Raven Tengu Izuna Does Her Best

HMM...

H-Hey, Izuna...

Shush! I'm on the lookout for humans!

Grrr... I won't be tricked again!

...This is pretty serious.

(She's been like this ever since she got tricked earlier...)

You'll get tired staying on lookout all day. Why don't we get out of town for a bit?

...If you insist.

All well and good that we made it out of town, but doesn't it look like a storm's blowin' in?

Wait, it's rainin' already?!

Gah! Sorry, Izuna! We should head back to town!

Th-Th...There's a HUMAN!!!

You don't have to look at her like she's some kind of rare beast...

...Well, that's not normal.

Hey... I don't know what you're up to, but it's dangerous around here. You should probably call it a day.

Eeek!

Oh, no... It's broken... Now I have to start my rain collecting over again.

I'm sorry. I should've thought about how surprising it'd be to be approached all of a sudden in the middle of nowhere.

Why are you harvesting rain? Wait, do you not have enough water to drink? Are you okay? You're not starving, are you?

Huh? No, no, of course not! This is Elzion! The Shining City! There's no way we'd ever have a water shortage.

Then why are you collecting rain?

Well, you see, my baby back home doesn't seem to like tap water.

I was hoping rainwater might be better, so I came out here to collect some.

So they're a bit picky?

Hmm... Humans need water to live, though... It can't be good for them to go without water.

Ahem... You may be at ease! It is the responsibility of the strong to assist the weak, so I, Izuna, shall give you aid!

Hngngnghhh! Oh clouds above...ASSEMBLE!!!

Behold, the tengu's great mercy. You may take it to your humble road...wait, no. Abode!

Wait! Izuna! That's too much! That's way, way too much!

I can't believe you summoned rain with a fan. You're amazing!

Heeheeheehee... Dohhh, stawwwp!

Izuna. Might wanna check your face.

Uhhh...AHEM-HEM! This is child's play for one such as myself!

You think she'll buy that?!

So who's the lucky kid who gets all this rainwater?

Actually...I think it would be faster to show you. Would you like to come over? I'll introduce you to my adorable little baby.

T-To your HOUSE?! Does this make us friends?!

Yippee!!!

(...Wait, no! I can't just take her at her word! That's what keeps getting me tricked!)

(But...I still wanna see the baby...)

You're curious, right? We can go if you want.

If it looks like a trick again, I'll stop you.

O-Okay. I'm countin' on you!

All set? My house is in the Theta District. Follow me!

Hmmm...I see... So this is what residences of this era look like.

Gyah! A fish!

You don't like fish?

N-Nooo... I'm not that picky. Not like a little kid...or anything...

You say that, but you're making a face like you're in hot water.

Nuh-uh! I can't even swim!

...Yeah, you don't like them.

I just can't stand the way their eyes LOOK at me!

I can eat them just fine when they don't look at me!

A-Anyway! Where's our favorite little picky eater?

Oh, right here.

...A pot? Oh, you were talking about a plant.

I'm doing research into how to revive the natural plant species that went extinct.

By any chance...does that mean you know Krervo?

You know him? Yes, I'm a member of Natural.

This pot is where I planted a seed that was found at the bottom of an ancient jar. But no matter how much water or fertilizer I give it, it just won't sprout.

Then I started to wonder if the problem was in the artificial water treatment, so I decided to try rainwater...

...But there haven't been any results, even though I've tried it several times now.

Hmmm... Maybe it's not suited to its environment.

My adoptive parent always said that all creatures have places they belong. Just like how a tengu like me can't really live in human society...

Izuna...

And I could never live in a house where they eat fish every day...

......

But you know, I still want to help my baby sprout.

Of course I have my motives regarding my research...but even more than that, I want to be able to live and grow together.

It's in the world with us, so I want to show it what that world looks like.

......

Hey, Aldo... Can I ask you something real quick?

Do you think she's a bad human? Or...is she a good human?

I mean, I can tell you what I think, but don't you already have your own answer?

I think...she's not a bad human...

At least, I hope so.

I think so, too.

I'll go get some water for your baby.

But none of the water around here works...

