guess who made half of this chapter and then literally forgot about this story for like two years?!...
someone asked if I was going to ship Harry with anyone when hes human again.
honestly...no. I'm not only a firm shipper of Banda,but also in my story Harry and Ginny got together like in canon,so I'm not sure I want to go there...and theres the fact I cant think of ANYONE that Harry COULD be shipped with other than Shuga and while honestly I think that might be kinda cute I dont write slash sorry :/
so for the time being no ships for Harry-poo.
-[I have to put line breaks like this or they disappear]-
Hideyoshi had become increasingly paranoid about his young charge. the Mikado had made many attempts on his sons life in the past two months,and Hideyoshi wasnt happy about it.
he made this known by growling whenever he saw the king,but not loudly enough or vicious enough to be attacked himself.
it had been almost a year since he'd come to live with the royal family,and he was worried. he could tell his mission was about to oficially start soon.
today they were taking an oxcart through the village.
Hideyoshi had looked out the window and seen a bunch of villagers on the bridge bowing. but there had been a woman there,who wasnt bowing. instead she just kept walking.
he liked her already.
then everything stopped and he heard shouts and the ox must have been tampered with somehow because the next thing Hideyoshi knew,he was thrown to the side of the cart and Chagum was hanging out the back over the river.
Hideyoshi lunged for the prince and caught him just as he fell,but the momentum caused them both to fall.
suddenly everything was cold and his whole body hurt. he looked around to try to find the surface but everything was going to fast and he was running out of air.
then he and Chagum were snatched out of the current and held at the surface by the woman from the bridge!
she was holding onto a thick cord that was keeping them there. she seemed shocked about him,which was understandable as this world didnt have lynx.
suddenly the ox and cart came rushing towards them,causing a huge wave to crash over them and drag them under.
Hideyoshi and the woman opened their eyes when they realised they were breathing even though they'd just been smashed into by the oxcart.
the woman gasped as she saw the bubble they were in,while Hideyoshi was staring at the soft blue light coming from Chagum's middle.
suddenly the bubble popped loudly and they had a split second to take a breath before they were swept away again.
-[you know how it goes]-
the next thing Hideyoshi knows,he's carrying the tired woman on his back while she holds Chagum.
once they're on dry land she gets off and lays Chagum on his back on the ground.
she and Hideyoshi have a bit of a staring contest until the guards make a ruckus trying to get to the prince.
the woman leaves and Hideyoshi is left with the feeling that this woman is going to be very important to his mission.
-[oooooh]-
that night,the second queen comes to get Chagum and Hideyoshi and takes them with her to the room hed been told they were letting the woman stay in for the night.
hed seen her at dinner earlier. she gave wonderful ear scratches.
the queen knocked on the door and after a moment asked "excuse me,outlander. are you awake?" and the reply was "I am. please,come in."
the queen opened the door and watched as the spear woman looked from Chagum to his mother before realising what she was doing and looking at the bed instead,before changing her mind and looking the queen in the eyes instead.
the queen almost smiled,but only Hideyoshi could tell. "you are indeed as formidable as the rumors suggest." the queen said before looking over at Chagum and Hideyoshi.
Hideyoshi helped steer the dead on his feet prince over to the bed as the queen commented on the fact the woman was not struck blind,before thanking her for saving Chagum. Hideyoshi would have rolled his eyes if he could have and they werent here for a serious discusion.
once they were all seated,the woman bowed. "your words are incredibly kind,the welcome I have recieved is greater than I deserve. I appreciate all you've done but further signs of your gratitude are unnecessary."
"very well" the queen said. "I must imagine that you find this exchange we're having right now to be incredibly odd. especialy with it being in the middle of the night."
the woman gave a small incline of her still bowed head to agree.
the queen grew tired of this and said "lift your eyes,Balsa." making the woman,Balsa,look up in shock.
