〄Hᴀʟғ-Bʟᴏᴏᴅs' Lᴇɢᴀᴄʏ〄 [Ch. 4 Up!]

[Muse.]

But but! 4 weeks is a long time. >3< By then, it will be my birthday and school will start for me around a week later. -flail-

I'm glad you got a lot of writing though. Go you! ^^

[|~quitting~|]

Wait...does this story end in four weeks or the next chapter comes out in four weeks?

[scmarshtacky]

Oh, neither. I was just talking about a chapter I finished today, chapter 61 which will inevitably be posted in four weeks time. Chapters will be released as usual and as for it ending... I'm not entirely sure myself when that will happen. XD Just whenever I get there.

[chickenz.]

lolz XD

[scmarshtacky]

Chapter 58 – Into the Wolf Pack

Once they had returned to the camp, the girls set their bags in the tent Ayako had set up as best she could. It wasn’t perfect, the top was a bit low and one of the corners was caving it, but it was big enough for the three of them if they squeezed themselves together, and it was much better than sleeping in the elements.

“Did anyone think about bringing soap?” Ayako asked after digging around in her backpack for several minutes and finding nothing. “I could’ve sworn I threw some in at one point but I can’t find it now...” Again she dug around, and again she was unsuccessful.

“I have some,” Mika replied holding up a small leather pouch. It was one of many that Agatha had supplied the girls with, and they had certainly come in handy.

“Great! What should we do about towels?”

“You brought the most clothes,” Kana answered. “Use the spares that Agatha gave us. We’ll have the opportunity to clean our other clothes while we’re at the pond anyway.”

“Would you three hurry up?” Kaito’s irritated voice sounded from outside the tent. “I can’t wait for you all day.”

“Oh shut up,” Ayako called back. “We’re coming.”

“It was kind of Kaito to agree to watch the area for us,” Kana ventured, silently pointing out that Ayako shouldn't complain to him about the circumstances.

“I still think he’s just trying to take advantage of the opportunity,” Ayako muttered. “He is a teenage guy, well, sort of. Perhaps we should decline his offer after all.”

“Ayako!” Mika protested. “He wouldn’t do that!”

“It’s in our best interest anyway,” Kana pointed out. “If we’re in the water and an enemy just happens to come along, we’ll be dead in a matter of seconds.”

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea,” Ayako mumbled to herself.

“You do realize I can hear you right?”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. We’re coming, keep your fur on.” Kaito mumbled something from outside, probably commenting on Ayako’s poor choice of an insult, but she couldn’t catch what he said.

The girls emerged from their tent moments later with their bags in hand of what they needed to bathe with and the clothes that needed to be cleaned while they were there. Again they headed toward the woods, and Ayako took the lead, following the rough path that she’d found earlier in the day.

It was still a good couple of hours until the sun began to set, so they had plenty of time to hike the distance, do what they needed, and get back before dark. Luckily the small pond that wasn’t too far into the woods, and even with the hard path - if you call it that - it didn’t take them very long to get there.

The water of the pond was crystal clear, and the bottom was composed of smoothed rocks worn down from the stream that emptied into the body of water. It had several boulders scattered along the sides and in the middle of the pond as well, perfect for washing the clothes that they needed.

Kana and Mika got started right away, dipping in their shirts, pants, and undergarments, cleaning them with the only soap that they had, and washing them out again, but Ayako was clueless. She ended up getting way too much soap in one of her shirts and it took forever to get it out again. All the while, Kaito had smirked at her from his spot under one of the trees near the pond.

In her frustration, she ended up trying too hard to scrub it out, had over balanced forward slipping on now wet rock, and falling into the water. When she resurfaced again, spitting water out of her mouth, Kaito was bent over laughing. “If you have time to laugh, you have time to get your butt over here and do something useful for once you stupid prince!” Ayako shouted angrily.

“But why would I do that when it’s so much fun to watch you?” Kaito questioned with his usual good humor.

“Temee¹... (You..-rude-)” Ayako growled back at him.

“Looks like everything is slowly getting back to the way it was,” Kana said softly to Mika who was sitting near her on the opposite side of the pond as Ayako and Kaito. “Those two are squabbling as much as ever.”

“Yeah,” Mika said with a nod of her head. “I think maybe it’s because today we actually proved we’re capable of doing something, and I think Kaito’s been waiting for us to do it.” The conversation that they had in the cave suddenly resurfaced in her mind.

“That makes sense. If he had supported us the way he has up until this point everyone in our regiment would think that we’re only here through Kaito and for no other reason. I’m thankful that today’s battle went as well as it did.”

“It certainly could have been a lot worse.” Mika’s thoughts drifted back to the moment she’d been trapped. For a split second that seemed to last an eternity, she was sure that she was going to be killed. By some miracle, she’d managed to escape from the warrior’s grasp, but it had been way too close for comfort.

“Have you finished yet Ayako?” Kana asked as she gathered up her now wet, clean clothes. Of course they didn't have the convenience of dryers so she and Mika hung them up on a limb hoping they would be dry enough to store away by the end of the night.

“No I have not!” she shouted angrily. “How did you manage to finish so quickly?”

