Chapter 8
In the cave they sat, stuck in their own cages. Days had passed, and the girls were getting anxious. Where were their rescuers, and were they ever going to come? Did they even know that they had been kidnapped? That was Kristin's fear. If Hotohori didn't even know that she had been kidnapped . . . then pretty soon, she was going to be a Priestess to the Wolfdom!
Kristin gave a big sigh that day, and pulled out her oboe. She began playing a low, sweet tune, and after a few minutes of playing, the Lone Wolf Warrior stumbled into the cave and began to yell.
"Why is it that you always have to play on that thing of yours?!" he cried at Kristin. She stopped playing, and looked up at him.
"I can play whenever and whatever I want," she said. "I miss my beloved, I can do what I want!" And with that, she began to play Hotohori's theme song.
The Lone Wolf Warrior cringed, and put his hands up to his ears. "I can't stand this!" and he went out of the cave.
Kristin grinned. At least she had her oboe, and the other damsels didn't mind her playing whatsoever. In fact, they welcomed it. It was nice to hear some noise after such a long silence.
Somewhere else, deep in the forests of the Wolfdom, the new Seishi walked. Everyone seemed to be in rather good spirits, except for poor Tomo, who looked very tired out and distraught.
Suddenly, they found themselves walking towards another bridge.
"Oh no . . ." Tomo cried.
This bridge, though, didn't have an old man guarding it. Rather, it held four large statues: A phoenix wolf and a white tiger wolf on one side of it, and a dragon wolf and a snurtle wolf on the other side. As the men approached the bridge, the mouths of the statues opened and began to speak.
"Who goes there?" the phoenix wolf demanded Hotohori.
"Hotohori, Emperor of Konan."
"And what reasons do you have for crossing the Bridge?" the statue asked.
"I'm seeking the Damsels in Distress."
The statue blinked, and said, "None may pass except through me. Try your best, warrior of Suzaku."
"Not again," Tomo said, and Mitsukake was at his elbow.
"Bear with it," Mitsukake said, "we just need to battle out these weird creatures. Don't you want to see your beloved and child again?"
"Yes, but . . ."
"Then get a grip on yourself, man!" And Mitsukake gave him a big slap on the back. Tomo smiled wearily at Mitsukake.
"Aren't you just supposed to stay quiet?" Tomo muttered.
"Not anymore!" Mitsukake said with a happy grin on his face.
"Hush!" Chichiri said. "His Highness approaches the Phoenix Wolf!"
Hotohori walked out onto the bridge, where he faced the Phoenix Wolf that had appeared before him. It was a wolf with feathers along the back, coming out of the tail, and at the head. His front legs were like claws of a bird. It's red eyes glowed at Hotohori, as the Emperor took out his sword.
The creature leapt at Hotohori, but Hotohori was quick, and began to battle it out with his sword, swinging wildly in the air. He was going to find his Damsel! He cried in his mind. He was going to get his Kristin- sama back no matter what! He could not loose!
With much determination, Hotohori slaughtered the great creature, and crossed the bridge with ease. "Come on!" he called to the others. "We must go, now!"
Tasuki led the others to the bridge, but the statue stopped him.
"Who is this who approaches my bridge?"
"Tasuki," Tasuki growled, "of the CMB."
"If you give me free cheez its, I shall let you pass easily," the statue said, with wide eyes.
"Alright," Tasuki said, "you got yourself a deal!" and free cheez its were given to the statue. Nakago growled.
"Waste of perfectly good cheez its," he muttered.
Tasuki crossed and joined Hotohori at the opposite end of the bridge.
Chichiri now stood in the lead, and the statue stopped him, licking his lips deliciously from the cheez its. "Who is it now who disturbs my peace and dares to cross my Bridge?"
"Chichiri," the monk replied, "Monk of magical powers by order of Naiidoska."
"Then this is your test:" the statue replied. "Pull a bunny wolf out of your hat, and you may go."
Chichiri had to concentrate rather hard on this one. He pulled off his hat, and started a chant. First, he pulled out a cheez it, which he gave to Nakago to eat. Next, he got a regular bunny.
"That's no bunny wolf," the statue replied.
