Disclaimer: I don't own X/1999, I didn't come up with any of their brilliant characters, they're the geniuses not me
The character of Alex, Jacob, Venus, Charlie, David, Anthony, Dvora and Dimitri are all mine. The Noters are half reality. The rest belong to all the book/movie/TV/anime/manga they came from. If you can spot where they're from then good for you!
Author's Thanks: Many thanks to Cait-hime-sama-dono, my beta, for working so hard on making A New World a better fic.
Youz Guyz out there: A NEW WORLD IS GOING TO CHANGE A FEW STUFF IN IT'S CHAPTERS DUE TO IT'S BETA-ING SO, WHEN I SAY, CHECK OUT THE CHAPTERS AND SEE THE CHANGES! YAYS!
Author's request: Since the fic's going to go through some massive renovations, I think you aught to inform me of what you want. If there's something that irks you/you want to see happening/you don't want to see happening/would like to see more of inform me via reviews or email and I'll work on it for the new and improved version.
Chapter 36 – It Nears
"Eh?" Sorata gaped baffled at the work chart hung on the living room wall at the Rescue Team house, "What's this?"
Tara, who was sorting through the herbs she plucked from her garden and hung to dry, bent above the coffee table shuffling the dry leaves and branches softly, answered him, "My handwriting's a mess, I'm sorry." She rose to her feet, wiping her hands on her long dark green skirt.
She walked to Sorata's side and stared at the work chart, pointing at the small text written in the blank row under the next day's shifts arrangement.
"Old O'Brian wants to move his cattle herd across the river to the pasturing fields and needs our help with the fire monsters the day after tomorrow." She turned her eyes to Sorata to see if he understood.
"Me and Missy have an appointment with Charlie the day after tomorrow…can I swap places with someone else that day so I can be on patrol shift and not in the cattle thing?"
The witch shrugged, "Yeah, sure, I don't see why you can't. Better ask people around though, because I'm not up for settling stuff like that; too much of a headache."
Sorata nodded and bowed a little to thank Tara.
He brought the subject up during dinner that evening.
"I don't understand why we have to do it in the first place." Spike grumbled, picking at his noodles dish.
Since half the dinner table attendants were missing for the last half a year, Karen began bringing Ace and Spike along with her to fill the void and help cheer up the dinners which lately took on a somewhat gloomy air.
If Subaru, Seishiro and Kamui's absence was felt in short stabs of longing for the past five months, Seiichiro's absence during this last month was the last straw. Karen noted the joined meals became silent, empty and brooding.
Though Ace was not very talkative around strangers and Spike mostly ate in silence and stared at everyone with all-watching eyes, she felt their presence alone was enough to do something, anything, to help the house's remaining inhabitants.
Yuuto'd do the same whenever he could.
He couldn't have Watari over due to the air the young man brought about Fuma and Shikimai was absolutely out of the question.
The dinner when they invited Venus and David over turned out to be a small disaster. Venus mostly made dragons of both earth and heaven uneasy no matter how cheerfully she spoke and how many live discussions she brought about with her warmth and kindness. Jacob sat at the head of the table and ate very quickly, very quietly, and ignored the people around him unless their gazes accidentally moved to Venus' body which is when he'd glare daggers at the offending person.
The evening they spent with Charlie and Blue Fairy as their company was extremely delightful. Charlie was a source of sharp, witty and often zany humor while Fairy filled the room with soft comfortable air which unwound and soothed the dinner attendants.
Sadly, Charlie was a busy man, much like his wife, and so chances to repeat the event were scarce and often had to be canceled due to medical emergencies.
Kakyou and Dimitri would drop in for dinner from time to time, which was not entirely bad at all. Dimitri would always bring good game meat for Sorata to turn into fabulous dishes while Kakyou unwound from his stubborn shyness and slowly allowed himself a fluent conversation with Yuuto, Yuzuriha or Karen.
Dinners to which this pair joined were usually filled with reminiscing of their lost Japan, of medical talks about sheep health and the way the City's market flourished and changed its features and costumes after the famine broke with the Light Side's supply.
Though these dinners were most pleasant they were also scarce. Both Kakyou and Dimitri were often too exhausted from their day's work and could not arrive, much like the people who invited them to dinner.
Lion attended one meal, during an extremely lazy week of sweet summer breeze and no particularly dangerous events. He sat at the head of the table where Seishiro used to sit (it'd be the other way around, usually, for some reason) so that he can sit with Fuma at his side. Though both the house members' and Lion's English was not the best it could which lead to several misunderstandings, the conversation was fluent and pleasant.
But Lion was a busy man and mostly preferred to have his meals in his soldiers' bases, amongst his many adopted children.
Vash was by now a permanent attendant at the dinners and though his presence brought about laughter and happiness at first, it seemed he was calming down these past few weeks, and becoming more serious.
Yuuto knew it had to do with his worries for his brother back in his original dimension and knew he could do nothing to help the man.
"What do you mean 'why'?" Ace's voice always shrilled a bit when he's surprised, "We're Rescue Team, we need to be there in case something starts with the fire monsters."
"We're not bodyguards. Three cattle farmers already got their flocks across the river, but this particular farmer needs our protection?" Spike arched an eyebrow.
"He has the biggest flock, so I heard."
"Also," Kazuki pitched in the conversation, blushing a bit at the excitement of entering an adults' conversation, "his cows are the best at milk production. It's said they taste better too."
"Exactly," Ace waved the fork (brought from his kitchen to help him and Spike because Karen's house had only chopsticks for cutlery) at Kazuki's direction, "he has prime animals and he'd like to make sure they all go through the river safely."
"I can go to the appointment on my own, Sorata, it's alright. It's better to do your duties than to try and avoid them." Arashi said calmly, her words aimed more towards Spike than to her husband.
Spike ignored her.
"I think I know what you're trying to say." Yuuto leaned back into his chair, pondering Spike's words.
"Well I don't, please explain yourself." Karen turned to her lover.
"The fire monsters, they look like alligators, right? Big, black, fire spitting alligators; but alligators nonetheless, right?" he waited a while for everyone to understand.
"I've noticed that they also behaving like alligators. They eat like alligators, they hunt like alligators, and they walk like alligators. They're another dimension's version of an alligator.
"Once one alligator got a meal all the rest run to him to try and get a bite from his kill. That means that no matter how long it takes the herd to cross the river, the fire monsters will only kill one or two cows.
"Since Old O'Brian has about a hundred cows, one or two beasts won't be such a big sacrifice. He'll have to give his own share of cows anyways; it's his turn to give a cow to the monsters to keep them away from us this week."
"But what if they won't take only one cow?" Yuzuriha entered the conversation after seeing Kazuki was allowed so, "What if the fire monsters attacked one of his the farmers? We have to be there in case something like that happens."
"The normal daily patrols can do just as good a job at that if they'd move their course more towards the river. There's really no need for extra precautions."
"I want to be there for every examination you go through, babe."
"I'll be happier knowing my condition was not a burden to you rather than have you holding my hand like I'm unwell every time we go to the doctor's."
"Are you sure?"
"But why O'Brian of all people? I know his herd is biggest and best, but why him? Every other farmer fears the fire monsters, why would he of all people want our help?" Yuuto mumbled, chewing on the end of one of his chopsticks.
"I'll tell you why:" Spike poked his fork at the blond's direction, "There's always fresh milk in the City Council's office, that's why."
"Oh, you can't be serious!" Karen yelped.
"Are you serious?" Sorata ogled.
Yuuto frowned.
"That's awful! It's outrageous!" Yuzuriha cried.
"What do you mean?" Kazuki pondered, cocking her head to the side innocently.
"I wouldn't think it's that bad." Ace shrugged, trying to avoid an argument with the man he loves.
