The Typical Fan-Fiction Disclaimer: I do not own +Anima or any related characters, the +Anima series is owned by Natsumi Mukai, Tokyopop, and various other parties that have to do with the creation and publishing of the series. As I probably don't need to say, this is purely a fan work.
Now on to Chapter Ten!
Chapter Ten: Rain
Cooro shuffled in bed as the sound of muffled laughter once again echoed through the small room, disturbing the stillness of the musty wood shelter. Unable to sleep, he turned back towards where Nana and Husky sat a few feet away with a table, a lantern, and a chess board between them.
The group had been traveling for four days along the riverside, and it had only been in the last that a few signs of civilization had begun to reappear. They'd started passing a few people and carriages making their way by, most likely headed to one of the villages near the ocean beach, and had come across the lone traveler's inn that evening. Having thankfully not caught sight of a single guard since the incident just outside of the riverside village, they'd decided that it wouldn't do any harm to spend a night at the small shelter – to reach the ruins they were going to, they likely still had a couple days of walking left, and they had no idea what actually awaited them there, either. The thought of a comfortable inn had been too much to pass up, even if it was just for a single night.
They needed all the rest they could get, but instead of going straight to bed, Husky and Nana had discovered the chess board in one of the room's dressers, and had eagerly started a game…which had since turned into two after Nana had sworn revenge for her first loss. Cooro sighed, listening in on their conversation once more.
"What? But…" Nana moaned in annoyance as Husky took out one of her knights with a bishop.
"I told you that you aren't ever going to beat me." The silver-haired boy boasted, interrupting. "Chess was something we were taught to play back in the castle. I always used to win against the guard squadron, too."
"Hey Husky…" Nana started distractedly, scanning the board for her next move. "How did you end up working for the guards, anyway? When we all split up, you had that job working for the blacksmith in a city market."
The former guard took his turn after her. "Well…that didn't last too long. I was tossed out onto the streets as soon as the manager realized I was a +anima."
That caught Nana's attention, diverting her gaze away from the board as her eyes widened slightly. "Really? You got kicked out because you were…" Her voice trailed off, her tone sad. "Yeah." Husky nodded. "That's when I started being careful to hide that I was a +anima again, and when I started going by 'Myrrha' again, too, since I didn't think that anyone who might already know what I was would recognize me by that name. I lived on the streets for a while, and eventually had to turn to stealing when winter came around. I got caught, though, by none other than the captain. I tried to fight him off, which was probably stupid – I could have easily been thrown in jail, but luckily for me he was actually impressed, and ended up taking me in…"
"Oh…" The girl answered dryly, her eyes falling slightly downcast as she once again started focusing on the match.
Cooro's attention started drifting away as well as they momentarily fell silent, his eyes finally starting to close despite the slight burning in his shoulders that had been persisting for almost the whole time, and the lantern light brightening up half the room. So that was what'd happened to Husky after they'd said what they'd thought were their final goodbyes…
She'd been bitter at first, but Nana had actually ended up spending much of the time during their travels chatting back and forth with Husky. Cooro shuffled again, trying to just ignore them and get to sleep, their voices starting to appear once more at the edges of his drowsy senses.
A quiet laugh from Nana just a few minutes later got his eyes to open again, though, a frustrated frown coming across his face. This time he sat up, scooting over to the edge of the bed and placing his good foot down on the floor before gingerly following it with the one from his injured right leg. He grabbed the bedside table to keep steady as he pulled himself up, carefully getting to his feet without placing weight on his wounded ankle.
The boy still couldn't walk on his own, but in the last couple of days, he'd found that the sharp delicateness at his ankle had finally started to ebb slightly – he could actually hobble around a bit if he had something to hold on to. It probably wasn't wise, since if he fell even once he'd be risking irritating the wound again, but he could hardly stand being forced to sit still anymore…leading him to try any chance he got.
He stumbled clumsily but carefully over towards his two awake companions, barely even letting the toes on his right foot touch the floor as he relied on the table edge he was pressing against to hold his weight.
"Oh? Cooro?" Nana looked up as she heard him approach, surprised. "What are you doing up? You probably shouldn't try to move around as much as you do, either – it would be bad if you fell…"
The young man ignored the statement. "Umm…can I play too?" His voice was small and timid, his eyes not quite meeting either of theirs as he gazed down timidly. Nana blinked, slightly taken aback – just like the doctor had observed, he hardly ever asked for anything. "Sorry, Cooro…but you know, chess is only for two people…" She actually felt guilty for not saying yes.
"But…" Cooro sputtered. "The two of you just finished a game a couple of minutes ago…didn't you?"
Nana bit her bottom lip. "Well, yeah, we did, but… We've already started another match now, and besides, I have to get him back!" She justified, forcing a smile across her face.
"Can I play against the winner after this, then?" Cooro asked hopefully, still looking down. "But it's so late now…we're actually both planning to go to bed as soon as this is over, we probably already should've… We don't really have time to play anymore…" The girl explained quietly. "Next time, okay?"
"Okay…" Cooro finally agreed sadly, giving up. Next time? When the heck would that be? The boy just sighed dejectedly.
He carefully stumbled back to the bed with another lonely moan, pulling the sheets back over his body as he laid back down, his back turned once more.
The sound of their voices continued to keep him awake though, irritating him more than he would've expected, and it wasn't long before he found his gaze wandering over to the drawer where they'd found the game. He got up on his palms, opening it quietly. All that was left was an old pack of cards.
He pulled the deck out, just staring at it for a moment before giving Senri, who was lying right next to him, already asleep, a light prod in the shoulder.
The slightly older man stirred, passing a sleepy, confused gaze at his dark-haired, younger companion. "Uh…" Cooro stuttered, suddenly feeling bad for having woken him up. "Do you…want to play cards with me?"
