Title: Spiritual Pillars
Author: (
crysalice_bell )
Character(s)/Pairings: Hane Kuriboh and Ruby Carbuncle friendship
Rating: T
1. The first thing Hane Kuriboh saw of the Gem Beast was its beacon-like tail while it was using it to prod and check the surroundings. Ruby first saw those small white wings when it peeked out from the corner. Ironically, what stood out in their first glimpse of each other was something they didn’t have. Does it mean that the saying ‘finding the one that makes you complete’ applies to them as well?
2. Contrary to how it looks like, their fighting is not a sign that they hate each other. It’s just the way they play. They were Duel Monster spirits, after all; they know not of the complicated games of humans.
3. That said, Ruby Carbuncle insists that the reason those “fights” start is because Hane Kuriboh hits it with its wing. Hane Kuriboh argues that it’s Ruby Carbuncle’s fault for always slapping its head with its tail. And then another fight ensues.
4. Neither of them could speak human language, even though their fellow deck members can, like the other Gem Beasts or the Neo-Spacians. But then, both of them did not need words to show how much they care for their respective human partners. Even if they were invisible most of the time, they were there.
5. It was a privilege to be a spirit partner. It was a choice neither regretted making. But it was a duty to be always there for their human partners: either to be the listener of their worries or to lift up their spirits.
6. That’s why for them, it hurt the most when their masters could no longer see or hear them.
7. For Ruby Carbuncle, the other Gem Beasts were like family. Hane Kuriboh regarded the Elemental Heroes and Neo-Spacians in nearly the same manner. While their bond was not as close as that, they felt theirs was still as special.
8. Sure, they were friends but that did not mean that when they were summoned in a duel, they would not fight each other.
9. It always made the both of them happy when their respective partners would give them a pat on the head and thank them. It made them feel that they were not just intangible Duel Spirits, but also loyal friends.
10. They were not the strongest monsters in their respective desks; they weren’t the biggest monsters either. Sometimes they wondered what it would be like if they were as powerful and as big as Neos and Rainbow Dragon. But their masters themselves prove that power isn’t everything in duels, and that makes them content and happy the way they are.
11. When the both of them became solid after the Academia was transported to the other dimension, they took the opportunity to have fun and play and savour the opportunity as much as they could, even if it meant going underneath Rei’s blanket and getting reprimanded by their masters for it.
12. They were not sure until now if they should be guilty that back then, they managed to sleep so peacefully with Pharaoh the cat, while their masters could barely sleep out of fear of tomorrow and from wondering what the strange world would throw at them.
13. When Judai locked himself in his room wallowing in his guilt, Hane Kuriboh could not help but be worried. But it was hard to cheer him up like it usually did when the winged furball itself was also worried for a missing friend.
14. Even though Ruby’s master’s disappearance spurned the disastrous journey to the other dimension, Hane Kuriboh sometimes thinks it was its fault that Judai ended up going to the Dark World.
15. Had Hane Kuriboh not reported its discovery of that distortion, Judai would never have gone through there; Judai would never have become Haou... The list went on. But it hurt the little spirit more to see its master like that, and while the future ended up becoming grim, at least it was able to give him hope, no matter how momentary it was.
16. Truthfully, the furry spirit really wanted to search for a missing companion in that world too.
17. Hane Kuriboh looked sadly at Sapphire Pegasus and Topaz Tiger, restricted by darkness they could not break out of by themselves, helpless and unable to do anything to save themselves or their master. Though it couldn’t see Ruby Carbuncle now (even if it wasn’t the Ruby it knew), the winged spirit knew the pain they were going through, fresh from experiencing that feeling itself.
18. That’s why Hane Kuriboh did all in its power to lend the Gem Beasts its power so that their true voices could reach its master.
19. Farewells were only the beginning. Though it was sad, even the two playful spirits believed that they would be able to meet again.
20. And meet they did, ironic as it is that the world’s existence was at stake once again.
-The end-
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