Chapter 2: Moving day
My fingers brush against the soft petals of a swaying buttercup, checking on its growth. It looked like it needed a little more water, so with a snap of my fingers, a cloud formed above the garden and started a gentle shower.
Continuing on my way, I walked towards my thinking spot under the willow tree and sat down on the soft oversized pillows situated at its roots.
Conjuring the huge pig plushie I had been gifted from the past, I promptly hugged it tightly and let out a heavy sigh.
"I'm in a pickle."
Because what else could this be. While yes, I would love for a change of scenery, the chance for it to be pleasant would be fifty-fifty. Who's to say that I won't be chained up underground again.
My fingers twirled around a lock of conjured black hair and started braiding it. I doubt I'll have much more freedom than he does now.
Would I even be awake during the move?
Fun fact, turns out I would.
"Now take caution everyone; he may be sealed but you never know what might happen."
"Hai, Shishou!"
To be honest, I feel a bit overwhelmed by how many people were there. My senses were struggling to adjust to the sudden difference of the now crowded area, going haywire at the sudden presence of a large group of people.
Shaking hands longed to cover sensitive ears to block out the loud noises filling the air. The hair follicles on my body stood up in the presence of strangers while my skin prickles under the cloth at the temperature change caused by the large number of warm bodies underground.
Footsteps cautiously make their way over to my area. The clanging of metal signaled that they were unlocking something—probably some sort of lock.
By the time they reached me, my head was having a field day at how much noise they were making. Couldn't they just keep it down? It wasn't that hard to shut the fuck up.
A pair of feet came to a stop about two feet in front of me as the person sharply sucked in a quick breath.
"It's a child?"
It was hissed under his breath and barely audible that I almost missed his words if I hadn't been paying attention while under the stress. He sounded disturbed and surprised for some reason. Didn't they tell them who they were dealing with?
"Oi Kenji-kun, what's the holdup?" A young boy's voice piped up from behind the body. Must be someone close, maybe a friend.
Kenji quickly replied back jerkily. "It's nothing." A bit reluctantly, he returned to what he was doing. Clothes shuffled as more and more people moved around inside the prison.
Resonating clicks from the ground caught my attention. Must've been the chai-oomph
When I had been distracted by the sounds of the locks, they had looped a chain around my neck and fashioned it like a collar. The access chain had been used to tie up my hands before hanging down like a leash. All the while there were about two people in the back chanting some sutras for a reason.
I could feel the same wrongness that coated the walls on these chains the moment my skin made contact. However, compared to the room, this felt like they had sucked out a large majority of my energy, resulting in my shoulders slumping down in exhaustion. Thankfully it didn't do much else.
The last thing they placed on me was a light cloth that reached down to my ankles, concealing most of my body.
With a tug on the chain, I sat up, getting the message. Relying on the chain to lead me, I shakily got up, legs shaky from unused to walking, and started making my way out of the prison.
Oh well, here's to hoping I survive.
It was overwhelming .
The moment I had gotten above ground, my senses were hit by the differences. The ground wasn't the usual soft soil he was used to, and the air was full of whispers. I didn't stay long enough to pay attention to what they were saying as the chain pulled me forward.
They were going at a slow pace I was grateful for. My thinly bandaged feet were still acclimating to the change in terrain and my stamina wasn't the best due to years of being immobile. My headspace could never prepare me for how real things actually felt. They had also ditched the cloth in favor of me not tripping over; it was only required of me to wear it when I was getting out of the compound anyways.
"Ne, Makoto-kun do you know what his deal is?" A raspy asked.
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"What do you mean 'what do you mean?' Just look at him! His body's covered head to toe in talismans and bindings. Not to mention we haven't heard a single word come out of him. He must've done something."
The others started to join in on his questioning. Each new guess being more outlandish than the last.
"Perhaps he had broken a sacred rule." One ventured, only to be shot down by another.
"No, it must be that he was cursed."
"The lovechild of an elder and a wandering shaman?"
"Maybe," one lone voice caught their attention, as well as mine. "He himself is a curse."
Not minding the surprised sounds coming from the others, he continued.
