DISCLAIMER: Standard disclaimers apply to this fanfic in its entirety. I'm too tired to come up with anything witty right now. . .
DANCE by Sushifishie
Part One
The predator took in a deep, silent breath, waiting for the perfect timing. Gulping, he watched from his crouch in the brush next to some cabins. It was almost time to make his attack. He was a vicious predator stalking his prey—a lion ready to pounce. His time was coming. It was soon.
To succeed in his task would make his life complete. If his victim would fall, then he would have purpose. If his mission failed, he would be banished to the wilderness until his death. But that would not happen. His scheme was too creative, too cunning.
The victim came into his sights just a moment later. Only another second he had to wait. As the victim turned his back, the murderer got ready to attack.
He jumped.
He knew he was successful. His entire life flashed through his eyes in a matter of seconds, and his new beginning was certainly upon him.
Hands clasped around his neck.
The mission failed.
~*~DANCE~*~
Ever so quietly, Rei crept out from behind his small hut in the very center of the Village. Grinning maniacally, he sneaked into the trees just behind his home. Escape was close, almost inevitable. Letting out a little laugh, he picked his way through the mushrooms and finally reached the muddy path a little ways into the wood.
It was very dark. Although the entire village would be awake in a matter of seconds, he needed to get out before the first strike of dawn. Dawn meant morning. Morning meant waking up. Waking up meant chores. There was no way Rei was going to stick around for morning chores.
Letting his smile falter a bit, Rei remembered the turns he had spent waking up only to be forced into hard labor. Tilling the fields and harvesting corn was work meant only for the early morning, and Rei was neither a morning person, nor a worker. He hated to do anything that bored him, so a few moons previously; he decided to stop doing chores.
He wasn't sure that anyone even noticed. No had commented, at least. He could not be sure whether that was because they hadn't noticed his absence, or because they didn't want his father to be angry with them. Rei's father was not a person anyone wished to displease—particularly not regarding his sons.
But, in the case of Rei, he was often displeased. Rei's brother was always the one that was praised. He participated in all events in the Village. He made beautiful pottery used in banquets. He could craft lovely goatskin vests. He even did his morning chores. Rei, on the other hand, did not do any of these things. He didn't have one artistic bone in his body! Mostly, his favorite thing to do was sleep. When he wasn't sleeping, he was cruising the woods, sometimes with one of his friends.
More often, though, he would be followed by a small herd of females. There was a girl from every house who admired Kashino Rei, and most of the time, he was followed by a small cheering section. Usually, though, he managed to ditch them. He was quicker than most, and more athletic.
That was a reason he always seemed to get out of the Village at chore time. Picking up his pace, he strived to get away from his house a little quicker. It wasn't because he was in any danger of being noticed—everyone was working too hard to notice him at this point—it was because he couldn't stand even hearing the sounds of people working. It made him too tired.
Licking his lips, he shortened his stride, putting him into a slow jog. He would be away from his house in no time. By now, he was able to run through the woods with his eyes closed—he knew them better than he knew the back of his hand (he didn't spend nearly as much time looking at the back of his hand as he spent in the woods). That was why he was surprised when he found an alien obstacle in the middle of the mud path.
The obstacle was short and wavy dark hair on its head. Most people would say it was very pretty (Rei would have to agree with them), but he would never admit it. At this point, he just wanted her out of his way—he could still hear the hoes and people working.
"Shiori," Rei sighed, slowing to a stop, "what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be working?"
Putting her hands on her hips, she gave him a smug look and replied, "Well, aren't you?"
Smiling, he answered, "Believe it or not, I am working. Some lady just sent me to these woods to look for some more logs to use as firewood. Supposedly, we ran out of it when they cooked the wild turkeys last night. Crazy people, huh? You'd think they would have an extra supply no matter what, right?"
"Kashino Rei," she began, shaking a finger in his face, "you are lying through your teeth, and I know it. Do you really think I'm going to believe you when I was just in the fire-pit, refilling the hot water jars?"
"Yes?" Rei said, giving her a pleading smile.
