Chapter 21: Fear and Ambition

Mako was ahead of the group, and the first to encounter Phillip again.

He could see the tension on the young man's face as Konohana approached the summit, could feel the intense accusation of his stare. There was something else there too, that the boy probably thought he'd hidden away. Hope, and desperation.

The dark rider halted his stallion and dismounted off to the right, tying up his horse and moving on without reacting to Phillip. He wore his normal bemused expression that resembled the face of an old wily cat.

Phillip watched him pass by with his cool grey eyes, not moving an inch.

The rest of the Konohana villagers arrived shortly after, most of them indifferent to his presence.

He spent the moments it took for each one to greet the Lady Mayor trying to memorize their faces, looking for odd behavior, anything that could help him later. A few of them did glance his way discreetly; one girl with very long black hair stopped several feet away and looked over shyly.

Phillip felt his face heat up, but kept watching her.

Nice to meet you too, he thought.

She bowed lightly, and was ushered on by an elderly woman with a kind face.

As the villagers from the crimson side of the conflict filtered past, Phillip was struck by the lack of actual muscle they seemed to possess. Aside from Mako and that obnoxious guy Kana, no one stood out as having an affinity for conflict, let alone looking prepared to fight today.

It occurred to him that this festival may well be the keeper of hope for both sides to practice peace, that the shroud of its comforting rhythm allowed them to rebuild safety into the conflict and stability into their lives.

That, and with its rules in place there was the added convenience of not having to lift a finger to work towards peace.

He tapped his foot impatiently, thinking about it.

Where was she?

Finally, the last person strode past, a tall Doctor with short black hair and a beauty mark, the second person to look him equally in the face.

Her confidence was evident even in her posture, and he found himself walking over to her just as she was getting ready to greet Ina.

"Pardon me," He said as if he needed to get her attention. "There's someone I'm looking for, was there anyone else with your group…?"

Her dark eyes opened up in surprise. "I can't imagine who? Unless…" Her smile was sly, but not challenging.

He clenched his teeth, taking the bait. "Unless…?"

"Unless you know our Lillian." She said with a touch of sweetness.

The corner of his eye twitched slightly, and she chuckled.

She clasped her hands behind her in open relaxation. "You must be Phillip? Her brother? How are you?"

He just stared at her, not expecting the warmth. He found himself being honest despite himself. "Not well." He ended up admitting in a low voice. He looked over around the woman's tall frame.

"Is she…?"

The woman followed the path of his eyes. "Oh? She was just walking with Nori before, but I don't see Kana either. Perhaps they stopped a moment? I'm sure they'll be along."

I don't see Kana either.

Phillip ran his hands through his auburn hair in angry frustration.

The Doctor peered at him, then suddenly put her hand out. "I'm Ayame."

He shook it, watching her carefully. This was the enemy? "Phillip." He said, mumbling. "Obviously…"

"Well, it's a pleasure!" The woman excused herself and went into the courtyard, but the young man barely noticed her departure, his monochromatic gaze piercing the distance beyond with renewed intensity.

How long was he going to have to wait before he ended up just charging back down the Konohana side of the mountain? Did they leave guards, more big guys like before, just out of sight from the tree line?

Cam appeared at his side again as a large sepia horse came clipping over the hill at a trot, bearing a single rider.

Kana.

Even as he listened to the cadence of hooves on dirt road, Phillip's heart stopped beating.

Just then a little chestnut head appeared around the rider's back. "Are we here? I can't see anything!"

There were two people on the horse!

His heart kickstarted violently. She was okay… she was alive…

"Lillian." He said, a terrible weight lifting from his chest. He raised his voice, not realizing his throat had become this dry. "Lillian!" He called.

Her Lilac eyes, bright in the sun, dashed over to him. "Phillip!" She exclaimed so loudly Kana's ears rang.

"Get over here!" Phillip had to resist the urge to stomp his foot petulantly, but the anxiety that laced his voice was enough.

Kana stayed in the saddle while she slid down from behind, her brother already there and enveloping her in his arms. "My God is it good to see you." He admitted into her hair.

She didn't say anything. He felt tears on his shoulder and her hug was tight- but for the moment it didn't seem terribly important to breathe anyways.

Kana's hands gripped the reigns in a fist after he dismounted, but he took his old mare over to the side to tie it up, ignoring- whatever emotion this was. A part of him wanted to let them have the moment, the other part felt… well it didn't matter. Bringing her here was the right decision.

