Kingdom Hearts - Blades of Three Realms

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro of course thanked Kid and serge for their time, in the silent way for Serge, and Verbally for Kid so as to not get yelled at too much for appeasing the silent one too much with his way of speaking, after that, he would at least wait until the two were gone before getting back on the boat, and proceeding to sail along, thankfully it'd take a few hours but sure enough, probably without detours, and working to Termina without any troubles sans some bit of extra rocking which nearly made Shiro fall asleep, but at the moment he would at least pull into under the archway to show he was at least doing well, though when he got close enough to land, he'd at least get the boat tied down, and if Crystal was nearby, she'd see him doing just that, quite calmly.. up until the sail picked up just right, and shifted the boat to where he would comedically face-plant right in the water before bobbing his head out of said water and giving off a glare of 'you're mocking me.' at said boat.

Axel, of course, like mentioned, was definitely taking the time to relax, and catch up on some needed Z's since he's been more tired as of late, probably due to worrying about the group in general for quite a few worlds, Crystal and Roxas especially since those two are quite close to each other, even if Xion and Shiro hadn't faced their own feelings for each other yet.. oh yes, he could see at least Shiro's budding crush on Xion, but given they hadn't said word one on it he'd stay out of it for now.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Even though Crystal had been exploring a lot of the main island with Roxas and Xion, once they were back in Termina she had been making it a point to keep the docks in sight until nightfall knowing that Shiro could arrive at any time. So, to poor Shiro's misfortune, they all saw him topple off the boat.

"Looks like he still needs some practice," Roxas watched in amusement.

"Well, he at least made it here without getting himself lost it looks like so he's at least made some progress," Crystal commented while heading over to see to helping to pull Shiro out of the water. "Welcome back," she smiled while she offered Shiro a hand up to help him out onto the dock. "So, do you think you're starting to get the hang of it? Because it's only going to get tougher from here. The Dead Sea is a treacherous place and you'll need to know every inch of your vessel because that's going to be your only lifeline to getting yourself back to civilization once you've passed through that storm. Anyway, that can wait until tomorrow. For now, let's get your dried off and see about grabbing some food at the tavern while it's still early enough that we won't get thrown out for being underage."

"You know, whatever she has planned for Shiro, it'll probably be hilarious to watch," Roxas mentioned to Xion.

"Oh, I don't doubt that," Xion agreed. She did feel a little bit sorry for Shiro having so much pressure put on him like this.

"Yeah, well, sitting on the sidelines is all well and good, but I might need a bit of extra help for at least one part of Shiro's training, even if he somehow manages to get the hang of it on the first try," Crystal pointed out. "Capsizing the boat isn't going to be easy and Shiro needs to know how to flip it back over if it should happen in the stormy waters of the Dead Sea so that's something we're going to have to work on a lot. And really, it's a skill we all should know since we're going to be on this world for a while."

"... Roxas, I don't think she's joking," Xion sounded as nervous as she and Roxas were both looking at the moment.

"Yeah, I think we might have set ourselves up for this one," Roxas added with a nervous laugh.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro would gladly take the hand offered and used a bit of prana to help himself up while using Crystal's help "thanks... and yeah, i've gotten well used to traveling on calm seas and not stupidly do anything like following clouds or some stupid thing and actually keeping an eye on the compass a lot more." he said, while eyeing the boat with narrowed eyes "though that boat i still say is out to dunk me every 5 minutes, i've gotten it to where it doesn't do it that often unless i let my judgment lapse." he said, while chuckling a bit. of course, before sweatdropping a bit at the mention of capsizing the boat, and then re-flipping it back over, and climbing back on it and all, he'd shake his head afterwards as he chuckled a bit "oops." he said, clearly not too sorry that he had accidentally git Xion and Roxas involved in this now.

Axel of course would still be at the inn, so no worries about him there, though he'll probably be up later at night since he -was- an adult, technically, and could use the tavern as a place to eat without looking underaged.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Axel could count himself lucky that he wasn't being roped into helping with Shiro's sailing practice as the rest of the group was spending the next few weeks out in the harbor performing stunts with the boat that pretty much assured that there would be no staying dry for anyone. It was difficult and exhausting, being quite a workout, but it was also sort of fun. At least, Roxas had begun to think so once he started to get the hang of it. They were at least nice enough to each other that no one was being purposefully shoved overboard except by the boat itself being flipped over again and again. And they would keep at it until Shiro demonstrated that he could consistently right the boat from being capsized on his own almost every time. Obviously, no one expected him to get it right every time. Even Crystal messed it up on occasion and she had way more experience around this boat in particular than any of the rest of them. Roxas was actually getting pretty decent at it too so that meant Crystal might not have to handle all the sailing once they started to visit the other islands in the archipelago in Shiro's absence once he set off to the other version of the world. Xion was learning too, although she was only really there so-as not to feel excluded from the fun being as it really was rather entertaining to watch all the effort that went into getting the boat to even flip upside down, let alone getting it right-side up again. And, of course, all the intensely strenuous activity of helping Shiro with his sailing lessons had done a marvelous job of taking their minds off of the other pressing issues that still concerned them so all in all the group was in much better spirits than when they had first started.


