Legend of the Kokoro

Episode #4: Calm Before the Storm

*It's a late Saturday night in Toyama. The bright lights of the city reflected on the several clouds blocking out the moon and stars. At a busy supermarket, Cye walked through the exit doors, carrying a full paper bag in each arm. He walked down the street, doing his best to avoid the massive rush of strangers going past him on either side. "I never realized how busy the city is at night," Cye muttered to himself as he stopped at a crosswalk. The light turned red, and a wave of people from each side hustled across the street. Cye did his best to avoid colliding with them, but every once in a while; a stray elbow would jostle him. When he reached the other side of the street, Cye glanced at his watch while slowly walking. He did not notice the stranger running toward him until it was too late.

The two collided with each other, the impact knocking them both to the ground. Cye dropped both of his bags in the process. Some cans from one of the bags were spilled out on the sidewalk. "Aww, man!" he muttered, holding his throbbing head. He was clearly angry. "Why don't you watch where you're going?" Cye yelled in frustration. "I'm sorry," he heard a female voice whisper. Cye looked up at a beautiful young girl close to his age. Her long, shiny, corn silk hair cascaded over her slender shoulders. She was wearing a loose sleeveless turquoise dress, printed with yellow stars and crescent moons, and white sandals. What captivated Cye the most were her eyes: they were a clear aquamarine blue, as blue as the ocean on a bright, sunny day.

She was staring at Cye as well, but she shook it off as she got up. "I am so sorry," she apologized as she helped Cye up. "I should have watched where I was going. Please, don't be angry with me." Cye just stared at her, in astonishment, as she spoke with her slight French accent. "Is there something wrong?" the young girl asked. "N-Nothing's wrong," Cye stuttered, snapping out of his trance. "You shouldn't be apologizing, I should apologize to you." "Apologize to me? For what?" the girl asked, slightly confused. "Well, I wasn't exactly watching where I was going either, and I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I'm really sorry." "It's all right," she said, looking down at the sidewalk. "Here, let me help you with those."

The girl bent down and picked up a couple of cans off the sidewalk. Together, Cye and the girl picked up all of the cans and placed them back in the bag. "Thanks for your help," Cye told the girl, smiling at her. "It was the least I could do, after what happened," she admitted. They both stood there for a while, trying hard not to look at each other. "I better get going," the girl interrupted. "My mother, she'll be worried about me." She dashed off in the other direction. "No, wait!" Cye shouted. He started to run after her, but stopped abruptly. "I don't even know your name," he said to himself as he bent down to pick up his bags. He noticed something next to one of the bags and picked it up. It was a dainty bracelet with small links of gold suns and silver crescent moons…*

"Cye! HEY, CYE!" Kento yelled to his friend, who was sitting on top of a picnic table, looking at something in his hand. Cye shook out of his trance and looked up at his friends, who were staring at him curiously. It was in reality Sunday afternoon in Toyama City Park. Yesterday, the five boys made plans to go to the park and play some football, and they also invited Rita and Sandra. Cye put the bracelet back in his pocket, got off the picnic table, and joined his friends. "What's up, Kento?" he asked Kento. "Come on, Cye. Join the game!" Kento said, tossing a football to Cye. "We need a new player. Rita wants to take a break." "I would appreciate it if you take my place, Cye," Rita said. "Sure, no problem," Cye agreed.

While Rita headed to the picnic table, Ryo, Sage, Kento, Cye, Rowen, and Sandra ran off to the makeshift football field. It was just a small strip of flat grassy land with two garbage cans on either end for makeshift goal lines. The six of them stopped in the center and split up into two teams: Ryo, Sage, and Rowen vs. Kento, Cye, and Sandra. Cye bent down with the football in his hands, and Kento got behind him and bent down as well. "24…32…hut, hut, hike," Kento chanted as Cye passed him the ball. Sandra managed to squeeze past the defense and was open, so Kento passed the ball to her. She fumbled it, but she picked it up and ran for the goal. "All right! I scored a touchdown!" Sandra yelled in victory as she threw the ball to the ground.

"Sorry to ruin your celebration, Sandra," Ryo interrupted, "but you have to get the ball between the trash cans in order to score a touchdown." Sandra looked up and realized her mistake. "Oh, no!" she groaned in frustration. Sage and the others approached Sandra as she buried her face in her hands. "Sandra, I thought you said you knew how to play football," Sage said. "Yeah, I can play football," Sandra admitted, looking up at him. "European football, that is. You should've been more specific and told me that we're playing American football." "Look, it's getting kind of late," Cye interrupted. "Why don't we have lunch now and finish this game later on?" Everyone, especially Kento, agreed with Cye's suggestion.