“She’s been spending more time shouting at me than actually working,” Kaito observed casually.

Ayako opened her mouth to respond, but Kana cut her off. “Mika and I will help you out. We need to finish here before it gets dark remember?”

“Oh yeah, is it really that late already?” Ayako glanced upward to find the sun already reaching the tree line. They had an hour left at most.

“I want to search for herbs to replenish my supply as well,” Kana added. “And I can’t do that in the dark.”

With the help of her two other friends, Ayako was able to complete the washing in just another few minutes. She laid them out to dry next to the others and then turned to Kaito who was still sitting lazily under the tree with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head.

“Alright, now you need to get your butt up and go somewhere else.”

“Why? I’m quite comfortable you know,” he replied opening one eye to look at his addressor.

“Because we’re going to clean ourselves off!”

“And?” he raised one eyebrow, and smirked as he got the reaction he’d been wanting. Ayako’s face turned beat red, and she immediately proceeded to call him all of the absurd names she could think off on the spot, which wasn’t very many, but they were amusing nonetheless. “Alright, alright, I’m going,” Kaito said, cutting off the still-sputtering Ayako. Over the past few days, he had missed teasing her.

Kaito moved off just slightly deeper into the woods and picked out a nice tall tree with thick branches. In one leap he soared to the first high branch and in the second, he’d roughly reached the middle. It was tall enough to see over most of the others in the area, so he stopped there, and took a moment to balance himself on the limb before leaning back against the trunk.

To his right was the camp, in clear view, and to his left he could see the pond and the people in it. Ah, Ayako would kill me if she saw me up here, he couldn’t help thinking. It was better to be higher up though, even if it was more troublesome than staying on the ground. In the midst of a war, it was always a good idea to be aware of one's surroundings. He glanced over the area once only to confirm that there was indeed no one there, then he turned his attention to the sky to watch the setting sun.

“This water is cold!” Ayako complained after walking up to her ankles and having no desire to go any further. Sure she had already fallen in, but in her stunned state then, she hadn't noticed the temperature. Kana and Mika were already in, scrubbing themselves off quickly.

“You should have expected it to be,” Kana replied. “The nights have been somewhat chilly, and the days aren’t terribly hot either. The quicker you get in, the quicker you can get out.”

Taking Kana’s advice, Ayako took a deep breath in mental preparation, and dove straight into the water. She resurfaced later with a short yelp as the freezing water seemed to burn her skin. “Here, give me that, quick!”

Kana handed Ayako the bar of soap, and she immediately went to work on herself. The soap wasn’t great to do hair with, but it would have to suffice for the time being. “I am going to spend hours in the shower once we get back!” she promised.

Roughly three minutes passed from the time Ayako leapt in to the time she sprinted out. Once out, she wrapped one of the spare sets of clothes Agatha had given them – what they were using as a towel – around herself and stood shivering. The air was becoming cooler as well with the setting of the sun which didn't help matters much.

Ayako had washed all of her Japanese clothes, so once dry, she was forced, much to her displeasure, to put on the white linen clothes. Even though she was still wet and quite chilled, she did feel significantly better, less grimy.

“Are we going to go look for your herb things now?” Ayako asked once all three of them were dry and dressed once more. “Yo, Ahouji², where ever you went, you can come back now! We’re finished.”

“Won’t you at least try to show just a thought of respect?” Kaito asked, emerging from the trees only moments later. “It’s troublesome you know.”

“Oh, you don’t like it? I just happened to come up with the name while you were gone. I think it’s perfect, combining Aho(stupid) and Ouji(prince) like that. It just fits! But don’t worry, I won’t call you that around your little friends.”

“Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?” he mused aloud rolling his eyes. “If you guys are done, I’m heading back to camp. I’m sure the fifth has noticed my absence and he’s probably ready to give me a lecture on abandonment of duties.” Kaito sighed. Yeah, he really didn’t want to go back.

“Well, I think we’re good from here,” Ayako said. “Have fun with your little lecture and don’t get eaten by the brutish general.”

Kaito cast a backward wave at them without turning back around and headed into the forest once more trying to mentally psych himself up. He really would have just rather gone out in a small squadron with a couple of people and the girls, but unfortunately, he wasn’t the one who decided such matters. It was between his father and the military commander.

As soon as he entered the camp again, one of the warriors approached him. “The generals were looking for you my Lord.”

“Alright,” Kaito dismissed the man with a nod of his head and gazed around the field looking for the biggest tent that would mark the general’s meeting spot. Finding it easily, he headed over to it, and entered without bothering to announce his arrival.

“Lord Kaito,” the sixth general greeted with a short nod of his head. “We had wondered where you had gone.”

Kaito didn’t bother answering the hinted question, but turned to gaze at the map the men had before them. The sixth general sat on the left of the map which was spread out on the ground while the fifth general stood father back. Alistir loomed in the corner, silently watching the events. Kaito had no idea when the trainee had gotten in such a good word to the fifth general, but they seemed to be on extremely good terms with each other.

“So?” Kaito prompted. “For what reason was it that you were looking for me?”

