Chapter 3 – Revelation
Hello everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the story so far. I'm sorry if it's a bit slow but I've learnt from my other fanfics that I often make the story progress too quickly so it sounds rushed. Please leave a review so I can know what to fix if there is anything that annoys you or looks out of place.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING FROM KNB
The next day, Sora went with Riko to train the boys. Since the competition was just around the corner, Riko had intensified the training with slight modifications for each member depending on their fighting style. Whilst they trained and practiced, Sora sat with Riko who taught her first aid and the rules. By lunch time, Sora's head was spinning with all the information that had been crammed into her brain.
"OI! Kuroko! Don't sneak up on people!"
"But I was here the whole time."
"I don't care! Stop trying to scare everyone."
"But I'm not."
"HEY! SHUT IT AND GET BACK TO TRAINING YOU FIRST YEARS!"
"EH? Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun argue but we get told off too?!"
"HEH? YOU DARE TALK BACK TO YOUR SENPAI!"
"Hyuga! Stop slacking! Kuroko, Kagami…quit arguing and get back to training. Gosh you guys are so loud."
I agree…Sora groaned as she sat there rereading all the rules and paperwork, practicing first aid as well as helping Riko with the positioning of each member. It was proving to be very difficult with all the noise and constant bickering. She decided that she wasn't going to get anything done here so she gathered up all the paperwork and the rulebook and headed back to the peace and quiet of the empty bar. Hours seemed to go by as she drilled those rules and first aid information into her brain, forcing them to become part of her memory. The words seemed to fly off the page and become unfocused before darkness took over and Sora fell asleep.
When she had woken up again, it was already sunset. Oh no, I slept for almost half the day. She wiped the drool that trickled down her chin and decided to freshen up. Whilst washing her face, she heard the click of the bar door opening before a loud clang echoed up the staircase.
"Father is that you?"
"Sora-tan? I'm home!"
Sora rushed down stairs and leapt into her father's arms.
"Welcome home father. How was the trip?"
He squeezed the girl tightly in his arms and pinched her cheeks.
"It was alright. The old geezers want me to go train the older men to be soldiers. That would mean I would have to close down the bar."
Sora frowned at the idea that her father would have to close down the bar and move to the nearby town that was being used as a base for the men and very few women who were training to become brilliant soldiers.
"What did you say?"
He shrugged and began to unpacked his bag,
"I haven't decided. I wanted to discuss this with both you and Riko. Besides, I heard that the team got accepted to enter the Summer Trials."
"Yeah, it's in two weeks but it'll take at least a week to get to Rakuzan. I have also agreed to go with Riko as the team's manager but I wasn't sure because I can't let you look after the bar by yourself."
"Hm…I see. Well, there isn't much you can do. This is a great opportunity for you, Riko and the boys. I want you to go. I will be fine by myself. Just make sure to keep them in check."
Kagetora ruffled the girl's silky soft pale blue hair and placed a gentle kiss upon her forehead. A faint smile found itself on Sora's face. I guess I can leave him. Riko came home late that night with Hyuga and Kiyoshi.
"Good evening Sora-Chan."
"Hello Kiyoshi-kun. What brings you and Hyuga-kun here tonight?"
"We're discussing plans before we pack and go to Rakuzan in a day's time. I heard you will be coming with us as our manager!"
Riko looked over at Sora with a worried look, as if she was afraid that Sora would say she wasn't going but thankfully Sora nodded.
"Yes, I will be going with you."
Thus, the four sat around on a table for hours discussing travel plans and training plans. It wasn't until late in the night when Kiyoshi and Hyuga left the two girls to get packing. Riko and Sora grabbed their bags and began to fill it with the necessities. Riko filled hers with 3 water containers, the paperwork, spare clothes and all her coaching gear while Sora filled hers with 4 water containers, the first aid kit and her spare clothes.
"It will be quite warm this time around in Rakuzan but bring a coat Sora."
"Yes mother."
Sora replied with a sarcastic tone. Riko punched Sora in the shoulder with a hmpf before the two double checked their gear and went to bed. Two days later, Sora and Riko woke up before dawn and gathered their belongings as they got ready to leave. Their father had rushed downstairs and helped them make sure that they had everything and cried dramatically.
"I'm going to miss you two! My darling princesses!"
