Step by Step
Short description: Saotome Botan, mother of the New World's most crazy little family. What on earth should she do with her troublesome brats?
SPOILER! Whoever hasn't read 7 Seeds until including chapter 108 yet and doesn't like spoilers, shouldn't read this one-shot.
I spontaneously wrote this FF because I somehow felt inspired after thinking about how Natsu might find a tiger cub and decide to raise it. ^,^ I was also pondering about the question of how Summer B would react towards Ango's surprising confession, and decided to combine both elements.
Oh, and then there was my whole beloved 7 Seeds character animals theory. :-P Because it's my fanfic, I chose the animals which matched their characters the best in my opinion. Whoever doesn't like those choices just has to write his own FF – I'm honestly looking forward to read them all! I wanna see more and MORE 7 Seeds fanfictions around! :-D
The entire story is written from Botan's point of view because she as the responsible guide will have the hardest part aside from Arashi, thinking about how to help him as well as considering the survival chances of her team without Ango and Ryo in the long run.
I deliberately didn't use honorifics because I didn't know how to handle them while writing in this style. I definitely respect those characters, but here I'll have to use the usual European form. Although I'm quite fluent in English it still isn't my mother language. Nevertheless, I still want to learn doing it even better. So, a little request to all the native English language readers – please tell me if I made some kind of mistake in my text so that I can avoid repeating them next time! Thank you very much in advance!
All characters and credits belong to Yumi Tamura-sama. I don't earn any money with this story, it's merely an homage to this great mangaka. Please do support her awesome work by buying her 7 Seeds or Basara volumes or taking part in the campaign to get 7 Seeds published in English language!
Sources for further information:
Violent Dolphin Behavior: wiki/Dolphin#Social_behavior
Animal Farm: wiki/Animal_Farm
Animal Farm is an allegory fable about the human nature, published by George Orwell in 1945. Basically, it says that if humans don't stick to their own values and laws firmly, things will never change, even if the environment changes. It's a really well-written book, you just gotta read it!
Saber-toothed tiger: wiki/Saber-toothed_cat
Komodo dragons: wiki/Komodo_dragon
K-9 unit: wiki/K-9_Unit
Everglades: wiki/Everglades
Quote:
"Many who live deserve death. But many who died deserve life. Can you give it back to them? No? Then don't be so fast sentencing someone to death." (Gandalf in 'The Lord of The Rings I')
Step by step, Saotome Botan cautiously made her way along the coastline, back towards the ship. Her heart still clenched painfully at the recurring thoughts of the events in those past few hours.
They just had made it out of that cursed weapons shelter safely, greeting the sunrise and welcomed by Chimaki, calm as ever. Botan still smirked at the memory. Like a housewife greeting her family back at home. She had felt as if she were reborn, finally released from an old and dusty grave deep in the darkness. They had paid their respect towards the souls of the deceased and already prepared themselves for leaving the ship graveyard. And then, this.
XXX
"Hana is dead."
Ango's voice sounded husky, but he looked straight at the eyes of Arashi, whose mind and face were completely blank. He only stared at Ango, trying to process what the white-headed man just had uttered. Ryo seemed like he wanted to say something as well, but then he only shifted his position a little bit towards Ango's side, but still behind his back. Botan absent-mindedly recognized it as a stance which would protect Ango's back as well as enable Ryo to defend Ango from attacks coming up front. Overprotective as always. She had a really uneasy feeling about this entire situation.
"Explain. From the very start, including your upbringing and that test thing." Botan noticed her voice sounding way sharper than usual, almost commanding. Absolutely not her usual style – but it couldn't have been more insignificant to her at this moment. "Arashi, stay calm and wait. I want to hear the entire story." She put her right hand on Arashi's tense shoulder, but it seemed like he still was too shocked by the news to flip out.
And Ango had obeyed her command. It was a story that made Botan's insides twist, freeze and boil in anger at the same time. A story that made her realize once again that there was no white or black in this world, just shades of grey and the fact that there was no more dangerous animal in this world than the human. And that, way too often, violent acts while rearing children only gave birth to new violence in the future. She had seen her share of bloody tragedies back in the day as a policewoman, but this criminal case topped off everything she'd ever been investigating.
Hundreds of children, carefully genetically chosen and reared in a secluded island, for the single purpose of creating the 'perfect human being' capable of surviving in the future.
Merciless preliminary tests, deadly 'accidents' making the children mistrust everyone and everything.
The 'useless ones', being discarded, killed and turned into fertilizer and animal food.
A cruel 'final test' to decide the 'chosen seven' while those who didn't meet the expectations simply had been left to die. Landslides, fire, cold. Poisonous insects, dangerous reptiles, beloved pets probably purposefully infected with rabies. Murderous teachers attacking their charges.
And three young men, thrown into a deep cave, trying to climb up by themselves. A terrible mistake of Ango which led the two others to make an heart-wrenching choice. A friend falling into the darkness, leaving two others wounded forever.
Seven Children, scarred for their entire life by their traumatic experiences.
Seven children who turned their anger onto the hated teacher right away once they had woken up from their long sleep.
Seven children who had fulfilled their lifelong goal - but now lost their way.
A mentally disturbed leader who shot down another teams' guide because they disregarded the law of paying attention to dangers.
Two groups deciding to live together, although they were like fire and ice. Various clashes. But slowly, the first signs of harmonization. Then, the sudden truth.
Hana, daughter of the man who put them through this hell.
Mozunoto Kaname, her group member, turning out to be one of the teachers who had been responsible for the entire project. The former policewoman had barely been able to maintain her poker-face at this point. She was more than glad that Kaname had been absent when they met and none of Summer B had mentioned his name to Ango and Ryo. Thank goodness Botan was the only one who knew Mozu's full name.
