Kaze: Guardians

Man to Man

     He, understandably, bombarded me with questions. "Who helped you escape?"
     "I'll never tell." I couldn't give Kimura away.
     "If you tell me, I will bring you back with no punishment."
     "I'm not going back." I couldn't do that either.
     "You seem to think you have a choice."
     "I do."
     "If you don't come back with me now, I will kill you."
     "You can't. I'm in the temple." I guess location really does make a difference.
     "There are consequences for playing dirty."
     "What does it matter?" I asked. "You've always treated me like dirt."
     "If you play dirty, so do I."
     "Then I guess I'm gonna die fighting." His threats were getting serious. I wondered briefly if I should cave.
     "You seem to have gotten some guts since you came down here."
     "I didn't get guts. I got respect."
     "Playtime is over." He readied his first attack.
     "I was never playing around." I got into fighting stance. I felt empowered, as if I had a fighting chance at controlling my fate. He charged, I ducked under his air attack. Jet easily dwarfed me, being 15 or so feet tall is one of the many perks of being a god. I ran up the wall and charged. Where he had strength, I had the superior speed and agility.
     "Remember when we would fight, man to man, son? You were always so quick." Jet remarked.
     "You are not my father. You haven't been for seven years." I said. "Now? The hero's returned, and he'll gladly die protecting his goddess." I weaved between the pillars and swept under his legs. "Gossamer, can you hear me? You are a goddess. You are my goddess." I smiled at Jet's look of disgust. I had gotten to him.
     "Love never lasts, and I'll prove it to you. Darkness will threaten to plague all Guardians until you and your goddess 'break up,' as the kids say, or surrender to me. Understood? Is that what you want?"
      "I couldn't have asked for more." I smiled. He huffed and began to depart for the Eternal Kingdom. "Hey! You're not leaving yet, you big coward!" I shouted. I slashed one time, leaving a decent scar on his arm. He hissed and knocked me to the floor. I tried to get back up, but wind continued to blow against me. Jet punched my eye, leaving a bruise on my face. I will admit: My pained scream was kinda girly. But not really.... Anyway, he held me up to his face, my body flying loose in the wind.
      "You have quite a bit more to learn down here. You are still but an ant. However, I still would like you on my side. Perhaps me and Gossamer can work out a deal..."
     "A deal? Hah! You're desperate!"
     "Once I'm done with the girl, she'll have no need for you, just like your mother. Farewell, son."
     I was afraid and still hyped on adrenaline. "Yeah, run, ya big chicken!" I made chicken noises at him until Priestess Yara opened the door.
     "Kaze? What are you...? Never mind. Look. When I said a heart-to-heart, I didn't mean try to stab each other in the heart!"
     "Priestess... Did you hear all that?"
     "Yeah. What was that about your mom?"
     "I actually have no clue. My mom disappeared a long time ago. I never found out what happened."
     She merely nodded. "Kaze..."
     "Yes?"
     She started laughing. "You idiot. You're alive, for one thing! You boys destroyed the temple...!" She laughed loudly.
      "Oh. Oops... Sorry about that."
      "Don't apologize. You're gonna fix it!" She smiled.
      "What?! No I'm not!"
      "I don't care which god or goddess you worship. You broke it, you fix it."
      "As the Champion of Gossamer, I--"
      "--you need to up your popularity, and therefore your goddess's, by doing community service projects."
      "I'm not getting out of this, am I?"
      "Nope. But don't worry, I'll help you fix it if you really want."
      "Why?"
      "Mr. Terro needs popularity in this village, too! Now, do you want the help or not? I'm very busy!"
      "Yes please."
      We finally finished by lunch time. I sighed and wiped my brow. "Why is construction work so hard?"
      "It's not hard. It's satisfying!"
      "The only satisfying thing about today will be when I get home and I eat a sandwich! I'm starving!"
      She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Kaze."
     "Did I miss another quartz block?"
     "Say 'hi' to Gossamer for me." She winked and strolled away.
----------------------------------------------So, what do you guys think of Gossamer so far? What god would you all choose? Thanks again for reading, and we're halfway through the book? Maybe? See you guys later!