At that late at night, the truth was he didn't, but Cooro's voice sounded so meek and small that Senri sat up anyway, giving a light nod. The boy's eyes immediately brightened a bit, his old friend lighting the bedside lantern.
As Senri wordlessly took the deck, Cooro briefly wondered whether or not the bear +anima even knew how to play. A slight smile made its way across his face when his companion started shuffling the cards though, passing out a few to him. Maybe he'd played it with the children back at his toyshop?
Pleased as he was to have found someone to play it with, Cooro still had a hard time focusing on their silent game of cards, his gaze constantly falling back to Nana and Husky as their voices hit his ears. It continued on like that until Nana suddenly stood up in a loud huff, startling both him and Senri.
"See? It's useless. What did I tell you?" The silver-haired, former guard jeered teasingly.
"I say it's just luck!" Nana insisted. "I used to be pretty good at this, too… I swear, next time we get a chance to play this, you owe me another round!"
Cooro couldn't help but frown slightly.
"Sure, go ahead and keep trying." Husky taunted, putting out the lantern by their table as they both headed over to the beds.
Nana quickly climbed into the first bed, the young man continuing on instead to the one where Cooro and Senri both sat awake. "Umm, guys, will you pick up the cards now? We really need to get to bed." He prompted, eager to sleep while he could now that their own game was over. "But we didn't even get to finish our game…" Cooro argued.
There were two beds in the small room, but Nana, being the only woman, got to take one all to herself, leaving her three male companions to struggle to fit all together in the other. "It probably would be a good idea." The girl suggested from her bed, stretched out comfortably. "We should leave fairly early…"
"Fine…" Cooro reluctantly agreed again, slightly annoyed that Nana and Husky had gotten to finish their game even though they didn't want to wait for him and Senri to finish theirs. The two of them put the cards away, the bear +anima admittedly not seeming to mind too much. They lay back down in their places, trying to get comfortable again.
Husky paused just briefly when he realized the open space left in the bed was next to Cooro, quickly taking the spot before anyone noticed his hesitation a moment later.
After everyone was under the blankets, Senri reached over and put out the final lantern, a darkness filling the room. The full-moon's light seeping in through the windows provided enough illumination to still see a bit, though. Husky didn't even attempt to fall asleep right away, letting his eyes wander. He still wasn't used to being with the three companions plucked straight from his memory, and he actually noticed it more than ever at night, when everything else was silent.
With the exception of Cooro, his old friends seemed to be doing rather well, despite what they'd been going through. Senri was as strong and steady as ever, if just as spacey as well. He really hadn't changed much at all – he even looked largely the same, age having simply filled him out a bit more. Nana was still easily recognizable too, though she'd come into a more adult figure and had let her hair grow slightly longer, coming all the way down to her waist. Husky didn't feel like he'd changed much, either…he'd grown taller, and all the training under the sheriff had given him quite a bit of strength as he'd grown up – at least he didn't look quite so feminine anymore…even though he'd kept his hair about the same and still continued wearing his earrings through the years.
His thoughts wandering, he let his gaze rest on Nana a moment longer before he shuffled around to the other side, sensing someone else's stare behind him.
Sure enough, Cooro was still awake, gazing from Husky to the wall as he fiddled nervously, his palms placed subconsciously against his shoulders.
Husky would much rather have had Senri be the one next to him – like it had been the last few nights considering that they usually still shared a blanket. He kept quiet, though, figuring that asking his two companions to swap places would come across as extremely rude. He tried not to comment on the dark-haired boy's unnerving, irritating stare. He couldn't describe what it was exactly, but there was something about Cooro now that made him a bit…uncomfortable.
He figured that it still had something to do with the incident involving him and the guard squadron – he'd seen Cooro's face in his nightmare's each night since holding that blade to his neck – but he thought that it was more than that, too.
Nana had explained to him everything that'd happened up to the point where he'd joined them, including how she'd run into the dark-haired boy, and what she'd heard that Taru guy say about him. She told him about some of the especially strange incidents, too, like how he'd panicked after having been given a knife when they'd left the hospital. Without having to have a single thing told to him, though, he could tell there was something wrong with Cooro. He didn't know what it was exactly, but there was something wrong.
Saying that he acted like a little kid didn't seem right, since he certainly didn't act like he had when he'd actually been a child, but he definitely didn't act like a normal nineteen year old, either. He seemed to be in a weird, constant state of melancholy and anxiety, too… Something had to have happened to have made him the way he'd become, but just what that something could possibly have been, he had no idea. Cooro himself consciously knew just what it was, though, Husky could tell that just by watching him. There were things he was definitely keeping hidden. Even as they laid there at that inn, there was something bothering him.
It was normal for people to keep some things to themselves, of course, especially people who hadn't spoken to each other since they were children eight years ago, but there was something about Cooro's behavior that struck him as unnerving… He actually found him slightly…creepy.
Still, he seemed to be the only one that felt that way – neither Senri nor Nana seemed uneasy around the dark-haired young man, so maybe he shouldn't either… After all, he did seem pretty harmless…
"Hey, Cooro…" Husky suddenly piped up, his voice nothing more than a whisper. "Is something wrong?" He forced himself to ask, though he admittedly was just as curious about his reaction as he was concerned.
"Huh?" The boy tensed for a moment, startled, before catching Husky's stare and realizing who'd spoken. "Oh…n…no, nothing's wrong." He made the simple answer abruptly, quickly moving his gaze away.
Husky frowned. Yes, he was definitely worried about something. He obviously wasn't going to say what, though…and it really wasn't his business, anyway. The former guard sighed inwardly in frustration.
"Well…then try to sleep for when we start moving again tomorrow." He added, trying to sound casual. "Y…yeah…" Cooro sputtered quietly, making a point of moving his hand's down and forcing his eyes closed. Husky slowly did the same a moment later, both of them searching restlessly for sleep.
As planned, they left the inn early the next morning, continuing on alongside the river. Late that afternoon, though, they came across what looked like a small bridge.
