Marksman

A war has left a nation torn and its remaining heirs escaping with their lives. Little did the Admiral know that by taking them in, it would alter the life of his daughter drastically, especially when her curiosity draws her closer to the budding marksman. One night, after receiving news of her abduction, the ranger departed on an arduous journey, vowing to bring her home safely.

Previously:

"Ara?" Shizuru was puzzled at the strange request, but when Natsuki didn't explain further, she obliged. At the final stab, her eyes widened when the base of the weapon shot out, extending its reach, right toward Natsuki. It was a double extension of the weapon's reach, only much more flexible – almost like a curled whip, but much sharper. Shizuru gasped; her instinct kicking in to quickly retract the weapon.

The naginata complied smoothly but Natsuki had already leapt aside, a grin on her face, "You trying to kill me again, Shizuru?"

Chapter 4

Italics – Thoughts

A year later, the Arixian Army was on the move again. This time, their target was Chryzan – the nation with the largest land area. Already with the first invasion, the first town had already succumbed to their armies. The summer air was stale and the plumes of smoke from the charred remains hung on the air, deepening the foreboding atmosphere on the already broken and plundered town. Scouts of Chryzan carried the alarming news back to their Councilor, who in turn appealed to their neighbor for help. Worried, both leaders decided to meet to discuss their next move.

"Councilor, I understand the urgency of this meeting. Please be assured that we will support Chryzan with our best," Admiral Tetsuo's forehead was creased, the fine lines of his age displayed prominently.

The portly councilor of Chryzan sighed, "Thank you for coming down as quickly as you have, Admiral. I have already buffered extra defenses at the border by pulling in troops from our outskirts, but the ruthlessness of Arixia is truly incomprehensible." The Councilor continued, "The reports I've received are downright heinous. The women, children, even babies are not spared from their callousness."

"I've heard, Councilor. Not to worry, Shizuru and I have brought our Raptors to reinforce your plans."

The Councilor nodded, "I thank you, Admiral, for answering to our call for assistance. Truly."

The Admiral shook his head, "I will not sit by and watch Chryzan succumbing to the same fate that Kagen did. Vitilus will do their utmost to prevent that from happening." As he spoke, his eyes met his daughter's and she gave him a grateful smile in return.

The Councilor turned to the younger members of the room, "Yukino, Shizuru. If the Admiral is agreeable, I'd say the both of you should come up with a strategy for our next move. Our top priority is to rescue the civilians in the occupied town."

The Admiral ran his hand through his salt and pepper hair, regarding them softly, "Yes this would be a fine way to gauge how our next generation has grown. I'm all for it, if you ladies are agreeable, that is."

Shizuru looked at the bespectacled girl beside the Councilor, who was fiddling with her hands. Their eyes met and Shizuru offered her a questioning gaze. Yukino nodded firmly and returned a quick but nervous smile in return. "Ara, Yukino and I would be most happy to assist," Shizuru replied easily on behalf of the shyer girl.

Both fathers beamed, pleased. As the continued their conversation, both girls cast a knowing glance at one another. They knew they had much to talk about with Haruka and Natsuki later.

XXX

At the outskirts of the Chryzan capital, a lone figure stood atop the branches of a tall tree. She surveyed the wide expanse of grassland in front of her, squinting to get a clearer sight of movement not far from where she was perched. She whistled once before calmly leaping off the height, knowing her trusty steed was always present. True to form, Duran swooped in and picked her up mid-fall.

When they approached, Natsuki realized the movement was from a flock of scavenging birds. Duran sent a loud roar, sending the winged animals scurrying off. Natsuki immediately hopped off Duran when she spotted a girl lying on the ground. "Oi." she called, nudging the prone figure lightly.

There was no response and she quickly flipped the body over, grunting at the weight.

The redhead's clothes were torn and tattered, barely hanging off her skinny frame. Her face was caked in dirt, but despite the muddy makeup, Natsuki spotted cuts and bruises through the patches of cloth. Some of them were still fresh and bleeding. Feeling a faint pulse, Natsuki quickly picked her up and hoisted her on Duran.