"So, how are you holding up not sharing a room with Roxas?" Xion jumped right on the teasing once she and Crystal were in what had been designated as the girl's room once Shiro had rejoined the party.

"Well, the good news is I'm sleeping okay and the nightmares seem to have gone for now," Crystal answered honestly while trying not to let herself be baited into a more awkward conversation. "Still, I never would have guessed I'd get comfortable with that arrangement so easily."

"I think it probably surprised him too, but he's definitely more happy about it now," Xion pointed out.

"That's true," Crystal admitted. "Of course, I'm happy about it too. Anyway," she quickly changed the subject, "we're seeing Shiro off tomorrow so we really should try to get some sleep."


Roxas was, of course, sharing the other room with Axel and Shiro. And seeing as the dimensional rift was located at Opassa Beach and they were going to have to hike there to see Shiro off it stands to reason that they were going to be getting up kind of early so Roxas assumed he wasn't going to have to worry about gossip for once. Roveth still wasn't back yet for some reason, probably still busy in Twilight Town tinkering with all that technology he had made off with from Chronopolis. Not to mention the very real possibility that Axel was going to be out late at the tavern anyway because he at least could get away with it unlike the rest of them.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

of course, during the next few weeks, Shiro would do his damnedest to keep himself and ship afloat, and the times when he wasn't, he'd work to quickly re-flip the boat back up so he could use his slightly flashy tactic of blasting out of the water via Prana Burst, to land back onto the boat with a light 'thunk' of his boots landing on the wood, apparently he had gotten much better about getting back onto the boat quickly during his time gone, but in either case with every scenario being run through not just him, but Crystal, Roxas, and Xion all, it was definitely drilled into his head what to do, as well as getting a laugh and being perpetually wet the entire few weeks when he hadn't took a warm shower at the inn, though it seemed Roveth wouldn't turn up probably until after Shiro left at least.

Axel of course was already out and about at night like Roxas had figured since he could so that left Shiro and Roxas alone again, with Shiro of course wide awake since he was of course, nervous about this whole mess, this'd be the first time in a long while that he was going into something potentially dangerous, alone. hadn't happened for a long while now, not since his travels before he met Crystal, hence why he was probably seen sitting on the windowsill with mask in place and letting his eyes gaze up to the moons quietly as he listened to the ambient sounds of the night.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"You really should try to relax," Roxas was still awake too, sprawled out and staring up at the ceiling from the bed he had taken over, mainly because Shiro acting all nervous was making the other boy worry a good amount being as Crystal wasn't in the room to do the worrying herself right now. "We've all put in a lot of effort making sure you have the skills you need to make it in and out of there in one piece. All you have to focus on is getting back safely. Crystal will forgive any missteps you make by getting yourself lost along the way, but she'll never forgive herself if you don't make it back so she can see you again. If you go getting cold feet at a time like this and neglect to get the rest you need, it'll only make you clumsy tomorrow. You really should have more faith in yourself. Crystal wouldn't be letting you do this if she didn't believe you can handle it."  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Shiro had looked away from the moons, over to Roxas as he raised an eyebrow before chuckling a bit, and speaking "i'm not worried about the trip itself, well, not completely, i'm more worried about certain old... habits popping back up that i had before i met Crystal, and even after then. Though i've managed to suppress it, my inherent 'death wish' as she typically calls it.. hasn't gone away, so i'm more worried of it returning full force when i do leave... even though i think with my status as an up and coming Unlimited... it might be a moot point regardless in wishing for death." he shrugged, softly getting off the windowsill for now, and closed the windows with a soft sigh under the mask and all, as he moved to head to his bed "even if she says she's not worried, i know she is... and for good reason." he'd at least say while closing his eyes, and starting to try and sleep, even with mask on thankfully so he didn't accidentally breathe out mist into the room or anything.

of course, during the next day the gang would work their way to Opassa Beach, where Shiro would eventually walk closer to the point where the dimensional bend is, feeling it literally calling ofr him as he sighed, closing his eyes and just thinking a moment, before turning to face everyone, Axel included, and giving off one of his smiles while his mask had retracted to reveal it. "well.. i'm off then." he said softly, yet with enough force that did say he'd try his hardest to return safely, with or without the Frozen Flame is yet to be seen.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"Take care of yourself out there," Crystal gave a smile and nodded to Shiro. "Since no one else gets to see the Frozen Flame, you're gonna have to tell us all about it once you get back. And don't skimp on the details!"