"I hope it's not true, that'd make me very sad." Vash sighed through the dumpling he stuffed his mouth with.
Fuma shuffled the noodles in his plate blankly, picking on one and eating it dejectedly from time to time.
Arashi strictly avoided eye contact with Spike, keeping her voice calm and leveled as she reached for her glass of milk and spoke, "This sounds like an excuse to avoid work."
"Hey!"
Karen placed a calming hand on Spike's shin. She herself turned her eyes, glaring, to the miko.
"When we joined the rescue force we took upon us a great responsibility, which takes shape in a variety of missions we must accomplish. If O'Brian-san feels a need for the security we can provide then it's our duty to protect him. To try and come up with conspiracy theories to avoid a day's work is unacceptable to me."
"It's a good thing I'm not your husband then."
Fuma got up to leave the table.
Kazuki cringed and clawed nervously at the table cloth.
"Now, now," Vash giggled nervously, "no need to talk like that at the table."
Spike turned his glare scornfully away from Arashi who kept her eyes still on her plate and cutlery.
Karen moved uneasily on her chair, exchanging worried glances with Ace to her other side.
Yuuto tapped the thicker end of his chopstick on the edge of his plate softly, frowning and pondering what had happened.
Sorata bit his lower lip.
Ace fumbled with his napkin trying to recollect the various forms his mother used to fold them for fancy meals.
Yuuto waited for the thoughtful silence to reach its peak so he could say what was on his mind.
"The City council members, they've upped their salary without telling anyone. One of them also wrote down a higher salary for his daughter's new husband, he did this for his cousin too. Another borrowed furnishing from the great furniture hanger without the hanger and gave the hanger keeper some food to make him not say anything about it, I saw him guide the carriers to his house on a walk I took after dinner the other day."
All eyes turned to Yuuto, gaping and amazed.
Spike slapped his palm on the table, making his plate dance on the cloth giddily, "See, what did I tell you?"
"Are you serious?"
"No way!"
"Oh, good god."
Fuma walked out to the back yard, sliding the door behind shut in silence.
The main room filled with the sound of argument, cries of discontentment, loud conversation and complaint. It seems no one was able to keep his cool.
Karen and Ace shared resentful experiences with the council members, Vash mumbled about his disappointment, Yuzuriha complained about the corruption, Sorata had to explain Kazuki the meaning of everything.
Yuuto sat back and stared at them all, wondering if had started something dangerous; after all, most of the currently active Rescue Team members were here and he couldn't imagine any of those not present at the moment reacting any differently.
"It doesn't matter." Arashi claimed a little louder than the tone she usually uses, "Even if the council members are corrupt, it takes nothing off the danger O'Brian-san's facing. The other farmers who brought their cattle across the river only came out of it unharmed by pure luck, there's no guarantee O'Brian-san won't be hit."
Sorata took his wife's palms in his and turned her beautiful eyes to his, "Are you sure you don't mind me not coming with you? The baby's so close to being born, I want to savor every moment of the pregnancy as I can."
"This pregnancy's got the both of us through enough already and Charlie's only reporting good things so far. Please go and perform your duties, Sorata."
Her husband kissed her knuckles gently, laying his cheek on her palm.
"Speaking of duty, Arashi-san, you're not going to keep at yours until the birth, are you?" Karen inquired.
The miko's eyes flashed for a moment, "Why not?"
Karen huffed with amazement, "Y-you can't be serious, Arashi-san! You must be in the eighth month, if not in the ninth already, it's already too dangerous for you to go on patrol!"
"She's right, babe."
Arashi pulled at the hands holding her palms a little, "That's nonsense!"
"Babe!" Sorata's voice was no longer soft and admiring; it was resolved and commanding. His eyes fixed hers to them with a powerful gaze, "If you're hurt the baby's hurt as well. You've been amazingly fit and brave so far, at least give yourself a break at the end when rest and caution are the most crucial things for you."
Arashi opened her mouth to say something but found she could not. Her husband was suddenly so serious and authoritative and for some reason she found it more comforting and pleasing than irritating or preposterous.
She nodded and looked away. "Yes, alright."
"I'll tell Tara to take her off the list then?" Ace sought approval for the obviously approved in Karen and Spike.
The atmosphere became once more calm and pleasant and soon light, happy conversation filled the room's air again.
Yuuto looked towards the kitchen window and wondered where Seiichiro is at the moment. The pain in his chest was lessening with every day that went by but from time to time he'd still be caught in miserable fits of tears and depression of the misfortunate fate of his last relationships.
"By the way, which one of you is robbing the kitchen cabinet of candy, eh?" Sorata asked humorously.
"It's not me!" Yuzuriha hurried to object.
"Me neither!" Kazuki said with much the same tone.
"It's that strange Justice creature Monou-san keeps in his room." Arashi answered, "I saw it creeping into the kitchen one night."
"Really? I always thought she's in a coma." Karen wondered.
"Apparently it only wakes to feed, though why it only wants sweets is beyond me."
After dinner Yuuto walked out to the balcony at the second floor, a place of ghostly silence since the onmyoujis did not use it after meals as they used to, and listened to the night.
It was a habit of his, since Seiichiro left, to fight back the loneliness of the darkness by tuning in on the sweet sound of loving happiness in the City.
That night, that particular night, Yuuto heard four loves he didn't hear for a long time, and two new loves as well.
For the first time in four months, he was able to hear Seishiro's love for Subaru, Subaru's love for Seishiro, Kamui's exploding love for Fuma and Alex' burning love for Kamui. He could hear, with much joy, the newly found love of Victoria for David and David's love for the draculina.
The sensations had hit him like a powerful wind. Suddenly, hearing those hearts pounding so clearly, was like the men were right there, at his side. He could see the onmyoujis as if they were before him, he could see Kamui's longing mauve orbs, Alex's sharp ancient jade ones. He could feel the strange and powerful beat of an undead heart, the slow yet erratic pound of David's mind.
Love's head reeled and he grabbed for the balcony's railing to stabilize himself. Something hot and wet rolled down his cheeks, it was tears. His breath came out ragged and hoarse its pace quick with excitement.
At once, without thinking, he stormed into the house and down to the kitchen and living room.
"They're here again, they're coming back! Subaru and Sakurazuka-san and Kamui too, they're all coming back!"
Yuzuriha ran up to Yuuto, grabbing his jacket's lapels desperately, "And Bicktoria? What about her? Is she there? Is she near?"
Yuuto grabbed the girl into his arms powerfully, rocking sideways gently, "Oh she's coming back as well, happier and stronger. She'll be here in no time!"
Yuzuriha cried into Yuuto's soft pink suit, jumping up and down and emitting long shrills of happiness from time to time.
"Yuuto-san," Love felt Sorata's palm on his shoulder, "you better go and tell Fuma about this."
Nodding frantically, Yuuto detached himself from Yuzuriha and hurried out to the back yard to scramble up the half demolished stairway and into Fuma's room.
After a few merry raps on the door to Justice's room, Love decided to burst in without further request; after hearing the news he has, Fuma will surely be too happy to reprimand him for barging in.
Fuma was just tucking himself to sleep and cast a dim glare at the brightly glowing blond in his room.
"I can feel them here, in this side of the dimension again, Monou-san, I can feel Kamui."
Fuma shot to his feet, still reluctant to draw near to Love might this turn out to be bad news.
"Don't be afraid, silly boy, Kamui still loves you. He loves you more than before, his heart's not turned."
Fuma opened his mouth but nothing came out. He tried to say something but only a dry incoherent whisper came out.
"He's in good health and has you on his mind, he's unharmed. I can feel that they are traveling towards the City. They'll be here in no time. It's true!"