Riko flushed bright red as she began to punch Kagetora in embarrassment while Sora quietly continued to gear up. Being Kagetora's daughters, he had made sure that they were armed and ready for any attack, if one happened. Both Riko and Sora had a dagger tucked away in their boots and a small pistol strapped to their thigh where it was out of sight. However, Sora had also trained with a sword and was quite the swordsman so she had brought along her favourite blade Sky Dancer. She had named it this because her father had told her that she was like a dancer soaring through the clouds and in the sunlight, it shined a faint misty blue colour. It was a light weighted sword that favoured speed over power. The sword was rested against Sora's left thigh.
Before heading off, each girl grabbed a separate bag for their food and food for the horses before they said their goodbyes and headed outside. Carrying at least 4 bags each, Sora and Riko headed to the local stables where their horses were resting. Settled in the stall was Riko's kindhearted and gentle mare, Pine. Pine was a beautiful dark brown with white spots on her legs and medium in size. Riko had named her Pine because she was raised by a man who lived by the pine forest so Pine had a pine smell.
In the stall next to Pine was Sora's unpredictable but loyal stallion, Obsidian. Obsidian was black from head to toe but his eyes shone like stars in the twilight night sky. Obsidian was a wild horse that was captured but was going to be put down because he was too wild for anyone to tame. Something in Sora's heart had called out to the rampant horse and with one look they both knew that they were meant for each other. As if an invisible cord had intertwined their minds and hearts together, Sora had fallen in love with the horse and he had come to trust her completely. Sora had saved Obsidian from death and he would continue to live for her. Obsidian only lets Sora near him, with the exception of the stable master who feeds and cleans him often and Kagetora who shares a mutual respect with the horse.
"Hello Obi, I'm sorry that I haven't come to see you in so long. I know you're probably a bit angry but I've brought sugar cubes."
The horse snorted and snatched the sugar cubes out of Sora's hands and munched on them happily. Sora entered the stall and saddled up the horse, attaching all the bags to the sides of the saddle and made sure that it wasn't too heavy. Leading him out from his stall, Sora swung her leg over the top and positioned herself on top of Obsidian with Riko doing the same with Pine.
"Are you ready Riko?"
"Yep! Let's go to our meeting spot. We'll probably be a bit early."
They reached the end of the town where they waited for the others to arrive. A few minutes later, the second years arrived and a few minutes after that, the first years. When a head count was done and Riko had made sure that everyone had all the appropriate stuff with them, the gang headed off towards Rakuzan.
The trip was going smoothly until day 3 of the travelling where they were half way through the forest when the gang was taking a break and Sora hadn't come back. The gang began to panic as Obsidian was still there but Sora was not. Just as they were about to head off into the forest to look for her, the blunette emerged from the underbrush with a small bundle in her arms.
"SORA! WHERE WERE YOU?! WE THOUGHT OUT GOT LOST OR WORSE, DIED!"
"Woah! Calm down Riko, if you shout too loudly, you'll wake him up."
The crew were confused as to who 'he' was until the bundle began to move and a cute pair of blue eyes appeared. The small wolf pup was snuggling against Sora's warm and soft chest when Riko swooned at how cute the pup was. Hyuga jumped back and pointed at the fuzzy bundle with pure fear and worry in his eyes.
"Why did you take a wolf pup!? Are you crazy Sora-Chan!? What if the parents find out!?"
"He was all alone and there were no signs of any adult wolves anywhere. I know enough about wolves from reading that pups are never left alone by the pack at any time. I couldn't leave him to die so I plan to raise him."
Kagami had scooted far away and was hiding behind the horses while everyone came closer to have a look at the wolf pup. He was white with a very dark grey back and the most beautiful and soulful blue eyes. Upon closer inspection, the gang noticed that he looked like someone.
"Hey, don't you think he looks like someone?"
"Yeah, now that I think about it, those eyes look familiar."
Sora picked him up and looked at his eyes and noticed that expression the pup had on his cute face.
"He has the same eyes as Kuroko."
Everyone went into an uproar as they agreed with the blunette and Koganei placed the wolf pup on top of Kuroko's head and it uncanny that Kuroko and the wolf pup looked alike.
"Let's call him Tetsuya Nigou! Or Nigou for short!"
"No! We are not keeping him! Don't get too attached!"
"But Hyuga, I want to keep him."
"No Riko!"
Eventually, the gang had to move on but felt too guilty to leave Nigou behind so they took him along with them. Nigou had gotten especially attached to Kuroko and Sora so he rode with Kuroko. Kagami had moved from beside Kuroko to the front with Sora to avoid being near Nigou.
"Kagami…are you afraid of wolves like you are of dogs?"
