"She wants me to what?"
"Hey don't yell at me," Cardigan said umplugging her ears. "If you want to yell at someone, go yell at her. Besides she's got a point. If you don't go now you'll probably return to being that shy, souless doll from before."
"No!" she cried. "Anything but that! I'll go! I'll go!"
"Good," Vardigan smirked. "Now that we've got that settled, you're gonna go with Yu-kun and Cherry."
" 'Yu-kun'?" Kotori repeated confused.
"Right, you know him as Kanda, his full name is Yu Kanda," Vardigan said surprise she didn't know. "And since Cherry can already use her powers then he'll be protecting you."
"Great, a bodyguard," she pouted.
"A bodyguard that you need," she corrected her. "Won't you just go, no whinning, and see what the hell she was talking about?"
Kotori sighed as she sat on the edge of the bed, "I guess."
"Oh no," the head nurse came about with a deadly aura. "You, young lady, still need some much required rest. Your psyche isn't as it should be."
"But I'm fine," Kotori interjected standing up perfectly.
"You Exorcists think you're immortal or something!" she yelled pushing her down to a seat. "Stay here while I go get your shots."
"S-Shots?" she muttered in fear.
"Ooh, that's right you were asleep those other times," Cardigan said holding her uniform in her hands. "If you don't want to see that needle I suggest you change like lighting, find Yu-kun and Cherry, and dart to that place before the head nurse catches up to you." Kotori had changed after she'd shone her the uniform and was out the doors by 'catches up to you'. She whistled, "She runs fast."
"Ah Kotori!" Cherry called as she was eating.
"Let's go," she shouted as she dragged her by her collar al the way to the Kanda's room. She knocked endlessly until he finally answered his hair down and shirtless.
"Eek!" she pushed her coat over him as she pushed her way in and closed the door behind her. Cherry landed, rolling to a stop, onto the wall a bit dizzy from the drag. "Change, hurry. We gotta go."
"Go where?" he asked taking her coat off him.
"Just hurry before she comes with does-" the two knocks made her hide on the far side of the bed where she couldn't be found. Cherry conscious beside her. Kanda blinked confused as the knocks came again.
"Coming!" he called and open the door partly showing the mad head nurse.
"Is the oldest Rasmusen here by any chance?" she asked holding the syringe high.
"N-No, I haven't seen her," Kanda said a littke freaked by the scene before him.
"That little brat!" she shouted dashing off somewhere else. Cardigan appeared a second later to his view.
"Oh, tell her that the map's in her coat. Take care of her, Yu-kun," she said waving bye.
"Yu-kun?" he hissed pissed off. He smacked the door close as he went over and pulled Kotori up by the back of her blouse's neck. "You were running away from needles?"
"They hurt!" she pouted, tears at the verge. "I hate pain."
He sighed and opened the door as he palced her outside and Cherry followed sleepily, "Go to the gate. I'll meet you there for the next mission."
"T-Thank you, Kanda," Kotori wimpered a smile.
He took in a breath when he called loudly, "Head nurse. I found Rasmusen!" and closed the door after himself not letting her in.
"You asshole! Traitor!" she yelled to the closed door.
"Found you!" the head nurse was coming to her fast and quick.
"No!" that yelp of pain was heard all over the headquarters.
"Stop with the pouting," Kanda called pissed sitting across from Kotori. They had gotten on the train towards a southern village nearby their destination. Cherry and Kotori where sitting beside each other.
"Screw you," Kotori hissed as she looked out the window.
"Hey, why do you think Nee-san would send you out?" Cherry askd while licking a lollipop she'd bought in the train.
Kotori didn't answer back her eyes simply widened as they went further on through the railroad. She hastiliy picked out the map that her sister had left her and searched for the marked location. At finding it she simply smiled warmly and turned to Cherry. "Cher, do you remember that one grove that Eve took us to?"
Cherry's ears perked like a puppy's as she halted her savoring, "You mean the one where those things pushed me into the water? That grove?"
"Yep," Kotori said cheerfully as she pointed outside, the view of the village in their eyes.
"Holy moly!" Cherry called as she grinned and pointed with her lollipop outside. "We're here!"
"You've been here before?" Kanda asked as Cherry pushed Kotori outside.
"Yeah. I think I know why, besides the key, that she sent us here," Kotori murmured.