"What's that?" Cooro asked, being the first to catch sight of it from the wheel chair. They all stopped, looking it over.
"Oh, it looks like a bridge – it probably leads to another village on the other side of the river." Nana observed, walking closer for a better look. "Should we take it? It'd be a way to finally get across to the opposite shore."
Their destination – the abandoned war fortress, would likely be located in the rocky but less-mountainous area of the beaches, meaning that they would have to cross over at some point.
"We probably should…" Husky thought aloud. "But it's starting to get a bit late, and if that's an actual village over there, and not just a single inn, it's highly likely that there are guards positioned there. I thought I heard something about that back when I was with them – I don't think they're daring to get too close to the fortress yet, but I believe they sent a few forces out to some other towns by the riverside on the way to it. This looks like it could be one. If that's the case, if might be best to just spend the night here, and hurry our way through the area tomorrow without stopping."
"So you think we should just stop right now for the night?" Nana asked for confirmation, considering the situation herself.
"Yeah." Husky nodded. "If we wait until the morning, we'll have all of tomorrow to get as far away from the village, and the guards patrol range, as possible. If we leave now, we're likely to get caught in it just as it gets dark."
"Okay." The young woman agreed, figuring that he had a point. She wasn't eager to stop when they were getting so close to their destination, but it probably would be wiser to get through that area all at once. With a couple of simple nods from Cooro and Senri, they made a fire for the night just a little ways from the bridge, preparing to settle down until the next morning.
The place they stopped at was the inside a small cavern, the group of four wanting to carefully avoid the rainfall the darkening sky promised to bring later. It was a bitterly cold afternoon as well – it almost looked like a storm similar to the one that'd struck the night Nana had first found Cooro in her orchards was once again on it's way. The girl gazed out from the rock shelter uneasily, shivering.
"Hey guys…" She started. "It looks like a storm might be coming, and it's so cold, too… I think we need to get some more firewood – that little fire we have now isn't going to last all night, and we're definitely going to need it. If we wait much longer though, I'm worried that all the wood out there is going to get drenched! I think I'm going to go collect some now…"
"You're right…" Husky agreed, following her gaze. "It does look like it could get stormy – getting prepared now might be a good idea. If it gets real bad, we might even get stuck here tomorrow."
"Okay, then I'll hurry and be right back." Nana announced, preparing to head out of the small cavern.
"Wait! Nana, can I please come with you?" Cooro suddenly piped up behind her. He felt bad for asking, knowing that his request would mean that she would have to push him around in the wheel chair herself…but he really wanted to be included with her again. He had admit that he'd been feeling a bit left out since Husky had joined back up with them – she wasn't forced to talk to him anymore...
"It's kind of nice to have someone more normal to talk too…" Nana's words from the conversation he'd overheard a few nights before echoed through his mind, making him bite his bottom lip. Those words had been bothering him ever since he'd heard her speak them. Normal… He wanted to be 'normal', too… He hadn't noticed it so much when it'd been just her and him, or even with the rather quiet Senri around, but once Husky had come into the picture, he found it hard to even make himself be noticed anymore…and he was surprised how much that hurt.
The girl paused, blinking in surprise. "Well…if you really want to, I guess…" She decided, still finding it strange to hear him actually ask for something. She didn't feel good about declining again. "I don't think it will be too hard to bring you along."
"Really? Thank you!" Cooro forced a smile across his face, trying to look as 'normal' as possible. Nana just passed a slightly bewildered one back.
Finding more usable firewood had turned out to be a slightly more difficult task than Nana had imagined – it'd rained a bit the night before when they'd been staying at the inn, and dampness still lingered on a lot of the branches and brush lying on ground. To begin with, the area really wasn't that wooded anyway, only making it harder.
Nana continued pushing Cooro along, the boy holding on to wood they'd found as the two of them ventured further from the camp than they'd originally planned to.
"Let's just take what we have and go back…" Nana decided. "It looks like the storm could break out at any moment, and if the branches we did find get soaked before we get back, then there was really no point to this! Besides, it's starting to get dark now…"
"Yeah…" Cooro agreed. "It's getting even colder…"
"You two – wait!"
The young woman came to an abrupt halt at the harsh male voice, both her and Cooro's gazes whipping around as three men stepped closer to them. They were well-clad, dressed in all too familiar uniforms – guards!
Nana swallowed hard, her breath catching in her throat. What were they doing there? They had been careful to keep some distance from the bridge. She struggled to keep her voice steady as she spoke, though, letting a bit of confusion seep in. "Yes?"
The three guards didn't answer right away, whispering quietly amongst themselves for a moment. Nana carefully let her bat ears appear, letting her palms and hair keep them hidden.
"Those two kids really do fit the description of a couple of the targets…"
"They're here, just like that woman said they might be."
"Do you think they really are +anima?"
"If they are the ones we're looking for…do we really have to…kill them?"
Nana abruptly stopped listening as she quickly had her bat ears vanish, cursing their luck. It sounded like someone had tipped these guards off on their whereabouts – but who could that possibly be? She didn't have time to worry about that, though. These guards didn't seem as intent as the one's from Husky's squadron – she guessed that searching for her and her companions had never been specifically assigned to them, but they were still in quite a situation… If these guards confirmed who they were, they would undoubtedly try to carry out the terrible mission as well.
"Well…" One of the guards started unaware that she'd heard them speaking, trying to sound deceivingly casual. "There are a couple of murder suspects – rouge +anima – that are thought to be somewhere in the area. We are required to search over anyone who even remotely matches the description for the sake of public safety. I'm afraid we need you to come here."
"What, rouge +anima? Murderers?" Nana blurted out shakily, sounding more nervous than she would have liked as she struggled to come up with a story. "I don't know what you're talking about – we're just travelers going to visit a relative in one of the beach villages!"