"what my attendants said is true,your face reviels a woman of fine character. you are known by the name Balsa the spear weilder,they say in your circles there is none who havent heard of you. its also said you're a warrior from the distant land of Kanbal,and through excellent comand of your spear you have saved many lives. is this correct?" the queen asked. Hideyoshi had lay across Chagums lap to keep the poor boy upright and to let him cuddle a bit,but looked up when Balsa replied.
"with all due respect,those are merely rumors that make me out to be more than I am. all I am,is your average bodyguard hired to protect others for money. nothing more than that." she said this with a strange conviction that Hideyoshi was fairly certain only he noticed.
"ah,I see." the queen said,staring at Balsa. the spear weilder obviously grew uncomfortable and looked away.
after a bit of tense silence the queen spoke again.
"tell me,why have you chosen an occupation that requires you to risk your life in order to earn a living?" the queen asked. Balsa looked like she wanted to say something but changed her mind.
"to be honest,it is because you are so acomplished that I have come here to ask you this favor." the queen said as she wrapped her arm around her son. "I care not where you will go,but I ask you this. please take this child and his protector with you and protect him from the Mikado's assasins for the rest of his life." the queen said sadly.
Balsa gasped. "the Mikado's assasins?!"
Hideyoshi could tell the queen was becoming more desperate for Balsa to accept as she looked ack at the woman and began her tale.
"yesterday it was an oxcart,two weeks ago he narily escaped dieing at the hot springs. a geiser of boiling water erupted out of nowhere."
"but why in the world would the Mikado want to kill the prince?" Balsa asked.
the queen told Balsa about how this whole mess began,and at the end of her story Chagum sleepily opened his eyes and sat up,noticing his mother trying to hide her tears imediately.
he turned to Balsa outraged,naturally.
"woman! why is my mother in this state?! have you insulted her?!" he demanded.
Hideyoshi growled lightly to tell the prince to calm down,but it was the queen who was succesful.
"you missunderstand Chagum,this woman has not insulted me. on the contrary,I've asked her to do everything she can to protect your life."
Balsa became hostile in an instant. "wait a second!"
but the queen interrupted her. "let me finish! Chagum,you need to listen carefully. from this moment on I want you to go where ever this person goes. and no matter what happeneds you must continue to live! I'm afraid you're no longer a prince,you lost that privaledge the moment the Mikado ordered your death." Chagum gasped and Hideyoshi growled. "but you must never hate his majesty,the responsibilaty he as ruler comes at a dreadful cost." Chagum made a noise like he wanted to say something a few times,but couldnt.
the queen stood and ordered to the men outside "bring it in"
the door opened and two men carrying a chest,which they pushed over to show the riches inside.
"a commoner could never spend all this even if she spent her entire life trying. give me your word you will accept this in exchange for protecting my child." the queen demanded/begged.
"your majesty,believe me I understand the nature of your request. however,the possition your request has put me in is incredibly unfair." Balsa all but ground out.
the queens face hardened. "and how is it unfair?" she asked.
Balsa stared her in the eyes. "its increddibly unfair because the reward I'd receive for saving the prince's life,is me losing my own."
the two men that brought the treasure in looked at each other in confusion and the queen allowed her confusion to show on her face.
"I dont know what you're talking about,no one said a thing about taking your life!"
"you dont think so. if someone of my low social status hears a story like the one you've told me,that person has no choice but to agree to your request. but even after accepting survival could never be guaranteed. furthermore,you are increddibly unfamiliar with the ways of the world. if I was to try to use gems with the palace crest on them,our whereabouts would be discovered imediately." Balsa ranted.
the queen saddened. "I see,unfortunately this is the only kind of currency I have at my disposal...if what you say is true,I can not allow someone who has learned this secret to leave without consequence." the queen threatened. "Balsa,I'm afraid you must choose. die here,or take the prince and gamble on survival! what will it be?" the queen demanded.
the two guards reached for their swords and Hideyoshi stood up to make sure Chagum wouldnt get in the line of fire.
"you may be the queen,but the number of men you deem trustworthy is a pultry amount. two in the room behind me,three in the hallway,counting these two in here you have seven in all. what a pity." Balsa said.
