Alright guys, if you're confused after that, don't worry! Much of what just happened gets explained in this chapter!
Chapter 2
Of Marshlands and Strangers
"So, what did you say you call this again?"
"A marsh, Fai, a MARSH!" Kurogane growled, rolling his red eyes. "Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" He ran his hand through his black hair and sighed in resignation.
Fai, a tall, happy-go-lucky blonde, spotted a slimy, green creature on the side of the path and immediately picked it up. "Look, Kuro-rin! It's so cute! What do you call it?"
Sakura smiled. "Fai is so curious! He's never seen anything like this before!"
Kurogane glared at Fai. "It's a frog."
The frog stared up into Fai's smiling blue eyes without blinking. "Ribbit!"
Fai laughed. "I think I'll keep it! Look, Sakura!" He held the frog out to her in the palms of his hands.
She patted its head. "It's so sweet."
Fai was overjoyed about having a new pet.
"What about Mokona?" Mokona asked.
"Oh, Mokona, I'm not replacing you!" Fai assured him. "Besides, you're not a pet, you're one of us!"
Mokona hopped happily onto Fai's head. "Mokona is Mokona!"
Sayoran kept his eyes on the treacherous path ahead. He knew that one wrong step could land one or all of them onto unstable ground. But there was something else about the marsh. For one, there was a very unnatural fog that hung in the air, but also, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. "Keep it down." He said to the others. "I think there's someone out there."
"Or something." Fai added with a smile. As he said this, a crash broke the eerie silence.
"What was that?" Mokona asked.
"I don't know." Kurogane replied, his hand moving instinctively to his sword's handle.
After several tense moments, Fai stepped forward. "Well, since no one seems to want to check this out, I will."
Before anyone could stop him, he had wandered off into the fog.
"Kyo? Kyo, are you okay?" The little gray creature asked, poking the girl in the cheek. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Her head was pounding. She tried to get up, but instantly laid back down, to dizzy to sit up.
"Hey, I'm over here." The gray thing said.
The girl turned her head to the side. "We made it." She massaged the back of her head and winced. She looked at her hand to find that blood was smeared on it. "So that's why my head feel's like it's going to explode." She murmured.
"Try to get up again." Her companion suggested.
This time, she rolled onto her stomach and tried slowly sitting up. Her head spun, but she forced herself onto her knees. Suddenly she heard footsteps. She froze, knowing very well that she could have fallen into a hostile environment. Her instincts kicked in. She had to get away! She stood and swayed.
"Look out!" Came her little friend's frightened voice.
She felt herself falling sideways and braced herself, but the impact didn't come.
"Gotcha." A mellow voice said.
Her vision swam as she looked up at the stranger whose arms had stopped her fall, but couldn't put a clear picture together.
"Yuko?" The new voice asked.
"Did you just call me Yuko?" She asked weakly.
As he lowered her to the ground, he noticed the blood in her hair. "You're hurt."
"Tell me something I don't know." She said sarcastically, then closed her eyes. "Who are you?"
"I should ask you the same thing. You look just like Yuko, but seem offended by the name! So, who are you?"
The girl opened an eye. "I asked first."
"Look," He said, "I can help, but I'll have to take you back to where the people I'm with are waiting. I don't feel comfortable treating you alone in this place. Come on, I'll help you walk." He gently hoisted her up.
Her gray companion hid herself in the hood of the girl's cloak.
The two complete strangers to each other slowly progressed.
Sayoran spotted them coming out of the fog. "He's back!"
Kurogane glanced sideways at them. "What have I told you about bringing back strays?" He growled.
"Down, puppy!" He said with a laugh. He lowered the girl again and held her upright in front of him. He pulled out a strip of cloth from his coat pocket and wet it in a pool of water next to him. He cleaned the gash, then held the cloth against it to stop the bleeding. "How are you feeling?"
"Better." She said.
Finally, he introduced himself. "My name is Fai D. Flowright."
Now that her head had stopped spinning, she could see clearly again and turned to face him. It was the wizard from Seresu!
"I'm Kyoko Ishihara, and if you call me Yuko again, you'll regret it!" She snapped suddenly.
"Whoa, easy there. Calm down, calm down!" Fai laughed.
Mokona peeked around Fai's knee. "Kyo!"
"Mokona! It's great to see you again!"
Sayoran, Sakura, and Kurogane also introduced themselves.
Suddenly, Mokona spotted Kyo's companion. "Moki!" He exclaimed, excited to see his sister. Moki shot out of her hiding place to greet Mokona.
Kurogane's face contorted into an expression of angry shock. "There are two manju buns?!"
Moki jumped onto Fai's head and nestled into his feathery hair.
"I like Moki already!" Fai said with a smile.
Kyo hugged Mokona.
Fai stood, Moki still ridding along.
"We can't stay here." Sayoran said to Kurogane.
"I know." The ninja replied. "But we can't just leave her here."
Kyo stood. "I'm okay, now. If we need to move on we can go."
"We?" Kurogane thought.
"But your head…" Sayoran said.
She smiled. "I'll manage."
"If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask." Sayoran said, then speed up to take the lead.
Sakura approached Kyo. "Kyoko-san?"
Kyoko smiled. She was only about two years older than Sakura. "You're Sakura, right?"
"Yes," Sakura replied.
"I think we'll be good friends. We girls have to stick together!"
"I wanted to welcome you myself, so welcome!" Sakura said excitedly.
"Thank you, Sakura-chan."
Sakura smiled. "Just call me Sakura."
"Alright, Sakura. And you can call me Kyo."
Fai came up behind her. "And you can just call me Fai! No need for formalities out here!"
Kyo ignored him.
Fai's happy expression fell. "You're not still mad at me for the Yuko thing are you?"
She sped up to join Kurogane.
He looked down at her. "Wizard?"
"Yes."
"Annoying?"
"Unbearably."