Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Ryou Bakura: Time Master! ❯ Ryou's Lead: Enter, Stage Left! ( Chapter 17 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Takahashi does, and he wants to know just where Basch and Forte are. I have no answers.

 

Minutes passed by slowly as Ryou and his friends waited for Ryuuzaki to return, each one wondering what it was Sith actually needed to do here. She had said she needed to locate Nesce, but she didn't explain how she planned to, and even Ryou had some doubts that she actually could have. He glanced over at her, but she remained silent as she leaned against the wall, her arms crossed. It was clear that she was thinking something, but she closed her mind from Ryou; she didn't want him to know what it was.

 

“Do you think he's ever coming back?” Jou asked in frustration, throwing his arms up, “We've been here forever!” Malik snorted as he looked out the window.

 

“Maybe he got himself lost,” he commented, “It's pretty dark here, and the place is huge, right?”

 

“He'll be back,” Sith said sternly, looking over at her friends, “Right now, he's trying to get the elevator key unstuck. He jammed it into the machine in a frenzied panic, though why he'd do that, I can't sense.” Jou raised an amused brow, but didn't say anything more than a snicker. Ryou looked calmly at her as she returned her gaze to the floor. His smile faded slightly.

 

“Are you all right, Sith?” he asked, causing her to glance at him, “You seem distracted.”

 

“Rath could be planning an attack right now as we speak,” she told him grimly, her frown deepening, “I'm trying to decide what I should actually do once we find where Nesce is located, if we can do so. Do I head there immediately or do I wait for additional resources? Ryou, this is a delicate matter and I can't rush in like I'd like to. I… need an opinion.” Ryou blinked. That was a new one he'd never heard before. Sith had never asked for anyone else's opinion on battling opponents; she usually knew what would destroy them. His lips thinned as he pondered an answer.

 

“I think we need to know what she plans to do with me,” Ryou told her gently, and her eyes widened in disbelief at his answer, “Sith, listen to me. We know she needs me, and we know it's for power, but what is she actually powering up? She has enough power to crush us, so I doubt it's for her. Do you remember if there's anything dangerous in your world that could cause so much damage?” Sith's expression softened, and she looked up thoughtfully. There were many possibilities that ran through her, but none of them seemed overly likely.

 

“There are many tools, but nothing that should be in working condition if what she said about Aeroglyph is true,” Sith pointed out, “But there might be something in her own world; the Mystic world. She called herself a Mystic, and she mentioned one of their settlements, so it's possible… that she has something there. Aeroglyph will more than likely be our battlefield, which is why I can't decide what to do. If she's not there, then we've wasted our time rushing, and if she is, then we'll be going in with little at our disposal. Both scenarios will result in death, either to myself, to her, or to anyone who joins me. I won't risk that for any of you.”

 

“You may not have much choice if we all go with you,” Yami told her, and she looked at him, her face hard and grim. It was obvious that she wanted to protest against that, but Ryou knew she wouldn't; it was their choice, and she knew better than to stand against them all. Sighing, she shook her head.

 

“Then you all are either truly loyal or mad,” she replied quietly, “But I won't stop you. Just know that this is no easy road, and I don't know what will happen when she's dead. It's been a 3,000-year grudge she's held, and both our powers clashing will do very serious damage. I want you all… to do as I say once we reach Nesce. If I tell you all to run, then you run and don't look back. Is that… understood?” She looked around at everyone gathered, her steel green eyes glinting as she did so. There were many who agreed, but only one stood against her; Ryou himself. She wasn't surprised to see this, either, and her eyes glinted again when they fell on him.

 

“I won't run,” Ryou told her sternly, “Not from this.” Sith stared at him for a moment, everyone else wondering just what they'd both do, and if an argument would be triggered. But, she simply smiled, a soft smile that Ryou rarely had seen on her.

 

“Then as always, Ryou, you've sealed your own fate,” she said, just as Ryuuzaki came back, “Let's hope it doesn't get you all killed.” Ryou blinked, inwardly his stomach twisting in terror at the calm in her words. He saw that most of his friends paled in color at the calm in her voice as well, as though an ominous cloud befell them all from her wake. She herself simply looked to Ryuuzaki, who seemed to become very confused by her words, not having heard what she had said beforehand.

 

“…the elevator's working, but it seems there's still a huge mess out here,” Ryuuzaki commented, noting how nervous everyone had looked, “What did I miss?”