The female guide had been suspicious about this mysterious man from the very beginning – his name wasn't one she'd really connect with the theme of summer. So he'd pretty much smuggled himself into her team to become their Death God? Butcher bird, indeed. Once, she'd seen one in a zoo. The bird itself had had quite a plain feather dress, but the sight of an helpless caterpillar wriggling on a thorn next to it made her feel like puking. This name couldn't have matched him better.
Botan also recalled Semimaru grumbling: "If you call someone like me a little crook, then this Mozu's a dangerous criminal." Even though he was a moron, the young punk was usually incredibly sharp when it came to judging people's personality at first sight. He'd also been spot on with the "hick school way out in the boonies". Ango's and Ryo's faces had been completely baffled. Her attention returned to the present as the white-headed man continued to talk.
The development getting worse and worse. Ango growing more and more furious.
Until he tried to rape Hana.
At this point Arashi had wriggled out of her iron grip and jumped Ango, forgetting anything and everything about their massive difference of strength. Ango didn't try to fight back, but he snatched his opponents' arms to keep him at bay, asking him to allow him finishing the story. Afterwards he'd accept any verdict. Arashi didn't listen to him, instead suddenly threw forward his head and buried his teeth into Ango's throat. Ryo moved faster than lightning, knocking Arashi out before he could rip out the throat of his comrade.
The sudden outburst of violence from their usually so friendly and peaceful companion had shocked everyone in Team Summer B - with the exception of Botan and Natsu whom knew about his previous attempt to kill another would-be-rapist of Hana. While Arashi lay down unconscious, Ryo treated his friend and simultaneously continued the story with such a calm voice that it made her blood freeze in the veins.
Ryo, luring Hana into a deep cave. Cutting her rope, trying to kill her.
Hana, escaping only to fall into an ice-cold underground river. The rescue team, finding her tracks and arriving at the scene just to see her being sucked into a whirlpool, disappearing forever.
Ango, doing nothing to save Hana.
A violent argument between the two Summer A leaders and Hana's friends.
Ango and Ryo being exiled, meeting up with Team Summer B.
The 'Song of Farewell', signaling the start of another test in Ango's and Ryo's mind.
A round of mysterious 'accidents' again. Many members of Team Summer B being almost killed.
And then, Arashi being the one who managed to calm down the twisted minds of Ango and Ryo.
A new sunrise, the determination to face the future with a firm mind.
After he'd stopped talking, Ryo told them they'd wait for Summer B's verdict in their room and left carrying Ango. His audience remained in shocked silence.
Botan finally snapped out of it. She quickly grabbed Semimaru's arm and snarled at him. "Can this entire crazy story really be true?"
Her counterpart nodded sadly. "As far as I can tell… I believe they were saying the truth."
The former policewoman slowly let go of him and leaned back towards the railing, lowering her head. She hadn't noticed she was crying until she felt the trickling of little water drops on her hands. When she looked around her, she noticed the others crying, too.
Botan didn't know how long they had been sitting like this on the deck of the ship when Arashi groaned slightly. Hastily she went to his side. At first, he only seemed puzzled, but then the furious expression on his face returned and he tried to rise quickly. But this time, his guide was more well-prepared, held him down to the ground firmly and ordered him to stay put until he'd heard the rest of the story. Arashi glared at her wrathfully.
"What for? I need to kill the guy who dared to hurt Hana-san, so let go of me already!"
"You won't revive her like this. Anyways, Ango didn't go all the way with her – luckily he got interrupted just in time, returned to his senses again and let go of her. Hana died only later when she was sucked into an underground whirlpool during a cave expedition. It's true that Ango and Ryo were involved in her death though - Will you listen to me now?"
Arashi still struggled, but his resistance slowly decreased as he heard about the tragic last hours in Hana's life. In the end, he lay down completely still, just tears streaming continuously over his face. It was a sight that almost made Botan's heart break. Would Arashi even want to continue living after hearing this cruel piece of news? When she watched around, the others seemed as much worried, especially Natsu and Semimaru who were the closest to Arashi among the Summer B team.
Finally, Chimaki sat up and sighed. "Well, we can't avoid a decision much longer anymore. Before the sun sets, we should better be outta here already, so let's talk now about what to do now. Which verdict do we impose on them?"
XXX
When he saw the answer on Arashi's face, he sighed again sadly. "Arashi… Many who live deserve death. But many who died deserve life. Can you give it back to them? No? Then don't be so fast sentencing someone to death." Those words made Arashi's face twitch, but he remained silent.
Matsuri broke out in even more tears, wailing loudly. "Death penalty? No, no way! I don't wanna Ryo to die!"
"Same for me… even if he acted like a real fuckin' asshole towards Hana, he saved Matsuri's and my ass back there in the shelter's elevator. And Ango did rescue Natsu and yourself when you guys were about to be eaten by the bacteria, Arashi! While I couldn't do anything at all…" Again, the black-haired teen's face occulted at Semimaru's words. This was the very problem, Botan thought sadly. He'd been thinking very well of Ango and Ryo until now, admiring their competence, friendliness, calmness and those two's admirable skills. This had to feel like a doubled betrayal towards Arashi.
"Only the heavens have the right to execute justice on humans. Life and death are up to God; none of us has the right to take another's life. Even if that person is a murderer." Hotaru's clear voice sounded like a clarion bell through the air.
Natsu nervously wriggled with her hands, stuttering anxiously. "I do understand your anger, Arashi… but, see… Ango and Ryo terribly suffered too…that made them act like this. … I won't try excusing their actions… they were truly awful, but… I don't want to see them die either."
It was Botan's turn now. The guide breathed in deeply and looked at her charges with a very serious face. "Please don't take it the wrong way what I'm about to tell you. Before entering cold sleep, all of us guides were given a capsule with poison to carry as a necklace. It would cause a fast, painless death. We were to use it in case the world we awoke in was too hopeless to live in, for ending a suffering injured one's pain or… to kill people who endangered the group."
Matsuri gasped for air. "Those toodles you threw away when we were on top of the ship?"
"Exactly." Botan smiled at her, but before she could continue, Semimaru interrupted.
