7: Chapter 6
Tsubasa Falls: So here we are again at chapter 7! Kana?
Kanathia: -.- zzzzzzzzzzz
Tsubasa Falls: Ah, it has been a rough week for you hasn't it? I, on the other hand, aced my first test!
Kanathia: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Tsubasa Falls: Right…well…on to the chapter then.
When everyone woke in the morning they found that Kanathia and Sanfirith were missing. Suspicion of the man was at an all time high, and Creshenth's rantings never ceased even when they found a note from Kanathia saying she would return soon.
Tension kept Hanada at the edge of her seat while she waited for Kanathia's return. At half past noon there was a knock on the door. Hanada opened it to reveal a slightly disheveled Sanfirith carrying a large duffle bag and a sword.
"You!" Creshenth yelled spotting the man. "What did you do with Kana?"
Sanfirith took a step back as Creshenth ran towards him causing the boy to misjudge his step and fall face first to the ground. "She's not back yet?" Sanfirith asked Hanada, the more reasonable of the two in his sight.
Hanada shook her head as visions of yesterday ran through it.
"Ah, well, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. She said it might take a while." Sanfirith said moving past Hanada to set down his things.
"Nothing to worry about?" Creshenth said loudly regaining his ability to complain "Aren't you supposed to be protecting her? How can you do that if you're here and she's not?"
Sanfirith rounded on Creshenth and grabbed the front of his shirt pulling him up roughly. "Listen kid, it's my job to protect her, not babysit her. If she says she needs to do something on her own I can respect that as long as I know it isn't going to get her killed." He released Creshenth's shirt with a small shove that sent the boy tumbling. "I've been in this town for months keeping an eye on things. There isn't anyone in this town who would do her more harm than the locals. Well, except for that kid from yesterday, but well let's just say that kid shouldn't be showing his face any time soon."
"What did you do to him?" Sakura had suddenly appeared in the doorway. Her wide eyes were locked onto Sanfirith.
"I found him snooping around my place this morning so I gave him the gift of a broken arm and a few broken fingers. That's not to say he didn't ask for it. The kid attacked me first." Sanfirith added with a smirk towards the end.
Sakura looked like she was going to be sick. "Sakura-chan." Fai said appearing behind her. "Why don't you go take a shower? Syaoran just got out, it's all free."
Sakura didn't move for half a second then seemed to unfreeze as Fai laid a hand on her shoulder. She gave a nod and disappeared.
"Is she alright?" Hanada asked voice filled with worry.
Fai smiled. "I'm sure she'll be alright. Sakura-chan is just worried about everyone."
Sanfirith plopped down on a chair. "You never did explain why those kids look so similar. As a matter of fact, they look identical. The only difference I noticed when I saw them both up close was their eye colors. Are they twins or something?"
A nearly imperceptible shiver ran through the mage's body. "Ah…not exactly." Fai said with a bit more forced smile.
"It's the kid's clone." Kurogane said walking into the room. "Anyone see the meat bun? He took something from me."
Hanada shook her head in shock. "No, I don't see Mokona. What do you mean 'clone'?"
Syaoran entered the room. "I found him Kurogane." He said holding up the struggling Mokona. All eyes locked on him.
Kurogane took the struggling Mokona and exited the room threatening it the whole way. Syaoran glanced around. "What were you guys talking about?" Syaoran asked with a small rather fake looking smile.
"Ah..well…" Hanada started unsure.
Sanfirith cut her off. "You actually." He said with a bit of a snort. "More specifically the guy who looks like you."
Syaoran eyes seemed to stare at anything that wasn't human. "I guess…it was going to come up eventually."
"Is he really your clone?" Creshenth finally piped up from the floor. Then he immediately slapped a hand over his mouth like he hadn't meant to say anything.
Syaoran fixed his gaze on Creshenth. Then he let out a small sigh. "Yes." He answered simply.
"That's not something you see every day." Sanfirith scoffed. "So why exactly is the guy running around attacking people?"
Syaoran shifted uncomfortably.
"Well, you see, the other 'Syaoran' used to travel with us, but then…" Fai started trying to be helpful before he realized that saying any more would mean revealing secrets that weren't really his to tell.
