http://clampfix.fanworks.net/kenichi/rayfic02.txt </head><body><pre> "This is most strange, That she whom even now was your best object, ...should in this trice of time Commit a thing so monstrous to dismantle So many folds of favor. Sure her offense Must be of such unnatural degree That monsters it; or your fore-vouched affection Fall into taint." King Lear, I:1 Chapter One: Tower From the depths of night, the mists once again came. The light gray color of their smoky tendrils flowed translucent in the interplay of light and shadow, cutting through the squalid darkness surrounding me. Though the mists were slight, it was still too difficult for me to see clearly. The ghosts of both light and shadow cavorted along the steaming curls of cold vapor, further destroying whatever I could make of the backdrop surrounding me. "Do you wish to see more clearly...?" I nodded silently and without question. The voice I had heard was the soft, pained murmur of a young man, obviously in great pain. I did not see; rather, I felt the mists part for me. Light shone in. Ever inviting it called. I walked toward it. What I saw astounded all my senses. =================================== To my surprise, I blinked disbelievingly as I saw something that defied all the laws of natural physics. Floating islands! My jaw ceased to defy gravity and dropped. It seemed as if I had been staring at those skybound lands for a time nearing forever and beyond. The misty perch I stood upon held firm, as I then gazed at the land below. "Tell me, boy. What can you see...? What DO you see?" The gentle yet bitter voice helped me gather back my senses. My eyes panned the entire scenario in a heartbeat. The entire view ahead was nothing less than fantastic, the land below me, and the floating islands above... A sea that was a most pure and beautiful blue...like a perfectly cut jewel. "I see islands floating... I don't know how, but they are... I can see the sea, as crystalline blue as a perfect sapphire... " The sight of a mountain caught my attention. It was then that the 'mountain' roared it's fury. No, not a mountain. A volcano. tall, majestic and frightening. The fire from the heart of the earth itself. The voice once again broke my reverie. "A fire from the earth it is, indeed... but mere fire is not the truest power of the earth that it holds..." "Hunh?" I rolled my head in the voice's direction. =================================== I turned to see a tall figure in the shadows next to me. He was dressed entirely in a purple cloak, wearing large ornaments...no, I thought. Not ornamental. Armor. His head and shoulders were draped in a sort of black steel and velvet cloak. Finely chiseled features in a smooth, almost feminine face was framed by jet-black hair, complementing his height and looks. The cloak and steel served to make him look but all the more regal and imposing in the dim haze. But appearances aside, the most striking thing I found about his personage... were his eyes. It was the eyes that struck me the most. =================================== Ever since I was a child of four, mother had taught me to look straight into a person's eyes. She always said that the eyes said the most about a person's true nature. From all that I had experienced, I believed she was right... It was a skill that proved essential in my day-to-day life. The eyes set me aback. At first, I thought I registered a deep darkness in them. So deep that simply frightened me. Yet I pressed myself to look further. Upon closer inspection, however, the darkness in his eyes became all the more clear. I mustered the courage to speak. "You've lost someone, haven't you?" The eyes sharpened, almost as if they were to bore through me. "That is none of your concern." "It IS my concern. It's why I was brought here, wasn't it?" The dark form edged closer. "She is mostly with me." My temper, quick to rise whenever faced with a riddle, flared. "Mostly? What do you mean by that? Wait, first of all, why are you doing this to me?" I bit my lip hard. That was so cliche. The cloak rustled as an armored gauntlet emerged from its depths. It pointed to me. "I need you... To finish what I started." I couldn't hide my indignance. "Swell...", I spat. "You will understand some of it soon, boy." The word bit into me badly. "Stop calling me boy." The great dark face softened into what I thought was a smile. "You are so much like my younger brother." His mien then returned to its former seriousness. "You must understand, as well, that the physics of your world do not apply to mine." I was perplexed. "What do you mean by that?" The caped figure turned away, slowly swallowed by the shadows. "When you awaken, then you will understand." "I still don't know what the hell you meant by 'The physics of MY world'!!" The figure chuckled. "Look down." I looked at my feet to see that the mist had parted. There was absolutely nothing holding me up. Like the toon coyote who had just then realized the theory of gravity, I just as suddenly dropped like the proverbial rock, screaming at the top of my lungs. In two seconds I would be one with the earth, literally. As I raced towards my doom, I began to realize something. To a cartoon character, falling off a huge cliff... ...Wasn't funny... ...And I SO hated falling... =================================== I fell out of bed with a very audible THUD. Shaking off the effects of the fall, I gazed around