Everybody headed back to the picnic table where Rita was sitting. "Game's over? Already?" she asked. "No, we're just taking a break to eat lunch," Ryo explained, to her as Cye pulled out a large picnic basket from underneath the table and started to set up everything. "So, Cye," Kento asked curiously as his friend started to pull out the trays of food, "what did you make?" "Well, I made sushi, chicken, rice cakes, and bean mochi." Before Cye and the others could sit down, Kento was already digging in. As everyone else was eating, Sandra looked curiously at the rolls of sushi, lying in a plastic container. "Hey, Cye," she started, "is sushi really made out of raw fish and seaweed?" Cye looked up from his plate at Sandra.

"Yes, it is," he replied. "You don't need to eat it if you don't want to." "I would like to try it, at least," Sandra told him as she picked up a small piece of sushi from the container. She quickly popped in her mouth and chewed it slowly. After she swallowed it, Cye asked, "Well, what do you think?" "Well, it was a bit too salty for me," Sandra replied, "but I liked it." After they finished lunch, Ryo, Kento, Sage, Cye, Rowen, and Sandra headed back to the makeshift football field. While Ryo, Sage, and Rowen waited, Kento, Cye, and Sandra huddled for a couple ofminutes. "Okay, here's the plan," Kento whispered to his teammates. "After you snap the ball to me, Cye, I want you to make a beeline to the goal, and I'll throw it to you. Ready?"

"Break!" the threesome shouted as they positioned themselves on the field. Cye took position as quarterback and Kento stood right behind him. "24…32…hut, hut, hike," Kento chanted as Cye snapped the ball and made a beeline for the goal. Kento realized that Ryo, Sage, and Rowen were going to tackle him together, so he threw the ball sooner than expected. Cye looked over his shoulder and noticed the football flying high over head. It went sailing over Cye's head and into a patch of trees and bushes. Sandra caught up with Cye as the rest of them were untangling themselves from the pile. "What happened to the ball, Cye?" she asked. "Where'd it go?" "Somewhere over there," Cye replied, pointing at the patch of foliage in front of them.

Meanwhile, the others had caught up to Cye and Sandra. "Cye, where's my football?" Sage asked him. "It landed somewhere over there," Cye replied, indicating the trees in front of them. "You better get my football, Kento," Sage muttered angrily to Kento. "Why me?" Kento asked innocently. "You're the one who threw it!" Sage replied. "What's the big deal about it, anyway?" Kento asked. "That football was a gift from my grandfather before he…" Sage trailed off. "Look, I'll get it," Cye interrupted. He parted some of the branches and stepped in. He turned his head and asked jokingly, "You're not gonna kill each other while I'm gone, are you?" "Nah, we'll wait 'til you come back," Kento replied, smiling as he playfully wrapped his arm around Sage's neck in a choker hold.

Cye shook his head as he continued his search for Sage's football. He looked under bushes and inside hollow tree stumps, but he couldn't find the football anywhere. Just then, Cye noticed a small opening on the other side of the small patch of trees. Looking through the opening, he saw Sage's football lying on the ground. "Whoa!" Cye muttered. "Kento ought to try out for the football team with an arm like that!" Cye stepped through the small opening and approached the football. He picked it up and looked it over to make sure it was Sage's football. When he found Sage's name on it, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew! That's a relief!" Cye told himself as he turned around and started to head back.

Just then, Cye heard a strange noise from behind him. He carefully turned around and noticed it was just a young girl trying to climb a tree not far from him. When he saw her face, Cye dropped the football in astonishment. It was the same girl he ran into last night. She was wearing a light blue gauze shirt, blue jeans, and short black boots. Her silky blond hair was pulled back into an exquisite French braid. Cye cautiously approached her as she pulled herself up to the first limb, which was a bit high off of the ground. "Hello," Cye greeted as he looked up at her. Caught by surprise, her foot slipped and she was hanging on the branch by her hands. "Hold on, I'll get you," Cye said with a bit of panic in his voice.

"Do not worry," the girl said. "I can get down by myself." With that, she let go of the branch and landed right in front of Cye. When she turned around and looked at him, she gasped and said, "I remember you! We ran into each other last night, didn't we?" "Yes, we did," Cye replied with a smile. "I'm really sorry I scared you like that." "It's all right," she responded. "I'm sorry. I should have introduce myself last night, but I was in a bit of a rush." "That's all right," Cye said, extending his hand toward her. "I'm Cye Mouri." "Well, nice to meet you, Cye," she replied as she shook Cye's hand. "My name is Clara Marie Garson. I just moved here a couple of days ago from Paris."

