Disclaimer: Not mine, no money, don't sue...
For further warnings, see part 1
Also: We do not own Grandia (though we wish we did!) I'd also like to thank Tolkien, Shakespeare and the creator of Slayers for all their help! (figuratively) We do not own Slayers, Midsummer Night's Dream, or The Hobbit. And have no fear, Fushigi Yugi makers, we will return your pawns to you unscathed.
28. Koushirou ^_~
I awoke to the face of a gorgeous angel…
And then I realized it was Yamato. At least, I think it was Yamato… although instead of usual, he had this tacky white hair… I also noticed that he looked more feminine than most guys, but that thought was probably induced by whatever caused me to pass out. At least, I hope so.
"You passed out."
Duh, I thought. Brilliant, Sir Yamato. I would have never come to that conclusion without you.
He leaned forward, some of his newly frosted hair drooped over his black head band and into his face. He appeared paler since the last time I saw him. Most likely due to the energy drain he was subjected to.
He looked like he needed a vacation… I felt like I needed his vacation and then some.
The white-haired knight peered hard at and over me, as if searching for something, probably injuries. He shook his head, appearing not to approve of what he saw. He pulled off his glove and pressed his right palm against my forehead. His touch felt cool, which I remembered was a bad sign. He pulled away his arm with a jerk, "He's burning up," Sir Yamato muttered.
I heard a higher-pitched gasp. Mimi? "What can we do for him?"
Takeru's face came into view, outlined by a rim of trees, "Can you tell what's wrong with him?" he gestured towards me.
I felt pathetic, I could hear and see them fine, I could smell the pine air of the forest we were in, but I couldn't seem to move, not even my eyes. I felt like an invalid blank, I could barely think straight, but I couldn't stand this. I tried to speak, but my mouth just wouldn't respond. I wanted to tell them I was okay. I wanted to tell Mimi that I was okay…
"I'm not sure, but he's lacking all magical presence, like he's drained all the magic from his body…not only that but he is unresponsive." He sighed, "These are all sure signs of Backlash." Yamato finished solemnly.
Mimi gasped and knelt down next to me, "Backlash!"
Takeru's face creased in worry, "Backlash…"
"What's Backlash?" the Duke's voice put in, somewhere beyond my vision.
The brothers sweatdropped and Mimi shuddered. She cast Yamato a side-long glance, "You win. He really IS that stupid." She passed him some American dollars. "Sorry, I didn't believe you. I just didn't think anything could possibly be THAT dense."
The knight grinned and pocketed his prize, "Apology accepted."
"It's your turn to explain it to him, Sir." Takeru slid in.
Sir Yamato sighed. "Backlash is the exhaustion of one's magic essence. He has exerted more magic energy then his body could produce at a given time. He is physically and mentally drained. He's lucky it's not any worse. It could cause permanent damage." Yamato seemed to have forgotten to whom he was speaking.
Kamiya's eyes glazed over. "Ummm…"
"I SAID! He's tired!" growled the knight, "IS THAT SIMPLE ENOUGH FOR YOU!!!?!!"
Yamato looked to Mimi who sighed in frustration.
"Izumi's body is working to heal his channels while he rests," he continued ,"on top of that he's running a fever from the strain."
The Duke looked puzzled, "Channels? Like on TV?"
Yamato returned the puzzled look, "What's TV? Has that been invented yet?"
His Grace shook his head with a patronizing stare, "Oh, you humble subjects don't know ANYTHING, do you?"
I watched in gleeful amusement, as Mimi and Takeru had to be bound and gagged to keep from killing the Duke. Yamato had simply collapsed from what was obviously an anger-induced aneurysm.
Five minutes later, after the Duke had been gagged, I realized that I couldn't keep up this kind of stress on my body. Even though I hadn't done anything, if I didn't get help soon, staying conscious wasn't going to be an easy feat. Already, I could barely remember what was going on anymore… I could've sworn that Mimi, Takeru, and Yamato had all been indisposed about five minutes ago…
While I was occupied in a gruesome battle to keep my eyes open, my hearing faded further until it came to me that what they all said was merely muted murmurs in the background of my semi-conscious state.