"Good luck Shiro," Xion added. "Try not to push yourself too hard."

"We'll all be here rooting for you so you'd better make it back safely," Roxas chimed in.

No doubt, Axel would have his own words of wisdom to deliver before seeing Shiro off and then they would wait for Shiro to vanish by sliding through the clearly defined dimensional boundary before heading back toward Termina. Of course, now that they had access to their side's boat again Crystal was definitely planning to use the coming days and weeks to take the others to the neighboring islands as well as around to the far side of the main island to poke around Fort Dragonia among other things to continue their unfinished exploration of the world in general. It would at least keep them all occupied until Shiro eventually returned. Crystal definitely needed to keep her mind off of worrying over Shiro so she wouldn't think of doing anything drastic to try to drag him back if she started to suspect he might be in any sort of trouble.

The Dragon God had been split back into its constituents and re-scattered across the two dimensions so only half were in each version of the world, meaning that in their travels the group was only going to get to see the Sky Dragon on Sky Dragon Isle, the Red Dragon at Fort Dragonia, and the Black Dragon on Marbule. Granted, the absence of the Earth Dragon on Earth Dragon Isle was precisely why they were going to get to meet the Criosphynx and that beast was possibly even more fascinating than the Dragon Gods in its own way. There would also be some shenanigans with Mel, Kid's young thieving apprentice from Guldove, stealing the group's element grids while visiting said island and an epic chase to get back their stolen property from the troublesome little girl. Minor mishaps like those aside, things were pretty peaceful.

Of course, they still had those rooms booked in Termina so at the end of each day they would make their way back to crash for the night. A lot of the time they would get back with plenty of time left in the afternoon to take a detour over to the Divine Dragon Falls. It wasn't the clock tower in Twilight Town and there wasn't necessarily any sea salt ice cream to be had, although they certainly could have sent for some if they really got desperate enough, but it was a nice spot on the main island where it was usually quiet and not a lot of people were around to bother them. It certainly wasn't going unnoticed that Roxas and Crystal were largely avoiding the subject of how they were both worrying about how Shiro was doing, although in Roxas's case he was also trying rather hard not to get carried away with worrying over Crystal too. Axel, of course, seemed to be taking full advantage of his being permitted into the tavern late into the evening so it was mainly up to Xion to find some excuse to be avoiding the pair of Roxas and Crystal until they actually talked things through. Xion inadvertently stumbled upon the perfect excuse by accidentally being discovered Nikki, the lead singer of and guitarist of the Magical Dreamers, while he was out getting a bit of fresh air after being holed up in his waiting room up in the concert parlor. He was accompanied by the cute and charming little fairy, Razzly, and inspiration seemed to strike Nikki on the spot as he realized one of the things that was missing for their next concert was another cute mascot to dance alongside his dazzling fairy companion. And so, whether she met to be or not, Xion was suddenly roped into rehearsing with the Magical Dreamers. Naturally, the response from both Roxas and Crystal on the subject was totally priceless?

"Sorry, but I kind of made some other plans for this afternoon?" Xion started to explain when Crystal and Roxas were getting ready to leave for the Divine Dragon Falls as was becoming a bit of a habit. Crystal seemed to really like the place so she probably would have gone alone if they'd have let her, but it stood to reason that wasn't going to happen because there was no way Roxas was going to just leave her alone right now even if Crystal wasn't really showing any outward signs that Shiro's absence was bothering her.

"So then, you're not coming with us?" Roxas seemed confused at first. It was one thing when Axel ditched them to hangout at the tavern to take advantage of his grown-up privileges, but why was Xion trying to avoid them now?

"Sorry Roxas," Xion apologized. "I kind of met that strange musician who has been rehearsing down by the docks and he said something about needing another darling mascot for his next performance and then he asked if I'd come back to rehearse with the rest of the band. It sounds like it could be fun and I could really use some more practice with this sort of thing if we're really planning on going back to Atlantica to perform for Sebastian so it might be a good opportunity for me."

"So, basically, you let yourself get recruited by the Magical Dreamers as Nikki's new muse so they can finally get to planning their next concert," Crystal grinned mildly in amusement. "That's actually kind of adorable."

"Well, okay, if that's what you want to do," Roxas relaxed a bit and smiled supportively. "Just let us know when the concert will be."

"Right, I'll let you know when I find out anything," Xion promised, even as her face was turning red with embarrassment.


And so, that was how it came to pass that Crystal and Roxas found themselves alone that afternoon at the Divine Dragon Falls shrouded in an awkward and heavy silence as they sat along the narrow land-bridge across the river at the base of the falls.

"Sorry, I know you're worried too and I really wish I could think of the right thing to say in this situation, but I can't," Roxas fidgeted in frustration as the silence started to weigh just a little too heavily on him. "I feel like such an idiot!"