Hideyoshi tensed as he saw Balsa's eyes move to her spear,just before she lunged at the queen who had leapt to defend her son. Hideyoshi growled.
-[change of POV ooooh]-
Balsa looked into the cats eyes for moment before he stopped growling and nodded.
there was deffinitely something strange about that cat.
"stay where you are!" she demanded the guards.
"okay,I'll start by taking the treasure." she said,fishing out her coin bag and throwing it to them. "you two,shove as much in there as you can"
"majesty,you asked me earlier of all the professions I could choose why I would choose a bodyguard. heres why,for certain reasons I once took the lives of eight people I considered to be very dear. and so to appease the souls of those eight people,I continue working as a bodyguard. and I will until I have saved eight lives that are equal to theirs."
the queen relaxed a little. "now I understand,thank you."
Balsa lowered her spear and nodded. "I will protect the prince for you." she accepted.
the queen teared up and hugged Chagum. "go with her Chagum! I trust her and you must do the same." Chagum tried to decline,to say no to leaving his mother but Hideyoshi growled and stood infront of the prince,looking him in the eye and telling him as best he could to go with the spear weilder.
Balsa walked forward and reached for Chagums hand. "lets go." she said,noticably softer than before.
"mother no! please dont,I dont wonna go!" Chagum pleaded. the queen removed her ear rings and gave them to Chagum.
"you there!" Balsa called to the man in the hall, "if you want to ensure the prince escapes safely,you can start by setting a fire in his bedchamber. and then take us to the nearest escape route."
Balsa gathered her bags and caught the money pouch the two threw to her.
"Balsa! if you include my sons life,how many lives will you have managed to saved?" the queen asked.
Balsa turned and answered "your sons life will be the eighth,your majesty." before continueing into the hall with the prince and the cat.
-[hmm...no cliffy yet. and its back to Hideyoshis POV]-
the three of them ran through the alleys and shadows as fast as they could to get away from the burning palace.
Hideyoshi ran ahead of them to make sure they were going the right way and the humans followed him.
they stopped to take a breath only as they finally reached the edge of the town.
Chagum fell to his knees in exhaustion and Hideyoshi licked his cheek to make him feel better. though it only helped a little as the prince was still upset about this whole thing.
Balsa was leaning against the side of a building watching them.
Chagum held up the ear rings his mother gave him sadly. Balsa came over to look.
"hey,those are ruisha" she said. Chagum looked at her confused.
"take good care of those. after tonight,the you that was prince Chagum is dead." after saying this she kneeled infront of him while he bowed his head and a few tears escaped.
"from now on,you'll just be plain old Chagum." she said,putting a hand on his shoulder.
"when I take a job I see it through to the end,regardless of the consequences. so no matter what happens I'm not going to let you die. and I have a feeling your friend here agrees with me." she said looking at Hideyoshi.
"I was hired to protect you and I will. I know this wont be easy but if you do what I ask you'll survive this. bare with me and theres a good chance I'll reunite you with your mother someday." she said.
she stood once Chagum had nodded his acceptance and Hideyoshi licked at his face a few more times to make him laugh at the tickling.
"follow me." she commanded as she picked up her spear and jogged ahead.
Hideyoshi and Chagum caught up with her and they continued on their way out of the town.
-[time skip!]-
a while later they had slowed to walking as Chagum continued to lag and run to catch up because he was getting tired. it was somewhere around three in the morning after all.
Hideyoshi huffed and sat down to wait for the former prince to catch up again. once he did he fell to his knees,catching Balsa's attention.
she walked over and kneeled so her back was facing Chagum.
"come on,you're dead on your feet. I'll carry you piggyback." she said. Hideyoshi would have pouted if he could because when the prince was smaller he'd been able to carry him around on his back,but the prince had a bit of a growth spurt so he was to big now.
Chagum looked confused. "Chagum,hurry up and jump on." she said when he made no move to do so.