"I know," Chichiri said. "Let's see . . ." He pulled out a little wolf, then a creature that held a bunny's head on one end and a wolf's head on the other. After that, he pulled out a creature with the behind of a bunny on one end and the behind of a wolf on the other end. Disgusted, Chichiri tried again, and finally got himself a bunny wolf . . . it bit his hand and ran off.
The statue laughed. "You may go now." Red in the face, Chichiri crossed the bridge and joined Tasuki and Hotohori.
Now, Miboshi approached the Bridge. This time, the statue of the dragon wolf began to talk to him. "Who dares approach the Bridge?"
"It is I, Miboshi, Summoner of Demons."
"And what is your reason for crossing?" the dragon wolf bellowed.
"I'm seeking the Damsels in Distress!" Miboshi said.
"You must pass through me before you can get to your Damsels," the statue said. And just the, out in the middle of the Bridge, a dragon wolf appeared. It was a large snake like body with a wolf's head and legs. It roared at Miboshi, and spewed out fire. Miboshi put on a straight face, and walked over to the dragon.
And thus began their battle. Miboshi summoned his own dragon demon, and the two battled it out. His demon lost with terrible injuries, and Miboshi was ready to summon a different demon out when the dragon wolf lunged at him, pinning him down on the bridge.
Now, it should be mentioned that this was no mere bridge. It was standing high above a raging river at least a mile below them. It was a rickety, old bridge, with rope holding it together. Miboshi was not safe up here.
He took his dradle and tried to stab the dragon wolf with it. The creature was too strong for him, tearing him apart easily. The dradle flew from his arm, and the dragon wolf tore it off. Miboshi gasped in horror and pain. His right arm had been torn from his body.
He could feel the weight of the creature pressing down upon his little body. He screamed, trying to get it off. His dradle was gone, and he was missing an arm, bleeding terribly.
"Da!" Tasuki yelled. "What should we do? Should we intervene?!" And he ran for the Bridge. But, a shield had been put up, and Tasuki just bounced back to the ground.
"Miboshi!" Hotohori shouted. He took up his sword and tried to break the shield. It wasn't working.
Finally, Miboshi knew what he had to do. Despite his weakened state, he used his life force to summon himself as a demon, and soon, a giant demon appeared, with Miboshi controlling it's every move. The demon was tall enough to stand in the river and still battle out the dragon wolf which seemed very small to him now. The giant demon easily defeated the dragon wolf, but the bridge had been destroyed by the summoning of the great demon body.
Miboshi felt him self growing faint, and he let go of the demon's body as he got close to the piece of land where Hotohori and the other's were standing. He appeared to them in his normal form, and fainted. Chichiri picked up his body, and called back out to Mitsukake.
"The Bridge has been destroyed!" Chichiri shouted. "What do we do? We need Mitsukake, badly."
"Use your magic," Tasuki said. "Teleport yourself over there and bring those guys back here."
But, when Chichiri tried to do this, nothing happened. He was stuck.
"The Shield of those creature statues is too strong," Chichiri said.
The statues laughed, and turned towards the remaining number.
"So," the dragon wolf said, in a cold, grave voice, "who can pass now? Which ever of you can use his powers to cross the river now?"
The three were silent. Nakago could easily teleport himself, but when he tried, he found himself in the same position as Chichiri. He couldn't get anywhere.
"Teleportation doesn't work, you see," the dragon wolf drawled out. "you must find some way else."
"I know," Tomo said. He came up to the statues, and pulled out his shin. An illusion of the bridge came about.
Nakago and Mitsukake watched carefully as Tomo crossed the bridge easily. Mitsukake gave a deep sigh, and approached the bridge. The statue stopped him.
"And where do you think you're going?" the phoenix wolf asked, taunting him.
"I must cross," Mitsukake said, "Miboshi needs my powers."
"I can't let you go that easily," the phoenix wolf replied. "You must have a challenge, or a test of some sort. Tell you what . . . if you can heal your friend from this end of the bridge, then you may cross."
