SD Gundam Fan Fiction ❯ Tenmei: Hinomoto Botsu ❯ Chapter 12: Result of a Downpour ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Tenmei: Hinomoto Botsu
By: May-VeggieGirl1

It's not finished~ I'm having problems. DDD:
Like, my laptop died with the rest of this chapter. Gah!
~*~*~*~*
Raidon stared at the dark ceiling, paranoid.
The air was musty as he laid spread out atop old, dusty sheets. It was a fairly large room with the sort of average things that could be found in any bedroom of the deceased- the bed with carved headboard and feet, the dresser, the nightstand, the mirror across from the door with a desk under it, the window into grey, darkening skies outside, and the closet door. Around the frame of the room were small, mythical creatures, hand-painted delicately and then peeled off with time, and on the desk were water-damaged books covered in a layer of dust that he dared not touch. Raidon kept his enchanted flying tub close and his exits closer.

A knock came on the door and he flinched, throwing himself into the upright position in bed only to realize it was Daja and relax. "Come in," he said quietly.

Daja cracked open the door and peered in, eyes still full of exuberance despite his attempts to quell the mirth for the time being. "How is everything?"

"I'll tell you when I know." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stared out the window. Against the silence, he heard the hush sound of rain against the building. Daja frowned and opened the door more, floating inside. He was no longer merged with Fenn, the spirit egg resting in a box, similar to it's original container, on Daja's belt. He gently touched the ground at the foot of deceased's bed.

"We don't have to stay here overnight." The sky outside lit up faintly from the lightning in the distance. "We can go back to Lacroa and wait-"

"It's fine," Raidon sighed and leaned forward, folding his hands together. "I want to make sure that there is no funny business with ressurecting Lord Tallgeese." Daja nodded in understanding, pleased to hear it but still concerned.

"You said you don't feel well though."

"Yes... I can't anywhere near Chimi it seems." Daja looked out the window as well, spotting Raidon's reflection against the glass.

"Is it because you're a musha gundam? But those other two are musha gundams too. Why only you?" Raidon remained quiet in thought as thunder in the distance rumbled softly over the building. He took a deep breath and leaned back, face up to the ceiling again.

"I don't know. Perhaps I'm not the only one. Perhaps I am. All I know is the closer I get to him or that vile energy, the more I feel..." He trailed off, releasing the breath and sagging his shoulders. Daja watched him in question.

"Feel?"

"Feel like... I never felt..." Raidon gathered his bearings and words. "Like being near him messes with my whole body... Even if it's not happening, it feels like my circuits freeze up and my skin crawls and my blood stops running, and... like a poisoned, double-edged katana is pierced through my gunsoul and twisting every which way... I don't know if it's real, maybe it's just torture going through my mind..." Daja floated forward and laid a hand on Raidon's shoulder, serious.

"Look, let's just go back to Lacroa for the night then. We had to trust him before with the feathered dragon and we need to come back anyway to kill the Gundam For-"

"I'll be fine," Raidon said with finality in his voice. "I'm somewhat better away from him in this room. Besides, I know how much bringing Lord Tallgeese back means to you." Daja looked down, bringing his hand back and blinking hard to keep the memories, and the tears that had come with them, away.

"I don't want you to suffer for it either. You've been too good to me," He murmured in a whisper. Raidon breathlessly chuckled at that, shaking his head.

"It's my job to worry about you, not the other way around. Go rest; tomorrow is a big day afterall." Daja shifted, unsure. "It'll be okay, go now." He slowly floated back to the door, still in a heated disagreement inside himself before glancing back over his shoulder.

"Only if you're sure." Raidon also glanced back, watching him through the door carefully.

"Positive."




Shute sighed while playing with the grains of dirt in his fingers. They had traveled across the barren land until Shute's feet grew tired again and all agreed the flying members should go out and scout. Captain was sent to fly around to look for somewhere hospitable-or anywhere just not this flat land- and keep an eye out for clean water. Zero flew off in search of firewood or food, in case Captain's search for life ended empty-handed. That left Bakunetsumaru to protect Moriko from any more attacks from those mysterious creatures- and Shute to protect both of them with his Shute Bond. They had been waiting forever it seemed and the boy was really, really bored now.
"The sun should set soon," Baku mumbled from his internal clock* while examining his swords. Moriko sat on the only rock they had found with her eyes closed. She opened them and looked up at the sky, frowning.

