Author's Note: Well, here we have the third chapter in the second day of even thinking this plot up. I've impressed myself. Anyways, responding to a few reviews, yes, there is Kenkeru...but just because Ken and Takeru claim to be "in love", that doesn't mean Daisuke won't find a way to wedge himself in between them somehow. **Grins and waggles her eyebrows** I'm sure you know what that means. Anyways, in this chapter we have hintings at Taito (Taito fans rejoice at this point), and two new people come into the story. And, yes, the chapters are meant to be this short.
"Well, at least we'll be able to stop walking. My legs are getting so tired," Daisuke complained, reaching down to rub at his thighs.
"You're even weaker than I took you for," Takeru told him with an wicked grin. "And I didn't have any high expectations for you whatsoever in the first place."
Daisuke turned to him, eyes narrowed. "I'd appreciate it if you would stop making snide comments about me to my face. I don't recall ever doing anything to you to deserve such treatment."
"He's right, Takeru," Ken said, frowning from where he crouched atop a rock, peering at the village to try and see what kind of village it was. "You've been nothing but nasty to him for the entire length of the time we've spent together, and he hasn't done a thing to you to deserve it. Why are you so relentless in picking on him?"
Takeru blushed a bit and crossed his arms, sputtering, "Because...he's stupid!"
Daisuke cringed and Ken sighed, shaking his head, leaping off of the rock.
"Never mind," Ken said. "Let's get going. We need to get there before dark if we want to sleep in an actual bed tonight."
They started off at a somewhat quick pace, all of them thinking about their aching, empty bellies and warm, soft beds. They hadn't walked more than twenty steps when it happened.
Daisuke looked off to the side after hearing a slight rustling in the brush and his eyes widened when he noticed something flying their way.
"Watch out!" he shrieked, shoving Takeru forward and ducking his own head. Takeru gave a startled yelp and fell forward as something whizzed by his head and lodged itself in a nearby tree. The three turned with wide eyes to stare at the knife imbedded in the tree's trunk.
They heard a strange call from the right and turned to watch a girl fly out from seemingly nowhere and tackle Takeru. Takeru fell back down with a grunt. Daisuke and Ken merely stared, not knowing whether to laugh or try to save their friend from this newcomer.
The girl sat up on Takeru's stomach, grinning down at him in a somewhat crazed manner.
"Hah, I've found you! I win the game, Matt!"
She paused, inspecting the confused blonde underneath her, and her eyebrows lifted.
"You're not Matt."
"No, sorry," Takeru said slowly. "Will you please get off now?"
The girl rose to her feet, blushing and shifting from one foot to the other. "Sorry. I mistook you for my friend. We're playing a game."
Ken eyed the knife in the tree. "A game," he repeated doubtfully.
Daisuke hadn't stopped staring at the girl's body. "Why are you naked?"
"Why are you wearing clothes?" she shot back, not missing a beat.
"Well, because...you're supposed to," Daisuke replied uncertainly.
"Who says?" she asked, tossing her long violet hair back over her shoulder so it fell about her waist.
Daisuke's mouth dropped open slightly at the now much more exposed skin. Needless to say, he didn't have an answer for her.
Takeru, not at all unaccustomed to seeing topless women, since the women of his tribe walked about in broad daylight wearing nothing but their skirts on a regular basis, was unaffected by the girl's nakedness. Ken, having been in Takeru's village for five or so months, wasn't fazed either.
"What is your name?" Ken asked.
"They gave me the name Miyako in the village. They also call me the Wild Huntress of the Wolf-people," the violet-haired young woman responded easily. "What are your names?"
"I'm Ken, the one you knocked over is Takeru, and the gawking one is Daisuke," Ken said, pointing to each of them in turn.
"Where is your friend?" Takeru asked, curious to see this person he seemed to resemble.
Miyako looked about herself, hands on her curvy hips, pouting.
"Where is Matt?" she asked herself. "I wish I hadn't forgotten those things Hikari-chan made for me. They make it much easier to see."
"Glasses?" Daisuke asked.
"I think she called them something like that," Miyako responded.
"Who's Hikari?" Takeru asked, finished brushing himself off and now walking around to inspect the forest around them.