And in this state, the full impact suddenly struck me. I've got backlash. I CAN'T have backlash! I'm the best wizard this side of the Modem sea! I graduated first in my class, with more natural power than nearly any other mage, witch, or sorceror! I've heard of Backlash before, several of my classmates got it during the semester exams, but they were always the weaker mages, like Clef or Joe. I wonder what ever happened to that one jerk, Joe... He cheated on his semester exam... But anyway, back to my plight:
BACKLASH!!!
Duh, Izumi. Think a minute. How much magic have I been using lately? Well, there was that battle. That battle! At least twenty spells right there! And that lightning flash spell! Oh, and then when Mimi was hurt! Poor Mimi, I wish... But that was just once I that I used Healing, right? No, wait, when I had that concussion! Yamato's near-death! And all that teleporting! And with passengers! And that first battle with Devi before the auction! Oh, that Dream Mirror spell really took it out of me. I'm so stupid! No wonder... I may never be able to use magic again... What if that happened?
Would I be worth anything? Would anyone care what happened? Would Mimi care?
But it's just so... I can't be... But I... and then.... It was as if Nature herself stood up and slapped me in the face and told me to stand in the corner. I felt degraded... I felt worthless... I felt like I wanted to die... Or at least sleep...
Yea...sleep...
29. MIMI $_$
"The Queen's going to kill me..."
Wha? I reached out just in time to catch Kou-chan as he fainted. Well, not really catch him, more like break his fall. I crash to the ground in a heap with poor exhausted Kou-chan landing right in my lap. Ow... This boy is heavier than he looks. Although, I thought as I righted myself, he is adorable when he's sleeping...
I brushed some soot leftover from the wizard's battle off the cobblestone streets of the town as I shifted him into a more comforable position and stared at him for a moment. For not the first time, I wondered at how young he looked, especially now in his unconscious state...A kind of childish content covered his face, just short of a smile. Yet there were still the delicate lines of worry traced into his forehead...I softly ran a hand through his hair, faintly toying with his raggedly-cut bangs, and he murmured quietly, turning almost imperceptibly. I couldn't help but hide a smile myself...
Of course, there wasn't any way I would be doing this if Kou-chan were awake...
...But...He *was* cute...
His eyes fluttered open and I pulled my hands away, disguising a streak of crimson as I became suddenly very interested in the cobblestone ground...
"Umm, are you okay Kou-chan?" I stammered.
Kou-chan raised an eyebrow at me, "Kou-chan? -chan not -san? A bit presumptuous, are we?"
I blushed even more furiously. "I... Um I,"
He laughed and smiled sweetly up at me, "I like it really, You can call me that if you want to."
I turned and blushed as I recognized my own words. I couldn't help but smile, once again...I couldn't seem to help it...I mean... Around Kou-chan I always feel so...
About then I realized that Kou-chan was STILL lying in my lap. He seemed to notice the same, scrambling up in a desperate attempt to turn his burning face...
We both groped for just about anything to break the uncomfortable silence while in the quiet center of the town.
"So...uh...where's Pata?"
The young wizard ran his fingers through his unruly locks, "In hiding at the moment. He didn't want to see any fighting. So he claimed..."
"Well, Pata was never one for violence..." I slid a sideways glance in his direction, "Sooooo, why did you come help me anyway? You don't even really know me..."
"Did you hear that?" questioned my red-faced Kou-chan.
"Don't try to change the subject on me! I'm serious, why did you..."
"And so am I. Did you hear that?"
**AHAH! I found you!**
Pata flew out of nowhere, "You did?"
**Yes, I did. Wizard Izumi, I presume.**
Kou-chan looked confused, "Yeah, that's me."
**Well, a bunch of rag-tag kids in the woods helped me with a pest problem, so I'm supposed to return the favor by contacting you and asking if you'd hurry it up over there, because this one of them, the older one I think, is dying.**
I looked at my wizard curiously. What was this voice talking about?
Kou-chan paled slightly, and muttered a very long word I assumed had an ill mannered meaning. "Where are they?" he asked hurriedly.
The voice gave him a location I was not aquainted with.
"We'll be right there."
"Be right where?" I asked Kou-chan, looking slightly miffed by the fact that I had NO idea what was going on. "What was that bastard talking about?"