“We were planning our next attack,” the fifth said, cutting off the sixth who had opened his mouth to explain. “We’ve also received word that the Water Clan has arrived on the eastern border and are waiting for an escort.”

“We were planning to send you along with a couple of other warriors to retrieve them,” the sixth added. “If you agree.”

“That’s fine,” Kaito said shortly. “And when they get here?”

“Naturally we’ll begin the onslaught and take down as many of those wretches as we can get ahold of.” Both the sixth general and Kaito glanced at the rough man with a hint of displeasure, but he took no notice of them.

“After they arrive, we will work our way into Fire Clan territory, and presumably will follow their supply lines to the west where they plan on joining with the Wind Clan. The first and third generals along with another legion or two of Water Clan warriors are scheduled to arrive in the same area at roughly the same time if all goes well on their end. From there, we’ll work our way north into the Wind Clan’s territory.”

Kaito nodded again once more. In theory it seemed like a pretty decent plan, he just hoped that it would go as well as they planned. “When would you like me to depart?”

“As soon as possible,” the sixth answered. “Take three or four men with you in case you encounter something unexpected. Alistir has already volunteered I believe.” He cast a questioning eye over the younger man who smiled and nodded.

Of course he’s volunteered. “Very well, I’ll gather up a couple of others.”

“Not the humans,” the fifth interrupted once more.

“Hadn’t planned on it.” Without looking back at the others, Kaito turned and exited the tent. Numerous warriors scurried about the clearing. Some were hunting while others were looking for wood to build a fire with.

“Wonder who would want to come,” he mused to himself. His eye caught on Konin who was moving about with Bastir. Kaito hadn’t spent a lot of time with him, but he knew of younger warrior. Along with Bastir and Ryner, he’d graduated from the Academy about ten years ago with incredibly high scores. While his other two classmates specialized in close-combat fighting, Konin was known more for his archery and stealth. His tracking skills were supposedly quite good along with his discreetness.

Also unlike the other two, Konin wasn’t as buff. He was thin and lean, and built more for speed than for strength like most of the others on the field. His hair was a dark brown, and long, though it was tied back in a tight bun, and his eyes as far as Kaito could tell from this distance were a deep forest green. He’ll be a quiet and reliable one to take along, Kaito figured.

“Konin,” he called out when he was within a comfortable speaking distance. When the warrior looked up from the fire that he was working on building, Kaito motioned him over. “Would you be interested in taking a little hike with me to pick up the Water Clan legion?”

“If that is what you want my lord,” he answered politely with a quick dip of his head.

“It is,” Kaito replied. “Now then, we need one more...” He glanced around the clearing again looking for those he knew would be good to take on the journey.

“If you would take me, Lord, I would love to be of service.”

The sudden voice startled Kaito, and he whirled around to face another, younger man that he wasn’t familiar with. His hair was blond, and his eyes a hazel color. He sported a number of smaller injuries and looked to be rather dirty and exhausted, even so, his eyes shone brightly.

“Are you in a good enough condition?” Kaito questioned, scanning him over and allowing his eyes to linger on the patches of dried blood on his light blue shirt and pants.

“Oh yes,” he agreed quickly. “I have been with the sixth legion up until this point, and we’ve been on the move for about three days straight fighting smaller battles and then moving on, but I’m fine.”

“For what reason do you wish to come. Surely you would rather get a bit of rest?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

“Oh that’s...” he paused as if to gather his thoughts. “It’s because I want to work alongside you my lord!” he finally blurted bending his body in a deep bow as he spoke. “I know you probably don’t remember me, but I first saw you in the town many years ago. You inspired me to me a warrior.”

Kaito studied him for a moment. Personal ties were usually discouraged when on the field, and this warrior was clearly in need of sleep; however, his willingness and determination were admirable. “You can come,” Kaito agreed. Then he turned to Konin, “Get what you need for the journey. I imagine it will take roughly a day. Meet me at the edge of the trees at sunset.”

“I understand,” Konin dipped his head once more before moving off back to the camp to collect what he might need.

“And you,” Kaito paused realizing the younger man still hadn’t identified himself, “What’s your name?”

“It’s Miran my lord.”

“Alright then Miran, go and get what you need, and take some time to clean yourself up. There’s a small pond not too far from here. You may wish to use it to freshen up a bit.”

“Of course!” with the eagerness of a young puppy, Miran bounded off through the camp.

Kaito then headed toward his own tent which had been set up for him by a couple of the warriors, namely Grinwald. The old guy had a bit of a fondness for him due to their past, though it was something that Kaito tried not to dwell on frequently.

He pulled aside the tie-up flaps of fabric that made up the door and walked inside. The tall grass, flattened under the weight of the tent made the floor quite lumpy and uneven forcing him to move cautiously in case there was some hole in the middle. The tent itself wasn’t very big. It was just enough space for him to lay down comfortably with enough room to spare to put down his belongings.

Kaito ruffled through the bigger bag picking out the few things that would be necessary for the journey and shoved it into the smaller duffle bag: one extra pair of clothes, his water flask, a small bag of dried food, and a letter of introduction that his father had written and Agatha had given to him.

