Chapter 6:

They set out soon after. A rock had settled in Ryoma's stomach, aching him and reminding him of his half-lies and half-truths, rolling and tumbling throughout his entire body. It seemed to be working with the memories too, dragging Ryoma into the very worst of his nightmares. Yet Kawamura's words came back, echoing in the back of his mind. It comforted him to know that there would always be forgiveness.

"You okay?" Oishi called from above his horse.

"Fine!"

The horse underneath him gave a snort and swung its head, as if shaking it in doubt. Ryoma held on tight to the reins, hoping that the leather was not as slippery as he had imagined, and wondering if he would die by falling off a horse and being run over by one and if that was worse than a car accident.

Tokyo seemed far from Sendai and though Ryoma knew a four and a half hour drive was fairly long, traveling by horseback seemed even longer. It would take at least a week, Ryoma thought, if only because they had to stop and take breaks. Which meant they would be spending time outside. He groaned at the thought of camping.

About an hour into the journey, Kikumaru pointed out that they should stop for a break. They found a stream nearby and settled by it, Oishi and Kikumaru sliding off their horses with ease that only experienced horseback riders could do. Ryoma nearly broke an ankle getting off his.

Oishi grabbed their canteens and knelt down by the streams while Kikumaru took to tending to the horses.

Ryoma looked between the two and sighed, heading over to Kikumaru.

The horses seemed to like Kikumaru, neighing softly and huffing every now and then as Kikumaru whispered jokes to them. One butted Kikumaru's behind, eliciting an annoyed yelp of surprise.

"Whose horses are these?"

Kikumaru turned to Ryoma and then went back to the grooming the horses.

"They're from the ranch in town," he said. "Shuichiro and I had done the owner a favor so she's giving us a hand now."

Ryoma nodded and reached down for another brush. He went over to the one he had been riding - the angry chestnut with flaring nostrils. Guess he should at least get to know his new companion for the week.

"Tokyo's not too far from Sendai," Kikumaru said. "It'll only be about a two week journey - not too bad."

Ryoma nearly dropped the brush in shock - two weeks?

"O-Oh," he said instead, hoping Kikumaru hadn't noticed his stuttering.

But it seemed he had. Kikumaru turned to Ryoma and gave him an odd glance, as if he thought Ryoma were an alien or something similar.

Well, he's not wrong, Ryoma thought.

Kikumaru stiffened, and turned away.

As Ryoma watched Kikumaru walk away, he could see Fuji's back, mirroring the very same action so many years ago.

Sun rays peeked through the canopy of trees, filtering through the bright green leaves. Around the air, birds flew and chirped merrily, swooping down and narrowly missing a boy lounging against a tree.

Ryoma tugged his hat over his eyes to hide from the sun.

The grass nearby rustled, a sign that someone was there. Ryoma gave false snore, preferring to pretend to be asleep rather than bother socializing.

"Echizen-san, I know you're awake," Fuji's voice came.

From underneath the cap, Ryoma rolled his eyes.

"Come now, you wouldn't want me to wake you up like Sleeping Beauty, would you?"

Ryoma lifted his cap a centimeter.

"Fuji-senpai."

Fuji smiled. Then, he came closer and sat next to him, leaning, too, against the tree.

Ryoma stared at him, waiting for him to speak, but Fuji didn't. Moments passed and when Fuji still didn't bother to say anything, Ryoma relaxed into his previous posture and tugged his cap back over his eyes.

He woke quietly, easing himself away from the other two sleeping still - huddled together near a tall, hanging tree.

Ryoma leaned forward and dipped his hands into the stream, bringing up as much as he could to his face.

Wake up wake up.

He ran a hand through his hair.

Ryoma learned to deal with the stillness.

The journey progressed in much of the same way as it had started; quiet, calm, and rather uneventful. Oishi spent much of the evenings poring over Inui's detailed drawings and scrawling directions while Kikumaru made sure they had light whenever they needed. The three of them all contributed to the cooking, cleaning, and putting up the tent - not that it was needed. It turned out that Oishi's ability to help regulate emotions actually put living beings to sleep if they were small enough and got near him, so they were never bothered by bugs, insects, or rodents crawling around the area.