Chagum stared at her. "...explain yourself. what is 'piggyback'?" he asked and Hideyoshi would have face palmed if he could. even he knew what piggy back was even though neither he had never had one,hed given many of them to his kids and grandkids over the years.
Balsa chuckled. "piggyback means to carry someone on your back. it may seem odd to you,but you were born a normal kid its the way your mother would have carried you the first few years of your life." she said.
"you dont have to be shy about being carried,Chagum. its a regular part of every kids childhood." she said before turning around and putting one of his arms on her shoulder. "hop on." she gave a little smile to reasure him.
he carefully put his hands on her shoulders and stood up,and she used her spear as a seat to keep him up.
"its warmer and a lot more comfortable this way." she said. Chagum nodded.
"now go ahead and get some sleep." she said as she continued walking,Hideyoshi just behind her.
-[another time skip! if you cant tell,I'm skipping the parts without them in it]-
they had reached another town already and were running through the alleys as the sun rose overhead and the birds started singing.
they went down some stairs to the side of one of the bridge supports and Balsa stopped and whispered "Touya,Touya are you in there?" before waiting for a response.
a little boy a year or two older than Chagum poked his head out to see who was there and said "whoa,hey Balsa!" before he was shushed by said spear weilder.
"can I come in?" she asked,and the boy,Touya,held the curtain open.
he gasped loudly at the big cat he had never seen before followed her and the boy on her back inside.
Balsa carefully put the boy down,tying her best not to wake him. though she woke the sleeping girl doing so.
"miss Balsa" she greeted. Touya sat beside her as he asked "so you're back in town huh?"
Balsa reached up to take off her bags as she replied "its been a while Touya. sorry Saya,I didnt mean to wake you to." she said as she also took off her 'coat'.
"dont worry about it,I was just about to get up anyway." Saya smiled,before standing up and walking slowly over to Hideyoshi,who was sitting close to the door.
"who is this?" Saya asked as she kneeled infront of Hideyoshi. Balsa looked over and shrugged.
"I dont know his name,but he belongs to the boy here." she Chagum the sleeping beauty.
"now,I need to find Madame Torogai. do either of you know where I could find her?" she asked seriously.
the two preteens looked at each other,before Touya answered. "sorry but...theres been no mention of her here for a while."
"alright. well,nevermind. forget I asked." she said before reaching over and waking Chagum.
"so I'm guessing you havent bumped into Tanda yet" Touya said. Balsa looked a little shocked,but hid most of it.
"are you saying hes in town right now to?" she asked. "sure is,I just saw him the other day. he said he thought you might be coming around soon..." the boy trailed off,looking over at Saya for confirmation.
Saya nodded and turned back to Balsa and asked "so who is he?" looking at the drowzy prince.
"are you awake now?" Balsa asked with a tinge of amusement to her voice,which the boy obviously didnt pick up on as he rubbed his eye tiredly and nodded.
"uh...whats going on Balsa? have you kidnapped the kid of some noble or somethin?" Touya asked bewlidered as he looked at Chagum's fancy clothing and golden headress.
"hardly. I was hired to be this boy's bodyguard. I'm just simply doing my job." Balsa said,looking at the ex prince beside her.
Touya 'hmmed' rudding his chin,and Saya being the polite girl that she is,offered her seat to Chagum.
"I'm afraid I cant go into to many details right now. the situation is complicated." Balsa explained,before kneeling down and pulling out a string of coins.
Touya,I'm gonna give you some money. can you go around and get a few things for me?" Balsa asked,handing the coins to the boy.
"all you gotta do is name it! for you Balsa I'd walk across fire and swim through the oceans and never stop to think twice about it." the boy declared with a lopsided grin.
"thanks a lot Touya. heres the list than,first we'll need ten large sheets of tarpoline to keep out the rain. next we'll need a bear pelt to keep us warm at night in the mountains,even if it snows. we'll also need ten days worth of dried meat and rice cakes,plus a set of clothes that will fit him and things for the cat." she listed. said cat made a huffing sound,almost like a chuckle at being called 'the cat'.