"You heard them, while the clan head had never directly addressed him by his name, his wife and the rest of the clan members had called him a curse."
I'll just name him Emo because that was just sad.
And no, I'm pretty sure I'm a hundred percent human, so don't go throwing around outlandish ideas.
The whole group fell in a moment of silence as they saw the merit of his words. Yamato's, the young boy who revealed Kenji's name, voice perked up as if he made some connection. "That would make sense but," he sounded confused. "Why can't I sense any curse energy from him then?"
Kenji hitched his breath from his place behind him as he realized it himself.
I could practically feel the holes they were drilling in me as they stared at my body if the sudden pressure was anything telling. I didn't know any of the weird jargon they used, so I was confused as they delved into another conversation speculating about my apparent lack of 'cursed energy'.
We were taking a break from the move and seated by a flowing stream that was a nice and quiet reprieve from all the noise the group was making on the trek. They had made me sit down and encircled around to keep an eye on me while three of them had gone off to hunt for tonight's meal. Their leader had gone ahead and had left his students to take care of me, making it nine people guarding him right now.
I wonder if they'll give me some food or stick to the idea that he's a curse. Going without food was a normal thing for me when the servants stole my meager food but I'd still like to eat.
Crack
Well, speak of the devil. It seems like they're back.
The sound of their heavy steps and something dripping filled my ears. It seems they were successful in their catch. How lucky.
It took the group a couple of minutes to set up camp while I just sat down and enjoyed the feeling of the outside. Albeit while it was a bit too loud compared to the underground, it was fascinating after a long while.
The sunlight on my small body feels warmer than the one in my shelter—I'll have to fix that later—and I can actually feel it on my body in the real world. It was the opposite of the cold dark prison and was greatly welcomed.
Taking a deep breath through my nose, I could smell the different types of flowering plants and living animals throughout the forest. The bitterness of the grass, the sweetness of the flowers, the earthiness of the dirt. It was really exciting to experience it all.
I could feel Kenji's curious eyes on my every move as well as a few others that were finished with their work. Am I that interesting?
Oh well, not like I cared or anything.
Slouching in my sitting posture, I swayed a bit before flopping against the grassy ground. The result being my now breathless form curled up due to the wind knocked out of my lungs. I fell harder than I thought. Oops.
Surprisingly, Kenji was by my side in seconds, quickly checking me over with his hands hovering over me, not knowing what to do. I could hear Yamato's worried voice ask him what happened while the others were murmuring similar questions.
Kenji paid attention to my movements as he asked, "Are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?" My brain subtly noted that this was probably against the rules to be this close to me, but I was too busy trying to hold in my breath.
When I had finally caught his breath, I waved him off with my bound hand and patted his shoulder in thanks. The moment I touched him though, Kenji froze and held his breath in surprise until I stopped patting.
Lifting my legs up in front of me, I set them on the grass to dig into the soft grass and dirt, stretching my arms above me as I curled my body up. A muffled giggle couldn't help but escape from my mouth. Taking a second to turn over on my stomach, I set my hands on the grass and ran my fingers through the soft blades, playing with them.
Feeling their incredulous gazes on me, I had to muffle down his quiet giggles. They were dead silent as they watched me swing my legs up and down while I instinctively started fiddling with some nearby flowers.
They need to loosen up, it's not like I was going to eat them or something.
The young shamans who were working on setting camp were looking forward to sleeping after a long day of walking. That was until their prisoner suddenly collapsed on the floor all of a sudden.
Panic and confusion flooded their mind at what had happened to have caused this. Some of them had voiced out their concerns to Kenji who was checking his body while others readied themselves in a battle position in case it was an ambush.
When they had realized nothing was happening, they looked back at their charge in confusion as his hand waved Kenji off and patted his arm. It only became weirder when he planted his feet on the floor and dug them into the ground (how was that even possible, it was solid dirt!?) and stretched, turning around and doing something with the grass.
Was he-
Was he making a flower crown?
All the young shamans guarding him had one thought regarding their charge.
He was strange.
Kenji just questioned where the flowers even came from.
He had been keeping an eye on the prisoner and never once saw him pick a single flower. They all look suspiciously fresh too.