Chapter 23- A Cup of Tea
He kept his hands up and still as Anya and Solita continued their heated discussion. They seemed to be deciding the next step, having confirmed he was stuck now that Solita had also dropped her gun to point directly at his chest.
Riku couldn't remember the last time he'd been caught so unprepared. In fact, he didn't think he'd ever had a magic bullet shot at him AND almost hit him. Sure bandits used magic guns and weapons at times, but they were usually so mediocre that Riku didn't even have to worry about dodging. A good knock to the head was all they needed to be out for the count. Of course, Bisca and Alzack were both mages from outside Fiore and they used gun magic. Maybe it was more popular in the other kingdoms.
Riku's mind was moving a mile a minute, trying to remember everything and anything he could think of related to gun magic. He wished he'd been listening to Bisca more closely when she first arrived at Fairy Tail. Shit. Okay, think Riku, he told him himself. Gun magic is where a user loads their guns and fires magic bullets. The bullets can vary from normal bullets to any other type of bullets, such as wind bullets, mud bullets, sunlight bullets, etc. So what were these then? Riku focused his eyes on the sash around Solita's shoulder looking for any clues. Then he moved his senses to investigate the spot Anya's bullet hit.
"Watch it," Anya snarled. "No movement."
Riku returned to his original position. It certainly hadn't been a regular bullet, but that was about all he could tell.
"The supreme leader will want him alive," Solita said, eyes narrowed at Riku, though her harsh tone was directed at Anya. "He may have powers that would be useful for us."
"The only useful mage to the supreme leader is a dead one," Anya replied in a bored tone. "How many times has a mage tried to betray us or escape? Better to save the trouble."
Solita made a sound of annoyance as Anya cocked her gun, a smirk pulling across her face. She was going to enjoy this. The shot sent the smell of gunpowder into the air as the bullet zipped towards Riku hitting him right in the chest and knocking him backwards onto the ground, right next to the spot the missed bullet had hit. Solita let out a gasp of surprise.
"What the hell was that for," she yelled as Anya blew the smoke from her gun and holstered it. "You've lost your mind, or something?"
"You're getting soft," Anya observed. "There use to be a time when you would have blown him away long before I could have even drawn my gun."
Solita's own gun disappeared as she gestured animatedly around them. "I would have shot him now if I had the chance, but I was thinking about our supreme leader's plan!"
"More like you were thinking about our prisoner," Anya replied, she narrowed her eyes at Solita. "Which is exactly why he couldn't come with us alive. He barely even said anything and you were already hesitating to-"
They both turned at the sound of a groan as Riku pushed himself over, digging the tip of the bullet from his chest. Even with his dark dragon scales armor, the bullet had managed to break the skin, but it hadn't got too far. That was good to know and even better that the purple haired one hadn't shot him instead. This was a pistol, that double barrel would have heard a lot more.
"I think I've figure it all out now, so I'm ready," Riku told them. Before they could respond he launched forward and called, "dark dragon slash!"
The powerful black twister flew from the sword towards the two sharp shooters, but they leaped out of the way. Solita rolled into the bushes near by. Laying flat on her stomach, she re-equipped to her magic sniper rifle. The long, bulkier gun included a side-handle to load it and telescopic sights. Now if this idiot would stay still she'd be able to get him in sight to hit him with a tranquilizer. Then she could finish this debate with Anya in peace.
Aiming at Riku was easier said than done. Anya had unholstered her gun and was shooting at him, but she missed every shot. Riku was leaping effortlessly out of the way, sending his own attacks her way which she seemed to have more difficulty dodging. When Anya's bullet managed to hit the sword he was wielding it made a loud metallic sound, before sending the sword flying away from Riku, flipping in the air.
"Can't do much without your weapon, huh," Anya called. She holstered her first gun and moved to her second gun, this one with some special bullets that would probably send more of a punch his way. She aimed for his knees.
But as if he'd heard her plan, Riku leaped out of the way and called, "dark dragon slayer claw!" He swiped his hand and the shape of a dark aura claw was sent towards Anya.
Her eyes widened as she moved out of the way, the claw hitting her ankle, sending a sharp pain all the way up, like a burning pain, but not one of fire. No time to think about it because Riku was headed her way, zig-zagging as he ran. He leaped above her as she pointed her gun. She'd always been good at predicting movements, no magic was needed for that. Mages were still human, after all. She sent another bullet out, this one right where Riku would land. Anya let out a cackle of glee as she released more bullets, sending dust up from the impact of bullets. She was loving the feeling of power that ran through her arm when using the magic bullets. Even a mage couldn't withstand this sort of barrage. Even a mage couldn't compare to her now!
It was only when Anya heard her gun click empty that she stopped, breathing heavily. But when the dust cleared, there was no body on the ground.
"The sword was more for your safety than mine,"admitted Riku, landing heavily on her back and squatting down to look at the woman who wheezed beneath him, the air knocked out of her. "Just as I thought," he added. "You're not a mage. You just have magic bullets. Lacrima, maybe?"
He heard the sound of magic gathering from the bushes. He had forgotten for a moment that there was another one and this one was definitely a mage. She'd re-equipped that gun just like Bisca and Alzack could.
"Sorry about this," Riku said to the gasping woman before knocking her on the head, making her pass out cold.
He realized he'd taken too long even before the blast hit his leg. Even with his scales activated he felt the pain run up his thigh as he hit the ground next to Anya. Looking down, he could see his paint leg was torn and he was bleeding, a lot.
Damn it, he thought. He could feel a faint bubbling of rage in the pit of his stomach. Far away now, but never a good sign. He had to end this now before it got any worse. At least he knew where she was hiding now.
