http://clampfix.fanworks.net/kenichi/rayfic07.txt </head><body><pre>"Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing." Luke 12:23 Chapter Six: Seaside It was late in the afternoon by the time we reached it. The Seashore. I would meet Gara in combat here someday. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe today. I wondered if it were a mistake, going forth with the journey, as I was afraid to face Gara's blade and potential. If he truly were as good a swordsman as Rafaga... Nonetheless, Rafaga told me there was no turning back now. Mira went into the forest to gather fruit, while Rafaga went to do some fishing. I was stuck with the unenviable task of picking up firewood. It took quite some time; most of the branches I took were still fairly wet, and I had not quite gained mastery of the way to start fires using two sticks. I knew I should have joined the boy scouts... =================================== By dusk, Mira and Rafaga had gathered enough fruit and fish for supper, but sadly, I had yet to produce a spark. Rafaga sighed and took out his sword and a small stone he carried. He proceeded to strike the stone sharply with the edge of his blade. Soon, a small flame built up, fed by the dried sticks Mira luckily thought of taking along the way. We sat in a circle around the flame as the fish roasted slowly. I smiled as I thought of Umi going ballistic if she were reduced to firewood collecting. Such would definitely have tried what little patience she had, being denied the comforts her family and stature took for granted. A more sobering note. Hikaru, Umi, and fuu weren't any more talented in outdoorsmanship than I was, and the didn't have Rafaga or Mira to teach them the basics out here... How...? I voiced my opinion out loud. "I wonder how Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu were able to survive the wilderness of Cephiro without going cold and hungry..." Rafaga scoffed slightly. "Back then, they had Mokona to provide everything." Somehow, I found it hard to owe my life to a jabbering, hopping marshmallow. Nonetheless, Mira went on to explain how valuable Mokona was to the cause of the three Knights. Mira happily told me the entire legend of the Magic Knights. As if I hadn't heard that one before. Not wanting to disappoint her, I propped my head on my arm and tried to put up my most interested facade. "Ken, do you like Hikaru?" It was such an off-the-wall remark that I nearly collapsed. "Huh... I... Well... I... How...?" Mira flashed her little girl smile at me once again. "It shows. Every time one of us mentions Magic Knight Hikaru's name, you seem to go into a trance of sorts. Presea said that you must really like her to do that all the time..." I blushed badly, feeling as if the blood vessels in my cheeks were about to explode. Mira stopped herself, putting her little hands to silence her mouth. Was it really that obvious? I looked at Rafaga. He, in the meantime, was absently polishing his blade. The little smile just as suddenly turned into a frown. "Sorry. I shouldn't talk about things like that." She was blushing to the roots, and didn't notice a pendant fall from her neck. The object glinted slightly in the half-light of the sunset. I moved closer to pick it up. The amulet was a gold-encrusted bauble I hadn't noticed on Mira before. The chain supporting it seemed as fragile as the little girl herself. Before I had the chance to examine it further, Mira snatched it out of my grasp. She quickly pulled the chain over her head, tucking the pendant inside her clothing. "Thank you." Curious, I decided to continue my conversation with her. "I wonder who gave that to you?" "It was my Mother's. She gave it to me two years ago..." Mira looked at me with a sad look in her eyes. "...when she died." "I'm... sorry..." I thought about how I lost father. That day was one of the most painful in my life. "I'm sorry." Neither of us brought it up again throughout the night. =================================== The door was there once again. And once again, I opened it. I expected to see mists, and I was not disappointed. But the room seemed... different. Different... yet familiar to me. I felt someone call me. From the center of the room. My body felt weighed down by pain. I strode in. Who...? Emeraude...? The childlike princess it was. "Zagato..." Why is she calling me that? I came nearer to her. "Why..." A small hand reached out to my shoulder. The pain vanished. "Zagato... Please... Let them come..." I answered in a voice that was not my own. "No. I must slay them." What