Chapter 9
The sensation of plummeting into the abyss made my eyes fly open.
I hit the bottom of the tent face first and yelp in pain. Clutching at my bruised hips, I was about to push myself up when another body joined mine, flailing arms hitting me in the nose. I growl lowly, arms hooking around their waist to hold them down when-
"HANA!" Kaede's yell cuts through my mind that was hazy with sleep. "GET DOWN!"
Maybe it was the urgency in her voice, or the innate feeling that something was wrong which spurred me into action. But nevertheless my body moves of its own accord, and I find myself staring at the floor, my head pressed into the ground. I can feel Kaede beside me and before I can ask her why she threw me off my bed and hit me in the nose, an ear splitting crack is all I hear before a tree trunk flattens my side of the tent.
There is a harsh ripping sound that accompanies the giant tree trunk, leaving a gigantic hole and exposing the vulnerable insides of the tent to the unruly weather. Kaede and I wait in trepidation for a few more moments before getting up, me more so than her. I hear my heart pounding in my ears, and have to swallow a few times at the thought of being crushed into pulp had I not been knocked away.
The wind howls nosily, bits and pieces of twigs and leaves flying into the tent. The irritating things get stuck in my hair, and to add insult to injury, a small pebble suddenly smacks me in the forehead. I brush them off with an annoyed grunt and stare at the thick tree trunk that was now laying across my bed. Well damn. So much for a good night's sleep.
"So…t-that was a thing." I say. Kaede glares at me a little but the look softens when I break out in shivers as the wind suddenly whips past us, overjoyed that it could now enter the tent. I snatch up my blanket on the floor and wrap it around me, handing the victory huntress hers as well. I sigh, looking around us. I internally wince at the wreckage that was once our tent. The guild is gonna be pissed about this.
"It looks like we'll be camping tonight!" She announces with false cheer. I smile when she suddenly yawns, the adrenaline leaving behind nothing but exhaustion. I glance outside, to the dark foreboding woods and the storm that was raging on.
"In that weather?" I snort, "We might as well stay in here. I can take the floor, and you can get back in your bed."
"No way. What if something like that-" Kaede grimaces as she glances at my side of the tent, "Happens again? We should get to an open ground and stay there for the night. Besides, we have sleeping bags."
I wilt, mentally recounting all the stuff I packed. "Well I don't." I say, scratching the back of my head in annoyance. Of course the very thing I needed was one I didn't bring along. Brilliant. Ten points to Hana. Whoopee.
'Alright, cool it with the sarcasm.' I tell myself bitterly, my mouth twisting into a thin line. I was already so goddamn tired, I had no energy to entertain useless thoughts. And besides, I could always just sleep in the blanket. I would probably freeze my ass off, but hey. Better than becoming a human pancake.
A rustling sound pulls me out of my thoughts. Kaede holds up her brown sleeping bag and smiles. She throws it to me, and laughs when I made a face upon catching it, the sleeping bag very well knocking the wind out of me. What was this thing made off? I run my hands in fascination over the thick, velvety material. It felt like I was carrying an herbivore egg.
"We could share." Kaede says, running a hand through her hair. "It's big enough for two people."
I shrug carelessly. I didn't particularly mind it, I had slept side by side with Akame numerous times throughout the years. Being snuggled up to a warm body in this weather also sounded quite welcoming. "Anything's fine, I just want to go back to sleep." I yawn, my vision blurring as my eyelids flutter shut. I try to rub the sleep out of them, but they refuse to stay open for long. Even Kaede was having the same problem.
Stumbling out of the tent after slipping on our boots, the wind greets us with a harsh howl, normally unflappable trees bending to its will. Despite not having any rain, the air is cold and nips sharply at exposed skin, making me wish that I was wearing my armour. We scour the campsite for a few moments, not really daring to go any farther at this time of night without any protection.
Kaede finds a dry spot and calls me over. It's rather nice, away from any weak looking trees and completely exposed to the dark sky. Stars are spread across the sheet of black, dotting it with sparkling lights. I stare a little at the sight, feeling a sense of calm washing through me. Something about the ferocity of the weather, and the juxtaposition of the serene sky above it makes my heart pound a little faster.
I turn my head and see Kaede staring at me with an oddly amused, yet affectionate look, which makes my breath falter for a moment. I cough and quickly bend down to unroll the sleeping bag. The dry leaves around us dance madly in the wind, thrown into utter chaos by the push and pull of Mother Nature. I give her a tired smile. "Sleep?" I say, pointing at the sleeping bag.
"Sleep." She nods, grinning when I did a dramatic bow and slip under the covers. The warmth that immediately envelops me makes me shudder in delight, and the sheer comfort of it is enough to make me ignore the crunch of leaves under me every time I move. I sigh languidly as Kaede slips in beside me, her arm brushing against mine and sending a jolt of electricity through me. The touch makes my mind go still for a moment, but when she yawns, and I find myself yawning with her.
We mumble our goodnights to each other and drift off. At such close proximity, her scent is strong, but not overwhelming. Her arm brushes against mine again, but my mind is too dulled to take note of it, except for the fleeting thought that her skin was ridiculously smooth, rivalling even that of a child's. My breath evens out, the warmth of the sleeping bag and her presence gradually lulling me into dreamland.
The sun had a nasty sense of humour when it came to wake up calls.