"It's gone. It will rain sooner than set."

"Huh?" Baku and Shute looked up as well just as a bolt of lightning split the sky, the thunder acting like a start-off syrin for the downpour. It came down in sheets like a hail of bullets and the two males cuddled into themselves as if it would really shelter them from the cold, torrential rain. Moriko only continued to stare up into the dark cloudy heavens, unmoving with silent eyes. Shute groaned after huddling for a moment, finding himself completely drenched threw the skin only from enduring it for twenty seconds or so.

"Well this is a great way to end what was supposed to be one of the best days in a long while. We're lost, cold, and soaking wet," He mumbled to himself with a sarcastic tone. Moriko glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, trying to hide the slight sharp, bitterness in her voice.

"It could be worse." Shute slicked back his hand with one hand again, looking up at her.

"Yeah, you're right," He admitted and then laughed. "The world could be ending!" She turned her head down at him, shoulders tensed up and eyes with a hint of fear. His laugh turned to chuckles as she cast her gaze away again.

"Is it," Moriko asked in a low voice. He quickly stopped to stare at her as the land rumbled with more thunder.

"No, of course not! The Dark Axis is gone!"

"They don't seem to be gone from this land," She mentioned in a hushed voice so he wouldn't hear. Her scared eyes went back up to the sky with a great deal of uncertainty and Shute slipped off his shoes and socks, throwing them in his backpack.

"So there have been worse days, I guess, but I've never gotten this wet before!" Baku, having sheathed his sword from the rain, stood up abruptly and clenched his fists.

"You're right! Sitting here like koi in a pond! I say we leave and find shelter ourselves!" Shute looked down at the now muddy dirt, hugging his limber knees covered in goosebumps and filled with a similar energy to act. But he thought otherwise and pouted.

"But Bakunetsumaru, even so, we told Zero and Captain we'd stay here until they returned!"

"I'm sure they don't want you to stay out here and get sick from the cold because of them either!" This was certainly true too. Another crack of lightning lit up their faces with white light.

"What makes you think we'll be able to find shelter?" Moriko glanced at him, still uptight but obviously interested with the idea. "Look around you, there's nothing. We've been out here for hours and we've found nothing. Not even a single dead tree." Baku did as he was told despite previous memory and, sure enough, it was true; nothing out there but flat land as far as he could see. Still, he nodded to himself as if it were more proof towards his arguement.

"It can't all be like this! We've probably scoped out all of the barren land by now, there has to be something more out there!"

"Then we should wait for our scouts looking for it from the air."

"But three scouts are better than two," Baku smiled and held up the right amount of fingers in emphasis. Shute grinned, jumped to his feet and shook his waterlogged poofy hair out of his face.

"Yeah, let's try then! Besides, we'll stay warmer if we keep moving!" Moriko rose to her feet and adjusted her kimono, knowing any more protest was futile.

"Right! So... uh, which way," Baku sweatdropped, rubbing the back of his head. Shute nearly fell over.

"You don't know which way Zero and Captain went?"

"That was a while ago," Baku whined but looked away sheepishly. It was still no excuse. The two sweatdropped, scanning the various directions they could arbitrarily go in.

"There are no mountains or hills in the distance to tell the water where to flow," Moriko reasoned and the two looked back at her. "So we should follow where the puddles stream to for it may lead to a river or lake."

"Why would we possibly want to even remotely," Baku began, shaking the drips from his helmet only to be replaced with more. "Go near more water at the moment?"

"We may find Captain faster," Shute shrugged with a smile. He'd be happy to locate Captain again, even without good news from him.

"But more importantly," Moriko cut in sharply. "Where there is water, there is life. If there are living beings here, they will thrive near it. We may find a harbor."