"Besides that," Shiori continued, obviously not finished with her lecture, "I also know that you've been sneaking away from morning chores for the last three moons! You're not that careful about not being seen, you know."
Rei grinned, "But no one has ever caught me, right? Why should they start now? Really Shiori, could you please move out of the way?"
Shaking her head, she stuck her right foot in front of the other for better leverage. "I'm not moving," she said with determination. "You have to stop being a slacker and go back and do your chores."
His eyes grew wide. Shiori was never this defiant. What was wrong with her today? Maybe she was in a bad mood. That was probably it. The Shiori he knew was a backstabber of a pushover. She was quiet, but managed to get what she wanted. Maybe she was going about it differently now.
Finally, Rei agreed, "Okay, fine. You don't have to move. I can just go off the path and walk through the woods. But," he began as he turned away from the dirt way, "don't even think about following me. There's no way you could keep up."
This was obviously a challenge. This was a challenge that Shiori was going to accept. She was not going to let Kashino Rei show her up.
"I could so follow," she frowned as she picked up her thick buffalo skirt. "Look, I'm doing it right now. See, no troubles at all!"
For the first several minutes of hiking, this was true. While there were large stumps and roots sticking out all over, the only real obstacle was large bunches of poison ivy that were, for the most part, very avoidable. But soon, they came upon the creek.
Shiori let a grimace appear on her face as she watched Rei leap across the knee deep water in his trousers. Looking down at her skirt, she calculated that she would not be able to get across in one jump. In a panic, she noticed that Rei was already climbing the hill on the other side, not even looking back.
With determination, she lifted her skirt even higher and jumped. She made it about halfway, and in one more jump, she was on the other side. Stopping only to pull off a small leech that had clung to her thigh, she hurried on after the nearly-out-of-sight Rei.
The hill proved to be harder than she'd originally imagined. There were very few footholds, and it was extremely steep and muddy. Once or twice, she slipped, causing her skirt and vest to be covered in grime that would wash out only with a hearty prayer. But, she had perseverance and was determined not to let Rei beat her. Although, she was quite sure by now that she'd rather be doing her banal morning chores.
Finally, with much wheezing, she was at the top. Not stopping to rest, she hurried off in the direction she thought she'd seen Rei go. It was through a thick clump of trees and poison ivy again. Once out of it, though, she was back on the path, thankfully. Yet, even now, she continued after where she imagined Rei went.
Breaking into a half-hearted trot, she hurried down the path, hoping to see Rei in front of her soon. Unfortunately, the only thing that she saw was a bunny, and it didn't even stop to give her a glance. With a sigh, she finally gave up. Slumping down in front of a tree, she stopped worrying about how dirty she was getting and just thought about getting some water before she got too dehydrated. She was parched!
"Giving up already?" a voice startled her from a ways down the path. Coming into view, Rei showed himself.
"Rei!" Shiori groaned. "Okay, fine, I'll admit it. I didn't do so hot. Okay? You win!"
Walking over slowly, Rei slid down and sat next to her, leaning against the tree, too. "Actually," he said with conviction, "you didn't do half-bad for a girl! I mean, you did a hell of a lot better than Sei ever did."
"Well, that goes without saying," Shiori grinned, feeling a little cheered. "But, you know, you're really good at this woodsy stuff. I know you've had a lot of practice and everything, but I really think that you might have a good chance of winning the top place in the Quest."
"I've always thought that, too," Rei nodded, but his face wasn't smiling. "But, you know, I don't have all the brains. Sei's the smart and cunning one. I just have the dumb-boy survival genes. Sei might actually be better off than me."
"Well, from what I've heard, that won't matter as much. I've heard that, in the Quest, you have to find a pearl at the bottom of a piranha-filled lake."
"You know that isn't true, though," Rei sighed. "It's probably going to be some knowledge test about the Village's history or something. Then, there's no doubt that Sei would win first place."
"Yeah, but you could always study and learn stuff beforehand. Hey, I could even help you if you wanted me to. I'm not that smart, but I do know my facts. I also know who to ask for information."
