Legend of the Crystal Heart

The Crystal Heart; many legends speak of this and are told to the many children of the lands. Nobody really knows what it is, but all knows that one with a pure-heart is the only person to wield such a legendary item. Some say that it is a blade, while others tell that it is the power of healing when the need arises. The legends state many other things about it, as no one knows for certain when the next time the Crystal Heart would arise.

However, to the Order of the Aura, their sole task is to protect the secret of the Crystal Heart. Benjamin Purple always had at least one of them on hand whenever he went anywhere, and Lee Black was the head of the order, being the grand protector. Underneath him was Roy Maroon, Ash Ketchum, and Jeremiah Green. All skilled in aura’s different aspects, they vowed to protect Benjamin, even if it cost them their lives.

In their stronghold, the Order trained to hone their skills to higher levels in order to be sufficient enough to protect Benjamin. Today, Benjamin was fast asleep in his bedroom, while the others were out in the courtyard, practicing their strikes on dummies.

“Come on, faster!” Lee barked, watching as Ash struck his hardwood staff against the wooden dummy. There were many blunt marks that were made on the side, and Lee was dissatisfied with this. “Ash, cleave it in two! Use your aura to sharpen the staff!”

One more strike, and Ash panted, feeling out of breath. “But Lee, my aura doesn’t work like that!” he exclaimed, sounding upset with the older knight. “I can sense those around me, and I’m just starting to get the hang of healing!” Ash saw Lee stare down at him with intensity, before he sighed. “I’ll keep training, but don’t expect any miracles.”

“I don’t, Ash. I expect skill out of all of this,” Lee spat out, before turning on his heel and walking towards Roy, watching carefully as he intensified the aura around his hands, punching the dummies with such intensity. “So, I see you’re using aura as a form of gauntlet,” he stated, clenching the black blade by his side as he watched the dummy bounce back and forth.

“Yeah! Look at this!” Roy exclaimed, before taking his right fist, and thrusting it into the chest of the dummy. The wood splintered and shattered, and his hand came out the other end, completely unharmed. “Eh, eh? Is that good or is that good?”

Thoroughly impressed by this, Lee made a smile, patting Roy’s back. “Thatta boy Roy. Although strong punches aren’t the only thing you have to go for. Remember, you must also be quick to get back into the defensive when the need arises. Relying on brute force alone won’t get you anywhere.” Seeing Roy nod in agreement, Lee was about to see how Jeremiah Green was doing. Out of the corner of his eye, Jeremiah was practicing with his dual daggers, and looked quite sufficient at it as well.

However, Ash paused, feeling something approaching. He took his staff in his hand, and caught his breath again. “Lee, do you feel that…?” he asked the captain, who made a small nod of the head. The pressure of another aura user was felt, but it was unfamiliar to say the least.

“Of course…Someone else approaches,” he muttered under his breath, looking around at the rest of the knights. “Stay here, I will deal with whoever it is that approaches,” Lee told the rest of them, sheathing his blade of night as he briskly walked back towards the stronghold’s interior. As he walked, his boots tapping against the stone floor, he wondered why this aura didn’t feel imposing at all.

The red tapestry of the stronghold hung down from the large windows, even folding slightly upon itself as it rippled onto the floor for a meter, embroidered by fine golden threads. The light streamed through the main hall, which connected the dining room, courtyard, and the private bedrooms in the far back. Lee kept his hand on the blade’s hilt, in case anyone undesirable came to take the Crystal Heart.

A slithering sound was heard, treading upon the carpet, and Lee turned to face whoever was there. “Who goes there?” he stated, sounding stern and demanding to anyone who came. At first, it seemed as if no one was there, the afternoon light casting shadows about at the entrance. Then, the room grew dark, the curtains suddenly jolting to cover the windows as if someone tore them to the side.

With the darkness came a blue light from a single source. The illumination revealed a both a serpentine and a canine figure, walking and slithering alongside the source. Lee saw that it was a Lucario and a Milotic, but who was casting the blue flame?

“Show yourself!” Lee exclaimed, making a motion with his arm to cast a curtain aside, the light streaming in an instant upon the source of the flame. He froze, seeing a young woman, about the age of twenty, standing between the two Pokémon. She donned little clothing, enough to remain modest with a top that hugged her chest and a skirt that fell to her knees. The design slightly resembled a Milotic’s scales, and perhaps that was the intention. Her dark skin was tinted red, alongside her waist-length red hair. She seemed curious, but Lee made an assumption that she was an imposer.