Quit simply and without any attempt to hide it, hush it or hold it back, Fuma burst into tears. He sat down on the bed, grabbing at his hair and rocking back and forth, he wept like a little boy.
For a very long time he sat there, weeping with Yuuto's arms comfortingly and chastely around him. He cried until the dark night sky brightened and the sun shone and the layer of clouds to obscure it gathered like a forbidding veil. He cried until he could physically cry no more.
And when he was done crying he wiped at his face with a napkin Yuuto held out for him and rubbed at his sleepless, searing wet eyes and blew his nose and smoothened his hair and turned to Yuuto.
And for the first time in six months, he smiled.
Yuuto's heart nearly burst in his chest.
That night was especially windy with short annoying showers of drizzle, which Seiichiro found extremely annoying. He wondered through the south edge of the forest where Kakyou and Dimitri lived, in search of a hiding place.
His head felt light and his stomach churned, it's been days since he's had a proper meal.
Slowly, but steadily, he learned the basic skills of survivals in the wild.
He already knew how to spot the kind of twigs and branches best for fires and how to make it so that the fire he lit (when he learned how to light it using primitive skills after the lighter he took from Seishiro's bedside table ran out of gas) from spreading through the dry leaves on the forest bed.
He learned which nuts and berries were good for eating (a skill he took a while a lot of tormenting stomach problems to learn) and was slowly learning which fruits were good and where to find all these.
He did not dare to hunt yet, taking the life of anything was still beyond him.
His clothes had become dirty and tattered and the time he used to devote for fixing them and cleaning them was taken by his endless search for food.
His hair has grown long and unkempt, he could feel it sticking out at odd angles and from time to time, when he moved his head rapidly, a few bits of dry leafs and dirt fell out.
His hands, which were once slightly too delicate for a man of his size and age, grew crude and dirty.
His jaw and cheeks were covered by a thick curly beard he could not tame; he forgot to take a shaving razor and the knife he had for cooking was far too big and sharp for him to want to use so close to his face.
He was always stumbling on something with his shoes only feet for walking on pavements and the City's flattened and arranged dirt roads. Soon holes and tears opened in these too and he'd spend many nights soothing his aching feet.
His glasses, his most crucial item for survival, were ruined as well during one particularly nasty tumble he took in a wood clearing. One lens was broken and missing a big piece while the other had cracks running through it. One of its arms snapped and the other became twisted beyond comfort after Seiichiro tried keeping his glasses in his jacket's front pocket and was turning in his sleep.
Nevertheless, Seiichiro wore them, if only so that he can see the strange new world around him better. Without his glasses he was blind as a bat and would surely become completely vulnerable.
At night he'd hear the howls of wolfs all around him and from time to time catch the glimpses of a large white flash crossing the edge of the circle of light his campfires cast around him. He'd create circles of wind razors around him and succeeded in chasing away these invisible menaces.
Seiichiro's mind became empty of all thoughts those days, as his every bit of energy was devoted to surviving. Though it meant that he thought less of his family gone for good, it also meant he was losing great pieces of himself in those feral and hallucinated days of wandering through the alien world's wild.
At night, as he sat before the fire and stared at the dancing flames, his mind would awake form its numb slumber and he'd wonder what became of the Seiichiro Aoki he was so far. It felt like he was shedding that other man now, like a snake sheds its skin. But if that man is slowly disintegrates, what's left behind?
Most of all, Seiichiro missed words. He had no one to talk to here and no one to listen to. He refused to talk to himself, fearing it becoming a foothold of madness in his mind.
He missed spoken words and written words and he missed people.
Yet he held back the tears when they burned the rims of his eyes and bit back very cry of pain his clumsily afflicted wounds tried to wrench out of him. The vow of silence he forced on himself was absolute.
The more he thought about the changes he's going through is the more he became numb to it and careless as for the results of the change. He moved out of the house for change's sake, did he not? So why be bothered by it? Why stir up thoughts when the only thing they bring is pain?
The next morning, Seiichiro walked into an immense forest clearing. It was definitely a forest cleaning and not the end of the forest because he could vaguely make out a distant line of trees at the far distance and the forest stretched to his sides yet curled in the distance to form a ring around the huge field of bright green thick grass in which he stood.
For a while Seiichiro stood there and stared around him, noting the high grass shoots and their softness. It will be a pity to stomp down enough of them to clear a space for himself to settle in for the night.
Perhaps by the time the sun will set he'll arrive at that far entrance back into the forest.
Shrugging, Seiichiro shouldered his tattered backpack, his pots and pants clanging noisily, and began walking forward. Before him the earth was rising in a tall hill beyond which he could not see much other than the distant tree tops.
The sun shone brightly on him, bringing with it the distinct odor of weeks of his sweat which soaked into his clothes. He smelt like musk and dirt and dust, which was somehow more encouraging that depressing.
Sometimes he'd be able to find comfort in proofs that he survived through all those weeks outside of the urban environment he lived in all his life. Why his personal smell was one of those comforts, he didn't know. It was much better than sniffing himself and feeling horrible about being filthy.
Stopping dead on his tracks with surprise, Seiichiro nearly tumbled down the edge of the hill he just climbed. He couldn't believe what his eyes were showing him.
He was not standing on a tall hill; he was standing on the edge of a small valley. It was not really a valley, though, it had been made so. Once this was a mountain until the creatures which now inhabited it carved into it their small village and hid behind the high rims they left of the mountainside.
Below Seiichiro lay tiny fields and tiny roads, tiny wooden structures erected here and there in the shape of sheds and inns, there were even tiny patches of well pampered blooming gardens.
Around the walls of this Lilliputian village, small bulks of earth poked out of the rim on the north side of which Seiichiro stood, into the end of which round brightly colored doors were fixed.
Seiichiro looked down at his feet and noticed he was standing on one of those small budges and he was starting to sink into the soft grass covered earth.
He quickly leaped off to a part of the wall from which no doorway poked out and resumed his staring.
There were ponies, tied to tiny perfectly made plows, and tiny wheelbarrows and tiny carriages moving all around the village. But what most astonished Seiichiro was not these miniature artifacts, like the bizarre show at a toy store's front window, but the beings which operated these things.
The village was inhabited by men and women no bigger than a child of ten or nine years, their children were even tinier. They all seemed in face and body structure as adults, despite their shortness. The men were all chubby but never fat. The women were opulent but well shaped. Their outfits were rural and simple, with pants or skirts down to the middle of their legs, simple vests and tunics or small simple but elegant suits of wool and faintly Victorian dresses missing only the strict corsets.
These creatures, by whom Seiichiro's presence went completely ignored, went about their daily chores with such zeal and happy air that Seiichiro could not help the feeling that this was all some kind of a dream or hallucination; is it possible that he stumbled into a village of midgets and if so, how did they gather here?
Then, as he crouched to better see them, he noted strange features in the Lilliputian village people: All had relatively big feet covered by thick curly hairs and all had charming pointy ears under their rich curly hair.
"Ho-hobbits!" an astonished giggle escaped Seiichiro's lips, "I-I can't believe it!"
At once the whole village, including some of the creatures which were inside buildings at the moment, turned their eyes to Seiichiro, and those were not filled with a welcoming gaze.
The next moment it seemed that a wave went through the village for each and every little person bent down and picked a stone or rock nearest to them.
Next thing he knew there was a rain of stones flying towards him. Seiichiro stared at the dark lumps, confused, and forgot to take cover. It was the earlier evening, as Seiichiro forgot to find a source of water and this morning, with just as little water and full sunlight that rendered Seiichiro so slow in reactions.
He felt the pain of many small stabs and blows to his body and next felt a wall hitting his back. He did not stay on the wall, which was in fact the earth beneath him, because his fall brought him rolling down the hill he climbed.
