Re: (Fan/Act/Rom) The Legend of Zelda: Empire of Darkness [T]
Chapter Thirteen:
Questions Unanswered
Rontu ducked Link’s sword and side stepped to the right bringing his own katana down. Link brought up this shield, catching the blade and then rolled behind him. He slashed at Rontu vertically, but stopped before the steel could rip the black material of his trench coat.
“Damn it,” swore Rontu, who turned around to face Link. “I should have known you would do that.”
“You did very well,” said Link, trying to give Rontu positive reinforcement. “You just need to work on your speed.”
Rontu snorted and took off his trench coat before continuing their training. The day was not as nearly as hot as it would have been if it was summer. Link was thankful that fall was here to cool their aching backs. However, they were in the desert and the heat was still unbearable. He had no idea how Rontu could stand wearing his heavy coat all the time, and the fact that the cloth was black would increase the heat of the day. No doubt he was already sweating profusely, but both he and Link were not about to give up on training because it was a hot day.
They weren’t the only ones training today either. Kira and Tila were off sparing with each other, Ren was giving Trisa a training session, Zelda and Impa were practicing with bows, and Blaze and Khaz were dueling. The only one who was not with them was Leita, because she had her teaching duties to live up to. This didn’t seem to bother Rontu at all, for Link had noticed he left what ever room he was in when Leita would enter it. This struck Link has odd, but he supposed there was something going on between the two and it was none of his business.
Link’s sapphire eyes found their way to were Khaz and Blaze were dodging and ducking each other’s attacks. Was it true what Nabooru had said? Did Khaz hear voices just like he did? Well, not just like he did, but screams of the past may haunt him just like this cold voice did. Nabooru had called Link to her living area just a day after the battle at Lon Lon Ranch. Blaze was the one to come and tell him he was needed, and led him to her room but he did not follow Link inside.
“You needed to see me,” said Link. Nabooru looked up from her desk and smiled. It looked as if she was very busy, but she had called him so Link would not bother asking if he should come back another time.
“Yes, come have a seat,” she replied and stood up from her desk to sit down on a purple sofa. Link walked over and sat down in a green armchair across from Nabooru. He stared at Nabooru waiting for her to tell him why he was needed.
“I just needed to speak with you about what happened at the slave station, I need to know what went wrong,” said Nabooru. She had a very business like tone but still looked at Link with comforting eyes.
Link sucked in some air and let it out slowly. He had forgotten about that and was glad he had for it was not a memory he wished to remember, but if it was needed he would speak of it.
“At first everything was running smoothly, but then one of the guards started to try and rape Malon,” began Link. “I hesitated to attack because I feared we might be heard and the whole plan would be ruined, but Khaz … he—he went mad.” Nabooru’s expression suddenly became hard and serious.
“Mad? What did he do?” she asked, her voice as stern as her face.
“He attacked the guard harassing Malon …. He—he ripped him in half with his katanas. But even when he had already killed him he went after the other two guards. He cut one open and left him to die on the floor, and he crushed the other’s head with his foot,” said Link, closing his eyes and he could see those midnight-blue eyes looking down at the Dark Elf with a satisfied smirk on his face…. Nabooru let out a heavy sigh and spoke,
“Link, I will be honest with you. This is not the first time Khaz has done something like this.”
“What?” breathed Link.
“Khaz is not very well … when he was fifteen-years-old he killed his uncle,” said Nabooru, looking down at the ground sadly.
“W-why?” asked Link, leaning forward in his seat.
“I am sorry, but I cannot tell you that,” said Nabooru, looking up to meet Link’s eyes. “It is personal to both Khaz and Leita. I am not permitted to without their approval.”
“What I can tell you is that Khaz has a history of violence and hears voices in his head at times,” began Nabooru, but Link interrupted.
“Voices?”
“Well, screams actually and all I can get out of Khaz is that they are screams of a woman. From what I gather from Leita is that they are screams of their mother, and that is all I can say,” finished Nabooru. “Did Khaz say anything about the screams?”
“No,” answered Link. “He didn’t say anything about it.”
It made more sense now, or at least the only sense he could make out of it. His dream had shown him the truth. Khaz heard screams … She’s screaming … Link heard those words echo across his head, making Link wonder what could have happened to make Khaz hear things like that.