The two of them just stood there for a while, both too shy to admit the way they felt. "Umm…Cye?" Clara asked uncertainly. "Yes?" he replied. "Last night, did you happen to come across a bracelet? It's a small, thin bracelet with silver crescent moons and gold suns," he asked with concern in her voice. "As a matter of fact," Cye started as he reached for the bracelet in his pocket, "I did." Clara gasped as Cye pulled the bracelet out of his pocket and showed it to her. "Oh, thank you so much," Clara whispered. To Cye's surprise, she embraced him. "Thank you so much, Cye," she continued. "I was afraid I lost this for good." Clara finally let go of Cye, who was completely red in the face. When she noticed his face, Clara giggled slightly.

"What's so funny?" Cye asked nervously, the redness fading from his face. "I'm sorry about that," Clara said, smiling, "but I never seen a boy blush before. Now, about my bracelet…" "Oh, right," Cye stuttered, remembering that he still had Clara's bracelet in his hand. He handed the bracelet to Clara, who wrapped it around her left wrist. As she fastened the clasp, Cye asked, "Clara, if you don't mind me asking…Why is that bracelet so important to you?" Clara looked down at the ground and replied, "The bracelet was a gift from my father. He made it for me before I was even born. My father planned to give me the bracelet for my Sweet Sixteen, but he died before I was even a year old."

Cye noticed a few teardrops hit the ground at Clara's feet. "Clara, are you all right?" he asked
concernedly. She slowly lifted her head and looked at him with red, tear-brimmed eyes. Cye comforted her with a hug, allowing her to cry freely on his shoulder. "It's all right, Clara," he whispered. "It's gonna be all right." "It's never going to be all right," Clara replied between sobs. "I never had the chance to know him. All I know about my father is from pictures, home movies, and what my mother and my older sister told me. You have no idea what it's like for me." "You'd be surprised," Cye replied. Clara broke away from him and looked at him curiously. "What do you mean, Cye?" she asked. "My father died when I was a baby, too," Cye admitted.

"It's a bit frightening how much we have in common," Clara admitted. "Sorry for being so abrupt, but I must be going." She turned away, but Cye stopped her. "Wait! You have to leave? So soon?" he asked. "Afraid so," she replied. "It was a pleasure seeing you again, Cye. I do hope we run into each other again. Until then, au revoir." With that, Clara ran off in the other direction, with Cye watching her. "Cye!" he heard Sandra yell. Cye turned around and saw Sandra and Rita running toward him. "Hi, Sandra, Rita," he greeted as they stopped in front of him to catch their breath. "What's been taking you so long, Cye?" Rita asked. Cye remembered the football and picked it up
from the ground.

"Oh, well, you see… I…" Cye stuttered. "There's no time to explain it," Sandra retorted. "We have to leave now!" "Why?" Cye asked. Sandra pointed up to the sky. Cye looked up and saw what she was pointing at, several storm clouds were gathering and blocking out the sun. "The guys are packing up everything in Kento's van," Sandra explained. "Sorry for interrupting you two," Rita interrupted, "but it's going to start raining any minute. We should head back now." As soon as she finished, the clouds had completely blocked out the sun, and rain began to pour down heavily. Using their arms to cover their heads, Cye, Sandra, and Rita ran off toward where Kento's van was parked…

Cye stared out of the passenger window of Kento's van as he drove carefully down the street. The rain was heavily pouring down in sheets, flooding the roadswith three inches of water. "I hope Clara didn't get caught in this storm," Cye thought as he leaned back in his seat. "Cye!" an annoyed Kento yelled. Cye nearly jumped out of his seat. "What's up, guys?" he asked. "Oh, nothing much," Rowen replied from the very back of the van. "We're just having an important conversation about Dulcea's new hired help, but you don't seem to be interested." "And why wouldn't I, Rowen?" Cye asked curiously. "Because you went off to another world," Ryo replied, who was sitting in front of Rowen, along with Sage.

"You know, this is the second time you spaced out on us today," Sandra pointed out, who was sitting right behind Cye, with Rita sitting next to her. "Is there something wrong?" "I'm just fine, guys," Cye reassured everyone. "Just brief me in on what you've been talking about so far." "Well, we've been talking about those 'twin Ronins' that Ryo and I ran into," Sage replied. "Oh, right," Cye remembered. "Where do you suppose they came from? And could there be more of them?" "I'll bet Dulcea had something to do with that," Ryo exclaimed. "And there could be three more out there, so be careful." "Yeah, that's true," Cye remarked, "but we still don't know where they came from. Any ideas?"

Everyone was silently thinking for awhile until Sandra spoke up. "Not to get all sci-fi on you guys," she started, "but maybe there's like a parallel universe to ours, where the Ronin Warriors are all evil tyrants. What do you think?" "I think you watch too many sci-fi movies," Sage retorted jokingly. "That could be a plausible theory, though," Rowen admitted. Sage and Ryo turned around and looked at him curiously. "What? It could be possible. We don't exactly know what Dulcea's capable of. Matter of fact, we learned the hard way that there was more to her than meets the eye." "Yeah, you got that right," Ryo muttered out loud. "She took us all down without even trying. She may be even more powerful than Talpa ever was."

