Green Winds: A Magic Knight Rayearth Fan-fiction
**************************************************
by Alina
alinasan@yahoo.com

IF YOU LIKE THIS PLEASE WRITE ME AND TELL ME!

Disclaimers: I don't own MKR or its characters. This is fan-fic, not
a completely original work written for profit of any kind. However it is an
original derivative work.

This is about Fu, and about Ferrio. I felt watching it that the story
merely skims the surface about what these two characters think, particularly
about each other. So here's my interpretation and imagination of that
hidden story. This follows the first season, so there are spoilers.

CHAPTER THREE: DECLARATIONS
****************************************************

Fu stared out into the rain, as she stood at the mouth of the cave that
sheltered them. They'd been through a lot in the last few days. They'd
become friends with their enemies Ascot and Caldina, and most importantly,
had arrived within a few feet of the shrine where the next Mashin would
be buried. Yet as she looked out into the rain, Fu kept worrying where
Ferrio was. Had he found shelter, or was he sleeping outside again under
the clouds?

The others came over to her, worried that she seemed so withdrawn.
As they dragged her back to the fire's warmth, they grumbled at her
not to say ominous things about Cefiro's collapse. She sighed. They
were right, she had to be positive. Cefiro was a world of will
wasn't it? But right now...the only thing she really wanted was to
know how Ferrio was doing.

"Fuu? Fuu can you hear me?" Ferrio's voice said from her pocket.
She was so startled that she fumbled as she grasped the gem and
brought it to her lips.

"Ferrio! Are you all right? Where are you?"

"A place with a great scenic view...but I can't say I'm enjoying it."
He said a bit wryly as his grip slipped making his position more
precarious. He looked at the ground far below him, as the loose
rocks tumbled and splattered below. "It's cold and there's a bit
too much wind. Can I come join you?

"Of course! We're in a cave where we're sheltering. Be careful!"
She chirped happpily. He must have been following them, she thought,
because he didn't even ask where they were. She smiled,completely unaware that
as she'd started humming.

Umi stopped mid-sentence in her argument with Hikaru, and elbowed Fuu.
"So what are *you* so happy about all of a sudden?" She said, a weird
expression on her face.

"Was that Ferrio!?" Hikaru said excitedly.

A second later, the guess was confirmed as he stumbled into their cave.

Fu's heart sped, then slowed to a crawl as he came into focus. Her smile
died the minute she saw that he carried some strange woman in his arms.

She felt as if someone had pulled the top of the cave right off,
so that all the rain soaked her at once. Suddenly, she was not
very glad to see him at all.

Ferrio frowned as he watched Fu sulk back into a corner. Wasn't she
glad to seem him? She'd sounded so happy a few minutes ago when he'd
called, but now...he turned to where the girl he'd carried in lay sleeping.
An idea struck him them-- Was Fuu jealous? He suppressed a small smile at
that. Somehow, he found that possessiveness kind of endearing.

Hikaru immediately accepted the girl, and examined her. "She'll
be ok, her fever's gone down!"

"So who is she?" Umi asked, not one to avoid the awkward question.

Ferrio shrugged. "I don't know." He explained. "I just found her on the
path here, lying there."

Yet even with this, Fu's sense of unease did not vanish. She continued
to avoid looking at him, and stared at the tops of her shoes.

"So, why did you follow us?" Umi prodded

" I wanted to see my dearest Fu again--" Ferrio said with a wink and a
glance at Fu, but stopped short as he realized she was not listening or
even looking at him.

What was with her? After a pause he changed his tone and said more seriously
"Also, I wanted to tell you something." He cast a glance to where Fu
continued to sulk, and stopped. "Listen--"

Just then, the girl stirred, asking for her medicinal herb, sitting up
and calling for her herbs.

"Don't worry." Ferrio assured her.

The girl sighed in relief and explained who she was, thanking him very
formally for saving her.

The conversation turned to the storm, which both Ferrio and the girl, Selah,
had never seen before. Fu, still sunken into her own world, continued
to look away. Yet she did hear, and could only wonder at how different
Ferrio must be from her as he grew up in Cefiro. Could they really understand
each other?

He insisted on staying up watch, as the others went to sleep.

Selah watched, eyes slitted to peer into the dark. When would this annoying
boy go to sleep? The girls appeared fast asleep, which would give her
the perfect opportunity to poison the soup without their realizing it.
As much as he'd helped her carry out her task by establishing her acceptance
into the cave, he was now in the way.

Fu turned in her bed, thankful that everyone else slept. Now that she'd
thought about it for awhile, she realized she felt sorry she'd reacted
the way she had. She wasn't sure exactly what, but she wanted to say
something to Ferrio when the other's weren't listening. Softly,
she called out his name--but at that exact moment, the girl Selah stirred
and sat up.