“You may leave,” said Nabooru, awakening Link from his thoughts. Link stood up and walked to the door but stopped when Nabooru said,
“Link?”
He turned around to look at her.
“Could you try and … talk to Khaz about this? I feel it might help him if someone were to confront him about his behaviors.”
Link paused for a moment, but then nodded. He stepped outside her door and began to walk back to the lounge room. His head ached with so many questions, and how in Hyrule he was supposed to talk to Khaz about such painful things?
‘Heh, he’s just as crazy as you,’ sneered the voice. Link gritted his teeth together. ‘Before you know it you will be gutting open people like the slimly fish they are.’
Silence! snarled Link.
‘Oh, does that bother you? Don’t worry, I’m sure you won’t mind when you hear their screams. You’ll like it, trust me,’ whispered the cold voice. ‘Did you not see how much Khaz enjoyed it?’
I said to be silent, growled Link.
‘Fine.’
“Hey, Link?”
Link snapped out of his thoughts and realized he was still in the training grounds. Everyone was looking at him with worried and puzzled faces. Rontu was staring at Link with a raised eyebrow.
“Could you not daydream while we train?” said Rontu. “Am I that easy to beat?”
“Oh … sorry,” said Link, and then held his sword and shield securely in his hands.
“Hey, Rontu,” called Kira, who was sitting on a bench with Tila. “Leita was looking for you.”
“Yeah, what else is new?” snarled Rontu, but caught Link off guard by whipping around and slashing at him with his katana.
“Why are you avoiding her?”
“What? Am I supposed to give her special treatment?” snapped Rontu, as he dodged Link’s shield attack.
“Well, I just thought you guys had some feelings for each other—” Rontu kneed Link in the gut with such a strong force that he went flying to the ground.
“What?” he snarled, turning to look at Kira not even bothering to apologize to Link. “Why on Ranelu would you think that?”
Link sat up from the ground and stared at him, thinking maybe it was too dangerous to train with him while on this subject. He rubbed his rubs, which were sore from Rontu’s attack. It was not only dangerous for Link, but for Blaze too. Khaz suddenly began to speed up with his attacks pushing Blaze back into a wall. Blaze finally knocked Khaz to the ground with his staff.
“Yeah,” grunted Khaz as he stood up from the ground. “Why would you think something like that?”
Rontu and Khaz locked onto each other’s gaze and glared viscously at one another. Neither forgetting what had happened at the party.
“Oh for Din’s sake!” cried Blaze. “Why don’t you screw her already Rontu! We all know that you like each other.”
“What?” yelped both Rontu and Khaz. Rontu was blushing looking completely outraged and Khaz was giving Blaze a deadly look.
“Hello,” said a gentle voice, making them all look up. Leita was only a few feet away from them and no one knew how long she had been standing there. Rontu immediately sheathed his katana and strode across the training grounds toward the exit. He didn’t look back to see her face, or to even remember to grab his trench coat before leaving. He was stomping off, but it wasn’t long until Leita caught up with him.
“Rontu!” called Leita, making Rontu stop but he did not turn around.
“What do you want?” he snarled, staring straight ahead.
“Nothing, it’s just—”
“What?” he growled, his voice echoing off the canyon walls. He turned and glared at her hoping it would make her go away. Leita flinched, but did not leave.
“You forgot your coat,” she whispered, holding out his trench coat. Rontu stared at her for a moment. He thought she was trying to talk to him about the night of the party.
“Oh …” said he, trying hard not to feel bad for yelling at her. He took the coat quickly but hesitated, waiting for her to say something else. Leita said nothing and turned to walk back to the training grounds. “That’s all?”
Leita glanced behind her, but did not turn around. “Yes, did you think there was something else I was forgetting?” she said, her voice soft and calming.
“…”
Leita smiled sweetly over her shoulder making Rontu want her to say something. Want her to be angry with him for avoiding her, something that would make her stay. No … I have to leave … thought Rontu, but her beautiful smile was melting his feet to that spot.
“Well, if there is nothing else then I will be waiting,” said Leita and again walked toward the training grounds.
“Waiting for what?” called Rontu, before he could stop himself.