Just then, the van skidded suddenly. Everyone in back was thrown to the side of the van. As they quickly got back to their seats, Ryo and Sage yelled angrily, "Kento!" "Sorry, guys," Kento admitted. "These roads are really slick from all this rain." "Well, could you be more careful?" Sage asked sarcastically, holding his head. Kento turned his head and asked rudely, "Hey, do you wanna drive?" Just then, Cye noticed a figure dart right in front of the vehicle. "Kento, look out!" he shouted. Kento quickly slammed his foot on the brake, and the van came to a screeching halt. Kento stayed frozen in his seat with a frightened look on his face, clenching the steering wheel tightly. "Cye, did I just…" he trailed off.

"I don't know," Cye said slowly as he removed his seatbelt, "but we can't just sit here and wonder 'bout it." He opened the passenger door and stepped out into the pouring rain. "Man, what was I thinking?" Cye thought to himself as he pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt. "I'm checking for a dead body under my friend's car!" He cautiously made his way to the front of the van and gasped at what he saw. Lying on the ground, with the van's bumper against her chest, was Clara. "Oh, my," Cye muttered as he knelt down to check on her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at him. "Cye?" "Yeah, it's me," he said. "Are you all right, Clara? Anything broken?" "No, I'm okay," Clara reassured him as she attempted to squirm her way out from underneath the van.

"Are you sure?" Cye asked as he helped her out. "You did get hit by a van!" "Actually, the van never hit me," Clara admitted. "But, how?" Cye asked. "When I saw the van," Clara explained, "I tried to get out of the way, but I slipped in a puddle and fell." She shamefully lowered her head. "Well, it's a big relief that you're okay," Cye told her. "Listen, I know we don't know each other well, but we're heading over to my house. Would you care to join us?" "Thank you, Cye," Clara said as they got up. Cye looked at Kento, who breathed a huge sigh of relief. Cye opened the side door for Clara, closed it behind her, and got back in the front seat. As Cye put on his seatbelt, Kento remarked, "Please, don't do that to me ever again!" With that, he restarted the van and continued driving through the heavy rain…

Sometime later, at Cye's house, the front door was opened. Cye and his friends stepped inside and headed to the living room. As everyone, except for Cye and Clara, sat down, Cye called out, "Mom, I'm home!" A slender woman in her mid-40s walked down the stairs to the living room. She had blond hair, brown eyes, andwas wearing blue jeans and a blue-and-green tie-dye T-shirt. She gave Cye a quick hug and said, "Thank goodness you're home, Cye! I was so worried about you when that storm started." "It's okay, mom," Cye assured her. She smiled at her son, then looked at Clara, who was still soaking wet. "Oh, what happened to your friend here?" Mrs. Mouri asked. "Well, she got caught out in the storm, and we gave her a ride," Cye explained.

"Aww, you poor dear," Mrs. Mouri exclaimed as she looked at Clara. "Come, now. You should get out of those wet clothes before you catch pneumonia." With that, she led Clara by the arm and took her upstairs. "I also wan you to take a hot shower," she continued, "and don't worry about your clothes. I'll dry them out for you." She turned her head to Cye. "Why don't you make some hot drinks for your friends?" "Sure thing, mom," Cye replied as his mother and Clara disappeared into the second floor. He turned toward his friends and noticed Kento halfway bent over on the coach, trying his best to muffle his snickering. "What's so funny, Kento?" he asked innocently.

"What's so funny!" Kento repeated. " 'Thank goodness you're home, Cye! I was so worried about you when that storm started,' " he mocked in a high-pitched voice, which got Sage and Rowen laughing as well. "I was so wrong calling Rowen a mama's boy when, the truth is, you're the mama's boy!" Cye could feel his cheeksturning red with embarrassment. "Come on, you three," Sandra retorted defensively. "Leave him be! There's nothing wrong with a guy being sensitive." "Thank you, Sandra," Cye replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make some hot cocoa." As he headed toward the kitchen door, Kento shouted, "Don't forget, Cye! I take…" "Two dozen marshmallows in you hot cocoa," Cye finished for him before entering the kitchen.

"Two dozen marshmallows, Kento?" Sandra retorted as Ryo, Sage, and Rowen snickered. "Yeah, and I prefer those big marshmallows over those mini-sized ones," Kento replied, causing another round of snickering. "Listen, we should stop joking around and focus on finding the rest of these kokoro," Rita replied. "She's right, guys," Ryo agreed. "We've got to figure out a way to find the remaining kokoro before Dulcea does." "But how can we, Ryo?" Rowen asked curiously. "So far, it seems that these rings only indicate their presence when they're in danger." "He's right, Ryo," Sage replied. "And another thing, we don't know how Dulcea's able to detect the kokoro before the rings do."