Mitsukake concentrated as hard as he could, and sent his power over to Miboshi. Though he could not restore his missing arm, all his other wounds disappeared in the sudden burst of the green light. Mitsukake sunk to the ground, feeling the energy drained out of him. From the other end of the Bridge, Miboshi moaned, but did not wake up. He looked fine except for the missing arm.
Feeling weak, Mitsukake quickly crossed the bridge. Nakago gulped, as he approached the bridge.
"You seem scared," the dragon wolf said.
"I'm not scared," Nakago said, "I'm worried . . . for I know that bridge is a mere illusion, and Mitsukake was only able to pass because of his weakened state. He didn't think it an illusion at all, but I already have."
"Try it out," the dragon wolf taunted. Nakago put a foot on the bridge, and sure enough, it disappeared.
"What do I do?" Nakago asked the statue rather harshly.
"You must find a way to the other side," the dragon wolf said, "but, as you've already found out, teleportation does not work."
Nakago thought about it for a while, then, with a "hmph", he asked the statue for a challenge.
"You want to battle a dragon wolf?" the statue asked. "With out the Bridge? Are you sure about that?"
"Yes," Nakago said. All the others sucked in their breaths. Was Nakago out of his mind?
Suddenly, the dragon wolf appeared, flying in the air. It lunged towards Nakago, who jumped up, grabbing on to it tightly. As the beast tried to shake him off and kill him, Nakago tried to climb up on to its back. The creature flipped and swerved in the air where the bridge should have been. Nakago was nearly thrown off, but held on as tight as humanly possible. With many blows to the head, and many scratches as well, he managed to get on to the back of the creature. The dragon wolf was very much confused, trying to reach the little man on his back. Nakago let go, sat himself up, and ki-blasted himself off of the dragon wolf, flying back into the woods behind Hotohori and the others. The dragon wolf simply disappeared into the air just then, as the others ran to find Nakago.
He was found in an unconscious state, blood falling down the side of his face. Mitsukake was far too weak to pull his powers on Nakago, thus Tasuki picked up the fallen general, cringing under his weight.
Hotohori sighed. "At least that part of the journey is over."
From somewhere in the woods, a strangled cry was heard.
In the cave they sat, stuck in their own cages. Days had passed, and the girls were getting anxious. Where were their rescuers, and were they ever going to come? Did they even know that they had been kidnapped? That was Kristin's fear. If Hotohori didn't even know that she had been kidnapped . . . then pretty soon, she was going to be a Priestess to the Wolfdom!
Kristin gave a big sigh that day, and pulled out her oboe. She began playing a low, sweet tune, and after a few minutes of playing, the Lone Wolf Warrior stumbled into the cave and began to yell.
"Why is it that you always have to play on that thing of yours?!" he cried at Kristin. She stopped playing, and looked up at him.
"I can play whenever and whatever I want," she said. "I miss my beloved, I can do what I want!" And with that, she began to play Hotohori's theme song.
The Lone Wolf Warrior cringed, and put his hands up to his ears. "I can't stand this!" and he went out of the cave.
Kristin grinned. At least she had her oboe, and the other damsels didn't mind her playing whatsoever. In fact, they welcomed it. It was nice to hear some noise after such a long silence.
Somewhere else, deep in the forests of the Wolfdom, the new Seishi walked. Everyone seemed to be in rather good spirits, except for poor Tomo, who looked very tired out and distraught.
Suddenly, they found themselves walking towards another bridge.
"Oh no . . ." Tomo cried.
This bridge, though, didn't have an old man guarding it. Rather, it held four large statues: A phoenix wolf and a white tiger wolf on one side of it, and a dragon wolf and a snurtle wolf on the other side. As the men approached the bridge, the mouths of the statues opened and began to speak.
"Who goes there?" the phoenix wolf demanded Hotohori.
"Hotohori, Emperor of Konan."
"And what reasons do you have for crossing the Bridge?" the statue asked.
"I'm seeking the Damsels in Distress."
The statue blinked, and said, "None may pass except through me. Try your best, warrior of Suzaku."
"Not again," Tomo said, and Mitsukake was at his elbow.
"Bear with it," Mitsukake said, "we just need to battle out these weird creatures. Don't you want to see your beloved and child again?"