“For you,” she answered, but continued to the entrance leaving Rontu to stare at her as she walked away.
“Hey, where’s Kai?” said Kira as she stretched her sore muscles. “Usually he trains with us.”
“He’s off talking to that kid,” Khaz answered for her. He and Blaze were still sparing, but this time Khaz wasn’t so much powered by his anger.
“What kid?” asked Malon, deciding she wanted to be included in the conversation.
“You know the one he saved from the Iron Knuckles.”
“Oh, you mean Tatsuya,” said Kira as she stood up from the bench ready for another match with Tila.
“Oh, so that’s his name,” said Khaz, pausing for a moment which gave Blaze the advantage to smack him on the head with his staff.
“Ouch!”
Kai leaned his back against the warm brick of the building connected to the fortress. He sat with his legs crossed on a large, wooden crate with a young boy sitting in front of him smiling. It had been about three weeks or so since Tatsuya had first knocked on the lounge room door. Kai remembered the timid boy stuttering his request to meet with the man who had saved his life. He suspected it was Nabooru who let him in. They had gotten a lot of visitors since they all had stood before the group of Hylians they had saved from Lon Lon Ranch. Soon they had to ask that Nabooru let no one in to see them, but Kai knew she couldn’t deny the boy’s sweet, green eyes.
For some reason unknown to Kai, he liked the boy’s company; even if they just stared silently into the air filled space. Not that they didn’t speak to each other. Tatsuya asked Kai many questions that came with their first meeting after Lon Lon Ranch. The first one was why Kai was so silent. For his answer Kai could only smile, he didn’t think the child could understand at his young age. Tatsuya gave up on the answer to his question and asked him many more about his life and how he came to be with the Rebellion. The one that was the most meaningful was who gave Kai the necklace he hung on his neck. Kai hadn’t noticed the chain had been dangling out of his shirt.
“I don’t know,” Kai had answered. “I’ve had since I can remember.”
“I think I know the symbol,” piped Tatsuya. “My mommy said it was the sign of the Sheikah.”
“The Sheikah?” said Kai; he had heard Impa mention few things of the word.
“You don’t know who the Sheikah are?” gasped Tatsuya. Kai shook his head.
“They’re only an ancient race sworn to protect the Royal Family of Hyrule!” said Tatsuya in one breathe. Kai looked at the pendant in his hand; an eye with a ruby as the tear drop from its eye. Does this have some connection to my parents …?
“Are you a Sheikah? Wait … you didn’t even know what the symbol means so I guess not,” sighed Tatsuya. “Besides, it’s a dying race. They were all killed in the war. I think Lady Impa is the last one.” Kai’s voice seemed to have disappeared. Was he a Sheikah? One of the last? Who was he?
“Mister?”
Kai looked up. Tatsuya was staring at him curiously, wondering why he was so suddenly silenced. He studied Tatsuya, but not thinking about what he was staring at. Who … am I? Kai stopped his puzzled thoughts to notice a pendant that hung around Tatsuya’s neck. It was the rune Thorn, its shape was unmistakable. It was filled with an emerald and was placed on a golden chained that matched its bordering.
“Who gave you that?” asked Kai, feeling it was a good time to change the subject.
“Oh this?” said Tatsuya, placing a small finger on the gem. “It was my daddy’s before the Empire took over. He died when I was three.”
Kai gazed thoughtfully at the small boy. It was terrible to think he had been raised at the ranch since such a small age. The things he has seen would most probably haunt him for the rest of his life. Tatsuya blinked, he didn’t know what made Kai go all silent. He was such a strange man.
“Hey, Kai!” called a voice that couldn’t be none other than Khaz. Kai’s eyes switched onto Khaz in response as he came nearer to them. Tatsuya stared at Khaz for a moment then all the color drained out of his young face. He squeaked and dodged behind Kai.
“Tatsuya?” said Kai. Tatsuya squeezed Kai’s waist in reply.
“Who is that?” asked Khaz, pointing at the small child.
“Don’t let him hurt me, Kai,” whispered Tatsuya’s quivering voice, so that only Kai could hear. Don’t let him hurt …? Khaz would never …
“Well, whatever,” said Khaz, putting his hands cheerfully into his pockets. “Kira was wondering if you would be training with us today.”