Ryo sat there in silent thought for a few moments. "You know," he started, "that girl has been up there for a while." That remark caught everyone by surprise. " 'That girl' has a name, you know," Cye replied as he reentered the living room, carrying a tray with eight mugs of hot chocolate. As he handed out the mugs, Kento retorted, "Well, it's not like we know her name, Cye." "Her name is Clara," Cye replied as he sat down in a rocking chair with his cup of cocoa. He looked up and noticed that everyone was staring at him curiously. "What?" he asked. "How did you get her name?" Sage stuttered out of shock. "Well, I ran into her earlier than you guys did. No pun intended, Kento."

"No way! And you didn't tell us!" Kento remarked, grinning mischievously. "Sounds like you gonna have some competition, Sage!" "It's nothing like that, you guys," Cye denied, his face growing hot with embarrassment. "I only met her just last night!" "Well, she's definitely new around here," Sage replied, smiling, "since I've never seen a gorgeous girl like her around before." "Oh, boy! Here he goes again," Sandra groaned. "You're gonna pull the same stunt you tried on me, right?" "Umm…well, you see…" Sage stuttered. "So, what do you know about Clara?"Rita asked Cye. "Well, I know her full name is Clara Marie Garson, and she just moved here a couple days ago from Paris."

"She's from France? That's even better!" Sage remarked. "Paris is said to be the most romantic city in the entire world. You have the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and also French happens to be the greatest Romance language of them all." "You seem to know a bit 'bout France, Sage," Sandra replied. "I must say, I'm impressed." "Of course, Sandra," Sage boasted. "I am taking French class, after all." He picked up his mug from the coffee table and took asip. "Then you probably know that, in France, the gals don't shave under their arms," Sandra told him, causing him to nearly choke on his hot cocoa. Sage's reaction caused everyone to burst out laughing, including Sandra.

Cye and the others were so busy laughing that they didn't notice Clara walking down the stairs until she reached the bottom. When she cleared her throat, everyone looked up at her. Her clothes were dry, and her slightly damp hair hung freely over her shoulders. "How are you feeling, Clara?" Cye asked. "Much better now," Clara replied slightly fidgety, noticing the others in the living room. "Won't you sit down?" Cye asked, indicating the recliner next to him. Clara nodded and sat down. "Clara, theses are my friends: Ryo Sanada, Rita Niitsu, Sage Date, Sandra O'Brien, Rowen Hashiba, and Kento Rei Fuan," Cye said, introducing everyone one at a time. "A pleasure to meet you all," Clara replied.

"So, Clara," Sandra started, "what school do you go to?" "Well, I didn't start school yet," Clara explained, "but I will be going to Han`a High School, starting tomorrow." "Get out of here!" Kento exclaimed. "We all go to Han`a High!" "How come you haven't started school sooner?" Rita asked. "Well, my mother and I just arrived here on Friday," Clara explained. "Our plane was delayed, so we didn't arrive here until late afternoon. Plus, we had to get settled in our new house and get the store ready for Monday." "Your mother runs a store?" Rowen asked curiously. "Yes, it's called Enchanted Woods," Clara said. "We sell clothing, wood carvings, incense, dreamcatchers, candles, oils, and various other spiritual items."

" 'Enchanted Woods,' " Cye muttered. "That store is right next to my mother's pottery shop!" Clara looked at him with a startled expression on her face. Just then, the clock on the fireplace mantle chimed three o'clock. Clara looked at the clock and gasped. "Is there something wrong, Clara?" Cye asked. "I didn't realize how late it is," Clara replied as she got up from her seat. "I promised my mother that I would be at the store by four to help her out," she explained. Clara turned toward the others. "It was a pleasure meeting you all, despite the circumstances. I'll hopefully see you all in school tomorrow." "Do you need a ride?" Kento asked. "I can walk," Clara replied. "Besides, it has stopped raining."

Cye stood up from the rocking chair. "I'll walk you to the door," he said, catching everyone, except Clara, by surprise. "Thank you, Cye," Clara replied as the two of them walked to the front door. Cye opened the door, and they both stepped outside. "I'm sorry I had to leave so soon," Clara said. "I would like to stay longer, but my mother is a bit, how you say, overprotective of me sometimes." " I know the feeling. My mom's the same way," Cye replied. "Probably 'cause I'm the youngest, and my older sister already left." "I can't believe this!" Clara exclaimed. "I have an older sister, too. She's still in Paris, living with her new husband. Although it's only been a few days since we left, I miss her already."

