Disclaimer: El Hazard is the copyright of AIC and Pioneer LDC.  The author owns 
only 
the writing.

Chapter 11: Royal Palace 
Shayla retreated to the basement kitchen, the one used for cold and chilled foods. She sat at an 
empty table nursing her third jug of wine. One sarcastic comment kept running through her mind, 
"That could have gone better." 
The servants long ago learned to stay out of her way when she was in this sort of mood. She hadn't 
had this much to drink in months. Swirling the blue liquid in a goblet she then remembered 
Fujisawa talking about his encounter with Hiashi's father. She wasn't sure why. She reviewed it 
several times we as clear head as possible. Maybe there was a clue to help her patch things up. She 
tried again and again, throwing in her times with Hiashi for good measure. Silently someone else 
came down the steps. "Hope I am not disturbing your drinking." Nanami commented. 
She was not exactly the first person Shayla wanted to see right then. "Don't you have better things 
to do than watch me feel sorry for myself?" 
"Actually, the royal family requested a special dish for tomorrow and I needed some of the palace's 
spices." 
"You could have sent a runner here you know." 
"Perhaps, but a professional is always willing to do stuff like this herself for important clients." she 
looked at the empty jugs, "This is about Hiashi isn't it?" 
"How did you know? He told you didn't he?" 
"Doesn't take a genius to figure out something happened between you two. I saw how you looked at 
him yesterday at dinner." Nanami sat backwards in a chair, "Care to talk about it?" she prompted. 
"That depends. Do you have your eyes on him too? I have enough problems with Rhyna without 
you trying to romance former schoolmates." Shayla asked suspiciously. 
"Wouldn't dream of it." Nanami said raising a hand, "Sure he would occasionally help out with my 
business for pocket money, but that was it. Personally I thought he was a bit gloomy, like he had a 
chip on his shoulder the size of Mt.Fuji-san. Never imagined it really was that big." 
"He's not gloomy!" Shayla-Shayla shouted, then continued a bit quieter, "He just didn't have much 
reason to be happy." 
"All right. All right. What if I said he was a private person? Better?" 
"Yes. And you're not going to gossip about this like you did when Miz confided in us how she got 
Fujisawa to propose. You almost ruined the wedding!" 
Nanami turned bright red at the memory. So she mentioned to her second cook that Miz spiked 
Fuji's drink with the El-Hazard equivalent of schnapps. And giggled about how Fuji thought he was 
sober when he proposed. How was she to know there were eavesdroppers? At least Fuji wasn't too 
upset and calmed down after a few days. But he still married her after all. So Miz just hurried up 
the inevitable right? Nanami laughed nervously, "Of course not. Not a soul. Cross my heart and 
hope to die." 
"Good, because if you do. I'll make sure you keep your promise." Shayla took a big gulp of wine 
and took a big breath before continuing, "First of all I didn't plan on it. I didn't get over Makoto to 
turn right back around and fall for someone else. But there he was, full of spirit and determination 
bursting forth like a whirlwind escaping its holding bottle. But he had self-control also, more than 
enough to tame and direct his energy. He saved my life twice you know. They were so close 
together, it was almost like one. When he used his own body to protect me, it happened." 
Shayla smiled at the memory, absently circling her finger around the rim of the glass. "What 
happened?" Nanami asked, leaning forward so she won't miss a word. 
"You know. The 'L' word. Don't make me say it." Shayla blushed "Then that stupid Rhyna came 
into the picture. She's almost as power hungry as your brother. In fact the only difference is the fact 
Rhyna wants personal power, not to total control over a large army. You saw how she treated 
Hiashi on the way back right? Trying to wear him down, acting concerned, just reeling in the poor 
guy like a fish. I had to show him how I feel, and in front of Rhyna too so she'd leave us alone." 
"So what did you do?" Nanami asked as she poured more wine. She thought this was the weak 
stuff. Weak for Shayla anyway. It wouldn't be long before she came to her senses and clam up right 
before the good part. 
"Just now we were watching the stars. I caught Rhyna spying on us so to show her, I kissed him. 
Caught him completely off guard. But I had to go and get all embarrassed and open my big mouth. 
Now he thinks I was just pretending to like him to drive Rhyna away. Oh I'm so stupid! Why can't I 
just come out and say it?" 