As he climbed toward the skies, Natsuki spied a small watering hole to the west, "Over there, Duran."

At the edge of the water, Natsuki scratched her head, subconsciously flushing. "I have to remove your clothes to clean up your wounds. Sorry," She groused when she started to remove the tattered cloth. "Jeez, what the hell happened to you?" she muttered. The girl's entire body looked like it was mutilated time and time again. There were fresh cuts over old scabs and some wounds looked like they had been inflicted multiple times. When she cleaned up the bloodied wrists, there were telltale signs of the girl being tied up. Fierce, raw wounds had cut into her skin.

Just when Natsuki was about to lift her skirt to attend to the wounds on her legs, the girl suddenly screamed, causing Natsuki to nearly topple over, "No! Stop!"

"Oi! Stop it! I'm trying to help you!" Natsuki snapped at the flailing girl's outburst.

"Don't touch me! Don't touch me…"

Natsuki was cocked her head in confusion when the girl stopped struggling, curling up into a ball, mumbling to herself. Natsuki looked at Duran and shrugged. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"…"

"You really need to let me tend to your wounds."

"…" The girl stood up, staggering and started to inch away slowly.

Natsuki watched her silently as she wondered just how far the girl could make it with her body in that tormented state. Her question was answered when the girl collapsed after a couple more steps, dropping on the ground heavily. Startled, Natsuki ran over, picking up the hardly conscious girl. She felt the girl struggle, faintly pushing her shoulder in defiance. "I'm just gonna get you fixed up. I'm not gonna hurt you, so stop struggling."

The redhead wheezed something inaudible, and after some futile attempts in struggling to get free, the resistance stopped. Natsuki shook her head at the unconscious girl and muttered to herself, "Stubborn."

XXX

"Natsuki?" Shizuru called as she stepped into their shared bedroom. She couldn't help but let out a surprised breath when she saw Natsuki leaning over another girl in their bed.

Natsuki turned at voice, happy to see her, "Hey Shizuru." She quickly tossed the towel she had in her hands into the basin beside and hopped off the bed. "How was the meeting today?" she asked, knowing that the meeting was an important one.

"It was alright, Natsuki. Father is now with the Councilor." Shizuru replied quickly, eyeing the girl that was sleeping on their bed. She wasn't sure if the girl was clothed from where she was standing, but it looked like she was naked.

"Shizuru?" Natsuki looked at her, puzzled at the short response. When Shizuru's ruby irises refocused on her, she continued, "Was that all?"

Shizuru cleared her throat softly, masking her jealousness with a lilting tone, "I have asked Yukino for dinner tonight with Haruka. I have actually planned on asking Natsuki along, but if she's too busy, it is alright."

"I'm not too busy, Shizuru. I'm all for dinner," Natsuki nodded.

"Does Natsuki want to invite her new friend to dinner as well?"

"What friend?"

Shizuru gazed at the girl on the bed and Natsuki turned her head to follow her gaze. "Her? She's not my friend, Shizuru. I'm pretty sure she'd disappear the moment she awakens, anyway." Natsuki shrugged, "She was about to be picked off by those winged scavengers and she pretty much collapsed after five steps. She's in pretty bad shape that's why I brought her back. I'm not sure how she even got those awful injuries in the first place," Natsuki explained, walking toward the bed. "Look."

Shizuru followed as Natsuki quietly walked to the unconscious girl. When she glanced at the raw lacerations that decorated the skin, even Shizuru could not help but release a shocked gasp. "How did Natsuki find her?" Shizuru whispered.

"I was scouting the area and I found her lying there."

"Did Natsuki use the herbs that Yohko packed?"

"Oh! Crap I forgot all about those!" Natsuki slapped her forehead, walking over to the cupboards.