"If that's true, that's all fine and dandy, but we still need to have a look at you." The guard insisted, obviously hoping that they weren't the people he was looking for himself. "The girl we're after is confirmed to be a bat +anima – if you don't have the markings on your back, then you're free to go."
"Uh…" Nana sputtered, her and Cooro exchanging a panicked glance – if those guards really got a look, they were going to find exactly what they were hoping they wouldn't. Unable to come up with an excuse against the search, they had no choice but to flee.
Going to be exposed either way, the girl all at once burst into her +anima form, her wings spreading out behind her as she suddenly let out a horrible screech. She stunned the shocked guards long enough to bolt away, pushing Cooro in front of her as she flew through the brush with her wings beating furiously – the guards would be coming with weapons drawn now!
Cooro shielded his face as they whipped forward blindly, smacking straight into thorns and branches as they frantically tried to vanish from the sight of the guards plodding behind them.
A gasp caught in each of their throats when the level, easy way forward suddenly vanished, a steep, grassy cliff towering in front of them. Nana had no choice but to stop, gazing wide-eyed at the hill, her sense of panic only increasing. She could fly over it by herself without a problem, she could probably even make it by foot, but there was no possible way she could push Cooro up such a sharp incline…and by then the three guards had them surrounded at every other angle.
"Nana, it's all right, just leave me behind!" Cooro ordered surprisingly sternly, realizing the problem. "Fly yourself up there and escape!"
"What? No, I can't! You'd…" She argued, passing him a horrified gaze at the suggestion. A bit of the determination Cooro had shown back when he'd helped her escape the first time had crept back into his terrified eyes – he definitely meant what he said.
"It…doesn't matter…" Cooro argued back. "I'm the one who insisted on coming along… I don't want that to mean something happens to you, too!"
"But, Cooro… No, I won't!" Nana shook her head, trembling.
"Nana –" Cooro was about to insist again, but it was too late, two of the men suddenly aggressively wrapping their arms around the bat +anima, while the third captured Cooro, yanking him up.
"No, stop!" Nana protested frantically, writhing under their grasps. "Let us go! We're not murderers, we haven't really done anything wrong!"
The guards did nothing at first, the three simply staring back and forth at each other. It was obvious that they weren't too keen on carrying out the last part of the mission.
"This girl…matches the description of the young, female bat +anima that is accused of murder, and is supposed to be executed on sight…" One of the men repeated aloud, placing a hand over Nana's mouth to quiet her arguing. "This isn't going to be a pleasant task…"
"Executed… We're just standard watchmen…do we really have to do this?" Another of the guards hesitated, complaining uneasily. "What about this boy, him too?" The man holding Cooro asked, equally wide-eyed.
"No!" Nana screamed shakily, biting the guard's hand to get it away from her mouth as he recoiled in pain. "He's not even a +anima, at least leave him alone!" The man shoved his palm tighter against her face the second time, shutting her up.
"There's an injured, dark-haired boy that is known to associate with the bat +anima and the other suspects – that's most likely him right there." The same guard, who seemed to be something of their leader, started. "He's…supposed to be disposed of as well, but it's not actually known whether he's a +anima himself or not… If he in fact isn't, maybe we don't really have to do it… Search him for any markings!"
"No! Wait, stop!" Cooro shrieked in a panic, trying to claw and bite at the arms of the man holding him. The guard cursed as the frantic boy gave him a large scrape that ran all the way down from his elbow, pushing him painfully to the ground instead of letting go. "Stop!" Cooro screamed desperately as the man started by lifting his shirt completely up, his struggling to no avail.
The guard blinked, pointing to the boy's exposed shoulders as he moved the cloth to the side, allowing the others to see. Nana's eyes stretched wider than those of any of the guards.
"These markings… He is a +anima…" The guard holding the teary-eyed Cooro down announced aloud. "I don't recognize this pattern exactly, but I'd say he's some sort of bird, from the looks of it…"
Cooro didn't even try to struggle anymore, lying still with his face against the dirt. Nana stayed frozen as well, her wide-eyes fixated completely on him in shock.
"Then…I guess we'll just have to do away with both of them…" The main guard decided solemnly, loosening his grip just slightly to reach one hand down by his belt in search of a knife. "I'm sorry…you two…" He looked down at both Nana and Cooro himself. "We're not going to enjoy this – we're just doing our job."
The only response he got was a painful jab in the stomach from a very angry Nana, the young woman having taken the opportunity of the loosened grip to slam the man with her elbow. He stumbled back, loosing hold of her as she jostled out of the grasp of the startled second guard as well. She quickly let out a blaring screech, causing all three of their attackers to fall away and Cooro to wince, too. The knife she carried with her was in her hands by the time any of the guards got back to their feet, the girl standing aggressively in a fighter's stance.
She reached down carefully without turning her gaze, grabbing one of Cooro's hands and roughly yanking him up as much as she could. "We have to get out of here now!" She spat. "But…how –" Cooro sputtered, his voice trembling terribly. "Fly! You idiot!" Nana interrupted harshly, not even disguising the rage in her voice. Cooro flinched, his watery gaze still set on the ground. "Nana… I… I can't!"
Nana just grimaced in frustration after only brief moment of surprise, all of the patience she'd previously had for the boy completely gone. "What the hell do you mean you can't? You are still a +anima! You've been lying all along!"
The guards were just watching the strange situation as if in a trance, not quite knowing what to do.
"I just can't, okay?" Cooro insisted dryly, not making any further comments.
"Don't give me anymore crap, Cooro! I've had enough!" Nana practically screamed, slashing her knife across the chest of one guard who was foolish enough to try to attack in her distraction – her rage had completely erased her fear. She blocked a second assault, giving a painful counter. The guards quickly backed off.