 

“Just a young man going against an Esper,” Sith said, amused as she passed him, “Nothing he hasn't done before.” Then, she walked through the hall. Everyone slowly followed, though as Ryou passed, Ryuuzaki gave him a quizzical look. He frowned and continued on after Sith, who had already reached the elevator and was currently waiting for it to open. When it did, she walked in, as did everyone else, and when it closed, Ryuuzaki pressed the 5th button, and the elevator moved upwards. It was crammed, uncomfortably so, and the friction when they stopped on the correct floor threw everyone into each other as the door opened, all of them spilling onto the floor.

 

“Well, this is turning into a stellar day so far,” Kaiba mumbled, as everyone scrambled to get out, “OW! Damn it, which one of you morons kicked me!?” No one gave him a response as he stood up, his face sour and furious as always. Ryuuzaki ignored it and led them down the hallway. The only light came from the window on the other end of the hall, and it reminded Ryou of the dark halls of Domino High. Finally, they stopped at one door labeled, “Rex Raptor - Head Detective.” Ryuuzaki blinked, not knowing that his name had been changed due to Forte, and wondered silently who Rex Raptor was as he took out a key and put it into the lock. Just as he was about to turn it, Sith's cell phone went off, and everyone looked at her. Her ears drooped.

 

“…I'm sorry, hold on,” she said, and picked up the call, “Hello?”

 

“MADMOISELLE SAMI, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?” came the flustered, furious voice of her boss, Pierre, from the café she continued to work at, “We are having, how you say, a mad rush and we need your help! Why have you not come in yet!? Are you not mad!?” Sith blinked, and then silently laughed. She had nearly forgotten Pierre that day.

 

“…sorry, Pierre, some things just came up and I couldn't leave,” she replied, though she left out why she couldn't go into work, “…no, it's nothing to do with family. No, I'm not slacking. What!? No, I'm not. It's not about that. Damn it, calm down, you old fool. I'm coming.” With that, she shut her phone closed and sighed, shaking her head as she pocketed it.

 

“What was that about?” Anzu asked her, raising a worried brow. Sith sighed again, and then laughed as she looked over at the girl.

 

“Pierre's just angry because I didn't go into work,” she replied, “I have to fill in today. He threatened to fire me if I didn't, so I need to leave you all. Is that…”

 

“Go, dear,” Ryou told her, causing her to look at him critically, “We'll find Nesce for you, but if you get fired, my dad will blow his blood vessels over it. Save yourself a few headaches and go on.” Sith nodded, thanking him as she hugged him and kissed his cheek. Then, she said her goodbyes, and apologized to Ryuuzaki, who shrugged and waved it off as something to pass his Saturday with. And then, she was gone as she walked into the elevator again. Ryou watched, and when she didn't return, he turned to the door and looked down. He wanted to help her, but something felt wrong. He felt that something would stop him instantly, and as he closed his eyes, he heard a large thump from Ryuuzaki's office. He opened his eyes, and looked at Ryuuzaki, who seemed equally as confused.

 

“Who's in my office!?” he demanded, but received no reply. Eye twitching, as though he now expected that one of his co-workers might be there, he turned the key and thrust open the door. No one was inside, or no one he could see, but Ryou heard a giggle from the northwest corner, and narrowed his eyes. He recognized it. Ryuuzaki, however, heard nothing as he asked again, “Who is in my office!? Don't make me arrest you!” Ryou heard another giggle and a faint `I'd love to see you try!' He sighed.

 

“Amane, what are you doing here!?” he asked her flatly, and lo and behold, the spirit of Amane Bakura materialized, laughing all the while. Ryou continued with, “Sith told you not to leave the house! Her magic can't give you a complete physical form without other aid!” Amane stopped laughing and looked at her brother plainly. Obviously, she didn't actually care if she disobeyed him or not.

 

“Sith also said she was 21 and she lied about that, too!” Amane retorted childishly, crossing her arms, “Besides, daddy's still not home and I'm bored by myself. So, I followed you!” Everyone else blinked, unable to believe that, not only did Ryou have a sister, that she was right there. Ryou didn't seem overly surprised with her reasoning, but he shook his head, praying inwardly for a bit of patience for her antics.