He stopped rolling at the bottom with his arms tucked under him and his right cheek pressed against the soft brown earth and thick grass. His vision, before he fainted, was rendered completely blurry as his glasses took this tumble as their last adventure and became completely crushed.
Only the frame remained and it was stuck halfway up the hill, grass shoots poking through its empty frame where the shattered lenses gave way and laid in glittering sprays on the grass, like water droplets.
Seiichiro opened his eyes and saw nothing but a big bright brown blur with a faded orange blur high above him and several green blurs to the left.
His glasses were gone for good. The glasses Shimako bought him with her own money for his birthday, though they went to pick the design together because Shimako was unsure of his current taste in glasses. The glasses Yuuka reached for the first time he picked her up from her cradle and she was at an age to try and grab the things she saw with her toddler's eyes.
Seiichiro closed his eyes and brought himself to sleep. There was nothing here he wanted to discover or sense anymore. If he'd die in that moment he'd be content with it.
The next time he opened his eyes it was because of a sharp pain to the left of his forehead. He hurried to shut his eyes again.
Something wet was dabbed on his right palm and fingers and soon they too sprang into pain. This dabbing and pain process was repeated on his neck, on his chin, on his right cheek, on several spots in his chest and arms and on his right shin.
Soon the pain gave way to a kind of buzzing warm sensation much like that of a mild burn. Seiichiro was being healed, or treated by someone. The mysterious liquid which was used on him was applied through a soft fabric, though its texture often hurt his open wounds. Seiichiro could feel, rimming the folded piece of cloth, a set of five tiny plump fingers pressing gently onto his skin.
Seiichiro waited for the treatment to end and sharpened his senses to try and pick up noises of the person who treated him leaving his side. He heard the soft creaking of wood and small feet shuffle out of the room. When a door closed to the left of him Seiichiro dared to open his eyes again.
He was blind, probably for eternity, but this does not mean he must stay unaware of his surroundings.
He was lying on a bed which was soft and comfortable, though the mattress underneath him was not too thick. Over the mattress were sheets which were pleasant, if not a tad crude. Covering him was a simple wool blanket which managed to keep him warm. In fact, it was two blankets which covered him, one from his neck to his waist and a second from his lower abdomen to his feet.
With a bit of gentle shuffling on his sickbed, Seiichiro realized that though he was lying on a bed he was far too big for it and that his feet were laid on different furniture which was pressed against the bed he lay on.
All these small artifacts around him told Seiichiro that he was probably in the village he observed before he was brought down with stones. This means that he is hospitalized by creatures he read about in a book.
Seiichiro wanted to sleep again but he was far too refreshed for that, and had already slept too much.
He sent his fingers over his body to asses his wounds. His upper body was almost covered by swollen bruises, with scratches at his sides and several nasty punctured wounds. The more serious of the inflictions were covered by thin soft bandages which were circling his torso and arms in all sorts of directions.
These Hobbits were just as Tolkien described them; small and seemingly helpless, but vicious and precise with a rock in their hand to toss at their enemy.
They've seen him as enemy, for sure, because they didn't know what he was or where he came from.
Remembering the howling at night and the white flashes at the rims of his campfire's light, Seiichiro realized that these Hobbits were probably at constant guard against perils dwelling all around them.
The fact that they took him in and were tending to his wounds proved to Seiichiro that they were not regarding him with any hostility, which meant that he shouldn't be bothered with making escape plans in the state he is.
So what now?
The door to his left swung open slowly and two sets of feet entered the room. Seiichiro tilted his head towards them and saw a round lump of soft bright light (all around him was dark this time around) and two darker blurs before him.
"He's woken up." A man's voice said in English with a soft accent which reminded Seiichiro of Yuzuriha's vampire friend's accent.
"Good morning or evening, to be exact." A second voice said, sounding softer and less surprised than the first.
"Y-you speak English…" Seiichiro whispered, wondering what else he might say.
"Speaking what?"
"He understands us, maybe he's from Bri?" the first voice asked. This one sounded younger and filled with curiosity and surprise. He also sounded closer to Seiichiro, as if he neared him to inspect him better.
"Don't be daft; we're the only ones who landed here."
"W-where am I?"
"You're in Deephollow, the new version of it." The older voice answered. This one was calmer and the tone of his voice was soft and warm.
"Oh…And this is a Hobbit village, right?"
"He's calling us 'hobbits'. So you know about us?"
"In my world there was a book telling to story of four of your people. They went to destroy a ring…it was a very interesting book."
"Eh, he read about third uncle Peregrine!" The younger hobbit chirped.
"'There and Back Again made it all the way to your land, eh? What's your name young man?"
Seiichiro smiled faintly at the sound of someone referring to him as 'young', "No, in my world it was called 'Lord of the Rings'. My name is Aoki Seiichiro. But you should say it Seiichiro Aoki."
The blurry Halflings to his left became quiet. Listening more carefully, Seiichiro picked up whispers; they found his name strange.
Then one of the two shuffled towards him and a small hand laid its weight on Seiichiro's mattress, near his arm.
"Where did you say you were from?"
"Ah, I came from the City…"
No reaction, though the sound of a faint rustling was heard and Seiichiro decided one or both the hobbits shrugged at each other.
"Beyond the woods…I-I think it's southern from here….I think…."
"Beyond the woods you say?" The older hobbit said, suspicion sneaking into his voice.
"….I-I'm not originally from here…no one is…I'm from Japan, in my world…"
The hand left his mattress, tension filling the air.
Seiichiro reached softly to his left, trying to beckon the creatures to him with a soft smile he tried to make as harmless looking as possible.
"Didn't you land from the sky…some time ago, you fell to this forest clearing from the sky, right?"
"Do you know how this happened?" the younger hobbit dared to speak, though a small hiss from his companion was heard, as if to silence him.
"It's a long story but, what I understood is that we were all taken from our cities and thrown into this world by the world itself." Which was a simple as Seiichiro could make it to the already suspicious and probably simple farmers which his helpers were. If he tried explaining them what he knew of dimensions it would only make him sound mad or dangerous.
"The world itself?" just as Seiichiro feared; the older of the two, and perhaps the one who has been treating him so far, was becoming dangerously suspicious of him.
Trying to find something to explain is words with, Seiichiro noted his head felt light and that his bare chest felt awfully cold.
"Excuse me, I'm not feeling very good….may I have something to drink?"
For a moment none of the hobbits moved to Seiichiro's aid but after enough frowning and slight pouts from the wind master, one of them drew near him. A small soft hand landed on his forehead.
"You've got a fever." It was the older of the two.
"Ah…" will they think what he said was hallucinations? Seiichiro could only hope as it seems his knowledge of the Lost Dimension made the hobbits untrusting.
The hand was gone from his forehead and the feet of the nurse of the two traveled around Seiichiro's head, to the other side of the room. He could hear something being picked up and immediately, the sound of softly running water; a cup was prepared for him.
"Help me sit him up Avrard my lad." The elder said as he shuffled towards his patient.
"I can sit on my own, thank you….ouch…oh…I'm so sorry I scared you, but throwing stones like that was perhaps still a bit exaggerated…" he fumbled with his cup which was very round and very small but filled with good, cool, clean water.
None of his new companions answered him for a while.
"Well, you scared us a little…" the younger finally said bashfully.
"I apologize…I've been walking around in the woods for a few weeks now, I got lost."
"Where are you heading?"
"Oh, anywhere; I'm heading away from a place rather than towards it."
"Are you on the run? What from?" the elder asked as he fished around things Seiichiro couldn't guess the identity of save for that they were on the same table from which his tiny cup of water was.