"The Syaoran who attacked you in the forest is a clone created by a man who wishes harm on the world." Syaoran had to stop himself from saying universes. "When he was created I placed a seal on his eye and left part of my soul in his body. For years he was just like any other person, but recently…the seal broke. I didn't make it in time to stop that from happening. Now whatever humanity was in him is gone. He only listens to orders from his creator now."
Sanfirith hadn't been expecting an explanation that involved. He whistled. "That's quite the story you've got there kid. I'm tempted to believe you."
Hanada placed a hand on Syaoran's shoulder as the boy dutifully stared at the floor. "I believe you Syaoran. I know Kana would believe you too." She sent a reassuring smile his way. "You ought to try to smile more often though. It sounds like you tried your best, and I don't think anyone blames you for what happened."
Fai nudged him too with a grin.
Just then the door swung open revealing a slightly out of breath Kanathia.
"Ah…Kana?" Hanada said walking to her.
Kanathia gave her a small smile. "Not to worry. I was just taking care of some last minute business."
"Last minute business?" Creshenth repeated.
Kanathia nodded shutting the door. "We can leave tomorrow." She said directing the statement to where she knew Sanfirith was sitting.
"Leave? I'm not following what you're talking about Kana."
"Tomorrow I'll be returning to Ishilda."
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Over the next few hours there had been many complaints courtesy of Hanada and Creshenth. Both thought it was a bad idea for Kanathia to return to Ishilda so suddenly, but Kanathia couldn't be dissuaded no matter how much Hanada tried to reason with her or Creshenth cried about unfairness. Eventually Kanathia put an end to the discussion so she could make food for everyone. As she went to the kitchen with Sakura tagging along to help everyone else sat in the dining room silent, but for the occasional sound of cloth moving or bang from the kitchen. Creshenth's pouting was probably what kept them quiet for so long. He seemed he might flip out on the first thing that made noise at the moment.
Eventually Fai could take the silence no more, and he broke it first with a small cough then a question directed at Sanfirith. "So, exactly how far from here is Ishilda?"
Sanfirith seemed to be startled out of a reverie. "Ah, normally if we all had passports we could take the train through the border checkpoints and be in the capital in about two day's time. However, from the way Kanathia was talking, you guys don't have any, and it takes too long to get new ones, even if they're fake. So we'll have to get off before we cross the border and pass into Ishilda on foot." He said seeming to calculate in his head as he spoke. "We can re-board a couple of towns past the border, but it's going to cost us at least two days, and with the size of our group we'll have to be really careful not to be spotted near the border."
Sanfirith's eyes focused on Fai as he slowly stopped talking. Then he answered the actual question. "I'd say all things considered it should take around four days."
"That's a quite a trip." Syaoran spoke up.
"That it is. To top it off Ishildans aren't exactly fond of people from Hoenda. That means anyone from our group who looks Hoendan that's crossing the border will have to cover up a bit once we cross, myself included. Normally I would just tell them who I am, but I can't exactly go around telling people I'm escorting the emperor's sister. There'd be upheavals in the streets."
"Are the people unhappy with her?" Fai asked seriously.
"No!" Hanada said sharply.
"The opposite." Sanfirith said with a smile at Hanada. "Her brother is quite popular, one of the best leaders Ishilda has seen in centuries. If the citizens found out who she was they'd most likely be throwing parades and asking her if she'd bless their children or something."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Syaoran asked confused. "If they know who she is and they like her wouldn't it be better to just tell them who she is and avoid all the sneaking around."
Sanfirith shook his head. "Drawing that much attention to ourselves is bound to backfire. There aren't nearly enough of us to protect her from a mob, and over excited people can be just as dangerous as people who intend harm. And she does have enemies. Giving away her position opens us to assassination attempts."
Syaoran was nodding grimly when Sanfirith finished. "Right, I hadn't thought of that."
"Quite the strategist." Kurogane grunted from the corner.
"That's what I'm paid for." Sanfirith said with a smile.
"Dinner's ready." Sakura said with a smile bringing out a pot full of what looked like beef stew.
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After dinner everyone sat at the table unsure of what to do next.
"So, I guess maybe we should head to bed? I assume we're getting up pretty early tomorrow." Hanada said with a sort of mock cheer.
"Right, it's not good to stay up too late if you're getting up early." Creshenth said trying to carry the mood.
Kanathia shook her head. "You're not going." She said simply.
