06-05-18 - Edited a few mistakes and missed third person edits though there's probably more lurking :(

Chapter 11 - Ambushed

The journey home was a long and awkward one. The snow had quickly grown into a raging blizzard which turned our thirty-five-minute journey into a two and a half hour one, which seemed to drag due to the awkwardness still floating around us.

I felt horrible and made it my mission to avoid making eye contact or conversation with any of my family, choosing instead to stare out of the window in a deep daydream.

Of course, father kept true to his word and punished me when we finally got home. To me, it was the worst possible punishment, worse than being hit or scolded.

Shin took me to his office, sat me down without offering me nibbles or a drink as he usually would have done, so I knew I was in trouble, and began by repeating his lecture on the consequences of my reckless actions and how disappointed he was in the calmest, quietest, most dissatisfied tone for the third time.

I did feel ashamed and kept my eyes averted to the floor the whole time, just nodded and said "Yes, Sir" until he told me my punishment.

"You are not allowed to leave the house for one week. In that time, you are to complete chores around the house, which includes cooking and cleaning-"

I stood up in protest. "You can't do that!"

"Oh, I can and I will"

"But-"

"One more complaint and I'll make it two weeks. You should have thought of the consequences before acting." Shin too got up and walked around the table towards the door. "I have given the maids the week off. You will do this alone and without help."

"WHAT?! Alone? I can't do all of that alone-"

"Three weeks and confinement to your bedroom while you're not busy." He cut in worsening my punishment. "Don't make me set your garden as off limits too." I stopped instantly, knowing how not to make it any worse for myself.

"You will start immediately. Am I making myself clear?"

I folded my arms and turned my head away from him so not to look him in the eyes and grunted "Yes, Sir" again stubbornly.

Shin smiled and walked escorted me out of his office.

Over the next few days, I skulked around the house in a foul mood, doing any jobs that were given to me.

I usually spent the majority of my time outdoors; exploring, training or just relaxing somewhere with a good view. I hated being cooped up like this. I now understood how animals felt when they were forced into captivity.

At first, I would rush jobs just to get them out of the way, thinking that I would get to relax and be left alone in my room afterward, but I had been mistaken. As soon as one job was finish they would give me another until eventually, I realized that I might as well take my time and put some effort into my work.

I began to appreciate the maids and all their hard work. Until now I had never really taken much notice of them but now I understood that I was doing all of the work that more than five people would do all by myself… and it was exhausting.

I tried to think of it as training and exercise to overcome that horrible sinking feeling in my stomach whenever I thought of this as three weeks worth of training time wasted, or three weeks further away from joining the academy.

The only advantage of the punishment was that I would be able to sneak bites of food out of the kitchen if I was working in there and no one else was around.

Yuu was lounging around in the dining room with her feet up on the table whilst I mopped the floors, probably to make fun of me or make my task more difficult. It was unlike her to be indoors at this time of day so I could think of any other reason.

"You missed a spot," Yuu mumbled, pointing over to the corner while crunching into a huge and juicy-looking red apple.

I winced like her words were knives. Now I knew she was there to annoy me, I had been over that spot three times already!

"You don't say! It a pretty big spot too, I should get rid of it-" and I dropped the wet mop on Yuu's head from behind.

She flinched, yelped and jumped to her feet. "You made me bite my tongue! Meanie..."

"You've got some nerve, calling me a meanie. You try doing this crap all day every day and then call me a meanie!"

"Oh, get over it already. Your punishment ends tomorrow; You can go out again and stop skulking around the house like a moody old cat. And at least we don't have to suffer your horrible cooking anymore." she added the last part under her breath, immediately bracing herself to be attacked with the mop again but luckily I missed that last comment. Yuu sighed in relief and took another bite of her apple while I spoke.

"It doesn't matter... I wanted to go out in the snow while it's still fresh, but its melting and paths are frozen solid..."

"That won't be the last snow dummy, it'll be back soon"

"It's not the same though; Virgin snow is the best thing in the world!"

Yuu nearly choked on her apple. "Excuse me? What?"

"Virgin snow? You know-" Yuu stared at me with wide eyes as if to say 'No... not really'.

"Fresh snow, deep, thick, untouched, smooth, pure white... Not that horrible slushy stuff you get on the roads and in the village. It's so much fun to play in~" I said dreamily.

Yuu lobbed a cushion in my face. "Okaaay, enough of that, weirdo! Get back to work already, these floors aren't gonna mop themselves, chop chop!" she quickly springing to her feet and clapping her hands as if to usher me along.

"You're the weirdo for not knowing what I'm talking about, weirdo." I sighed under my breath, picking up the mop and bucket of soapy water and stomping into the hallway.

The next morning I woke up in an exceptionally good mood. Today my punishment, which had felt like an eternity of miserable slavery, was finally over. I got dressed and skipped off to the dining room with a spring in my step.