"…I…I lost my family and…I ran into someone else's arms far too quickly…I did that person a great wrong and can't face them anymore…"
A small sigh of awe came from the younger hobbit. The older one remained quiet.
"I felt I need to take this journey and stay away from those I know so that I'll never hurt them again the way I did…" a tiny laughter escaped his dry chafed lips, "I guess I don't have what it takes to survive in the outback…I can't hunt for food, I'm not very good with picking food from what grows…can't find water…I better leave your village before I become too much of a hindrance, I'm sorry for the bother I already caused you…"
The older hobbit neared Seiichiro and began to gently remove the thin bandages "There's no reason to be so polite, how did you say your name was again?"
"Aoki. I was brought up to be this polite."
"Avrard, bring him the thing you found in the grass by him."
"Oh yeah!" the younger hurried out of the room.
Seiichiro's heart quickened, "You found my glasses?"
"Only the frame I'm afraid, and it's mostly broken. Can you see anything at all?"
"Not much…everything's a big blur…"
"Maybe Nebue can make you new lenses, he made my reading glasses."
"I'd very much appreciate that, thank you so much."
The frame of his glasses was pushed into his left palm and the world became ever so lighter for Seiichiro. Immediately he began running his shaky fingers on them, trying to feel out the damage done to the frame.
The metal was a bit twisted at the rims but the arm which was twisted somehow became straighter by his fall.
"Do you think Nebue-sa…uh…c-can the frame be fixed too?"
"I'm sure it won't be too much of a problem. Old Nebue likes tinkering with little things like this."
The hobbit to his left giggled "Oh, you want Nebue the geezer to handle him? Poor man, he doesn't know what he's up against."
"Don't listen to the youngling; Nebue is a very wise man, if a bit talkative."
"I'm sure he's not that bad, and he'll do me a great favor by fixing my glasses. I'll be completely blind without his help."
"You'll continue being completely blind, Oki, until your wounds are healed and your fever is down. Until then you're also bedridden."
Seiichiro's eyes were tearing, his heart ached, "Thank you so much for your kind help. I'm afraid I can't reward you right now…I have no form of currency on me…"
"Don't be ridiculous; I'm tending to wounds mostly caused by me and young Avrard here, the rest mostly missed."
"Thank you still…"
"Well, you just rest your head back on that pillow and try to catch some sleep. Go and boil some water, young Avrard, this man could use a good vegetable and beef broth."
"Thank you again...oh, I don't know your name…"
"Tullmen, but you may call me Tom."
"Good Tom, that is." The younger corrected Seiichiro's nurse with a youthful giggle.
Tullmen grumbled something Seiichiro couldn't quite pick up.
The wind master obeyed his kind host and laid himself back onto his bed. His eyes were droopy and his head felt dizzy. With his glasses back in his possession he felt much more relaxed and pleased and could allow himself a rest.
How long he'll stay here, he didn't know. After nearly a month in the cold and cruel world of the forest, a roof above his head and a fire burning in the room next to his, a soft mattress to sleep on and a warm talkative company felt like unthinkable luxury.
Seiichiro wished to stay in this village for a little while, as long as they'll allow him to stay anyway. He grew so lonely in the woods and so sad.
He'll recover and try to make himself as useful and harmless to them as he can. Until they'll kick him out, until he'll end up hurting them somehow, until his longing will eat at him and banish him from society again.
Seiichiro prayed it won't be too soon.
At the sea shore, back in the Dark Side's territory, the Death Riders dismounted their horses as they approached the great wooden ship and the men bustling at the shore near it.
"Just as I suspected;" Alex smiled, "it's the pirates."
David slowed his pace to a stop and began fumbling with the saddle of his horse, trying to avoid eye contact with any of the men in the group by the ship.
To those of the riders who never saw the pirates, these men were something to ogle at. All were young men in their early twenties and not more, dressed in simple and crude practical clothes. Their outfits were a mix of all sorts of fabrics to form simple tunic shirts, vests and pants cut and fringed at their knees. All of them were barefoot.
What was most astonishing about them was that, save for a few thin men, all of them were big bulky thug looking persons with broad shoulders, flexing muscles and strong legs. They were perhaps around Seishiro's height and often more. All were unshaven and so tanned they glistened in brown and dark red. Dry salt sprays hung on their hairs, lashes and beards.
At first these men raised their heads to observe the small group nearing them but, as they spotted Alex and David, some cast their eyes away with a frown.
"If these are pirates," Subaru mused, "who were the men we met in those woods back in the Dark Side…the other end of it that is?"
Alex motioned his men to gather around him, casting a longer gaze at David.
"Now that I know the rouges we met on the other end of this dimension, I'd say this is the other half of the pirates in a sense."
His men stared at him, puzzled.
"I think the men we met in the other part of the Dark Side are the real owners of this ship."
David emitted a short sound of understanding. "That explains what A.W.O.L catchers were doing on a pirate ship, calling themselves pirates."
Noting the onmyoujis were just as puzzled at him yet chose to stare at Alex trying to make him realize they were clueless, Kamui spoke up, "…What?"
"These men are all Noters who lost their memories and somehow chose to take up this ship and call themselves pirates. They're not really pirates; they sail to the shore closest to the City and trade food from the City for all sorts of goods they get from sources only they know of."
"And now we know where they bring these goods; the Light Side." David murmured.
"Because everything that lands in the Dark Side has to land in the Light side in part, most of the Noters landed in our side while the A.W.O.L catchers landed in the Light Side. The Pirates who originally owned this ship landed in the Dark Side while their ship landed in the Light Side, and the rest is history." Alex smiled, "Yup, makes sense."
"What's 'Awor'?" Subaru enquired.
"'A.O.W.Rll', Subaru-kun, it's a way to say 'deserter' in army lingo."
Subaru turned to gape at the pirates behind them, "What do you mean 'catchers'?"
"It means these men go into cities and catch defectors, Subaru, and bring them to court martial."
"….No wonder they're all so…big…"
Kamui shuddered, "Are you sure we're going to board their ship?"
"We don't have to, do we, perv?" David smirked at Death.
Death glared at the undertaker, "We're boarding that ship or we stay on the beach and dehydrate. I'm sure long enough passed since that little quarrel you had with them."
David looked away angrily and turned to tend to the vampire coffin's carriage. He disappeared into it.
Meanwhile the men behind them continued what they were doing; loading trunks (obviously of food and goods) onto their ship, sitting around playing a few shabby guitars and smoking lazily in the sun.
Subaru grabbed the sleeve at Alex's elbow and, with Seishiro looming at his shoulder, dragged Death to the side. "What happened between David-san and the pirates?"
Alex cast a checking glace at David who was with his back to them and at a comfortable distance from them, and turned back to the onmyoujis.
"About….say…before I went to look for Kamui it was about a year and a half ago…these men arrived at the shore the City was at the time, to do trades. David and Jacob lived in the City perhaps a few months back then, and never saw the pirates. These men, four of them chose to dress as women for some reason, and thought themselves to be a kidnapped princess and her consorts.
"You see that short blond skinny guy leaning on the big red box there? He was the princess and quite a convincing one too. With this fancy dress they found in the ship somehow, he was a perfectly beautiful woman. David took one look at her…him…and fell in love.
"Since he thought he was a kidnapped princess, the little guy convinced David to help him and his maids to escape from the pirates, which the pirates obviously didn't take so lightly, and a small battle started.
"Having recognized their men in the pirates, the commanders of the Noters' bases tried to make their A.W.O.L catchers remember their true identity and failed. Most of them backed down, feeling the open and free sea would be better for their soldiers who no longer have defectors to catch. Only one commander refused to lose contact with his men; Ice Men.