Mornings and days were spent traveling. Some days, they were left entirely alone; the three of them would be stuck together, meeting no one on their path towards Tokyo, and stuck to the same, tireless conversations. Though Ryoma knew that Oishi and Kikumaru probably just didn't know how to talk to an amnesiac.

Other days, they ran into strangers. Merchants who were traveling from one place to another stopped by to ask if they would like some salt for purchase. Traders who offered to trade thick, expensive coats of fur. Farmers who offered fruit and directions.

They often refused, carrying very little money aside from what they needed. Once or twice, Ryoma was tempted to buy some salt - some of their cooking was much too bland for his tastes. Though the fish Kikumaru always managed to catch tasted like home.

"Think you have magic, Ryoma-san?" Kikumaru said one afternoon, about a week into the journey.

The horses clobbered on, huffing and swaying in the light of the day. Their manes ruffled in the wind.

"I'm not sure," Ryoma said. "I don't think so." He was fairly certain that he had no magical abilities, unless you included his tennis-playing abilities.

"Why are you so certain?" Oishi asked from up front, holding out a compass and the map.

Ryoma shrugged when Oishi and Kikumaru were looking at him and then let the silence hang in the air among them. When his two companions realized that he planned on saying nothing more, they exchanged a glance and changed the subject.

"Are you excited to see Tokyo?" Kikumaru asked.

Before Ryoma could answer, the sound of speeding gallops filled the air around them, accompanied by furious neighs and whines from other horses. Oishi pulled his horse to a stop and Kikumaru and Ryoma followed.

"Oishi-san?" Ryoma said.

"Shhh-"

Screams followed the growing sounds of gallops. Ryoma turned and behind him, there was a group of men, all dressed in old, rusty armor, and swinging long, lavish swords, dashing towards them. Their faces stayed contorted as they let out a battle cry.

"Bandits!" Kikumaru hissed.

There was not second to waste as the three of them immediately jerked their horses into action, pulling and whispering to the horses to go faster and c'mon, please. Their horses ran through the forest, jumping over fallen trees and passing by numerous streams. Without Oishi keeping track of the way they were going, they were soon going off their intended path.

"This way!" Kikumaru yelled suddenly and veered his horse right, off the path. Oishi and Ryoma had no time to think and so they spun and followed.

The screaming and gallops were already fading fast.

"Left!" Kikumaru shouted again. He tugged his horse, pulling it into a slight left, around a mountainous bend.

Ryoma huddled close to his horse, hands tight on the reins, tight enough that his knuckles turned white with tension. He kept a firm grasp on the horse, too, with his elbows, and kept his feet as steady as possible, body tight and tense. Hoping he wouldn't be thrown off.

They kept running, never taking the chance to look behind them. Kikumaru periodically called out directions, as if he knew that the multitude of directions would lead them further away from the bandits, but also away from their destination.

The sounds slowly faded away and soon, none of them could see any signs of the bandits.

"I think we lost them," Oishi said.

He sounded a little out of breath and even looked slightly dazed.

"Let's stop for a break," Kikumaru said. Then, he nodded behind Oishi. "I can see a stream over there."

They slid off their horses - Kikumaru and Oishi much more gracefully than Ryoma - and stumbled over to the stream, tugging their horses in hand.

Ryoma felt sore and slightly disoriented. After about a week of riding easily on a horse, the sudden change to a fast-paced run jarred his body and left it sore in places he hadn't felt sore in months.

The cool water felt nice as he downed it, gasping for more as he realized how thirsty he was. He fell back and laid on the ground, relishing the release of tension from his shoulders and back, how it suddenly seemed like such a relief to do nothing.

"T-The map!" Oishi suddenly yelped.

Ryoma pushed himself up just as Kikumaru asked him what happened, in time to see horror flood Oishi's features.

"I-I must have - it's gone," Oishi said, "it must have fallen out when we were running from those bandits."