"Let's just go…" She heard one of them whisper. "We'll just say we were attacked and were forced to retreat, after all…there's only three of us, and +anima are dangerous, right? Especially proven killers!" "Right!" The others agreed to the excuse, the hesitant, somewhat timid guards eager to abandon the brutal mission. They scurried away, leaving the two +anima alone to fight.
"All this time, you've been lying!" Nana continued sharply, lowering her knife and whipping around to hover over Cooro as the guards were swallowed up by the evening shadows. "All this time when we've been helping you – when I opened the door at the guard station for you because I thought you couldn't fly, when we were working to pay for a hospital and an inn so that we could stay with you, and all this time when we've been pushing you around in that stupid wheel chair! What do you think we are – your servants? You didn't even need us to help you get around – you could have flown for yourself! And it's your fault we got caught this time, too!"
"But, Nana…" Cooro wailed pathetically, shrinking under the assault. "You don't understand – it's not like that! It's not that… I can't! I really can't! There are reason's why…"
"Then what are they?" Nana snapped without giving him a chance to finish speaking.
"I…" Cooro never answered, breaking out into a sob as tears streamed down his face.
Nana frowned, subconsciously balling her hands into fists. "And now you're going to start crying again… You idiot… Is that all you know how to do now?" She repeated, shaking as she glared down at him. "What the heck happened to you, Cooro? What's wrong with you?"
The boy said nothing, his messy, dark hair falling over his dampened face as he forced his miserable, hurt gaze up to hers, still sobbing.
"I don't understand… I don't understand at all!" Nana continued, trying to calm herself down slightly as she glared coldly back down at him. A couple of hurt tears dribbled down her face as well. "But I'm not going to put up with it anymore! I'm not putting up with any of it! I'm not going to help you back this time – you can fly back to camp whenever you're ready!" She quickly snatched the bits of firewood that had been scattered on the ground and abruptly turned away, strutting off without so much as a second glance back.
"No! Nana, wait!" Cooro called frantically, reaching after her. "D…don't leave me here, please!" He begged shakily, water still falling from his eyes as his voice trembled. "I'll be stuck here! I can't use my wings!"
Nana stopped without moving her gaze away from the path in front of her. "Then you better explain to me why right now…because as of the moment, I don't see why I should continue to have to help some liar who, to me, seems perfectly capable of getting back on his own."
Cooro just kept sobbing, shaking terribly as his eyes went back somewhere distant and horrible. A few more tears dripped down Nana's face and to her neck when she still got no answer, all at once taking off in an unsteady, aggressive sprint.
"Wait! Nana!"
A familiar, terrified voice called pleadingly and desperately after her, but this time, she didn't stop, disappearing into the dimness of the evening herself as the first few drops of rain fell from the sky.
Husky shuffled by his place at the fire as he heard footsteps approach, abruptly turning his gaze towards the small cavern's entrance as he realized Nana was finally returning.
"Nana! Where the hell have you been?" The silver-haired boy demanded angrily. "It shouldn't take that damn long to just gather a few sticks! We were about to go out looking for you!"
The girl said nothing in response, passing her companion an irritable glare as she trudged into the cave, the pale light of the fire casting orange shadows on her face.
Husky took the hint, pausing briefly. But his relief that she'd finally come back was short lived – he tensed slightly as he took in the whole picture, taken aback. "Umm…Nana… Where's Cooro?"
Nana just passed him another silent gaze, a breath catching in Husky's throat as he got a better look at her. She looked terribly pale and shaken, a few scrapes and scratches across her face and arms. Her whole body was trembling, her cheeks damp not from the light drizzle outside, but from tears.
Husky's heart suddenly lurched, pounding in his chest as his mind reeled. Had something terrible happened to…?
"Nana, where is he? Where's Cooro?" He blurted out without thinking, sounding much harsher and more panicked than he'd even expected to himself. The girl flinched slightly, Senri gazing up at her too with a look full of concern and confusion.
"He's fine, okay?" Nana spat back, her voice making it apparent that she wasn't willing to elaborate.
Husky just blinked, unconvinced. "But…he can't even walk… If he's not with you…then…"
"I said he's fine!" The girl insisted sharply. "…He'll be back later – I'll deal with him then!" She spat the last part bitterly, her voice quiet.
Senri and Husky just stared at her for a moment in a state that was near disbelief. "What do you mean by 'he'll be back later'? He can't walk!" The former guard repeated. "Is he with someone else? Is someone else going to bring him? He is safe, isn't he? What happened while you were out there?"
"We were attacked by guards, but we escaped… He's safe – you'll understand when he gets back." Nana replied vaguely, half answering the barrage of frantic questions. She thought about saying more, about telling them what she'd found out. But…somehow that seemed like Cooro's place…she didn't feel good about exposing his lie herself. After all, he'd have to explain it when he flew back, wouldn't he? And she figured that would be soon – he wasn't going to want to stay out with it already starting to rain.
She plopped herself down by the fire, dumping her heavy load of wood alongside it. "I got the firewood." She added, changing the subject. "It started drizzling a bit before I got back, but I think it's still okay…"
"You were attacked by guards!" Husky blurted out, both his and Senri's eyes widening. Neither of them cared about the firewood at that particular moment, Nana's attempt at escaping the topic failing.
"It…was no big deal…" Nana started. "It was just a few timid ones – they ran away when I pulled out my knife. I doubt there's anyone for them to tell right around here, either."
"But…either way, just tell us where Cooro is!" Husky demanded again, deciding not to press her on the topic of the guards – he would leave her alone as soon as he found out where his missing companion was. Even if Cooro had changed, even if something had happened to him, the dark-haired boy was still his friend. "I have no idea who else he could be with, and how can he possibly be safe when he's so helpless by himself?" His voice became surprisingly harsh. "Why are you so bitter? You didn't just get mad and dump him alone somewhere, did you? You can't do that to someone who can't walk!"
"…Cooro…?" Senri repeated, his voice so worried and pathetic that Nana dropped her eyes to the floor with a sigh.