Shizuru watched as the seventeen year old girl dug through her belongings, searching for the medical pack. Quietly, she started to examine herself. This was not the first time that this awful feeling had reared its ugly head. She couldn't identify it the first time, but it was now plain for her to see. She had just gotten jealous of someone that Natsuki had just helped off the street.

Her compassionate, kind Natsuki was just being herself, Shizuru knew. Many would see her as aloof and cold, but Shizuru knew better. She knew that Natsuki's tumultuous past had etched itself on her being, but it just took a little time to uncover the other side of her. It just took effort and time. It was one of the reasons I fell in love with her in the first place. Shizuru eyes widened when that thought occurred to her. How could she just realize that she had fallen for her? When did it happen?

Too engrossed in her thoughts, Shizuru didn't notice that Natsuki had finished applying the pasty herb mixture onto the stranger in the room. She let out a startled breath at the sound of Natsuki's voice, "A penny for your thoughts, Shizuru? Are you alright? You seem to be spacing out a lot today."

A quick thought of telling Natsuki what she felt flitted across Shizuru's mind, but she swiftly chucked it aside, afraid that exposing herself would lead to an estranged relationship between the both of them. Shizuru did not want to ever break that trust that Natsuki had granted her. Shizuru couldn't and wouldn't risk that. "Sorry, my dearest Natsuki. I was just pre-occupied with the upcoming meeting with Yukino and Haruka. We were to come up with a strategy to liberate the occupied town."

"I see. Why don't you let me in on the details and we can get this off your mind? I'm sure you already have a plan in mind. You're probably just re-thinking it a million times to make sure it goes flawlessly."

"Ara, only my Natsuki knows me so well. Yes, I'm sure this will take things off my mind, "Shizuru replied, biting her tongue slightly at the little white lie. She was worried about the stratagem, but now, she knew now that there would always be a more important matter at the top of her mind.

XXX

"Bubuzuke!"

Shizuru smiled as she spotted the two girls seated at the dining hall. "Ara, good evening to you, Haruka, Yukino" she greeted evenly as she took a seat.

"Don't ara me, you silly woman," the loud blonde snorted, crossing her arms defiantly as she glanced around. "Where's Natsuki?"

"She'll be down in a minute, Haruka. Do you miss her already?"

"WHAT?" Haruka huffed, "I don't miss her! I just.." Haruka's head swiveled around when Yukino touched her lightly and the angry look on her face cleared slightly when the brown haired girl whispered something to her.

Shizuru chuckled at Haruka's antics. A fine pair, the both of them made, she mused. Despite their differences in characters, Yukino and Haruka fit perfectly with one another. The loud, boisterous blonde was perfect for voicing out and protecting the usually meek Yukino; and the bespectacled girl was the soothing balm for Haruka's known temper. Haruka had lost her parents and was officially adopted by Councilor Chryzan to be part of their family. He admired the strong-willed girl. Her proficiency in combat was prominent at a young age and quickly rose in the Chryzan military ranks to be his right hand commander as well as his daughter's confidant and protector.

The scowl on Haruka was still etched on her face when Natsuki stepped into the room, "Did I miss something?" she queried as she took a seat beside Shizuru.

Yukino quickly jumped in, "Good evening, Natsuki. Shizuru and Haruka were just catching up on old times."

Natsuki raised a brow in disbelief and was about to argue when Shizuru placed a hand on her lap. She got the message and easily diverted the conversation, "Yeah, it's been a while, eh? How has Diana been, Haruka?"

"Ah! You should see her now! My little girl's all grown up!" Haruka exclaimed proudly when the topic shifted to her beloved Horned Strider. She nodded her thanks to the server who had just set her plate down and jumped straight to the point, "So I say we take our armies and punch a hole right through those damn bastards!" Haruka seethed as she thought of the atrocities heard in the scout reports, hammering a fist onto her chest.

Yukino shook her head, "Yes, they are very disturbing. I cannot imagine the suffering of those innocent civilians. However, Haruka, I think it would be best to avoid severe losses on our end as well. Sand scorpions are highly aggressive and a full frontal charge would decimate even more of our people."