"When David stirred up trouble with the pirates, Ice Man took the pirates' side. I had to intervene…" Alex stopped here, remembering for a moment how he came to meet Mouse for the first time, "And managed to stop bloodshed from happening, got into a real serious fight with Ice Man too…
"Anyways, in the end, the princess and his consorts managed to somehow realize they were not exactly female and became one with the pirates. Ever since then the pirates come to what was once the City shore less, and make trade only through the Noters whom they trust."
They stared at the working men for a while, pondering the story they've just heard.
Out of the ship, down the ramp they used for stairs to the sandy shore, through his men and past them, one of the larger men they've seen in the group neared them.
He wore a glittering black and purple unbuttoned jacket with no shirt beneath it and simple black trousers cut, as it was the costume amongst his men, at the knees. To his head he wore a wide rimmed black hat with a large white ostrich feather stuck in its side. His steps were wide as he closed the distance between himself and the Death riders quickly and his eyes moved over the men with speed and some suspicion.
This was the commander of the ship, Alex explained his friends.
"You," He said as he finally arrived before the riders, referring to Alex for he didn't recognize any of the other men with Death, "how did you get here?"
At once, Kamui recognized the accent in the man's English as exactly the same one the Noters had. These were really Noters, Noters who forgot their true identity. How strange.
"We rode here by land. It took us almost six months. How long does it take you to reach the City shores?"
The man folded his wide hairy arms on his chest, leaning back a bit as if to get a better perspective of Alex, "About two weeks if the wind is good and we stop at no other ports on the way."
Alex nodded silently and mused this for a while. In the meantime the onmyoujis and Kamui and Will had their chance to ogle at the man and his companions as much as they liked.
What must have fascinated them the most were the way that each and every pirate was absolutely covered in jewelry.
They had at least three necklaces each and at least one ring on each finger. Some had broaches to their vests and every second man or so had an earring.
The most peculiar detail about these ornaments is that, unlike the land bound pirates they've met before, these pirates' jewels were of the same fashion.
All were made of silver, which was fashioned in a wide variety of styles and forms, and all contained the same stone for decoration; a beautiful mauve gem which they placed in their decorations in all shapes and sizes.
Death stopped his musing, "Are you going to sail directly to the City or are you stopping at different ports on the way?"
The man examined Alex for a while, looking very unpleased with giving such details to the man. "We're making our usual course of trade; as many ports as possible."
"Do you have rooms in your ship for us to join your ride?"
The man looked even more unpleased. He cast a glance back to his men who were now stopping their work to observe the conversation and frowned as he returned his gaze to the men before him.
"How many rooms do you need?"
Alex needed time to calculate.
"Five rooms." Seishiro answered for Death who was still trying to calculate what goes where with who.
The pirate commander nodded with a secretly smug smile, "We only have four rooms available."
Alex snapped out of his calculations, "Me and David will share a room, we'll take the four rooms."
The pirate's face fell, "What do you have to give us for the rooms?"
"Velvet, the finest velvet you can find in all sorts of colors." Alex made the men around him shoot their eyes frantically to him. "And we'll also pay for you going directly from this port to that of the City."
The pirate, whose face became a pure expression of pleased surprise, smiled kindly, "Show me the velvet and I'll see how many rolls I'll take for what you ask."
Nodding, Alex gestured the man to follow him to the carriage containing the vampire coffins.
"He's kidding, right? He's not going to pay with Lestate's velvet, is he?" Kamui exhaled, ogling at the two men distancing themselves from them.
"Apparently he is." Subaru smiled, covering his mouth with his palm as he felt slightly guilty for laughing at such a matter.
"Lestate is going to kill Alex." Seishiro snickered, "Yup, if we sail today the ship will sink by the time the sun sets." He and Subaru burst into giggled.
It infected Kamui and Will in a matter of seconds and soon they were sitting on the sand trying to calm their breaths.
Alex knocked on the side of the carriage merrily, "David, grab one of the velvet rolls and bring it here for a moment." he leaned on the side of the carriage, staring at the pirate humorously.
The edge of a wide roll of rich dark purple velvet poked through the flap at the entrance to the carriage.
Knowing David was clever enough to realize who this fabric is offered to and have picked the right color to offer as an example, Alex had to smile proudly.
At once the pirate leader became transfixed on the beautiful fabric and was running his thick fingers across the soft surface, mulling the dark lilac fibers gently to appreciate their quality.
When he was done he was the picture of content. Indeed, the velvet Lestate took from the City's salvation supply was at a very high quality, higher than in his own world, which made him steal it in the first place.
"Good, I'll take ten of these. I'd like ones in green, blue, red and pink. Orange and yellow ones too. Black and white as well. And if you have something imbedded with gold I'd have that."
At his request, David poked the requested rolls out of the carriage, trying very hard to stay hidden.
It would have succeeded if his fingers would not accidentally grab a roll on the wrong side. His fingers lay on a layer of rolled fabric which simply slipped free of David's grip, thus nearly tumbling down to the sand below, which would have surely ruined the roll.
Trying not to let this happen, David leaped after the roll and managed to grab it inches away from the sand. Thus he exposed himself to the pirate commander.
As expected, the pirate recognized David at once and his pleased expression turned into that of rage and mistrust at once. His eyes hardened and his upper lip drew in a snarl.
He sent his hand to the dagger which hung in a belt at his side, drew it and gestured at David with its vicious looking point, "If he's coming along its ten more rolls."
Alex agreed to this, trying to negotiate about which colors the commander would like with a soft calming tone.
"And he better stay away from us, as further as possible. If not we're throwing all of you overboard."
Alex agreed to this as well and as the pirate left towards his ship to call his men for help with the fabric rolls, Death gave the fire keeper a meaningful look.
For the vampires' coffins a rather narrow but long room was found with only a few other boxes in it. Thinking the coffins to be nothing more than boxes (and they were shaped so that they could appear as both coffins and ordinary storage boxes) the pirates figured this storage room would do them good.
Along with the coffins, Lestate and Victoria's personal belongings were placed, wrapped in the carriage's roof's fabric.
Seishiro and Subaru received a very comfortable, if not a bit small, room with a double bed which's sheets were very wet from sea spray which came through the window under which the bed was located not so cleverly.
At once Subaru hurried to separate the simple straw and down made mattress from the sheets and went up to the bridge to find a place to hang the bed set somewhere where the sun will dry the sea water.
Seishiro contemplated assisting his loved but decided instead to smoke a cigarette and test the mattress' quality.
Kamui and Will received a room similar to the onmyoujis' only with a bigger window and a table which nearly snapped the first minute Will tried to place something on it.
Being somewhat similar in personality, both the boys were drawn to the large window at once and sat at its wide ledge to watch the men still working at the shore.
"Vere do you sink ve're going, Kamui?"
"The City. We're going back to the City and as quickly as possible." Kamui's voice came hushed and calm.
"Really? I never thought ve'll be back so soon…I can't vait to see the City you told me about…ve'll be staying there vhen ve arrive, yes?"
Kamui didn't answer. He kept his eyes on the men outside and the waves gently playing on the bright yellow sand.
"Kamui?"
Justice's eyes were tearing, the large drops rolling down his cheeks and down to the salt-eaten wood of the window ledge.
For a moment he remained like this; staring out the window and crying in silence. Then, as he noticed he was distressing his companion, Kamui turned to wrap his arms around Will.
"Yes," he whimpered, burying his face in the werewolf's neck, "we'll be staying in the City for good…we won't be going anywhere else anymore…oh, please let us stay in the City…"
Will rubbed at his master's back in silence.
The room David and Alex were to share was narrow and small with only a bed of two bunks and a small round window at each edge of the bed. The bunks were made of wood and contained a simple thin mattress for one person made of hey.