 

“Amane, I have work to do,” he told her sternly, “You can stay, but if you bother us, I'm sending you home.” Amane agreed to that, though she stuck her tongue out at Ryou as he went to sit at the computer. He saw that Amane was in the middle of writing him a very annoying, long email and had nearly sent it, but a few clicks reversed that. He logged onto the internet, and then onto a search engine as everyone else watched, wondering what he was actually looking for. When Jou finally asked, he responded with, “I'm going to see if anyone from our time has any information on Nesce, the Mystics, and what happened that would make them attack Sith now. And, what they plan for in the future.” Though they doubted anyone would post information like that, no one argued with Ryou as he continued his search. Many sites listed Nesce or Aeroglyph as myths, however, one site had extensive information on the continent; most of it collaborated with what Sith had told them of it.

 

“Who's the author of the site?” Yami asked, as Ryou read on about the Winchester line and what powers they held before the “Great Cataclysm.” It was a scary article; The rulers were all very powerful, indeed, and judging by how many settlements they had on earth, they were quite the conquerors, too. It made Ryou wonder just how good Sith actually was as a person. But, after Yami asked, he scrolled down the article until he reached the end. The name he had found shocked him; he encountered it once before, but he never thought he would see it again. Yazuro Bakura, his own grandfather, had created the website before he had died, listing everything he had learned about Espers and their cultures, including how and why they had branched their race out to the weaker-known one as the Chesier. Everyone stared at the name for a moment, trying to let the information sink it.

 

“Your grandfather's an Esper fanatic,” Malik commented blandly as Amane used the mouse to scroll up and down the screen, “So, he wrote all of this? How did he get so much information?”

 

“I'm going to guess he went right into Nesce,” Ryou replied, “Look at this: Nesce's location has remained stationary for nearly 2,500 years. Through that, I have found only one opening to get inside of the mountains. The Lion's Gate has been completely destroyed, but the stairway grafted into the mountains remains in tact. Their location, oddly enough, remains near a shoreline just south of Scapples. It's visible from the city itself, looming onward from miles on end. Though people are terrified of the ruins, which appeared to have crash-landed onto the shore, pushing back the oceans around it, they granted me full access to unveil the mysteries surrounding the Espers.” He stopped after that, and looked down. Right there, he had everything he needed to know. Scapples wasn't far from Domino; it was maybe 200 miles at the most. Which meant Rath was close by, if she was in his time as well. He had to tell Sith, but when Ryuuzaki had dialed her number on his office phone, putting it on speaker, her cell had been turned off. Ryou cursed. That was entirely Pierre's doing, as he had a rule against cell phones.

 

“So, what do we do now?” Miho asked, realizing Ryou wanted Sith's answer to go on, “Do we leave without her?” Ryou bit his lip.

 

“I don't know. We don't have anything to take us to Scapples right now,” he replied grimly, “We'll need to convince Pierre to let her off, but I doubt he will. He's stubborn when it comes to letting her leave work.” Bakura encouraged him to try anyway. Sighing, Ryou did so, and not to his surprise, the effort was useless. Pierre refused to let her leave, but when Sith took the phone to take the rest of the call, he quickly explained what he had found. From her silence, he guessed she was thinking very carefully on their next move.

 

“Someone actually posted its location?” she asked over the phone.

 

“Yes. My grandfather did nearly twenty years ago,” Ryou replied calmly, “I trust its source, dear. Should we go on?” More hesitation preceded.

 

“…I would be very careful, Ryou,” she finally said, and Ryou could tell she wasn't liking her own answer, “I don't want you to go alone, but we do need information on the ruins, which I doubt your grandfather actually posted unless he wanted to attract attention. For now, I want you to at the most go to Scapples, but you will wait for me if you do this. You are not to go into those ruins without me.” Ryou smiled vaguely. He didn't expect any other reaction from her. He gladly agreed to that term, and after a quick goodbye, they both hung up with Sith assuring Ryou that she knew how to get time off. His smile widened as he put the phone down.

 

“What'd she say?” Honda asked, as Ryou logged off the internet, writing the directions on paper first.

 

“We can head to Scapples if we want, but she says we're not to enter Nesce without her,” Ryou told him, “Frankly, I don't blame her. Magic is scary enough; the ruins will probably be infested with demons if what we read about Aeroglyph was true enough.” Honda shivered from that response. Only a few of them actually read along with Ryou, but those few knew enough that Sith would never allow them to go in without her, and that if she forced that, there was always a reason. Ryou got off of the chair and looked at everyone for a moment. Some were scared, others confused, and a few seemed almost excited with the prospect of travel.

 

“We're going to go to Scapples if we can find a suitable vehicle, or if by some stroke of luck, my father returns,” he told them all, “But it's a very dangerous road. I'm not sure how Sith handles this, but I'm giving you all a choice. Whoever comes follow me. Whoever doesn't can go home. We're going to my house and seeing what we can bring with us and what we can do about travel.”