He pushed himself up, doing his best not to put weight on his injured leg. From his squatting position he sent a blast of dark energy across the bushes, vaporizing them with dark energy. Riku grimaced. He hadn't meant to make it so strong. The purple haired girl was laying across the ground, not moving. Her gun was gone and her skin covered in a layer of dust.
He pushed himself up testing his leg carefully and wincing. He tested his walk over to his sword, which he picked up and stashed on his back before returning to the purple haired woman. He was relived to see she was still breathing, though it was a bit shallow. He glanced back at the hut, then to Solita and Anya, then to the hut he lifted her, stumbling slightly at the pain that shot through his leg. He steadied himself in time and glanced over at Anya.
"I'll be back for you in a moment," he informed her unconscious form. Then, he headed towards the small, solitary hut with it's "Master of Tea" sign.
Riku used his foot to push open the door. Inside the hut were walls of tea leaves and aromatic smell of jasmine and lavender. In the far corner was a small fire with a kettle bubbling away peacefully, surrounded by pillows to sit on and enjoy a cup of tea. The opposite corner had a clerks desk where an old man sat on a stool, sipping his tea with a slight smile on his face.
"Honeymooners," called the old man when he spotted Riku. He leaped from his seat and bustled around the counter, motioning for them to come to the kettle. "Come, come, I'll give you the tea for all the things you need!"
"We're not honeymooners," Riku said nervously looking around. The sandy haired Gabriel was no where in sight. "Hey, have you seen a kid around here?"
"A kid," the old man said thoughtfully, tapping his chin. "No kids, no. Come here for some tea."
"I don't think tea will do the trick here," Riku said putting Solita down on the pillows and standing again, feeling a sharp pain that made him wince.
"Tea can fix anything,"the old man replied, looked over Solita, his expression unchanged from the calm cheerful demeanor it was before.
"Riiiight," Riku said. This old man was a little off his rocker. And where was Gabriel? "There is another one I need to grab. Can you watch her for me?"
As he turned to go Riku felt a tug on his hand and found himself suddenly sitting as well, facing the old man and the kettle. This old man was crazy and strong? Suddenly a tea cup was in Riku's hands.
"Tea comes in many forms," the old man told him conversationally. "And so tea can help with almost all things. This tea is especially good for what ails you. Drink."
Riku took a sip and tasted a sharp flavor in the back of his throat. He resisted gagging out of respect, especially when the old man was watching him so expectantly. He paused about half way through his cup, a strange tingling on his leg. Looking down he saw the wound was closing. The tea was...healing him? Riku looked sharply at the old man, who had the same expression he'd had the whole time.
"This heals people," Riku gasped. He moved to share the tea with Solita next to him, but the old man knocked the cup from his hand onto the floor. Riku looked back at the old man in surprise.
"People are all different. Some are magic and some are not. Some are nice and some are mean," the old man said. "Tea is also different. There is citrus and peppermint, chamomile and hibiscus. Some people can have lots of different teas and other can only have one type of tea." He handed Riku a new cup, this one smelled more subtle, with hints of orange. The old man nodded to Solita and Riku carefully propped her up to drink it. She accepted it and when it was finished Riku lay her back down.
"It didn't seem to do much," Riku observed.
"It takes time," the old man said. "Some things take time."
"I appreciate your help," Riku said, shifting, "but I really need to go and grab this other lady I injured so we can help her as well."
The old man shook his head slowly, "she's gone."
"What?" Riku leaped up and rushed out the door, back towards where Anya was- or where she was suppose to be. When he arrived he looked everywhere, but she was no where to be found. Riku let out a sigh of relief.
"I thought you meant she died," Riku snarled as he re-entered the tea store. Solita was now sitting up, drinking a cup of tea on her own. She turned quickly at hearing him, narrowing her eyes.
"We could have both been killed," she snapped at Riku.
"Excuse me," Riku replied. "You attacked me!"
"Don't give me that! You let yourself get shot to see what type of weapons we had," Solita scoffed. "Besides, I would have stopped it before it got to serious."
"You let her shoot me," Riku retorted, then he paused, replaying what she'd said. "Wait, why would you have stopped it before it got too serious?"
"Obviously I wouldn't have let you really die," Solita said haughtily. "Not when Master is expecting you."
Riku sat down again, crossing his legs and leaning closer to stare into her eyes. He narrowed his eyes in concentration as he tried to figure out this purple haired mage before him. Solita pushed him away with an annoyed look as she snapped, "You could have just controlled yourself a little bit."
"Well, if I had control I wouldn't be looking for training," Riku replied, still not sure what was happening. This issue of Solita as a friend or foe was making his head hurt. He turned to the old man, deciding that was a better use of time. "By the way, do you know where I can find a Master Rikyu? Gabriel was leading me to him, but he disappeared."
"You don't know anything," Solita scoffed again, earning another sharp glare from Riku. Riku was about to retort when the old man chuckled.
"I am Master Rikyu," the old man said.
"Riiight," Riku said. "Master of Tea. I'm looking for a... different kind of master..."
Solita stood and walked out of the tea house before Riku could say anything else, muttering about how stupid some people could be. The old man seemed unperturbed.
"Yes, yes, I know," Master Rikyu smiled.
"You're the Master of Chaos," Riku said incredulously.
Master Rikyu grew very serious as he looked at Riku. His eyes bore into Riku's so intensely, that Riku shifted awkwardly. He felt like the man was reading his mind or something. They sat like this for a few minutes, which felt like eternity. Then, just when Riku wondered if the old man would ever speak again, a smile broke across his face.
"Yes, this will do" he said standing and dusting himself off. Moving away from the kettle, he rounded the counter again and dipped behind the back door, leaving Riku to watch in confusion. Then, Riku heard him call from the next room, "Come, let's have some more tea."
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