Slowly, they walked down the road leading from the village to the beach. "We have to be careful," Yuna informed the others. "There may be fiends waiting for us on our way! Besaid is a beautiful island, but like anywhere else, the fiends are always looking for prey..."
And then some growling informed them of some Dingos waiting in an ambush!
"All right," Ranma cheered. "Our first battle as a team!"
"Hmm, they look like pushovers," Akane said. Together with Tidus, she ran up to two of them, and together, they took them out.
"Not bad," Wakka commented. "You are quicker then these beasts! But here comes a flying one! That one's mine!" And he smacked the incoming Garuda with his blitzball.
"You're doing great, everyone!" Yuna cheered from the sidelines. She and Kasumi decided to leave the first few battles to the experienced fighters.
Then another fiend showed up. It was blue and looked like some kind of pudding with an ugly face.
"Hey, I'll take him on," Ranma cried and punched the Water Flan right into its face.
Only to be bounced right back onto his rear. "Hey, what the...?"
"This one looks like trouble," Wakka murmured. "It's a magical fiend. He attacks using water magic! Normal attacks won't work!"
"Magic attacks, huh?" Ranma asked. "Well, I've got just the thing." And he called out:
"CARBUNCLE! I CHOOSE YOU!"
And Carbuncle appeared out of his hole, the ruby on his forehead glittering.
Akane sighed. "Ranma has been watching way too much Pokémon..."
Yuna just stared. "Ranma can summon Aeons?"
Wakka was just as surprised. "Whoa, whoa! You didn't tell me you were a summoner!"
"I'm not," Ranma simply said. "Carbuncle, how about that reflecting wall of yours?"
'That wouldn't be wise, Ranmna,' the little imp answered. 'It would reflect his magic, yes, but as he is a water creature, his own water spells would only heal him. I've got a better idea: As you don't have a black mage in your group, let me handle the magical opponents from now on, okay?"
"Um, right," Ranma nodded. "Do whatever you think is the best!"
'Thunder!' Carbuncle's mental voice called out, and the elemental lightning attack struck down from the sky and hit the Flan.
As it evaporated, Carbuncle nodded. 'That was it! Call me again if you have similar problems!' And he vanished back into his hole.
Yuna excitedly ran up to Ranma. "Where did you learn to summon an Aeon? You certainly are not a usual summoner, are you?"
Ranma shook his head. "Um, no! I just found a little ruby once, and it contained this little guy - Carbuncle! And he's really the only 'Aeon' I can summon, but I guess he's pretty handy, isn't he?"
"I don't believe it," Wakka grumbled. "That shouldn't be possible! Yevon teachings say..."
"Oh, give us a break," Akane replied. "You always start reciting your precious teachings! You just saw Ranma summon Carbuncle, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah..." Wakka grumbled. He still wasn't sure about the whole situation.
"Shouldn't we hurry to the beach?" Kasumi asked. "I don't think the ship's captain will be waiting forever!"
"All right, let's keep moving," Tidus said and led the way.
----
During their way through the high stone pillars, a dark figure stepped out of the shadows and approached them.
"Ah, it's Kimahri!" Wakka said. "Is everything okay, Kimahri? Is my team on board already?" The blue-furred cat-man nodded. He silently joined their little group as they continued their way.
"Um, is this guy always that silent?" Ranma carefully asked Akane. Akane giggled. "Yeah, he doesn't talk that much, does he? But I think you don't have to worry about him. He sees himself as Yuna's personal bodyguard."
"He's from the Ronso tribe," Wakka explained. "The Ronso have learned how to use the fiend's way of fighting! He has been Yuna's guardian since she was a little child!"
"He surely looks a little... grim, dontcha think?" Tidus asked.
"Well, he DID attack me when I asked to become Yuna's guardian," Akane told them. "I believe wanted to make sure if I was worthy of protecting her. But Yuna and Wakka scolded him afterwards."
"Yes, after you kicked his butt," Wakka laughed. Kimahri only grumbled as a response.
----
While the others were talking about Kimahri, Kasumi really wasn't paying attention. She thought she heard some voice nearby. But when she saw no one besides her friends, she guessed it would have been her imagination.
But while they were continuing their way down the path, she again heard the voice. A girl's voice, to be exact!
"Um, did you hear anything?" she asked the others. Akane and Ranma carefully listened, but then shook their heads. "No, nothing," Akane said. "Are you all right, Kasumi?" she asked in a concerned voice.
"Um, yes, don't worry!" But the voice didn't become silent. Instead, she began to understand words...
'Hello? Is anybody there? Shuyin? Where are you? Where am I? It's so dark in here!'
After Ranma's experience with Carbuncle, Kasumi finally realized that she was the only one that heard the voice. And certainly whoever was talking to her, did it mentally. So Kasumi began to think about an answer.
'Hello?' she thought. 'Can you hear me?'
'Yes? Who's there?' the unknown girl asked. 'I can't see anything! Am I dead?'
'Uh, I'm not really sure,' Kasumi replied. 'What's your name and where are you from?'
'My name is Lenne! I'm a songstress from Zanarkand! Do you know what happened? Is the war over?'
Kasumi really didn't know that much about the ancient war that destroyed Zanarkand, but she certainly didn't want to upset the girl, so she decided not to tell her about Zanarkand's destruction for now.
'Well, I don't think there's a war anymore,' Kasumi thought. 'But I'm really not from this world, so I'm not very good informed!'
'You are a dimension traveller?' Lenne asked. 'I heard about people like you! There are several legends in Zanarkand...'
'Then you see that I'm not exactly the most reliable source of information,' Kasumi thought. 'Should I tell Wakka or Tidus about you? Maybe they will be able to help you further!'
'No! No, don't please! I...' Lenne's voice sounded scared. 'I don't want you to tell anyone about me for now, okay?'
'Well, I would advise to ask the others for help... but if you don't want me to, then it is okay!'
'Just where are we? And how am I able to talk to you if I can't even see you?'
Kasumi started to see the reason for it and answered: 'You know, someone gave me this little thing called 'Dressphere' as a present. And as far as I know, it gives me the ability to act as a songstress like yourself! Maybe I'm using your abilities...'
'Well, if that is the case, then it looks like we will be stuck with each other for a while.' While Kasumi couldn't see Lenne anywhere, she seemed to receive the impression of a sad smile on the girl's face. 'What's your name?'
"I'm Kasumi! Nice to meet you!"
"Um, I already know that, you know?" Tidus said.
"Oh dear," Kasumi said and clasped her hands. "Did I say that aloud? Oh, I'm sorry, Tidus-kun! I didn't mean to startle you!"
"Um, it's okay... I guess," Tidus replied. He wasn't too sure about that, though! He only met Kasumi recently, and he had the impression she was a very nice girl, really!
But he began to think that maybe she had a little screw loose...
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(Posted Thu, 13 Jul 2006 20:58)
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