"To take shelter in!" Baku chimed in brightly, amazed at her thorough logic. She bowed her head once with her shoulders, an answer for yes and showing some respect. Shute squatted down and inspected the puddles and erosion marks from previous rains carefully. He pointed off to the southwest direction.

"This way!"




For a while, they trekked in high spirits because it was the kind of numbing cold that, if intoxicated in it, would create the refreshed feeling from the stinging. They inevitably digressed into a mud-slinging fight after Shute had laughed at Baku slipping and falling on his rump. This lead to both Gundam Force members going in a competitive, but certainly friendly, mud-wrestling match where, even if the gundam had the advantage of strength, the human possessed the advantage of quick slickness from the mud. They ended in a draw and laughed at how dirty they other was before finally going back to their quest, seeing how patient Moriko was being despite the fact she was only smiles at their antics.
Shute paused to look hopefully up at the unforgiving sky, already having beat most of the mud off of him and Baku. He shivered and rubbed his arms, the cold fully set in now. Moriko noticed and sympathized, laying a hand on his shoulder.
"If we don't find shelter soon, we'll try to make our own so maybe Gundam-san can warm you with a fire. We're lucky this storm has no breath of wind." He licked his lips, tasting the griminess, and grinned.

"Thank you."

"Child, I have been meaning to ask of where you had come from. I apologize for my ignorance; I have not ventured far from the shrine and most certainly never out of Ark." She bowed humbly but not completely as he held up his hands.

"That's fine," He said, feeling a bit awkward at the show of respect. Shute figured he was probably too accustomed to Princess Rele and always having the shoe on the other foot. He pulled himself away before he could ponder her highness any more. "Captain and I are from Neotopia. It's a peaceful world where humans and robots coexist with each other in harmony."

"It sounds like a good land."

"It is, definitely," He said with pride while preoccupying himself with fitting all of his arms into his oil-smeared, red overshirt. "But sometimes it's kinda boring... especially when school is in session." Moriko looked away in thought.

"It is always quiet and uneventful where I am. Especially ever since my father passed away years ago." Shute frowned, sorry he had unintentially touched the subject.

"I'm sorry."

"You need not be sorry, child." She shook her head slowly. "It is the natural order of things. All that lives dies." He blinked and looked down for a moment before remembering something.

"Oh! Did we ever introduce ourselves?"

"You are the Gundam Force, are you not?" He nodded. "All of Ark has heard of your wonderful victories."

"It's only our duty," Shute smiled wide and looked away bashfully. It came to him a surprise that everyone in the whole land knew.

"But I do not believe I have your name."

"Oh! My name is Shute." Moriko smiled in return and bowed fully.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Shute-kun." Baku, who hadn't been entirely listening to the coversation, suddenly looked up with a start.

"Yeah!" Before either of his companions had time to discover what had gotten into him, Baku took off running.

"Hey! Bakunetsumaru," Shute called but then saw the first object standing vertically against the sky and earth yet and also brightened in surprise. He grabbed Moriko's hand again, hurrying after the quick musha. "Look, something is out there! Come on!" Baku managed to get too far ahead and slowed to a stop before the object, now totally identified, and he frowned with initial disappointment.
A large slab of earth was erected on the spot and stood over him but not offering any shelter, being completely perpendicular to the ground. Baku peered around it and saw more of the similar structures of rock scattered about, none having any significance he could find. With a disheartened sigh, he leaned against the rock and waited for the other two to catch up when something else caught his attention below.
We're following the flow of the water... so why is it going under this rock from all directions?
Shute and Moriko joined him and stared at it thoughtfully as well.

"These are structures... They have been eroded with the weather but they have definitely been erected into these places." Lightning cracked in the sky against Moriko's voice, the boom of thunder close behind.

"For what reason," Shute folded his arms, squinting at critically before his eyes trailed down to his friend on his hands and knees, moving aside mud. "Bakunetsumaru- what are you doing?" Baku, still lost in thought and curiosity, continued to dig down near the base of the rock, mud gushing to fill the hole as quickly as he was making it. But he was stubborn and after reaching a foot down, his friends over him baffled, he made the stunning discovery that...

"It's warm," He said breathlessly aloud. "The mud down here is warm..."