to the sight of my room. Another nightmare, I thought. I groggily massaged the bump on my head, wondering why the dream was so different this time around. Realization hit me like a streak of lightning across the clouds. My mind was suddenly filled with visions... Visions of the unearthly world before... Spirit of Fire. Spirit of Water. Spirit of Wind. Three Saviours. Three Knights. Three young ladies who would, and did, make a difference in a land that was once and ever will be hidden from the sight and minds of mortal men. One of them was my beloved. Shidou Hikaru. A name that I was unlikely ever to forget. A story I wish I never knew. A story which was not at all finished yet. A story the dark man wanted me to end. Zagato. I wasted no time in getting dressed. I was halfway into my school uniform when I realized it was a Sunday. Cursing, I tossed my clothes into the laundry bin and fished a black turtleneck out of my closet. I picked up my jacket, to repress the cold autumn outdoors. Apprehension gripped my soul when I left. What if she wasn't there? There was a strong, assured knowing within me that I could not explain, but it told me she would be there, for me to confront. I grit my teeth and marched on. She would be there. In my heart I wished she would not be. I wished I was wrong, and that it was all just a crazy dream. "My Hikaru", I chuckled. My mirth pained me further. She belongs to no one, least of all myself. I simply could not accept it. Shidou Hikaru. Girl with the sweet smile and flashing eyes. The one person I cared above all else in the world. A murderer. =================================== The icy morning air bit into my face. My teeth were grit, but not due to the cold. Hot spurts of breath became puffs of light fog that blocked my view with every step. I was thankful for the Wushu training I recieved, as I reached into my psyche and shut out the deceptive feelings of cold. But try as I might, I could not shut the images ---The truth, a dark voice within told me--- that ran through my head. The land. The elements. The Princess. Lamb to the slaughter. I slid to a halt at the foot of the Tower and found myself wont to enter it as I used to. In some way, it appeared to me more ominous, more sinister, now that I knew what part it had played in the drama I had seen. Misgivings trembled from within my soul. What if this is all a mistake...? I steeled myself for the worst as I stepped through the doors of the elevator. =================================== Despite the warmth inside, I absentmindedly stuck my hands into my jacket pockets. My fingers grasped something... and fished out a black orb. I blinked absently. Wasn't this the same black orb I left in my school pants pocket? I scratched my head, wondering how it got all the way there. I definitely didn't recall taking it along... The elevator halted at the observation deck, knocking my senses back to reality. I stuffed the orb back in my pocket and took a deep breath. The doors slid quietly open. =================================== I peered around, hoping to catch a glimpse. Odd, there were so few people around this sunday. Just as well. I didn't want to create a scene. Hikaru was nowhere around. I scoffed to myself. Of course Ken, you fool. Relying on a dream, and some funny ideas based on a bump on the head. How do you even know that her name is Hikaru? I walked to the binoculars where I first saw her. I threw my hands over the railing and sighed. No hope. No way. Absolute nonsense, all of it. I banged my head against the railing and made a hollow sound. I cursed under my breath. Smart move, Ken. Really smart. A sudden little feeling nudged me. ...She's here... I turned my head out of pure reflex, gazing over my left shoulder. Spirits alive, I saw her. =================================== All three of them. I turned the rest of my body to view them, planting my elbows back on the railing. I bit my lip to stifle a laugh. Interesting that, for four years, I had not known a thing about them. Now, I knew more about them than I ever really wanted to. Watching them all as they discussed among themselves something. I was fairly sure it was about that mysterious land. Cephiro. The tallest girl, in the blue blouse and jeans was chattering incessantly. The long blue hair she had led me to surmise that she was Ryuuzaki Umi. And the girl wearing the greenish overcoat---The kind look on her face could only be Hououjii Fuu. But my eyes were first and foremost centered on the girl in the middle. Black pants and a red jacket framed her petite face. Shidou Hikaru. Girl with the eternally cheerful smile. Soon I found myself admiring her looks. Damn, when she smiled, I couldn't help but smile with her. "Shouldn't you be speaking to her, now?" I whirled around and found myself staring out the window. Zagato. It could not have been anyone else. But at best, my feelings were completely mixed about the entire thing. A part of me could not believe that she could do that. Didn't wan't to believe. But another, stronger part demanded to know the truth, straight from her mouth. Admitted or denied in her own voice. I pondered what to do. "Excuse me sir, may we please use those binoculars?" I looked up to the gentle face of Fuu Hououjii. A faint blush came across my face as I began to get up. Umi and Hikaru were right behind her. I had my misgivings, and almost decided to forget about it. But my conscience