“Hmph,” she started, extending her arms to her sides as the flames diminished. “Who do you think you are? Disturbing my entrances. What’s the fun of a dramatic entrance if one ruins it?” she stated, all without moving her lips. Her brown eyes looked over at the Milotic, who seemed to agree with her, then to the Lucario, who appeared cautious towards Lee. “My mother and mate seem offended by your actions. If you may, please explain yourself.”

Drawing his blade, Lee saw the Lucario tense up, his aura flaring up for a moment. The Milotic also seemed to ready her mouth, as if willing to shoot an ice beam at him. “I need no explaining, I insist that you go first, then I may tell you of my caution.”

The woman hushed the two, who eased up, before she stated to Lee in a calm voice. “My name is Kairi, daughter of the Graceful One and protector of the forest alongside the Fierce One. My mate has sensed a strong concentration of aura, and insisted that we see what is going on. I didn’t know about this place until now, but I see why mother doesn’t like this place. It smells and is too confined.” She explained to him, who sheathed the blade after hearing this.

“Ah. I didn’t realize we were exerting that much pressure. My apologies for any confusion,” Lee told Kairi calmly, before looking at the Lucario, who seemed a lot more at ease after his apology. “I take it you’re not with Dark Cult?”

At this, Kairi made a sound that appeared to be a scoff, but on second thought was more of a chuckle. “Those fools? Please, they imposed on our territory on numerous occasions, but each time we fended them off before they got too far in. We don’t side with them, for they torture Pokémon for information.” The Milotic seemed a bit upset by this, but Kairi made a coo as she pet her mother’s nose lightly. “On the other hand, now that we know that you are here, we don’t side with you either. Think of us as merely spectators.”

Lee finally eased up for good, realizing that, from her words, they were not a threat. “Good. The Crystal Heart isn’t in danger after all,” he said to himself just under his breath, making sure the others didn’t catch that at all. After glancing to make sure they hadn’t heard it, Lee continued to speak to them. “I wasn’t aware that someone was living in the forest all these years. How long have you been living there?” he started, curious to know.

“Fifteen years.” Kairi said sharply, placing her hands on her hips as she walked forward, her bare feet making small pats against the carpet. “I wasn’t aware of this place being here for that many years,” she stated, placing her hand on one of the stone columns. It was then that their conversation was interrupted.

“Who is this?”

Lee looked back, seeing a curtain draw to reveal Ben, dressed in an outfit that resembled some Pokémon Kairi had never seen before. Lee was about to speak up, but Kairi walked past him to look at Ben with a closer inspection. Milotic and Lucario acted odd, as if they recognized him personally, which would be impossible. Kairi looked back at the two Pokémon, before tilting her head to the side. Staring at Ben for what seemed like minutes caused her to shiver a bit, sensing something inside of him.

“Ben, this is Kairi. Apparently she came because we’ve been exerting a lot of aura. We were only training, and I apologized to her if we disturbed them,” Lee explained, before Ben placed a hand on Kairi’s shoulder. She looked upset, before Ben closed his eyes, and a smile formed on his face.

“She can be trusted, her heart isn’t tainted.” Ben stated, before letting go of Kairi’s shoulder. Looking at Lee, Ben had a gentle look on his face. “Lee, this girl…She was raised by that Milotic, wasn’t she?”

Lee looked back at the Milotic, who nodded in agreement. Then, the Milotic spoke. Not out loud, but through telepathy to Ben, her eyes intensifying towards Ben.

”Yes. I found her alone and naked in the forest. I know not what happened to her parents, but the only thing she had was that necklace you see around her neck. I felt pity, and took her in as my own. I trained her to be beautiful, and strong. Her mate, this Lucario here, trained her in aura when she was fifteen. He taught her all she knows of it, so of course we grew curious with this outburst of aura. But now I understand why they train; they must protect the Crystal Heart.”

Ben nodded briefly, understanding what she said. “I want to thank you, Milotic, for keeping Kairi safe. I am sure that her parents would be proud of you for such a noble deed,” he said to the Milotic, before giving Kairi’s forehead a small kiss. “You have my blessing, Kairi,” Ben told Kairi calmly, quelling any fear she had in her heart at that moment. He started to walk into the hall, looking at Lee with curious eyes. “How goes training?”

Standing upright, Lee gave Ben a detailed diagnostic of each person’s strength and weakness. Ben giggled, before tickling Lee’s chin. “Oh Lee, you’re always so strict on them. Perhaps you should lighten up a little bit?”

“Y-Yes, of course,” Lee said slyly, glancing away as a blush invaded his face. He noticed that Kairi seemed confused by this, and finally appeared flustered for once. At a loss of words, Kairi approached him, crossing her arms a bit.