I slammed the door open, smiling brightly and humming to myself as I took an enthusiastic sniff of the air. "Gooooood morning everyone~" I sang, helping myself to an omelet.

They stared at me as though I had lost my mind. "You're awfully happy today," Shin said smiling pleasantly.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" I took a bite of the square piece of bouncy egg and sank back into my seat in bliss. "It tastes so good when I haven't made it myself..."

Yuu laughed. "Sorry to agree but your cooking was horrendous. You burnt almost everything. Today is the first day we've had edible food thanks to the maids"

"And such a wonderful job they do! I'm so glad they are here"

"Well, at least we know that your punishment taught you something." Shin piped up, piling a bowl high with rice. "But I must say you did a magnificent job on the outside hallway floors. So, I would like it if you clean those floors once a month"

I winced and put my food down. The idea of more cleaning put me off my food. "You're only joking right?"

"Joking? Certainly not. You did a splendid job. Cleaning the outside hallways is not one of the maid's usual jobs; they get cleaned once in a blue moon. I don't remember seeing them so shiny." Shin said, jovially waving his chopsticks around as he spoke.

I dropped my head onto the table heavily in despair "And here I thought I'd never have to pick up a mop again in my life"

"No worries Kimi, I'll help you next time. It'll be fun with the two of us" Yuu smiled. "Now hurry up and finish eating, it just started to snow again! You wanted to see the snow right?"

I shot a glance out of the nearest window and spotted tiny flakes floating to the ground without a single breeze. I wolfed down my food and almost choked on my rice.

"Slow down, you'll give yourself indigestion" Yoshino warned me, patting me on the back.

"I know I know but there's no time for that, I gotta get moving, thanks for the food, see you later" and with that, I was up and out of there.

Yuu looked back at her parents and shrugged, then followed me.

"That girl, she's like a flea in a bottle, she never sits still." Shin sighed. "But at least we know that she is happy, that's all that matters"

"Jeez, you'd think you've never been outside before"

"I'll have you know that those three weeks of punishment were torture, absolute TORTURE. I'm so glad to be out again" I pranced through the snow like I had never seen the stuff before.

Yuu shivered and wrapped her coat tighter around herself. "If you ask me you're completely out of your mind, walking around like this in a jumper and tights."

"I don't feel the cold, it doesn't bother me at all. I love this weather. It's way better than an unbearably hot and sweaty summer"

"If you say so."

A call came from the right of them outside one of the workshops at the edge of the village center. "Welcome back Kimiko, Hello Yuuga" a middle-aged man waved at the two of them and beckoned them over. "I see you got back from your trip safely"

"I- How did you?" I asked confused.

"Oh, come off it Kimi. You really think that the villagers didn't know about your little journey? You really thought the news wouldn't spread?"

"I- No I didn't think anyone knew-"

The man laughed heartily. "What you did takes some guts kiddo, but it all worked out in the end"

"Yeah... I guess so..." I trailed off, then realizing what he was getting at. "But I didn't have any part in solving the problem, more than anything I just got in the way-" I rushed in an attempt to clarify. Even so, I didn't really want to tell the man that I couldn't remember anything and was found unconscious. That would make me sound weak.

"Nonsense. You defied the law of the Soul Reapers, snooped past them, escaped, ran away from home and tried to solve a murder mystery, as far as I'm concerned that's bravery, good job." He patted me on the back.

Yuu scowled at the man for condoning my behavior... "But anyway, I was wondering if you would do me a favor"

"Sure-"

"Sorry, I can't today" Yuu cut in quickly. "I've got to pick up a few things from the Tailor's shop for Mother, I was going to take you with me Kimi but you can handle this alone, right?"

"It shouldn't be light work for our hero-in-training" The man chuckled heartily. I blushed and Yuu rolled her eyes. "I have an order from some clients at the edge of the district to the North, would you mind making a delivery for me? I would do it myself but with this ice underfoot is a nightmare for the cart-"

I gave him a thumbs-up. "Not a problem, you can count on me. I'm pretty fast so I can be there within half an hour"

"Thanks a lot, I'll pay you in cake when you get back" he chuckled again, heading off slightly into the doorway and picking up a long and thick package with straps on to fix it to my back.

I had never really spoken to the local carpenter but I did regularly do errands for his wife, who seemed to have made it her mission to fatten me up with sweet rewards.

I grimaced, getting fed up with sickly homemade devil's chocolate cake. "Thanks, but you don't need to pay me, especially not in cake. I'm gonna be too fat to train if I carry on eating at this rate"

"Hmm, then I'll carve you a little something or other as a thank you" he smiled again, handing it to me with a piece of paper for the address and location. "Careful now, it might be heavy. Its tough stuff but still be careful with it along the way, I don't want it to be damaged"

"Don't worry, I can handle this" I glanced at the paper and had a vague idea of where I was going, though I had never been quite that far south before, but was basically a straight road. "Ok then, I'll be off"

"Have a safe trip"

Yuu and I went our separate ways just down the road. I didn't have anything planned for the day so I was quite relieved to find something to occupy my time instead of wandering around the village enjoying the weather.