"NO! I told you I'm not afraid…I just don't get along well with them."
Sora rolled her eyes and allowed Kagami to keep her company as they continued to move through the forest for another day. It took them another 2 days to get over the mountain without any trouble before they reached the border of Rakuzan where they decided to camp to rest. Finally after another 2 and half days of travelling, they reached the Capital.
As they rode into the streets, they noticed the incredible difference between Rakuzan's very well off city and Seirin's modest town. The gang approached the city centre where the Summer Trials were to be held to register and confirm their appearance in the trials. Sitting on a desk was a middle aged man dressed in formal and important clothing and a golden tag was pinned to his shirt saying 'Higuchi Shota, Manager of Rakuzan'. Riko walked up to him with Sora beside her as the boys waited further away.
"How may I help you?"
"We are here to register Seirin's team for the Summer Trials."
"Please tell me your names."
"Aida Riko and Aida Sora. I am the Coach and Sora is the team's manager."
The guy seemed taken aback due to the fact that Riko was the coach of a relatively new team that had just gotten recognized by the Council to participate in any national competitions.
"I see. Then please fill in this form."
So Riko filled it in and signed her name at the bottom and handed it over to Sora who also signed her name at the bottom. Riko handed it back to Higuchi who gave them the keys to their designated inn rooms, locker room, some crimson cards that was meant to allow them permission to the training grounds and other facilities in the inn and arena and a handbook.
"You can access the training grounds and other facilities at the arena with that crimson card so please have it with you at all times. If you lose it, you will not be allowed in and we cannot give you another one."
With that Riko and Sora thanked Higuchi and headed towards the boys. Sora distributed the inn room keys to each of the members.
"So we have 5 rooms. One for Sora and I, one for Hyuga, Izuki and Kiyoshi, one for Koganei, Mitobe and Tsuchida, one for Furihata, Fukuda and Kawahara and the last room is for Kuroko and Kagami. Look after these keys because if you lose them, you are dead to me…Got it?"
Everyone nodded their heads furiously with a terrified expression on their faces. Riko's threats were never to be taken lightly.
"Let's go and drop off our things to our rooms. I want to go explore."
"Good idea. We'll drop off the horses…"
The stables themselves were so grand. It was like a 5 star inn for horses. Other people were staring as the team walked into the stall. Some stared with interest, others with curiosity but many were staring with confusion like Seirin weren't meant to be here. Sora lead Obsidian into his stall and removed the saddle and bags while gently stroking his mane.
"Look, I know you probably don't like the other horses or the other people but you've got Pine and Winter next to you so don't worry. But if someone tries to take you away, you bite them. Show them that you still got spirit."
Obsidian huffed and then turned around and stuck his rear end towards Sora. She rolled her eyes and muttered 'Drama Queen' before picking up the bags and heading out. The gang carried their many bags to the inn which was swarming with people who were wondering around greeting others or simply trying to find their rooms. Kuroko had hidden Nigou inside one of his bags and because no one even noticed Kuroko's presence, there was no danger of finding Nigou.
Both Riko and Sora received curious looks and not so pleasant looks as they walked past several groups of people. Sora noticed upon glancing around that there were no other women. There were just men everywhere and most of them were looking at her in a not so comforting way. Eventually they found their rooms on the second floor right at the end of the hall. The boys' rooms were directly opposite each other while Riko's and Sora's was alone beside Kuroko's and Kagami's.
The rooms were spacious and more than decent with comfortable beds and a large balcony for fresh air and star gazing. The inn had shared bathrooms for both male and female competitors or coaches but it seemed like only Riko and Sora would be using them for now. Whilst Riko was unpacking, Sora decided to grab her room key, crimson permission card and stuffed it into her money pouch and placed it safely within her coat pocket and head out to explore. The others were taking far too long to settle in.
The streets were full of people who, in some ways, looked like glamorous robots walking along the sides of the streets. Everyone was dressed so nicely in contrast to the outer ring of the city where people were rather ordinary. It seemed that Rakuzan had the richer and more 'important' people closer to the middle while the ordinary lived on the outside. Sora noticed that in the north was the castle. It wasn't as she imagined it to be. Instead of the gleaming white castle with towering turrets and medieval looking type structure, it was more like a large mansion with pale walls and fluttering crimson everywhere.
I'll check it out later. I highly doubt anyone can go there anyway.