Yeah, I get the feeling that there isn't any water in this era that would work. But if it's water from a past era...

Oh, I get it. Yeah, there might be a chance if it's water from an era with a lot of elementals. Let's go to Acteul. It's the city of water, so it should...

Sorry. What are you talking about?

We're talking about how to give you a miracle!

Just wait here. I, the great raven tengu Izuna, will make aaall of your wishes come true!

Water, water everywhere... To the left? Water. To the right? Water...

Well, it is a city on the water. Do you not like it?

I think it's really pretty? But also...kinda scary...

Scary?

W-Well, if you fall in or somethin', all you can do is just go blaggle-bbggle gahhhhh while you sink to the bottom!

Oh, right, you said you can't swim.

Feathers get REALLY heavy when they're waterlogged, okay?

Gah! Just imaginin' it gives me chills! I'm gonna just walk in the middle...

Ah...

Oh! Sorry!

...It's fine. I was distracted, myself. But if I may, those wings...

Is something wrong with my wings?

WAIT. Y-Y-You don't want to...take them, do you?!

Wait, hold on, Izuna.

I-I am a "grape" TENGU, you know!

To covet these wings of mine... Such disrespect! Such arrogance!!! You must-eth learn your place!

...Is this child daft?

Sorry... Izuna isn't really used to people. She tends to get like this around new acquaintances...

Still, that seems like a bit of an overreaction on her part...

But I do apologize for staring.

Wha? You're saying you're sorry?

Are you...a good human?!

Do be careful of dishonesty. Not all humans in the world are good ones.

...My name is Melina. May I ask yours?

I'm the raven tengu Izuna! I'm in the middle of training to become a great tengu!

Tengu, you say? I see your choice in companions is as unique as ever, Aldo.

Haha! Well, things get pretty fun with so many different people around.

...It's fine. I was distracted, myself. But if I may, those wings...

Is something wrong with my wings?

WAIT. Y-Y-You don't want to...take them, do you?!

Wait, hold on, Izuna.

I-I am a "grape" TENGU, you know!

To covet these wings of mine... Such disrespect! Such arrogance!!! You must-eth learn your place!

...Is this child daft?

Sorry... Izuna isn't really used to people. She tends to get like this around new acquaintances...

Still, that seems like a bit of an overreaction on her part...

But I do apologize for staring.

Wha? You're saying you're sorry?

Are you...a good human?!

Do be careful of dishonesty. Not all humans in the world are good ones.

...My name is Melina. May I ask yours?

I'm the raven tengu Izuna! I'm in the middle of training to become a great tengu!

A tengu... Our god exists in the Sea Within. I suppose it would be asking to much to meet here.

Hm?

Hey, Melina! Do you know a lot about this place? We're tryin' to help a plant sprout, so we're lookin' for some good water. There's a lot of boat traffic around here, right? Is there anywhere with cleaner water around?

In that case... Why not try Lake Tiilen?

It's usually preferrable to draw water from near the source. I've read once that plants grow best with few impurities in the water.

Thanks for the tip! You really are a good human! Just for you, I'll give you an extra-special tengu's blessing as thanks for your kindness!

I'll pack in some career luck and some love luck and some health luck, too!

Hey, wait! Izuna! Hold on...

Theeere you go!

AAAHHH!!! MY FAN!!!

I told you to wait...

You don't have it easy, do you?

I should head after her... Thanks for the help, Melina!

Never a dull moment...

You seem to be enjoying yourself.

Oh, you just missed a familiar face. If only you'd arrived a tad sooner.

Heh. I'd be lying if I said that didn't bother me... But I suppose I shall leave my reunion with our unforgettable friend for another date.

I am sure we will meet again somewhere on our journey.

Did you find your fan?

I found it...but...

What's up? You look kind of freaked out.

FISH!!!

There's a ton of fish, but my fan's gone! How did this happen...

You got too heated and sent it flying.

At this rate, I can't set those stupid fish on fire!!!

Hey, now! That's a bit much!

You don't even know if they're bad monsters or not yet.

Ughhh... Y-Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't go judgin' by appearances.

I mean, look at me. If I step one foot in human territory, I get all kinds'a stares. Had some bad run-ins, too...

