A/N: And another chapter down!
Just like all the other chapters, I had fun writing this one. I finally realized that Team Liam are all blonde and blue eyed. It wasn't on purpose. It sort of just happened like that, but I found it kind of interesting.
I don't have too much to say in this author's note. Although, I wanted to mention this in the last chapter, but I completely forgot about it until after I had already posted the chapter. But, if you have specific spells for your character, like a spell list, then please let me know. Otherwise, I will be creating the spells and how they work myself! Just an FYI for that!
I would like to thank everyone who left a review as well as a PM! I haven't received so many PMs in one day like I did after posting the last chapter! I'll be replying to the reviews that were left here since I already replied to the PMs. But thanks again for them and all the ideas that you all sent it! ^.^
Zades - Glad to hear that you enjoyed the last chapter and all the missions that are going on! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
dreadburner94 - I was really happy to hear that I got the interactions between Raoul, Nika and Miyako correct for you! I really enjoyed writing them! And yeah, I think Remi will be surprised when she meets the families. Yeah, Axel isn't as flirty as the others from Blue Pegasus. I hadn't really meant for him to be super flirty like they are, but we'll just have to see where things go for him. And we'll just have to wait and see who's watching them right now. And yeah, things are never as simple as they seem for both missions between Tada/Bishop and Kainen/Sera. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
zx009wrath - Don't worry about the reviews. I'm just happy to get them! But I'm glad to hear that I was able to get Bishop spot on for you! And I'm also glad to hear that you liked him paired up with Tada. I figured the two would work out nicely. And I'm glad to hear that you like the individual segments going on for the characters. I figured it would work out fair this way since everyone can see their characters in their own moments. But I'm glad that you're liking the story so far and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Joshua1277 - Glad to hear that you enjoyed the last chapter as well as all the missions! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Resmesh - I'm happy to hear that you're still liking the story so much! ^.^ And maybe it's because the characters are out of Thunder Stone and on their own missions that they seemed slightly different. I try to keep them all in character as much as I can. But I'm still glad you enjoyed the previous chapter! I hope you like this chapter as well!
I don't own Fairy Tail!
Please enjoy!
Chapter 8
Liam was doing his best not to laugh at the other two members of his team sitting across from him on the train. It had surprised Liam slightly when Shaw sat on the same side as Anna when they got on the train, but he figured the man wanted to push her buttons some more. That, and the fact that the man had practically fallen asleep when he landed in the seat.
Along with being an insomniac, a drunkard and lazy as hell, Shaw was also a narcoleptic; so the man tended to fall asleep in random places at random times. Liam even remembered the man falling asleep standing up one time. So as if his body was telling him it was time for one of his random naps, he instantly fell asleep as soon as he sat down next to Anna.
What was making Liam laugh was the fact that Shaw had somehow ended leaning up against Anna. The woman was so small compared to both himself and Shaw that she was being completely smashed by Shaw. She continuously kept trying to push the man away from her, but his body would somehow find its way back towards her. Liam couldn't help but think that this was Shaw's way of annoying the poor woman even during sleep.
"Wake up, Shaw!" Anna shouted, not happy about having to push him away for the tenth time. They had barely made it halfway through their train ride to Bouvardia and she wasn't sure how much longer she could stand the man.
"He won't wake up," Liam stated gently, "He's a narcoleptic, so we'll just have to let him run his course for now."
"Of course he's narcoleptic," she sighed, barely holding the man up with one arm.
"Why don't you come sit over here," he suggested, patting the spot next to him.
'Thank goodness he finally asked!' Anna thought as she managed to push herself up off the seat next to Shaw. The blonde man instantly fell across the entire train seat as soon as Anna stood up, causing the woman to sweat drop. Soon enough, though, she was sitting next to Liam, the older man letting her have the window seat since his own eyes were bandaged, "Thank you," she smiled up at him.
"You're welcome," he smiled back down at her.