“I think that’s all I need,” he muttered as he stood up and thrust the bag over his shoulder. His hand moved to his sword just to confirm that it was still fastened safely in place, and then he headed out of the tent once more. Kaito glanced at the sky where the sun was already touching the tree tops. In roughly fifteen minutes it would be time.

“Yo, Kaito, where you headed?”

The sound of Ayako’s call forced him to halt and turn back around. He’d hoped that he would be gone by the time the trio got back, but apparently that wasn’t the case. “To the east coast,” he answered shortly. When Ayako opened her mouth with that familiar sparkle in her eyes, he added, “No you can’t come.”

“But why?!” By now the other two had joined her and were glancing from Kaito to their friend trying to make sense of the conversation based on the small bit that they’d heard.

“We’re moving fast through the dark and won’t be stopping along the way. You can’t keep up and I don’t want you to even try,” he explained with a sigh. The minutes were ticking by and he really needed to get going. “Take care of yourselves here and don’t do anything stupid or rash.” He met each one of their eyes in turn, but lingered for a while on Ayako's.

“Okay, okay, got it, whatever you want, oh great prince,” she replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Don’t you do anything stupid.”

His mouth quirked in a small smile. “I don’t plan on it.” With that, he left them and headed to the edge of the trees were Miran and Konin were already waiting.

A minute later, Alistir appeared, equipped with a travel bag which was much larger than needed. “This is it?” he asked glancing at the other two warriors in front of him.

Kaito frowned at his smug tone. “We are merely an escort and nothing more. We don’t need any more people than this.” He answered as he took the lead and moved into the trees. The other three fell into a formation with Alistir at his right side – much to his displeasure – Konin to his left, and Miran right behind him.

“Keep up,” he ordered. “We aren’t slowing down until we get there.” With that, he moved off at a run going as quickly as he could through the dense forest.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“What the heck are those guys doing out there?” Ayako pushed the cloth aside and glanced out where most of the legion was gathered around a giant bonfire. It was several hours past dark and up until his point, the girls had remained in their tent. Kana and Mika had sorted herbs before breaking out the books to ready by flashlight, and Ayako had just watched them with mild curiosity while Kana tried to explain the alphabet of the demonic script to Mika.

Mika shuffled over until she could see out the door as well. “Looks like a party doesn’t it?”

“Likely a celebration after their victory today,” Kana stated, closing her book and moving so that she too could see.

“Shall we go check it out?” Ayako asked eagerly grabbing up a flashlight. “We haven’t got anything better to do anyway.” In typical Ayako fashion, she moved out of the door without waiting for the reply of her friends. Nonetheless, they followed her as she weaved through the other tents in the area.

The bonfire was in the middle of the valley, quite a way from the nearest tent. Using the flashlights, the girls were able to travel through the tall grass though they all fell into a dip in the ground hidden by the grass and shadows at least once.

“This fire is huge!” Ayako muttered as she approached it. Even from several meters away, she could feel it’s intense heat, and the fire itsel went up far above her head. She wasn’t sure how the guys managed being so close to it, but they had old logs set up only a stride away from the open flames.

“Oi, oi, who invited the humans?” One warrior called as he noticed the approaching trio. His loud voice and mannerisms indicated he was drunk though Ayako had no idea how because she didn’t see any alcohol in his place.

“We invited ourselves,” she shot back. “Got a problem with that?”

“These humans think they’re all that don’t they?” another whispered.

“It’s only because Lord Kaito seems to favor them,” the first answered.

“They should just go back to the place where they came from,” a third spat.

“I can understand you,” Kana answered forcing her voice into the scratchy rough tone that formed the native language. At the moment, she couldn't be more thankful that Agatha had given her so many lessons. Speaking still hurt her throat, but for the time being, she could manage. “Excuse us for being a bother,” she stated, though her tone was not at all apologetic or regretful. “If we could go back, we would have. However, we're trapped here and helping in the only way that we know how. We hope we will leave this place as quickly as possible.”

That shut the group up immediately. If a human speaking in their tongue was not startling enough, the fact that a young girl was telling them off, was.

“Kana, what in the world did you say?” Ayako whispered glancing from the startled, and now quiet, group of warriors to her friend and then back again.

“They have been useful,” Grinwald spoke up casually. “That one there,” he pointed to Kana, “helped your butts out a ton with that wha’cha-call-it thing. That one there,” he pointed to Ayako, “helped me personally. And both Kana and Mika fixed up ‘yer injuries,” he said, addressing the second warrior that had spoken. “The way I see it, ‘ya ain’t got a right to be complaining ‘bout their presence here.”

Again there was a moment of silence, before the group started mumbling quietly amongst themselves. Whispers of, ‘maybe they’re a little useful’ and ‘they did help out a little’ could be heard amongst the group.

“Come here the lot of ‘ya,” Grinwald said, motioning for the three girls to come to the inner circle of the fire where the logs were. “Tonight ‘ya earned a place here.”

As they moved through the pack, who now parted from them, Mika began to realize just how much influence this guy Grinwald really had among the group. It was true he was at the back when they were on the move, but she was wondering now if that was by choice rather than by a structured placement. He had way too much influence to just be an underdog.

