Odin's Infatuation
"Are we there yet?" asked Aki. "No," answered Odin. After another minute of walking, Aki said, "Are we there yet?" Sonny turned around to look at her. "Yep."
"Really?" asked Aki excitedly. At the same time, Odin and sonny said, "No."
"Aw, come on. We've been walking for days now. It shouldn't be taking this long to reach Toshio's house."
"Aki, it took us a month to fin Toshio last time. Just stop complaining and we'll be there before you know it," said Odin. The Wind Warrior stopped walking, and her three sisters turned their attention to her. "What is it?" asked Rose.
"Someone's in trouble," replied Odin. She started running in a different direction, and the rest followed.
They found a man on his knees, being harassed by two earth soldiers. "I'll show you the consequences for making me look like a fool," yelled the one earth soldier. Before the Element Warriors could intervene, a man appeared out of nowhere. He rammed his forearms into the back of the earth soldier that yelled at the defenseless man. The other soldier shot the guy into the sky by quickly raising the ground beneath him. The soldiers sent boulders flying at him, but none of them hit because he used his wind abilities.
The Element Warriors used this opportunity to help the vigilante out. Odin grabbed her bow and withdrew an arrow from her pack. She released the arrow and it struck the closest soldier's right calf. Abandoning his pitching practice with the falling man, the other soldier started throwing boulders at the Element Warriors. Aki jumped to dodge one of the boulders and threw a water blast at him. The soldier blocked it by raising the earth in front of him. Sonny reached the rock barrier, punched through it, and hit him in the face. He was knocked unconscious. The kneeling man finally got up and ran away.
"Aki, I think he might need some landing assistance," said Odin. Aki looked up at the falling man. Where he was about to land, Aki made a giant blob of water. He fell into it and made a splash. Aki released the water, and the man was fine.
"Wow, thanks. I never expected to meet the Element Warriors," said the man.
"That's nice. Now who are you?" asked Sonny.
"Sorry. How rude of me. My name is Daisuke," replied the man. He politely bowed to the girls. "So, what are you doing out here?" asked Sonny.
"Much like you, I'm trying to help people. I guess I wasn't very effective today," replied Daisuke, scratching his head nervously. "I'd love to join you."
"Sorry, the wind master position on our team has been filled," replied Sonny. Odin smiled and laughed uncomfortably. "Please give me a moment to discuss this with my sisters in private." The Element Warriors walked a little distance away and gathered together so Daisuke wouldn't hear them. Aki started the conversation by saying, "Sonny, what is up with you?"
"I don't know. There's just something not right about him. Besides, he wouldn't be useful in the group. His fighting skills stink," replied Sonny.
"He can improve his fighting abilities. Anyway, power in numbers, remember," said Odin. Sonny threw her hands up in the air, "Odin, come on. Our chances of slaying the dragon won't go up by adding a member that won't benefit our odds. If anything, he'll hold us back because we'll try to make sure he doesn't get hurt."
"Sonny, give him a chance. He might even know information that could be valuable to us," replied Odin.
"Wait a minute," said Sonny. She looked at Daisuke and back at her wind sister. "You think he's hot don't you?" Odin was taken aback while Aki and Rose looked at the Wind Warrior in surprise. "Sonny, you should know better than that. Master named me after a god of wisdom. Every decision I make is for the best," replied Odin.
"Then why are you blushing, O' wise one," asked Sonny with an eyebrow raised.
"Because you're embarrassing her, and I'll put you in your place if you don't stop this nonsense," stated Aki. Sonny put her fists on her hips. "Oh yeah? I'd love to see you try."
Before Aki could respond, Rose stepped in between her two siblings. The Earth Warrior waited a moment and said, "Sonny how about this. We let him join us for now, and if he does anything to break our trust, we send him packing." Sonny crossed her arms and said, "Might as well just save our time because i don't trust him."
"Sonny, please," said Rose. She held her hands together and looked at her fire sister with adorable eyes. Sonny looked away because she couldn't handle the sight of her sister's adorableness. "Give him a chance, Sonny."