“Yes, I will be there in just a few moments,” replied Kai.
“Okay, see ya then,” called Khaz as he retreated back towards the training grounds. Tatsuya peaked out from behind Kai at Khaz, making sure he wasn’t going to come back. His little hands still clutched Kai’s coat in anxiety. Kai turned and gazed down at the cowering child.
“Tatsuya …? Khaz would never hurt you,” said Kai bending down to one knee so that he is level with his face.
“He’s—he’s a bad man!” gasped Tatsuya, shaking his head as he stared at the ground; tears filled his green eyes.
“Kai, what are you thinking about?”
Kai blinked and looked at Tatsuya, who was still sitting in front of him. This was a question he frequently asked Kai since he always seemed to be in deep thought. Kai leaned his head back as the soreness in his neck eased away from staring at his feet for so long. The heat of the day made little beads of sweat slide slowly down his face and dampen his hair.
“Why did you say Khaz is a bad man?” asked Kai, making Tatsuya frown.
“He—he hurts people,” stuttered the boy.
“What people?”
“The Dark Elves at the station …”
Kai can’t fathom why the child would feel sympathy for his offenders; the people who had treated him terribly. Yet, children so innocent and young know nothing of hate or anger. They can’t understand why anyone would wish to kill each other. It makes Kai think that at times they are even wiser than adults.
“Tatsuya, he had to hurt those people so that he could save you,” said Kai, but Tatsuya shook this head as he pouted.
“He didn’t have to hurt them—he didn’t have to make them cry,” sniffed Tatsuya, Kai’s face twist in confusion. Cry? Meaning screams? Children always had away of saying things in pure terms even if the thing they are explaining are far from pure. For it is the only way they know how to say things. What could have Khaz done? He never got a chance to hear what went wrong at the station or to ask why Khaz was covered in blood even though there was no wound on his body. Many sniffs and snivels came from Tatsuya’s bowed head. Kai stretched out his arms and wrapped them around the small boy, pulling him into a tight hug even if it may be a smoldering day.
“If you don’t have a father nor older brother to look after you, then I will take that place until you are old enough to look after yourself,” said Kai, holding the child to his chest. “Is that okay?”
“O-okay,” whispered Tatsuya. Kai smiled at his timid answer. Was it pity that made Kai take the boy as his responsibility? No, it was because that maybe Kai needed someone to call family, for this lonely soul had no one. Someone to call his little brother until the day he could make his own family.
“Thank you,” said Kai.
Leita walked into the training grounds to find everyone but Link sparing or shooting arrows at targets. Usually she would have trained with Khaz, but Blaze had already claimed him as a sparing partner. Link was leaning against the fencing separating them from the shooting targets, while he watched Kira dodge Tila’s blades.
“Move your feet,” said Link, Kira always lacked in the importance of movement. Leita had always been curious what it would be like to spare with Link. She has only seen him fight on their side. What would it be like to see him like an enemy would?
“Excuse me,” said Leita. Link looked up in response and waited to hear what she had to say.
“I was wondering if you would train with me, since we both are short of partners,” suggested Leita. Link nodded and grabbed his sword and shield, which he had leaned against the fence. Link always wondered how Leita would do on offense, because in the small battles that they have been in Khaz had never let Leita go on offense. He understood why, Leita was a gentle woman and could be hurt easily. Defense is the best position for her.
‘You shouldn’t look into appearances so much,’ whispered the voice.
Link and Leita moved out into the open area where they could move around better. He would probably only need Nayru’s Love to help him out with Leita’s magic abilities. It was his best shield and it has never failed him, not even when he was battling Ganon did the spell falter. Leita began to murmur under her breath, summoning her energy for her spells. A normal enemy would not wait to let her gather her powers, so Link dashed forward and brought up his sword. Suddenly the hilt of his blade heated up to blistering temperatures. Link gasped and dropped his sword; he thought his gauntlets would have protected him from that. There was a rush of air and Link was covered in silver light and it felt was if he was in some sort of wind tunnel. His feet began to leave the ground.
‘Heh, heh, I told you not to look into appearances,’ s******ed the voice.