Creshenth and Hanada froze. "You…you're joking right Kana?" Creshenth asked leaning in slightly.
Kanathia shook her head again.
"Absolutely not!" Hanada blew up. "You're not leaving me behind! I absolutely refuse to just sit back here while you're out there risking your life and…and…"
"That's my point Hana." Kanathia said disapprovingly. "I've asked too much of you already. Putting your life on the line for my sake isn't going to lessen the debt I owe you or your uncle any."
"No! That's not fair!" Hanada nearly screamed. "You don't get to decide this! I'm making my own decision. I'm choosing to follow you. That means it's my fault if something happens to me!"
"Right!" Creshenth added. "We're all adults here!"
"No. You're not." Kanathia added warningly. "Even if Hanada comes you're still a child Creshenth. You're sixteen."
Syaoran's eyes shot wide at that. He had thought Creshenth was around the same age as Hanada. They were about the same height and he certainly didn't look the same age as Sakura and him.
Creshenth sputtered for a moment. Then his eyes became a bit cold like he was thinking of things long since passed. "I just…" he started talking as he moved away from the table. "I knew you didn't take me seriously…but I didn't…I didn't think you hated me this much."
Before anyone could stop him he ran for the door and was gone. Slowly the door shut behind him.
Hanada sighed. "That was a bit harsh…wasn't it Kana?"
Kanathia shrugged though she silently looked like she agreed. "It is better if he hates me if it means he will stay here and be safe, isn't it?" Her eyes seemed to beg someone agree with her, but no one did so out loud.
"Then I suppose Hana-chan will be coming with us?" Fai said with a small sad smile.
Kanathia glanced in Hanada's direction. Hanada nodded determinedly.
"Good." Sanfirith said. "Now that all the drama is finally taken care of maybe we can get some sleep. Make sure you've got everything packed. We leave first thing in the morning."
And leave first thing in the morning is exactly what they did. It felt as though Syaoran had hardly laid his head down when he was being gently nudged awake by an over-zealous Hanada.
The group ate a quick breakfast, and was on its way to catch the morning train heading North. Once safely on board they found a large compartment near the back of the nearly empty train and piled in. For some reason Syaoran couldn't quite understand both Sanfirith and Kurogane seemed amused.
"You two seem to be in quite the good mood." Hanada commented once she had helped Sakura finish storing her bag above their heads.
She only got a smirk from Kurogane. Sanfirith smiled. "I'm sure you'll-"
"Kana!" the door to the compartment banged open startling all but two of the sleepy occupants. Standing there was none other than Creshenth.
"Cresh-" Hanada started in a scolding manner.
"No." Creshenth said and something about the gleam in his eyes made Hanada stop. "I'm doing this."
He stepped into the compartment and plopped into the only empty seat next to Syaoran. Kanathia looked up from where she had sat down in the corner. "You shouldn't be here." She said shortly. "You're just putting yourself in danger."
Creshenth averted his eyes to the door. "I don't know what you're talking about. This is just a coincidence. We both just happen to be taking a train North."
"At four in the morning the day after I told you I'd be leaving for Ishilda?" Kanathia asked deadpan.
Even Sakura was starting to get nervous as she watched the growing tension in Kanathia's expression.
"Oh?" Creshenth said blithely. "Is that when you said you were leaving?"
Silence filled the room unnervingly well, and was finally broken as a shrill whistle announced the start of the train's journey.
"Right, well…" Sanfirith said standing and grabbing his ticket from where the pile of them lay on the seat. "I'm going to go find an empty compartment to stretch out in since the train's so empty. It's about twenty hours to the border and the train only stops twice so I suggest everyone make themselves comfortable."
With that he exited the tense room with a wave.
Sakura was too busy giving worried looks to both Creshenth and Kanathia to give much thought to the knight's words.
Hanada grabbed Kanathia's hand trying to avoid any sort of major argument. "Come on Kana, why don't we go find a compartment for us girls to stretch out in? Sakura would you like to come as well?" Hanada said with a strained smile.
"Oh, um…" Sakura looked between the two once more before nodding. "Sure."
The moment the door shut behind Sakura, Creshenth slid down a little in his seat and let out a sigh. Kurogane stood. "I'll be back." He said simply as he left.
Only Fai, Syaoran, and Creshenth remained in the rather large compartment now. There was more than enough room for the three to stretch out if they wanted and so none had a good reason to leave.