"We knew about that. Back there at Team Autumn's base, their guide Izayoi went mad for a short time and tried to poison everyone with that cyanide he'd put in our water. Lucky I grew suspicious of his weird behavior and had some chicken try it out ahead of us. The bird died right away indeed." He nodded towards his friend. "Arashi still has the rest of that dangerous stuff. We took it away from Izayoi just in case he'd run mad again."
Botan's heart almost froze hearing that alarming piece of news. When she talked again, she sternly looked at Arashi directly. "That ain't no good. I threw away the capsule exactly because I decided to never, ever rely on killing myself or anyone else as long as I'm alive. I want to protect every last one of you with all my strength, until my very last breath. So, please, Arashi, please… don't you give in to your fury now. You will definitely regret it later if you kill those two. Once the blood's on your hands… it will never go away for your entire life."
She grabbed Arashi's hands and pressed forward. "Back in my day as a policewoman I've seen so many murderers who killed for a 'righteous' reason – but most of them suffered terrible nightmares afterwards. They never really got over what they'd done and were almost glad when we finally arrested them. Killing a human being is physically way too easy… cutting its throat or an important artery breaking the neck, piercing the heart or another important organ, using some weapon… but only few really realize what killing a human being truly is about. The majority only understands it the moment they stand in front of their victims.
Annihilating a person with all her past, present and future. Annihilating all the connections of this person with others who loved and cared for them and who will be hurt terribly if you kill that person. Maybe they will even want to exact revenge on you as well. Annihilating all the chances this person might have had to redeem itself. Killing a human… means you take on a huge, terrible burden on yourself. It will haunt you forever.
Do you really wish for that? Stooping down to their level, continuing the cycle of revenge? Even now, there are still people who care for Ango and Ryo – not only among the members of Team Summer A, but also deep down in the hearts of the members of Team Summer B. You also still deeply care for Ango and Ryo – that's exactly why you're so furious now, trying to erase that terribly hurting feeling of betrayal with murderous anger."
Arashi had started avoiding her eyes sometime in the middle of her words. Botan gently took his chin into her hand and slowly forced him to look at her again. "Your anger is righteous… but your wish to sentence them to death isn't. Please, Arashi… tell me where the capsule is. And throw it away with your own hands."
After what seemed like an eternity, Arashi finally spoke softly. "My backpack… the inner bag at the back."
Semimaru stood up quickly and scurried down. Two minutes later, he returned, in his hand an obscure capsule with a fine metal necklace. The guide recognized it right away with a goose-bump. At Botan's nod, the young punk cautiously handed it over to Arashi. The black-haired young man looked at that tiny yet so deadly thing in his hand like in a daze. Then, in a sudden fluent movement that startled everyone, he rose and with a strong pitch, threw it far away from the ship. It flew a long way until it splashed into the ocean somewhere out of sight forever. Then, Arashi turned around. Botan was relieved to see he still had a very pained expression on his face, but the eyes were clear and shining again.
Natsu hesitantly took some steps towards him, then stopped again, making a questioning face. Arashi understood her unspoken query and smiled weakly. "Don't worry, Natsu, Semimaru… I won't break down. Just that it'll take me a little longer to recover again this time. But I still haven't given up. They only said that they saw Hana vanish in that whirlpool, but none of them actually found her corpse."
Tears glinted in his eyes. "This courageous woman is way too stubborn to die… I still believe she has to be alive someplace. I won't give up on her until I've searched every end of this entire earth – I'll find her again someday, someplace." He fondly ruffled Natsu's hair. "Besides, I couldn't possibly leave you guys alone. Someone has to protect you– and if I weren't here, Semimaru would probably die of boredom." ("Hey!" the young punk protested indignantly, but was ignored.)
XXX
Chimaki cleared his throat and re-directed all attention to himself once more.
"So we've ruled out the death penalty definitely. But what are we gonna do with those two now? Imprisoning them is pretty much impossible on this tiny ship – I won't help feed healthy but non-working crew members as well. Moreover so if they're mentally instable. I once saw Ango sleep-walking around at night, searching for this Shigeru guy. Don't wanna babysit him."
"How about giving each one of them five hundred negative points – as opposed to our reward points from the Sunday festivals - and have them work it off?" Semimaru suggested. The others just stared at him blankly. He waggled with his arms hectically. "I mean – see, ain't like we can give them some physical punishment like whipping or chopping off their hands, ain't it? In this world, a severe injury like this could equal the death penalty, and we ruled that out already. We should abandon any form of physical punishment 'cuz even a little infection will waste our medical supplies and come back at us in real times of need. So, I say, let them work for the good of our team and whenever we decide they did something worthy of removing some of their penalty points, they can redeem themselves bit by bit."
"I'm amazed, Semimaru. You can actually use your head properly." When his friend opened his mouth to rant at him, he quickly rose his hand to signal him to shut up. "Your idea actually ain't half bad. But, to be honest … I just don't wanna see their faces in the next few weeks, or I might just want to punch them again. I just don't."
"So it's exile, then." Botan's quiet voice sounded with a sad definitiveness which made everyone's throats go dry. "All right. Everyone go prepare for the departure. I'll tell them now that they have to stay in their cabins until we reach the next shore, and then leave right away."
"If you'd excuse me … I'd like to be alone now for a little while now." Botan nodded at Arashi's request but asked him to stay put in his cabin as well until they'd reached their goal. When he had left, she helped Chimaki and the others scattering the charcoal around the ship and its dinghy. While they were waiting for the algae to die, Botan entered Ango's and Ryo's cabin to tell them the outcome of Team Summer B's discussion.
Both of them took it with serious yet calm faces, as if they already had expected something like this. Of course, they had been exiled from Team Summer A for the very same crimes as well. They also willingly gave Botan all the information they had about the Summer A base location as well as copied maps of the landscape they'd been passing through until they had met up with Team Summer B. The guide didn't know what to say anymore after a little while, so she curtly nodded at them and left the cabin without locking the door. She somehow felt those two posed no danger to them for now.