Shizuru sighed, "Yes, with every fallen soldier, one family loses yet another family member, a brother, a sister, a father, a mother. Would you allow me to share the plan that I have discussed with Natsuki?"

Haruka grumbled, but saw the logic in their words. She replied, with a mouth full of potatoes, "I'd go with anything, as long as chase the bastards back to where they belong."

Yukino gave her an understanding look, but nodded at the pair in front of her to go ahead.

Natsuki picked up on the cue and cleared her throat, "Right.. We suggest using the sun to our advantage in this case, and the attack will commence at dawn." She pulled a slip of paper from her breast pocket and unfolded it, "As you can see here, our armies would be coming in from the East."

Shizuru joined in smoothly, "With the sun in their eyes, arthropods' poor eyesight would essentially render them blind. Not to mention the fact that they are nocturnal. According to the reports, the town was attacked during nightfall. To reconfirm that, I did a quick analysis of the armies movement and I found that this to be quite true. I believe that with this, the confusion amongst the scorpions would cause the army to be rattled, making our jobs much easier."

Yukino added on, "The intel gathered is that the commander of the garrison is Miya Clochette. She's rather new and the main army has returned, leaving her in charge of holding the area while they resupply. A rattled army would alarm an inexperienced commander."

"Fantastic!" Haruka pumped a fist. "Would the main charge be led by the Striders? Oooo, I love this plan already," she smirked in glee, rubbing her hands together.

"Ara, yes Haruka dearest. The plan was to use your Striders as the main force to drive and scuttle the occupying forces to where we want them."

"Who's your dearest!" Haruka barked, stabbing her slab of steak with her fork and waved it around in protest. "But I can as sure as hell agree to lead the main force!"

Natsuki snorted back a laugh, "Anyway, Shizuru's Raptors will be stationed.. right here," she pointed on the map where a small marking was made. "There are only two paths into town, one leading further into Chryzan and the other back to Arixia. It will only be natural for them to retreat toward Arixia. I understand from the maps that the path would be bordered by a cliff about ten miles off?"

Haruka rubbed her chin, recalling, "Uh huh. I remember that. Channeling and ambushing them?"

"Different scorpions have different speeds; we should be able to pick them off easily before the regroup. Vilitus' Raptors are best for that as they have more mobility," Shizuru finished off the explanation with a faint smile.

Haruka slammed her hand on the table, but no one was really startled. They were used to it, really. "We'll corner the remainder and.." she turned, her violet eyes sparkling with mischievousness, "Natsuki, I guess you'll probably be up in a tree, as usual."

"Hey, don't mock the perch, blondie. It covered your ass many times," Natsuki crossed her arms. "Anyway, while everyone's occupied, there'll be better chances for the foot soldiers to guide the civilians out. I'll keep a lookout for stragglers who could thwart that."

Haruka smirked, "Right, let's go through it once more before we come to a final conclusion!"

XXX

As Shizuru's gaze surveyed the distant town, she spotted a large smoldering pile just at the edge of it. She grimaced at the thought of what had fueled the flame.

"We need to get ready," a voice cut through her thoughts. Shizuru turned immediately, but relaxed when she realized it was her young companion. She, however, did not recognizing the unfamiliar edge in Natsuki's voice. It was hard and taut. Natsuki had narrowed her eyes as she stared at the land in front of them, the emotions in her eyes was one that Shizuru hadn't seen before in the last five years. It held rage, pain, anger, sorrow – it seemed like all negative emotions were trapped in those vivid viridians. Shizuru wasn't sure what sparked the sudden change, but she unconsciously reached out and held onto Natsuki's hand, her thumb rubbing her hand softly, hoping that it would calm her down. The silent question – 'What's wrong, my Natsuki?' lingered around short silence between them.

As though she heard the unspoken question, Natsuki spoke, "Those are Kagen Katapults," Natsuki murmured, closing her eyes.

Shizuru looked on ahead, eyeing the machinery that was stationed around the town.

