling asleep either. On a whim, I divested my jacket and lai it under Mira's sleeping head. The look of contentment came quickly to the little face, and it pretty soon infected me with its simple cheer. I propped my back against one of the trees and stared long and hard into the fire. The flickering light made the approaching mists look even more ominous. I found myself thinking of home. Of mother. Of Hikaru Shidou. Hikaru. Her name meant, literally, torchlight. That which lights up the darkness. The gentle flames that warmed us tonight were like the flames In her flashing eyes. Bright, yet gentle. Like the flames, she could be as tender as candlelight... ...Or strong as an inferno. I clapped my hands to my head thrice. Have to stop thinking about her. Have to keep my mind straight. I took the first step, and now I have to follow the path to the end. I looked at Mira and froze. Red hair in a long braid...? For a second I thought I was looking at Hikaru's sleeping form. I shook my head. I'm hallucinating... Sure enough, Mira came back into my field of vision. "The night holds many illusions." I turned around to meet the voice. A large form lurked in the shadows. My body jumped to attention. "Step into the light." The figure agreed. A form clothed entirely in back. At first I thought it was Zagato. The mistake was apparent, however, when the firelight illuminated his full form. He was about Rafaga's build and a half, with his hair cropped short, and a frightening scar across his sharp face. Had it not been for the scar, he most certainly would have been considered fairly handsome. The clothes he wore were of form-fitting black, with a breastplate similar to Rafaga's. "I am Gara of the forests." The strange accent he had made me wonder where he was from. It sounded strangely like Osaka dialect. "Are you the Magic Knight?" I stood at ready, my hand at my glove. "No need to worry. I come not to harm you." I did not back down from my position. "I come to ask you a favor." Paranoia gripped my whole being. "What kind of favor?" The large figure fixed stern yet strangely gentle eyes on me. "For your sake, do not continue on your quest." "And why is that?" "I do not wish to kill you." My blood froze. I do not wish to kill you... "What's that supposed to mean?" Gara sighed like a tired old man. "If you insist on awakening the Fourth Mashin, I will have no choice but to fight you. I do not wish to see a life as young as yours wasted." He fixed his eyes into mine. I read the weariness in them. But along with the weariness was an unbending dedication. "I should warn you: I am at least a Dal in my level of swordplay." I saw no malice in his eyes. Clearly, he was honestly concerned for us. For me. "I...I don't know if I will continue..." Gara nodded. "I pray you do the right thing." The large man turned away and melted in the shadows. However, he had one last parting reply. "I do not want to add another innocent to the lives I have taken..." I could not be sure, but just before he disappeared, I could see a female figure at his side. At that instant it seemed that they became one with the mists of the night. I collapsed back into the tree. Gara of the forests. He was big. If he really is a Dal like Rafaga... I pray you do the right thing... It was daybreak when Rafaga shook me awake. Mira was still sleeping when Rafaga and I sat down for breakfast. I discussed the events of the night before with Rafaga. At the mention of Gara's name, Rafaga frowned. "It's true, he is as skillful as I am with the sword. If he is the first guardian we will encounter, I can assure you that he will do everything possible to stop us." "Why did he warn me then?" Rafaga sighed deeply. "Gara has a strong sense of honor. He does not wish to kill without due reason." "So he wants me to give up while I still can, right?" Rafaga nodded. An hour later, a still-drowsy Mira trotted beside me. Rafaga slowed down just long enough for the two of us to catch up. After a little while, he motioned us both to stop. There was a stream that was in our way. We could easily walk across, but Rafaga put his hand across my chest, blocking my path. The question he then raised to me had an air of finality to it. "Once you cross this river, you are in Gara's territory. There will be no turning back then. Are you sure you will continue?" Rafaga's voice had strength, finality, power... But, most importantly, genuine concern. I hesitated. If I stop now, I can go back to the palace. But what then? Some voice deep within told me I had to press on. The voice within that was Sol Zagato. I stepped into the stream. Rafaga and Mira nodded acknowledged agreement. Then, they too crossed the stream. Halfway through, I asked Rafaga what the stream was called. He told me its given name, and I laughed. Ironic, isn't it? How appropriate. The stream's name was Rubicon. </pre><p><a href="./">Back</a></p><p><a href=http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=216><img border=0 alt="Donate towards our web hosting bill!" src=https://secure.newdream.net/donate1.gif></a></p></body></html>