"Selah, what's wrong with you?" He asked, noticing her movement.
"Can't you sleep?'

"No...I'm scared" She lied. "Is it true that Cefiro is collapsing?"

Ferrio tried to comfort her, pushing the soup on her. She smiled,
asking him to use the herb she'd gathered.

"This flavors the soup, and it strengthens people. You should
try some." She pressed.

Ferrio, not wanting to offend her, agreed. He really wasn't that
hungry, but he knew the girl probably felt indebted to him for
saving her. Ordinarily, Ferrio didn't mind pretty girls feeling
that way toward him, but right now, he just wished this one would
go back to sleep. He wanted to talk to Fu. But he knew the girl
had a lot on her mind. If eating her soup made her feel better,
as if she were thanking him, then he might as well.

He drew in a sip, and quite honestly said "This is great!"
He hadn't expected the soup to taste so great if it were medicinal.

She smiled. "I'm glad, so is this a reward for saving me?"

Ferrio, oblivious to the hidden meaning in those words, laughed
and teased her "If you make this for me, I'll save you as many times
as you like!"

"What a smooth talker you are!" she teased back.

He laughed, his eyes darting to Fu. "Not smooth enough, sometimes...
So tell me-----"

On her sleeping pallet, Fu bit her lip and pulled the cover slowly over
her head. She didn't want to hear their voices anymore, she decided.
Sleep took pity on her, and carried her quickly into a deep and dark
sleep.

Selah grinned ferally as Ferrio slipped midsentence into unconsciousness.
His head lolled forward, and Selah added her herb to the rest of the
soup. In the morning, she smiled, the Magic Knights would be hers to
kill.

Eager to get off to get the Mashin, the three girls rose early each
disturbed by the silence and light streaming in.

"The storm's over!" Hikaru announced.

The soup lay cold and congealed, and utterly unappealing.

Umi wrinkled her face at it, and said "Let's go get the Mashin
right now, and we can get something better later!"

Hikaru nodded, eager to be on their way.

No matter what it was, Fu wouldn't have eaten. Her appetite had disappeared
entirely.

Ferrio stirred and then stood to stretch. "I must have fallen asleep."
he commented, but then stumbled immediately.

Both Fu and Selah noticed, but Selah moved quicker to intercept him.

"He has a very high fever! It must be from the rain." Selah said.

"I'll be all right..." He mumbled again, protesting, struggling against
the grip Selah had on him. Had he lost that much strength that this
slight girl could hold him?.

"Let me take care of Ferrio-san, please, You have an important mission."
Selah said, her grip tight on his arm.

Hikaru nodded. She didn't want to leave Ferrio like this, but she trusted
Selah could look after him. They had their mission to complete.

"Fine, let's go." Hikaru said turning to the edge of the cliff.

Umi followed a second later, looking back to where Fu hesitated.
"Come on, Fu."

Fu stared at Ferrio, still leaning on Selah, and whispered "Coming..."
Without another word, she slowly turned to follow.

Ferrio couldn't stand her expression any longer. Maybe the fever boiled
down his sense of restraint, but he broke from Selah's amazingly strong
grasp and called out to Fu.

"Why are you so upset?" he asked.

She caught her breath, and barely looked at him over her shoulder.

"Don't worry about me. I'm not that important. Concentrate on Cefiro."
He said, the words brought out with effort.

She closed her eyes, and looked back to the others. "I know that!" She
added angrily as she started to walk away. Fine, she wouldn't even worry
about him if he didn't want her to do that. He could stay with Selah.

But before she'd even taken a step, she felt Ferrio grip her arm.

"I'm sure you can save Cefiro. I believe that. I believe in you."
He said. The world fuzzed around him, but he concentrated on
Fuu. Would she understand what he wanted to say, but couldn't?

He released her arm stepping back. She turned to face him.

Relief washed over him as she smiled.
"I understand. I'll return with the Mashin." She
looked up at Selah. "Please, take good care of Ferrio!" She said
formally as she bowed.

"Yes." Selah nodded and caught Ferrio as he stumbled suddenly.

Fuu did not notice as she ran to catch up to where Hikaru and Umi stared
rather startled at her. "Let's go!" The three disappeared almost immediately
into a strange contraption of Mokona's.

As the girls disappeared, Selah added "I'll
take care of you shortly..." She released her hold on
Ferrio, pushing him into the cave. He stumbled and knocked over the
pot of soup.

He tried to stand, but found he'd lost control over his body.
"What's going on!? I can't move my body."