 

“Why can't we use one of Kaiba's planes?” Jou asked, and Kaiba glared at him.

 

“I really don't think we should be attracting attention on this,” Ryou told him, “Rath will probably make her attacks public if she knows we're onto her. The last thing we want is another experience like what happened last year. Rath is unlike the other Mystics; she is the leader. Her force is already more devastating. We need to minimize suspicion right now.” Jou sighed and nodded reluctantly, and silently, Ryou could tell everyone else agreed with him, too. He posed their choice again, and his answer was shocking. Everyone wanted to go to Nesce, something he wasn't sure he could handle without Sith to monitor him. But, he didn't stop their choice. Smiling again, he nodded and they all left the office, directions to Nesce in his hands. As they waited for the elevator, Ryou took the few moments he had to plan the trip out. They'd need provisions, but those were never hard to come by unless the city was destroyed, which it never was. Then, came the much harder part: finding a vehicle. A plane was out of the question, and a blimp was no better. He doubted Kaiba would let them take a limousine to Scapples, either. After all, Scapples was a small town with no actual attraction other than those ruins. As they stepped onto the elevator, Ryou continued to ponder this thought.

 

“I wonder if Nesce is like what it was the last time we were there,” Anzu commented, as the elevator went downward, “It was really nice.”

 

“I doubt it. Three thousand years is a long time,” Yami replied grimly, “Chances are, there's no snow… or grass for that matter. It'll probably be a very desolate place.”

 

“Maybe that's why Sith doesn't want us going in without her,” Jou suggested, as the elevator stopped and they all stepped out, “I mean, yeah, there are probably monsters and demons there, but we could handle those, right?” Ryou blinked. That was a problem he had to nip in the bud before they even thought of leaving. He turned around sharply.

 

“We are not going into those ruins without Sith,” he said sternly, frowning, “I doubt we're strong enough to face anything living in the land of the Espers. I can barely hold my own when Sith and I practice. You honestly think I could take down scores of demons?” Jou shut his mouth again at that notion. The rest of the short walk out of the building was silent, and though it lessened as they all walked through the streets of Domino towards Ryou's home, no one said much of anything. They all looked around at the city, at all of the people, and for some reason, it made them feel worse.

 

“I can't believe that in a world this big, we're the ones involved in this huge world of magic,” Kaiba stated, crossing his arms as they walked, “If what Rath said about Bahamut was true, why did he choose Ryou for his plans? And why wait so long? None of these people even care about this, so why should we?” Ryou stopped walking, and thought hard on Kaiba's words. Everyone else slowed when they saw this, but only Amane actually skidded to a halt beside her brother. He looked down, the words echoing in his head. Why was he chosen? Was that why the Espers had helped him beforehand? All this time, he was sure the Espers and Chesiers were terrified of Sith, but now, he began to wonder if it was him they were afraid of.

 

“…You don't have to care,” Ryou finally said, and everyone looked back at him, “None of us have to care at all, but I do care. I care because… Espers deserve it. They've held onto magic for so long; they've given us the gift of magic. It's our fault for abusing it that their world crumbled apart, so why shouldn't we fix it?” Though his tone was gentle, Ryou knew his own speech caused quite a bit of uneasiness. He looked at them and continued on, “None of you had to come with me, but… I owe it to those Espers. They've been helping me since I first gained magic. All of it started with Sith. I… owe it to her for saving my life from the Mystics. She didn't have to help me at all. She didn't even have to help Malik. But she did. And she helped you all, too. So, even if I don't have to care, I still do because it's only right.” At first, everyone else was silent. They had no idea how to even react. They cared; most of them, anyway. Ryou was right, too. Sith had actually helped them all whenever they were in danger, and she never actually had to do so. Finally, Yugi nodded.

 

“Maybe Bahamut was waiting for someone like you who wanted to fix whatever it was humans did to cause such a rift,” Yugi replied brightly, “I mean, technically Sith severed all physical ties, but that doesn't excuse us, does it?”

 

“It doesn't,” Ryou agreed, “…it doesn't excuse us, or what anyone else did, either. Sith said something a while ago that confused me until just now, right when Kaiba spoke. She said that it was inconceivable for humans and Espers to live together. But, we all know… that's not true now. Maybe that's how we'll fix what Sith tore away.”