"I already said that he's fine." She answered again, starting to calm down. "Just wait. He will be back – then you'll understand what happened. I'll let him explain it all to you…it's not really my place… For now…let's just get to bed." Nana distractedly fed the weak fire a few of the sticks she'd gathered, before quickly preparing her blankets.
Husky and Senri exchanged a bewildered, worried glance as she laid down, slowly moving to do the same themselves.
After all…Nana wouldn't really let anything bad happen to Cooro, would she?
The young woman herself opened her eyes a few minutes later, disturbed by the howling of the winds outside as the gusts picked up.
This storm was looking to be almost as bad as the one on the evening when Cooro had suddenly appeared in the orchards outside her cabin, and she'd let him in to spare him from the cold…but this time, there was still no sign of him.
Her heart beat suddenly picked up.
She never had found out what Cooro had meant when he'd said 'I can't'. Was he really the type to be that flat out manipulative, especially if he cared as little about himself as he seemed to? And he seemed to hate being in that wheel chair, too... Wouldn't he have rather flown if he could?
But…she'd seen the markings – they didn't lie. That might even explain how Dr. Gabriel had discovered that they were +anima, and why he'd been so hesitant to even see her. He'd been struggling to hide it all along… And if there was a real reason that he somehow couldn't use his wings, why hadn't he simply explained it to her?
Although…he was so troubled now, how could she even begin to guess how his mind worked?
Her hands fiddled nervously, a few traces of sweat dampening them.
In her initial anger at discovering his deception, all of her frustrations with Cooro had sudden been unleashed, and had gotten out of control… But now, lying in a cavern with only two other people and the storm raging outside, she was beginning to second guess her actions.
Leaving him alone in the forest, when he couldn't walk and when she'd never really gotten his side of the story… Had she made a mistake? Had she done something horribly cruel?
No. He had the markings, he was a still a +anima – he could fly. He could come back on his own. He'd never really given her a reason why he truly couldn't. He would be back…he had to be.
She struggled to dismiss her conflicting thoughts and doubts, forcing her eyes shut.
Cooro sat alone as the rain kept falling, tears in his eyes and his shoulders burning.
It'd been well over an hour…and Nana still hadn't come back. She'd left him. She'd really left him.
Another sob escaped from his mouth, making his whole body jerk painfully.
He shivered, the increasing winds chilling his already soaked form to the core.
What was he going to do? What if Nana told Husky and Senri that he'd lied about losing his +anima? What if they all got so mad that none of them ever came to look for him? What if they assumed that he'd gotten mad and simply flown off somewhere else? What if they all hated him now, and didn't even care?
Cooro was so tempted just to use his wings, but the pulsating sensation in his shoulder blades – the knowledge that she was around – reminded him not to. There was no possible way he could get away with it with her so close by. She was probably watching him, waiting to see if he would. And…even if she hadn't been there, he didn't even know what would happen anymore if he did – all he knew was that it would be the beginning of starting everything of three years ago over again.
The dark-haired boy caught sight of the empty wheel chair out of the corner of his teary eyes. Getting increasingly desperate, he reached towards it on his hands and knees. He grabbed the back of it, slowly and delicately pulling himself up. The wound wasn't really ready for something like this, but…maybe he could use it like a walker and hobble back himself?
He took a light, tender step forward, the chair creaking and rocking unsteadily under his weight as he used it to support himself, bringing his right leg next to his left. He took another limping step, and then another, wincing as he slowly moved along. He didn't even remember the exact way back to the cavern, but he would get there somehow – he would find his friends. He was determined.
Cooro paused when he reached a small drop off, realizing he was at the top of a slope. It was nothing like the cliff that had stopped Nana from pushing him forwards before – she'd pushed him up this hill – but it was going to make it harder for him to use the wheel chair to get down.
That stupid hill wasn't about to stop him though! He took another cautious step, letting out a sudden gasp as the wheels of the chair almost rolled it out from under him as he pushed his weight against it, he tensed painfully, forced to use his injured ankle to steady himself as he held on to it.
He was literally holding it from falling, the chair almost pulling him down with it. If he tried to take another step…
His ankle all of the sudden gave out before he could do anything else, buckling beneath him and causing him to fall face forward with a shocked cry, dragged along painfully by the wheel chair as he tumbled down the hill. He smacked hard into a rock, causing the chair to fall ajar and him to roll all way to the bottom with a horrible jerk.
Cooro landed on his face at the base of the small incline, panting and momentarily disoriented. He tried to slowly push himself up with his palms a moment later, all at once forced to stop as a shocking pain shot up from his right ankle. The boy stretched his gaze back as far he could, his heart falling as he caught sight of the fresh trickle of blood leaking out from the cast above his foot. The wound had been reopened.
Any movement he made burned, taking his breath away. He couldn't move! He couldn't even get up!
He started to cry even harder, miserable as he lay there completely abandoned and alone – both his ankle and his shoulders burning painfully in different ways, and the wind and rain beating viciously against him, chilling him all the way to the bone.
Nana…please come back! Husky, Senri…anyone!
Cooro let his face sink into the mud, the passing time smearing in his mind as he lay there…unable to do anything but wait.
He didn't even know how long he'd been there when his eyes suddenly shot open again, a rustling in the nearby brush making him raise his head.
Any hope he had of it being one of his friends was quickly erased when a coyote howled, the shadowy form of the canine emerging from the bushes, it's eyes narrowed dangerously on the boy.
He gasped in fear, pushing himself up as much as he could as more coyotes answered the call, stepping into the clearing from all angles.
Cooro trembled, gazing around in panic. All of them were looking directly at him. He tried desperately to move, wincing in pain as he struggled to even get to his hands and knees.
The predators all took a few steps forward, closing in on him. Their lips were pulled back in determined snarls.