The trio sat awkwardly down on the logs the group was using as benches. Being stared at by a group of roughly sixty highly-trained demonic warriors was not a very good feeling. Even Ayako was continuously glancing around wondering what was going to happen next.

For a long moment, no one made a sound. Grinwald was the one who finally broke the ice. “Hey, isn’t that the flash-thing that makes automatic light?” he asked pointed at Ayako’s flashlight.

“Oh yeah, the flashlight,” she said holding it up for him to see. “It was dark, so I just brought it along.” She flipped the switched and shined the light back toward the dark field. Several of the warriors jumped at the strange and sudden light, while others immediately began demanding to know what sort of weapon it was.

“Dudes, chill,” Ayako said, with a bit of a laugh at their reaction. “It’s just a flashlight, see?” She handed over the device to the nearest warrior who was staring at the thing in wonder. The others gathered around him, and after their group had examined it thoroughly, passed it on for the more skeptical ones to study.

“It was you that created the smoke?”

The four on the log turned to look at Ryner who had spoken.

“I have the raw material for it,” Kana explained, “but it has to be hit by a large force of power for the chemicals to react and cause the blast of smoke that you experienced earlier. Technically speaking, it was Kaito that set it off, I just provided him with the device to do it.”

Ryner fell quiet for a moment, as he tried to process what Kana had just explained. “It helped,” he said at last.

“Wow, Kana, you almost got a ‘thank you’!” Ayako exclaimed nudging her friend teasingly with her elbow. “That’s pretty impressive.”

Ryner cast his eyes over Ayako before addressing Kana once more. “Where did you learn Khimar?”

“Agatha, one of the maids in the castle taught it to me in her spare time. I thought it might be useful.”

"Hey, hey what is Khimar?" Ayako whispered leaning over Mika to talk to Kana.

"It's what they call their language," she answered quickly. "I'm told it has other names and dialects too depending on the location, but generally speaking - "

"Okay, got it," Ayako cut her off. "I'm good on the language lesson."

Ryner watched the two humans, but remained quiet, occasionally glancing at the others passing around the flashlight. The little device ended up back with Ayako quite a while later, though somehow it had managed to break the ice between the girls and most of the others.

“What other things do they have in your world?” one asked.

“What’s this Japan place look like?” questioned another.

The three tried to answer the bombardment of questions, but with fifty warriors asking, and only three girls to answer, it proved to be a fairly difficult task. They described Tokyo, their school, some of the favorite places they liked to visit, and Ayako made a point to bring up the wonderful running water, air-conditioning, and other modern appliances more than once.

The fire had burned down significantly when everyone started to calm down. Grinwald had offered food, a very burnt looking rabbit, but the girls had all politely refused, not wanting to eat the pitiful looking creature.

“Well guys, it’s been nice talking to you all, but I’m exhausted, so me and my friends here are going back to our tent. See ya!” After making sure that Ayako still had the flashlight, she stood up stretched, and waved farewell to the warriors as she passed them.

Some of them also replied with a simple ‘good-bye’ or ‘night’ though most just watched as they departed.

“That was a pretty successful day,” Ayako said happily as she changed into her clothes from the night. “The others won’t treat us like scum, and we managed to take out a ton of those fire clan warriors. Mika got to talk to Kaito,” she said nudging her friend teasingly, “and everything just went pretty well.”

“It has been a long day though, and I am quite ready to go to bed,” Kana answered stretching out on her mat. The three mats covered the entirety of the floor in the tent, but the girls had gotten one of the bigger ones, so it would be possible for them to sleep together.

“Night you guys,” Mika said as she pulled the sheet over her head. “See you in the morning.”

“Yep,” Ayako agreed flipping of the flashlight one last time.

The three girls all fell asleep quite easily, too exhausted to speak to each other, or to review the day in their minds.


¹ Temee ~ Just a little elaboration here. In the English language you can liken it to a curse, but basically it is just a really rude way to address someone.
² Ahouji - This is just a play on words combining 'aho' meaning stupid and 'ouji' meaning prince. Ayako already calls him that anyway, I just decided to translate it.

A/N ~ Another chapter for you all to enjoy. Not quite as exciting I know, but I liked writing it nonetheless.

<==Chapter 57

Chapter 59==>

[Muse.]

-comes back int he next day after reading-

I liked it a lot. ^^ Still can't wait until that chapter 3 weeks from now. ;3

I really like how finally they at least get some kind of acknowledgement, and of course how you didn't make it all at one point. There's progression, not sudden acceptance. ^^

[scmarshtacky]

I tried. I needed the trio to make some progress with the group, but as you said, if it happened at once it would just feel strange and wrong.

[Muse.]

Exactly~ That's why I'm glad that it progressed a small amount, but there is still an obvious gap to the point where you can tell that will continue to try to win over their favor. ^^

I just really like how you do your story. x'D

Keep working hard. I appreciate something to look forward to at the end of the week. Especially when school is going on. ^^~

[scmarshtacky]

Chapter 59 – The Water Clan

The girls awoke rather late in the morning, aroused by some unknown commotion outside. Though no one was shouting, they could hear a multitude of people shuffling through the tall grass outside of the window and whispering amongst themselves.