"That was…tense." Fai said with a smile.
"Tell me about it." Creshenth said letting loose another sigh. "Kana can have a pretty bad temper when she wants to. I'm surprised I didn't find myself sitting outside of the train with a concussion."
"Ah, well, I don't think Kanathia doesn't want you here honestly." Syaoran said hurriedly. "I think she's just worried you know?"
Silence. "Yeah…" Creshenth finally assented. "I understand why she doesn't want me to go…but that doesn't mean I don't want to go. I mean what if I never saw here again? Isn't that worse than the threat of dying?"
"If you don't mind me prying…" Fai said smiling yet again as the boy's eyes met his. "You seem rather attached to Kanathia. Is there a reason?"
"Well I…" Creshenth blurted and then blushed. "She…she's pretty, and smart…and I know she's way out of my league, but for the longest time I've liked her. Every time I told her she's turned me down. I think that might have to do with what I said to her the first time we me…" Creshenth cut off mid sentence.
"What you said?" Fai pried curious.
"Well…it was more than just words. I guess… I was still pretty stupid back then." Creshenth said sadly.
"It couldn't have been that bad." Syaoran said hopefully trying to give him a supportive pat on the back.
Creshenth shook his head. "It was bad." He said simply. Then he sighed and glanced up. "You remember how I told you two that Hoenda doesn't really like outsiders? Well, that town we just left, it hasn't seen anyone outside of Hoendan descent for generations. Or, at least, it hadn't until Kanathia got there. Hanada's uncle just showed up one day with Kanathia. It was out of the blue, and the whole town was in an uproar about it. A lot of people thought she was some sort of spy sent there to get all of us killed. I guess it caused a sort of mass hysteria.
My family, well we're shrine keepers of sorts. When Kanathia arrived everyone thought she was either a spy, or some sort of evil spirit. So naturally she was brought to our shrine to be tested. My father told me that if we didn't appease the crowd that there'd probably be some sort of riot. So he told me when we did the 'test' I was supposed to throw the bottle of holy water at her and say she was evil."
At this point Creshenth looked close to tears.
"So I did. I thought she was evil. That's what everyone kept saying. So I threw it. And when it hit her it broke and she started bleeding. Everyone was yelling and throwing things. It was madness, but through everything all she did was push herself back up and smile at me."
He seemed to be lost in his memories.
"I don't think…that she blames you Creshenth." Syaoran said slowly.
Creshenth's eyes turned to his. They held for a minute before dropping with a sigh. "I know that she doesn't. I could tell she didn't blame me even right after I threw the bottle at her. Something about the way she smiled told me so, but the thing is, I blame me. I know it was my fault that she got hurt. I threw the bottle even though I knew it would cause the person in front of me physical harm…"
"I'm sure that Kana-chan would be sad to know that you think that way." Fai said with a frown.
Creshenth nodded. "I'm sure she thinks I only stay around her out of a sense of duty or something, but really she's just the type of person that you find you want to spend time around. I'm not really sure when it happened, but I know that at some point I stopped being afraid of her. I only wish that everyone else in that town could have seen her the way I do. Then maybe she wouldn't have to leave like this."
Syaoran shook his head sadly. "It's not that simple to make people change their minds about something. Besides, I don't think Kanathia needs everyone to like her. She seemed happy enough with you and Hanada."
Creshenth shook his head suddenly perking up. "That's the thing." He said smiling. "Kanathia has been there so long people started to trust her. She was actually holding a lecturing job on Ishildan culture at Hanada's university. She was slowly gaining students and people were starting to accept her. It's sort of sad that she had to leave now when she was finally starting to get people to accept her."
Slowly the train compartment lapsed into silence as the three got comfortable. It was, after all, going to be a long trip. They'd have plenty of time to talk later.
Tsubasa Falls: So there you have it! Chapter 7 in all its brooding glory! This chapter got more than a little bit angsty there toward the end, but at least we finally revealed how Kanathia and Creshenth met, and to top it off the group is now heading toward the mysterious land of Ishilda!
Kanathia: Say wha?
Tsubasa Falls: Ah you're awake! Good, just in time to say goodbye! Don't forget to drop a review, and thanks for reading!
Kanathia: 'til next time.
Kanathia & Tsubasa Falls