Nanami looked at Shayla confused. The two were never close friends. They were barely civil to 
each other. But now she could see that Shayla was really hurting. Slowly she put her hand on the 
fire priestess's shoulder and said, "Because neither of you were ready. His world was turned upside 
down. Just like Makoto's was. Give him time to adjust. If your feelings for him are true, he'll come 
around. But in the meantime, you have to make sure he still likes you as a friend. You can't love 
someone who's not your friend first. Now I'll take care of damage control. That shouldn't be a 
problem." 
Shayla smiled a tired smile and muttered her thanks before collapsing on the table. Nanami briefly 
wondered if Shayla couldn't take her alcohol as well as she used to. But then she found she misread 
the label. It was part of Fuji's secret supply. Well, it wasn't as if he was going to miss it any time 
soon. Nanami gathered her spices then hauled Shayla-Shayla to her room to sleep it off. 
Few people welcomed the morning sun that day. Makoto, Dr.Schtalubaugh, and Fujisawa spent 
most of the night continuing to track the location of the tomb. Fujisawa was glad to finally have a 
task which required his historical reasoning skills instead of brute force. He attacked the problem 
with his usual gusto and made astounding progress until they reached the Great Holy War. After 
that, maps were lost and the terrain itself radically altered from the last use of the Eye of God. As 
time made the transition to late at night to early in the morning, everyone began to concede a 
temporary defeat. Even Makoto, who was used to long hours, began to make obvious mistakes. The 
doctor suggested they take a break before their mistakes caused even more work for them and they 
returned home when only insomniacs and exhausted guards were the only ones around. 
For them, dawn came much too soon, and for others as well. Shayla was seriously hung over and 
refused to see anyone until she was modestly sober and was able to summon the courage to face 
Hiashi again. Hiashi himself did not sleep well. His words from the previous night haunted him. 
When Shayla got flustered after she kissed him, he got defensive out of reflex. It was an old habit 
he picked up to keep people from discovering his shame. Back home he kept his friends from 
school at arm's length. This was a new situation. Being alone was no longer an option. Sure, he 
could try but when Jinnai or Kazusa found out where he is, he would be dead. 
Now his life depended on others. Alone he was useless. His special ability saw to that. Well, there 
were worse people he could be stuck with. Just then Nanami came to the door complete with 
breakfast for them. Riho didn't care for the chopped vegetable and bread scraps and graphically 
showed his displeasure by knocking the side of the bowl hard enough to shower Nanami with the 
contents. Then to add insult to injury, Riho began licking himself. Hiashi thought it was hilarious 
so Nanami couldn't say anything about it. Than she picked bits of foodstuff out of her hair she 
sputtering, "So how was last night with you and Shayla? She said she kissed ya." finishing with a 
wink. 
Hiashi turned are bright red and nearly choked on his breakfast. "She told to that?" he exclaimed. 
"Well she was a bit drunk at the time. But yes, I wormed the high points out of her. Can't say I 
blame her though. Starry sky, no one around, only a perceived rival watching, she is attracted to 
you ya know. I haven't seen her acted this way since Makoto." 
"Shayla and Makoto?" Hiashi said surprised. 
"Well I think it started when took a power blast for her. It was right after Ifurita was awakened, 
while she was under Jinnai's control. Fortunately he had Ura to protect him, but it was close. But by 
then he had already fallen for Ifurita and determined to free her. Besides, it was destiny and you 
can't fight that." 
"What do you mean?" 
"Why the four of us was sent here in the first place. Some kind of time travel loop or something. 
Makoto can explain it better, besides you both like that sort of thing." 
Makoto was part of the science fiction club at Shinonome, but wasn't very active due to track 
practice or private research. Also the club was more into watching movies and anime than the 
books Makoto preferred. The two had a long-running debate over time travel. Makoto thought 
history was unalterable, that any changes you try to make wouldn't work. He said you wouldn't 
even be able to be seen or heard, even if you could travel into the past. Hiashi took the opposite 
position, that the action of going back in time created a parallel universe no longer connected to 
your own timeline. You could kill Hitler or convince your grandfather to go into the priesthood at 
an early age and never worry about a paradox. "Too bad both of us being in El-Hazard can't settle 
our debate." Hiashi thought, sipping his tea. 