Anna blushed a little from his smile. Part of her wished that she could see what his eyes looked like. During the time that she had known Liam, she had never been able to see his eyes. He had mentioned once that they were blue, but that didn't stop her curiosity from wanting to see them for herself.
"Liam," she began quietly. She figured she would need to make conversation. They still had a half day's train ride to their destination and Shaw was out cold, so he wouldn't be making any quips to keep Anna busy. Besides, she was a naturally curious woman, so she couldn't stop herself from asking, "Why do you have those bandages over your eyes?"
"Hmm?" he hummed quietly, "Haven't we been over this?"
"I know," she sighed, "But you always manage to side step the actual question or just completely ignore it all together by getting Shaw to start an argument with me. I don't forget your actions, Liam. I just choose not to bring them up."
Liam frowned upon hearing the sadness in the woman's voice. He didn't like that tone coming from her. Anna was always happy and bright. It was why he enjoyed having the woman around. She balanced out both his and Shaw's usual mopey and broody attitudes. If he made her frown like he was picturing she was, he couldn't be worthy of calling himself her friend, could he?
"I suppose you're right," he finally replied quietly, "I do keep finding ways to not answer your question."
"Why?"
"Because it's part of a past that I wish to forget."
"You can't really forget your past, not entirely anyways," she said in a quiet and thoughtful tone. She stared out the window, watching the setting sun sparkle off a large lake they were passing over. Her frown deepened, remembering her own past, "But it is something that made us who we are today. You wouldn't be Liam and Shaw wouldn't be Shaw and I wouldn't be me. Would you really want to change something so important to who we are?"
Liam was quiet for a long moment, taking in the woman's words. Finally, he sighed before he answered her, "You're right again. I wouldn't want to change who I am."
Anna smiled softly at his answer, "I'm glad to hear that. If things were different, we all might have never met. Life would be strange not knowing you or even Shaw now," she said, "And if you really want to change things, Liam, then make changes to better yourself. Make changes for your future, not your past."
"Thank you, Anna," Liam smiled down at her.
"It's what I'm here for," she grinned up at him, "Now, I suppose we should try to relax before we reach Bouvardia."
Liam simply nodded at her in reply while Anna made herself comfortable in her seat. Unaware to the two across from him, Shaw had been awake to hear Anna's words. His deep blue eyes stared at the seat cushion in front of him with a sharp look. He supposed he should give Anna more credit than he normally did. Her words had been the most coherent thing he's listened to in a long while. With that thought in mind, he let his eyes close once again as he drifted off back to sleep.
The rest of the train ride was made in comfortable silence. Anna and Shaw continued sleeping throughout the rest of the train ride while Liam silently watched over them. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept due to his insomnia and so he was normally left to watch over the group when they slept. Mostly it was Anna that he watched over since Shaw was usually awake with him.
The team made it to Bouvardia by early morning, being four in the morning to be exact. Liam gently shook Anna awake.
"This is our stop, Anna," he called out to her.
"I'm up. I'm up," she said sleepily, rolling out of the ball she had curled herself into, "What about the weirdo over there?" she asked, rubbing one eye with her fist.
"He's still sleeping, and like I said before, we just need to let him run his course."
"What?!" she shouted, "How helpful is he going to be on this mission then?! And are we supposed to drag him through the town?!"
"Calm down," Liam hushed her, "We've been through this before."
"Too many times to count," she huffed, crossing her arms, "Well, if you would be so kind, Liam, please drag him outside and I'll take care of it from there."
Liam nodded at her, hearing her walk towards the exit of the train. He sighed when he turned back towards Shaw, "You're seriously making this harder than it needs to be, my friend," he said, grabbing the back of Shaw's shirt. He pulled him off of the seat, hearing his body 'thump' to the ground. Liam didn't bother being gentle with the man, knowing he wouldn't feel anything anyways in his current state. He began to literally drag the man through the train, nodding to the ticket man when he exited the train. He was sure that the man was wearing a confused expression. Once he was standing on the wooden platform to the train station, he dropped Shaw's body flat onto the ground.