Clara sighed as she looked down at the ground. "Cye? May I ask you something before I go?" she asked. "Of course," Cye replied. "Well, I didn't want to say anything in front of your friends. Whenever I'm around you, I feel this strange calmness and peace inside me, and when I'm not around you, I can't stop thinking about you. Tell me, have you felt the same way about me?" Cye turned red in the face and felt a bit queasy, like he had butterflies in his stomach, but he still answered, "Yes, I do." Her eyes lit up when she heard this news. "I was hoping you felt the same way, Cye," she replied. "I must be going now, but I'll see you tomorrow?" Cye nodded slowly. To his surprise, Clara leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Au revoir, Cye," she whispered before she turned away. Cye brought his hand up and touched the very spot that Clara's lips touched as he watched her walk away…

In the meantime, Dulcea was in her throne room, standing at the mirror and watching the image of Clara walking down the street. As she stood there, Torrent emerged from the shadows and cautiously approached Dulcea from behind. He bowed and asked, "How may I be of service to you, Lady Dulcea?" She turned around and looked at him with her cold violet eyes. "You see this young girl, Torrent?" Dulcea asked, pointing at the image of Clara in the mirror. Torrent nodded and she continued. "This girl is your target. She is the kokoro of water. I want you to lure her to the Great Whirlpools of Naruto and finish her off. Remember that failure is not an option here, Torrent. Now, go!"

"Yes, my lady," Torrent replied before he left. Upon leaving the throne room, he entered a dark, narrow hallway. Halfway down the hallway, Torrent abruptly stopped in his tracks and muttered coldly, "I know you're here!" From the surrounding shadows emerged Wildfire and Halo. Torrent narrowed his eyes and retorted, "What do you two want?" "Your skills are pretty impressive, Torrent," Wildfire admitted icily as he and Halo paced around Torrent in a circle. "You were able to detect both of us, although we didn't even make a sound." "True, but let's sere if those skills help him in luring out the kokoro of water," Halo remarked coldly as he faced Torrent and stared at him with his menacing green eyes.

Torrent stared back at Halo with his cold aquamarine eyes. "Don't worry 'bout me, Halo," he muttered coldly. "I have everything under control." "You seem so sure of yourself, Torrent," Halo sneered. "I'll do a much better job than the two of you, that's for sure. Now, I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I have a kokoro to kill." He brushed roughly past Halo and continued down the dark hallway. "And how do you plan on capturing this kokoro?" Wildfire asked. Without even turning around, Torrent replied, "Simple, the kokoro is going to come straight to me." "And what do you mean by that?" Halo asked sarcastically. Without answering, Torrent teleported out of the hallway…

Meanwhile, Cye entered his home, carrying two paper bags full of groceries. Before he shut the door, Cye shouted out, "Thanks for the ride, Kento!" He entered the living room and looked around. "Mom, I'm home," he shouted. "I got the groceries you needed. Mom?" Cye entered the kitchen and placed the bags on the counter. It was then that he noticed the piece of paper on the counter. Cye picked up the note and read it. " 'Cye, Sorry but I had to run to the store. That new kilm just came in today, and I had to open the store for the delivery people. I should be back in an hour or two. Could you please check the answering machine for me? I'm expecting an important phone call. Thanks, Mom.' "

Cye went back to the living room, approached the digital answering machine next to the kitchen door, and pressed the PLAY button. As he walked back to the kitchen, the digital voice said, "You have one message. 4:26 PM." A beep followed the digital message, and a familiar voice said, "Hello, Cye? It's me, Clara." As she paused for a moment, Cye poked his head out of the kitchen door. "Listen, I did get your note, and I'm quite flattered. I just wanted you to know that I will meet you at the Onaruto Bridge. I'll probably be a little late, though, but I will be there eventually. Goodbye." The click of her phone was heard, which was followed by the digital voice replying, "End of message. 4:27 PM." Cye looked at the answering machine, puzzled over Clara's message.

"What was she talking about?" he muttered to himself. "I never sent her a note." Suddenly, Cye felt something cold and wet against his chest. He pulled out the chain from underneath his shirt. The ring of Trust glowed light blue, and small drops of dew dripped from it. Suddenly, a beam of light blue light came out from the ring. The beam projected a flat light blue oval in front of Cye. Through the oval, he saw several images, all in various shades of light blue. He saw Clara standing on the Onaruto Bridge, overlooking the Great Whirlpools. The next image showed Clara running on the shore toward Cye or someone that looked a lot like him. The last image he saw was of his evil twin, Torrent in his full armor, grabbing Clara from behind and jumping into one of the whirlpools.