"I think I was a bit hard on her. But why did she mention Rhyna?" 
"It was a convenient excuse. She's not good at showing her feelings. If there's a way for her to pass 
it of as something else, she'll do that instead of being honest. It's not really deception, more like a 
white lie to convince herself. Like how she volunteered to watch over Makoto as he researched the 
Eye of God. She wanted to see if they could ever be together or at least if he'd notice her. It didn't 
work, of course, but at least she did her job despite her feelings. Except this time her excuse is a bit 
more legit. Rhyna stopped in at the restaurant. She wasn't very polite and a lousy tipper. At least 
Fatora has her sister to keep her in line in public. Shayla had a right to be concerned. But she 
should have let you make her own choice." 
"So what do I do now?" 
"Now you're going to feed your cat the scraps I brought him. Then you're going to help me move a 
few things I left here back to my apartment. Then you make up with Shayla. And you're going to do 
all that before you think about tackling Kazusa." 
"Well we can forget the first one. You can't make a cat eat something they don't like, right Riho?" 
he said. 
"Yuk!" Riho responded. He then saw a bird in the tree outside the window and began stalking it. It 
was instinct, Riho was raised by humans and only had the need to chase prey. Rune mentioned 
male armor cats were known to do that when they weren't on duty. Hiashi left his chair slowly as to 
not make any noise. Nanami, however was still annoyed about Riho rejecting her food. As she 
stood from her chair, she clapped her hands scaring the bird away. Riho looked at Nanami and said, 
"You mean." 
"You weren't going to catch it anyway, so why try?" she countered, not believing she was arguing 
with a cat. 
"Forget about it. When we're done we'll see about getting you some fresh meat from the kitchen." 
A short time later, Nanami was leading them to her restaurant. She only carried the boxes she 
brought to the tower. Hiashi, on the other hand, was panting from the weight of several heavy 
boxes. Nanami forgot he wasn't very strong despite his height and he didn't want to appear he was 
making excuses. "Just what do you have in here? I thought you barely used the place!" he gasped. 
"Oh, just some old clothes. Winter is coming so I thought I'd store my summer wardrobe back 
there." 
Even Riho was put to work. He was serving as a back brace for his master, allowing him to carry 
everything in one trip. His paws tried to help with the load, but was of questionable help. As they 
crossed the main courtyard separating the palace grounds from the city, Hiashi paused as if he 
heard something, but wasn't sure. He concentrated on the sensation, to make sure he was feeling 
what he was suppose to be feeling. Sure of what he felt, he tossed the packages aside and yelled, 
"Nanami, get everyone. We've got company!" 
"What? Oooo" Nanami said just before the ground began shaking beneath them. "Oh yeah, I see 
what you mean." 
Hiashi backed up as the ground began to give way. A sink hole quickly formed at his feet. He 
jumped back in time to keep it from swallowing him. A now familiar voice came up from the new 
hole, "I guess it was too much to ask that you stay put so you'll fall in is it?" 
"Kazusa. Let me guess, this is a social call." 
Afura/Kazusa rose out of the hole. "Actually, yes. I've decided to quit wasting my time and 
resources finding what is mine in favor of having you do it?" 
"What makes you think we'll help you?" Hiashi said. He tried to stall the ghost until the others 
could arrive. So far, he had yet to sense Shayla, Rhyna, or Miz. 
"Do you know what this is?" Kazusa asked holding a staff. 
"That belongs to the Grand Priestess." Hiashi replied in shock. "How do we know she's still alive?" 
"Clever aren't you. None of that 'what have you done with her' crap. That cliche is so worn out. 
Straight and to the point, I like that. Take a good look at the staff, Earther. Your friends will be able 
to tell I haven't killed her. When you find my Lamp of Rock, strike it against what's left of the 
Temple of Wind's central rune." 
"So that's why you want me dead." 
Kazusa smiled slightly, "That's right. I am the only one I'll allow to use my Lamp. Maybe if you 
ask really nicely I'll simply banish you to a deserted island where you can never use my powers. 
Maybe. But I know you'll help. You're too much of a hero to let someone else die like that." 
"How long do you plan on giving us?" 