Kou-chan sighed, looking a bit unnerved. "I was traveling with some friends (and a young Duke) and it appears that they have gotten them selves into a bit of a scrape. I have to go and bail them out of it."
"Yeah, well, you said: "We'll be right there,". You immediately assumed that just because you rescued me it means that I have to follow you around like..like.."
"A slave girl?" he offered.
"Yeah!"
He lowered his eyes, obviously hurt, "You mean you don't want.."
"On the other hand," I continued without skipping a beat, "You did buy me," I slid up to him and brushed my lips against his cheek gently, "So, in reality, you own me, right?"
I had never seen a shade of red quite that dark before. My Kou-chan tried to sputter an answer but I waved him silent. "Just take for granted that I'm coming with you, okay?"
I smiled smugly and turned to embrace Pata, who hovered neglectedly off to the side. "You ready, my friend?"
"YUP! But ummm, where are we going to, Mimi-chan?"
"I have no earthly idea, all I know is that where we're about to go to a possibly dangerous place to save a bunch of idiots we've never met before. Fun, ne?"
"Ummm...Whatever you say, Mimi-chan..." my flying friend squeaked innocently.
So saying, and making sure I had a neat grip on Pata, I wrapped an arm around Kou-chan, him yet again turning red, and he waved an arm offhandedly...
...And the background swirled into a bright light...Or rather an endless darkness...I'm not sure which...And were all three standing in the middle of a pretty forbidding forest, standing only a few feet away from two other people; one a young boy torn with tears (and various cute/bruises, etc. ), and the other a quite handsome, strangely white-haired young man, covered in blood and deep cuts. The younger was trying to contain wracking sobs...
I felt Kou-chan's grip weaken faintly as he loosed the arm he had draped around my shoulders...I risked a glance to him from the corner of my eye. He looked pale, and tired at that...
Without a word, he stumbled forward, nearly toppling over, to kneel at the white-haired boy's side, spreading his hands and murmuring softly...almost half asleep...
I wondered how he could push himself to such limits; he looked more than ready to collapse. It was astounding, really...After all he'd gone through to help me, and now using up so much more energy to heal..?...this person. I'd never seen, much less known, anyone with that kind of perseverance. It was a bit astounding... And he even managed to smile...
I didn't take the time to notice that the wounds of the white-haired boy had begun to stitch themselves up, until there was nothing left of them.. .Or that his eyes slowly flickered open, just as those of my Kou-chan gently closed with a sigh.
I swallowed a yelp and jumped to catch his slumping form as the older one rose to his elbows, glancing around with a dazed look. I bit my lip worriedly before suddenly realizing the situation and turning to look again at the staring, newly revived boy.
We stared at each other for a really, really long time, oblivious for the moment to the sounds of the still wailing young one, unsure what to do.
**Oh my,** an odd voice suddenly stated, snapping the white-haired boy and I out of our trance **What happened to this boy?**
The blond youth behind us suddenly turned to the large tree that I realized was bleeding profusely out of several severed limbs. The mossy ground beneath us looked as if something had erupted violently from it. What had happened here?
"I...don't know.." he sniffed and wiped his eyes, furiously. "We need to get him back to camp. We can figure out to do from theaaaAAAHHH!"
"Pata!" I reached over and snatched the little bat-pig out of the boys lap. "No playing around right now, this is a serious matter!"
"Yes, Mimi-chan."
"W-what is that?"
"Calm down, Takeru," the youths older companion spat, "We've seen worse. We worked for the Duke for a while remember?"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, Yamato, I forgot. Anyway, what is it?"
"His name is Pata, I'll explain later," I said quickly, clutching Pata to my chest protectively, "but right now shouldn't we do SOMETHING to help, Kou-chan!!"
At that, the one called Yamato looked at me sideways and raised an eyebrow skeptically. After a moment of this he cleared his throat and turned to Takeru, "She's right," he said solemnly, his eyes settling on my unconscious Kou-chan, "I'll get the Wizard and escort the woman to camp, you work on acquiring the blood."
Blood? I thought, What is Kou-chan doing with these people? This white-haired knight keeps giving me wary glances... And he needs to get out of that bloody armor. After some careful debate, I decided to go along with the knight and see what kind of information I could get...