Link snorted and was covered in his own blue light. Nayru’s Love would help him with any impact damage, but it wouldn’t help him avoid the spell. Link had no way of getting his feet back on the ground, and soon Link was sent flying into the air as if he was in a tornado. Link gasped as small cuts started to rip all over his body. What kind of magic is this?
‘It’s the wind, heh, it’s actually strong enough to rip a man in half,’ the voice informed him. ‘But don’t worry; she won’t do that to you.’
I know! Do you think I don’t know my own friends?
‘You never know if someone is a traitor …’
Rips and tears speared all over Link’s legs and arms and across his chest. Link felt the air rise up in him as he started to panic. No, be calm … Link forced everything around him out of his mind and closed his eyes. It was there … the power hidden deep inside. When Link opened his eyes they were glowing bright green, the Triforce on the back of his hand became warm and was glowing too. Link took the energy surging through his veins and pushed it to the outside, forming a bubble of green light instead of blue. Link let out a cry and the light exploded in every direction. The silver light around him disappeared and the wind supporting Link did too. He fell to the ground but landed gracefully on his feet, bending his knees to absorb the impact.
When Link looked up his eyes found Leita fifty yards away. She was standing but her chest was falling up and down rapidly from the energy she put into her spell. Link fell to one knee, gasping for air. He hasn’t done something like that in a while. Leita again bent her head down and was whispering Ancient Hylian under her breath. What? How did she still have the energy to continue when he was barely able to stand? Even with this in mind, Link felt his insides tingle and turn in his stomach. It felt like forever since he has had a good challenge, even when it had only been a few weeks ago that he had battled the spirit demon Nelu. But Leita was far more powerful than the demon had been, causing blood to rush in his veins as excitement claimed his body with a tingling sensation.
Link stood up and let the energy raise up in his body, and again his eyes turned green. He took out his bow and fitted an arrow in it. Ancient Hylian flowed from his lips and the tip of the arrow glowed as red as coals. Link opened his eyes to aim at Leita's feet. She had her hands placed out in front of her and covered in blue flames. Link sucked in his gasp of surprise to make sure he didn’t lose the spell on his arrow. Instead, he brought his arrow up and aimed at her hands. They both fired. When the bright flames left Leita’s hands they immediately turn an icy blue. Link’s arrow hit into the flames and the reaction between the two powers caused it to burst on impact. Both Link and Leita were knocked off their feet as a gust of wind, powered by the explosion, blew over them.
Link pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked at the spot the spells had collided. Half of the ground was burnt and half of the ground was frosted over. Everyone in the training ground was staring wide eyed at the two. Leita got up and brushed herself off. Link stood up and stumbled over to where the fence had been, but was now lying on the ground in pieces because of the blast. Leita walked over with him shaking a bit herself. All, except for Kira, Zelda, Impa, and Khaz, were staring at the two as if they had never seen them before.
“Khaz …” said Link, falling onto the bench more than easing himself onto it. “Why don’t you let Leita fight on offense?”
Khaz’s face folded into a frown and he crossed his arms across his chest, biting his bottom lip. Zelda stood closer so that she could hear the conversation better. I can’t believe it …she’s better than me!
“Because I don’t like to,” Leita answered for him. Link tilted his head at her, not understanding why she wouldn’t like to. She was amazing, probably even better than Zelda and she didn’t use it.
“Why?” said Link, after looking at Leita for a moment. Leita’s eyes fell to the ground as her arms went behind her.
“I don’t like killing.”
Blaze heard this and snorted. Link and Leita turned their heads to see who had made the noise. Blaze looked from Link to Leita and his fiery-red eyes stayed on her. Putting his hands on his hips as he said,
“Don’t like killing? You don’t like killing Dark Elves?”
“Th-that’s right,” stammered Leita. Blaze looked outraged. How could someone, whose life had been so altered by this race, not like to kill them? It made no sense to him and he knew little of how Leita’s mind worked. How could he? She was always so silent and kept to herself, barely speaking to them at times.
“I can’t believe it,” gasped Blaze. “And how do you plan to help the Rebellion in our next battle if you don’t like killing Dark Elves?”