I headed out of the village and in the general direction of the address on the note wrapped inside the package. It was to a blacksmith who lives just out of town, but in these icy conditions, I knew it wouldn't be as easy as flash stepping all the way over there. The roads were more treacherous the further from the village I went.

I had been cautiously tiptoeing through a deep snow drift to avoid a patch of ice in the middle of the path, concentrating heavily and where I placed my feet and wishing I had chosen better shoes when suddenly something solid shot past my right ear missing me by inches and smashed like glass on a tree.

I watched it break into a million shimmering pieces. A solid brick of ice. I whirled around to see where it had come from but another one met me directly in the face.

I screamed in pain and fell to the floor, clutching my swollen, throbbing face. I couldn't see, the ice had blinded me. I tried desperately to wipe away my freezing tears and bring my clouded vision back into focus as I heard the crunch of footsteps ahead of me and someone's faint jeering.

"Would you look what wondered onto our turf, boys. The little bitch from Harumachi that everyone's been talkin' bout" I felt a hand grasp the top of my head firmly and turn my face to them with force. They took hold of my hair and hoisted me up. "Not so tough now are ya, Hero!?" there was more jeering from behind the speaker.

I couldn't see a thing so I knew I needed to rely on my other senses, though I couldn't seem to focus on much more than my pain and panic right now. Shooting pains in my nose were creeping past the icy numbness the ice had left on my skin.

Shit! What have I got myself into this time, I've heard that voice before! I thought, trying to focus my mind but the guy's face wasnt coming to me.

"What do you expect!? You friggin' ambushed me, asshole!"

"But I thought Soul Reapers could sense when people were near?"

"I-" I began, but in fact he was right. I didn't expect these jerks to have any spiritual pressure that I would be able to sense and he probably didn't know that he needed it for me to sense them; but on the off chance that they did have some, I would have been able to sense them long before they saw me. They had obviously planned the attack from the moment of seeing me and done a good job of concealing themselves. For me to not notice I was being followed was a disgrace.

"I'm not a Soul Reaper" I said, hating the words.

He spat in my face and I flinched in disgust. "Then why are you pretending to be one and taking all the glory!?"

"I'm not pretending! I'm training to become a Soul Reape-" but my words were cut off why a fist to the stomach. I hadn't expected it and the impact winded me. I spluttered all over the one who was holding me and I coughed up something warm and coppery.

"Not a very good one, are ya?! You look pretty useless to me!" I couldn't get enough breath to reply. I wanted to curl up into a ball to ease the pain but I was forced to hang limply in mid-air, the pain in my stomach overwriting the pain on her face and scalp.

He suddenly let go of me and I dropped to the floor. Fresh, powdery snow flying into the air around me.

I felt another hit, this time a kick to the ribs. "That's for the first time we met"

Another to my back "That's for knocking me unconscious"

Another in far too quick succession be from the same person, there were more than three boys there.

"For beating me"

More from other people, one after the other I was struck all over my body.

In the mess of voices and jeering, the boys did not see what was happening to me. For the first time in months, my eyes rolled to the back of my head and that searing headache came to consume all of my senses, even the pain.

The voices were fading away as though they were being played on a distant radio and a film played across my eyes. Quick flashes of images sped past.

I was flat on my back on a sheet of ice wearing a black sailor-style school uniform, people laughing down at me. It changed again. I was sitting in a classroom with people laughing at the snowflakes in my hair, jeering the word 'dandruff' at my back.

Now I was cowering against a brick wall as countless people pelted sharp balls of snow and ice at me. The boy's voices in the real world seemed to dub them.

In the vision and adult came running towards me and the children bullying me scattered like cockroaches.

But the adult was dubbed by a new voice, a young man.

I never felt the last hit, but that was because it never came.

Back in the real world, a new person had arrived on the scene, this time wielding a wooden kendo sword. As he struck a blow to the leaders back and made him fall to the floor, the film began to fade away, the mix of voices and images becoming disconnected and no longer made sense.

My savior continued onto the others.

"I would never dream of hitting an unarmed person with my sword" he began "but what you just did was unforgivable, so I'll make exceptions. Hitting girls is unacceptable but actually beating them to this extent-" he never finished his sentence. He took all four of them on until they had finally realized that they were outmatched and retreated.

I only just heard him before my migraine crescendoed and swept me into blackness.

Once the attackers, their screaming and the loud crunches of footsteps in the snow were out of range the boy knelt down to the bloodied up girl who now lay in the snow, unconscious. He shook his head in disgust at her swollen face covered in blood, took his coat off and wrapped it around her, then gently lifted her up.

Before he turned away he spotted the large white wrapped package that had been roughly discarded by a tree. He raised an eyebrow and retrieved it before setting off.