"Yes, but . . ."
"Then get a grip on yourself, man!" And Mitsukake gave him a big slap on the back. Tomo smiled wearily at Mitsukake.
"Aren't you just supposed to stay quiet?" Tomo muttered.
"Not anymore!" Mitsukake said with a happy grin on his face.
"Hush!" Chichiri said. "His Highness approaches the Phoenix Wolf!"
Hotohori walked out onto the bridge, where he faced the Phoenix Wolf that had appeared before him. It was a wolf with feathers along the back, coming out of the tail, and at the head. His front legs were like claws of a bird. It's red eyes glowed at Hotohori, as the Emperor took out his sword.
The creature leapt at Hotohori, but Hotohori was quick, and began to battle it out with his sword, swinging wildly in the air. He was going to find his Damsel! He cried in his mind. He was going to get his Kristin- sama back no matter what! He could not loose!
With much determination, Hotohori slaughtered the great creature, and crossed the bridge with ease. "Come on!" he called to the others. "We must go, now!"
Tasuki led the others to the bridge, but the statue stopped him.
"Who is this who approaches my bridge?"
"Tasuki," Tasuki growled, "of the CMB."
"If you give me free cheez its, I shall let you pass easily," the statue said, with wide eyes.
"Alright," Tasuki said, "you got yourself a deal!" and free cheez its were given to the statue. Nakago growled.
"Waste of perfectly good cheez its," he muttered.
Tasuki crossed and joined Hotohori at the opposite end of the bridge.
Chichiri now stood in the lead, and the statue stopped him, licking his lips deliciously from the cheez its. "Who is it now who disturbs my peace and dares to cross my Bridge?"
"Chichiri," the monk replied, "Monk of magical powers by order of Naiidoska."
"Then this is your test:" the statue replied. "Pull a bunny wolf out of your hat, and you may go."
Chichiri had to concentrate rather hard on this one. He pulled off his hat, and started a chant. First, he pulled out a cheez it, which he gave to Nakago to eat. Next, he got a regular bunny.
"That's no bunny wolf," the statue replied.
"I know," Chichiri said. "Let's see . . ." He pulled out a little wolf, then a creature that held a bunny's head on one end and a wolf's head on the other. After that, he pulled out a creature with the behind of a bunny on one end and the behind of a wolf on the other end. Disgusted, Chichiri tried again, and finally got himself a bunny wolf . . . it bit his hand and ran off.
The statue laughed. "You may go now." Red in the face, Chichiri crossed the bridge and joined Tasuki and Hotohori.
Now, Miboshi approached the Bridge. This time, the statue of the dragon wolf began to talk to him. "Who dares approach the Bridge?"
"It is I, Miboshi, Summoner of Demons."
"And what is your reason for crossing?" the dragon wolf bellowed.
"I'm seeking the Damsels in Distress!" Miboshi said.
"You must pass through me before you can get to your Damsels," the statue said. And just the, out in the middle of the Bridge, a dragon wolf appeared. It was a large snake like body with a wolf's head and legs. It roared at Miboshi, and spewed out fire. Miboshi put on a straight face, and walked over to the dragon.
And thus began their battle. Miboshi summoned his own dragon demon, and the two battled it out. His demon lost with terrible injuries, and Miboshi was ready to summon a different demon out when the dragon wolf lunged at him, pinning him down on the bridge.
Now, it should be mentioned that this was no mere bridge. It was standing high above a raging river at least a mile below them. It was a rickety, old bridge, with rope holding it together. Miboshi was not safe up here.
He took his dradle and tried to stab the dragon wolf with it. The creature was too strong for him, tearing him apart easily. The dradle flew from his arm, and the dragon wolf tore it off. Miboshi gasped in horror and pain. His right arm had been torn from his body.
He could feel the weight of the creature pressing down upon his little body. He screamed, trying to get it off. His dradle was gone, and he was missing an arm, bleeding terribly.
"Da!" Tasuki yelled. "What should we do? Should we intervene?!" And he ran for the Bridge. But, a shield had been put up, and Tasuki just bounced back to the ground.