would just not let it go. The die was cast. =================================== "Hououjii Fuu-San?" Fuu's eyes snapped to attention. Surprise crossed her face, confirming her name. "Yes... Do I know you?" I stood up and noticed that Fuu and Umi were fairly taller than I was; At first I felt threatened, but one look at Hikaru and her small frame gave me a new sureness to my cause. I would see this storm through to the end. "Your friends are Shidou Hikaru and Ryuuzaki Umi, ne?" Umi's eyes narrowed as she visibly stiffened, while Hikaru's eyes questioned my every action in silent curiosity. Fuu smiled. "Yes, but who are you?" I swallowed deeply, and put up my bravest front. "My name is Kaeda Kenichi." Another swallow broke my voice. "I know of you three, of your link to Cephiro..." I bowed my head low. There was no way I could look into their eyes. "...And how you murdered Zagato and Emeraude." =================================== Stunned silence followed. I raised my head slowly, to look into Umi's crystalline pupils. Indignation was written all over her face. I was about to apologize when I heard a loud slapping sound. All of a sudden, I found my face looking to the side and my left cheek feeling as if it had been set on fire. I looked back at Umi. She was seething with supressed rage, her left hand raised in what looked an on-guard position. It took me awhile to realize that I had been slapped. "Umi-Chan!" Hikaru's voice. I felt worse than ever. Hikaru, she was coming to my defense, even after I declared my doubts, accused them of an unthinkable crime. Umi lowered her arm, but still gave me a look that tore daggers into my soul. Hikaru then turned to me with her own, clear, questioning eyes. "How did you know...?" =================================== Fuu and Hikaru listened intently as I related my dream. About my first dreams. About my encounter with Zagato. How I learned of their calling. And the two times they had traveled to the land. The accuracy of my tale struck them all. I knew the hows. All I needed now were the why's. That was why I had to talk to them. Three Magic Knights. "I know what you did. I want to know why..." Umi did not flinch. "Zagato's spirit..." She spat the name out like a curse. "...How can we trust this kid? He's probably allied him- self with Zagato..." "Umi-San, I don't think so." Fuu's voice seemed to have a calming effect on everyone. Like the reassuring tone of an older sister. "Zagato wasn't evil, you know that." She turned back to me. "Ken-San, we..." She put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "...we did not know. All three of us, we were young and idealistic... We thought that we were doing the right thing." I nodded, and I could honestly understand how she felt. =================================== It was getting dark. I spent practically the most of the day talking to Fuu. She seemed the best equipped to deal with a young and brash fifteen-year old such as I was. Umi was fairly distrustful; I could not at all blame her, after the way I blatantly confronted them. And Hikaru... I wondered what she must have been thinking. I excused myself from Fuu and faced Hikaru. I came all this way to meet her after four long years. I would at least talk to her. "Shidou-San..." I blurted. She looked into my eyes with her own. Her arms folded absently around her chest, as if she wished to grasp something dear to her. I noticed that she and I shared the same height. "Shidou-San... I..." Blast, why was it so hard for me to say something? "Kaeda-San. There's no need for you to apologize for anything." Her smile brightened my heart inside and out. It was hard for me to believe that she was three years my senior; In fact, it felt more like we were the same age. I smiled back at her as warmly as I could. "Thank you for understanding..." I turned to Fuu and Umi. "All of you, for understanding." My smile faded slightly. "It isn't for me to judge what you did or why you did it...I wasn't there..." I noticed Umi's face soften visibly as I spoke. "...I wish that I was." "Be careful what you wish for..." I no longer turned to the voice. I knew it to be Zagato's. =================================== "Isn't it kind of late already?" Hikaru and I looked at Fuu in unison. I nodded. "Agreed." I turned to Hikaru and smiled. "Take care of yourself, Hikaru-Chan." Only when the words left my mouth did I realize that I had broken with formality and called her "-Chan". I felt really stupid... No, purely idiotic... That had to be dumbest one in the books. Luckily she hadn't at all noticed. Hikaru grinned brightly. "You too, Ken-Kun!" Or did she? I wanted to burst out, tell her how I felt. I turned my back on the open windows. "Hikaru-San, I..." I started to lean back on the railings. "KEN!!!" Hikaru's scream came a bit late for me. ...It took a full two seconds for me to realize that there was no railing for me to fall back on. At the back of my mind I remembered that the Tower was undergoing some repairs to parts of its observation decks today. I flailed my arms around frantically, hoping to grab some- thing, all in vain. The last thing I saw was Hikaru's face. Something akin to a mix of shock and... ...Sadness? As if she was about to lose another person she cared about. I'm sorry Hikaru-San... Her face rushed away from me at a million miles per hour. Oh God, how I hate falling...</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>