"Where are Ukyo and her pals?" Ranma asked. "Have they already left for the North? And what about the other summoners?"
"Dona left," Kimahri stated. "Isaaru too."
"I already talked to Ukyo this morning," Akane said. "She told me they wanted to leave early. They wanted to cross the moonflow before lunch, so they could spend the afternoon with searching for chocobos."
"The moonflow?" Tidus wondered. "What's that?"
"It's a river that separates Djose Temple from Guadosalam, the city of the Guado. We'll have to cross it as well. After Guadosalam, we'll cross the Thunder Plains to travel to the Temple of Macalania."
"Gotcha," Tidus nodded. "Moonflow, baby, here we come!"
----
The three chocobos were walking along the path leading to the moonflow. Their riders looked a little down, but at the same time, also a little cheerful.
The crusaders lost yesterday's battle, while most of them had expected to do at least a little damage to Sin. They now realized that this was a battle best left to the summoners.
On the other hand, most of the troops were saved by that mysterious energy shield that protected them from Sin's assault. So the results of the battle could have been much more disastrous.
They continued their ride, when suddenly, behind them, a voice called: "Captaaaiiin! Wait for meeee!"
Clasko was running as fast as his short legs could carry him after the three riders.
"What's taking you so long?" Elma admonished him. "A Chocobo Knight should not depend solely on a chocobo. So, how about going a little faster?"
Clasko took several deep breaths before responding: "You... you expect me to keep up with a chocobo?"
"You should have taken more care of your chocobo during the operation," Lucil scolded.
Ukyo thought a little, then dismounted her own bird. "Here, Clas-chan! You can ride on mine. After all, I was assigned to the Infantry, right?"
Clasko showed her a smile of gratitude. "Thank... thank you, Ukyo."
While Ukyo jumped off the chocobo in a second, and Clasko clumsily climbed on its back, Captain Lucil just shook her head. The boy was very good at taking care of chocobos, but in battle, he was a total klutz. She wondered if he really had what it takes to be a good knight.
And while their journey continued, Clasko and Ukyo looked at each other more frequently and intently. In addition, Ukyo's thoughts about Ranma drifted more and more apart from her usual idea of a fiance... so why should she worry about him and Akane growing closer...?
----
The weather was warm and pleasant for the nine travellers. Almost no fiends were ambushing them on their way, and during these few battles, most of them gained enough experience to learn something new.
Yuna yawned. She was still a little tired, but if they waited too long, they would give Sin more chances to destroy Spira's towns.
'Lady Yuna, are you all right?' Ixion's concerned voice asked her. The lightning steed turned out to have a noble heart and was always ready to aid those that needed help.
'It's nothing,' Yuna mentally mumbled. 'I'm just a little tired... I really didn't get enough sleep last night...'
'Well then, may I offer you my services and carry you on my back?'
'You wouldn't mind?' Yuna asked surprised. 'After all, most summoners call for their Aeons only in battle.'
'That doesn't matter,' Ixion replied. 'My sole purpose is to be at your services, may it be combat or something else.'
'All right then...' Yuna stopped. "Everyone, please wait for a second. I'm still a little tired and Ixion kindly offered to let me ride him. I just wanted to summon him, then we can continue."
"Good idea," Ranma said. "Kasumi, how about I summon Fenrir, so you can ride, too? After all, he's almost as big as a horse. And yesterday, you too helped the priests with the wounded, right?"
"Thank you for your concern, Ranma-kun," Kasumi said happily.
"No problem."
They called for their Aeons. Fenrir appeared out of the ground, surrounded by stone. He broke free when the rocky shell fell apart. Yuna created a portal made of dancing lightning. Out of it jumped Ixion, neighing loudly.
Fenrir shook his head grumpily. 'I'm no horse, you know?' he told Ranma.
"Hey," Ranma said. "You're a strong Aeon, are you not? It shouldn't be much of a problem for you to carry Kasumi. After all, she's pretty light."
"Oh my," Kasumi said. "If I'm a bother to you, Fenrir, I probably should walk..."
When he saw Kasumi's face, the earth wolf instantly regretted his words. 'Well,' he sighed. 'I guess it will be no problem. Climb aboard, Kasumi.'
Kasumi smiled. "Thank you very much." She climbed onto his back.
Meanwhile, Yuna has climbed herself on Ixion's back. 'Are you comfortable up there, Lady Yuna?' the horned Aeon asked.
She nodded. "Yes, thank you. Now, let's continue our pilgrimage."
'As you wish.'
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Sat, 22 Jul 2006 15:30)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.