With that Sora headed back to the arena to have a look. Showing her permission card to the guard, he let her in and Sora could see that it was more grand and spectacular on the inside than it was on the outside. She glanced by to see many people were already training in the open training grounds with many slicing off the heads of the mannequins or impaling dozens of arrows into the hearts of the targets.
After wondering around for an hour or two Sora made her way out of the arena and into the busy crowd. She decided to follow the crowd around the streets, gliding past all the food stores as new and brilliant scents filled her nose. Her stomach grumbled slightly and she headed to one of the stores when something crashed into her sending both Sora and the other person tumbling to the ground in a heap.
"Oww…ow…Omg! Are you alright?! I am so sorry. I didn't see you there. There was so many people and I was in a rush and I wasn't looking where I was going and I hurt you omg!OMG!"
Sora winced before looking up to see a very beautiful girl bowing her head and apologizing, her long luscious pink hair tumbled down her back which matched the dark pink colour of her eyes. The girl was wearing a simple but beautiful plain salmon pink dress that fit her curvy body perfectly.
"It's alright. I'm not hurt."
"Thank goodness. I'll make it up to you-"
The girl looked up and instantly stopped speaking, her eyes widened like a stunned deer and her mouth gaped wide open. Sora looked at her confused before the girl burst into tears and wailed like a child. In the blink of an eye, the girl enveloped Sora in a crushing hug mumbling and wailing something that Sora couldn't make out. Her face was filled with joy but also sadness like seeing a long lost relative or something.
"Um, are you alright? Is there something wrong?"
"WAHHHHH! I-I C-C-CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S REALLY YOU! OMG… WE-WE THOUGHT YOU D-DIED WHEN YOU COULDN'T FIND YOU AND-AND EVERYONE WAS SO SAD. THERE WAS A-A-A FUNERAL AND EVERYTHING. WHY DID YOU LEAVE US TAMI-CHAN?!"
Unsure of what to do, Sora sat the girl down and bought her a drink to try and calm her down. The girl was still hysterical and bawling her eyes out but at least she wasn't clutching onto Sora.
"I'm sorry but I think you have the wrong person. My name is Aida Sora not Tami-Chan."
"It can't be! You have the same hair, the same eyes, the same face and the same voice!"
Sora shook her head and the girl's smile changed from pure joy to a solemn and depressed grin.
"I'm sorry. It's just I lost my best friend 5 years ago. She was just like you but she was talkative and energetic and her name was Okuma Tamiko. She went missing after her carriage was attacked and her parents were found dead- oops…I shouldn't be saying this."
"That's alright. I won't tell anyone. It's not my business to spread secrets around."
"Thank you. I have to go now. I hope I see you around?"
"Okay."
The pinkette apologized one last time before she disappeared into the crowd. Well, that was weird. But it's very strange…She had that same expression that Kuroko had when he first saw me. He called me Tamiko-Chan. Is there a connection between this Tamiko girl, Kuroko and that pink haired girl? I'd better get back to the inn. Riko must be looking for me.
Sure enough, when Sora approached the arena on the way back to the inn, she spotted Kagami and Kuroko with Nigou peeking out from Kuroko's coat. When Kagami spotted her as well, they approached her and Nigou hopped out from beneath Kuroko's coat to greet Sora.
"Hi there Nigou. Are you out on a walk?"
"Barrff! Barrrf!"
The wolf pup snuggled up against Sora's chest and she kept him there in her coat like Kuroko had done.
"There you are! God we were looking for you everywhere! Where the hell were you?!"
"Sorry…I was looking around the arena and exploring the city when I ran into a strange girl with pink hair. She mistook me for someone so we had a drink together and we cleared up the misunderstanding."
Sora caught Kuroko's expression change slightly from his usual passive to a questioning look but it vanished.
"Anyway, Coach said that we could go explore but be back before sunset and if we found you to tell you that she was going to hit you later."
"Of course she did. If you don't mind, I'd like to continue exploring with you."
"Yeah, whatever, let's go. I'm hungry. You see any nice places to eat?"
"Hm…"
So the trio walked together around the busy streets of Rakuzan. Sora and Kagami went around taste testing with Kuroko telling them to take it easy before they spent all their money. They eventually arrived at a stall selling very well crafted weaponry.
"Hello gentlemen and lady! Is there anything that catches your eyes?"
"Not yet, we'll continue looking."
"Of course! Please take your time."
There was an assortment of blades from large broad swords to rapiers to daggers to throwing knives. None would match with Sky Dancer though. Kuroko and Kagami didn't seem to need any new weaponry either, so after glancing over the shiny and dazzling blades, the trio moved on much to the chagrin of the merchant. The sun moved high into the sky and Sora began to feel the heat. She took off her coat and so Nigou had to walk.