The flat oval disappeared, and the ring of Trust stopped glowing. Cye stood there in shock for a moment until it actually sunk in. "Oh, my, Clara's the kokoro of water!" Cye exclaimed. "I should've pieced it together sooner." Cye stopped for a moment and realized something else, which made him fearful. "Clara's also in great danger! That note, it must have been some sort of trap to lure her out into the open." Cye quickly changed into his sub-armor and bolted out of the house. He ran as fast as he could to the city of Naruto, where Onaruto Bridge and the Great Whirlpools were located. "Just hold on, Clara," Cye thought to himself as he ran. "I just hope I'm not too late…"

Meanwhile, Clara was on the Onaruto Bridge, pacing slowly back and forth along the side path built for bicyclists and walkers. She stopped and pulled out a folded piece of paper from her pocket with her name on it. Clara unfolded it and read it again. " 'Clara, I can't get you off of my mind. I desperately want to see you again, and it can't wait until tomorrow. Meet me later at the Onaruto Bridge near Naruto. I'll be waiting for you, Cye.' " Clara smiled to herself as she refolded Cye's note and put it back in her pocket. She leaned against the railing and gazed at the whirlpools below. A light breeze gently lifted her loose blond hair. Clara closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Clara!" she heard a familiar voice yell. Clara opened her eyes and looked around. "Down here, Clara!" She looked down along the shoreline of the bay and gasped. Standing there on the shore, with his arms waving frantically to get her attention, was Cye. He put his arms down when he saw that he got Clara's attention. She cupped her hands over her mouth and yelled, "Cye, how did you get down there?" "There's a path over there, leading to the shore," Cye yelled back, pointing at a narrow, steep dirt path not far from where Clara stood. "Hold on, I'm on my way!" Clara shouted as she ran off the bridge and carefully made her way down the narrow pathway. It felt like an eternity for Clara to reach the end of the path, but she finally made it.

Clara looked toward Cye, who was looking back at her while shielding his eyes from the sun. She wanted to run to him, but she suddenly felt a strong feeling of doubt and mistrust. "Why do I feel this way?" Clara asked herself. "I do care about Cye a lot, but for some strange reason, I don't trust him." "Is there something wrong, Clara?" She looked up at Cye, who was slowly approaching her with his hand still shielding his eyes. Now, Clara felt threatened. "Clara! Get away from him!" She looked up at the bridge and saw Cye, in his sub-armor, running across the bridge. She was so confused seeing Cye up on the bridge that she didn't notice Torrent change from his disguise to his full armor.

"Clara!" Cye shouted to her. "Get away, now, before it's too late!" Unfortunately, Clara made the mistake of turning around. When she saw Torrent in his full armor for the first time, she screamed in horror. Torrent quickly grabbed Clara by the waist and jumped right into the biggest whirlpool. "Oh, no! Clara!" Cye yelled. Cye quickly stepped over the protective railing and dived into the water. After surfacing to take in a deep breath, Cye dived deeper into the water. He saw Torrent near the bottom of the bay, carrying what appeared to be a lifeless Clara with one arm. With renewed determination, Cye swam as fast as he could to the bottom, in order to catch up with Torrent.

Torrent thought he had an edge over Cye, but he was too confident. To Torrent's surprise, a huge orca whale came barreling straight at him. Torrent managed to get out of the path of the enraged sea creature, but in the process, he let go of Clara. Cye managed to catch her before she landed on some jagged rocks at the bottom of the bay. As he swam back up to the surface with Clara in his arm, Cye looked back at Torrent, who was still struggling to avoid the massive killer whale. "Thanks, old friend," Cye thought as he returned his attention back to swimming to the surface. It seemed like it took forever, but Cye finally broke the surface of the water. Using one arm to keep Clara's head above water, he used the other arm and his legs to swim to shore.

It took quite a while, but Cye finally made it to the shallow end of the bay. He gently picked up Clara, carefully stood up, and walked toward the narrow stretch of beach. After gently laying her down on the sand, Cye quickly placed his finger against Clara's wrist. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. She still has a pulse," Cye muttered. Just then, he heard some strange gurgling noises coming from Clara. Cye quickly turned her over on her side. Clara spitted up some water and took in several deep breaths of air. As Cye rubbed her on the back, making it easier for her to breathe, he asked with concern in his voice, "Are you all right, Clara?" She took in another deep breath before replying, "I think so. What's going on, Cye?"

"Now is not a good time to explain," Cye answered. "We have to get out of here, now!" Suddenly, they heard a loud splash from the bay. They looked up and saw Torrent up in the air. He landed on the beach just a few yards away from them. "You can't get away from me that easily!" Torrent yelled angrily as he positioned his trident. "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!" Cye grabbed Clara and jumped out of the way of the powerful blast of water. They landed behind a boulder further down the beach. "Listen to me, Clara," Cye whispered as he let go of her, "I want you to stay right here where it's safe. I don't want to see you get hurt." As he turned away, Clara said, "Wait!" He turned his head toward her. "You be careful, too. I don't want to see you get hurt, either."