"Thank you, Liam," Anna said. She then threw out her right arm, a large and pearly summoning circle appeared in front of her hand, "Spirit Beast: Centaur!" she shouted. In a white flash, a huge centaur appeared on the platform in front of them. The horse half of his body was a smooth and dark brown color and the human half was a deep tan. He had shaggy brown hair, chocolate brown eyes and he had chiseled muscles across his entire body.
"Lady Anna," he announced in a deep voice, bowing towards the blonde woman.
Anna waved off his comment with a light laugh, "What have I told you about calling me 'Lady'? There's no need for that, Bronx," she said before running over to give him a hug, "It's great to see you again!"
"You too, Lady Anna," he replied, causing Anna to sweat drop. No matter how many times she told Bronx to just call her by her first name only, he still continued to add the 'Lady' to her name, "What can I help you with?"
"Well," she said, laughing nervously and looking over towards the sleeping Shaw, "Would you be willing to carry Shaw for me?"
"Again?" he asked.
"Yes, again," she sighed.
"If the Lady asks of it, then I will do it," Bronx said, but Anna could hear the irritation in his voice. This hadn't been the first time that she had asked Bronx to carry Shaw.
"Thank you!" she smiled, watching as the large centaur walked over to the sleeping blonde and hoisted him on his back none too gently, "All right, Liam! Let's go!"
The group began their walk into town, heading towards the Mayor's office in order to gain more information on their mission. The walk was quiet, considering most of the town was still asleep and they didn't want to wake anyone up. In a short time, they made it to the Mayor's office, hoping that someone would be there to greet them. Luckily for them, the Mayor himself was awake along with his secretary. Liam was the first to approach the fully lit office building, softly knocking on the front door.
The secretary popped her head up from the paperwork she was looking over to peer through the glass doors that faced her. She quietly made her way to the front door and opened it, "May I help you?" she asked softly, sounding rather tired.
"Yes," Liam answered, "We're here to answer the request that was sent to our guild."
The secretary nodded at him, relief showing in her eyes, "Please come in. I'll show you to the mayor's office."
"Thank you," both Liam and Anna said.
"Oh, and I hope you don't mind Bronx coming in with us," Anna smiled, "He is carrying an important asset to our team, even if he doesn't look like much right now."
The secretary stared wide-eyed at the large centaur, but moved aside for him nonetheless. It wasn't like she would be able to stop a creature that big. She then guided the group back to the Mayor's office. After making the introductions, she quietly excused herself and made her way back to her own desk.
"Good morning to you all," the Mayor nodded to them, "My name is Julius Reeves," he added, his own tone sounding even more tired than the secretary's.
"Good morning to you as well," Liam replied, "I'm Liam Tanju and these are my partners, Anna Jean and Shaw Rye. We've come from Thunder Stone to answer the request you sent out about the kidnappings that have been going on."
"I'm glad that you're all here," Julius said, "Things are looking grim for my town."
"We understand that the kidnappings are involving children," Anna said softly, "Is this correct?"
"Unfortunately, yes," he answered, looking up at the group with tired and worried gray eyes, "We've lost nine children so far. There's not a single trace of them and no clues as to who could have taken them. We've had our local police force looking into the situation, but they've come up empty handed after every child disappears. We really need your help."
"Of course," Anna said with a sympathetic look. It was then she noticed a picture frame sitting in the middle of the Mayor's desk with a picture of a young boy in it. The boy had the same gray eyes as the man sitting in front of them, "If I may ask, was one of the children taken your son?"
Julius steeled himself in his chair, his hands fisting tightly around the picture frame.
"Oh! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have asked!" Anna said quickly.