"They can smell the blood from your ankle…and around this time of year, right when the whether turns cold, and the rodents and rabbits start tucking themselves in for the winter, the coyotes are always hungry!"
Cooro grimaced as the voice suddenly invaded his head – he didn't need her to tell him that!
He didn't respond, still painfully struggling to crawl away. It hurt, it hurt so much, but what else could he do? He had nowhere to go, though, even if he managed to shuffle a few inches back – they had him completely surrounded. His whole body shook as he moved his trembling, desperate gaze from one hungry predator to another, horrified tears still falling down his face.
"You can escape easily, you know. You could destroy them all, if you wanted to. Just hurry and spread your wings!"
Cooro still ignored the voice's presence – he wasn't about to, especially not with her there waiting.
"To those creatures you're nothing but food, a piece of meat – injured, easy prey! They'll kill you if you don't! There's no other way you can get out of this! Use your power, save yourself!"
No, never! I won't! Leave me alone! I'll won't ever again, no matter what – I promised myself that three years ago!
"You'd rather be eaten? You'd rather have every last piece of flesh torn from your body and your bones stripped clean as a bunch of filthy dogs feast on you?"
Cooro didn't answer, shaking so much he could barely move. He tried in vain to get to his feet in panic as the coyotes completely closed in on him, stumbling back down helplessly as more blood spilled from his ankle.
The lead coyote suddenly let out an awful howl, the pack of canines all at once surging towards their chosen prey, fangs bared hungrily.
Cooro screamed as the predators tore into him, trying helplessly to shield himself as he felt their teeth and claws rip at his body. He struggled and shrieked in agony as the pack of five completely overwhelmed him, the leader suddenly tiring of having their meal writhing and fighting beneath them. The coyote tightened his jaw around the boy's neck, preparing to rip out his throat.
A sharp blade of compressed wind suddenly shot by, sending liquid crimson flying across the field with a sickening splat.
The coyotes all at once stopped moving, freezing in place before falling limply to the ground in a series of dull thuds. There were huge gashes across their motionless bodies, some of them missing heads or limbs. The pack of predators had been killed. They were dead, all of them.
Cooro shot partway up, gazing at the corpses of his attackers with wide, terrified eyes. He raised a shaky hand to his throat, where teeth marks still remained, hardly able to believe that he was still alive.
"Disgusting!" A voice spat. The dark-haired young man didn't even need to turn around to know who it was, this time actually hearing the words with his ears as well as simply his mind. "Are you really this pathetic? You won't fight back to save yourself, or even get away when you so easily could! Are you truly more afraid of what lies within you than death?"
Cooro still said nothing, making a point to specifically ignore the black-winged woman standing behind him. "…Why did you save me?" He finally asked a few moments later, unable to stay silent as the sobs returned. "I'm still not coming with you, I won't ever!"
The woman suddenly bent down, placing her palms on his throbbing shoulders before the boy could even try to shuffle away. He shrieked, shaking and wincing as the burning sensation blazed through his whole body. He held tight, though, not letting the thing within him begging to be let out be unleashed.
"…You're strong… You're pathetic and weak, but at the same time you're strong…" The black-winged witch started, trying to make sense of it herself. She was actually surprised that he was still managing to keep control. "But it's human strength… You've become as stubborn and strange as all those humans you envy so much. Humans, though, are also fickle – those blazing emotions in their hearts can change in an instant. They can break themselves. You can't escape your fate – if you continue down this path, you'll break too. If I can't make you come with me, then I'll be waiting until that happens."
Cooro panted for breath as she moved her hands away. He kept his eyes, teary and blazing with fear, straight ahead, never once turning to even look at her.
"I'll ask you now." The woman started, forcing herself to keep her voice gentle. "Your companions abandoned you out here, alone against the storm and the wild predators of the mountain base. I'm always searching for you, I'm the one that protected you. Are you still going to wait for them, or do you want to come with me?"
"Just leave me alone…" Cooro pleaded, his voice tired and shaky.
"Suit yourself…" The woman answered regretfully. "For now, I'll just wait. But I'll be seeing you again soon." She spread her hand over the corpses of the coyotes, reducing them to ashes with some strange fire from her palms in order to hide the evidence that she'd ever been there. Afterwards, she beat her powerful black wings, taking to the sky. The only thing that remained was a few scattered feathers, blown away by the bitter, freezing wind.
She vanished into the shadows, staying close by. She'd leave him alone for a while, just as he wished, but she'd be keeping an eye on that boy…in case his companions never came at all. She wouldn't have him freeze to death or be killed by some other wandering creature – she wouldn't lose him now, she wouldn't waste these nineteen years!
Still in a state of terror and shock, Cooro sat completely motionless for a number of minutes before slowly lying back down, the rain continuing to pelt against him as the storm raged on. He didn't even care anymore.
Nana was the first to wake up the next morning, her eyes suddenly widening as she all at once recalled the events of the last evening. Her heart automatically lurched, the girl nervously scanning the camp.
There was only two other people there besides her, one spot was still open by the fire, and one set of blankets was still tucked unused into the storage bag – never having been touched.
Cooro had never come back.
A sickening jolt hit her in the stomach as she jumped to her feet, running towards the cavern entrance in a vain hope to see any sign of the boy.
She stared blankly out, watching the rain as it still fell heavily down. It'd poured all night, with terrible, chilled gusts pelting by. The winds seemed to have died down and the temperature seemed to have come back up a bit, but it still looked horrible out there, and she couldn't even begin to imagine what it would have been like to have been in the middle of it all.
Why? Why hadn't Cooro come back?
No! Nana, wait! D…don't leave me here, please! I'll be stuck here! I can't use my wings!
His shaky, desperate words echoed through her mind, making her fingernails cut into palm as she subconsciously balled her hands into nervous fists.
Why would that be? He was still a +anima – why would he not be able to use his wings? He never had been able to give her a reason, either… But…she'd thought for sure that, whether he wanted to or not, he would've used his +anima and been back long ago…
All of the uncertainly that'd flooded her the night before as she'd tried to sleep returned to her once more.