was I saying? The princess pleaded with me. "Zagato, please stop!" I was trying. I AM trying. The body I was in just wasn't mine to command. "I will not let them fulfill their destiny." Zagato. I was in Zagato's body. No, I was in Zagato's memories. "NO!!!!" Like a pane of glass, everything shattered. I was in the room again. The room of red skies and black mists. And Zagato. I was furious. Just when I thought that they were over, the dreams came back, and with a vengeance at that. "What are you trying to prove, you shithead?!?" Zagato's face was tinged with agony. "I want you to know that I had reason to fight the Magic Knights. I want you to see that I..." "I know that! You love Emeraude..." The spittle forming on my lips was as bitter as old paste. "...And died trying to protect her...!" Zagato nodded. "That is true. Remember that." His head bowed low. "But also remember that love is but one of the many things a man is willing to die for." My eyes fluttered rapidly. "What do you mean...?" Zagato raised his regal head to meet my question. "Love, Pride, and Honor. Three things that a man will fight to the death for." A metalshod hand pointed an accusing finger at me. "Gara has Honor. He will fight you because of it. What do YOU have that is worth dying for, Kenichi Kaeda?" The words hit me like a stone wall. He was right. I had nothing to fight for. Zagato, however, wasn't about to give up so easily. "Fool! When the one thing most precious to you is in danger, you WILL fight against all odds to protect it! You know what it is!" "No, I DON'T know, Dammit!!!" It was as if a sudden gale came in and blew me out of the room. I screamed as I was unceremoniously chucked out. The door then shut itself, leaving me only the determined look in Zagato's eyes to remember him by. =================================== At daybreak, Rafaga woke me. "You may have to fight Gara the day after this one..." He pointed to a line of stones I had not noticed the night before. A message? A signal? I got up to take a look. It was not a line, as I had originally surmised, but an illustration. The illustration of a Tree. The images on the palace walls came back to haunt me. A Tree, a Mermaid, and a Shield. Gara of the forests. The tree seemed to point towards the horizon. He's expecting me... Rafaga stuffed his sword-hilt into the image. "Gara is as steadfast and immovable as the tree." His voice had a tinge of great respect in it. "From him you must gain something." "Gain... What? What is it?" Rafaga bit his lip, a habit he probably took from me. "I don't know myself. Clef only told me that much." Damn you, Clef. I'm not one of your innocent little toy soldiers... =================================== We traveled across the beach for at least an hour. There seemed no sign of Gara at the moment. Bored, I decided to run around and race the surf. I removed my shoes and slung them over my shoulder. The waves felt good under my bare feet, and I broke into a run. Pretty soon, I outpaced Rafaga. I slowed to a walk. It was almost like the times Father and Mother took me to visit the beach during the summer. A familiar voice charmed me out of my nostalgia. "Do you mind if I join you? Mira had divested her shoes as well, and was quickly catching up to me. I grinned. She, however, answered thanks by splashing water in my face. I sputtered as the salt spray hit me, and she laughed. "You need to cool off!" I grit my teeth with mock outrage. "Oh, is that the way you want it? You asked for it!!!" I reciprocated with my own attack. For an instant, the two of us were playing around, completely soaked by the salt-heavy water of the sea. Eventually, the two of us dropped to our knees and laughed. We completely forgot the quest for those few precious minutes. "Are you two children finished?" Rafaga's stern voice brought us back down to reality. Painful as it was, Mira and I had to leave our short moment of childhood behind. It was for the good of the people. As I donned my sneakers, I gave her a knowing wink. Mira put forth her best grin. It'll be our little secret. =================================== A figure ahead. The massive shoulders and form told me it was Gara. I was about to draw my weapon when Rafaga stopped me. Gara looked at Rafaga, and the two locked eyes. "Dal Rafaga, you useless old slob. It's been a long time." Rafaga grinned. "Not long enough, you Chizetan pig. I can still see your ugly face hasn't improved with the years..." The air around was intense with energy as both stared each other down. Silence hung suspended, and