The voyage outside the ship graveyard and back towards the Japanese coast went without any further disturbances, even though the mood on board was more than heavy. When they arrived at a pier-like stone formation reaching a few meters out into the ocean and allowing the ship to anchor safely while its crew didn't even have to take out the dinghy in order to land, Botan assembled the crew on the deck including the exiled ones. Without further ado, the two criminals climbed down the ladder facing the pier and shouldered their backpacks. Everyone felt that at this point, words were all meaningless.
When Ango and Ryo turned and started walking towards the mountains without looking back, Matsuri gave off a soft wail and ran inside the ship, slamming the door behind her violently. The others just stood silently at the railing watching the two Summer A leaders until they vanished behind a bend of the road.
Abruptly, Arashi turned around and jumped off the railing to swim further and further away from the coast in strong, fast strokes, as far away from the direction the two exiled ones had taken as possible. He seemed intent on letting out all his anger and sadness by putting all his strength into his swimming, refusing to think about anything else. In the blink of an eye, he'd already veered away several hundred meters, aiming at the open sea.
Semimaru was the first one to move again; he hastily ran towards the dinghy and started lowering it while cussing furiously. "That moron! What's he doing again, getting all depressed and swimming out there when none of us can follow him fast enough? If we don't catch up to him, he'll get lost at sea again!" With a loud chop, the dinghy hit the waves and Semimaru hurriedly climbed down the ladder.
His guide sighed exhaustedly. It would probably be better if she accompanied him as well; Semimaru alone wasn't strong enough to row the dinghy as fast as needed in order to catch up to Arashi. When Natsu started moving too, Botan made a sign holding her back. Rowing three people on the dinghy would make it too slow. She quickly ordered the others to watch the ship and went down the ladder as well, while this cheeky punk actually impatiently yelled at her to hurry up. After ten minutes, they had finally caught up to the swimmer, but Botan quietly ordered his friend to stay silent and continue rowing after him until Arashi himself was ready to stop.
Botan watched him sadly while he violently threw his strokes. The cheerful young man had always been happy the most when he was swimming; the ocean seemed to be his true home. His bright smile resembled a bottlenose dolphin's, jumping and diving into the waves playfully.
In folklore dolphins usually were signs for good fortune; with a basically friendly nature and the ability to feel empathy towards other living beings, they'd sometimes even rescued people lost at sea. Their gentleness to beings which needed help even led to dolphins successfully being used as supporters in the therapy of people with mental disabilities or traumas.
But among all those wonderful heart-warming stories, people often tended to forget that dolphins deep down still were predators, although they usually only went after fish and squid. Large dolphins however, namely killer whales, even fed on other marine mammals. Within their own herd, male dolphins often fought each other viciously over some disputes or females. Sometimes, there were even cases of infanticides. Arashi too shared this slightly dark nature, usually well-hidden within his warm and friendly soul. His violent side only broke out whenever the people he loved were being threatened.
After swimming powerfully for what seemed to her like almost one hour (and causing the two rowers sore muscles), Arashi finally showed first signs of exhaustion and started aiming at a little white beach on the coast. At least he hadn't been swimming towards the open sea any longer once he'd noticed his company, but headed southwards parallel to the coastline. This way, they weren't in danger of being swept away by the strong open sea currents anymore. Botan was grateful for Arashi's thoughtfulness even in this situation so desperate for him.
When they reached the beach, Arashi wobbled out of the water to lay down and roll on his back. The two rowers anchored the boat safely and settled down themselves at his side. For a little while, none of them spoke a word.
XXX
Finally, Semimaru sighed but smirked. "Well, you've done it now, Arashi. Next time we meet new people, I'll warn them while introducing you: "Watch out, that fellow's snappish!"
Arashi gasped for breath, gratefully going along with the taunt. "I dare you! Then I'll introduce you as 'Scaredycat Spider Semimaru'!"
His friend only snorted. "Like you're one to talk! You'd run for dear life once a spider crosses your way." He shuddered fiercely. "Actually, that'd be the only sane thing to do. I'll never understand Matsuri – even eating bugs 'though she's such a cute gal." This time, both of them grimaced simultaneously.
Botan had been watching Arashis and Semimarus little banter, grinning a bit. Their bug-phobia never failed to amuse her. Just how could two so strong and reliable boys turn into shivering bundles once a tiny bug crossed their way? She'd once tried to question them cautiously in order to investigate the cause of their trauma – and maybe even cure it -, but the both of them had strictly refused to talk about it and shut their mouths closer than a snapping turtle's beak whenever she'd bring up the topic.
Anyways, she was more than relieved that the young punk had managed to lighten up the mood a little bit, even though she didn't really like his black humor. Semimaru was really reliable when it came to conjure a smile on peoples' faces. Maybe this ability was one of the most important qualities to stand all the challenges of the New World without losing hope – facing anything and everything with a laughter and neverending enthusiasm.
The many gaudy shining facets of Semimaru's personality would never stop being a mystery to her as well. Among all the members of Team Summer B, he probably had changed the most ever since he'd entered the New World. She'd considered him being a superficial foul-mouthed, spoiled punk in the beginning, but the more she got to know him, the deeper his personality seemed to be – and she still wasn't sure whether she'd seen every last bit of it. The moment she thought she had it all, he jumped out of her reach and revealed something new. If Arashi was a dolphin, Semimaru somewhat reminded her of one of the beautifully varicolored big grasshoppers she'd once seen on her vacation in Florida's Everglades.
Being certainly stupid in an intellectual sense and acting the moron most of the time – when it came to see through people, he was indeed unrivaled. She still vividly remembered the first day on Cat Island. Until they'd been alone, Semimaru had kept quiet, but the very moment she'd shown him an opening he took her into an headlock from behind, held a knife to her throat and tried to question his guide by threatening her. This sharp boy hadn't bought her semi-innocence for even a second and continued being wary of her until she'd spilled the truth – although he'd still realized fast enough that sticking with his guide was the best way to survive. Unlike Arashi and Natsu who'd run off because they mistrusted her, Semimaru seemed to live by the saying "Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer".