"you got it!" Touya said confidently. "anything else you need?"
"well there is one last thing." she said,reaching for a gold tablet-like coin.
"I need a horse strong enough to handle a long journey." she said,handing him the coin.
"you want a horse?!" he exclaimed in surprise,before noticing something about the coin.
"thats a ten thousand lugal coin!" he gasped. she nodded.
"do you think you'll have trouble buying a horse on the spot,even with ten thousand lugals?" she questioned.
"you forget who you're talken to? I'm hands down the best go-to guy this town has ever seen and probably ever will!" he said with a confident smirk.
-[guess what I am]-
Balsa peered out of the curtain entrance to Saya and Touya's little hidey-hole before closing it again and looking over at an obviously bored Chagum.
"do your legs hurt?" she asked,seeing him rub them with one hand while petting his...cat,with the other.
the boy stiffened and turned so he was pressed closer to the animal and shook his head no.
she stood up and walked over,making the feline look up at her curiously as she reached over their heads for something,before holding out a small tin to the ex prince.
"here,rub this wherever they're sore. you'll feel better in no time." she said.
"do you need any help?" she asked when Chagum took the tin.
"there is no need,I can handle it myself." he answered.
at that moment the cat she had all but forgotten about stood up and stretched.
this was going to be a long wait for Touya to get back.
-[I'm a line break!]-
around twenty minutes later,Chagum had laid down to get some rest and Balsa was hiding the money and jewels she got from the queen. the cats green eyes staring at her from the doorway.
she really needed to learn his name.
-[so many lines]-
Balsa was tying her spear together the best she could,when the cat jumped to his feet,making her turn and see what had gotten his attention.
Chagum's lower chest,just above his stomach,was glowing light blue.
"what in the..." Balsa mumbled to herself over the prince's whimpers.
"this thing looks like its way out of my league. I gotta find madam Torogai immediatly." she said,mostly to herself. the cat made a sound almost like it agreed with her.
she scooted forward and started to wake Chagum.
"Chagum? Chagum wake up!" she said as she grasped his shoulder,not sure if the glowing...thing,was hurting him or not.
the glow stopped almost immediatly as he woke up.
"thank god,are you ok?" she asked. he sat up and sighed.
"the look on your face tells me I've acted strangely again." he said in a monotone voice.
the cat rumbled a bit and jumped into the cot with him.
-[I'm skipping a bit]-
"great,we definatly have enough here to last us." the woman -Balsa,Harry reminded himself- said as she inspected what the girl,Saya had brought back.
"I'm glad. I also got you this." saya said,holding up a delicious looking...something that Harry couldnt identify. but from the smell,look,and Balsa's reaction he knew it must have been good.
"here,eat up while you still have a-" she stopped speaking,hearing footsteps drawing near the curtain.
"I'm sorry!" Touya said as he opened the curtain.
I got everything except the horse. but I'm working on it." he said,clapping his hands in an apologetic way.
"I gotta ask Balsa...you're not planning to cross the misty blue mountains are you?" he asked,starting to take off his pack.
"and what exactly would make you think that?" Balsa questioned suspiciously.
"well,its what this weird guy asked me when I was getting your stuff. but theres nothing to worry about,as soon as I could I gave him the slip." he assured with a grin.
"you think fast. but I think its better that we all get out of here sooner rather than later,and that means you two as well. if they find out we were here you'll both be in danger." Balsa said seriously.
-[skipping to save on time]-
"Chagum! run!" Balsa yelled as she ran to catch up with him and the cat,which Chagum had told her was named Hideyoshi.
"I said run!" she yelled again as she easily caught up with him,before grabbing him and running as fast as she could away from the gaining warriors.
-[to be continued]-
ok,looks like HariPotta shi no Masuta is the lucky number!
by that I mean I got bored and remembered the most recent reveiw I got,which was a death threat to get me to update this story. (you know who you are,death threat guy) ;P
dont expect another one!
lol idk when I'm gonna post again. I might update ftfs or,more likely,hahw.