"Oh I don't know. The Grand Priestess is locked away without food or water. You have as long as 
she lasts." Kazusa glanced to the sky and continued, "I'm not one to overstay my welcome. Do 
hurry, I'd hate to see someone like her die so horribly." 
He laughed and sank back down, covering the hole just as Shayla and Rhyna arrived. "He's got the 
Grand Priestess. She's going to die from thirst unless we get Kazusa the Lamp." Hiashi said simply. 
"Shit! And you did nothing to stop him?" Shayla demanded. 
"What do you expect? He's the only one who knows where she is. If I did anything he would have 
killed her or worse." Hiashi defended. 
"Shayla, he's right. Leave him alone." Rhyna said. 
Shayla stepped back in surprise and chose her words carefully, "Well OK, I guess you're right. Let's 
get Makoto and get what that bastard wants." 
Later Shayla, Hiashi, Ifurita, Miz, and Rhyna were pacing back and forth at the library entrance as 
the others worked quickly to find the tomb of Izeria's Heroes. Shayla was losing her patience fast. 
"Errr how long are we just going to stand here and wait? When do we get to do something?!" 
"As soon as we know where to go of course." Hiashi said with some annoyance. He was leaning 
against a wall. The wait was taking its toll on all of them. It showed in the tone of his voice. 
Unfortunately Shayla mistook it for annoyance at her. 
"Oh is that it? Call me stupid to my face." she said with a mix of anger and hurt. Then she moved in 
front of him, faces inches from each other. She looked at him hard and he returned her look with 
confusion. 
"Where did that come from? All I meant was that when we know where to go, we'll go." he said 
first with confusion, then with defense. 
Both began to slide into their respective habits of emotion suppression methods. Then just as 
simultaneously they realized what they were doing and tried to recover. They took a breath and 
paused. "I'm sorry. It's just that the wait's getting to me. I hate feeling so useless." Shayla said 
forcing her features to adopt a more understanding look. 
"Humph, from what I've heard, you should be used to feeling like that. Well don't take your anger 
out on poor Hiashi." Rhyna commented coming to his unnecessary aid. 
"Hey watch it!" Shayla started. 
Rhyna grabbed Hiashi's arm and began pulling him away, "Come on. Let's find something else to 
do while we wait. I could teach you some wind magic." 
Shayla took his other arm and held fast, "Oh no, we should all stay here in case Makoto finishes. 
The Grand Priestess's life depends on our swift action." 
"We're not doing anyone any good just waiting around here. The more skilled Hiashi is, the better 
chance we have dealing with Kazusa. Besides, the Grand Priestess has had decades of training and 
discipline. She can survive longer than a normal person. She won't die because we were delayed a 
few minutes." 
"Maybe I should just help Makoto and the others in the map room...." Hiashi suggested. 
"Just take five. You don't know enough about El-Hazard or the library to be of any help anyway." 
Shayla explained accidently venting some of her frustration of Rhyna at Hiashi. 
"Don't call him stupid! It's just that they don't need any more help. If they did, one of 
Dr.Schtalubaugh's assistants would do it." Rhyna snapped back. 
"He knew what I meant. Quit twisting my words around." Shayla said, nearly yelled. 
"Considering who we are up against, perhaps it would be best for Hiashi to broaden his abilities. I, 
more than anyone, can testify to the advantage of having a well varied arsenal." Ifurita said simply. 
Shayla was stunned. She already stole Makoto from her, was she also trying to force Hiashi away 
too? Her grip went limp and Rhyna was successful in pulling Hiashi from her. "Thank you 
Demo...I mean Ifurita." 
Hiashi was reluctant to go, but didn't seem to have much choice in the matter. He looked briefly at 
Shayla for a moment as if he wanted to stay, but wasn't sure why, before the door closed with a 
loud slam. Shayla looked at Ifurita, eyes coming close to tears, "How could you?! Again?!" she 
screamed running down a different corridor letting her tears flow freely. 
"What did she mean? I only stated the obvious?" Ifurita said confused to Miz. 
Miz shook her head sadly and said, "Ifurita, you have a lot to learn about love. Let's just hope your 
destroying days are over." 
Ifurita was about to ask what she meant, but thought the better of it.