Surprisingly enough, then again he'd been the only one who believed her story about the meteorite right away once she'd told it to the team. It was as if he had a built-in lie detector. He'd saved Arashi and Natsu too back then when Izayoi tried to poison them. If Ango and Ryo hadn't been clever enough to say as little as possible about their past in the beginning, Semimaru probably would have seen through their lies quite quickly. That was the main reason she'd believed Ango's and Ryo's story in all its cruel details – because the young punk had not doubted it for even a second.
Thinking about it, Semimaru sprouted much nonsense when the day was long, but she'd never heard him utter even a single lie. He was almost painfully direct and simple. Too bad this 'simple' also referred to his most troublesome trait: plunging head-first into any dangerous situation without thinking about the consequences. But maybe, someday that would change for the better as well. After leaving the shelter, Semimaru had seemed to be very down over the fact he had been completely unable to help out properly in the dramatic rescue of Natsu and Arashi. The fancy grasshopper just might learn that competence, caution and attentiveness also were traits which shouldn't be neglected if he wanted to survive the cold winter. But who would be the ant teaching him this lesson?
Her thoughts returned to Arashi who was lying on the beach again now with his eyes closed, silently basking in the sun. Meanwhile, Semimaru had made himself comfortable, leaning against a big rock and watching the open sea. Botan's instincts told her that she'd better leave them alone now. In a young man's life, there were moments he only wanted to share with brothers or male friends the same age; and Semimaru had been with Arashi much longer and gone through many good and bad times alongside him. There was only so much a mother could do, after all. At some point she'd have to let go and wait for her son to come to her for help by himself. Arashi didn't seem to be ready yet.
When she stood up, Semimaru faced towards her questioningly. She smiled at him. "Just stay with Arashi for a while 'til both of you wanna head back with the boat. I'll go back ahead of you alongside the coastline." Her young charge had nodded silently, and the female guide turned away towards the north, leaving her 'children' to themselves. They'd be able to take care of themselves on their own just fine. The only important thing from now on would just be that Arashi was never, ever left alone on his own, wallowing in his black thoughts.
Finally Botan had arrived at the ship. Time to get some sleep and then to think about what to do from now on. Yawning, she climbed up the ladder to find Chimaki on the deck, grinding some color as usual. Algae Green, if she wasn't mistaken. She never stopped being amazed at his calmness and composure even in the most disastrous situations. It was somewhat unnerving, but also calming at the same time. He reminded her of a sloth, hanging in the backgrounds so well-hidden one could completely forget about his presence. But he usually silently watched everything and gave his own thoughts on every situation. It was always hard to guess what went through his mind, but whenever he spoke, it was ever worth listening.
Hotaru sometimes was exactly the same. Botan noticed her standing at the railing with the back towards her, silently watching the endless ocean. Her big round eyes, not unlike an harp seals', seemed to read the human soul down to the very core. She was incredibly cute, as well. The guide often felt the urge to just snatch and cuddle her thoroughly.
Especially in this kind of situation she'd have loved to feel the warmth of another human being up close. Botan painfully missed the opportunity to talk to other leaders like her. She wondered whether the other teams' guides had gone through similar troublesome situations. Would they have been better at dealing with this mess?
"Welcome back", Chimaki greeted her with his warm voice. Botan nodded at him tiredly and headed towards the stairs. Just diving into the bed and thinking about nothing anymore, that was the only thing she wished for now. But behind her back Chimaki said something that made his guide stop in her tracks abruptly.
"Matsuri sends her regards and apologies. She left to join Ango and Ryo."
Botan swirled around furiously. "What the hell-? Why didn't you stop her?"
"I'm not her guardian. She's an adult and decided it for herself. After you guys all had left, Matsuri came out of her cabin with her backpack and fully clad in her hiking clothes." Chimaki carefully poured the grinded color into an old vial and looked at his guide again. "Matsuri said that Arashi has Semimaru and Natsu and everyone else to watch over him that he won't fall back into depression again, but there's no one else to stop Ango and Ryo from falling back into the darkness they were in before meeting us." He reached out towards a bucket with algae.
"She really regretted it, but she said she'd be much more useful if she protected those two instead of staying with us. Matsuri then told me that she left some notes for Natsu so we'll be able to grow the soy bean seeds even without her and left in a big hurry. She'll probably be able to catch up with them quickly because Ango's injured." The artist took another handful of algae and started grinding again calmly.
Botan's knees felt wobbly and she sat down gingerly, burying her face in the hands. She should have known it – both how deeply Matsuri was in love with Ryo by now as well as the fact that the two Summer A members still hadn't recovered from their terrible mental wounds they received during this so-called "last test". She still couldn't believe that her respected superior Takashi and the skilled, silent Kaname had actually murdered so many children in cold blood. Just the thought of which horrors those two had been through made her blood boil all over again.
And in the weapons shelter, they just had taken the very first step for healing – but they still had a long way to go. The two Summer A members indeed just couldn't be left to their own devices, also due to the safety of her own team. But could Botan just leave Matsuri alone with two dangerous murderers? Even if the tiny young woman was agile and quick-witted, she'd inevitably lose against them if Ango and Ryo decided to become violent towards her. Botan didn't fool herself that anyone on Team Summer B stood even the slightest chance against those two well-trained and armed fighters if they tried to take back Matsuri against her – or Ryo's – will. But losing a member of her group like that… didn't that make her a complete failure as a guide? Just what was she supposed to do?
