"And late at night when you call my name, the only sound you'll hear...is the sound of your voice calling, calling out to me." Phil Collins
Chapter three
A warm rain had started and pattered down on the two as they road toward town on the only horse Kasaru found reliable to take them that far. Although the horse was somewhat old, it was in prime condition, and he was sure he could trade it for a cheap horse and carriage. It was weather like this that reminded them why they needed a carriage in the first place, the rain plopped heavily on their skin and oozed warm trails down their arms and created sticky patches on their clothes.
Suzuno clung to Kasaru's waist out of a genuine fear of riding a horse. She had always admired them from a far, occasionally getting the chance to lean over the fallen down wooden fence of her grandmother's farm and feed the aging horse Shotou bits of apples she saved from lunch. Now she was actually getting a chance to experience riding one of these beautiful creatures, and what was she doing? Cowering and clinging to Kasaru's waist.
They made it to town in an hour's time, and by then the rain had slowed to a drizzle that was quite a bit more annoying than the rain that had preceded it. Kasaru slowed the horse to a trot, and Suzuno loosened her grip, though keeping her hands planted on his hips.
The town was no more than a sporadic scattering of houses, though the streets were lined almost end to end with a number of stands that held a variety of treats, fruits, cheap clothing, jewelry...and they all led the trail that emptied out into a cluster of higher priced shops.
Kasaru dismounted the horse and helped Suzuno down as well, glancing around. "I'm going to go look around and see who might be selling...you wait here with the horse, all right?"
Suzuno nodded in agreement, before asking hesitantly "Is there...any way we could get something to eat too? It doesn't have to be anything big and I can pay you back I just..."
"Hai, of course Suzuno, and you don't have to pay me back...after all you're under my care now. I'll try to be back soon." Kasaru brushed his bangs off his forehead and wiped his brow, as the rain dribbled to an end, the sun had become quite harsh, glaring through whatever clouds it could wedge itself between.
She watched Kasaru wind his way through the crowd and disappear into the marketplace and sighed, fidgeting slightly, unsure of what she should do to spend her time. Her stomach felt like it was twisted into knots, though whether this was from hunger or nervousness she couldn't quite be sure. Her legs wobbled a bit from weariness when she tried to walk, and she wanted so badly to sit down, but the ground beneath her feet was still damp from the rains.
An hour passed by and still she did not see Kasaru's familiar face emerging from the herd of people that shuffled from stand to stand looking for the best deal. Had he forgotten about her? She contemplated this for only a moment before she decided Kasaru didn't seem the type that would ditch someone, even if they -were- a hassle. He must have run into some kind of trouble, and if that were so he might need her help. If there was one thing Suzuno knew, she was determined not to be useless. She led the horse over to a nearby tree and tied him up, sure he would be fine for a little while, and then quickly made her way down the hill and into town.
She felt eyes on her as she tried to worm her way through the thick crowd, people looking at her oddly because of the school uniform she wore. Not used to being stared at, she lowered her eyes and tried to make herself look as small and inconspicuous as possible...perhaps she should have kept on that kimono instead.
"Byakko, you're -beautiful-! Can I paint your portrait? Please, please, please?"
Suzuno jerked her head up and looked in the direction where the excited voice was coming. What she saw was a man that looked a little younger than Kasaru, slightly shorter as well. His teal hair was a bit wild, ruffled, longer strands hanging down to his shoulders while shorter bangs fell in front of shining violet eyes. In both hands he clutched a number of different sized brushes, and his tunic was splattered with pastel paints.
"Who...me?" Suzuno pointed to herself and blinked at him, confused.
"Of course, you!"
"I'm kinda...busy..." She said, almost regretfully, clasping her hands behind her back as she did often when she felt uneasy.
"Oh...I see..." He nodded and lowered his eyes, giving an almost over-exaggerated sigh of rejection.
"Please...don't be sad." Suzuno took a step forward and brought a hand up "I'll...fine, you can paint me...but first I need to find my friend."
"Really?" He jerked his head up, his eyes once again lighting up, the man certainly did have a very animated face "That's great! Then let's go find her!" With that he started off and weaved himself into the crowd, and expert by now of how to navigate the masses of people.
