6

A wisp of sharp, bitter perfume, excreted through the scales of half-decayed salmon, zips into the nostrils of Yuuma. He sneezed. His poor nose, bombarded by cinnamon, incense, perfumes, cologne, dye, cheeses, fish, and occasional wisps of salt from the seas or peppers from over-spiced meats, sniffled constantly, a stream of snot trickling frequently to his upper lip.

"Ma…ma…ma…master," Yuuma sneezed.

"Sneeze into your sleeve next time," Morro scolded. "You almost got snot on me."

"I…I…I can't help it," Yuuma sniffled. "The spices…they…they tickle my nose too much."

"Then breathe through your mouth more often," Morro sighed. "Now come on. We don't have much farther to go."

Or so Morro presumed, for he, recently revived, still bore within himself symptoms of recovery, of a body given second infancy. And sadly, with his ghostly form departed his sense of direction. He and Yuuma, therefore, wandered for another twenty minutes, till finally Yuuma's omnipresent impatience triumphed.

"Do you…you know where we're going," Yuuma asked with a sniff.

"Of course I do," Morro scowled. "You think we're lost or something?!"

"Yes, I think we're lost, Master," Yuuma sighed. "We should have gotten there by now."

"We're not lost, Yuuma," Morro sighed. "It's just…it's just that I've never been here before."

"And you don't know the way."

"I do too."

"Then lead us there."

"Let…let me get bearings first. Oh, if only I was a ghost still! Then I could see through this mob of people!"

"Sir, are you alright," a passerby inquired.

"We're lost," Yuuma replied "Can you show us the way?"

"We're fine without help," Morro scowled.

"No, no. I insist on helping you," the passerby repeated. "Let me point you the way."

"Not necessary," Morro grumbled.

"Look, the market's no place to wander about clueless," the passerby smirked. "I know, because I've sold fish here for forty years. And in that time, strange things have happened, stranger things than I could ever imagine."

"Like the black-market crackdown," Yuuma blurted.

"Yuuma," Morro scolded. "That was supposed to be a secret."

"Oh, it's no secret," the passerby winked. "I know, because it ruined my father."

"Your father, eh," Morro probed.

"Yeah, my father," the passerby smirked. "Best double-agent in the business, selling salmon by day, and potions by night."

"Potions? Your father sold potions," Morro questioned. "Do you know where he is?"

"Sure I do," the passerby chuckled. "He's right below you, sleeping like a baby. What, you think he's still around? Boy are you ignorant. He died wretched and poor a month ago. Now I run things, and I run them well. Made a profit selling off his recipes, and I still brew to this day."

Suddenly, the passerby's eyes darted back to Morro, narrowing till they were barely open. His smile collapsed, folded down into a grim frown.

"What's it to you though," the passerby smirked. "Fishy that you ask."

"Master, I think he's onto us," Yuuma blurted before he could stop himself.

"Yuuma, now you've done it," Morro shouted.

"By snakes," the passerby swore. "You're…you're ninja! Get away from me!"

He smashed into Morro with his left shoulder, knocking Morro onto the ground. Then he attempted to bolt for a nearby alleyway, but Yuuma grabbed ahold of his legs and tripped him at the ankles. He smashed into the ground, fainting as his head smacked the street.

"Hold him steady," Morro ordered.

Yuuma plopped down on top of the man's legs while Morro fetched some rope from a nearby stand. Morro then tied the man's hands and legs, knotting them so the cords would not snap easily.

"Master, is…is he dead," Yuuma questioned when he stood up again.

"No, Yuuma, he's fine," Morro smiled. "But he'll have a massive headache when he wakes up again. You still have the commlink with you?"

"What? You think I'd lose something that important," Yuuma scoffed. "Lloyd wouldn't give it to me if he can't trust me with keeping stuff safe."

"Then hand it to me," Morro gestured. "I need to contact Lloyd and tell him we have someone to interrogate."

"Here it is," Yuuma said.

Yuuma fished into his left pocket, expecting the commlink to be resting snugly inside. All his fingers found was air. His smile dissapitated into a frown as he continued grasping at nothing. Then he quickly checked the right pocket. Nothing. He glanced back up at Morro, blushing with embarrassment.

"I…I…um, lost it," Yuuma stammered.

"Oh, so you don't have it after all," Morro smirked. "Well…so much for Lloyd trusting you."

"Stop, please," Yuuma grumbled, clenching his fists.

"Oh, Yuuma, don't take it to heart," Morro sighed. "Everyone fails sometimes. Even Lloyd was a flop as a pupil sometimes."

"I'm no flop," Yuuma screeched at the top of his lungs.

Yuuma's fists violently shook and his face turned boiling red. He lifted his left leg, ready to stomp it furiously into the ground. But as he lifted his leg, a strange trail of black bubbles emerged, forming into a black blob of dark energy. Yuuma's eyes widened, then quickly glared at an astonished Morro.

"Yuuma, listen to me carefully," Morro whispered. "Lower your foot gently and let go of your fists."

"And why should I," Yuuma roared. "I will do as I please!"

"Yuuma, don't," Morro shouted.

But Yuuma didn't listen. He slammed his leg into the ground, smashing the black orb down with the bottom of his feet. Further and further down the orb descended, flattening out into a thin disk as the foot neared the ground. Morro stepped away, then watched as Yuuma's foot touched the ground.

Immediately, the black orb dissolved, diffusing without a noise or trace. Bolts of dark lightning struck the ground where Yuuma stomped, knocking Yuuma and Morro off their feet. Darkness raced out of the lightning, devouring all light within ten blocks of the strike zone and leaving a darkness thicker than anyone had ever seen. Nothing, not even hands and fingers, could be seen, and soon the screams of a thousand frightened people trumpeted into the air.

"Yuuma, Yuuma, where are you," Morro answered.

"Over here," Yuuma cried out.

"Where," Morro panicked. "I can't see anything. Even my hands are invisible to me."

"Wait there," Yuuma ordered.

Yuuma jumped back up to his feet, then started feeling his way around in the darkness, for he thought that he was blind like everyone else. But the opposite was true. No one, not even Morro, could see anything, yet he could see everything around him plain as day. It was as if the darkness affected everyone except him. For a few seconds, he spun around and rejoiced silently. Was it true? Had he finally found his elemental power? Had he found a power stronger than Kigaru's?

He smiled. Now he was an equal to Kigaru, a worthy opponent to be feared. No longer did he have to cower before Kigaru, now she would cower to him, as it should be. It should be that he was superior to her, not that she was superior to him. After all, he was stronger and faster, built for greater things than her. Why should she, weaker and slower, defeat him again and again? No, this was not the way things were meant to be. But now, he had hope, hope to fix what was wrong and make everything as it should be.

"Yuuma, hurry up," Morro called out. "The man will be awake any minute now."

Yuuma shook his head, then walked over to Morro. Without saying a word, Yuuma helped lift the man onto Morro's shoulders, then grabbed Morro's hand and started off for home. And as he led Morro back to Borg Tower, his mind thought not of his power and his mission, but of how he would convey to Kigaru and Lloyd his superiority to his fellow pupil.