She leaned her head against the railing, dead tired all of a sudden because of all those terrible responsibilities she had to carry all alone. Just closing the eyes for a moment and resting for a second, then she'd have to decide about the next step…
XXX
Somewhere along her wild whirl of thoughts she probably had fallen to sleep. A boisterous yell woke Botan up and she noticed that Arashi and Semimaru just had returned, raising their dinghy up to the deck. The young punk seemed extremely excited, his eyes sparkling and hurriedly opening his backpack to show her something. The guide smiled sadly. If she had been lucky enough to become a real mother, her son might have come at her someday with exactly the same expression on the face. But at the sight of Semimaru's latest find, she was a bit taken aback. Where on earth had he found those two ten-centimetre-long, slightly curved and pointed ivory teeth?
"Awesome, ain't it?" Semimaru beamed at his guide. "When we row back, we see some leguan-alikes crawling towards the inner side of the land and I think, why don't we catch some dinner while we're at it? So we row to the coast, anchor the boat and head into the animals' direction. Then around hundred meters inside the land we see that two-metre-saber-toothed tiger–alike, fortunately dead already. The fur, bones and meat were ruined already, but its teeth still might be of some use!"
Arashi didn't share his friends' enthusiasm and looked very worried on the contrary. "We should stay on our guard while we're at this coast. Not only are those saber-toothed tigers around, I'd also be wary of the animal that killed it. It seemed like it had been bitten by something with a very big muzzle. There were also traces of a reptile-like animal with big claws."
Chimaki blanched and suddenly appeared very alarmed. "Good gracious! Before Matsuri left, Natsu went for a walk towards the west in order to clear her thoughts and search for some food. She hasn't come back yet."
Botan closed her eyes for a moment. The timid Natsu, as well-fortified as a rabbit. If a big predator really was out there, she'd be doomed once she crossed its way. And Matsuri – she had run off after Ango and Ryo, but would only be safe if she'd actually caught up with them.
Arashi and Semimaru already headed towards the other ladder at the coasts' side and climbed down. She yelled at them to stop for a moment and when they obeyed her, ordered them to search for Natsu. Botan herself would go after Matsuri to warn her. The two young men nodded curtly and went off westwards as well. Botan took the north-western trail.
XXX
Chimaki and Hotaru watched them from the railing as the three ran off. The tiny fortune-teller tilted her head.
"Do you want to bet on how many will come back with them?"
A smile tugged on Chimaki's lips. "Can this even be called a bet? If Ango learns Natsu got herself into danger again just right away after he left, what's he gonna do?"
"I guess we don't even have to clean up their room." Hotaru laughed softly.
Chimaki ruffled her shiny black hair, then turned towards the kitchen.
"When they're all back, they'll be hungry like a pack of wolves. Let's prepare dinner."
His companion jumped up and down. "How about curry?"
"All right… we should have everything for that dish." Curious at the sly expression of Hotaru's face, he asked: "Any special reason why it should be curry?"
She only smiled mysteriously. "Everyone's favourite food."
Botan had never been more glad about her strict training back in the police school and at the survival camp she'd had to pass in order to become a guide. She'd been running for almost three-quarters of an hour and now finally she spotted three figures sitting in a tree's shade. Relief washed over her like a warm wave. Although they seemed to be discussing intensively, Matsuri still was perfectly fine.
Her approach hadn't been left unnoticed. Ryo was obviously on the qui vive, but took no aggressive stance. Rather than that, he looked a bit relieved while Matsuri, standing next to him, frowned. Ango sat on a stone, obviously being all spent. That worried Botan more than anything – his physical condition was usually way better than even hers. He shouldn't even have been sweating after such a short walk. The wound Arashi had caused seemed to be much worse than they'd had thought. Matsuri advanced towards her quickly and started talking right away while Ango and Ryo quietly remained on their positions.
"Thank you for following me all this way here, Botan. But I'm really all right, as you can see. I already persuaded them to let me tag along because someone needs to stay with Ango when Ryo's off hunting. Two people are just too few if one's injured. And none of them will ever hurt me." Matsuri hugged Botan. "I'm really, really grateful for everything you guys have done for me and so very, very sorry that I left this abruptly. But, please, understand – there's no way I can leave Ryo and Ango alone on their own anymore."
Botan sighed. "Well, I do get your point and if those two swear by Shigeru's life that they won't ever harm you and watch over you properly, I guess you're somewhat safe." A questioning glance towards Ryo was answered with a curt nod. "But that's not why I came after you – I wanted to warn you guys. There are some big predators around this area and I was worried whether Matsuri had caught up with you safely."
Ryo's face looked alarmed and he closed in on them. She curtly told them about the traces the boys had found and then furrowed her brows. "Natsu went off on her own for a walk while we were gone. She still doesn't know about the saber-toothed tigers. Arashi and Semimaru are currently searching for her. I'll head back now and join them." Matsuri breathed in sharply and clapped her hands over the mouth.
A loud rustling made her turn the head sidewards. Ango had hastily stuffed his water bottle into his backpack and put it on his back, standing up. "Which direction did she go?"
His worried companion seemed about to protest, but a look at the agitated whiteheaded man made him shut up. He sighed and took up his own backpack as well while Matsuri did the same.
Botan didn't feel very well about another meeting between Ango and Arashi, but with unknown big predators all around she'd have welcomed about any help to find and save Natsu. She pointed towards the probable direction and the group set off hurriedly.
XXX
Half an hour later, she noticed that Matsuri was panting heavily. The kid just wasn't as used to marathons as her. Botan reached out her hand towards the girl and ordered her to hand over the backpack. Matsuri gladly obeyed. On they went, but at the murderous tempo they ran while yelling Natsu's name again and again, the young farmer-girl started to fall behind them more and more. Botan exchanged worried glances with Ryo. She wanted to hurry up to save Natsu, but she couldn't leave Matsuri behind as well. A weakened animal getting separated from its herd was easy prey for any predator around. Ryo snorted, then he suddenly turned around, snatched Matsuri and ordered her to lay her arms around his neck while sticking the legs through the eased backpack cords.