Suzuno supposed she ought to follow him; it would be much easier to find Kasaru if she had someone to help her, and so she jogged to catch up with him, latching onto the sleeve of his shirt. "It's...a he, actually...he has long brown hair and blue eyes, tall...dreamy..." She felt a blush rise in her cheeks when she actually heard what she was saying, and she trailed off at that. There was no conversation between the two of them as they scanned the crowds until the man shouted out.
"HEY! There's Subaru! SOOBY!" He picked up Suzuno's wrist and began walking at a harried pace, cutting through the crowd and heading toward the grocer's shop. Once Suzuno realized where they were heading, she laid her eyes on Kasaru. He was laughing and talking with the girl whom had to be Subaru, and they were close enough together that it made Suzuno's blood boil with surprising jealousy. Quickly she appraised the other woman as the man dragged her toward them, she didn't seem -that- great, surely Kasaru wouldn't have abandoned her for that. To Suzuno she looked like a slut, but that could have been her jealousy talking, her platinum colored hair carried almost past her knees, and her dress was loose and flowing save for the bodice which fitted tightly underneath large breasts. As the two of them came to a stop not far from Subaru and Kasaru, Suzuno realized she felt hopelessly childish next to the other woman.
"Toroki, you baka." Subaru laughed as she turned toward the man that had dragged Suzuno there "Why are you dragging that poor girl around?"
"I'm going to paint her as soon as I find a 'brown haired, blue eyed, tall dreamy guy'" Toroki quipped, his energy barely contained.
Subaru laughed "Looking for a boyfriend, Toroki?"
"Not for me...for this girl..." He wrinkled his nose and pointed behind him, where Suzuno was 'inconspicuously' hiding. Suzuno stepped forward a bit and smiled shyly, but said nothing.
"This is the girl I was talking to you about...the Byakko no miko." Kasaru looked over at Suzuno and smiled, a bit surprised that she had found him. "Suzuno...this is Subaru, one of the Byakko seishi. She agreed to help us...her father owns a farm and she says he would be willing to lend us a few horses for the journey."
"Great!" Suzuno said, with mock cheerfulness, still awkward around Subaru...she seemed nice enough, but Suzuno could tell she was moving in on Kasaru. Moving in?! Why was she thinking like this, and why -now- when they needed all the help they could get?
"Don't forget about me!" Toroki jutted out his lower lip and regarded his childhood friend, Subaru, with an over-dramatic sadness "I'm a Byakko no seishi too."
"Hontou?" Kasaru looked bewildered, either surprised that they had found so many warriors so quickly, or that someone like Toroki could be a seishi.
"Hai hai!" With an eager nod, his bangs falling in front of his eyes and at least partially blocking his vision, he grabbed onto the edge of his tunic and pulled it up enough for them to see the symbol imprinted on his stomach. Subaru just laughed, Toroki would never change, no matter whom he was associating with. "So what do we have to do?"
Kasaru struggled through the explanation of the illusion and the note, he wasn't much of a people person, and found himself growing frustrated with his own inability to completely explain the situation, but then again, it wasn't as if he understood what was going on himself.
"We'd be glad to help you find your sister, Tatara...and priestess, we -were- born to serve and protect you." Subaru bowed a bit, which only caused Suzuno to blush once more. She had never been the center of attention, let alone given any respect that was anywhere close to this. Of course she had always been appreciated, her parents never quit telling her how proud they were of her grades and her accomplishments, but she had never been respected. In their eyes and the world's eyes she was still just a kid.
But what if this was just a dream? It wasn't hard to believe that she had fallen asleep while reading the book, and her dreams had been a way for her to escape the grief of losing her friend, but it seemed too...vivid, too tangible to be a dream.
Suzuno went over what Kasaru, no -Tatara- she reminded herself, as that was what the others were calling him, had told her about the legend. Once she had gathered all seven seishi she could call upon the animal god Byakko, and three wishes were hers and hers alone...what would she wish for? Above all else, she wanted her friend back. It wasn't fair that a girl who was only fifteen could have her life stolen like this. After that...she would give the other two wishes to her protectors. She didn't know exactly what lay ahead, but she did know enough hard times would follow that it would warrant them worthy of being granted what they truly desired. Still...