Selah laughed chillingly. "You have a strong bond with Fuu-san,
don't you Ferrio?"

"What are you talking about?" He asked through the haze clouding him.

"So, how does it feel to know you're going to watch her die?"Selah
questioned him.

He growled and charged at her. "What are you?"

Selah laughed "So, did you like that special herb's taste?" She whipped
her dress and morphed into a young man, with sharp animal like ears.
"I have another recipe for you."

He held one hand up to blast Ferrio into the cave, trapping him with a
sticky substance.

" I'll be sure to share it with your dear Fuu...I'll let you watch as she
dies, calling out your dear sweet name!"He mocked.

As the minion of Zagato left, all Ferrio could do
was swear, and struggle against the sticky web of goo that held him.

He felt the pain intensify, his head about to explode. He couldn't
stand this. Fu....he thought, you're in danger because of me. And
I can't do a damn thing to help you this time.

*********************************************************
Fu stared at Innova. "I'll defeat you and rescue Ferrio too." She
said as she turned down his so-called bargain. Putting aside the
horrifying image of Ferrio's writhing and tortured body, she raised
her sword higher. She knew she could do it. She had to, for Hikaru,
for Umi, for Cefiro and for Ferrio. She wouldn't lose.
And she didn't.
***************************************************************

Fu ran to the cave, her newly grown sword slashing him free instantly.
He tumbled to the ground, and Fu helped him stand and walk to the
mouth of the cave. Happily she explained how she'd defeated Innova.

"Are you really alright?"she asked again. He hadn't seemed that
happy to be rescued, she thought. He'd only answered in monosyllables,
without any of his usual bantering or exaggerating.

"I've decided not to see you again."He said at last. Physically,
he felt fine, but mentally he knew this was the only way. But
it hurt.

"What?" Fu said, so astonished that she just stood while he walked away.

"I got in your way. Please forget about me."He smiled, turning back
over his shoulder to look at her.

"No...we won against Innova and got the Mashin because you were here
with us...when you told me--"

"I won't forgive myself." He interrupted. " Please concentrate on saving Cefiro and not on me. I believe you can do it. Bye..."He said almost casually
as he sprinted off.

Fu stared, as his image blurred with the tears.

"WAIT YOU!" Umi shouted, angry that he'd run off. "He didn't listen
to our side!"

Umi turned to Fu, who seemed to be frozen. "Fuu?"

"I'm sorry...I can't seem to stop crying." She said as if puzzled about
why. "I'll be all right."

"Fuu...." Umi started and then stopped. Why did Fuu have to hold in
her emotions so much? Umi just didn't understand Fuu sometimes. When
Umi got mad she yelled. She cried if she were upset. What good
did it do to bundle that pain, especially when your friends would
comfort you? She wasn't sure what to say to this quiet, introverted
girl.

Gently, Hikaru asked "Fuu-chan, do you really want to forget Ferrio?"

Why pretend anymore? Fuu thought. She shook her head rapidly. "No!"
She repeated it more strongly with all the passion she felt. NO!"
It had hurt her when he'd said goodbye, and her tears wouldn't stop
until that pain lessened.

" Then if you don't forget about him, and you think about him, it'll
work out. " Hikaru said earnestly. "It's not his fault, right? And you
have to clear up this misunderstanding. You'll see him again, because
this is Cefiro. " Hikaru turned to stare at the landscape. "And Cefiro is a
world of will."

Fuu threw her arms around Hikaru and thought to herself how lucky
she was to be in Cefiro, with friends like Umi and Hikaru. She wouldn't
give up. Hikaru was right. She would see Ferrio again, and when she did, she
wouldn't hold back her feelings. They'd understand each other, she vowed.

Yet even in a world of will, things were not so simple.

Far off, perched on a cliff high above, Ferrio stared down at the
three figures. His eyes lingered on the one in green as his hands
accidently crushed a rock. He'd never had anyone he cared about before,
he thought. Every fibre of his body told him to turn around and go
back down to where she stood, embraced by her friends. He should
be the one holding her, he thought. He belonged with her.

Yet ironically,though it was the first time instinct told him so strongly
that he belonged with someone, logic told him he needed to stay out of her
way. Fuu,after all, was a Legendary Magic
Knight, and he would be a liability to her. He couldn't save the
Princess, and now, his very presence would endanger Fuu. He thought
of the Princess, and hoped that she prayed for peace to come soon to Cefiro.
His own prayers, he knew, would be centered much more selfishly.

"I believe in you, Fuu." He said as he turned back up the mountain,
breaking his line of sight with the trio.
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END CHAPTER THREE

Next Chapter ---------->