She didn’t say anything, merely watching him curiously before a smile formed on her face. “Ah, I see now~” she mused, as if finally figuring out what was going on. “Say no more, I completely understand.” Raising her hand, she seemed to dismiss Lee from saying anything.

At that moment, a thought occurred to Lee. Since Kairi had been thoroughly trained in aura, maybe it was time to have a sparring partner for the others. “Kairi, may I have a moment of your time?” he started, walking briskly towards her as he took her arm.

“What is i-“ she was swiftly cut off as she was half-dragged with Lee for a moment before returning to a walking posture. “What is your problem? Tell me this instant,” Kairi snapped to Lee, wanting an answer. After they entered the courtyard, Kairi snapped her wrist away from him. “Just tell me what you want!”

The other aura knights, who were anticipating something else, were taken aback by Kairi’s appearance. They hadn’t seen anyone like her before, and they were especially surprised when Benjamin appeared behind Lee. They wanted to say something, but feared that this new person would do something to Ben.

“Everyone, there’s no need to worry,” Lee started, before patting Kairi’s back lightly. “This young woman is Kairi, a master of aura. She trained from a Lucario himself, so she would be a very good sparring partner for all of you,” he stated, before giving Kairi a small wink. “Just don’t go easy on them, they need this practice.”

Nodding lightly, Kairi placed her hands on her hips and made a shout. “Alright, who’s going to take me on first!”

While this was occuring, Ben had sat down with the two Pokemon that accompanied Kairi. “Ah, I see how it is now,” he said to them, understanding why the Lucario helped to teach Kairi aura. The purple-haired boy looked over at the Milotic and grinned. “So she doesn’t know what happened to her parents?”

The Milotic looked down, and shook her head solemnly. “No, unfortunately. I know not what happened either; they may have died, or perhaps they are still alive. Either way, they would be proud to see how much of an adult Kairi became,” she told Ben, before seeing Lee come back through the entrance. “Your guardian is here.”

Ben looked back at Lee, who walked with a gait in his step. “So, what have these Pokemon said?” Lee inquired, wondering if they were to be trusted as Kairi had said.

With a nod, Ben stood up, brushing his outfit off with a casual look spreading across his face. “They can, and better yet they said that they would help us if the Dark Cult tries to find us. So now we finally have an ally, Lee,” he told Lee calmly, before blinking. “Where’s Kairi?”

“Oh, she’s sparring with the rest of them.” He muttered out to Ben, before holding his hand lightly, happy to know that a good thing has come out of this encounter. “Do tell, how long have they been in the forest?”

Ben smiled, and hugged Lee carefully, as if his grasp was weakened for a split-second. “The Milotic and Lucario have lived here for twenty years, just as old as Kairi,” he explained, before giving Lee a small kiss upon his nose. “But anyways, shall we spectate the spar?”

The day passed, and evening fell as the knights fell one by one to Kairi, who proved to be more than what they could handle. Even when Roy and Ash teamed up, two versus one, Kairi came on top. It was incredible; who would have thought a woman of this strength would trump the knights? This only made Ben and Lee thankful that Milotic agreed to be allies.

After it was over, Kairi walked up to Lee and Ben, making a small bow of respect. “Thank you for this opportunity to spar. It’s been a while since I had to fight like this, but now I know that your men need more training, but also that I need more as well.” With a smile, she returned to an upright position, before giving Ben a handshake, something which Kairi seldom gave to anyone. “Are there any dates you would like to see me return at all?”

Lee nodded, answering the question. “Three moons from now, if you please. It will give us enough time to train,” he told Kairi, who acknowledged this.

“Alright then.” Walking past them, Kairi brushed some of the dirt off of her shoulders. “Three moons then. I shall see you then.”

True to her word, Kairi and her family returned to the forest, and Lee sat with Ben in the courtyard as everyone tended to their wounds. “Do you think they could really handle Dark Cult?” he asked Ben, knowing that the Crystal Heart knew more than he ever could about people’s intentions.

“Of course. Why would I allow them to spar if she wasn’t to be trusted? Kairi can be trusted, I am sure of it,” Ben told Lee calmly, giving him a small kiss on the nose. “Now then, shall we head to bed? It is about that time, no?”

Lee nodded, acknowledging that it was, indeed, quite late. “Of course, Ben. Let us depart for bed.” Standing up with him, Lee escorted Ben to their bedroom, which was hidden behind the grand curtain in front of the stairs. There was a sense of fluffiness in their hearts, and Lee knew that tonight was going to be a good night for them.