Watching the two together made him sure of it. No matter how hard it was for him to watch.

"I love you so much," Phillip said fiercely, before loosening the hug.

There was a pause, and through her tears, Lillian started to laugh. "Then try not to launch me out of any more pony carts, you dummy."

His eyes went wide. "That's not fair, you know I -" And he stopped at the expression on her face.

She looked so very happy, her bright eyes still swimming with emotion. She was not good at saying her feelings, so he could tell this was an effort on her part to keep herself together.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well you were the navigator." He accused. "You should've just… navigated us around it. Then I wouldn't have had to speed up like that-"

"What? Says the one leading the poor animal all over that dangerous road. How dare you!"

He laughed. "It doesn't matter who did what."

And his tone changed instantly, sobering. "Are you…okay?" He glanced over to where Kana stood looking on with his arms crossed, his horse nuzzling his pockets looking for treats.

Lillian shrugged. "Are you?"

He smiled a little. "Good point."

"I heard you had a hard time, though. But I didn't know what it meant…?"

She blinked. "Who did you-" But from the way her brother was looking over at the hitching post, she could hazard a guess. "Did Kana tell you something?"

"Not much. That guy is useless."

Her voice rose a little. "When did you talk to Kana?"

"Why, what happened?"

"Well- I just woke up, so I…"

"Just woke up from what?"

She looked down. "I guess they… found me near the river, unconscious. Well, Kana did, really. I only woke up a little over two days ago. I was in their clinic this whole time." She shrugged at the end of her speech as if she was over it and not worried.

Which of course was going to cause him more worry later.

The whole thing took a minute to sink in completely, but it explained her paler-than-usual skin color.

He watched Kana again, trying to get a read on his actual role in it. It explained why he was being so possessive. He reached out and gave her another small hug. "I'm sorry, Lil."

"Thanks," She said. "It's okay now, really."

He held her shoulders out at arm's length. "No, it isn't! Does anything still hurt from that?" He moved her hair from her face and looked at her carefully, searchingly. He turned her head side to side. "You've always been the clumsy one, so if-"

She waved him off. "I'm fine … just a bit tired…" Then what he said last registered in her mind. "Hey!"

"Alright, alright, it is true, though."

"W- well if I have to be clumsy than you can be the one with terrible instincts- who speeds up to clear an obstruction?!"

He pinched her cheeks and she slapped his arm. "Stop it!"

He laughed. "Looks like you're not doing too badly after all."

"Whatever!" She huffed.

Kana walked over then, and Phillip's whole demeanor changed from relaxed to irritated. Lillian was just looked at him and mouthed what's wrong with you?

But he was ignoring her by then, looking over her shoulder. "Kana, was it?"

Kana stopped and addressed to the two. "I think the contest is about to begin. Let's go in, yeah?"

Phillip made a face. What kind of motivational speech was 'yeah?' He wondered if that supposed to make them feel like participating.

Lillian looked back and forth for a moment. "Kana, this is my-"

"We've met." Kana cut her off.

"Okay…" There was irritation in her voice now, too. "And Phillip, you've met my watchdog, Kana."

Kana sighed, a little too dramatically for her taste, and just scratched his head as if he wasn't listening.

He's such a bad actor, mused Phillip, before nodding at the other guy. "I see they allow patrolmen to keep their word on that side of the mountain. It's a good sign."

"Yeah. It's very exciting." The taller guy said with complete apathy. "Don't forget the rest of what we discussed. Lillian, you ready?"

Lillian looked over her shoulder to where Kana stood. "Nope!" She said, smiling roguishly. We're just getting started here I think."

Kana recognized the same tone she had used earlier on the bridge.

Make me go…

He decided to wait a while longer. She was just getting back at him for the last few days and he didn't really want to make a scene now, when she finally looked happy. Come to think of it, she hadn't looked this at peace, even when she had been asleep in the clinic.

Her smile became more genuine when she realized she could trust him this much, not to press the issue and embarrass himself. For all his brashness, there was a bit of common sense after all.

Lillian suddenly realized there was another person standing with them this whole time. Not that she had been paying close attention to her surroundings.

The guy was probably just a bit older than the twins, and wore tidy clothing in an impeccably loose way; his long grey shirt was unbuttoned lazily at the collar and untucked from his navy slacks, and decorated by a long thin faint yellow tie with a low, tight knot that smacked of intentional half-dressing. He had unusual taste, and wore an orchid-colored vest that matched his hat in hounds tooth pattern with alternating shades of plum and violet.