If only she could just wish for more wishes.
Chapter three
A warm rain had started and pattered down on the two as they road toward town on the only horse Kasaru found reliable to take them that far. Although the horse was somewhat old, it was in prime condition, and he was sure he could trade it for a cheap horse and carriage. It was weather like this that reminded them why they needed a carriage in the first place, the rain plopped heavily on their skin and oozed warm trails down their arms and created sticky patches on their clothes.
Suzuno clung to Kasaru's waist out of a genuine fear of riding a horse. She had always admired them from a far, occasionally getting the chance to lean over the fallen down wooden fence of her grandmother's farm and feed the aging horse Shotou bits of apples she saved from lunch. Now she was actually getting a chance to experience riding one of these beautiful creatures, and what was she doing? Cowering and clinging to Kasaru's waist.
They made it to town in an hour's time, and by then the rain had slowed to a drizzle that was quite a bit more annoying than the rain that had preceded it. Kasaru slowed the horse to a trot, and Suzuno loosened her grip, though keeping her hands planted on his hips.
The town was no more than a sporadic scattering of houses, though the streets were lined almost end to end with a number of stands that held a variety of treats, fruits, cheap clothing, jewelry...and they all led the trail that emptied out into a cluster of higher priced shops.
Kasaru dismounted the horse and helped Suzuno down as well, glancing around. "I'm going to go look around and see who might be selling...you wait here with the horse, all right?"
Suzuno nodded in agreement, before asking hesitantly "Is there...any way we could get something to eat too? It doesn't have to be anything big and I can pay you back I just..."
"Hai, of course Suzuno, and you don't have to pay me back...after all you're under my care now. I'll try to be back soon." Kasaru brushed his bangs off his forehead and wiped his brow, as the rain dribbled to an end, the sun had become quite harsh, glaring through whatever clouds it could wedge itself between.
She watched Kasaru wind his way through the crowd and disappear into the marketplace and sighed, fidgeting slightly, unsure of what she should do to spend her time. Her stomach felt like it was twisted into knots, though whether this was from hunger or nervousness she couldn't quite be sure. Her legs wobbled a bit from weariness when she tried to walk, and she wanted so badly to sit down, but the ground beneath her feet was still damp from the rains.
An hour passed by and still she did not see Kasaru's familiar face emerging from the herd of people that shuffled from stand to stand looking for the best deal. Had he forgotten about her? She contemplated this for only a moment before she decided Kasaru didn't seem the type that would ditch someone, even if they -were- a hassle. He must have run into some kind of trouble, and if that were so he might need her help. If there was one thing Suzuno knew, she was determined not to be useless. She led the horse over to a nearby tree and tied him up, sure he would be fine for a little while, and then quickly made her way down the hill and into town.
She felt eyes on her as she tried to worm her way through the thick crowd, people looking at her oddly because of the school uniform she wore. Not used to being stared at, she lowered her eyes and tried to make herself look as small and inconspicuous as possible...perhaps she should have kept on that kimono instead.
"Byakko, you're -beautiful-! Can I paint your portrait? Please, please, please?"
Suzuno jerked her head up and looked in the direction where the excited voice was coming. What she saw was a man that looked a little younger than Kasaru, slightly shorter as well. His teal hair was a bit wild, ruffled, longer strands hanging down to his shoulders while shorter bangs fell in front of shining violet eyes. In both hands he clutched a number of different sized brushes, and his tunic was splattered with pastel paints.
"Who...me?" Suzuno pointed to herself and blinked at him, confused.
"Of course, you!"
"I'm kinda...busy..." She said, almost regretfully, clasping her hands behind her back as she did often when she felt uneasy.
"Oh...I see..." He nodded and lowered his eyes, giving an almost over-exaggerated sigh of rejection.
"Please...don't be sad." Suzuno took a step forward and brought a hand up "I'll...fine, you can paint me...but first I need to find my friend."
"Really?" He jerked his head up, his eyes once again lighting up, the man certainly did have a very animated face "That's great! Then let's go find her!" With that he started off and weaved himself into the crowd, and expert by now of how to navigate the masses of people.
