Chapter 3

Kotetsu had tried to oppose Barnaby going with him, but he insisted on it. He felt guilty that he hadn't done anything to stop the man from taking Kaede and, though he wouldn't admit it, he wanted to know what was so special about the girl that an entire plan was made to whisk her away during the night. Instead of going on foot, Kotetsu procured their own covered wagon and banished Barnaby to the back to get some rest while they made their way to Snowhead.

And somehow, Karina had managed to wrangle herself into their adventure. Pao-Lin had met up with her at some point and told her what happened. When she found out that they would be heading to Snowhead, she'd made some vague excuse that since it was winter, her ice powers would come in handy. Kotetsu had seemed to see the logic, but Barnaby didn't.

"What if they aren't in Snowhead?" Karina asked from her seat next to Barnaby. She was completely decked out in winter gear, something that was probably fashionable right then but just made her look like she had a bunch of light blue, fluffy animals clinging to her.

"Then we go further," Kotetsu answered. "The capital is beyond the mountains, after all. And before that is Sternbild."

There was a long silence. Barnaby had his eyes closed to feign sleep, but he didn't intend on actually going to sleep. There were too many thoughts running through his head for that.

Karina was the one who broke the silence. "I've never really thought about that place. I was born in Clock Town, even though both of my parents are Nexts." She shuffled a little, nudging Barnaby on accident. He grunted in his "sleep" and she moved farther away from him. "Have you ever been there before, then?"

The only sound for a couple of minutes was the two horses pulling the carriage. "Yeah," Kotetsu finally said. Figuring that they'd find out if they had to go that far, he added, "My father was a Next. He died when I was eight and my mom moved me and Muramasa to Clock Town."

There were a few monsters out and about, and Karina batted at a Keese that was lit up with ice, using her power to send it flying away from them. "Really? Was it the same incident like with Barnaby's parents?"

"Nah, Bunny hadn't even been born at that point. Although I knew them. Kind of." Kotetsu's mouth was set into a straight line, his eyes staring ahead as they reached the hill that lead up into the mountains.

All Barnaby could do was lay there, frowning despite his attempted illusion of sleep.

They were still outside Snowhead, but snow was clearly visible, and the lake under the bridge they crossed was frozen solid. There were some Goron children about, sliding along the ice and tossing snowballs at each other. Despite herself, Karina smiled, leaning out of the carriage and watching them.

"Wanna join 'em?" Kotetsu asked. "We should probably rest once we get to the village, anyway." As much as he wanted to keep going if Kaede wasn't there, he didn't want to run the horses ragged, especially in this cold weather. Karina shook her head, and Kotetsu laughed. "Suit yourself. It looks like fun. Hey, Bunny!" He glanced over his shoulder. "We're almost there."

"I know, old man. I'm not deaf." The words were quiet, since Barnaby had his face buried in a pile of blankets he'd cocooned himself in when it started getting colder. No one seemed to notice him just rolling up like that, although Kotetsu looked amused now. "At any rate, what are we even going to do once we get there? If this is a route to the capital, they probably get a lot of traffic."

"If?" Kotetsu asked, pulling the horses to a stop. They were in the village now, and he intended to untie them and find a place for them to rest and eat. "You mean you don't know? I thought you were from Sternbild?"

"Snowhead is as far as I've ever gone with Mutoh's construction company." Barnaby sat up, the blankets still wrapped around his shoulders. "And besides, I wasn't even a year old when the attack happened."

"Wasn't Mutoh the one who saved you?" Karina asked. And then she huffed and frowned when Barnaby scooted past her and beside Kotetsu, dragging the blankets along with him.

"No. Another Next, a young boy, ran with me all the way to Snowhead. They were doing some construction for the Gorons at the time, and Mutoh took me in from there." Barnaby's breaths were coming out visible, and he took his glasses off to rub them on a corner of one of his blankets. "Actually, that young boy…"

"Kotetsu!" came a voice, and all three looked up to see a man with skin as hard as a Goron's barreling towards them. The horses startled, but Kotetsu patted them both and jumped down so he could get them out of the harness. "Haven't seen you in years and then you just come waltzing in? What's with that?"

"Sorry, man. Been working like a dog at the inn." He looked apologetic, to his credit, and he smiled his thanks to Karina as she lead the horses away. "Oh, Bunny, this is-"

"Antonio, I know. I was just talking about him." Barnaby let the blankets drop from his shoulders and shivered only slightly before he got out of the carriage as well. "He's the one who saved me the night my parents died."