 

“By marrying Espers?” Jou asked, and everyone gave him an odd glare, “Hey, if that's the case, I'll definitely marry one! Hell, it'd be awesome to have magic in my life!” Yugi shook his head as Honda sighed. Anzu simply rapped Jou on the back of the head; only Ryou seemed the least bit amused.

 

“Magic's a terrible responsibility,” Ryou told him, “Besides, I don't mean we all should marry an Esper. I mean… that maybe by my marrying Sith, we've already built a bridge across this gap. That'd explain why Rath wanted to stop it so badly.” Ryou's eyes narrowed as he looked down. Everything felt so clear, something that rarely happened, and now he understood Sith's hesitancy in letting anyone close; she was the reason Espers were feared on earth.

 

“Man, this world gets more and more complicated as time goes on,” Honda commented after a moment of silence, “I mean, it kind of seems like the Espers don't want bonds with humans, but at the same time, you and Sith nearly got yourselves killed to create one. And just now, we're finding out that the God of Espers planned it this way? I'm sure glad I'm not you right now, Ryou. I'd have ripped my hair out by now.” Ryou laughed hysterically, even though the statement itself wasn't that funny. He knew the feeling all too well, and if only his friends actually knew how hard his relationship with Sith actually had been. He silently was glad no one else was him, either. He doubted anyone else could handle what he had been dealt with since she entered his world.

 

“Now you all see why I hate whenever we do something ridiculous,” he replied gently, smiling, “It always turns into something to kill me. It makes me wonder just how the Mystics know what…” Ryou stopped as he stepped on his lawn; they'd been so involved with his speech that they nearly passed his yard, but as he looked, he realized that may have been impossible to do, as a large battle tank now stood in his backyard. Anyone would have seen it unless they were blind. Ishtar, who seemed to be the least attentive, nearly fell over in shock as he looked up.

 

“Holy shit, you weren't kidding about the tank!” he exclaimed, “Ryou, where the hell did your father get this?” Ryou sighed, shaking his head. He didn't actually know where it had come from, either. Luckily, Katt did.

 

“Remember last year, when Sith went haywire from Yaten leaving to look for Ryou?” she asked, and when Ishtar nodded, she continued, “Well, that's where it came from. Damn fool thought he'd have a better time with a tank, though we never knew which military branch was insane enough to trade a tank for an old station wagon.” Kaiba snorted with complete disbelief as he stared at the large vehicle in question. Anzu and Miho had trouble hiding their amusement as well, and Ryou even heard Yugi laughing at the scenario. He himself wasn't too surprised to hear his father's idiocy in its true form.

 

“Man, I'd die for a dad like yours, Ryou!” Jou exclaimed, which only made the laughter worse. Ryou silently said that no one would die for a dad like his, and leaving everyone except Amane to laugh at the tank, Ryou walked up the steps and into the house. His cheeks were stained with blue as he walked inside, not knowing just what to expect from his father. Yaten, surely enough, was sitting on the couch with Rosco, who barked when he saw Ryou. Yaten looked over.

 

“Son! I was wondering where you and Amane went,” he said, standing up, “I came home and found a note written with crayon saying you went to the police for something. Of course, that was after I found Rosco's pee puddle, but still, are you all right?”

 

“I'm fine, dad,” Ryou replied, as Rosco bounded toward him, “I need to ask you something, though, and I don't think you're going to like it.” Yaten blinked, wondering what it could be as he sat on the coffee table, sipping from a mug of coffee.

 

“Ask away, son,” he replied, and then gasped, “Wait… this is about sex, isn't it? Did Sith ask you!? Son, you know a simple no is…”

 

“Dad, she didn't ask me!” Ryou yelled, his cheeks quickly turning crimson as he spoke, “Why does everyone always assume that whenever I have a question or need to talk, it's automatically about Sith and I!?” Yaten put his mug down for a moment, considering the question. He didn't appear to notice how uncomfortable he made Ryou, and if he did, he didn't appear to even care very much.

 

“Well, son, she's the first girlfriend you ever had, and you're married to her,” Yaten replied bluntly, “And, everyone knows that once marriage comes, children follow shortly after.” Ryou's eye twitched as his father continued speaking. Yes, he wanted children, but the thought never appeared to have crossed Sith's mind, and that never actually answered his original question. When Yaten began to explain how he and his wife had Ryou within two years of their marriage, Ryou stepped in again.

 

“I wanted to ask if I could borrow the damn tank!” he snapped, his face completely red with embarrassment. Yaten stopped prattling on and looked over at Ryou, a disapproving brow furrowed.