"Hey, come on," Yamato-san called, hefting Kou-chan into his arms and walking slowly toward where I assumed their camp was.
I nodded and followed, matching his pace and putting on my best smile. I'm going to get to the bottom of this. Kou-chan's travelling companions: A white-haired knight who needed an armor change, a scratched-up blond boy with an order to gather blood. And hadn't he mention something about a Duke? The only duke in this area was of the Takenouchi Duchy in south Server... which would explain Queen Kari's crest on Yamato's red-stained mail.
"Mimi-chan," Pata whispered into my ear, "You've got that look on your face again."
I murmured back in mild surprise, "What look?"
"That look that you're up to something," Pata's hushed voice began, "Last time I saw that look, we got captured by Myotis for snooping..."
"So, what's that thing that you're talking to there?" Yamato asked point blank.
I blinked a little when I realized he had beaten me to the point. I also caught a glimpse of lighter skies as I realized morning approached.
"My name's Pata!" he announced before I could even begin to stop him, "I'm a flying mythic creature."
Yamato's eyes widened at the statement, then narrowed as he smiled knowingly, "Oh, I see, so that's why you're here... You're the creature's owner and wouldn't let Izumi borrow him without you around..." he seemed to have more to say, but ceased talking anyway.
"Well, actually, right now, I'm wondering how he could've expended all of his magic essence at once, so what has he been doing recently?" I asked casually.
Yamato thought for a moment, "Well, this quest has been pretty strenuous," he paused, pulling a lock of white hair down in front of his eyes and frowning sadly, "My hair USED to have color..."
I grinned a bit, "Hmmm... I don't know, your hair looks cute that way. But what happened to it?"
He steeled up, "I was attacked..."
"No kidding," I pointed at the three large gaping holes in his armor, "By what?"
He mumbled something. "A tree..."
A tree? WHAT? I thought, but I said, "Oh."
"Yeah, I'm not all that thrilled about the fact. Takeru had to save me, and Izumi had to heal me and he ended up with backlash... Does wonders for your conscience..." he stated satirically, hefting my Kou-chan's weight into a comfortable position.
"Takeru? That's that little blond boy, right?" I confirmed as Yamato nodded, "Is he your brother? He looks a lot like you..."
"Hai." He replied.
Alright, so he's interested in Pata, just like Koushirou. He's also acknowledged that they are on a quest, but for what? A tree and a bat-pig? And what does Queen Kari and the Takenouchi Duchy have to do with anything? I scanned him, he was wearing the tattered, useless armor, about his waist was a sword sheath and a lumpy pouch. I wondered what could be in it.
"And this quest... could it possibly have anything to do with the fact that Takenouchi's Duchess has been put under a spell?" I implored, sure that I was on the correct track. A bardess DOES have her sources.
Yamato pulled a double-take and tripped, "Nothing gets past you, huh?"
I smiled, "Just think of me as a Dark Ages reporter..."
Yamato stood back up, brushing himself off and picked my Kou-chan off the muddy swamp soil. Continuing on, he graced me with a dazzling smile ( It's a shame he doesn't act as bright as his teeth) and another smart-ass remark, "So, Louis Lane, what is your deduction so far? What else can you figure?"
"Well, from the look of you, you're obviously one of Queen Hikari's. You're here to assist the Queen's unfortunate older brother," I sighed, "It must be terrible getting kicked off own land like that, and his WIFE! I feel sorry for him…"
At that Yamato busted up laughing. Bastard. What did he find so funny? "What?!" I yelled.
He slowly composed himself, tears of mirth dripping down his cheeks. When he had caught his breath he asked, "Why would you feel sorry for such a idiotic fool? He brought it on himself though is own stupidity."
"Fool? But…"
Yamato cut me off, "What rock have you been hiding under? Have you not met or anything?"
I glared at him, that bastard had just insulted my competence as a bard. Grudgingly, I shook my head 'no'.
He stopped just inside some trees on the edge of a clearing near the water. I could see a single canvas tent through a brake in the thick gnarled branches along with a bundle of stick I assumed used to be a campfire.
I turned my attention back to the Knight as he proceeded to tell me horror stories about the Duke. I didn't believe it. NO one could be THAT incompetent!