Son enough they stopped in the village and Kotori guided Cherry and Kanda into the nearby forest. At the entrance where the gravel changed into uncut grass, Kotori took off her slip on shoes as her barefeet touched the grass. She inhaled deeply as the homey scent of nature went into her lungs, filling them with nostalgia.
"How are we going to go through this thing? Isn't it a maze, the reason why it's called Lost Woods?" Cherry said playing with the stick of her candy in her mouth.
"I can find my way through. This is my natural habitat after all," Kotori said as she guided them through eight tree trunk tunnels, the outcome all seemed the same. Soon they arrived at an area that seemed different. A hallow tree, leafless was standing at a corner near a small puddle that never seemed to dry out. Sitting in the hollow hole of that tree was a little kid with a straw hat that covered his face. His wardrobe was also made of straw. As he lazily sat there he played a trumpet that hat three different bells, two to the side smaller than the one in the middle. The sound that came out of the bells was a screechy but melodic tune. On it's side was a leaf and bark pouch that held many of his earthy things.
"Ah!" Cherry said pointing at the creature who jumped up and placed it's feet on the trunk looking at them. It's eyes were two gold walnuts with black dots that moved and a small beak over it's stitched mouth.
"A scarecrow?" Kanda asked confused at the glaring creature.
"It's a Woods' Kid," Cherry explained. "A lost soul turned into a forest sprite. One of those pushed me down that exact, same puddle the last time we came here!" Her recalling seemed to infuriate her a bit.
"Strangers, geko?" the Kid questioned tilting his head. "You cannot go any further, geko. Humans aren't allowed in Grandmother Earth's Sacred Grove, geko!"
"I am not just any human being," Kotori called serious. "I am one of Grandmother Gaia's disciples. Please let me pass to speak to the Grove's Guardians."
"What, geko?" the Kid stumbled back startled. "O-One of her disciples, geko?" He looked about nervously and cleared his throat as he blew onto his trumpet making autumn leaves come out along with the sound. Out of the canopy trees more less humanoid Woods' Kids fell as they opened a hidden entrance. "There, geko." He jumped down as he ran into the next area as the other Kids disappeared.
"C'mon," Kotori called as they ran after him inside. Inside the Sacred Grove there was no canopy of trees above them letting the sunlight come into the place. There were countless of birds and butterflies. On the back was a flight of low stairs bitten down into ruins not being able to climb above the first five out of the thirty. On the front the walls that were engrossed with vines and tree roots with undecipherable symbols. Standing side to side with a space in between were two stone giants each with a stone lance. The two giants were engraved with symbols, the same kind as on the wall. On the concrete circle was an engraving of a cross intertwined with thorns and a rose behind it.
"Stand back," she warned them as Cherry sat down on the steps. "You should stay back here with Cherry." She had started to take off her coat and skirt, soon she was with nothing else but her tank top and shorts.
"What are you going to do?" Kanda asked her.
"Get my confidence back," she simply said as she stepped onto the concrete circle. She faced straight as she stated, "I am a nature maiden. My given name is Vital, the Willow Maiden. Please answer my call for I have come to your feet."
The symbols on the two giants shone a light blue as so did the ones on the wall. Suddenly the giants jerked out of their confinement as they jumped onto either side of the crest on the concrete circle lowering the lances in front and behind her and both facing her.
"We are the Guardians of the Earth," the one on her left pronounced through the air as the birds and butterflies flew away from the tremor of its voice.
"Willow Maiden Vital, we hear your claim," the one on the right finished.
"What are those things?" Kanda asked confused.
"Guardians of Grandmother Gaia," Cherry hissed, arching like an angry cat. "They're powerful but won't harm an Earth's Child."
"As Guardians of Grandmother Nautre's Sacred Grove, we are deemed to ask thy this question," the right one said.
"What is thy purpose?" the one on the left asked.
"As a Cendillion my purpose in this earth is to enrich it more with the life I live. I must carry out this task with honor and decision," Kotori said in a serious tone.
"What is thy reason?" the right one asked.
"I am a nobody born to enrich this earth on which human kind lives. The creatures of Grandmother Earth must be kept safe in this sacramental land," she answered in a strict voice as before.
"And what is thy answer," the left one said as more of a statement.
"It is to devote my life and prowess to Grandmother Earth's purpse for me. I cannot waver and I cannot choose my way, for it is carved in the depths of this red earth that path which she has chosen for me." But suddenly the blue engravings turned a bright red.