"My father designed them, you know," Natsuki continued, "They're destroying people's lives with our inventions. They were never designed for this purpose."

Natsuki reopened her eyes and Shizuru saw that the strength of the emotions had been calmed a little, but she knew the tow of the undercurrent. She pressed herself closer to the girl, hoping to bring her what the comfort that Natsuki needed. The scene in front of them probably rekindled the repressed emotions of her past.

She knew because Natsuki had finally decided to reveal her past one day. It took a while, Shizuru recalled. But she could feel the pain seeping off the usually clammed up girl. It had taken their relationship up to a whole new level altogether. Shizuru remembered it just like it was yesterday.

Flashback - Shizuru

Natsuki had intrigued me the first day we met. I was hiding behind the large double doors as Father and Mother were speaking to the two new guests in the main hall. I remember the adorable reaction she had to my tease. I remember pouncing on her and her extremely delightful reaction. She had instinctively caught me in her arms, but her face had changed up into such an outstanding red that I thought she was going to spontaneously combust!

I have never regretted that pounce, though.

The thing about Natsuki was she always had this look in her eyes. I learnt of her past from my parents and I admired her courage and strength. However, I wanted to learn it from her firsthand – when she was ready to. Sometimes I wonder about her when she stares into the distance. Never once did she show the true emotions that were festering inside her. I knew, though. It was the intensity of her eyes. She really made an impression on me.

After the first day, she would have nothing to do with me, trying to ignore me the best she could. But I wasn't one to give up, so I kept trying. I asked her about her favorite pastimes, her likes and dislikes, her quirks and habits. Basically everything under the sun.

One day, she finally confronted me and demanded why I was so interested in her. I replied her in all honesty, telling her that I liked her and that we were friends. Just like Kiyohime and Duran. Even though she huffed at my answer, she eventually started opening up and I started to learn all kinds of things about her.

Deep down, Natsuki is actually sensible and kind. I've seen the way she takes care of little Alyssa. I can tell that the little one looks up to her a lot; both as her elder as well as her pillar of strength. I can't blame Alyssa though, Natsuki does give off a protective air and the past had probably shaped her this way. Strangely, the girl with the rough side is also particularly picky about her underwear. Also, she is somehow extremely sensitive when I make suggestive remarks or actions.

End Flashback

Shizuru smiled as she recalled the past. Natsuki was silent as they made their way back toward camp. Shizuru decided to leave her in her thoughts for now.

There were so many things that made her Natsuki, she thought. One day I hope that Natsuki would flash a big, genuine smile – one that came from the bottom of her heart. For now, I'll be by her side till that day.

Natsuki's voice cut through the silence abruptly and Shizuru turned to her companion, "You know, those katapults were made because Kagen's full of mountains. Our rangers are usually parked at the peaks of mountains and we had trouble transporting bulky goods up the narrow mountain paths. Snow Wolcons don't exactly give birth by the dozens either. My father made this to solve that problem."

Shizuru hummed her acknowledgement, subtly yet adeptly steering the conversation, "How did Natsuki's father make sure that the goods were not ruined upon impact?"

Natsuki's eyes lit up a little at the question and Shizuru smiled inwardly at the glint – she had always been very engrossed when talking about things like these. "My dad drew many charts plotting the trajectory. He used to show them to me and we would set up the landing pads accordingly. He even designed those," she added proudly.

"Natsuki's father is very innovative and I'm sure Natsuki is as well. After all, my weapon was handmade by Natsuki."

"Thanks, Shizuru," Natsuki nodded, turning her head to look at Shizuru. Shizuru had always been there for her. She knew that this was Shizuru's way of comforting her. The hurt didn't fade away entirely, but it helped. "How's your training with the new weapon, anyway?"

"Natsuki'll see soon enough. Father and the Councilor have already approved our plans. I believe the best demonstration would be one as close to reality as possible, am I right?"

XXX

A/N: Please let me know if you like it :)

Thanks for reading!