"You're making that up." I accused.
Yamato sighed and gave me a pitting look, "You still have faith in human kind."
"You're right," I declared loudly, "and I bet you 100 American Dollars that the Duke isn't as bad as you make him out to be."
"I refuse, it's against the code a chivalry to steal money from women."
"You're saying I'll lose that easy?"
"Hell, yes."
Smiled mockingly at him, "You can't take a women's money, but you'll use filthy language? That's not befitting a knight, now is it? I believe they call it hypocrisy."
He shrugged his shoulders as best he could with my Kou-chan in his arms, "Fine," he muttered, "but don't say I didn't warn you."
"Bastard." I muttered for no apparent reason. It's my favorite word. I love saying it.
Yamato recoiled, "It's not my fault I'm afraid of water!"
"I'm not talking about you!!!"
He looked at me strangely, "Then what...?" he shook his head. "Never mind, I should know better than to question a bard."
I smiled, "Oh, you're smarter than you look," I teased.
He shot me a dirty look, "Oh gee, thanks..."
"No prob--*" I began, "Hey, don't drop Kou-chan!"
He raised an eyebrow, "'Kou-chan'?"
I blushed.
"I see." He gave me a knowing look, but, oddly enough, didn't smile. He seemed almost disapproving. It passed quickly. He (finally) stepped through the break in the trees and into the makeshift camp site, carefully avoiding the water's edge. Moving to the center of the clearing, the knight lay Kou-chan down on the mossy ground and began to look him over again.
The sun was now full faced in the sky just above the trees, fully illuminating the dreary camp. A fog hung low on the water despite the hot daylight, casting an eerie feeling around the area.
"You passed out," I heard Yamato whisper to Kou-chan.
I saw Kou-chan's eyes flutter open to sparkle with clear thought but then dim and seal tightly.
"Oh, Kou-chan..." I muttered under my breath.
"HEY! BRO!" I heard the younger boy's voice, Takeru called from the forest and appeared holding a vile of deep red liquid with glittering green flecks. I had a hunch it was the tree's blood, and my hunches are almost never wrong.
"Takeru, good, you got it, now we've got all four ingredients, now hand it here before you-know-who wakes up and screws everything to hell..." The knight said bitterly.
I hovered next to Yamato overlooking Kou-chan, "Who's you-know-who?"
They both panicked, "SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHH!!!! He'll hear you!" The two brothers hushed me in unison.
I thought a second before it dawned upon me that they were referring to the infamous Duke I had placed my faith in, "Oh, come on, now, you two, Duke Kamiya can NOT be as stupid as you make him out to be!" I brushed my hair back casually.
"What? Did someone call my name?" I heard a high-pitched, but definitely male voice.
Takeru squeaked, "No!"
Yamato sighed, "Now look what you've done..."
The man whom I guessed for the duke poked his head out the tent and then climbed out lithely. He stood fairly short, about an inch above my own height. If you included his incredibly huge brown hair! This guy had more hair than a fur dealership! His wide brown eyes matched his hair nicely, but it was his eyes which betrayed that his innocence was definitely due to naivete. I pondered over whether or not I should've bet so much with Yamato...
"Good Evening, my fellows! How are you doing this lovely time of the day?" the duke asked in the bright sunlight...
"Uh oh," I muttered.
Yamato snickered.
I shot him a mean look, "Um, good morning, sir!"
"Oh my! Who is this young woman who has stumbled into our camp!? Could she be a maid in need of rescuing? Maybe an evil monster is ripping her from limb to limb!" The man ranted suddenly.
"Um... I'm standing right here, not being torn limb from limb," I muttered through gritted teeth, hoping he was just joking.
He peered into my face, a serious look of distrust in his eyes, "Then you are an evil trickster-witch sent to lure us into certain doom by telling us tales of such things as limb-rendering!"
"WHAT!?"
Yamato and Takeru were all but rolling on the ground from laughter. Yamato spoke up, "But Duke, can't you see this woman is but a mere bardess?" he edged the duke onward. The bastard!
"Oh, no, my friend," The Duke began, " You see, that 'tis what she WANTS you to believe, if you're not careful, she'll use her evil faerie enchantment upon you!"