"Roxas, you aren't an idiot," Crystal reached over to give his hand a squeeze. "This is a difficult situation. And I know you're doing the best you can for my sake too. It's okay not to have all the answers. What really matters is that you're here." Crystal glanced down at their reflections in the river down below. "It's funny. Back when I was trying to find you all I really thought about was that I wanted to meet you and at the very least see you again, but I honestly didn't think about what I was going to do afterward. Of course, then I found Shiro and together we learned of the Heartless Generals and things just kind of escalated from there, but it's not like I planned for any of that to happen. And really, I think all I've ever wanted, even since before I arrived in this era, is to have friends and to find a place to call home. Of course, it was easier for me to understand other people's feelings and I was pretty lousy about listening to what's inside my own heart so I kept getting myself lost."

"Well, I know a lot has happened since then, but did you ever come up with a plan for what you want to do once this is all over?" Roxas was genuinely curious now.

"Well, there is one thing that comes to mind," Crystal admitted as she blushed slightly becoming just a little embarrassed. "I've thought about it a lot and really, I want to stay with you and see where that path leads."

Roxas went very bright red and the slight slope of the land-bridge was more than enough to send them both toppling into the water as he leaned just a little too much in the wrong direction. The water was only about waist deep beneath the land-bridge so it wasn't really too hard for him and Crystal to get back on their feet, but then there came footsteps from the entrance leading up to the falls from the surrounding forest and in his startled embarrassment Roxas just kind of pulled himself and Crystal into the small alcove behind the large waterfall to keep out of sight of whoever else was venturing into the area at this point in the afternoon.

"Are you okay?" Crystal decided to ask once they were securely behind the waterfall. It was doubtful anyone on the other side was going to hear them over the thundering of the falls itself.

"Yeah... I'm fine," Roxas was still very, very red in the face. And they were pressed pretty close together being wedged against the back wall of the alcove behind the waterfall. "But you did kind of surprise me with that answer just now..."

"Roxas, I like being with you and considering all that we've been through already I really do think it could work," Crystal smiled sheepishly. "Of course, it will also depend on how long you think you can stand having me around because I think we have it on pretty good authority that I can be quite a handful." She was half-joking with that last part, even if it really wasn't all that far from the truth.

"Of course I want you to stay with me! Crystal, I love you!" Roxas blurted it out without thinking, caught himself, realized what he'd just said, and kind of just fumbled with it while looking somewhere between surprised, confused, shocked, and embarrassed all at the same time. Of course, the reason he became so immediately flustered was less apparent. "... so, um... I never actually said it before, did I?" he managed to ask once he'd found his voice again. He wasn't trying to backpedal on it or anything. He just suddenly realized he'd never actually uttered those words before now and it seemed a little stupid that he hadn't said it already.

"You didn't, no, but you probably still needed a little more time to figure it out so I wasn't going to press you on it," Crystal gave him a thoughtful smile. "Because I love you too. And Roxas, I know it wasn't easy for me to say it either, so really, you don't have to worry about it."

Roxas leaned in and he kissed her because in that moment he really wanted to and he felt like it was probably the right reaction to have given everything that had just happened.


Later when they headed back to Termina they went hand in hand, with Roxas having given Crystal the use of his over-shirt because being soaking wet in that thieving outfit with that torn white shirt underneath that loose-fitting bolero vest wasn't leaving much to the imagination so it allowed Crystal to cover-up better, although it very definitely wouldn't go unnoticed by Axel or Xion when the two arrived back at the inn.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Axel would just nod while smirking a bit lightly "don't let yourself get too lost not Shiro, we've just gotten you fixed mostly on that habit. either way, i'll try and keep an eye out for Roveth too while you're gone." he said, with Shiro nodding, looking a bit relieved figuring Roveth would probably show up after he left, but Axel did say one more thing "be careful out there, Unlimited Sword." he quipped, causing Shiro to raise an eyebrow towards Axel mid step onto the precise spot he needed to be.

Shiro just looked back at Axel at the nickname he just mentioned, while tilting his head to the side a bit, humming gently as he set his foot down from the mid step mode "... kinda catchy. i like it." he said, with his Reality marble pulsing from the mention of it in some way, as he chuckled a bit "For i am definitely... made out of blades." he said, in that same almost dead trance-like intone he uses when about to do something crazy with his reality marble, before turning away from everyone, and stepping out onto the location he needed to step onto, staring off into the distance as his eyes started glazing over, a swell of dimensional energy in a blue and green spiral before he'd quickly fade away in a small burst of light, leaving the beach empty sands and the calm tides splashing against the beach.