"Miboshi!" Hotohori shouted. He took up his sword and tried to break the shield. It wasn't working.
Finally, Miboshi knew what he had to do. Despite his weakened state, he used his life force to summon himself as a demon, and soon, a giant demon appeared, with Miboshi controlling it's every move. The demon was tall enough to stand in the river and still battle out the dragon wolf which seemed very small to him now. The giant demon easily defeated the dragon wolf, but the bridge had been destroyed by the summoning of the great demon body.
Miboshi felt him self growing faint, and he let go of the demon's body as he got close to the piece of land where Hotohori and the other's were standing. He appeared to them in his normal form, and fainted. Chichiri picked up his body, and called back out to Mitsukake.
"The Bridge has been destroyed!" Chichiri shouted. "What do we do? We need Mitsukake, badly."
"Use your magic," Tasuki said. "Teleport yourself over there and bring those guys back here."
But, when Chichiri tried to do this, nothing happened. He was stuck.
"The Shield of those creature statues is too strong," Chichiri said.
The statues laughed, and turned towards the remaining number.
"So," the dragon wolf said, in a cold, grave voice, "who can pass now? Which ever of you can use his powers to cross the river now?"
The three were silent. Nakago could easily teleport himself, but when he tried, he found himself in the same position as Chichiri. He couldn't get anywhere.
"Teleportation doesn't work, you see," the dragon wolf drawled out. "you must find some way else."
"I know," Tomo said. He came up to the statues, and pulled out his shin. An illusion of the bridge came about.
Nakago and Mitsukake watched carefully as Tomo crossed the bridge easily. Mitsukake gave a deep sigh, and approached the bridge. The statue stopped him.
"And where do you think you're going?" the phoenix wolf asked, taunting him.
"I must cross," Mitsukake said, "Miboshi needs my powers."
"I can't let you go that easily," the phoenix wolf replied. "You must have a challenge, or a test of some sort. Tell you what . . . if you can heal your friend from this end of the bridge, then you may cross."
Mitsukake concentrated as hard as he could, and sent his power over to Miboshi. Though he could not restore his missing arm, all his other wounds disappeared in the sudden burst of the green light. Mitsukake sunk to the ground, feeling the energy drained out of him. From the other end of the Bridge, Miboshi moaned, but did not wake up. He looked fine except for the missing arm.
Feeling weak, Mitsukake quickly crossed the bridge. Nakago gulped, as he approached the bridge.
"You seem scared," the dragon wolf said.
"I'm not scared," Nakago said, "I'm worried . . . for I know that bridge is a mere illusion, and Mitsukake was only able to pass because of his weakened state. He didn't think it an illusion at all, but I already have."
"Try it out," the dragon wolf taunted. Nakago put a foot on the bridge, and sure enough, it disappeared.
"What do I do?" Nakago asked the statue rather harshly.
"You must find a way to the other side," the dragon wolf said, "but, as you've already found out, teleportation does not work."
Nakago thought about it for a while, then, with a "hmph", he asked the statue for a challenge.
"You want to battle a dragon wolf?" the statue asked. "With out the Bridge? Are you sure about that?"
"Yes," Nakago said. All the others sucked in their breaths. Was Nakago out of his mind?
Suddenly, the dragon wolf appeared, flying in the air. It lunged towards Nakago, who jumped up, grabbing on to it tightly. As the beast tried to shake him off and kill him, Nakago tried to climb up on to its back. The creature flipped and swerved in the air where the bridge should have been. Nakago was nearly thrown off, but held on as tight as humanly possible. With many blows to the head, and many scratches as well, he managed to get on to the back of the creature. The dragon wolf was very much confused, trying to reach the little man on his back. Nakago let go, sat himself up, and ki-blasted himself off of the dragon wolf, flying back into the woods behind Hotohori and the others. The dragon wolf simply disappeared into the air just then, as the others ran to find Nakago.
He was found in an unconscious state, blood falling down the side of his face. Mitsukake was far too weak to pull his powers on Nakago, thus Tasuki picked up the fallen general, cringing under his weight.
Hotohori sighed. "At least that part of the journey is over."
From somewhere in the woods, a strangled cry was heard.