"But just a minute ago, I was a witch, and now I'm a faerie!?" I asked, enraged.
"AH HA!!!! So you ADMIT IT! You ARE ELVIS!!!!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
I screamed.
"I'll KILL HIM!!!!!!!! He's DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"No, no, you won't, *I* get to kill him!" Yamato held me back as I fumed my anger off.
"Grr..." I muttered, realizing I would lose the bet, "He's just joking... he HAS to be... I'm not giving in...!" I said, *As long as he doesn't say anything else stupid... I should survive... I should survive!* I thought plaintively.
"Oh, his eyes are open again, LOOK! At Wizard Izumi!," Takeru shouted, pointing towards Kou-chan.
"Oh, what can we do for him?" I asked, dropping Duke Kamiya's soon-to-be-lifeless body.
Yamato looked solemn as he kneeled down next to My Kou-chan. The squire, worriedly hovered near his older brother, "Can you tell what's wrong with him?" he asked, gesturing in my Kou-chan's direction.
"I'm not sure, but he's lacking all magical presence, like he's drained all the magic from his body…not only that but he is unresponsive." He sighed, "These are all sure signs of Backlash." Yamato finished solemnly.
I gasped and knelt down next to My Kou-chan, "Backlash!"
Takeru's face creased in worry, "Backlash…"
"What's Backlash?" the Duke put in.
That did it. I shuddered in revulsion and Yamato snickered. "You win. He really IS that stupid." I grudgingly passed him some American dollars. "Sorry, I didn't believe you. I just didn't think anything could possibly be THAT dense."
The knight grinned and pocketed his prize, "Apology accepted."
"It's your turn to explain it to him, Sir." Takeru slid in.
The whited haired man sighed. "Backlash is the exhaustion of one's magic essence. He has exerted more magic energy than his body could produce at a given time. He is physically and mentally drained. He's lucky it's not any worse. It could cause permanent damage."
The Duke had a blank look on his face, "Ummmm..."
He snapped, "I SAID! He's tired! IS THAT SIMPLE ENOUGH FOR YOU!!!?!!" Yamato practically screamed.
The knight glanced darkly my way as a sigh slid through my clenched teeth.
"Izumi's body is working to heal his channels while he rests," he continued ,"on top of that he's running a fever from the strain."
The Duke looked puzzled, "Channels? Like on TV?"
Yamato returned the puzzled look, "What's TV? Has that been invented yet?"
That Bastard shook his head with a patronizing stare, "Oh, you humble subjects don't know ANYTHING, do you?"
I snarled and dived, wreathed in various blades and other such objects of slow and painful direction towards the Duke in time with Takeru, and was nearly about to end the horrible existence of that Demon Spawn when Yamato whipped out a length of rope and some old socks. He proceeded to bind and gag us with a stifling show of coldness, that bastard. Of course, that done he simply collapsed from an anger-induced aneurysm.
To my wrathful glee, within minutes the Duke, if anyone could stand to call him that, was also bound and gagged. But it was short lived as I remembered with a start that Kou-chan still hadn't pulled out of the Backlash symptoms...
30. ^_^!! Takeru
This mission has been really annoying. First, we got stuck with the Duke. Then, there was that thing with the Icarians... And I'll never forget the faerie party... And battling with the tree sucked. Also, poor Wizard Izumi caught Backlash and Yamato was currently carrying him over his shoulder. However, the absolute worst part of this entire ordeal has to be trying to convince my brother that his hair is FINE!
We were walking behind the others a bit, with the Duke in the lead. Mimi was busy keeping him on the right path. So, of course, prompted by the existence of a pretty girl in his midst, Yamato was stressing about his newly-changed hair color.
"DOES IT REALLY LOOK OKAY!?" he panicked at the highest decibel level possible without letting Mimi hear. I still wonder how he does that...
I sighed, and for the eighteenth time, I replied, "Bro, you look fine... in fact, you look better than fine, you look awesome, and if you still don't like it, I'm sure it'll return to its original color eventually or else you can just dye it..."
My brother sighed, "I guess, you're right," he repeated, I braced myself for the coming outburst.