“What’s goin’ on?” Ayako questioned, drowsily sitting up and opening her eyes. “Seems like everyone’s moving about. Is it time to leave?”

Mika stood up, shuffled to the door and glanced out. “It looks like their watching something,” she said after a moment, “but I can’t tell what.”

Ayako got up then and glanced out of the door too, but she couldn’t get anything more from it than Mika.

“Kaito was headed to the east coast last night, remember?” Kana said, stifling a yawn. “I’m sure he went to pick up whatever forces the Water Clan sent to us. I bet they’ve just gotten here.”

“Well, we need to go investigate immediately don’t we?!” Ayako shouted enthusiastically. She went to work throwing on the needed clothes for the day – thank goodness they were all dry – and then waited impatiently for the slower two to be ready as well.
Once they were, she grabbed their hands and hauled them quickly out of the tent. “Come on, come on, hurry up.”

With Ayako bubbling with excitement and energy, it didn’t take them long to reach the gathering spot of the others. She shuffled through the warriors, most of whom now allowed her passage, though many still cast a quick glare in their direction. By the time the trio had worked their way to the front, it was clear what all of the commotion was about. A group of about fifteen warriors, most of whom had gray hair varying in different shades and blue eyes, were treading through the field toward the main tent.

Kaito was leading the group while a man who looked to be about thirty with long silver hair and icy blue eyes walked about a half a step behind him. The generals both greeted this man first and then gave a respectful nod toward the others before they disappeared into the tent along with the presumed leader and Kaito.

The rest of the smaller group was left standing somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the camp, sizing up the lightning clan warriors. Though Alistir didn’t let them stand their long before he led them off, taking on the role of the guide.

“So those are the water clan warriors huh?” Ayako asked to no one in particular. “They don’t look all that different to me.”

“They are rather cold-hearted,” Ryner, who just happened to be standing near the three girls spoke up softly. “Best not to get friendly with them.”

Before Ayako could question the man further about what he meant, he turned and disappeared through the crowd. “Not one for conversations is he?” She muttered to her two friends.

“I don’t think many of the warriors are,” Mika pointed out. “The only one we’ve really had a conversation with is Grinwald.”

“If you exclude Kaito,” Ayako added.

“It’s probably best not to loiter around here,” Kana said, breaking into the conversation. “We don’t know how these water clan warriors take to humans, so it is probably best to keep a low profile for the time being.”

“Man! And just when we were starting to get into the group too! This is so dumb.” Nonetheless, Ayako followed behind her two friends as they headed back toward their tent. “Oh guys, hold on just a second!”

“What is it now?” Kana asked, glancing backward at her friend, but Ayako didn’t respond, instead she turned to the right and weaved in and out of a few tents before stopping behind one and poking her head around it. “They’re talking about the new guys,” she whispered softly when she heard Mika and Kana approach from behind.

“His name is Saeon,” Konin said, addressing his two comrades Bastir and Ryner. “He doesn’t give me the impression that he’s incredibly thrilled to be here, but he’s agreed to lend us the assistance of his warriors.”

“That cold-blooded water clan,” Bastir huffed. “I doubt they’d ever leave their island if left on their own. Did General Saeon say anything else on your journey?”

Konin shook his head. “They only gave us a brief word of greeting. I believe lord Kaito and Saeon spoke a few words to each other, but I wasn’t in a position to hear them clearly.”

“Tch, that figures.”

“Let’s not complain about the assistance we’ve been given,” Ryner replied. “If the fire clan still hasn’t joined with the wind, we now have a huge advantage. Even with only a handful of warriors.”

“I don’t get that either,” Bastir interrupted again. “Why send so few?”

“I don’t know,” Konin replied, “but as Ryner said, few is better than none. We’ll be on the move again by the end of today and with any luck, we’ll be in the fire clan before nightfall. We’ll eradicate everyone we can and hope to gain the advantage.”

Ayako inched closer to hear as the three started mumbling quietly, but the corner of the tent she was hiding around suddenly gave way and she fell flat on her face in front of the three warriors. “Ah whoops, sorry about that. Fell in hole,” she stuttered with an awkward laugh as the three turned their attention to her and watched with a heavy silence.

Then in an overly dramatic manner, she turned to her friends and said, “See? I told you this wasn’t the way to our tent, now come on!” Ayako grabbed the wrists of her friends once more and hauled them off back in the direction they’d come.

“Ah man, that really scared me for a moment there,” Ayako sighed once she felt she’d put enough distance between them and herself. “I almost thought they were going to come after me. They had that look in their eyes.”

“No one appreciates eavesdroppers,” Kana said simply. “You shouldn’t have stuck your nose into their business.”

“I know but –” Ayako cut off as the water clan warriors from earlier caught her attention. It seemed to her that Alistir was so caught up in talking that he didn’t even notice them until he’d almost run the girls over.

However, every single warrior in the group stopped to glare at them in a way that made Ayako wonder if they were already planning the best way to cook human flesh.

“Ah, yes, these are the stowaways,” Alistir finally said when it was obvious he had no other choice than to address the issue. “Not to worry about them though, they are just insignificant little worms. No better than a slave to the rest of us.”