Shiro meanwhile after his departure would arrive unceremoniously and quietly in the Home World side of things, though not seeing the boat at the beach he would give off a groan, and start his trek off by heading to Arni Village to see if he could find the boat. unfortunately, his bad luck continued as he found out that the boat wasn't there either, but was pointed towards Termina, in which after heading out, had Shiro start fighting off enemies to make his few hours trek to Termina even longer, so he had to take a night at the inn to recuperate slightly from his long walking trek to Termina, the next day however he would at least find the boat, and after getting provisions for a long journey and making sure they were well preserved and all, it'd take a while longer to also make sure he didn't piss off anyone in the meanwhile, then he would be off sailing, hopefully towards the Dead Sea.

it'd take about a week, but not long after Roveth would return to the others long after Shiro had left for Home world, by sailing in on one of his own monster's boats, Abyss Boat Watchman, of course, creepiness aside Roveth would pull into docking, and de-summoned the creature, stretching a bit with idle amusement in general as he looked around "well that was an eventful time for me, now i wonder where Crystal and the others are..." he said, before heading to town to either find them or look for them at the Inn at least.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

The tropical climate of the El Nido archipelago meant that being drenched from the fall into the river and subsequent attempt at concealment behind the waterfall at the Divine Dragon Falls was only a minor inconvenience, but the added weight of the water soaked into their clothes did slow Roxas and Crystal down a good bit getting back to Termina. Or, it might have also been that they were taking their time on purpose in an attempt to let the sun dry them off before they returned to the inn. Fossil Valley was hot and arid, especially compared to the rest of the main island, so it was a good place to stroll around a while to catch some of that late day sun.

Regardless of all that, dry or not, Crystal was still wearing Roxas's over-shirt when they got back into Termina just in time to see Roveth was finally back in town.

"Well look who it is," Crystal waved in greeting. "Finally finished sorting through all that new tech, huh Roveth?"

"How were things in Twilight Town?" Roxas added with his own wave. They would probably seem awfully chipper and Roveth wouldn't be wrong to call them out for it considering up until a few hours ago the pair would have been way gloomier to have a conversation with because they had been so focused on worrying over Shiro and trying not to worry each other that they'd kind of let the angst get out of hand, but now everything was fine. Well, except the part about Shiro still not being back yet, but at least Roxas and Crystal had stopped moping about it.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Roveth would looks between the two, and just raised an eyebrow seeing the clear lack of of doom and gloom, well, aside from the obvious elephant in the room since Roveth couldn't feel Shiro so he had to have disappeared already, but he more focused on in front of him "Twilight Town was good, it was good, let's just say Isa was surprised in seeing all the new tech and the fact the building monsters were back." he said, waving Roxas off on that at least "more to the point: did you get laid? cause i haven't seen either you or crystal this happy ever." he decided to ask in his own cheeky teasing way, given he had no idea what happened but it obviously was a good thing.

Shiro meanwhile had been sailing for a few days it seemed between his making it to Termina to find the boat, packing up final things, and sailing off towards the Dead Sea, he decided to take the northern route around it seemed, passing by the S.S. Invincible as well to wave to the pirate ship, but either way he moved on, continuing to sail onwards and taking it at a pace whenever he would catch the wind in the direction he needed to go, using the compass and a map he had gotten from in Termina as part of his supplies, however, it seemed he was a bit off in his sailing, as he soon eventually landed, a week after sailing, at a very spooky island, which technically wasn't on the map, but the dead feeling of the place had left him a bit wary "... okay, this is spooky, and there's no storm around it, so it's not the dead Sea.. where the heck...?" of course, he'd at least go inland after making sure the boat would stay tethered in place, and check the Island out, because while the Frozen Flame's pull was strong, there was something else here calling his attention, something that resonated deeply with something inside Shiro, more than likely, his 'Origin' of Sword.

of course, it took quite a few hours trekking through the island, but it seemed Shiro managed to get the hang of the place, and his nagging senses, when he managed to reach the deepest part of the island, finding what looked to be a large garden filled with flowers, and overlooking it was a large cliff that he himself stood on, with a grave, said grave had the inscription 'Here lies Shiro Musouka, Eternally tormented by his own fate.' which made him sweatdrop at the grave, but the second thing he noticed, was a very powerful looking sword, in fact, it -almost- reminded him of Excalibur, but once his eyes set itself on it more... objectively... "Einlanzer, a holy artifact sword that has had many owners, most notable being Glenn of the Acacia Dragoons, as well as his predecessor.. Garai..." of course, upon seeing the memories of Garai's last moments from things made him frown a bit as he looked up to the sky, sure enough, a spectre started forming of the currently deceased owner of Einlanzer "... you were murdered by Radius under the control of the driven mad Masamune blade... but you supposedly moved on after Radius returned to ask both for forgiveness and for the Einlanzer to destroy the curse of Masamune which was keeping the Dead Sea Sealed." Garai chuckled, solidifying and drawing his twin swords, which made Shiro instinctively summon Kanshou and Bakuya "what you say is true, however i am also Einlanzer's Guardian, as the blade was waiting for a new master, as Glenn had the Einlanzer of his own world to wield in his destiny. since you have been drawn here, i assume it is because of the einlanzer, so, as a guardian, i must protect the blade from falling into evil hands.. and test potential new masters." Shiro narrowed his eyes, but let his presence slowly seep out as things got serious "then it seems... i shouldn't hold back as much as it will be detrimental."  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Roxas would have made a comment about how he was glad to hear everything had gone okay in Twilight Town, but he was immediately taken aback by Roveth's next comment. "Wait, what?"