"BUT ARE YOU SURE IT REALLY LOOKS OKAY!?" he shouted.
I sighed, and ignored him, "Y'know, you're gonna wake up Wizard Izumi if you keep that up... and you're the one who said he needs rest."
"Well," the knight began, "Speaking of rest, I think we need a break, Mimi looks like she's gonna kill the Duke again, and I'm not in the mood to try to stop her..."
I looked up at the sun. It was hanging low over the horizon, night would be falling soon. After he wizard had collapsed, we waited till morning then built a tripod out of tree branches to carry him. Time was of the essence and we couldn't hang around till he recovered. Though I hope he recovers soon...
A short while later we were clear of the forest after a harrowing experience involving the Duke and a go-cart. The wizard had since stabilized and was looking to be on the verge of recovery. The bardess, Mimi, still seemed really upset over Koushirou's dilemma. Taking advantage of this, was my brother Yamato, who seemed to think he could score some points by consoling her. I wouldn't have minded scoring a few points myself, but I still had my eyes set on another, though there was no denying that Mimi was VERY pretty.
But we still continued on, regardless of the river we passed along the way... water scares me. Yamato almost flipped, but managed to hold control, obviously because of a pretty girl's presence. He's kind of funny that way, everything about him screams honesty and strength, but when it comes to girls... he's weird. Oh, and the Duke managed to piss off another band of gypsies, which slowed us down for about half a day when we had to figure out how to un-curse poor Pata who had been locked in an unbreakable puzzle box known only as a "Rubix Cube TM". All this and we were STILL trying to get to the duchy with the dead weight that was Wizard Koushirou Izumi.
That is... until Koushirou FINALLY woke up! (Why do I feel more like a narrator instead of an actual character in this chapter?)
Koushirou groaned and rolled over. Little Pata flitted up to him and landed on my shoulder to peer at the wizard, "Is he still alive?"
I flushed a bit, "Yes, of course he's alive!"
"Well, he's awake, too," Pata stated matter-of-factly.
"Well, of COURSE he's awake! Why shouldn't he... What? He's awake!?!?" I gasped in surprise as I turned to the figure lying in the makeshift tree branch stretcher we had crafted. Koushirou's eyes were wide open and he grinned at me with a sour expression on his face.
"Can you watch the bumps? I've got a major headache..." he joked.
No sooner had the words left his mouth then did Mimi Tachikawa leap over to the poor wizard and drag him into the air in a violent, yet sweet, hug, "KOU-CHAN! YOU'RE AWAKE! I'M SO RELIEVED!"
"Good to see you, too," Koushirou laughed, "Nice to see you've missed me."
Yamato came running up behind me, "Izumi!" he slapped the wizard on the back in a friendly gesture, "You're finally up! Nice to see you've joined us! I can't believe how wore out you were. Still you've recovered pretty well."
Koushirou suppressed a laugh.
"What?" my older brother inquired.
Koushirou snickered, "Your hair..." he chuckled, "It's... it's," and then he bust out laughing.
The captain of the knights brought a gloved fist to Koushirou's head, "Some thanks that is for me hauling you around all this time."
Koushirou squirmed an arm from Mimi's grasp and nursed a spot on his head where the fist had connected, "Sorry, if you'll accept my apologies, Captain, I meant no disrespect, I just couldn't help it, it's such a change from your normal color."
It was then that the Duke noticed Koushirou's awakening. He stormed up and glowered in the wizard's face with a dirty look in his eyes, "You..." Taichi spoke threateningly, "You're the one that's been causing all this trouble! It's all YOUR fault, I'm sure of it."
Koushirou stuttered, unsure, "I-I... uh..."
His Grace spoke again, curiously, "Who are you, anyway?" he smiled.
The rest of us groaned simultaneously, while Koushirou sweatdropped, "I'm Wizard Izumi, Duke Kamiya."
"What!? Your last name is Kamiya? What a surprise! MY last name is Kamiya, too! You must be my long-lost brother!" the Duke said enthusiastically.
I sweatdropped again as Koushirou gestured to continue on. As we walked, Koushirou took it upon himself to try to explain to Taichi who he was. I had a feeling I would have to restrain somebody from killing the Duke again. We also crossed a river... ::shiver::