Suzuno supposed she ought to follow him; it would be much easier to find Kasaru if she had someone to help her, and so she jogged to catch up with him, latching onto the sleeve of his shirt. "It's...a he, actually...he has long brown hair and blue eyes, tall...dreamy..." She felt a blush rise in her cheeks when she actually heard what she was saying, and she trailed off at that. There was no conversation between the two of them as they scanned the crowds until the man shouted out.
"HEY! There's Subaru! SOOBY!" He picked up Suzuno's wrist and began walking at a harried pace, cutting through the crowd and heading toward the grocer's shop. Once Suzuno realized where they were heading, she laid her eyes on Kasaru. He was laughing and talking with the girl whom had to be Subaru, and they were close enough together that it made Suzuno's blood boil with surprising jealousy. Quickly she appraised the other woman as the man dragged her toward them, she didn't seem -that- great, surely Kasaru wouldn't have abandoned her for that. To Suzuno she looked like a slut, but that could have been her jealousy talking, her platinum colored hair carried almost past her knees, and her dress was loose and flowing save for the bodice which fitted tightly underneath large breasts. As the two of them came to a stop not far from Subaru and Kasaru, Suzuno realized she felt hopelessly childish next to the other woman.
"Toroki, you baka." Subaru laughed as she turned toward the man that had dragged Suzuno there "Why are you dragging that poor girl around?"
"I'm going to paint her as soon as I find a 'brown haired, blue eyed, tall dreamy guy'" Toroki quipped, his energy barely contained.
Subaru laughed "Looking for a boyfriend, Toroki?"
"Not for me...for this girl..." He wrinkled his nose and pointed behind him, where Suzuno was 'inconspicuously' hiding. Suzuno stepped forward a bit and smiled shyly, but said nothing.
"This is the girl I was talking to you about...the Byakko no miko." Kasaru looked over at Suzuno and smiled, a bit surprised that she had found him. "Suzuno...this is Subaru, one of the Byakko seishi. She agreed to help us...her father owns a farm and she says he would be willing to lend us a few horses for the journey."
"Great!" Suzuno said, with mock cheerfulness, still awkward around Subaru...she seemed nice enough, but Suzuno could tell she was moving in on Kasaru. Moving in?! Why was she thinking like this, and why -now- when they needed all the help they could get?
"Don't forget about me!" Toroki jutted out his lower lip and regarded his childhood friend, Subaru, with an over-dramatic sadness "I'm a Byakko no seishi too."
"Hontou?" Kasaru looked bewildered, either surprised that they had found so many warriors so quickly, or that someone like Toroki could be a seishi.
"Hai hai!" With an eager nod, his bangs falling in front of his eyes and at least partially blocking his vision, he grabbed onto the edge of his tunic and pulled it up enough for them to see the symbol imprinted on his stomach. Subaru just laughed, Toroki would never change, no matter whom he was associating with. "So what do we have to do?"
Kasaru struggled through the explanation of the illusion and the note, he wasn't much of a people person, and found himself growing frustrated with his own inability to completely explain the situation, but then again, it wasn't as if he understood what was going on himself.
"We'd be glad to help you find your sister, Tatara...and priestess, we -were- born to serve and protect you." Subaru bowed a bit, which only caused Suzuno to blush once more. She had never been the center of attention, let alone given any respect that was anywhere close to this. Of course she had always been appreciated, her parents never quit telling her how proud they were of her grades and her accomplishments, but she had never been respected. In their eyes and the world's eyes she was still just a kid.
But what if this was just a dream? It wasn't hard to believe that she had fallen asleep while reading the book, and her dreams had been a way for her to escape the grief of losing her friend, but it seemed too...vivid, too tangible to be a dream.
Suzuno went over what Kasaru, no -Tatara- she reminded herself, as that was what the others were calling him, had told her about the legend. Once she had gathered all seven seishi she could call upon the animal god Byakko, and three wishes were hers and hers alone...what would she wish for? Above all else, she wanted her friend back. It wasn't fair that a girl who was only fifteen could have her life stolen like this. After that...she would give the other two wishes to her protectors. She didn't know exactly what lay ahead, but she did know enough hard times would follow that it would warrant them worthy of being granted what they truly desired. Still...
If only she could just wish for more wishes.