Aki stood next to Rose and copied her sister's adorable look. Sonny looked at them and said, "Fine." She pointed her finger at Odin, "But one slip up and he's gone." Odin held up her right hand and said, "I promise."
The Element Warriors walked back over to Daisuke, and Odin said, "It's been decided. You may join our group."
"Great," yelled Daisuke excitedly.
The Element Warriors started walking towards Toshio again, and Daisuke followed them. Getting bored from the silence, Aki finally said, "So Daisuke, why did you decide to help the good people of Japan?"
"Well, it's terrible to say, but I used to be a soldier under Lord Oromashi's command," said Daisuke. Odin looked at sonny, but the Fire Warrior didn't make a comment. She only narrowed her eyebrows in anger. Daisuke continued on, "I was actually standing guard over the dragon. After maybe a year, I finally had enough of seeing people being fed to the huge monster. I wanted to save people from that fate."
"Wait, so you know slid information about the dragon?" asked Odin.
"Yes. Most of the rumors are true. Like its fire breath and impenetrable skin," said Daisuke.
"Why are weapons useless against it?" asked Rose. Daisuke answered by saying, "Its scales are composed of solid gold."
Aki quietly made her way to Sonny and whispered into her sister's ear, "Still don't trust him?" Sonny looked at her and said in a hushed tone, "Just because he's proving to be useful, doesn't mean it's okay to trust him. We don't even know he's telling us the truth about the dragon. We'll only know when we see it for ourselves."
Daisuke didn't notice the little conversation going on between the two girls, so he continued to tell the other warriors about the dragon. "He can't be harmed by hot or freezing temperatures. There's basically no way to slay it."
Aki heard his comment and said, "Of course there is. Odin is the one person that can figure it out."
"Really?" said Daisuke. He looked at Odin with his eyebrows raised and a grin on his face. "So I take it that you're the leader of the group," commented Daisuke.
"No. We're a team that works together. No leader gives out orders," replied Odin. Daisuke smiled and said, "Nah. You're just saying that so nobody gets jealous."
"You're right. She is the leader because all her decisions are for the best," said Sonny. Odin gave Sonny a dirty look, and the Fire Warrior just looked away.
"I admire a woman that's in control," said Daisuke. Odin blushed even more and kept facing forward the rest of the time.
Later in the evening, they finally stopped to make camp. "Daisuke, why don't you go find some firewood while we get everything ready for dinner," said Odin.
"Okay," said Daisuke. He ran off to do the favor.
Rose made strawberries and bananas. Aki got out four cups that Uncle Kagen gave to them and filled the domes with water. Sonny just sat down, waiting for Daisuke to come back with the firewood. Odin took two of the cups from Aki and sat next to Sonny. "Here," she said as she handed one of the cups to the Fire Warrior. Sonny took it and drank some of the liquid. "Sonny, I know you don't like Daisuke, but he isn't that bad."
Sonny looked at Odin and said, "I don't dislike him, Odin. I just don't trust him. It's almost like my instincts are trying to warn me or something."
Odin stared into her sister's eyes for a long time before finally looking away. "You're just protective, that's all."
Sonny looked away in disappointment, and Daisuke finally came back with the firewood. "Took you long enough," replied Sonny. Daisuke smiled and said, "Sorry. I guess I just wanted to make sure I had good firewood."
"Wow, I didn't know there was bad firewood. No wonder some of them burnt out quickly," replied Aki. Daisuke laughed and laid down the firewood in the middle of their circle.
They ate the fruit and when the sun began to set, Sonny created embers to start the fire.
Daisuke left the group to watch sun go down in the west. After a moment, Odin joined him. "Is something wrong, Daisuke?" His gaze shifted to her and smiled. "No. I just thought the sun setting is beautiful."
"Well, it's not really a good idea because the rays of the sun can hurt your eyes," replied Odin. Daisuke laughed and said, "Sometimes it's worth it. There's only one thing I can think of that's more beautiful."
"What's that?" asked Odin. He looked at her and said, "You." Odin avoided his stare as she cleared her throat. Daisuke could clearly see that she was blushing and said, "Why do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Brush off my advances," answered Daisuke. Odin refused to look into his green eyes. "This isn't the time for love and romance."