Miyako suddenly turned to the side, seeming distracted. She began sniffing at the air, walking to a rock and climbing it, nose in the air. She inhaled the air for a while longer and then peered into the surrounding woods.
"I think Matt's somewhere nearby. You might want to duck or sit down."
Takeru immediately sat on the floor, not wanting another incident with knives flying towards his head. Ken and Daisuke soon followed his example. Miyako remained on top of the rock, looking around herself.
"Hikari's the Indian princess that belongs to that village over there," the huntress told them, waving her hand towards the village they'd been traveling to.
"So it's an Indian village?" Ken asked, going back in his mind over every Indian village he'd ever been to, trying to remember if he'd been to this one before.
Miyako nodded. "Yeah. Hikari is cool, but the chief is a total asshole." Her face grew dark. "I don't like him very much, and he doesn't like me either. He doesn't want Hikari to hang around me...thinks I'm a bad influence. And the fact that I hang around Yamato every day, all day, and pretty much live with him doesn't make me a very likable person to him, either."
"Why is that?"
"Well, let's just say the chief has a...thing for our dear Prince of Wolves."
"Okay, I'm assuming 'Yamato' and 'Prince of Wolves' are both referring to Matt?"
"Yeah. Yamato is his real name, and Prince of Wolves is the name the Indians use for him. I call him Matt because he's my best friend. He's sort of like my older brother." Miyako's face grew sad with the last sentence.
Ken studied her and appeared to be puzzling over something about the way she'd been speaking of Matt.
Just then, Miyako leapt from the rock to the floor with a strange growling noise and two knives whizzed through the air, piercing the tree that already held one knife.
A boy broke through the branches of a tree and dropped onto the rock she'd just abandoned. He looked older than all of them, and for a moment, Daisuke had the feeling he was staring at an older version of Takeru. The boy straightened himself and stared down at the three other boys, eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?" he questioned, his voice colder than any Daisuke had ever heard before.
Miyako stood up next to the rock and peered up at him with a playful grin. "They're my new friends. Don't worry, they're harmless."
The tall blonde narrowed his eyes and stepped off of the rock, falling soundlessly onto the forest floor. Daisuke couldn't help but feel inferior to this young man, curling into himself unconsciously. Takeru and Ken had immediately risen to their feet, readying themselves for any trouble.
"Boys, meet the Prince of Wolves," Miyako said with a smirk, waving her hand towards Yamato in a grand gesture.
Yamato was nude except for the wolf skin on his back. He wore a wolf's skin over his head and his back, like a cape of sorts. He stepped over to them and inspected the three in turn.
"You," he said, stopping before Takeru and lifting a finger to point square in the center of the younger's chest.
"Yes?" Takeru asked, raising an eyebrow coolly.
"What tribe have you come from?"
Takeru said the name of his tribe in his own native tongue, though Daisuke heard only gibberish. Yamato's eyes widened in the slightest measure, but his face remained impassive. He glanced down at Takeru's arms and eyed the Henna-like tattoos covering his hands. He turned and walked back to the rock. He stepped onto it easily and turned around to perch on it, sitting back on his haunches and looking like a king sitting up straight in his throne.
"State your names and your business here in my forest," Yamato ordered quietly, though a small shiver ran through Daisuke at hearing Yamato's regal voice.
"My name is Ken," Ken responded automatically.
"Takeru."
"Daisuke."
"We're journeying to yonder village in search of shelter," Ken said, tilting his head in the direction of the village.
Yamato turned his head to glance in the direction of the village and smiled faintly, an emotion Ken couldn't place surfacing in his eyes and then immediately sinking again in the deep pools.
"Do you need an escort? I could take you and introduce you. I could get you the best hut for your stay there," Yamato offered.
Ken felt surprised at the generous offer and quickly nodded his head. "Yes, that would be excellent."
Takeru shot him a dirty look and returned his gaze to the floor, eyes blazing, fists clenching at his sides.
Yamato nodded and once again stepped off of the rock. He began walking forward, pausing to turn to Miyako.
"Do you want to join us, Miyako-chan?"
"Do you really have to ask?" she asked, grinning, and trotted to join Yamato at the head of the line. Ken followed soon after, Daisuke walked behind him, and Takeru brought up the rear, eyes darkening with every step.