"Barreled right through the guy's goons and ran a damn marathon," Antonio said with a laugh, looking proud of himself. "Remember wishing you'd been there, Kotetsu. You would've had a great time punching some of those guys' lights out."

Kotetsu looked sheepish. "Yeah well, even if I was, I doubt I could keep up with you. My powers aren't that great since I'm a half breed and all." He paused, and then, "So you're still staying with the Gorons, huh?"

"Eh, I fit in better here. They call me brother." He laughed, and then his skin changed to normal, albeit about the same dark shade. "Any reason you come bearing a bunny and an ice queen?"

Kotetsu frowned. "How about we get inside and warm ourselves up? I'll tell you then."

xxx

Antonio had a big pot of beef stew ready when he brought them to his small home, and even Karina couldn't resist the smell of it. She was on her second bowl by the time Kotetsu finished filling Antonio in on what had happened.

"You think it's the same thing that happened with Barnaby?" Antonio asked, moving his spoon around in his bowl. He'd only taken a few bites of it, most of his attention focused on Kotetsu and his story. When the other two men looked confused, he shrugged. "I've heard they wanted to kidnap Barnaby and raise him as some kind of weapon. Although Kaede's a little old to mold like that, isn't she?"

"Just turned eleven." Kotetsu looked proud of that, but then he cleared his throat. "You heard it, but is it true?"

"I don't know. Whoever the guy was, he never actually said his intentions when he invaded their home. And some people who should've been witnesses seem to be fuzzy about the details of that night." He put a hand on his forehead. "I have to admit, I'm kind of drawing a blank, too. I don't think I got a good look at him before I ran off."

Kotetsu sighed and spooned a big chunk of beef into his mouth. "Yeah but," he said around the food as he chewed it, "why else would someone murder two adults and want to keep a baby? As grim as that sounds."

"Don't talk with your mouth full, old man." It was the first thing Barnaby had said since they got there, and the other three looked at him like he'd just grown a third arm. "Besides, my tragic backstory isn't what's important here. I don't suppose you saw any suspicious carriages go through here, Antonio?"

"Nah, sorry." Antonio noticed Karina going for more stew, and he pulled the ladle out and poured it for her himself. "If what that girl saw is right, though, they probably passed through here early in the morning, before a lot of the village was awake. Pretty sneaky." He frowned and put his own bowl down. "Let me go with you, at least as far as Sternbild. I want to see where this goes." And then he eyed Barnaby. "In the meantime, I can tell you guys have been going strong for a while now. How about you rest here? You won't reach Sternbild before nightfall, anyway."

"Geeze, how in the world did you run that distance as a kid?" Karina asked, having the grace to swallow her food before she talked, at least.

Antonio let out a bellow of a laugh. "There's a reason they call me the Bull Tank of Snowhead! I've got the power and endurance of a war machine!"

Despite the nervous energy jolting through him at losing ground on their search for Kaede, Kotetsu couldn't help but laugh. "Some things never change."

xxx

Antonio only had one other bedroom besides his own, and Kotetsu and Barnaby had relinquished it to Karina. They would've fought over who got the bed, anyway, unwilling to share even if it meant they both got a soft mattress and body heat to keep them warm.

They settled for bundling in blankets on opposite sides of the fire.

"…so why'd you hide it, old man?" Barnaby was staring up at the ceiling. When Kotetsu didn't answer, he narrowed his eyes. "There are plenty of people who are half Next."

"I just didn't want you to worry more about me, Bunny." He rolled over under his blankets and looked at the man near him. "I got a lot of crap in Sternbild for my mother being Terminian and not having the blue eyes. You don't need to know how shitty our homeland is." The crackling of the fire seemed to sooth his nerves, because he continued with, "Tomoe was Terminian, too. Which makes Kaede only one-fourth Next. The more diluted it gets, the more useless our powers tend to be. In her case she can copy another Next's powers, but she doesn't have a lot of control over them and it happens on contact, whether she likes it or not."

Which would probably explain why she tended to keep some distance between herself and other Nexts, even Pao-Lin, whom she was friends with.

"Stupid," Barnaby muttered, pulling the blankets up under his chin. "I already worry about you. What's a little more?"

"Aw, Bunny, you really do love me!" Kotetsu wiggled over to him and nuzzled his back. "You make an old man so happy!"

"Quit it! What if one of the others came in and heard you say that? It looks weird!"

Kotetsu sighed and rolled back over to the other side of the fireplace. "So stingy. Geeze."