"It's all right," Julius replied quietly, "It's better you know more information than less," he added, "My son was the fifth child taken. His name is Jaxson and he's nine years old," he explained before turning tear filled eyes on Anna, "Please, find my son."
Anna was taken aback by the man's tears. Though, she quickly shook her surprise away and stepped up to the man. She placed a gentle hand on top of his, "We'll find him. I promise," she said in a kind voice.
Julius nodded at her, quickly gaining control of himself before he asked both Liam and Anna to sit in order for him to give them the full details.
. : + : .
"So all we have to do is figure out what this illness is going around the village and cure it, right?" Zell asked as he and Akemi walked down the road that lead to Tully Village. They had walked most of the previous day before camping out and finishing the walk to the village in the morning. It was just a little past noon and they knew they would be coming to the village soon.
"That's the basic idea, yes," Akemi answered, shifting her brown bag across her chest. She carried her two katana on her back in an 'X' shape in their holsters while Zell still insisted on carrying his large axe over his shoulder.
"The basic idea?" he asked, looking up at his partner, "What else could there be?"
"I suppose we just have to wait to find out when we get into the village," she answered. Akemi knew better than to assume things. She was the healer of Thunder Stone, so she would need to be ready for anything. Plus, she also figured whatever was going on in the village had to be rather serious to ask for a mage to get involved.
"I still don't understand why we couldn't have taken a train to the village," he grumbled.
"First off," Akemi began, "A train doesn't run through this village. And second, transportation makes me nauseous."
"Don't you have a spell to cure motion sickness?"
"I'm a healer not a miracle worker, Zell," she laughed lightly, "Besides, I like the walk. It's more peaceful than the hustle and bustle of the train stations."
"Healer. Miracle worker. Same thing," he replied with a shrug, "You can do some pretty amazing things, Akemi."
"Well, thank you," she grinned down at him, "But I'm only doing what is needed to be done."
"You never give yourself enough credit," he huffed at her.
"If you say so," she simply shrugged at him, turning her attention back to the worn book in her hand.
She continued reading with Zell keeping quiet until a strange feeling overcame her. She stopped walking and looked up from her book. Zell stopped a few feet in front of her after noticing the pause in her walking. He was about to say something to her, but she held a hand up to silence him. She looked off to the left of the trail into the thick forest that surrounded them. Things seemed normal with the birds chirping and small animals running around the forest. Though, Akemi just couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.
Soon enough, Akemi heard air being blown through a dart gun. She quickly reached back towards one of her swords with her right hand, still holding her book with her left. She faced the blade of the katana away from her, feeling the metal easily slice through the object that had been shot at her. She stood in a defense pose for a moment or two longer with her blade at the ready just in case the attackers tried anything else. Once she sensed that the person in the forest was gone, she dropped her stance. She then easily slid her katana back into its holster before turning around.
Zell was already inspecting the object that Akemi had sliced in half. She looked down to the ground to see it was a small dart that had been carrying a green liquid. The dart was cut perfectly in half while the liquid had splashed across the ground. Zell and Akemi exchanged glances before she closed her book to place it back in her brown bag. She then started rummaging through the bag to find something to scoop the liquid up with.
"I told you what was going on here was just a basic idea," she said, managing to find a small glass bottle with a lid. She bent down and scooped most of the liquid up with some of the dirt it had landed in, closing the lid tightly over it. She brought the jar to eye level and studied it for a moment, part of her hoping that she could figure out what it was just by looking at it. She sighed when she couldn't even come close to guessing what it was. She then slid the jar into her bag, figuring it would come in handy when she got into the village.
"We could still track that punk down, Akemi," Zell growled, "How dare he try to shoot you with that dart!"
"Hush, Zell," she said, beginning her walk towards the village, "Our main priority right now is getting to the village. I need to see what the status of the villagers is like. I'm sure it's not the first time something like this has happened," she explained, referring to the dart that had been shot at her.