“I dare you to say that again you jerk!” Ayako retorted, straightening herself so that she stood as tall as she could to face him down, though he was still several centimeters above her.

“Badly behaved slaves though. They are lord Kaito’s pets,” he said, keeping the same tone as if he were explaining an unknown specimen to a group of scientists.

Ayako balled her fists and grit her teeth in rage, but without Kanrir with her - she hadn't had the foresight to grab her spear when she'd bolted from the tent - , Ayako knew she would fail utterly if she decided to start a fight right here, and Alistir ran his hand over the hilt of his katana as if to remind her just how powerless she was at the moment.

“This guy must make an awful tour guide,” she said, forcing back her anger to speak to the group in the same tone that he had. “Sorry you have to deal with such a rude guy, but hey, there’s always that one that just can’t seem to be able to master even the simplest of manners.” Ayako’s smile widened as Alistir’s face darkened.

“At least we have the decency to treat everyone with respect.”

She heard rathr than saw Alistir draw his sword, and had just enough time to register the flash of light as the sun reflected off of the blade and leap backwards before it whizzed through the air where she had been only a heartbeat before. “See, see, this is exactly what I’m talking about!”

She glanced over at the warriors to see if their expression had changed in the slightest, but it hadn’t. These guys really are as cold as the others were saying. It was almost ominous that their eyes hadn’t changed at all as they watched the farce between the two.

“Ayako, I think we should leave now,” Mika whispered to her friend glancing from the severely agitated Alistir to the stoic warriors.

Ayako gave a slight nod, and then forcing her tone to be as light as she could manage said, “Well, see ‘ya later!” With that, she took off running with her friends just slightly behind her.

“I think we have had enough excitement for the morning,” Kana said between pants once they had safely reached their tent once more.

“I think that’s an understatement,” Mika replied.

“Humans!”

The trio turned as the unfamiliar voice called out to them, and found a warrior who looked around the age of a sixteen-year old human, running toward them.

“What?” Ayako asked the man as he approached. “Why do you need us?”

“I was told by lord Kaito to fetch the one called Kana,” he said, studying the three trying to guess which one it was.

“That would be me,” Kana replied taking a step forward. “I thought he was in a meeting with the other generals. Why does he want me?”

“He didn’t explain, but he said to bring the things called ‘bombs’ with you.”

A sudden dawning of understanding washed over Kana’s face and she nodded. “Alright, just wait there for the moment.”

The warrior did as he was told as she entered the tent and dug around in her backpack until her fingers met the small leather pouch. She emerged only moments later, and with a quick nod to her bewildered looking friends, followed the warrior until they reached the large tent at the far end of the field.

The warrior left her at the entrance, and she paused wondering whether to knock or not. There wasn’t really anything to hit though, considering the whole tent was made of cloth.

“Come in Kana,” Kaito’s voice sounded from the inside, ending her dilemma.

Kana pushed away the cloth slowly and found herself in a much larger open space than she’d anticipated. The tent was obviously larger than the others, but she hadn’t realized it had quite as much space on the inside as it actually did.

Kaito, along with the two lightning clan generals, and Saeon were standing around a makeshift table made from logs gazing at what must have been a large map. Alistir, who must have finished his tour already, stood at the back with his arms crossed glaring at Kana.

She skillfully ignored the man and took a couple of steps in Kaito’s direction. “You wanted these?” she questioned holding up the sack.

“I did,” he replied shortly. “The General here wants a demonstration. What do you have?”

Kana opened the bag and carefully placed the contents on one of the flatter parts of the table. She then divided them into four groups: smoke, flash, explosion, and stink bomb. She had two remaining smoke bombs, two flash, three explosion, and three of the stink bombs.

“I hate to use one of the few flash that you have, but I think we need something a little more impressive than just something exploding.”

Kana nodded once and picked it up before placing the rest carefully in her pouch again. “Shall we go?” she asked turning to the general of the water clan.

The man didn’t answer, but simply turned and left the tent, and with a quick glance of confirmation from Kaito, Kana left behind him.

“This would be the best spot to do it,” Kana said walking to the back of the large tent. They were on a bit of a hill and before them lay the bottom of the small valley. The tents were behind them, so nothing of importance would be hit accidentally.

“Ready?” she asked looking first from Kaito and then to the generals that stood together to watch.

“Go on,” Kaito encouraged simply.

Kana pulled the off bow that she always had slung over her shoulder, and took one of the arrows in the quiver. After carefully tying the bomb to it, she knocked the arrow and cast Kaito a quick glance, remind him that he would have to hit it with the force of his powers. He nodded only once in response, understanding the silent request.

The arrow flew and seconds later, the valley filled with a bright, unnatural light. Even in the middle of the day, it was intense enough to make the others turn away from it.

“As you can see,” Kana said turning to the General Saeon, “this wouldn’t be good to let loose in the middle of a battle. Rather, it would be used beforehand to stun them before you rushed in. The smoke one here,” she grabbed out the sphere again and pointed to it, “is best to use in the middle of battle. The fifth and sixth generals can tell you about that, as they experienced it yesterday. The explosion and stink would be most useful if you were trying to take down their camp or area of operations from afar.”

