A/N:
All right, I received two reviews telling me to go on with the story, so that
is exactly what I shall do. Just be forewarned, I'll be putting more
unexplained parts of the game in later in this story. So, without more delay,
Chapter 6!
It was the first day of spring. Birds flew around, whistling happily, and frogs croaked in the pond. It was peaceful in the Cedar Woods…until a certain person got frustrated.
"Dammit! Not again!"
A pack of wolves scurried away from the tree they were doing their business on. They had been scared away when a large bag dropped from the tree.
Rei leaped down, cursing. "Why doesn't the f**king bag stay on the branch?" He looked up to see that the branch the bag had been sitting on had snapped.
"Note to self: Don't load up bag with too much food and set in on a branch." He sighed. "Don't this just beat all."
Rei grabbed the bag and slung it over his shoulder. Suppose I'll have to make do. Teepo ain't gonna be happy, though. He sighed again.
He started walking in the direction on his cabin, muttering, "Don't this just beat all" continuously.
SLAM!
Rei
kicked open the door to his cabin.
"Did
you get anything new this time, Rei?" Ryu yawned as he walked downstairs in
response to the slamming door.
"Nope.
Just some more apples." Rei swung the bag onto the table. "And a few berries.
Again."
Teepo
moaned as he staggered down the stairs. "Jeez, doesn't anything else grow
around here?"
"No,"
Rei answered. "All the good stuff's grown down in the village. And the animals
seem to be getting smarter." He deliberately left out the part about the bag
being dropped out of the tree.
The
trio had a breakfast of…well, apples and berries. After the meal, everyone
tossed their plates outside to feed the birds.
"Hey,
wait," Teepo suddenly said. "Speaking of the village, we haven't gone down
there since we defeated the Nue. Anybody else wanna check out how they're
doing?"
Rei
rolled his eyes. "I am not going to risk getting hit by pots and pans again.
Those really hurt."
"Maybe
they'll give us some decent food."
That
did it. Rei suddenly started panting like a tired dog and started chanting "Food.
Food. Food. Food."
He
got a major laugh out of Ryu for that.
"C'mon,
what're we waiting for? Let's go!" Teepo zoomed out the door, nabbing his
katana on the way out.
Ryu
and Rei looked at the small dust clouds that had replaced Teepo.
Rei
shrugged. "What the heck. We've got nothing better to do."
"Yeah." Ryu picked up his short sword and walked out
the door, followed by Rei.
Ryu
held his breath as he walked through the town gates, expecting, as Rei had
said, to be hit by pots and pans. But the only being he saw was Teepo, standing
in the village square, looking disappointed.
"Where
is everyone?" Teepo complained.
Rei
sighed. "I don't see why you're so disappointed. Last time they saw us they
resorted to using guns. Why are you so eager to-"
"Guys."
Rei
and Teepo turned and looked at Ryu. His face was completely pale.
"What's
wrong?" Rei asked.
Ryu
gulped and pointed in front of him.
Rei
looked up and almost passed out at the sight.
Standing
in front of them was the entire population of the village.
Teepo's
jaw dropped. Oh, man, we are in deep trouble, he thought.
One
of the villagers stepped forward. "Are you the three boys who killed the
monster?"
Ryu
slowly nodded, wondering if that was his death sentence.
But
then the villagers did something completely unexpected…they started cheering.
Rei's
jaw dropped down to his knees.
"Thank
you so much!" the man who spoke cried, shaking each of their hands in turn.
"Thanks to you the harvest went perfectly! We all have more than enough food now!"
Ryu
was in shock. Now this is making me wonder why we didn't go down here
before.
"You
never have to steal anything anymore now!" an old woman said happily. "You only
need to ask!"
And before the trio knew it, the cheering villagers swept
them off their feet.
Ryu looked around, grinning. Now this is more
like it! he thought.
Later,
after everyone had calmed down and gone home, Ryu, Rei, and Teepo stood in the
center of the town.
"Now
that was a surprise, don't ya think?" Rei said. "Nice to actually get
some respect around here."
"You
said it," Teepo said.
"Psst.
Hey, you three."