"Hold on firmly", he told her curtly. With a face beet red not only because of the constant running, Matsuri nodded and buried her face shyly in Ryo's broad chest. Botan bet that the girl was more than happy about this development and laughed softly on the inside. Clambering onto Ryo, the kid reminded her more than ever of a cute little squirrel that had finally found a safe tree.
A tall and mighty tree, at that. It was incredible how strong Ryo was – carrying his own heavy backpack as well as Matsuri's additional weight with ease while still running at the same speed as her and slowly closing in on to Ango, who hadn't stopped during their short halt. Just which severe training had those kids been through? How many drugs were they forced to swallow in order to build up this many strong muscles at this young age?
But those furious thoughts were wiped from Botan's mind in an instant when her ears caught a female voice's shrill, panicked yell as well as a terrifying loud hissing. They all sped up as fast as they could, but Ango ran so quickly he arrived at the scene way ahead of them, even though Botan followed him closely. Finally, she got to a small hill's top to see a frightening scene.
The tiny valley in front of her wasn't any special at all – it just held a runty pond, bushes and some big rocks. At top of the largest one, Botan spotted Natsu, firmly holding something in her left arm while reaching out the other one downwards, yelling panic-fueled at Semimaru and Arashi to climb up as well. The guide was terrified too when she saw the reason for her fear.
Semimaru lay at the bottom in front of the rock, doubling over while holding his bleeding left leg and screaming in pain. Next to him, Arashi frantically tried to ward off a large, around three meter long reptile resembling a komodo dragon. It furiously hissed at him, revealing a line of yellowish-red, very sharp teeth. The large, pointed stick Arashi donned wouldn't be able to hold him off for much longer.
A loud roar distracted the dragon from its prey and it bent the head to descry the new threat. Ango ran straight at it, his knife fully pulled out and sitting in the right hand. Instinctively, the reptile classified him as the bigger menace and quickly turned towards him. This enabled Arashi to hoist Semimaru hurriedly. Natsu seized his hand and lifted the injured young punk up the rock with all her strength while Arashi took up the stick again and attacked the komodo dragon from the side.
Ango came at it from up front, his teeth bared in a rage. Botan had once seen this kind of grimace on the face of an attacking German Shepherd dog back in the police's K-9 unit. Usually, they were very friendly and family-loving dogs, but once they saw 'their' humans threatened, they flew in a rage and did everything they could to remove the danger.
Between two opponents now, the animal hissed aggressively and lurched at Arashi suddenly. He stumbled backwards, losing his balance and falling on his back. Triumphantly, his hunter tried to deal the fatal bite, but was pushed sidewards by Ango, who had thrown himself at its back in order to keep it away from the fallen boy and tried to slit its throat.
But the komodo dragon managed to toss around its head and claws so viciously that Ango was forced to withdraw his hand in order to protect it from being bitten off and had to jump away. At least Arashi had managed to get to his knees again and scrambled towards his stick. Botan's heart sank into her boots while she was already running at full speed. She wouldn't be able to reach them in time; the komodo dragon already went after Arashi again and Ango had broken down, clenching his throat and trying to breathe painfully.
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed through the air. The giant reptile abruptly stopped in its tracks, faltered and slowly fell to the floor in its final throes. Blood trickled from a little hole in the dragon's head and clearly indicated the cause of its death. Botan spun around and spotted Ryo, standing at the top of the hill with his gun, Matsuri still at his chest, closing her ears with the hands and eyes squeezed shut tightly. He lowered his gun and started running down the hill as well.
Botan slightly shuddered. A clean kill at a distance of almost eighty meters. In one single shot, amidst all this chaos. She would never have been confident enough to pull off this stunt. But Ryo had waited calmly for the right moment to hit his target, a beautiful yet deadly hawk zooming in on its prey mercilessly. God have mercy on them if Ango and Ryo ever decided to annihilate them. She considered herself lucky that those two hadn't tried to resist their verdict or decided to make Summer B their own group by force. She'd have lost the fight before it even had started.
XXX
Ango had sat down and breathed more slowly now while Arashi was standing again already. Aside from some bruises he seemed quite alright. Halfway relieved, Botan hurried climbing up the rock to Semimaru's side. The boy seemed to be much worse off, his left trouser leg all red. Natsu, blanched yet determined, tried to stop the bleeding by pressing an handkerchief on the wounds with her right hand. Her guide waved the girl aside to take a closer look. Judging from the rips in the cloth, it seemed more like a scratch wound rather than a bite. Lucky. A komodo dragon's teeth and salvia were inhabited by countless dangerous bacteria and could cause dangerous infections.
Botan flinched when suddenly Ryo appeared next to her. Apparently, he just had arrived already, dropped Matsuri unceremoniously and jumped up the rock in one single move. She wasn't even surprised at his agility anymore. The former policewoman nodded curtly at him and started cutting up the trouser leg around the wound a bit more with her knife for better visibility. Meanwhile, Ryo already had taken out his first aid bag along with some disinfectant and started treating the wound. Semimaru still was a bit pale, but he didn't seem to be on death's door anymore. Now, she finally could breathe a sigh of relief. "Looks like you were lucky this time, boy."
"We'd have been even more lucky if Natsu hadn't refused to throw the dragon some bait. Even though I was the one who helped her up the rock just in time before the damn beast hit me with its claw! Might even have all gotten away unharmed if it weren't for her stubbornness about this meatball."
Botan furrowed her brows at Semimaru's harsh remark and watched the bundle of fur in Natsu's arms. Had the girl captured some dinner and refused to give up her very first own catch? Wait, this didn't make any sense – she'd never have risked her friends' lives over some dead animal…
Wait. A. Moment. 'Dead' was the keyword here.
XXX
At the very same moment her racing thoughts had reached this point, the 'ball of fur' started moving and meowed softly. Matsuri's jaw dropped and her saucer eyes grew even more big and round.
Ango rubbed his eyes, obviously not trusting them anymore, then again looked up to Natsu. A dark, strong suspicion arose in Botan, seeing as the bundle of fur had black and orange stripes and now waved a striped tail with white tag. She groaned. "Oh, no."