Where was he?
Maybe…maybe he had used his wings, but had been too angry to come back to them. Maybe he'd flown off somewhere else. That was really the only other option, besides…
What if he really had been stuck there? Stuck there, in the middle of the woods and out in the storm? What if…he hadn't come back because he truly couldn't? What if something awful had happened to him because she'd left him there alone? And she knew that the only reason he'd even asked to come in the first place was because he'd wanted to be with her!
Nana started trembling, unable to suppress her doubts and guilt any longer.
"I don't see Cooro, Nana…" Husky stated dryly as he came up behind the young woman, Senri slowly following after. She'd been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even heard either of them get up. "Where the heck is he? Should we be worried?"
"I…" Nana started quietly, sputtering. "I… I don't know!"
Her wings all at once came bursting out from behind her, almost smacking her two companions.
"I…I have to find him!" She announced desperately, abruptly taking to the air.
"Hey, Nana, wait! We'll come too!" Husky called, him and Senri racing to keep up with the frantic winged girl.
Nana led Husky and Senri through the woods surrounding the cavern, scanning every area for any sign of their missing companion.
"I…don't remember exactly where it was I left him…" She explained truthfully. "I flew this way when we were being chased by the guards, and then I hurried back so fast I'm not even sure which way I went…"
"What?" Husky spat, aghast. "So you did just leave him somewhere! But…why…how could you do that? He's completely helpless! You know that!"
"Shut up!" She shouted back, her face flushing red. "There was more to it than that!"
"But –" Husky was about to object again, but his words were suddenly cut short as the whole group came to a sudden halt.
In front of them was Cooro's wheel chair, empty and toppled over onto its side. The boy himself, however, was nowhere to be seen.
"Cooro?" Nana called frantically, searching to see if he was anywhere around the familiar object. "Cooro! Where are you? Are you here?"
"…I don't see him." Husky commented. "But from the looks of it, maybe he was using the wheel chair to try to come back on his own, but then ended up falling on the hill here. Let's continue around the base and see if he fell anywhere else nearby!"
Nana was about to agree when she looked down, suddenly catching sight of something that made her breath catch in her throat.
There were coyote tracks on the ground, as if a group of them had stopped and sniffed the wheel chair before continuing on around the base of the hill themselves.
A chill of horror spread through her, making her feel sick.
Husky and Senri had followed her gaze, their eyes widening as well as they noticed the tracks. None of them said anything for a moment.
"Cooro!" Nana screamed, suddenly bolting off in the direction of the tracks with the others right behind her.
They all stopped once more just a moment later, catching sight of a dark-haired, motionless shape spread out on the ground a few feet in front of them, partially obscured by the tall, wild grasses of the hill base.
Another hush came over the group of three as they froze in place, just staring.
It was Cooro. He was indeed still there, alone in the middle of the woods. He remained completely still, his face in the mud. Why hadn't he responding to their calling, even though they'd been so close by?
"…Cooro?" Nana called once more, finally finding her voice as she slowly descended to the ground.
No response.
Her heart sunk, apprehension making her start to tremble. A few seconds of silence passed.
"No, Cooro!" She wailed, all at once rushing towards him, terrified of what she'd see. If something had happened to him, it would be all her fault!
The girl stopped when she reached her friend's motionless shape, staring for a moment longer before bending down next to him. …At least he still seemed to be in one piece. She'd been scared that he wouldn't be after she'd seen the coyote tracks.
Nana placed a gentle, shaky hand on his face, trying to rouse him. He was freezing, and completely and utterly soaked. She bit her bottom lip, tense tears starting to run down her cheeks as the others came up next to her. "…Cooro…?" She prodded him again, carefully placing one hand on his back and another on his chest in an attempt to lift him up slightly. A wave of relief all at once spread through her – a heart beat was pulsing against her palm. He was alive, just in a deep sleep.
"Cooro…come on, wake up." She prompted, at last feeling him shuffle slightly. "It's me – Nana! See? I came back for you again…"
The boy's dark brown eyes cracked open just slightly, gazing weakly up at her. "Nana…?" His voice was hardly more than a whisper.
She nodded reassuringly. "Cooro…I'm… I'm so sorry for leaving you out here! I… I honestly thought that… I still don't…I don't get why…" The girl paused briefly, stopping herself – this was not the time to be pressing him for answers. That would come later, now that she knew he was okay. "…Thank goodness you're all right! I never would've forgiven myself if…"
"…It's…okay…" The boy answered weakly, with his usual forgiving response. "I…understand…"
Senri took the drenched, exhausted Cooro in his arms as he spoke, helping him to sit up. "I'm…so cold." He commented quietly, still shaking as he buried his face in his oldest companion's shirt.
"What happened?" Husky asked gently. "We saw the coyote tracks – did they attack you, are you hurt?"
"They came after me after I fell and my ankle started bleeding again. I couldn't get away! I was so scared! But there was a gunshot in the distance, and it made them run away…" Cooro explained shakily, fabricating the ending to his story.
"Well, we're going to take you back and warm you up by the fire… You'll be okay now… We probably will have to stay an extra night here, though…" Husky added, passing Nana a hard, bitter glare. She shrunk away, not meeting his gaze.
She was going to have to explain this in someway or another – they were going to demand to know why she'd abandoned their frail, injured companion alone in the middle of nowhere. But what could she possibly say? She needed to talk to Cooro first, and get her own answers.
Cooro himself didn't say anything more, just letting out a slight sneeze as he rested his head on Senri's shoulder and closed his eyes. The group's oldest member got to his feet, holding on tightly to his younger companion as he started walking back towards the cavern, Nana and Husky following wordlessly behind as the group hurried to escape the rain.
We'll leave it there for now.
Like always, please review and stay tuned!