"Warm?" Shute looked over at Moriko, who shrugged in innocent confusion. With more effort, Baku managed to dig out a hole near the same size as himself in width, going into drier and warmer earth until he reached actual space. He pulled back up for a breath as they all gathered around the hole in the ground.

"A pocket of air underground seems too strange to be natural..."

"This steam feels good..." Shute wiggled his fingers through the misting air coming up from the crevice. He leaned over and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hello! Anyone down there?" After a moment in wait, Baku slid his legs forward into the opening.

"One way to find out then," He grinned, slipping through and down into the dark passage. The other two watched in a mixture of horror and excitement as the samurai disappeared from sight.

"...Wait up!" Shute followed, climbing down the sides of the hole carefully after him and Moriko, not keen on being left alone, ventured behind.
Shute blinked in the darkness and clung to the dirt walls, peeking below. The passage continued down further at a sixty degree angle, as Captain would have soundly told them. With a deep breath, he scurried down the sides only to discover he ran out of dirt wall to climb down on and began to slip from gravity. Naturally, Shute began to panic when the earth no longer was beneath his feet and he grasped desperately at the dirt. Once he dug his fingers in secure enough, he tried to look down again through the limited sight nervously. "Bakunetsumaru?"

"Shute-kun," Moriko grabbed his hands, which he was certainly grateful for, and pulled him up enough to bring his feet back against the dirt walls. He looked up at her green optics in the dark, the only thing he could really make out, and grinned.

"Thanks."

"GAHH!" The two caught their breath from the sound of the samurai's shriek and looked at each other, tense.

"Do you think it was those things again," She asked in a shakey voice and Shute stared back at the darkness with a frown.

"Whatever the reason, we need to get there and help him!" Moriko nodded feebly and slowly lowered him into the hole as far as she could from her reach. The boy felt around with his bare toes but still found no ground.

"It's okay, I'll be fine. Just let go," He said in reassurance to himself more than the female musha. She nodded and did as commanded, releasing his hands. Shute held his breath as he fell through the air before landing clumsily on the flat earth again.

"Shute-kun?"

"I'm okay," He called back, relieved and looking around the best he could. "It's safe to come down!" Moriko jumped down, putting her feet forward but still stumbling backwards into him. "You alright?"

"Mmm," He murmured and rightened herself, looking around in concern. "Gundam-san?"

"Baaaakkkuuuuuunetssssuuuuuumaaarruuuuu," Shute called, the earthy walls echoing slightly. "Where are youuuuu?"

"It's quite warm down here," She observed and took a few steps forward, Shute sharp on her heels. "...There, I see a faint light." They followed around the bend, running a hand on the wall as they went, the blueish green light growing brighter. With a final turn, they stumbled upon Baku sitting on the ground, soaking wet and looking flustered.

"There you are," Shute scolded, stepping forward. "You scared us!" Baku looked up apologetically, rubbing the back of his head again but cheasnut eyes brimming with excitement.

"Sorry-- but look what I found!" He brushed his arm back and gestured to the large pool of steaming water with two smaller pools off to the side. The earth curled around the sparkling water and it shimmered in still silence, emitting the soft glow. Shute's eyes widdened and moved to approach it when suddenly, Baku bolted up and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him back in time to narrowly avoid a blast of hot air erupting from the ground. It hissed to a stop and Shute sat trembling in shock on the ground, staring at it. "Be careful, the gyser got me too..."

"Wh...What is this?"
"A hot spring," Moriko pondered, looking over the expansive cavern with stallagmites hanging and dripping from the ceiling. Baku nodded and moved over to one that had grown upward from the ground, grazing his fingers against it gently.

"Yeah! Isn't it something?" Shute crawled up on his knees, peering over the edge of the water carefully as it bubbled, distorting his reflection.

"It's so beautiful... I've never been in a natural hot spring like this..." He reached a finger down to test the heat of the water when he pulled back. The two mushas looked at him with worry.