"Fine," he huffed, not liking that he couldn't beat up the guy that tried to hurt Akemi, "Then let's get moving again.
"I'm already moving," she called back to him with a laugh.
"Hey! Wait up!" he shouted, running to catch up with her.
Soon, the pair came to the entrance of the village, seeing the large sign off to the side of the dirt trail that read 'Tully Village'. They continued their walk, Akemi quickly asking one of the villagers who she needed to talk to about the request paper. The villager pointed them towards the center of the village where the Head Chief resided. Akemi thanked the woman and made her way in the direction she was pointed.
Eventually, the two came to a large, wooden house. Akemi smiled as she watched four children running around and playing outside of the house. She looked up to see a man sitting on the large porch of the house, reading a newspaper with a glass of lemonade on the small table next to him. Akemi figured that this must be the man she was looking for.
"Hello," she called out to him once she reached the base of the stairs that led up onto the porch.
The man looked up, his dark blue eyes landing on Akemi. She noted that he was most likely in his late thirties or early forties with clean cut, black hair. He had an average figure and most likely only stood at about 5'9". He wore simple clothes of jeans, boots and a dark blue, buttoned up shirt. He smiled a warm smile when the four children ran over to them and tackled Zell to the ground.
"He's so fluffy!" a little girl shouted happily, hugging onto the large cat tightly.
"Akemi," he cried, reaching out for her.
"But they like you so much," she grinned. Akemi had always like children. They were simple happy creatures, never judging anyone or anything.
"My children seem quite taken with your friend," the man said.
"Zell is normally popular with kids," Akemi stated.
"My name is Joshua Holmes," he greeted, sticking his hand out towards Akemi.
"Akemi Katsu," she replied, shaking the man's hand.
"What can I help you out with, Akemi?"
"I'm actually here to answer a request that was sent to my guild," she answered, pulling out the request paper from her bag and handing it over to him, "You are the one that sent the request, correct?"
"Yes," he sighed, his face falling. It was then that Akemi noticed he had been covering up the worry that was weighing him down, "Many of our villagers have been coming down with a sickness that the normal medicine we have cannot cure."
"What kind of sickness is it?"
"I could show you, if you wish," he answered, "Kids, stay in the front yard and keep our guest company," he smiled at them, motioning towards Zell.
"Okay, daddy!" they called out, still crawling all over Zell.
"Keep them company, Zell," Akemi smiled when he sent her a pleading look. He sighed loudly when he watched Akemi disappear into the large house with Joshua.
"If I may ask," Akemi began once they were inside, "How are you able to show me?"
"My oldest son, David, has been struck with the sickness that's going around," Joshua began to explain, sadness washing over his face, "He's eleven and he's been sick since he came back from fishing two weeks ago in the forest. My wife, Maria, has barely left his side since then, so don't be surprised if she looks exhausted when you see her."
"I understand," Akemi said, following the man upstairs.
Once at the top of the stairs, they walked down to the end of the hallway and entered the last door on the left. Akemi noticed Maria first. She sat by the bed in the room, looking just as exhausted as Joshua had explained. Her dark brown hair was thrown up into a messy bun, pieces of it falling down around her face. Her brown eyes were tired looking with bags under them. She wore a simple, yellow dress and no shoes at the moment. She had been staring down towards the bed until Joshua called out to her.
"Maria," he said softly. She looked up at him and then towards Akemi, "This is Akemi. She has come here to answer the request I sent out."
Maria stared at Akemi for a long moment before her eyes started to water, "Thank God," she whispered before she started to sob into her hands.
Akemi slowly approached the woman, before placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, "It'll be all right," she whispered, letting the woman cry out her pain for a few minutes. Akemi took that time to look over to the bed to see a young boy sleeping in it. She could tell that his breathing was shallow and she could see a thin layer of sweat across his skin. Maria had made sure to bundle him up in several blankets and lay a cold cloth across his forehead. Akemi turned towards the boy and laid a hand on his skin to feel it was burning hot, "Has he been able to eat?"