“…”
Her silent mannerism seemed to get on his nerves. He had never met someone so timid and yet wielded amazing powers. The fact that she never seemed to answer a question right away stabbed his tolerance.
“Well?” snarled Blaze, towering over the small Hylian. “Are you going to answer me or not?”
“Blaze!”
He looked up to find Khaz’s midnight eyes narrowed at him. Blaze didn’t know why but he flinched. Those eyes … Blaze blinked and realized he was supposed to respond.
“Yes?”
“I don’t allow anyone to speak to my sister like that,” said Khaz, his voice surprisingly more intimidating than Blaze’s. “Leader of the Rebellion or not.” Blaze’s temper unfurled. How dare he be so disrespectful!
“No, Khaz … he’s right,” said Leita, stopping a possible fight. “I suppose I am no use to the Rebellion other than teaching our youth to use magic …” Blaze’s temper lightened up as she bowed her head in shame.
“That’s not true, your healing powers are of great value,” said Blaze, putting a hand on her shoulder making her look up at him with doubtful expression.
“Come, let’s continue training.”
… Doesn’t like killing Dark Elves, thought Rontu as he leaned in the dark shadows of the training grounds. He had never seen Leita use magic like that before. How can she be so powerful and yet so gentle that she wouldn’t hurt a fly? She wouldn’t even harm a Dark Elf. Waiting for me, she said …waiting for a Dark Elf. Rontu stared at Leita for a moment and then turned to walk out of the training grounds. Leita …don’t wait for me, cause I’m not worth waiting for …. Rontu sighed out loud as he walked out onto the main grounds of Gerudo’s Fortress, heading for a store where he could buy some whisky.
“So Kira, are you and Kai like … a couple?” asked Tila, as the girls relaxed on some benches as the men took turns sparing with each other. Kira smiled and nodded silently. She supposed they could call them a couple, even though it not been orally said until now.
“Oh! That’s great,” exclaimed Tila. “I was wondering when you would get over Sheinron.”
All the women stared at Kira in interest. Kira blushed and frowned at Tila. She hated it when Tila said things like that. She needs to think before speaking …. She always brings up Sheinron and yet Kira was still uncomfortable about the subject. Why would she be uncomfortable about it if she was over him? Maybe …I’m not over him, thought Kira.
“I think I’m going to go find Kai,” proclaimed Kira as she stood up from the bench and walked toward the exit.
“Kai, do you love Kira?” questioned Tatsuya. Kai stared at him for a moment, thinking calmly on how to answer the boy’s question.
“…Yes,” replied Kai.
“Does she know?”
“No.”
“Why not?” asked Tatsuya. Kai let out a sigh. Children never understood these sort of things. Funny how they can say things so easily without feeling abashed.
“Because, I fear she does not feel the same way,” answered Kai. Tatsuya twisted his eyebrows in confusion as he sat cross-legged on a crate.
“But what if she does?”
“…”
“Why don’t you ask her if she does?” continued the little boy. Kai looked up at the child. So innocent and unknowing….
“I think she is still in love with another man,” said Kai. Tatsuya blinked, not understanding why that would make telling her a problem.
“What if she loves you too?”
“…”
“You’re a funny guy, Kai,” laughed Tatsuya. Kai titled his head at the child; the boy knew that Kai was asking why in his own silent language.
“You can fight against the bad guys without being scared, but you’re scared to tell Kira you love her,” said Tatsuya, beaming at Kai with his sweet, little boy smile. Kai blinked, he hadn’t thought about that before. It was amusing, maybe children are smarter than they appear. Their innocence brings them to see things in a simpler way and maybe adults shouldn’t make things more complicated than they are. Kai stared at the boy and smiled his half smile. Kai’s ears picked up someone’s foot steps approaching.
“There you are!” exclaimed Kira. “I was looking for you.”
“Yes, and why for?” said Kai.
“Oh, no reason,” replied Kira. “I just wanted to be near you.”
Kai smiled and grabbed Kira’s hand, leading her away from the Fortress buildings and out into the open grounds. She smiled and followed him, squeezing his hand as they went. Tatsuya knew he was to stay behind, he hoped Kai would tell Kira. Older people can be so silly about love. His mother always told him it was hard for people to admit it to each other. Tatsuya didn’t understand what was so hard but maybe when he gets older he would understand.