"Oh, yes." answered Semimaru grimly, his voice swaying between fury and laughter now. " The dead saber-toothed tiger was a female, and Natsu just had to pick up its orphaned cub when she found it walking lumbering all alone next to the mother's corpse. But it ran away at first, so she followed it 'til here, naturally giving no thought at all about its mommy's killer. By the time we found them, she already tamed and named it. Fed it some smoked meat and water and played with it happily. We tried to talk her out of it, but in the middle of it this komodo dragon came across us and we had to fight for our lives. But dear Natsu refused to throw him the cub as a distraction, even when her own life – and mine, I might add! - was in danger."
The subject of his little rant bristled and straightened up. "I just couldn't possibly leave Fluffy all alone! It lost its mommy and was completely scared. I'll take care of Fluffy and raise it. Alone this baby would be completely helpless, I definitely have to protect it." Natsu had an unexpectedly determined and defiant glare in her eyes. It would have been even more impressive if the kitty just hadn't chosen this very moment to rise and lick her face. Natsu's team members shared looks and nodded resignedly. This time, the cat-lover definitely wouldn't budge, even if her charge was a kitten way too large for their tastes. 'Fluffy', indeed.
Botan sighed and rubbed her temples. So her private zoo had been joined by a soon-two-metres-saber-toothed tiger now. As if she hadn't enough at her hands with a depressed dolphin, a way too lively grasshopper, a timid rabbit with a thing for overgrown cats, a squirrel running off on its own, an harp seal with eyes that reached to the depth of a human soul, an unnervingly calm sloth and a – luckily absent –homicidal butcher bird. Not to mention those two lately adopted strays, turned aggressive by years of animal abuse – an overprotective German Shepherd dog and a positively deadly falcon guarding it with sharp eyes. What was she to do with her little animal farm? Her friends at the police unit had always called her a red fox, but even Botan's wisdom and slyness had its limits.
Ango made a face at Natsu's remark and growled something that sounded like „the survival instincts of a lemming" while rising and offering Natsu his hand to help her down the rock.
Ryo had found back to his black humor meanwhile and suddenly grinned sardonically. "I advise you don't get it used to sleeping in your bed. I'd feel really sorry for your future husband if he has to compete over your love with a fully grown saber-toothed tiger." To his surprise, Natsu blushed but looked daggers at him. "I know very well how to train a cat properly, thank you very much. In the Old World, my Nuts was an absolutely well-behaving cat."
"Yeah, right. Let's see you turn this big wild cat into some tame house kitten. How are you going to punish it if it chews on your shoes, give it a slap on the giant muzzle? That's gonna be fun to watch." Meanwhile, Ryo had finished tending to Semimaru's wound and cautiously lowered him down the rock. Arashi reached out to his friend and helped him to stand, putting the tired youngsters' left arm on his right shoulder in order to take off some weight from his injured leg. Semimaru groaned slightly, but he could move around with Arashi's help now. Fortunately, his painful outcry had distracted Natsu from giving an heated answer to Ryo and she scurried to Semimaru's other side, offering him her left shoulder to lean on while apologizing for his injury continuously and thanking her friends.
"Not the best place to go hiking, ain't it?" Matsuri smiled weakly.
"Definitely no recreational park here, yes." Botan said grimly. "Let's all quickly return to the ship first." No one objected her. Ryo reached down to the komodo-dragon-alike, grabbed its tail and started to pull it along. He'd probably be able to turn it into dinner and some smoked meat. The tiger cub had finally calmed down and curled up peacefully in Natsu's arms. They made their way back quietly.
Botan threw a worried side-glance towards Ango, who was breathing hard, sweating and bleeding through his throat bandages again. The fight had only worsened his condition. It was as clear as day that he'd be completely unable to go anywhere for the next few days. And judging by Arashi's grim silence and his occasional half-furious, half-guilty glances towards Ango, he knew that as well. Sending Ango away now would mean pretty much murdering him.
Ryo might try to stay calm after Ango's death because he felt sorry about Hana's death, but would inevitably feel some resentment towards her group. And Matsuri, torn between her love for Ryo and her loyalty towards Team Summer B would have to suffer the most about this situation. Botan didn't want the cheerful squirrel-like girl to lose her smile. Besides…
Another side-glance at the giant komodo-dragon-alike Ryo dragged along as if it was some bag of feathers. There definitely was no doubt about it that without those two the survival chances of Team Summer B would drop drastically. Maybe she should consider Semimaru's Negative Point Punishment seriously. She sighed. Their time together on the 'Zou To Raion Maru' and inside the weapons shelter had proved her mercilessly that she still lacked a lot of protection skills as a guide. She wasn't too bigheaded to ignore her flaws.
But living with the murderers of his girlfriend would mean a terrible strain on Arashi's soul. Could she really do that to him? Wouldn't it tear apart the group, maybe even cause Arashi to leave? But if Ango and Ryo left them instead, they'd lose Matsuri as well – and in this kind of world no one knew whether they'd see each other ever again once they got separated. What on earth should she do?
Finally, they arrived at the ship and smelled the delicious scent of seafood curry. Botan's stomach growled violently. Because of all the excitement during this day they all had completely forgotten about eating. And the sleep-deprivation from the exhausting day inside the shelter constantly tugged at her mind, while her muscles were about to go on strike. She doubted the others were much better off. Would she even be able to calm down the others and decide anything fairly anymore today?
But when she got a glimpse on the eating area, a tiny, sudden smile tugged at her lips. Around the kettle Chimaki and Hotaru had neatly placed the plates and the cutlery along with the mugs. She didn't even have to count to know how many of them were there.
They all quietly sat down around the nine plates. None of them missed out when Chimaki started handing out the curry. Hotaru even put a little bowl with Carol's milk on the floor for the kitten.
Botan still didn't know in the slightest what to do. But she decided to save everything else for later. First things first. For now they'd eat, talk, decide and then live.
Step by step.