"Wrong!" the two boomed giving out a tremor.
"What? Wrong?" Kotori exclaimed confused and shocked looking at both back and forth. "How! That's been the same answer I've always given!"
"The answer is the same and if it were any other Cendillion it wouldn't have been mistaken. However, at Grandmother Earth's warning, we have seen through you, Willow Maiden. The answer might have been the correct one, however it is the heart with which you have told that answer that was amiss," the right one explained as he went back into his old position.
"Mend your answer to the truth of your being. Only then will we let you observe the true peace of mind you so desire," the left replied as it went back as well.
"Now leave," their voice echoed as the blue symbols faded away into stone. "Or we will be forced to show you the way out."
"Leave?" Kanda said pissed with such gibberish talk. He unsheathed Mugen activating his Innocence, "Not without that damn key."
"No Kanda!" Kotori called. But the Woods' Kid from before appeared between the statues as he blew his trumpet again but this time an askew note came out with the autumn leaves. Suddenly woodem dolls fell from the trees as they picked themselves from the ground and moved aronud as if held by invisible strings.
"Venomous Puppets!" Cherry called getting Kotori's stuff in a haste.
"Oh no," she muttered to herself running towards them and the exit. "Get out! Hurry!"
"No way in hell!" Kanda called as he charged up to the puppets past Kotori.
"Kanda!" she called turning back as he destroyed some of the puppets but didn't notice one taking a knife with a purplish glow out of its elbow and stabbing Kanda on the left side of his ribcage. He flinched as three more threatened to attack but before they could Kotori had landed a kick going clockwise hitting each one away in midair. She landed before him who had now knelt down and picked him up placing his arm over her shoulders. "Cherry, get out. Now!" she commanded as they left, running out of the grove chased down by the Puppets.
~X~
"Ugh," Kanda awoke his eyes in a blur.
"Shh..." a soft whisper was what he heard as he felt a soothing cold on his aching head. He felt softness below him and as his eyes adjusted to the dark atmosphere. A faint gaslight shone upon his vision granting him a view of who was speaking.
"K-Kotori?" he mumbled.
"Don't talk," he could see that she was cleaning his face with a small, wet towel. "You're okay now."
"Where are we?" he asked feeling sick as he tried to seat up but stopped by Kotori.
"Don't move. The more you move, the faster that venom will run in your veins. I took as much as I could and have nuetralized as much with as much herbs as I could find. However I'm afraid that the little that remains could still jeopardize your life," she explained.
"You didn't answer me," he said lowly glancing at the cieling. So he was poisonned. Explained why it felt so heavy to just move.
"We're in a bed and breakfast in the village near the forest. Those Puppets had one of nature's most powerful poisons in their blades. That's why I didn't want neither of you to fight them. Unless your vaccinized against that you cannot withstand much of it," she explained. "Your Mugen is safe too, don't worry. You should eat something or at least drink some tea. You've been having cold sweat all day, side effects of the poison."
She helped him sit up against the bedpost as slowly as she could and passed him a glass herbal tea. He drank all of it, filled with thirst. "Thanks," he said.
"You feeling alright?" she asked from her sit beside the bed.
"Sick to my stomach but yes, alright," he answered holding his head. He turned to glanced around. They were in a small room. Cherry was sitting down and had fallen asleep. A small desk help various herbs that had been smashed into some brownish substance.
She heaved a sigh in relief, "That's just the herbs. It should go away soon. By the way, your hair tie tore while we escaped from the grove." She took her red ribbong off as she folded it neatly on the bedside cabinet. "You can use my ribbon but I want it back."
"How long have I slept?" he asked feeling the subject of her ribbong a bit awkward.
"Almost twelve hours," she answered. "It's almost midnight." She shook her head and pushed him down to lay on the bed, "Rest for now. I'm still worried about what's left in your system." She stood up and covered him up with the sheets.
That's when he noticed that his coat had been taken off. "Did you take my co-"
"Go to sleep," she hissed as she went out of the room shutting the door behind herself. He simply stared at the cieling with the gleam of the gaslight. This care and empathy, he'd felt it before. His eyes felt heavy. The herbal tea, he thought as he drifted into his sleep.
Behind that door there stood Kotori crying silent tears. She had fallen asleep all the while before he awoke. She had a dream. No, she thought to herself shaking her head, those weren't part of a dream. They were my past. She sped off into the dinning room to eat and get it all out of her mind.