Ryu
whirled around to see a man looking at them. They couldn't see his features,
because he was wearing a long greenish-blue cloak.
"So.
It seems as if you three are the town's heroes," the man whispered hoarsely.
"Your
point?" Teepo asked. "We knew that. What are you saying?"
If
the man's face were visible, he probably would've smiled. "I am Loki. Since you
are the town's heroes, I have a…request."
"Request?
What request?" Rei inquired.
Ryu
was starting to not like this guy. I don't like that hesitation before he
said "request," he thought. There's something not to trust about him…
"I
shall fill you in later. If you choose to accept this request," Loki whispered.
"Meet me at the shed down the road at midnight tonight. You either show up or
you don't." With that, Loki swirled his cloak around and walked away, towards
the village gate.
Ryu,
Teepo, and Rei looked down the road for a long time. Finally, Teepo broke the
silence. "What do you think? Accept, or no?"
"No,"
Ryu said immediately. "I don't trust that guy. There's something odd about
him."
Rei
looked at Ryu curiously. "What is it?"
"There's…just
some…I don't know how to explain it, it's just…there's this bad aura
surrounding him. I don't know, I think we shouldn't trust him."
Teepo
snorted. "Since when were you our decision maker, Ryu? I say we go for it!"
"You're
always up for a challenge," Ryu shot back. "But what if Loki wants us to commit
a crime for his sake? Something that turns the townspeople against us again?
Guys, I really think we shouldn't accept!"
This
was the first time-at least as far back as he could remember-that Ryu heard a
desperate tone in his own voice.
Teepo
raised an eyebrow. He had noticed the desperate tone too. "Rei?" He asked the
oldest of them. "What do you think?"
Rei
scratched his chin. "I dunno…maybe we could just go to see what he wants us to
do. If it's a bad thing, we'll decline. How about that?"
Ryu
and Teepo nodded.
"I still think he wants us to commit a crime," Ryu
muttered. I have a really bad feeling about this…
At
exactly midnight that night, a cloak-clad figure opened the door to the shed.
He grinned when he saw the two small boys and the tall one with the tail
sitting in there.
"Good,
you decided to come," Loki said. "Since you have come, I shall tell you what I
want you to do."
Rei
nodded. "But I'm warning you, pal, if we don't like what you want us to do,
then we're out of here. Got that?"
Loki's
hood nodded up and down. "Yes. I have that."
"Then
what is it?" Teepo asked.
"You
are…to infiltrate McNeil's manor."
"What?!"
Ryu yelped in surprised. McNeil was the town's mayor. This sounded almost for sure
it was a crime!
"It
is not for criminal purposes," Loki whispered, almost as if he had read Ryu's
mind. "You know how McNeil are taxing the people unfairly, yes?"
"Uh-huh,"
Teepo nodded warily.
"I
want you to infiltrate McNeil's manor and steal back the taxed money, and
return them to the people of the village," Loki said. "It should be easy,
considering how you have continuously stolen from the townspeople."
"Hey,
those days are over," said Rei.
"Yes.
I know," Loki said. "But surely your thieving skills have not gone to waste.
Apply them to this situation. I urge you, accept this request! If you do, the
townspeople are likely to be very grateful."
Rei
smiled and nodded. "All right then. We'll do it."
Teepo
nodded vigorously, signifying that he accepted.
Ryu
nodded slowly, reluctantly. I still don't trust him…and just like I thought,
we'll be breaking the law…but Rei and Teepo are going along, and someone's
gotta watch their backs.
"Good!"
Loki said, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "Very well then. You should
start right now. This is a perfect time, as most people are likely to be
asleep. I advise you to watch out for the guards, however."
"We'll
be fine," Rei assured him.
"Very
good." Loki turned around, his cloak swishing behind him. "I bid you farewell,
and good luck." With that, Loki left the shed, the dark color of his cloak
disappearing into the night.
The
three boys stared after him. And again, Teepo broke the silence.
"Well,
what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Teepo scooted out of the shed, followed by
Rei.
Ryu
hung back for a moment. Alright, here we go…may god have mercy on us. After
the quick prayer, he grabbed the handle of his short sword and followed Rei and
Teepo's tracks.