AUTHOR NOTE: - I DO NOT OWN DRAGON NEST
- FEEL FREE TO REVIEW etc.
The next morning Satoru woke up to the cheerful sound of birds lifting his spirit slightly. The cool morning air blew gently into the room and Satoru muttered to himself "I'll find her today, or at least come closer to her location" he quickly prepared for the long day ahead.
Meanwhile in the forest Asako sat on the dirt holding her knees in her arms staring at the sky, waiting for the sun to rise. At that moment Takeshi woke up and lifted his covers and began to rub his eyes "come back inside Asako, you'll catch a cold" Asako turned around and returned with a smile "we are visiting your family today aren't we?" Takeshi smiled back "yeah"
"How long will we be staying?"
"I bet my mom will make us stay overnight"
"Take as long as you need" Asako continued faintly "I owe you that" Takeshi put his covers around him and Asako who was now sitting next to him "Does the wind whisper anything special today?"
"No, we should get ready to depart"
Both of them soon finished their morning activities and the campsite was cleared. They made their way towards Takeshi's home, a small house in a village not far from Prairie Town. Takeshi knocked on the door and it immediately swung open "Takeshi!" The exited voice of a little boy rang out, his little brother immediately ran towards Takeshi to hug him. Takeshi's mother soon came into sight "welcome home Takeshi" Takeshi gave his mother a hug. Takeshi's little brother looked over to Asako "so this is Asako that Takeshi always talks about in his letters, she is even prettier than you described her! Are you as happy as Takeshi traveling together? You like camping too right? You must be a skilled fighter. Takeshi says you are a bow master aren't you? You must be tired from always traveling, right?" The little boy waited excitedly for her answers. Asako blushed and smiled as she answered "I am very happy traveling with Takeshi, I love camping but do enjoy a nice bed, I am a bow master as to my skill you can see for yourself and I just so happened to rest yesterday so I am not tired" Takeshi's little brother stood there happily smiling as Takeshi and his mom looked at them wide-eyed. "Your letters really helped him learn to read at a second grade level already. So any luck on the quest?" Takeshi's mom queried.
Suddenly Asako looked gloomy "it's ok, you need time to rest and train, if you didn't stop by I wouldn't have memories of meeting you and I can get to know you more and ask you questions about elves and we can share stories and me and Takeshi can play in the fields again and we can all huddle around the fire at night and we can go to the forest and play and you can tell me everything about your quest. I like the sharing stories the most" Takeshi's little brother smiled as Asako's face lightened up to a tender smile "sure, anything you want" he jumped around the room excitedly as his mother tried to calm him down.
"So how is the hound" Takeshi asked. "Oh he is in the back! The one that you gave me on my first birthday right! I even named him, I named him Hansuke isn't it nice? I'll go get him" Takeshi's little brother went out to the back yard and came back with the hound in his hands. Even though it was heavy considering it was 4 as well in human years, he had no problem carrying it. "Hansuke looks healthy, and well fed let's all go out and go for a walk then, then once we come back we can all have lunch together" Takeshi suggested "I still have work around the house you kids run along" Takeshi's mother smiled "its ok I will stay and help you" Asako offered "oh no, its ok you should make the most of your time here speaking of which you should all go right now. If you don't there will be hardly enough time before lunch" her mother looked at her with pure gratitude for the offer. "Thanks mom!" Takeshi's little brother shouted. They all took their leave.
They first took a look around the village, nothing has really changed. They all made their way to the forest when Takeshi's little brother asked "can you teach me to climb trees? Mother can't teach me so big brother should teach me while you are here! Please?" he looked at Takeshi with hopeful eyes "sure! But if you are looking for the best tree climber around that's Asako" he gestured to her direction.
"Really?" Takeshi's little brother said in disbelief
"Yeah she's the best at this and she is way more agile"
"Yay, then why don't you two race each other?! The fastest one up the tree wins, the loser has to hmm, jump into a mud puddle the next time it rains!"
"Little bro, you are about to shame me"
"Aw, fine then just teach me then" now with a smile on his face he rushed up to a tree
"Asako, show him how it's done, I will wait down here and catch him if he falls''
"Sure" soon Asako was already up in the tree
"Wow that was so fast! Let me try" he made his way half way up the tree and lost his grip. He fell backwards
"Got you" Takeshi said as he caught his little brother
"Wow, tree climbing is hard"
Asako jumped down the tree not even bothering to climb downwards slowly "its ok, you made it half way, most people don't get it the first time considering the tree is so tall" she gave him gentle smile. His face began to lighten into a smile as well "can I call you big sister?" he asked smiling "sure" she said smiling as well while patting his head. His hair was fluffy, she wondered if Takeshi's was as well but she couldn't bring herself to ask. "So let's begin training! You have to be able to climb that tree before me and Takeshi leave. "Of course" he said as Asako made her way up the tree first and as Takeshi took his place under the tree when suddenly he heard the sound of a tree branch breaking. He held out his arms to catch Asako who had fell due to her footing on a week branch. He caught her effortlessly. "Feels just like when I was 9 and you caught me when I fell out of the tree, I was still learning then. It feels, nostalgic"
They both smiled until Takeshi's little brother fell on top of Asako "yay, I almost got to the top this time!" they all started to laugh "come on, let's all head back for lunch, we can come back later and train you again" Takeshi let them both down. "Yeah, I also want to spar with you big bro, I am a warrior too! I haven't decided to be a sword master or mercenary but I use a sword now it's in my room, it's a little heavy to bring considering its really big and I mean really big!" Takeshi was taken-back by the thought of his little brother carrying a huge sword, it reminded him of how he carried his huge axe the first time "sure, but I won't go easy" he bluffed. They headed back to town holding each other's hands, Takeshi's little brother in the middle. "Wait where is Hansuke?" the little boy asked confusion clearly on his face. They all turned around and saw Hansuke, at the top of the tree. They all started to laugh as Hansuke was too afraid to make his way down. He soon found the courage to jump down and caught up to them.
The rest of the day passed the same way and it was soon nightfall. "Mommy is Takeshi going to sleep, in the same room as Asako?" he said with pure innocence. Both Takeshi and Asako didn't react to that question "well I don't know honey, ask Takeshi" Takeshi exhaled "me and Asako have been sleeping in the same room for a long time, we slept in the same tent yesterday so today shouldn't be any different right?" Takeshi's mother was a bit shocked. She didn't mind that they slept in the same room but at how Takeshi was so bland about it "can I sleep in the same room as you too?" Takeshi's little brother asked. "Of course, you should get ready for bed first, your mom already ironed your pajamas and I've laid them out for you. We should all prepare if we still want to tell stories" Takeshi's little brothers smile grew wider and wider as Asako said that. He began to jump around again until he reached the bathroom.
"Ok now that that's handled. Thank you Asako for playing with him and for helping me clean the table after dinner. Takeshi about earlier, don't tell me that you bathe together too" she said sarcastically hoping to get a funny answer. Asako immediately got up and left to get ready. Takeshi responded "not always" Takeshi's mother was shocked and had a weird expression on her face "I was just kidding mom" he started to laugh. Asako laughed as well, she knew what Takeshi was doing. His mother regained her composure "I don't even want to begin to ask weirder questions, you should begin getting ready for bed if you want to tell stories too" Takeshi nodded and left still with a smile on his face.
AUTHOR NOTE: Please review (either positively or negatively). Reviews will help determine the targeted fan basis and help the development. This may also improve the quality of the story.