Cye quickly smiled at her before he emerged from the shelter of the boulder. "Are you ready to battle me now," Torrent declared, smiling evilly, "or do you need more time to hide and cower?" "Bring it on!" Cye shouted. "Armor of Torrent! DAO SHIN!" After the transformation was complete, Cye withdrew his own trident and stood ready for battle. Cye and Torrent charged toward each other, and the two tridents connected with a loud clang. "Stay out of this, it's none of your business," Torrent sneered. "If you want to get to Clara," Cye declared, "you'll have to go through me first!" Clara was so worried for Cye's safety that she couldn't even bear to watch. "Oh, dear. What am I going to do?" Clara asked herself. "Cye's out there risking his own life, and I can't do anything to help him."

Suddenly, Clara saw a strange light blue glow from the ground. Lying right next to her feet was the ring of Trust. Curious about it, Clara picked up the ring. As she held the ring in her hand, a narrow beam of light blue light emerged from the ring and connected with her forehead. Slowly, the kanji of Trust appeared on Clara's forehead. As she stood there, Shuno appeared at her side. "Clara Marie Garson," he said, "I am Shuno, ruler of the kokoro. You, my dear, are the kokoro of water reborn, destined to help the Ronin Warriors defend the mortal world from evil. Cye is one of the Ronin Warriors. He wears the armor of Torrent. You must be brave and accept your destiny."

When Clara came back to reality, she looked to her side where Shuno once stood, but he was nowhere to be seen. Although she felt a bit nauseous, Clara forced herself to look over the boulder at the occurring battle between Cye and Torrent. Even though they were both equally skilled, Torrent had the upper edge. Unfortunately, Cye was drained from the effort he putinto rescuing Clara. Torrent managed to hook Cye's trident with his own, and flung it away from him effortlessly. "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!" Torrent yelled. The massive blast knocked Cye off his feet and he landed face first into the sand. Torrent approached him and stepped on his back, which caused Cye to scream out in pain.

"You know, I wasn't originally sent here to kill you," Torrent told Cye menacingly. "You're just an unexpected bonus. It's such a shame, though. She's such a lovely young girl. Don't you think so, too?" He pushed his foot harder against Cye's back, causing him to cry out again. "Leave him alone!" Torrent looked up at Clara, who was standing near the water. Her face was hardened and tears ran down her cheeks. Torrent bent down to Cye. "I'll finish you off later," Torrent crudely whispered. "Your death will be much more painful knowing you couldn't protect your little friend." He stood up and returned his attention to Clara, who was still standing motionless in the exact same spot.

"Do you really think that you stand a chance against me, little girl?" Torrent taunted menacingly. "Yes, I do," Clara admitted angrily. The incoming tides seem to react with her anger. "You're going to pay for hurting my friend!" she screamed. Torrent narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. "Try taking this on for size!" he stated coldly as he steadied his trident. "SUPER WAVE SMASHER!" he shouted. "TIDAL WAVE!" Clara shouted in response. She lifted her hands above her head, and a huge wave formed behind her. Clara then flung her arms in front of her, and the massive wave flew over her head and headed straight toward Torrent. The two attacks met, but Clara's Tidal Wave overpowered Torrent's Super Wave Smasher and continued heading toward Torrent.

"No!" Torrent yelled as Clara's attack connected with its target. The force of the attack knocked Torrent off of the beach and he went sailing toward the very same whirlpool that he jumped into earlier with Clara. Before he hit the water, Torrent yelled, "You haven't seen the last of me! I'll be back!" When he connected with the water, a massive spray shot up into the sky. "And I'll be waiting for you," Clara muttered to herself. While looking at the whirlpools, Clara gasped. "Oh, no! Cye!" She turned around and ran as fast as she could to his side. Clara breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Cye groan slightly. "Cye, are you all right?" she asked as she helped him stand up.

"I think I'll live," Cye answered slowly, looking around cautiously. "What happened to that guy, Torrent?" "He's gone…for now," Clara replied. "Are you all right, Clara?" Cye asked with concern in his voice. "You look a bit pale." "I'm fine, Cye," Clara reassured him. "I'm just a bit shaken up, that's all." "Are you sure?" Cye asked, still unconvinced. Clara looked into his green eyes and could tell how much he cared about her. She leaned in closer to him and kissed him passionately on the lips. When she backed away, Cye blushed slightly and stuttered, "I-I'll take that as a yes." Clara giggled slightly as the redness quickly faded from Cye's cheeks. "You know," Clara said as she wrapped her arm around Cye's arm, "I feel that you have quite a story to tell me about yourself and these kokoro." "Yes, I do," Cye admitted as they walked down the beach together…

TO BE CONTINUED.

Note: I used this symbol (*) to indicate the beginning and end of a flashback.