"That's a silly excuse, there's always a little time for love. It's because your sister doesn't like me, right," said Daisuke.
"She doesn't dislike you. She told me so herself," replied Odin defensively.
"That's what she says. How do you know she said that just to make sure you wouldn't get upset," said Daisuke. Odin thought it over for a minute. The statement sounded reasonable enough, even though Sonny was the type of person to speak her mind. "She never lied to me. There's no reason for her to start now."
Daisuke decided to let the matter go and held her hand. Odin blushed and smiled at him. Without saying anything else, they watched the sun set together.
When the fire was beginning to die out, the girls decided to turn in instead of fetching more firewood. After half an hour, Daisuke got up and formed an ember above his palm. He checked the girls to make sure they were sleeping before he left the campsite. Sonny opened her eyes and they were glowing red like before. She quietly got up and followed him.
When he finally stopped, he called out, "Chou."
Sonny heard some rustle of leaves, and saw another figure walk up to Daisuke. The Fire Warrior returned her eye sight to normal. In Daisuke's fire light, Sonny could see that the other figure was the elderly man that was kneeling before the two earth soldiers earlier that day.
"So, everything is going well," asked Chou.
"It's going perfectly. The leader is eating right out of my hand," replied Daisuke with a smile. Sonny's temper fumed, but she kept herself under control to avoid discovery.
"Good, Lord Oromashi will be very pleased. These four girls are even more of a nuisance then Public Enemy Number One," said Chou. Daisuke waited a moment before saying, "Is everything set?"
"Of course, fifty soldiers are ready for an ambush tomorrow. All you have to do is make sure they walk right into it," replied Chou.
Sonny felt confident that she heard enough. She changed her eyes back to the glowing red, and made her way back to the campsite.
The next morning, Sonny woke up before everyone else. She had some time to think the situation over. An army of fifty soldiers were waiting to demolish them. Daisuke and his partner, Chou, were eager to make their mark in history as the ones to lead the Element Warriors to their downfall. Sonny would rather die than let that happen.
When everyone was finally awake, Daisuke was anxious to get going. "So are we ready to go?"
"Um, yeah," replied Odin.
"Why don't we eat breakfast? Everyone says it's the most important meal of the day," said Sonny.
"Yeah. I'm HUNGRY! We always eat peanuts and rice in the morning," replied Aki.
"Well, nourishment is important," said Odin, somewhat uncomfortable. Daisuke scratched his head, "Um, okay."
"What's the hurry, Daisuke. You don't even know where we're going," said Sonny as she put her arms behind her head and stretched out on the ground in a relaxing pose. Daisuke kept scratching his head and looked around nervously, "Yeah, I guess I'm just eager to fight some soldiers today."
Sonny tilted her head like she was thinking about it. "I guess we all have those moments. How many soldiers are you in the mood to take on? Fifty?"
Sonny could see the sweat starting to form on his face. "Ah, no. Not that many." Sonny shrugged and said, "Yeah. Fifty probably would be too many soldiers at once." Daisuke didn't say anything in return, and within minutes Rose gave everyone peanuts and a bowl of rice.
Sonny propped herself up with her elbows as she remained laying on the ground. "Hey, Daisuke. You know more stuff about Japan. Do people usually manipulate more than one element?"
"No. The only person to ever do that was Public Enemy Number One," answered Daisuke before shoveling rice into his mouth.
Sonny tilted her head and narrowed her eyebrows. "Wow, that's weird. Last night, I saw an ember above someone's hand after we went to sleep. I'm the only fire master here. Unless you can manipulate fire that is, but that wouldn't make sense. Yesterday, it looked like you were using wind abilities to avoid those boulders those earth soldiers were chucking at you. If you manipulate fire, that would mean the soldiers weren't even trying to hit you with those boulders. Even the possibility that someone we weren't paying attention to was using their wind abilities to make you look like a wind master."
"Sonny, what are you doing?" yelled Odin.
Sonny looked surprised and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not trying to do anything. I did see an ember above someone's hand."