"But wait, we can't stay down here!" He turned back to them, sitting indian style. "Captain and Zero won't be able to find us!" That was certainly true- being underground was a bit of a problem for their airborne friends. The cavern sat with silent contemplation. After a moment, Shute perked up, throwing off his jetpack. "I know- I'll leave my red shirt outside by the hole!"

"I'll put it outside for you, Shute-kun," Moriko moved over to him as he pulled it over his head. "You should stay here and warm up." He handed it over gatefully and began to peel off the yellow undershirt clinging to his wet skin.

"Alright! Thanks!" Baku watched her step into the passageway again and followed behind, pausing when she had to look back at him.

"Gundam-san?"

"Just... protection," He shrugged. "I can't leave you alone with those creatures roaming around." She smiled under her faceplate and looked away, lowering her hands hidden under the red fabric.

"I appriciate your concern. But I am only stepping out for a moment- I'll be fine."

"If you're sure," Baku said warily and watched her fade into the dark down the bend. He stood there for a time with uncertainty of whether to follow secretly or not until he heard Shute's voice call after him.

"Hey! Bakunetsumaru! You should come in, the water's great!" Shrugging off the feeling for once, he hurried back to Shute.




Moriko emerged from the hole clumsily, pulling herself up and out with a tiny bit of struggle as the mud sloshed on the surface. She crawled on her knees and looked up at the stone structure bearing down next to her as more lightning crashed in the distance. The red shirt, stained with Captain's blood and more mud, was in her hand as she pulled it up in her lap, looking down at it with sad, hopeful eyes.
"They all seem so bright," Her voice murmured quietly, laying it out. "There is goodness in them." For a little while, she sat there plesantly despite the cold rain, thinking about the calculating gundam who was injured, the caped gundam with the eloquent words and roses, the cheerful but realistic human, and the samurai... Her green eyes shifted to the side, looking at the erected rock in wonder. "Perhaps..."
Then a sudden split went down the sky, a winding fast trail of electricity. It struck, landing a hundred yards away in a violent burst. Moriko drew a sharp breath and covered her gunsoul gem with her hands, leaning forward against her knees, trembling. She stared up with pained eyes where the bolt struck, staring off at something deeper and further, knowing, and she swallowed the dry insides of her throat. "I hear you," She croaked while sitting up, clutching the red shirt again and squeezing her eyes shut as the thunder rumbled angrily.
"But... why?" She got on her feet with a little slip in the mud, glaring behind glossy eyes at the distance. The pain, fear, and despair bottled up inside her as she turned back to the rock and slapped the red shirt on it with a smack. Her hands slid down with it, still trembling, and Moriko leaned her forehead against the rock.
Tears chased the rain in the air, falling in the same path like matching thumbprints.
"Why," She sobbed, fingers digging into the red shirt slowly slipping down the rock. "Chimi...mouryu...? What do you... want from us?"
Her certainty of the answer was more terrifiying than the question.




"Ahhhhhh," Shute's voice gurgled under the steaming water, eyes closed and nose just above the water. It was definitely a great discovery and just what he needed after traveling around all day in the freezing rain. He sat on the ledge of an underwater crag, his skin tingling against the soothing heat, toes being tickled by bubbles. "Blish ish blate."

"What," Baku turned to him while setting his helmet down next to Shute's shirt, pants, and jetpack. Shute sat upright, spitting out a little water.

"This is great. How did you find it?" Baku clicked off his shoulder and wrist armor*, tossing them to the ground ungracefully with a clank.

"I just noticed the water was going down under the rock." Shute peeked up at the crystaline ceiling, thinking.

"Do you think thyose other structures were put there to indicate this hot spring?"

"Maybe." Baku shrugged, stepping over to the water and peering down into it, carefully dipping one foot in and feeling around. Shute gave him a confused look and the musha returned it with a nervous sweat. "Hey, I'm not too keen on drowning today."

"And you're more keen any other day?"

"As long as someone's there who can save me." Shute gave a little sweatdrop, pucking his lips together. He couldn't help being human and not strong enough to pull a flailing, two hundred+ gundam out of the water. In fact, he decided to voice the excuse-

"Hey, I can't help being human and not strong enough to pull you out. Why didn't you learn how to swim?" Baku sputtered, nearly slipping and fell over the edge of the water.