 

“Son, you know better than to curse at me,” he said flatly, “Besides, why do you need a battle tank? You're not licensed to drive one.”

 

“Neither are you, dad,” Ryou reminded him shortly, crossing his arms and frowning. He really didn't feel he had time for this, especially with Rath so close.

 

“But I work for the government. It's all right for me to drive illegally,” Yaten pointed out, “You're not to touch the battle tank. Now, go get Rosco's leash and walk him. I don't want him peeing on the floor again.” Ryou's eye twitched again as he stared in anger and disbelief at his father. The world was in peril because of the Mystics, and Yaten didn't appear to care.

 

“Dad, we have to stop the Mystics!” Ryou cried desperately, and Yaten looked at him, “Remember the woman who trapped me in the game last year? The one who let all the monsters loose? Dad, her leader is here! She's destroying time as we speak! We have to stop her!” Yaten blinked, and then, Ryou saw that he began to glare furiously at the ground, mumbling something. He stood up and shook his head.

 

“No,” he replied furiously, “You're not doing this `save the world' thing again, Ryou. You're staying home.”

 

“Dad, I can't!” Ryou exclaimed, “I have to go! They're here for me! Sith needs me to help her! I can't…”

 

“Ryou, I said NO!” Yaten yelled, glaring at his son, “I've had enough with you getting yourself into trouble like this. You're not going anywhere! If Sith needs you, she'll fix whatever this is herself! I'm not letting my only son kill himself for… for a monster!” Ryou lost his mind now, unable to believe what Yaten had called Sith.

 

“SITH IS NOT A MONSTER!” he screamed angrily, not caring if everyone heard him or not. His breathing became rapid, his chest heaving with fury as he said, “You've always thought she was just a monster, haven't you?” Yaten looked down, realizing he had made a terrible mistake with that insult. Ryou continued, “Well, she's not. She's my wife and I love her. And if you can't accept that, then that's too bad. I'm going and you're not stopping me.” Yaten blinked as Ryou stormed toward the key rack and took the tank key, storming out of the door. He walked over and looked out the window as Ryou stormed to the tank, threw open the door, and then led everyone inside, slamming the door and turning the tank on. It rumbled loudly, and caused a small tremor in the immediate area, but even that wasn't enough to drown out Yaten's thoughts now. He couldn't believe what Ryou had said, what he had done. Ryou never stormed away like that, and Yaten knew he had gone too far.

 

“I made a stupid mistake, didn't I?” he asked, as Amane nodded, watching as Ryou pulled out of the driveway.

 

“Daddy, you usually do,” she said, “But don't worry. I don't think Ryou's strong enough to hurt you for it.” Yaten sighed, shaking his head. He never knew Ryou could be capable of rebellion like that, and yet there it was, glaring him right in the face.

 

“…do you think she's a monster, Amane?” he asked, “Sith?” Amane tilted her head and looked up at the ceiling. She had, until recently, only seen Sith twice, and both times the woman had been dead. Quickly, Amane shook her head.

 

“No, daddy. I think she's nice,” Amane replied, “She's the reason I'm here, right? How bad can she be to give my cute, little spirit a form? I don't think she's bad at all.” Yaten sighed again. He had been staring at the floor as they spoke, and finally, he looked up. The battle tank was gone, as was his son. His eyes watered a bit as he took off his hat and clutched it tightly.

 

“…I never thought I'd see the day my own son rebelled against me,” he said, though it seemed to be more to himself than to Amane, “But he's finally done it. He's going out… and he's going to risk it all for the one person he actually cares about. And she's not human. I hate to admit it, but my son's growing up on me.” The tears finally fell, but to Amane's surprise, Yaten wasn't frowning. He was smiling. It was a proud smile, one that seemed to say that he felt he had done everything he could now. He looked over at the training sword Sith had given Ryou that summer. Brows furrowing, he opened his mouth to speak just one sentence.

 

“…Sith, you had better take care of my son.”

 

-----------------------------(End Chapter)

 

And so, after finally putting his foot down with his father, Ryou now departs for Scapples, and for the ruins of what used to be Nesce. And, he does it without Sith as well. With only his grandfather's directions, and the small pool of magic he has, Ryou knows very well that this will be the final battlefield he'll witness against the Mystics, but will he even find Rath? Will Sith catch up to him before he's annihilated? And, how will Yaten handle his only son going off against his wish? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!