"Bloody hell Roveth, we haven't seen you for a few weeks and now you're back all of five minutes and you're asking us a thing like that?!" Crystal flicked a Tablet element at Roveth in visible annoyance, although clearly she wasn't as annoyed as she could have been considering she was still genuinely glad to see that he had made it back to them safely and all. After all, she'd thrown a recovery item at him of all things. "We just had a good day is all. Even if we did kind of fall into a river and ended up under a waterfall for a little while, which is how we got all wet, but that shouldn't be anything shocking considering this is me and water we're talking about."

"Besides that, all we really did was try to talk things through so we could get everything out in the open since Shiro being gone was really starting to get to us," Roxas added with a nod.

"It was getting to everyone," Crystal continued. "But us not talking about it was really getting to Axel and Xion. Xion even let herself get talked into becoming a new mascot for the Magical Dreamers because Nikki was out scouting for a muse to help motivate him into actually planning his next concert."

"And she probably wanted to make sure we had some time alone together so we'd have no choice but to talk about what's been bothering us," Roxas had finally figured out why Xion had chosen to ditch them for the afternoon.

"Yeah, we should probably thank her for that," Crystal was inclined to agree before looking back to Roveth. "Anyway, you aren't wrong about me and Roxas wanting to be together so someday you might be right about certain other things too, but for now would it kill you to keep your mind out of the gutter?!"  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Roveth of course, had some things in common with shiro, namely, his tenuous balance with his body, so when the tablet boinked him on the head, he started to tilt, and immediately fell backwards, flailing involved, right back into the water with a large 'sploosh!' and the water bubbling a few moments before Roveth would flail back to the surface coughing a bit and giving Crystal a stink-eye for that "yes well you two should get some dry clothes anyway, now myself included since Crystal just -had- to remind me i still blow over like a leaf like my light half when it comes to balance." of course he'd still climb his way out of the water and sigh "anyway, i take it that you mentioned Shiro left that he's on his way to the Dead Sea, so i guess it is alright to be tense about Shiro not being around, he gets into way too much trouble for his own good, especially when on his own." he said, sighing "trust me, i've been worrying about him ever since we separated at Chronopolis and i worked on literally scrubbing the place clean of technology and then working on setting the builders to work in building more basement levels for the tech to research it all." he would sigh a bit lightly "i did have some little items for Shiro already found as well as some odd messages in my inbox which i ignored for the moment." he said, waving it off as he looked serious "i just hope that he'll make it out of this alright, whether or not he finds the Frozen Flame..." he said, more to himself, before looking off to the sky.

Shiro meanwhile was circling the twin-sword wielding spirit, narrowing his eyes a bit before both tensed their muscles, and sure enough, Garai leaped right into attacking Shiro, which let Shiro switch to his typical combating stance and started parrying with much speed that he could muster, not using Reinforcement on his arms just yet since he was parrying, but at the same time he was however at least turning and slowly leading this fight in a circle while taking those attacks, sure, there were a few scrapes getting by and somewhat cutting his face or arms, but he was handily ignoring them in favor of eventually getting a chance, and sure enough, one boot to the chest later, Shiro was on the offensive then, unleashing sword strike after sword strike with Kanshou and Bakuya, even so far as when he could, he put them into Trace Over-edge mode and started whirling like a buzz-saw sideways to attack, catching Garai off guard and doing a good bit of damage before having to back-flip and back up from both the detonating broken phantasms and Garai's swords nearly impaling him, already tracing out another pair of the married swords into hand as they both charged once more, continuing their clash and parry sequence before Garai backed off, and unleashed into his first tech: Triple Cut, which to Shiro almost looked like another technique he had seen before, causing him to drop his twin married swords, and suddenly grasped his hands around an appearing golden cross-like hilt, with a night black blade forming in hand as his eyes hardened and started glowing almost menacingly "... Secret Technique... TSUBAME GAESHI!" he called out, using the multi-fractional technique to deliver three strikes of his own, countering the Triple-Cut almost barely if the gash marks on his arms instead of his torso was any indication, but thanks to the black blood hardening itself to keep from bleeding out was any indication, Shiro would drop Sky Raven back into a blue portal, and with a quick flourish spun around and traced Kanshou and Bakuya, only to flick them out into a pair of three each, and flung them out, much like boomerangs, to begin spiraling around Garai, doing much cuts along the swordsman even as he parried one or two, three more would cut into him slightly, as Shiro ran forward, summoning yet another pair, this pair of the blades growing out once more into Trace Over-Edge form, becoming wing-like blades in particular, before unleashing a large vertical slash dealing multitudes of damage to Garai, and then lunging forward, unleashing a cross slash which would essentially break the over-edge blades, with the other boomeranging blades merging in to unleash into the 'white' element tech "Kakuyoku Sanren!" he called out, , before the explosion hit. of course, Shiro almost thought he was done, seeing nothing moving, but the smoke screen really just held within Garai's own technique, his own element technique.. "Will-breaker!" and unleashed the white Cross-slash right through the smoke, with it slamming right into Shiro's back with a cry of pain, and sending him flying right for the gravestone, crashing against it with a spitting up of black blood, however he was still keeping himself in control, and never once using it beyond basic hardening to keep the blood from leaking out of his wounds, either way he was currently up against the gravestone with his eyes hidden, and his hands against the ground when Garai started moving forwards, towards the fallen Shiro, looking a bit remorseful in ending another, to him, foolish life that looked so young.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