“You know, Tatsuya is a very smart boy,” said Kira. “For only being ten-years-old.”
“Yes, he asks many questions which is good for his age,” said Kai. “I would be worried if he didn’t ask questions.”
“Why?” asked Kira.
“Because, it is only natural for children to curious and talkative and if he wasn’t I would wonder what would have made him so silent,” Kai paused for a moment. “Like Leita.”
Kira stopped walking, Kai looked back at her. She stared right into his black eyes. They were so wise and for his age that was amazing. How could he know so much? He knows more about his friends than it appears. He cares too, even if he doesn’t show it. He didn’t mean to but he said that he was worried about Leita. He slipped it into his words slyly but Kira caught it.
“Why? Do you worry why Leita is such a silent person?” asked Kira. Kai stared at her, his face impassive. “You are quiet too, what makes Leita so different from yourself?”
“… Have you ever looked in her eyes and seen sorrow?” said Kai. Kira gasped, she hadn’t thought of that before but she agreed with him. Leita was always sitting around and watching the group, but never spoke much. Sometimes when Leita didn’t know she was looking, Kira saw something in her green eyes that was so sad. It was just like when she would look into Kai’s eyes, but she knew what caused his sorrow; he was lonely. Kai could tell by Kira’s silence that she had seen it too.
“Kai … why do you think she is so sad?” asked Kira, leaning her head on his shoulder as she stared out into the desert.
“… I don’t know,” replied Kai. “I can only wonder.”
Kira thought for a moment and then said something else that came to her mind. “I think … Rontu is scared to love again.”
“Oh?” said Kai, looking down at his loved one. “Again?” Kira nodded.
“Life has not been kind to him. But it is not only that he has been damaged by a previous relationship, but I think he is afraid he would hurt her,” said Kira. She didn’t have to say who “her” was, Kai already knew.
“I understand why he would be afraid of such things,” said Kai. “Leita is one easily wounded.” They stood in silence for a while, having worried thoughts about their friends as they held each other and stared into the desert.
“What of Khaz?” said Kai suddenly. Kira looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.
“What about him?”
“Don’t you think that … there is something wrong?” asked Kai. For once his voice was cracked of its stoical tone and his eyes turned with uneasiness.
“No,” said Kira. “Khaz is always in a good mood.” Kai shook his head; Kira was forgetting an important attribute. Kira frowned; she had never seen Kai so worried.
“Not always, do you forget the party so easily?” said Kai. Kira gasped, she had forgotten about that! Khaz and Rontu … why did they hate each other so much? Khaz always said raciest comments about Rontu. Rontu always glared at Khaz, and not in the way he glares at everyone. It was the glare he would always give Sheinron, but worse than that. He must really hate Khaz. Enough to kill him …. But Khaz, she had never spotted him glaring just saying rude things to Rontu; and what about when he found Leita in Rontu’s arms? Hadn’t he over reacted and broke Leita’s wrist? It was so unexpected from him.
“Let’s not think of it,” said Kai, snapping Kira out of her trance. She nodded and leaned her head on Kai’s chest, leaning in for a more intimate embrace. Kai’s arms responded and held her closer. Yet, Kai couldn’t help but worry. At the party he felt unusual energy coming from both Rontu and Khaz. He was sure Link, Zelda, and Ren did too, for the looks on their faces made it obvious. Possibly even Leita might have felt it but she could have been only troubled by Rontu and Khaz’s fight. Maybe he should speak about this with Link … but right now Kai just wanted to forget and think about Kira in his arms. Tatsuya is right, I should tell her ….
“Funny isn’t it?” said Kai.
“What?” said Kira, looking up at him.
“That I can go into battle without fear and yet, I cannot even admit to you my feelings.” Kai hesitated but said, “I love you.” Kira looked surprised but then smiled.
“It is funny,” said Kira. “Because you had nothing to be afraid of. I love you.”
“Kira … I have yet to have a family. You are right about me being lonely and I am to ask if you would help me make a family, so that I will not be so lonely anymore,” said Kai. Kira stared up at his black eyes. And maybe you have finally found somewhere to call home ….
“I will,” said Kira