I have to look carefully to see if they're good fish or bad fish...

Bad fish! Evil fish! Repent and face divine punishment! Divine punishment...

I wanna...give divine punishment... But my fan...

Alright alright, I'll go get it for you. Wait here.

Okay... Thank you...

Sorry in advance!

...I don't get why fish are so scary to me...

Maybe it's 'cause I got a fishbone stuck in my throat and almost died once?

Izuna! Behind you!

Huh?

Ah!

Eep!

No... I can't do it... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, I-I can't...

NOOO!!!

......

Are you alright, Izuna?

Oh...I...I think so.

(What was that?)

Why does it feel like they're making fun of us? These coelus are weirdly mean.

...Aldo, pass me my fan.

I got this fan from my teacher as a reward for becomin' an apprentice. How dare they bust it up like this! I'll teach them what happens when they disrespect a tengu!

For the sin of damaging my fan... And the sin of splashing me with water... And for the sin of making me almost choke to death on a fishbone...

Wait, they don't have anything to do with that last one!

Repent it ALL! Time for divine punishment!!!

Next time, I'll grill ya up and feed ya to Aldo!

Why do I have to eat them?!

...Well, anyway, this sure was a harder trip to get water than we thought.

Um...I'm sorry...

Huh? What for all of a sudden?

But like...we were just supposed to come here for water.

But then I messed up so much it ended up causin' ya trouble...

I'm always gettin' tricked or makin' some kinda mistake... I'm the worst...

You're not the worst! You just get ahead of yourself sometimes when you really want to help someone.

But...

C'mon. Let's take the water back to Elzion. I'm sure you'll find a good answer then.

Oh, welcome back.

...Hi... Um, we got your water. You can give it to your baby.

What's wrong? You seem down.

...Yeah...

It's fine. She'll perk right up in a minute. Go ahead and do your watering.

Okay. I can do that.

Wait, what?!

Miss Tengu! Look!

Oh. It's teeny tiny, but there's a little sprout.

It's astounding! Not even the artificial plants sprout this quickly! This water is nothing short of a miracle!

Oh, that's a nice smile...

Thank you so much, Miss Tengu!

It's all thanks to you that my baby was able to sprout!

She's so happy...

Hehe... Ehehe! I'm so glad you like it!

See, Izuna? It all worked out.

Yep!

I'm going to keep up my research with my miracle baby. I want to share the gift you've given me with everyone I know.

We'll be rooting for you!

If there's anythin' ya need later, just... Sendeth word!

It was nice meeting you!

Hey, Izuna. Do you know why that seed sprouted so fast?

Probably 'cause it's full of a bunch of nature energy?

They say that the stronger the Power of Gaia in a place is, the more the things there grow.

Wow. So that means you really did make a miracle like you promised.

Huh? But all I did was get water.

You took action to help that lady.

If you hadn't done that, there wouldn't have been any miracle. It happened thanks to you.

Ehehe... I-I guess sooo. Gosh, this is kinda embarrassin'...

You really are a sincere person, huh, Izuna?

Even after all that skittishness around humans before we went to the past.

Nuh!

Nuh-uh! I was just...you know... g-gettin' them to let their guards down! It was all to punish wicked people who'd try to trick a tengu! Th-That's all!

That's all, huh?

Ugh... No, okay, you're right. Stop lookin' at me like I'm some kind of little kitty or somethin'...

Sorry. It's just when I look at you, it makes me feel like when I'm watching Varuo jump around.

...Maybe I do tend to take things at face value too much.

Just 'cause I meet one bad person, that makes everyone else look bad. And then when I meet a good person, I start to feel like everyone is good.

I think that's just because you don't have a lot of experience with people.

If you meet a bunch of different people, you'll learn to tell the difference in no time.

Y-Yeah! My skills are just still under development!

O-kay! I'm gonna help a bunch more people and become a full-fledged tengu!

Now that that's settled...

You there! Human! I am the great raven tengu Izuna! I shall grant you your wish!

Ya talkin' to me? Ya won't be gettin' any mercy from me if yer lookin' for a fight...

Wait, wait! You gotta be a LITTLE more choosy about who you talk to!