"Wh-What do you mean 'why didn't I learn how to swim'?!"

"Why didn't you learn?" Shute leaned back and moved his hands behind his head. "Captain isn't a Gundiver, sure, but he can at least keep himself from sinking like a rock." Baku gave him an annoyed look while cautiously lowering himself into the water to sit on the crag. "And you had the last two months to get it down."

"You expect me to just hop in and learn," He growled.

"You have to start somewhere. Unless you want to come to Neotopia and try baby steps in the public toddler pool." Shute laughed as Baku's face turned red, more from embarassment of the thought than anger, and splashed hot water at him.

"That's not funny," The musha sulked, sinking back. Well, as long as Zero can't swim either, I'm okay with it...
Shute settled down, figuring it wasn't nice to tease, and sat with him in quietude, thoughts wandering to the structures again.

"...Someone obviously put them there, but for what reason?"

"Put what where?"

"Those boulders. And they're big too- it must have been important."

"We'll just have to find someone and ask them." Baku nodded, closing his eyes and the natural heat soothed his circuits.

"Easier said than done." Footsteps, light but certainly to another gundam, approached from down the cooridor and they both looked up. Was it too convenient to hope someone would just appear to answer their questions? Yes, in fact, that was, and they only found Moriko softly moving into the light, her forest green eyes distracted. Baku smiled and sat up, waving her over.
She could probably use this the most after all that happened today.

"Ah, Moriko-san! Come on in, the water's perfect!" She gazed at the two for a moment before blushing and turning away, skittish. They noticed, Baku blinking in confusion and Shute frowning. "What's wrong?"

"It's... just," Moriko kept her eyes away, fiddling with her fingers in a shy way. "T-This isn't like... a public bath."

"There's no difference. It's big enough for Captain and Zero too!" Baku stretched his arms out across the water for unneccessary emphasis then laid them back on the ground. "You'll like it!"

"But," She mumbled, blushing. "Th-There are no towels... And there is no... appropriate place for me to u-undress..." A heavy blanket of silence covered the room until the implication of what he was asking hit Baku all at once, face immediately notching deep shades of crimson and eyes bugging out.

"Wait! I mean- I didn't mean--!" She edged away, glancing at another corridor on the other side of the cavern.

"I-It's okay. I'll be in here and... leave you boys alone..." Before Baku could spit out an apology, she disappeared down the small passageway.

"I'm sorry," He yelled despite the fact she was gone, his voice echoing off of the walls. Shute sweatdropped.

"You know... you just indirectly asked her to--"

"I know," Flushed, Baku went to snap at the boy but groaned instead, sinking down underwater and blowing bubbles.
Just perfect.




It was one of those times where the phrase "worried sick" just didn't cover it. Captain and Zero had flown off in different, but equally respectable, directions in hopes to find... well, anything. Which they did.
And yet, they didn't.
Something both of them came to realize when they had met up in the sky. Captain found eroded away, but still quite eerie, craters, obviously from clashes of power in the midst of battle. Zero found, and was haunted with, the remains of a town on the outskits of a mountain range- torn apart, unkept, and eroded away. Even more disturbing were the all-too-familiar human stone statues- locked in time and most of them damaged beyond hope, crumbled to dust, the blank stare from fractured faces.
Niether fround a sign of current or hospitable life.
And only after getting past the sorrow of the mysterious land's misfortune did the two realize their comrades were no longer where they last left them. Thus began a more frantic search, all the while nibling avoiding lightning strikes.
Captain kept his scanners and sights locked firmly on the horizon, Zero flying shortly behind. It was a quiet flight. "I will be running out of fuel in my Option F flight pack in less than twenty minutes." The knight sighed, knowing that would make their quest even more tiring and slow.

"I'll fly you then." His eyes furrowed, upset. "We told them not to leave."

"Yes," Captain replied numbly, attention focused elsewhere.

"Do you think they were attack?" The sky lit up from lightning nearby which, thankfully, didn't come any closer to them.