Kagami shuffled over and had Kuroko stand in the middle so that he was as far away from Nigou as possible. Sora laughed at how Kagami, how could be so brash and confident, was brought to his knees by the cutest little wolf pup. The trio continued to wonder around, looking at all the buildings and stores and remembering their location so that, if they were alone, they would know where to go.
"Hey! Isn't that the castle?"
He pointed to the north of the city. From this location, Sora could see the castle better and the fact that it had a path that lead up there for carriages. There were fields of green that surrounded the castle and it looked magnificent.
"Yes Kagami-kun. That's the castle."
"Do you think we'd be able to go there? I wanna check it out."
"Kagami, I don't think we can."
But Kagami wasn't listening. He was already making his way towards the path with adventure in his eyes. Kuroko looked over to Sora who sighed and shook her head disapprovingly. With no other choice, they followed him towards the castle to prevent him from causing any trouble. As they sauntered up the path, Sora felt a pang of familiarity but brushed it aside. When they finally arrived at the castle, they were stopped by a large jet black gate and 4 guards standing at the front.
"You are not allowed to be up here. Please head back."
"I told you. Let's go before we get in trouble. I'm sorry for disturbing you."
Sora bowed to the guards but Kagami stood there impressed and stared through the gates. Kuroko was also standing beside Kagami but Kuroko had a different expression; he was smiling.
"Kuroko, Kagami… we'd better go."
The two didn't move. The guards began to get on edge as one of them placed a hand on his sword and threatened to use force if the trio didn't leave. Finally Kuroko turned back and got Kagami to head off with him. The trio were about to walk down the hill when the screeching of the gates caught their attention and they heard the sound of chatter.
"Why'd we have to go down there Satsuki? Let me go back to my place to sleep. I've already spent the fucking morning in some boring meeting with them."
"Mo Dai-Chan! You're so lazy. Besides, I have to go check out this year's competitors. I heard there is a new team this year."
"You can do that yourself."
"But Dai-Chan!"
"Shut it Satsuki! I'm going back inside."
Sora saw Kuroko flinch slightly before turning around to face the approaching strangers. Sora decided that it was probably a good idea to have a look at these people too. From the sounds of things, they were probably competitors too. When she turned around, she saw two people who looked about her age. One of them was a tall male, about Kagami's height, who was very tanned with dark blue hair and fierce but lazy eyes. He was muscular and looked like he was possibly as strong as Kagami…no…even stronger. Something about him made her heart pang. I feel like I've seen him before. In a dream?
Beside him was a curvy girl who was also about her age. She had waist length pale pink hair and bright pink eyes. She was taller than Sora and more voluptuous and was very beautiful. She also looked vaguely familiar which seemed strange since Sora had never left Seirin before nor had she seen anyone with hair like them. Kuroko on the other hand looked like he knew them.
"It's been a while hasn't it, Aomine-kun, Momoi-san."
The two froze, their eyes widened before the girl tackled Kuroko to the floor and the tanned male just rolled his eyes.
"Dang it Satsuki! Do you always have to do this when you see Tetsu?"
"I've missed you so much Tetsu-kun! It's been so long!"
Kagami and Sora exchanged confused glances. The fact that Kuroko seemed to be very calm meant that he knew these people and he knew them well enough. Then the tanned male, Aomine, turned to face Kagami first who he sneered at before his eyes drifted down to Sora. Aomine flinched as his eyes met Sora's.
"No fucking way. It can't be….Tami?"
Momoi looked up and hugged Sora.
"This was the girl I was talking about Dai-Chan! She looks like Tami-Chan doesn't she?"
"What the hell are you talking about?! That is Tami! She looks exactly like her!"
"It's not! I told you stupid Dai-Chan!"
Aomine walked over and helped Kuroko get up who dusted himself off while Kagami and Sora looked at each other, equally confused and unsure of what to do. Aomine kept his eyes on Sora and she could see the pain in his eyes like he wasn't sure he could believe Momoi. He was adamant that this girl, no matter who she said she was, was Tamiko.
"Tetsu, you have a lot of explaining to do."
End of chapter
I hope you enjoyed this chapter guys! I thought that it was about time that Sora met someone from the GOM. Please comment down below if you thought something was strange or you wanted to see something else. I'll be sure to take your opinions and comments into consideration while writing. Thank you very much!