The harsh rays of sunlight shine directly onto my closed eyelids, and it is so unbearable that it forces me to open them, nearly blinding myself in the process. I bite back a few curses on the tip of my tongue. My parents would have my head for cursing at the Sun like that. And I definitely didn't want to be blamed if it suddenly stopped shining or something.
Birds, insects and animals are being noisy as usual. But the birds are thankfully not as horrible as they were yesterday. I let out a huge yawn, my jaw straining, and when I tried to turn myself around to settle in again and turn away from the sunlight, I find that my body was pinned in place.
"What…?" I mumble sleepily. I let my hands wander down, and nearly jump in surprise when the arm around my waist tightens, pulling me towards the owner of said arm. When my back presses against Kaede's firm chest, my mind whirs into overdrive. My face heats up furiously, and I resist the urge to scream in embarrassment when she mumbles something into the crook of my neck- her lips brushing against the sensitive skin there.
I knew I wasn't supposed to enjoy this, she was my friend for kami's sake! "Oh shit." I curse lowly, and as if in response, she buries her head in my shoulder. The action is very intimate and for a creature like me that thrives on isolation, this kind of close contact with a very attractive individual was like striking a flint over a bunch of dry leaves. I was literally burning from embarrassment and add to the fact that I was somehow enjoying Kaede's closeness, my mind was in a mess.
I want to wake her, but the gentle rise and fall of her chest against my back makes me falter. I didn't like to be the person who pulled somebody out of their slumber, mainly because I wouldn't like it if it were done to me. I groan softly, letting out a small yelp when her arm squeezes my waist again. Being this close to Kaede made my heart do a stutter step. Maybe it's because we've never been this close before?
I lie there stiffly for what seems to be an eternity, each small touch making my skin burn with heat. I can't even fall asleep again because of the damn sunlight shining down on me. Finally, Kaede starts to shift, her arm slowly pulling back as she lays on her back and yawns. With a big sigh of relief I don't bother to mask, I turn my body around to face her. Her mused hair and sleepy face was ridiculously cute, and I laugh a little.
"Morning, Hana." She mumbles, pushing the hair of her fringe back. "You snore, you know that?" She tells me, smirking when I sputter.
"I do not!" I huff. "And even if I did, you wouldn't have heard me over the sounds of the storm anyway."
Kaede sends me a triumphant look. "So you admit that you snore then?" She pokes my arm as we both get out of the sleeping bag. I wave it away, grumbling at her cheerful demeanour. Early risers are really something else. I feel like laying on the mushy ground and going back to sleep.
"Since you're so full of energy, I think I can leave breakfast to you." I tell her, laughing when she sighs dramatically. She puts a hand over her heart.
"Is this how you repay me for sharing my sleeping bag?" She mocks. "The horror of it all! I guess I can only make the best breakfast ever as revenge." Kaede grins.
"Yeah yeah." I smile, walking back to our damaged tent to grab all the stuff in the chest. Gathering everything in my arms, I tell Kaede that I'll be quick about my bath so I can help her with breakfast and speed away before she can reject my offer. I jog toward the stream and once I'm there, go through my usual morning routines.
By early afternoon the both of us are enjoying the warm rays of sunlight with full stomachs, satisfied from the hearty breakfast which had a mix of traditional yukumo food and the more exotic kind. We pack up slowly, our trip to Yukumo peaks cut short since the tent was obviously in no shape to shelter us. We have to report this to the guild anyway, and hopefully, we can get clearance to stay at newer outpost near the peaks.
On the way back to the village, Kaede and I share a small bag of nuts, occasionally exchanging words. She seems to like it here, and I feel albeit proud of Yukumo village when I hear her words of praise. We've taken care not to overhunt, and like most places we're pretty strict with poachers. Hunting large monsters without a contract is just asking for trouble, and no hunter with their head screwed on right would put their licence at risk just to get more Zeni.
Me included. If I was going to earn Zeni now and lose it later, I might as well not earn it at all. I never understood the unethical ways in which people tried to earn money. Like poaching, illegal goods trade, and what not. I mean yeah, you get a shit ton of money for doing it, but if you get caught it's game over. You can be rich one day, and broke the next. It was like flipping a coin. It was definitely too risky for me.
I hated relying on 'luck'.
Too many variables, too many opportunities to go wrong. I liked to compare it with the way I hunted monsters. If there was a certain body part I wanted, I would focus all my attacks on it. I wouldn't attack it willy nilly in hopes that I could carve it off later. I don't leave many things to chance. I preferred to do what I could to attain it. If I didn't get what I wanted, I only had myself to blame, but it made failure easier to swallow. Because I knew I didn't rely on something as fleeting as 'chance' or 'luck'. All I had to do was slowly hone my skills.
Slowly but surely.
That is how the tortoise wins the race.
My stash of Zeni was growing bigger as time went on, and it made me feel safe just thinking about it. If there ever came a time my family needed it, it would be there for them. That was my contribution to them. I may not be the best hunter around, but at least I had my wits and common sense.
"There it is!" Kaede says, pointing to the speck in the distance. I adjust the bundle of ludroth skin over my shoulder and grin. "Yep. Home sweet home." I say.
We speed up a little, eager for a hot bath and food. I stare at the familiar wooden gates from the distance. It almost felt like it was welcoming me back, and I mutter a low greeting under my breath.