"No. There was no sign of Shute's glue anywhere int he area. Plus, my souldrive hasn't responded- I doubt he was in danger." Zero fell quiet by Captain's sound reasoning and shivered again. Flying through the cold, pounding rain was not enjoyable in the least, and the knight really wanted to continue complaining about something, anything, just to get his mind off of it was there was nothing to say in the solitude. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Stupid Bakunetsumaru. I bet this was his idea."

"It does not matter whose idea it was, we need to find them."

"But-" Zero stopped. But nothing. Wearily, he continued to follow. Onward they flew through the air, the glow from Captain's blue jets flickering every so often until finally Zero had all he could stand. "Can I make an I-Field? Or would that interfere with your scanners?" It got Captain's attention, at least, as he looked over his shoulder armor.

"Why?"

"I'm sick of this dreadful rain," Zero droned, wringing out the end of his cape. Glancing sideways, he suddenly straightened his posture, pretending the cold and wet didn't bother him- as it shouldn't for a Lacroan knight. "It's very depressing."

"It looks like we're going to be camping out in this weather, so it may be beneficial to adapt-" Captain turned back to the direction they were heading only to reaise his head in surprise. "There's something up ahead!" Picking up speed, they hurried ahead and landed before the stone structures, staring at them in puzzlement.

"What is this?"

"Perhaps a collective monument, a secret signal or offering... Or a meeting place," Captain speculated, looking around. "There is nothing significant about these rocks, no carvings or energy signals. They aren't placed in any recognizatble pattern either." He walked around, inspecting them up and down as Zero narrowed his eye and placed a hand on one of the smooth surfaces.

"It could be an old calender." Captain stopped and turned to him, perplexed.

"A calender?"

"Long ago, in the early ages, Lacroa supposedly made calenders using large rocks." Zero crossed his arms, frowning. "But there were carvings on those at least." Captain leaned in closer in thought.

"It's possible the carvings on these were destroyed by the rains." Zero scoffed, looking back up at the sky as thunder rolled in the distance.

"I can believe that."

"Shute isn't here... We need to keep going."

"Don't," Zero reached out a hand and stopped Captain before he could take off into the air. "You should conserve the little fuel you have."

"Having this big pack on with such little fuel left isn't efficient. I might as well use it up here." Zero shrugged, floating up into the air.

"If it must be." Suddenly, something caught his eye from one of the rocks around the side. His eyes furrowed and he moved over to it, Captain watching him in question.

"Zero?"

"Something is..." He blinked in surprise as lightning lit upt he dark sky again, the object in question flashing a familiar, vibrant red. "Captain, I found Shute's shirt!" Captain was ahead of him in a second, stripping the cloth off of the boulder.

"What is it doing here?" Captain grew nervous inspecting it and Zero landed, walking up on the other side of him.

"What is that boy thinking, taking off clothing in this cold-" He didn't finish, seeing as the entrance Baku had dug became a devouring hole that encompassed and swallowed everything that came near and that Zero definitely qualified as something in part of 'everything'. Too startled to react, he yelped and disappeared down intot he slippery, sliding throat, much like any water slide after so much rain, and landing suddenly on ground that firmer than the runny, mashed potato mud slope. He sat up shaken, with wide eyes looking around in the darkness. "What in Mana... just happened?"




As relaxing as the hot spring was, Baku couldn't manage to ease his mind knowing he had innocently suggested that Moriko should strip in front of them. It was wrong and embarassing and disrespectful on many degrees and, even though Zero wasn't there to torture him, the samurai felt uncivilized. After calming down and trying to unwind, he finally sighed in frustration and got out of the pool, shaking off the water to throw his armor back on.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to apologize," He grumbled securing his helmet. Shute watched as the he headed off down the cooridor and sighed.

"I hope Captain and Zero aren't lost in the dark out there..."

Baku stalked down the dark and narrow passage, tripping on some rocks int he shadows and trying to navigate with hands outstretched. He heard a gyser sputter nearby as the air miste over again. "Moriko-san?" He strumbled forward, grabbing a stallagmite. "Moriko-san?"