"Oh, yeah, that's just great. I haven't slept on wooden bunks and hay for a long time." David grumbled loudly, glaring at Alex.
"You thought they'd give you a better room, David! You really thought so!"
"Hmph." Kicking one of the bed's legs angrily, David took his bag of cooking equipment and threw it violently at the corner of the room. He then hurried to climb to the upper bunk and reluctantly tried to make himself comfortable there.
"Oh, sure, take the upper bunk why don't you…" Alex hissed.
"Shut up. I bet you were never on the upper bunks, bet you were always punched to sleep on the floor."
"Bastard oven boy."
"Shut up, pervert."
Huffing angrily, his mood turned to an edgy grouchiness, Alex walked out of the room in search of some fresh air. He really hated the smell of wood and hey which have been slept on, with a passion.
After a while he returned with a table he took from Kamui's room and had fixed its leg and set to his maps on a chair he took from one of the pirate's room without its inhabitant's approval.
The first thing Lestate did when he woke was to take stock of where he was. Then he checked to see if Victoria was up yet.
She was, and was absolutely transfixed to the view of the sunset lit sea on which they were sailing smoothly now.
Next, the vampire turned his gaze to the neat pile by the window, on which Victoria sat. With a few words Lestate removed his roommate from the pile and began taking stock of the pile.
At once the payment for their travel on boar the pirate ship became known to Lestate and a rush of panic went through his undead spine.
Though the rolls missing were merely of hues slightly different than other hues of the same color so that Lestate would never really be missing a whole color, the loss was only to be fully appreciated by Lestate and his vampire eyes which can pick up such tiny details.
He rushed out of the room in search of Death. There were many things on his mind, mostly angry things to say to Alex, but these were slowly dimmed and he realized where they're heading and the possible reasons for this.
Death was on the bridge, along with Seishiro and Subaru.
The light onmyouji was bent over the rim of the ship, spewing out the dinner he just consumed. The waves, as gentle as they were, and the way the ship handled led them did no good to Subaru's stomach.
Seishiro had both arms around his lover and was running one palm softly across Subaru's back. Alex held a glass of water and a napkin in his hand, scrutinizing the vomiting onmyouji with his usual mothering worry.
When he was finished, Subaru was drawn away from the side and was held on his feet by his lover who now ran his fingers gently through Subaru's hairs.
Subaru took the napkin and dabbed at his mouth, making a disgusted face, then drank the glass of water.
"You'll have to eat another dinner now for what you just threw up, Subaru."
Subaru expression became that of immense suffering and sadness. He looked pale and awfully weak, "Oh please no, Alex, I'll just hack it all up again."
"No you won't and you will eat again." Death placed a palm on Subaru forehead and at once the onmyouji's face cleared, the color returned to his cheeks. "You'll be a good boy and finish everything from your plate too, and no arguing. Come to me every time you start feeling sick again."
Nodding faintly, Subaru was softly dragged back to his room for another round of dinner
Lestate chose this time to approach Alex.
"You paid for this ride with my velvet, Death, with my velvet!" his voice was perhaps not as angry as it could have been for the vampire had other things on his mind, but it was angry enough.
"What else could I give them? And you have plenty of velvet left, Lestate, really. You aught to see the shrink when we go back to the City, that velvet fixation of yours is far from healthy."
"So we are going back to the City."
Alex eyed Seishiro nervously; the onmyouji was already walking Subaru down the steps to the deck below the bridge but was nonetheless still in earshot, "Try not to say it so loudly."
"You're not doing this for the boy's sake, are you?"
Death gave Lestate a long, tired look, "No, I'm not. This journey is over, Lestate. I can feel the change within Kamui; he will not repeat his mistakes again." Suddenly his face dropped and darkened, "He won't repeat any of his mistakes…"
Suddenly unable to read his Death's thoughts for some reason (Alex blocked his thoughts from the vampire's prodding mind), Lestate frowned. "The men are tired as well; we're all pretty much done with this little adventure."
Jade orbs snapped to Lestate. The rims of them were still a bit turquoise for some reason (which was why Lestate became worried and tried to explore Death's mind) but they were more focused again on the vampire by his side, "Was it such a bad thing, this adventure?"
Lestate smiled softly, "Goodness no. I think we've all became better somehow, if not different at least. It was a very interesting and fun adventure and we all came out of it united somehow, those of Death that is. As for Kamui, I don't know; I do not explore his mind and do not wish to do so either. If you say he's changed then I'll take your word for it. It is only the defendant we need to think of now, isn't it so?"
Alex was about to say something about Seishiro but his mind was taken to a different course of thought again as Lestate's words of Kamui rang in his ears.
Changed, yes, Kamui changed. He grew more mature and learned once again to take care of himself and survive on his own while not depending on anyone else's help. No, he will not seek out another knight in shining armor, nor will he let Fuma be that knight for him once they're back together.
And they will be back together, Kamui and Fuma, as soon as they'll reach the City again.
A roaring fire exploded in Death's chest and such horrid bitterness that he suddenly lost all connection to his surrounding, simply standing there sunk in his angry thoughts.
Away from Death, on the bridge, Kamui and Will leaned over the edge of the ship, looking down at the waves in the darkness. Oil lamps were hung all around the deck, the light of some reflecting in tiny golden sparkles on the water surface.
A thought came to Will's mind and he raised his eyes to his master to see if the time was right to do what he thought of doing.
Kamui was still very much in the dark brooding mood he was in since they bordered the ship and was always looking as if he'll start crying in any given minute.
Yes, if he'll do it now it'll definitely cheer Kamui up.
Without a word of warning, Will placed a hand on the ship's rail and leaped beyond it and into the water below.
At once Kamui was screaming his name and all around them the pirates on board began screaming to each other in their language of a man overboard.
But Will did not plunge into the waves, nor did he really touch them. Moving his feet with the inhuman speed he was given through bizarre science back in his world, Will was able to keep himself above the water surface in a way which appeared like he was walking on water.
Kamui gaped at this with amazement, as did the men who gathered near Kamui to try and help pull Will out of sure drowning, and as soon as Will sent a clowning grin at his double the smile reflected on Kamui's lips.
Seeing he now has a whole audience to entertain, Will began to move over the waves this way and that way. He pretended to walk casually on the surface, as if in search of something. Then, as the men on board started cheering him more loudly and Kamui started giggling, Will started surrounding the ship in long running circles.
His captivated audience followed him, stampeding around the ship's edge and cheering for him madly, urging him to jump around and do tricks. When he skip hopped on the surface the joy of his audience reached a new climax.
Several men grabbed for ropes to dangle themselves with down the ship's stern to better observe how this trick was accomplished. One of the men, even bigger than his fellow large bodied sailors, with the expression of a child in joyful awe, dangled himself down the stern and reached his hand for Will to touch as he went past him.
Will was just picking up speed as the wind began blowing all around them and was keeping his attention focused on this man trying to think of something amusing to do as he went past the pirate.
At that very moment one of the many necklaces the sailor wore slipped out of his vest from the angle in which he swung himself down the ship and the pendant on his necklace popped out of his vest and dangled in the air, catching the moon's silver beams on its surface.
Will took one look at the glittering Star of David and, still only stunned at this stage, stopped moving completely. The water beneath him engulfed him at once, a wave covering the air where he stood a moment ago.
Like a tide, the men watching Will turned from amused to alarmed and hurried to dangle ropes and help the man who tried to reach for Will to pull the cub out of the water. Kamui's frightened scream of Will's name disappeared in the uproar of calls and commands from the pirates around him.
The huge man who frightened Will grabbed a longer rope which was dangled at him and hurried to plunge into the water.
For a few nerve wrecking minutes there was nothing below them but black waves and silence.