Rei cocked his head, replying, "That's actually not a bad idea. The Quest is coming up really fast, and I don't really know what I'm supposed to prepare for. Maybe you and me could even pry some information out of Kyoko and Akitaka! I heard that they're preparing the Quest this year."
"Great idea!" Shiori encouraged. "We could meet behind on this path right here every day. We'll study and have training exercises. Oh! This is going to be so much fun!"
"Speak for yourself," Rei groaned as they began to follow the path back to the village. "I'm the one who has to complete the Quest."
The Quest was an event that took place once every turn. All the young men who were fourteen turns competed in a dangerous task. It was the ritual of becoming a man. With this coming up in a couple of weeks, it was all that anyone could think about. Everyone wanted to get first place.
First place was the highest honor in the Village. Rei's father had gotten first place in his year, and he'd ended up the chief! Shiori's father had also gotten first place, and earned a cabin close to the chiefs. Others who had gotten second place were farther away, and third placers were even more. Those fourth and under lived on the very outskirts and had to walk quite a ways to meet with the rest of the Village at gatherings, such as the meals. It was not a good thing to earn anything under third place.
The Quest was installed as more than just a tool for choosing cabins. It was so much more than that. It didn't matter how slowly or how badly a boy did, all that mattered truly was that he completed the task. To complete the task would mean a secure spot in the Village for life. But, to fail meant permanent eviction. That was the lowest that anyone could go.
There were rumors of people failing in the past, but the modern Quest creators had made the tasks less daring. The death rate had gone down to nothing in the past twenty turns. While some of the elders were concerned about this lack of discipline, the parents who had boys of fourteen turns were extremely grateful. They never wanted their children evicted. The eviction had not happened in all of Rei's life, and for this, he was encouraged. But, he was still a little wary.
He always knew that Akitaka and his wife, Kyoko, were daredevils. They both liked adventure and danger. This concerned him. It concerned him a lot. They were the task creators for that turn, and were not likely to go easy on the fourteen-turns. In fact, Rei supposed they would be downright nasty. He was a little worried.
But, he would never let that show. He was the almighty Kashino Rei, son of the chief, Kashino Takayuki. He would not fail, and would not show any fear. He would get first place—he just had to get first place. He would not let his little brother show him up. He would not let anyone show him up!
Putting his worry deep within his chest, he walked to breakfast with more vigor than previously, and Shiori had to struggle a little to keep up. He would need his energy to be his usual strong self. First place was in his sights. He would not let Sei win! But most of all, he would certainly win the first Dance.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: All of you are probably saying, "Sushifishie, really. We know how quickly you update—and, to tell you the truth, you're really, really bad at it." Yeah, I know. I updated slowly for my last fanfic. But, I have a solution! See, my chapters in this fic are short enough that it will only take me one or two sittings to write them. That means (if I'm in a good mood and feeling like I've gotten sufficient reviews) I may update as frequently as once a week! (No promises, though, because I am taking honors classes, band, and cross country . . . oh, right—no excuses!) Anyway, I don't think I've ever read anything quite like this story. It's a bit—different. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, regardless! Sorry for the short chapters, but that's how it's going to be. By the way, what genre do you suppose this is? Tell me if you have an opinion.
Um, if you're really confused at this point, here's a quick Village vocabulary lesson:
Moon: this is both the round mass of rock in space and an amount of time. It means about a month (taken from the period between full moons).
Turn: a year (it's referring to a complete turn of the earth around the sun).
The Village: the place where Rei, Sei, Kira, Shiori, etc. live. When capitalized, it's referring to a specific Village, kind of like you would refer to Chicago as Chicago. But when it's lowercased, it's like referring to Chicago as "city". It's the improper noun.
The Quest: a ritual of the passing of boy to man. It is usually a task to be completed. Failure to complete the task results in banishment.
Witch Doctor: a doctor specializing in ailments regarding spirits.
Stay tuned for another chapter (and probably another vocabulary lesson, too. Wow, this fic is really confusing, isn't it)! Review for me please!