"Gundam-san?" He squinted at a faint light up ahead and steered his way to it. A small pool of hot water, only big enough for a human like Shute to slip into, sat in the center of the room, it's glow barely touching the cavern walls. She sat on a rock by its side, looking up at him but facing the spring. Baku shifted his eyes to the ground and bowed humbly.

"Please forgive me, I didn't mean to insult you-"

"You didn't," She said quickly to dismiss the idea. "I understand you were just trying to be friendly." He rose a little to catch her eye but stayed in the position.

"But I wasn't thinking. At the very least, I made you feel uncomfortable, and I deeply apologize." That was certainly true and she knew she couldn't deny it.

"It's alright. You're forgiven." Baku rightened himself, watching her from behind before stepping over rocks to sit down next to her. The teal water glistened undisturbed.

"Is there anything I can to do make it up to you?" Moriko looked up with slight surprise.

"Make it up? You found this shelter and have protected me," She looked back down at the spring, leaning over to gaze at it in thought. "I am grateful." They sat there for a moment aside from each other as the serene cave dripped. Dismissing a thought to leave, he watched her from the corner of his eye.
Why does it seem like she puts herself so... far away from it?

Instead, he asked in a hushed voice, "what took you so long? Outside I mean. Did you run into any trouble?" She visably tensed, but made sure to keep her gaze away. After waiting a while, Baku began to wonder if he shouldn't have questioned her when she moved her hand up to her gunsoul sem, glancing at him unsure.

"...Do you really... want to know?" Baku stared at her with serious eyes, nodding.

"Yes."

Moriko stared back, in a mixture of thoughts and emotion unil her courage fell away, deflating as she turned away suddenly, replying in a bitter voice, "No... it was nothing..." Baku blinked in confusion at the abrupt change.

"Huh? What do you mean it was nothing? You just spoke of it as if something happened!" She took a deep breath and sat up straight, dipping the tip of her sandelled feet into the water below.

"It's not... something I want to talk about with you right now..." Baku looked down at the rippling water, disappointed. So she is keeping to herself.

"Oh... well, if you change your mind-"

"Thank you."

"I'm all ears," He chimed, looking up. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Okay."

"...Sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"Yes, Gundam-san." Baku rubbed the back of his head, quickly looking for a reason for his pestering.

"Sorry, but, hey, I'm-just trying to be a good host!" Her eyes returned to him, amused.

"Oh? A host you say?" She chuckled a little. "Of your secret public bath here?" He sweatdropped, reminded of his public bath comment earlier.

"Yeah," Baku replied lamely but she egged him on anyway.

"But sir, you have no towels here. Not a single one. Where are your towels?" Understanding from her playful tone, he smiled and folded his arms importantly.

"Heh! That good-for-nothing Zero normally flies our towel shipments in. Only the best for our customers, afterall. But he's so lazy and always late... Bet he's off flirting with some girls as we speak." He laughed, thinking about how nearly true it was when he heard something shift, quieting down fast. Moriko didn't catch the crunch of earth though, still smiling.

"I'm sure his intentions are-" She fell silent as he raised a hand, glaring at the far wall and motioning her behind him. Moriko rose, moving away cautiously. "What is it?" Baku pulled his feet up in a squatting position, gripping the hilt of his katana.

"I don't know, but it might be more of those Dark Axis things that attacked earlier," He growled as the girl and rocks pushed out from the wall, gaining speed, whatever it was, toward the opening. "Be ready to flee to Shute." She nodded, stepping back carefully. They stared on edge at the digging motion until, in a quick burst, a hand shot straight through the wall, reaching around blindly. Baku flinched, eyes widdening. "What the-" Before either of them could react further, Zero's face head poked out of the hole, looking around in equal wide-eyed curiousity. The samurai shrieked at the appearance of his seemingly disembodied friend and toppled backwards from slipping on the rock. Zero looked across at Moriko standing there flabberghasted and Baku's scraggling feet in the air, blinking in confusion.

"Bakunetsumaru? Miss Moriko? What are you two doing down here?"

~*~*~*~*
I'm sorry, but that's all I had printed out before my laptop died. =(Chapter 13 coming later tonight or tomorrow! Review please! n_n; Sorry about all of this!