I worried what would happen if Gara might suddenly want to attack Rafaga. The impasse was finally broken when both exchanged grins, then a loud, hearty laugh together... Gara and Rafaga... Were they friends? Gara was first to recover. "Well, then. Look what you made me do. I can't do my job now! Hell with you, Rafaga. It looks like I'll just have to postpone this battle for tomorrow." The Dal ceased his mirth and smirked. "Okay. Noon tomorrow it is." Gara's mass turned silently and stole away. Rafaga turned to me. The effects of the laughter must have worn off, as Rafaga had his stern face turned to me. "We have one more day. I suggest you use it." =================================== Rafaga took the firewood duty this time around. I was now knee- deep in the surf, trying desperately to catch a fish, but couldn't see even a single one. They must like Rafaga better. <Magic Knight...> I turned, but saw no one there. My imagination? It didn't sound like Gara or Rafaga... <Magic Knight...> It was as if the sky went from the purple hues of dusk to pitch black in seconds. I was standing in the middle of black space... but wait... The black thing had mass, movement... Fish...? It seemed like the bottom of the sea... <Magic Knight...> "Who is it?! A ghostly blue image appeared, and I was taken aback. A dragon...? <I am Seles, Dragon Mashin of the sea.> Seles...Umi's Mashin...? <You are completely wanting in skill. Why you were selected was beyond me.> Stern, blunt, and direct. That was Seles, all right. The Dragon head craned toward me. <You cannot defeat Gara.> The statement seemed absurd coming from a Mashin. "What do you mean by that?!?!" This is another hallucination. I just know it... <You do not posess a reason strong enough to win. A man without sufficient spirit cannot hope to win against Gara.> "Look here! I..." <Do you admit then that Umi's first impression of you was correct...?> What the...? Umi's impression...? <She distrusts you greatly, and I do not blame her. I feel what she feels...> Mashin have their own personality...? <I feel nothing but contempt for you.> The words might just as well have been a personal curse. "Contempt? You don't even know me, you overgrown tin lizard!" <If only you could show that much determination in your battle tomorrow. But I am afraid that without enough heart in yourself, You most certainly will lose.> Seles' next words were as cold as ice. <If you are lucky, you will die.> The dragon image disappeared, leaving me to my fish. "And what am I supposed to do, tickle Gara to death?" Nothing. Only the setting sun and the sea heard my plea. =================================== Rafaga was visibly displeased that I hadn't caught even a single fish. It was fruits all around for dinner, and we ate as if it were our last meal. For me, it could be my last meal. "You must fight him alone. That has to satisfy Gara's honor." I turned to the Dal. "You know him?" "He is Caldina's brother." The Dal flinched slightly at the mention of her name. "Rafaga, what happened to Caldina, then?" "She...died a few years back." Rafaga put down his fruit. "In childbirth. Had the child lived, she would be her... OUR firstborn..." I corrected my earlier assumption. Not the Dal's lover. His wife. Rafaga continued in his pained state. "Gara was around for what he hoped was the christening. Caldina's death shocked him as well. He left not soon after that. I hadn't heard from him since, until today." Rafaga turned to face me. "Do not let that get in your way. You must defeat him." "But if that's so..." "I love him like a brother..." Rafaga continued. "But you need the Mashin to finish this quest. If it must be, you must ki..." Rafaga was wont to finish the word. Mira watched our conversation intently. She had sadness written all over her eyes. For their sake... Gara was not an evil man, but his sense of honor demanded he stand his guard. Dis. I began to feel loathing for the name. He who would use a good man's honor to his own ends. I looked at the two Cephirians. The cheer that both had when we first embarked was all but gone now. Hikaru's heart would break if she saw them like this. She would rather die than allow them to feel this miserable. Thats it. I found my reason for fighting. I looked at Mira and Rafaga again. Yes, I will fight. This is why the three Knights fought for you. <You have found your reason. Good. Live up to it.> I felt the voice of the sea-dragon warming. Indeed, I had found a reason. Now I had to put it to the test.</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>