"Well, assuming Shiro does manage to find the Frozen Flame, I think it will probably be alright. I mean, the last person to come into contact with it was Serge and because of that he's still alive in that world even though his counterpart in this world is dead and buried," Crystal pointed out to Roveth. "Shiro already has the Seventh Element Resonance with the Chrono Cross and the two seem to go hand in hand as artifacts answering to the wish of this world to continue to exist. And for now, at least, I haven't been feeling any significant feedback from my connection to Shiro's heart so even if he has gotten into some trouble while he's been gone it must not be anything severe enough that he'd let me worry about it."

"Anyway, we probably should head back to the inn to dry off," Roxas added in agreement.

"And then we can decide what we want to do about grabbing a bite to eat before it gets too late," Crystal nodded. "Still, I do wonder who could be sending messages to your inbox, Roveth, considering that computer system in the mansion is supposed to be isolated from other systems. It sounds like you might have tapped into something by accident."


Once they reached the inn Crystal headed for the girl's room to get changed leaving Roxas momentarily alone with Roveth. During that time Crystal got changed into a pair of brown shorts, a beige-brown long-sleeved tunic-style shirt with a white crescent moon pattern on the front, and knee-high lace-up brown leather boots. Naturally, after that little mishap of falling into the river at the Divine Dragon Falls, Crystal had decided to dress in something a little more practical for her adventuring needs and the neutral color scheme would also help to keep her from standing out too much. Certainly, without the trademark thieving attire, even the Acacia Dragoons would likely be fooled into thinking she was totally different person from the alleged member of the Radical Dreamers rumored to be lurking in town. Of course, while she was at it she also went about hanging up the wet clothes to dry out before leaving the room again to regroup with Roveth and Roxas once Roxas was finished getting changed as well.

"So, you managed to surprise Isa again, huh? I don't suppose you saw any sign of Demyx while you were back in town," Roxas commented while he was getting changed and all. "It sounded like Isa was going to try to coerce him into finding a real job in town, but it won't surprise me if he's just been hiding out in his room pretending to be asleep or practicing with his Sitar."  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Roveth would look over to Roxas as he started pulling on a pair of dry black slacks, having already at least gotten on a blue shirt and all when he heard that question, and finished putting on his pants and got to work getting out new boots as well for himself "well from what i know Isa was surprised to see me, yes, but he did ask me to track Demyx down for him, unfortunately, i think he's barricaded himself into the recording studio on the third floor and letting no one in or out, so who knows what he's up to aside from possibly screwing around with his Sitar." he said, while humming a bit lightly, strapping the clasps into place on his boots "so Xion got roped into being a mascot? that's an interesting take of events for her." he said conversationally, at least not further probing about the stuff going on between Roxas and Crystal, as he was more worried about Shiro in general, even if he was doing -very- well to hide it.