Kamui's heart sunk, his head was a vacuum of misery. He refused to believe he will lose Will now, so suddenly, and just when things seemed to be getting better. What will he do now!
But in a few seconds' time the large man surfaced, a drenched and unconscious Will flung across his shoulder. He was pulled back to the ship deck with combined effort of his fellows and was soon safely on the wooden bridge.
He gently removed Will from his shoulder and laid the drenched werewolf at Kamui's feet. At once one of the smaller men hurried to Will's side and began resuscitating the cub, pushing any intruder including Kamui out of his way.
Though Will was out of the water, he was still unconscious and could have drowned and be gone by now. Kamui was crying again as he looked at his doppelganger with his wet yellow hair sticking to his small head and his drenched tail looking so thin and fragile. His skin was bluish and pale.
Noticing the commotion, Alex stepped closer to better observe the outcome of the ship's medic's work. He didn't get too closely he stayed at enough of a distance to both see everything and be hidden in the shadow so as not to be too much at people's sight in the event.
He didn't care if Will died; in fact, it'd be a burden lift from his already troubled mind. He wanted to see Kamui's reaction to all this.
Suddenly Will began coughing up water and was immediately brought to sit up and spew out whatever else he swallowed. He sat there for a while, still very much sheltered by the man who treated him, and gasped for a while, blinking madly to try and clear his mind.
A wave of relieved gasps and calls of happiness came from the men and turned Will's attention back to what made him trip in the first place.
Like bolt of lightning, the fear came back, and the werewolf scurried into Kamui's lap.
Kamui, who crushed to his knees as soon as Will sat up and showed signs of being alive, wrapped his arms around his twin immediately and bent above him more to hug him than to shield him.
Whimpering and shivering badly, Will begged Kamui to protect him.
"What of? What frightened you so much?"
The man who pulled Will out of the sea neared them and crouched before Kamui to try and talk to Will. This only sent the werewolf into a bigger panic and he crawled out of Kamui's lap to hide behind the boy, clawing at him desperately.
Noting the pendant too, Kamui realized what happened. He straightened his back and pulled Will away from him, to face the man.
"Calm down Will, he won't harm you. They know nothing of you and don't remember the culture that taught them to be alert even to your accent. Stop hiding behind me already, stop shivering! You've paid for your wrongs, you've regretted, haven't you?"
Will buried his head under Kamui's arm and kept whimpering, holding on to Kamui tightly. "But Z-ze N-Noters you…you told me of…" he hiccupped between a sob and a whimper, "Z-zey veren't mo-mo-m-mo….zey veren't Mosad….vere zen?" his whimpers grew to a new level of shrieking panic.
"W-what! No…not that I know of, Will, so stop being so frightened…"
"B-b-because I vas taught…I vas told…zey told us never to go to ze big cities and not to talk to anyvone…because the Mosad vere looking for Doc a-and ve might say somesing to make them know vere he vas…"
Huffing irritable, Kamui climbed to his feet and yanked Will forcefully to his feet as well. "I don't want to hear anymore of it! It's gone, everything is over now! You have no reason to fear anymore so stop crying."
Will refused to calm down and was still in tears and shaking like a leaf, "B-b-but ze Noters…"
"We'll cross that bridge when we'll get to it, now calm down already, you're only rising suspicious like this." With this Kamui dragged his sobbing twin down to their room, casting testing glanced back at the baffled pirates.
Alex observed this in silence with a small smug smile tugging at his lips. He turned away to find the onmyoujis.
Beyond the railing, at the side of the stern, a small wooden escape boat hung, a thick waterproof fabric covering it. Beneath the fabric a man hid. He had pulled himself up to the railing to glance at what happened to Will after seeing what happened moment earlier. When he noticed Kamui's questionable comfort and Alex standing at a distance keeping an ever watchful eye on what happened, he drew back into the boat and hid there.
He'll wait for the ship to dock and see what happens next.
Alex found the onmyoujis in the biggest room in the middle deck, the one which neighbored the rooms where the pirates slept and lived in.
This room was the biggest on the ship, bigger even than that of the ship's captain. It contained many tables and a big, well secured and stabilized melting pot. Around the melting pot six pirates sat and worked on the tables they covered with thick leather, and were busy working on silver. One pirate stood by the melting pot, and was busy fashioning white-hot silver into a set of four interwoven oval rings.
Behind each pirate sat a small box kept shut by several locks. One pirate bent to the box and opened it, fished around it and pulled out a beautiful pear shaped mauve gem and placed it on the table by the intricate silver collar he was making.
Supervising this work was the ship's captain who leaned on the wall by the door with his arms folded on his chest.
To the right of the room the wall was covered by a black fabric on which the fine examples of the men's products were hung for display. This was in fact a stand that was leaning on the wall and would be taken out of the room to be displayed every time the ship would dock for trade.
Subaru and Seishiro were absolutely transfixed by this stand and the jewels displayed there, by the beautiful designs and the marvelously shining purple stones decorating them.
Nervously, both onmyoujis scanned through the rings on display, constantly eyeing the other's reaction at the corner of their eyes.
As Alex spotted their keen interest on the jewels he hissed for them to come to him at once and as soon as they were within reach he grabbed them by their arms and yanked them out of the room.
"Hey, what was that for!" Seishiro complained, removing Death's hand from his sleeve angrily.
He just found a ring he thought would best meet Subaru's taste and was prepared to go and speak with the pirate commander about purchasing it for Subaru. He was excitedly expecting to see the look on Subaru's face as he'd purchase the ring and give it to Subaru before all the men. Or maybe alone.
Death's expression was grave and commanding, "Do not buy any of these jewels, ever!"
"What!"
"You see those beautiful purple stones embedded everywhere and on the jewels the pirates wear? They're called Forget Stones. If you wear them and sleep with them on you, or spend any given time of unconsciousness with these things on you they suck out your memories and lock them within themselves.
"It's how these men forgot that they're Noters and started pretending they're pirates. They must have found a stash of these stones at the treasure room of the ship and decided to wear them. If you wear anything with this stone your memories are gone for good.
"The only way to regain your memories is to break the stones and that's very hard to do. Ice Man managed to somehow break the stones on the guy I told you about, the one who thought he was the princess. Only then did he remember what he is and stopped thinking himself a princess."
The onmyoujis gaped at Alex, turning back to look at the beautifully displayed poisonous gems.
"What a shame…" Subaru sighed. He noticed Seishiro set his mind on that ring and was ever so nervous and excited about the possibility that this ring might end up on his finger. But now it was not going to happen.
Oh well, he'd much prefer to keep his memories.
Disappointed a bit, but mostly relieved, Subaru and Seishiro returned to their rooms for a night's sleep.
"So," the pirate captain boomed at Alex angrily, "you tell your men not to buy from me!"
For a while Alex stood at the doorway to the workshop, staring at the melting pot and the workers in silence. The rims of his orbs were glowing turquoise again, which slightly unnerved the pirate commander.
Then Death turned those eyes to him and spoke up with a slow low drone, "Yes, I'm sorry I told them that but what they looked for was not here."
He took a step towards the captain, his eyes a little softer now though no less glowing, "But I wish to order something from you, if you'll have time to complete the order that is."
The pirate turned to walk into the workshop, beckoning Alex to follow him. "Yes, what is it that you wish us to do? Do you want it only with silver or with the gems?"
For a moment Alex contemplated this, frowning and drawing away, almost to the point that he seemed to want to completely cancel what he said earlier. Then his face darkened and he walked to the side of the commander. "With gems please, the best you have. There's a specific hue of mauve I'm looking for, if you have stones of this color we'll have a deal."
Nodding, the pirate's captain motioned his men to open their chests of gems and the negotiating began.
(trc)