Meanderers

By: Aviantei

[Twelve Shots of Summer: Another D8 6-II/12]

[Parameters: "The Long Way Around"]

The Over Soul that was the Patch Jumbo Jet dispersed with an innocuous pop, and then they were all falling, plummeting towards the tan desert below. Kiha Kaede, her expression not so much as twitching, observed the scene, as many of the other Shaman Fight participants started to panic. Just as many others were already using their Over Souls, more than prepared for the sudden change of plans. There were a white mecha shape blasting off, witches on broomsticks, an elephant using its ears to fly, and a massive red Over Soul that radiated so much mana that it made even the high-altitude air burn before it, too, had headed off into the horizon, looking as if it had a clear goal in mind.

And, in the midst of all of that, Issebella was still asleep. Her tight dress didn't flap in the wind (a fact that Kaede somewhat envied, seeing as she had to hold her own skirt down as best she could), but her long hair would doubtless become a tangled mess from this trip, and yet she was still snoring, without a single care in the world.

"Wake up, you foolish girl!" Militaresco, Issebella's Guardian Spirit knight shouted at impressive volume, "You call yourself a knight whenever you can't even complete an escort job?!" And that was followed by a rapid string of words in Italian, a few of which sounded like English, but Kaede didn't trust herself enough to translate. She trusted herself to have enough competency to navigate America (because that was where they were falling, where the next stage of the Shaman Fight was to take place), but that was about it.

Dropping out of school hadn't helped her minimal fluency in the slightest.

Still, she had much more pressing problems to worry about—navigating America kind of had the prerequisite of surviving first, after all. Even with Militaresco's ranting, Issebella still hadn't woken up, so it looked like saving them both was going to be Kaede's job.

"Fia," she said, and the deer spirit manifested from its temporary resting place in the mortuary tablet strapped to her thigh. Kaede held out a hand, Fia's spirit ball form falling into her grasp before the pushed the ghost towards her chest. "Integrate."

Kaede had not been a shaman for very long, but connecting with Fia was simple enough, easy even. Kaede's mana took physical form, encasing her in a glowing green shape of a deer with her at the center. With the mana structure having much more strength than Kaede's own body, she shouldn't have any problem landing, even from the height they'd fallen from. Controlling it as an extension of herself, Kaede reached out to grab Issebella in her Over Soul's mouth as the ground grew ever closer.

They landed with great force, the impact forming a small crater in the dusty and dry earth. Dust flew through the air, creating a cloud, which Fia's mana filtered out, saving Kaede the trouble of coughing it up. Issebella wasn't so lucky, and she awoke with a half-shout, half-snort, which soon descended into a hacking fit.

But, hey, they were alive and on the ground, so mission accomplished.

Kaede lowered Issebella as much as she could before dismissing her Over Soul. Issebella yelped and stumbled, but managed to roll herself into an upright position, where she sat and observed their surroundings. "This isn't the plane!"

"It's not." Kaede glanced from side to side, seeing nothing but wide-open ground, with maybe hints of mountains in the distance. Even up in the sky, there were no longer signs of the Patch or any other Shaman Fight participants. Kaede wondered if Rutherford had used her abilities to help the officiants slip away so no one could follow them to their destination. "The Patch dropped us off. Said we needed to find their village in order to proceed to the next part of the next."

"Hmm. I see, I see." Issebella nodded her head, ignoring the dissatisfied form of Militaresco hovering behind her. "Too bad we didn't get the chance to run into Dio! He knows where the Patch Village is, so getting there would be a snap!"

Kaede hadn't sighed in a long time, but listening to Issebella made her almost want to. "You're the one who ate too much at Yokohama and fell asleep the second we got on the plane." If you hadn't, you could have introduced me to your group, went unsaid. Kaede had come along with Issebella because she'd been asked, but she still knew very little about her group's leader. If anything, she had a better idea of this "Principessa" person, but nothing substantial enough to identify her in the middle of a crowded jumbo jet filled with strangers.

Not that Kaede had much motivation to go around talking to strangers in the first place, but still.

Issebella at least had the decency to look apologetic. She was so expressive that Kaede on occasion felt somewhat jealous, but showing her own emotions still felt too monumental of a task. "I'm super sorry, Kaede," Issebella said, clasping her hands together in forgiveness. "I just wanted to share all the fun food with you, and then I was so sleepy that I needed a siesta, so I just passed out." On top of it all, Kaede couldn't even bring herself to feel mad about it, because she had had fun at the miniature fair the Patch Officiants had set up for them.

"It's fine." Fia nuzzled against Kaede's cheek, and she pet the deer spirit in response. "We have three months to make it to the Patch Village. We should be able to manage it." America was a big place, sure, but Soul of the Forest was a good Over Soul for traveling. They'd made it across Japan and to Tokyo in time for the Shaman Fight Prelims, after all. This would just be another leg on their journey.

"Yeah, you're right!" Issebella leapt up to her feet, swinging her arm around Kaede's shoulder with almost enough force to topple her small frame. "I'm pretty sure Dio said something about those with strong spirits will always get called towards the Patch Village, so we'll make it, plus my super strong bond with the Principessa will reunite us! So let's make the most of this journey, okay, Kaede? I'll be sure to get a couple more of those hundred smiles out of you, too. Ikubo!"

"Ikuzo," Kaede corrected, but Issebella was already laughing, racing ahead towards the horizon without any plan whatsoever. But they'd made it this far together, so Kaede felt sure it would work out in the end.

And, well, even if their path took a little bit more than time than others, it wasn't as if going the long way around was a bad way to live life at all.

[Author's Notes]

I've been sitting on this idea for a while, since I needed a good explanation for why Issebella and Kaede didn't reunite with Hao's group during the Patch Jumbo jet sequence (aside from my lack of pre-planning back in those early fanfic days). In short: Issebella ran around the festival beforehand, enjoying food at the stands, then knocked out for the plane ride. Kaede wasn't sure who to talk to. Since Issebella was being quiet, no one from the group noticed her on the Patch Jumbo Jet. A stretch of logical conclusions? Yes, but the rest of the fanfic canon already exists, so yeah.

Thanks to LyriaHart, She Who Loves Pineapples, and Punk Trash Noiz for the fav, follow, and reviews! You're all amazing~.

I can't believe we're already at the halfway point of the summer...

Next one shot will use the prompts "Planting Seeds" and "The (Square) Root of the Problem." Please look forward to it!

-Avi

[07.10.2021]