as Garai stalked forward, coming to where he'd be face to face with Shiro if he was standing, looking down to the fallen swordsman with a regretful look on his face, but such was the fate of those who faield to prove to him and Einlanzer their worth, however, this was not to be the case, as Shiro's body started pulsing, and flowing with raw prana "I... am the bone.. of my Sword." a deep, trance-like intoned voice spoke, as a large immediate pressure hit the area, causing Garai to jump back and ready a defensive position, Shiro slowly moving to stand up as he continued speaking, his eyes still hidden "Steel... is my body... and fire... is my blood." of course, Garai frowned a bit lightly "so you take the path of magic and forsake your pride of the sword?" Shiro just gave off a gravelly chuckle, still hunched forward, but slowly moving to straighten up, as embers started flowing into the air, and in some paces, images of all kinds of swords started to appear embedded in the ground "hardly... relying on pure magic... and.. pride? that's... one thing you don't realize... i have no pride as a swordsman... because i'm not a swordsman." this seemed to anger Garai as he growled, and lunged forward, attacking at high speeds it seemed, but shiro seemed to be keeping up, having already traced two simple long swords and started parrying and deflecting each furious strike from the guardian spirit as he intoned "I have created... over a thousand blades." he said, eyes still hidden as he kept up the defense valiantly, before sidestepping and getting another gash along the arm that showed almost to the bone, but it made him wince regardless and drive a deep wound along Garai's left leg with a counter strike, causing the warrior to back off "unknown.. to death... nor... ugh... known.. to life..!" it seemed Shiro was definitely wanting to flinch through the pain, but he didn't, instead, he just kept himself calm, and taking even more furious strieks once Garai went to work slashing again "How!?!?! how can a man with no swordsman's pride, honor, or even call himself anything but a swordsman when you're using swords!?!?!" Shiro just scoffed, getting another opening as he slashed gashes into Garai's torso before starting to back up "have.. withstood pain... to create.. many weapons. ugh... if.. you must know, it is because... why should.. i be a swordsman.. when i wholly embody... what i wield?" this caught Garai off guard as he stopped moving, staring at Shiro oddly as if trying to comprehend what the young man meant "what...? what do you mean? are you a magic swordsman then?" Shiro just stared at Garai with his shadowed eyes under his hair, before dropping the blades, as he sighed, bringing his hands up to his hair, and stroked the white locks back, which seemed to move into a different formation as it revealed his closed eyes while bringing a hand forward "and yet... these hands.. will never hold... anything." he said, a circle of fire starting to slowly churn around his feet as he opened his eyes, which were blue before, but due to the different position of his hair, it was clear he was letting a bit of his true self out, or at least, the self deeply instilled into him via his mentor, in a way, as his steel colored eyes stared hard at Garai as he spoke up "not as a Magic swordsman.. but i myself... am a sword... So.... as i pray... Unlimited Blade Works!" with that, Garai stewpped back instinctively as the flames overtook the area, covering his face, when he felt it alright to look again, and that he was not burning.. he would leave his hands down, and go wide-eyed at what he was seeing, the rusted slowly turning gears, the perpetual sunset in the sky, the glowing embers flowing off the ground, and the ground... "an unlimited number of swords... the finest of finest swords! this.. this is my very soul, the Soul of a sentient sword..." he growled a bit, grabbing a sword from nearby "now come! face me and see what breaks first, myself, or your own two swords!" Garai would look around , before crossing his swords, a bright white light forming around them as he sighed "now i see why Einlanzer spoke to you... you are the King of Swords... no... the Unlimited Blade, much like this weird space... however... i will not lose here! WILL BREAKER!"" he roared out, charging forth, as Shiro grabbed onto the blade, beginning to glow fire red as he hummed a bit "unfortunately... i still have friends to return to.. so... until i physically cannot.. NOTHING WILL STOP ME! Nine Lives...!!!!" Shiro brought up the blade, arm bulging as he went into full Reinforcement mode on his arm, said sword, was a massive stone sword... one he's used quite often in one of his more powerful techniques as his presence intensified tremendously invoking the first part of the technique's name, before bursting forward with Prana burst using speed, aiming with his still good arm "... BLADE WORKS!!!" he shouted, the two techniques clashing, causing a point blank time where things stopped, however, it was a split second later the two dashed past each other, with Shiro stopping, and landing on one knee, a severe gash in his side as he grunted, and leaned against the stone sword "how.. was.. that... Einlanzer... and Garai?" he panted, one eye closed now, turning to look back, just as Garai staggered a bit, before chuckling "it seems... Einlanzer... has chosen my.. successor finally. i.. wish you luck... in your journies." he said, before finally collapsing, turning into blue flames, which slowly spread along the ground, and sure enough, Shiro's reality marble faded, bringing back the area, with Einlanzer laying softly against the foot of the grave, Shiro would give off a low groan, and slowly stood to his feet, creating a sheathe to set at his side to fit Einlanzer once he got a look at it, and proceeded to pull out a few elixirs to drink, needing at least to heal from the wounds, once that worked out with some reinforcement to help stitch his wounds together with some minor scars once again and a grunt, he'd take and sheathe Einlanzer, placcing a hand on its hilt, before turning, and leaving, letting the illusion fade that revealed Garai's true grave much like the last time, before heading back out of the Island.

thankfully after that... interesting side-track, Shiro managed to figure out exactly where he was at, and sighed as he was resuming his sailing, and sure enough, coming to Death's Door in particular, as he slowly guided the boat in, narrowing his eyes "and here... we... go." he'd mutter, before heading straight into what looked to be a massive swirling storm.