"Not properly, no," Joshua answered, "We can usually get him to eat some soup, but he eventually ends up throwing it back up several hours after eating it."
"I see," Akemi said, looking the boy over further. She pulled one eye open to take a look at it, causing her own eyes to widen slightly. In the veins that should have been red was a green color instead, the same green color as the liquid that was currently in the bottle in her bag. She let his eye close and walked away from him. She turned to face Joshua, "Do you have a local healer or doctor in this village?"
"Yes."
"Please take me to them," she requested, "I need to confirm some things with them."
Joshua nodded and began walking out of the room. Akemi looked back towards Maria and David one last time before she followed Joshua. She knew something much bigger than an illness spreading was going on in the town.
. : + : .
"It's surprising that things have been going smoothly so far," Samuel said to the head of the caravan that he and his niece and nephew were escorting from Crocus to Balsam Village. The large group had made it to the halfway mark to the flashy village, the sun coming close to setting. The caravan hadn't been transporting anything of significant value, just quite a bit of goods that would sell well in Balsam; but the leader of the caravan wanted to be safe rather than sorry and refused to leave Crocus until he had some protection. Samuel figured it would be good for his family to get out of the guild and stretch their legs and also for them to learn how to protect a large number of people.
"Why do you say that?" the leader of the caravan, Dean Sandalwood, asked.
"Because," Samuel answered, looking over towards the blonde man, "You sent out a request for protection. It made it seem like things would be a bit more…well…interesting."
"Well, we don't really have any enemies," Dean stated with a smile, "We're just an overly large group needing to get to one place from another, but we do appreciate you answering our request."
"Sure," Samuel said, but he couldn't help but be a little disappointed in the lack of action. He looked back to Raina and Rey to see they wore similar expressions of boredom. Raina was walking by herself with her arms crossed and a pout on her face. Rey was a few feet away from her with an irritated look on his face from the four girls surrounding him and cooing over him. Samuel sighed, wishing he could make things more exciting, but they did sign up for the job. They would all just have to suck it up and get it over with. He turned his attention back towards Dean, "This reminds me of a story."
"Yeah? What would that be?" Dean asked, obviously unaware of what Samuel's stories could be like.
"I used to be a mercenary back in my home country of Helghan," Samuel began in an unusual serious tone. He had always enjoyed telling funny or simple stories more, but every so often one of his more serious stories made their way to the surface, "I had been escorting a caravan like this, although they were carrying weapons of war rather than goods to sell. Just a tad bit more dangerous," he noted, "Things had been going smoothly for the most part until we camped for the night. That's when we were attacked by the enemy. A lot of people died that night," he frowned, memories of blood and screams coming back to him. He quickly shook his head to rid himself of the gruesome pictures in his mind.
"And why are you telling me this?" Dean asked, taken aback and feeling just a little scared by the man's horror story.
"Because we must always be on guard," Samuel answered, raising his voice enough for Raina and Rey to hear him. The siblings looked up at him before quickly exchanging glances with each other. They sighed, knowing that their uncle was right.
"I suppose that's why we have you three here," Dean stated, "But like I said, I highly doubt anyone will be attacking us."
"You're probably right," Samuel said before he let out a loud laugh and smacked the man on the back, "Sorry about that. Didn't mean to scare you with my story."
Dean grunted and managed to catch himself before he fell to the ground, "It's all right. No harm done," he said before he turned around to face the caravan, "Let's stop here for the night!" he shouted out to them. The large group of people traveling all seemed to sigh in relief at the same time. The caravan began to move around the large open space they had come to in order to settle in for the night.
It was then that Raina and Rey walked up to Samuel.
"Uncle," Raina began, "Do you think it's safe for us to be stopping out in the open like this?"
"You suddenly worried about not being able to protect them?" Samuel asked.