She couldn't tell if the expression on his face was more of a smile or a frown, and before she caught herself she realized she had begun to stare at him.

He realized at the same time too, and orbs the color of clear emeralds shifted to her with curiosity.

Maybe he just joined the group and she hadn't noticed him in her excitement. Either way, she knew Phillip didn't usually have striking older friends to hang out with: she would have paid more attention to his friendships.

"Are you going to introduce me?" She asked Phillip, flipping her hair impatiently. "There's a festival going on if you haven't noticed and we don't have all day."

"Oh, right! I have a watchdog too. This is Cam."

Such a simple explanation… She thought. That wasn't very helpful. For a second she felt like staying for the festival to find out more about him, which was absurd. She wondered if he was always at these things, or if being responsible for Phillip was the reason he was here today.

If Cam cared about his new nickname he didn't show it. A cordial smile was in his eyes more than his lips and he tipped his hat to her. "Nice to meet you. Do you come here often?" He asked.

Lillian started giggling and nearly snorted, not able to help herself. Was he serious? "That was corny!" She told him.

"Was it? Sorry about that." He shrugged, chuckling, hands in his pockets. "Anyway nice to meet you…"

Phillip eyed him suspiciously. "Don't get any ideas." He said under his breath.

Cam's eyes lit up at that. "I try to never have ideas about anything important." He replied.

The tall Bluebeller locked eyes with Kana for a moment. "How are you today, Kana?"

Lillian got the impression that Cam couldn't care less about how Kana was doing.

"Looking forward to taking back what belongs to us." Kana said cryptically.

Cam strode forward, putting the twins behind him. Leaning in close to Kana he said, "Now, I wonder what you really mean by that." Kana kept his arms folded over his chest. "Surely you're only discussing the territory over the summit. If you're talking about"- ahem- "people, then it's only fair to warn you that I will be the first to stand in your way."

"Get out of my face." The other barked. "You'll have a hard time keeping anything we want from us. There's no muscle in Bluebell anymore. The only reason we don't just take your little town over is because we don't need it for anything."

The tall blond guy kept his hands in his pockets for the whole exchange as if he were completely relaxed. He could have been talking to an old friend even, from how calm he sounded. "Well, that's a relief. I'll be able to sleep better knowing your lack of ambition is what keeps you from walking more than a few feet from your doorstep, and not your abject fear of what would happen to your town should you act rashly."

It was safe to say that Kana had an issue with his impulsive temper, in that he instantaneously shot his leg out into Cam's kneecap.

Cam twisted to the side at the last second, evading it. "That's right." He said. "Face your fears, Kana. Because we're not going to back down and we're ready for you any time you feel like making a visit. Just be sure to come by my shop later on for the floral arrangements."

Kana nearly snapped at that, and came out swinging. He threw a right hook that was sidestepped, and finally connected with the back of his fist against the other's temple.

Cam staggered backwards, but shot his arms upward, catching the fist as it returned. In a swift motion he twisted Kana's arm backwards- but the larger guy just pulled, getting out of it swiftly.

The two stood back for a moment, looking each other over.

Both were breathing hard, Kana moreso as he was more used to training with a mount than on the ground. The florist (who finally had to take his hands out of his pockets) was more adept at hand to hand combat than with weapons or animals. He stretched his arms over his head, bored of the game. "Well, that was fun. I'm going in now."

He looked over at Phillip as if to ask something, then merely walked away as if nothing had happened.

Lillian watched him go, bemused. "He's kind of weird, huh?" She asked Phillip, who tilted his head in thought.

She turned to Kana, then, who wore an intense frown on his handsomely tanned features. "You alright?" She felt the need to ask.

He didn't say anything.

Fine, whatever…! "Okay, I'm ready to go inside." She announced, making her way to Ina. Ina had her hands on her hips and she looked on confidently, not noticing the girl at first. "Good to see so much energy in the young generation!" She commented as Lil decided just to walk right past and not talk back.

Phillip followed on the Rutger side (who had watched the episode with a wrinkled foreheadl), wondering why Lil had gone into the festival. Didn't she know that now was the chance to leave- before it finished?

Unless they were still so alike that they were starting to agree about this place?

He didn't want to get his hopes up though, she was probably just being absent-minded and was escaping the tense atmosphere that floated just under the bright, cloudless sky outside the courtyard.

Kana stood outside for a moment before stalking in to join his side, saying nothing else.