Kana slung the bow back over her shoulder and turned to face the general after the conclusion of her short speech, but no matter how hard she watched him, she still couldn’t read his emotions.

“Kana, you can go back now,” Kaito said, interrupting her thoughts.

“Yes, sir,” she answered with a small bow. She couldn’t help but hesitate slightly as she was walking away, hoping to catch even a word or two of their conversation. However, they were too quiet for her to hear.

“Kana!” Ayako greeted as she entered the tent once more. “What’s up? What did they want you for?”

“To show off the bombs I created,” she answered shortly. “Which I suppose is fine, but now I’ve wasted one on a meaningless demonstration.”

“Well, you can’t blame them for being curious,” Ayako responded with a shrug. “It’s all new technology to them.”

“I know.”

The girls spent their day of rest appropriately, getting a long nap and lazing about the tent. It was a small space, but none of them were in a hurry to run around unnecessarily. Even Ayako didn’t mind just sitting around and playing cards for while and then taking a long nap. Before any of them were ready, the sun was lowering in the sky.

“Hey guys, want to get one more, nice bath before we have to leave tomorrow?” Ayako questioned, glancing up through the tent and noticing that the sky had darkened. “There’s no telling when we’ll get one again.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Mika agreed. “Even after yesterday, I still don’t feel like I washed all of the dirt and grime off of myself.”

“Alright, it’s settled then!” Ayako grabbed up her things, and encouraged the others to move quickly before it was too dark to see the way back to camp.

“It’s not quite as late as I thought,” Ayako remarked as they trekked through the field toward the opposite edge.

“The sun’s just covered by the trees. We probably still only have two hours or so at most though,” Mika said.

Ayako nodded, and the rest of the short walk progressed in silence until they had nearly reached the pond. Ayako suddenly stopped dead, startled by a faint splashing noise. “Did you hear that?” she asked, turning to the other two.

Kana and Mika both shook their heads, but trusting Ayako’s instincts, backed up slightly, and let their friend take the lead. The trio crept quietly along through the woods, with Ayako’s hypersensitivity guiding them along.

“I think it’s coming from the pond,” she said softly, and as they approached it, she heard the noise yet again, a splash, though it was slightly louder this time. As they came to the edge of the clearing, the girls moved behind a rather large tree, and slowly glanced around it.

“Who’s there?” Came a sudden shout. The splashing sounded again, though this time, Ayako knew exactly what it was. What came hurtling in their direction next, could only be described as blades made from ice. They were short, and shaped like a diamond with a wicked point and sharpened edges.

“Get down!” Ayako shouted as she raised Kanrir. Kana and Mika dived to the side while Ayako stood her ground and focused on the deadly ice hurtling in their direction. Time slowed down, and the two blades that were coming for her seemed to sharpen in her vision. Almost automatically, she spun Kanrir around, and blocked them. However, the force of the hit was enough to send her flying backwards. Man, it’s like I just blocked a cannonball, she thought as she picked herself up quickly to face the unknown enemy.

It was only then that all four of the individuals were able to get a clear look at each other. The man that had attacked them was in the middle of the pond. He had no shirt, but to the girl’s relief was sporting a loincloth. One glance of the silvery hair and blue eyes was enough to tell them that he was a water clan warrior.

Ayako thought she vaguely recognized him from the group earlier, and it was obvious he remembered her as well. For a long moment, none of the four stirred.

Oddly enough, the warrior was the first to let the tension leave his body, though he still kept a wary glance on those before him. “You blocked my attack.” It was a simple sentence, but Ayako almost imagined that she heard a bit of awe in it. “A human.”

“Yeah,” Ayako replied back, letting the smug smile cover her face. “We’re a lot more useful than most people seem to think.”

“So it would seem.” He moved toward the edge of the pond and got out a shot distance away. The warrior gathered the clothes he’d thrown down near a great tree and without another word or glance in their direction, disappeared into the trees.

“Well that guy was kind of weird...” Ayako ventured, staring at the spot he’d disappeared into the trees.

“It’s probably best not to worry about him for the moment,” Kana spoke up. “We need to get ourselves cleaned up before anyone else comes to this area.”

“It’s really cool what that guy did,” Ayako said after her yelping from the cold water had ceased. “I mean, it’s like he just grabbed up the water, froze it, and threw it all with his mind.”

“Considering they are the water clan, I think it makes sense that they would the ability to control water as they please.”

“You’re not funny Kana!” Ayako retorted, even so, she had a bit of a smile on her face.

After their bathing, the rest of the evening passed extremely quickly. Both the warriors of the water clan and lightning clan were quiet and in their tents rather than raising a giant bonfire. The day of rest was satisfying, though it had come and gone much too quickly. By the time the moon had climbed above the horizon, all of the warriors were asleep. All save one.


A/N~ Another chapter posted, and I'm slowly working toward a very exciting chapter. Enjoy~

<==Chapter 58

Chapter 60==>

[Muse.]

Whoop! Another chapter down. ^^

Impending action awaits us all. xDD