"You're just making that up because you don't want him in the group," yelled Odin. Aki put her hand to her chin as she looked at Daisuke. "I don't know, Odin. He is acting awfully nervous."
"So you're taking her side in this?" said Odin. She looked at the one sister that didn't have their say so far. "Rose, where do you stand in all of this?" asked Odin angrily.
Rose nervously looked at all her sisters before saying, "I trust Sonny, Odin."
Odin threw her arms into the air and said, "Fine. you want him out of the group, alright. You can have your way because you don't need me either." She bent down to collect her things in her bag. When she stood up, Sonny was standing in front of her. The Fire Warrior placed her hands on Odin's shoulders. "Odin, I'm doing this because I love you, and I don't want anything to happen to you."
Sonny punched Odin in the face, and the Wind Warrior landed on her rear end. Odin touched her nose, saw her own blood, and got to her feet. She dropped her pack and threw a punch at Sonny. The Fire Warrior quickly grabbed Odin's wrist and twisted the arm behind the Wind Warrior's back. Odin cried out in pain. "Odin, please listen to me. You're not thinking straight," said Sonny.
Daisuke went to help Odin, but Aki elbowed him in the stomach. When he bent over to cover his abdomen, Rose slammed her forearms into his back. He went down, and Aki said, "Now behave. This fight is between Odin and Sonny. I'm just surprised that Odin is the one she's fighting instead of me."
Odin maneuvered her arm so that she was facing Sonny. The Wind Warrior shoved Sonny, and the fire girl fell onto her back. Sonny didn't move right away, and Odin aimed a punch at her sister's face. Sonny quickly rolled over, so Odin only hit the ground. The Fire Warrior got up and said, "Think about it, Odin. All our lives so far, we've been together. We always looked out for each other and shared all our happiness and sadness."
Odin refused to listen and pushed a gust of wind at Sonny. The Fire Warrior formed her fire shield, but it was quickly destroyed by the power of Odin's attack. Sonny went flying and landed on her back. Rose went to run to Sonny's aid, but Aki put her arm in front of the Earth Warrior. Aki looked at Rose and shook her head. They continued to watch their sisters' quarrel.
The Wind Warrior walked up to Sonny and looked down at her. The Fire Warrior propped herself up on her elbows and looked back at Odin. "Odin, I've never lied to you before. Why should I start now? He left the campsite last night to meet the man that was in trouble yesterday. They've been in this all along. Daisuke's partner has it all set up for fifty soldiers to ambush us today."
Odin didn't move. She just stood there, staring into her sister's eyes. Sonny's words echoed through her mind. I've never lied to you before. Why should I start now? Didn't she use those words herself to defend Sonny yesterday. Odin's eyes moistened as the shame of her actions swarmed over her.
"Sonny, I..." said Odin. She couldn't find the words to convey to her sister how sorry she was.
One look into the Wind Warriors eyes melted Sonny's heart. She saw pain in the beautiful brown eyes that belonged to her wind sister. No punch, no flesh wound could ever hurt as much as the emotion Sonny felt inside.
Sonny looked at Daisuke with a new found anger. Her master once told her that she shouldn't rely on her anger as an energy source. That fire masters before her didn't use anger to perfect their genuine gift. The Fire Warrior honored her master and followed her advice like any good student, but not this time. The passion for her sister's pain burned inside her like an inferno.
The Fire Warrior got to her feet and turned her attention back to Odin. "Fifty soldiers are waiting for us. I'm sure you have a plan."
Trying to find her voice, Odin managed to say, "Sonny."
"It's dangerous and we'll find ourselves in difficult situations, remember?" said Sonny.
Odin laughed and smiled, thinking back to that day when the four of them promised to slay the dragon. How the expectant faces watched her make her own decision. "I guess that's a good reason I should tag along."
"So, do we have a plan?" asked Aki.
Odin, feeling silly for forgetting that they weren't alone, looked at Rose and Aki. Her sight landed squarely on Daisuke. "I most definitely have a plan," said Odin. Daisuke gulped, knowing the smile on the Wind Warrior's lips only meant trouble for him.