"Well…no," Raina replied.
"Then stop worrying," he said, "As Dean said, more than likely we won't even be targeted."
"If you say so," Rey shrugged, "But I do have to agree with Raina. It may not be the best thing for everyone to be in the open like this."
"This is where they have decided to stop and we will just have to deal with it," Samuel retorted, "Just don't let either of your guards down, got it?"
"Yeah," they both answered before moving off to help some of the people settle in for the night.
Samuel watched after them for a short moment before he found a tree that looked comfortable enough to lean against. He took his large sword from its holster on his back and plunged it into the ground beside the tree. It would be of easy access to him this way if he needed it. He then sat down against the tree, setting his helmet next to him. He leaned back so he could get comfortable and simply watched the caravan move around.
Soon enough, fires had been lit and were glowing in the dark of the night. Raina and Rey made a fire fairly close to where Samuel had been sitting, the two of them teasing each other while they ate dinner. Samuel smiled at them, glad to see they could be so happy and carefree. It was much better than his own childhood and most of his young adulthood had been. He had been lucky to get them to Fiore when he had. He hated to think what would have become of them if they had stayed in Helghan, which had become a country filled with so much war and death.
"Take them, Samuel," a man's voice pleaded, pushing a one year old Rey and a two year old Raina towards him, "Take them and leave Helghan."
"I can't just leave this country, brother!"
"You have to! They'll die! Do you want to see their blood spilled too?!"
Samuel stared down at his young niece and nephew, seeing their wide, scared eyes staring back at him. The two children had been the only things that had struck a chord in his heart in a long time. He let out a heavy sigh as he turned back towards his brother.
"No, I don't want them to die."
"Then take them and leave Helghan! Head towards Fiore! It's safe there!"
"No place is ever safe, brother."
"Dammit! Just take them!"
Samuel didn't say another word as he scooped both children up in his arms. He took one last look at his brother before he left the place he had known as home all his life.
Samuel came back to reality with the drop of his head. He let the memories fade back into his mind before he focused his eyes on his niece and nephew. His eyes narrowed when he saw the serious looks on their faces. He looked around at the rest of the caravan to see that some people had fallen asleep and the ones that were awake were smiling and laughing and carrying on like normal. It was then that Samuel knew something was wrong. Raina and Rey never wore a face like that unless an enemy was near.
Suddenly, a kunai flew past his head, Samuel barely having time to dodge it. He watched as the weapon stuck into the ground near his feet.
"What the hell?!" Samuel shouted, quickly standing up and grabbing onto the handle of his sword, "Who's there?!" he bellowed, causing all voices to go silent.
"Well, well, well," a sly voice began, "Who would have thought we'd find you so easily out in the open like this, Samuel Steele. And with your little family too."
It was then that several men dropped out of the trees that surrounded the open area that the caravan had stopped in. They all wore similar outfits, all resembling ninjas. The man at the front of the group wore a mask up over his nose and held several other kunai in his hand. His hair was black as night and his onyx eyes held no warmth.
"Kisame Nakahara," Samuel stated in a deep growl, knowing exactly who the man was just by his eyes.
"It's been a long time, Samuel," Kisame said, "I hope you do remember why I'm here."
"You should have just stayed in the shadows like a good little ninja," Samuel retorted, "You know you're just going to end up like the others from your guild eight years ago."
"Always so quick to underestimate your enemy, Samuel," Kisame sneered, "You'll get killed that way."
"Then prove it!" Samuel shouted as he grabbed his helmet and put it on over his head. The eye sockets of the helmet glowed a deep red as he stared Kisame down. He ripped his sword from the ground, causing dirt to go flying, "I'll bring you down like I should have done eight years ago!" he roared as he began to stampede towards the enemy.
A/N: There you all go! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
I'll have the next one up soon!
Please remember to review!
Yours Truly,
MyDearWatson
