Author's Note: For some odd reason, ff.net wouldn't let me upload Dream Weaver Chapter 2 correctly, so there will be a new format in effect for it. Sorry about that, but until I figure out what's going on with Microsoft Word, that's the way it will look. Enjoy, this chapter, since there may not be an update in possibly a few days. I'm sick x.x;
Sosei, Reincarnation's Sequel
Chapter 2-It starts
Dragon's Grove-Forgotten Continent
Kirika:
I touched the barrier surrounding the grove fondly, feeling every last bit of energy in it. Kuja walked up beside me with Amaranthine not so far behind him.
"Unlock it," He said softly.
"Gladly."
I took my hand and ran it up the side of the barrier until I felt a weak spot. With a swift tap, the barrier faded and the lush, dense forest of the grove appeared. Amaranthine bounded in happily while Kuja and I set about to forming a new one that only us could go through. It wasn't long before we finished and could go deeper into the grove. Silver was nestled in the greener more secluded corners of the forest, due to the fact that she had one other pup to raise other than Amaranthine.
"Are you ready to go, Silver?" Kuja asked softly.
Silver growled and nudged the other child into the forest before getting back up. Amaranthine nudged her mother with her nuzzle, growling lightly.
"Her other little one will be ok, right?" I asked.
I had to make sure of this somehow. And even if it wasn't going to be ok, the Invincible only had room for Amaranthine and Silver. Kuja waved me off.
"The child is fine, now let's go."
Beneath the Black Mage Village
Mikoto:
I entered a sequence of keys into keyboard close to me with a small frown. It seemed to me that the genomes were still not ready and my mist stores were too far depleted to support them after today. So it was a small wrench in my plans. This wouldn't stop me…well at least not long. Now I had to rely on Garland, which was something I didn't quite want to do, yet.
"And yet, you have no choice."
"Go away Garland. I don't need you around right now."
"That's a shame, Mikoto. I have an alternative to your misty woes, if you dare to listen."
I snorted.
"Cut the poetry, Garland. I'm not in the mood for it."
"Of course you aren't. But that's why I don't care. Anyways, I have a plan that will power your genomes up greatly."
Garland said the one thing I needed to hear: genomes and power.
"What's your plan?" I asked.
"Glad you are ready to listen, Mikoto. Who has the most power in Gaia?'
"Kirika Tribal, of course."
"Right. So if you want power for your genomes, you must stop it from her."
That was a possibility but…
"How? Alexandria Castle is heavy guarded nowadays. It would be difficult for us to do it."
"Ah, but I've already taken care of that issue. I'll just send them after her."
Later on that evening
7:14 P.M.
Kirika:
I ran a small brush down the length of my hair, noting the silver feathers that lay hidden within it and sat down on the end of my bed. Amaranthine was absent from my room, content to go hunting with her mother. So I was left alone for the rest of the evening. I couldn't very well bother anyone else due to the fact that they were in an important meeting. I got up and opened my window slowly. Alexandria truly was lovely at night with its buildings all aglow. I knew what I could do: take a walk!
I moved off of my bed and slid into my boots as quickly as I could. After a few minutes of running, I found myself outside of the castle. There were plenty of guards about at this time, thanks to Kuja's security plan. I waved to them idly and uttered the words to a float spell. I leaned forward and sped over the lake's surface, just barely creating a ripple on it. A cry of pain filled the air, shaking me out of the spell. What was all that about? Cries of pain meant trouble…like bully trouble. That definitely wasn't my forte, but…I was curious. I crept into the back ally, using the shadows as cover. I could now pick up on some other sentences.
"Ha, so this is how you act when your big brother isn't around, Nat."
"Leave me alone!"
As I drew near, I could hear the thud of a connected punch and the gag that followed. So far, the only thing I could tell about this situation was that a little girl or boy was being cornered by bullies. I stepped back into the main street and saw the source of the crying. A little girl about seven lay almost covered with blood in the corner. The culprits were two tall boys of undeterminable age.
"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest. The boys looked at me and scowled.
"Stay out of this little girl," They snapped.
Little? Now they were asking for it. Perhaps I had to make examples out of them. Well…that was no problem.
"My, you must think your tough by hitting a young girl like that," I said, keeping my voice low.
The boy with silver feathers laughed and threw a punch at me. I caught it easily and jumped backwards. In one fluid motion, I launched my right foot into his groan. The silver haired boy fell to his knees with a moan.
"Oh my, I hope I didn't make it hard for you to hurt me. So…are you going to leave the girl alone?"
I kept plenty of sarcasm in my voice, determined to humiliate the child.
"Never!" The silver haired child hissed.
"Careful brother, that's Kirika Tribal, Kuja's daughter."
The boy looked up at me in horror and vanished in thin air. Wait…vanished? I blinked and rubbed my head. I need sleep, I thought as I turned to face the girl. She was on her feet and supported by a tall guy dressed completely in black. The guy's skin was pale, but not as pale as Kuja and I and his hair seemed to be manifested of shadows. I couldn't help but stare; I haven't seen his type before.
"Excuse me, but is that girl—"
The man stared at me with light blue eyes.
"Yes and I suppose you was the one who made the bullies run away."
I blushed softly.
"Um…I didn't…I mean, I just happened to be passing by."
"Well, thank you. I suppose we'll be seeing each other again."
He touched my chin and departed with the little girl in tow.
Alexandria Castle
Kuja:
I pushed the half closed doors to Kirika further open and noticed that she wasn't in there and her window was open. I prayed she wasn't outside during this hour. After all, that's why I put the new security plan up. I growled and walked back into my room. No one ever listened to me when it came to safety.
"Oh, really? I happen to listen just fine."
I lit the candle on my bedside table with a small fire spell and noticed Kirika's thin form on my ceiling.
"How long have you been up there?" I asked, running a small brush through the non-feathery parts of my hair.
"About two minutes," Kirika muttered.
"Restless?"
"Hardly. So what happened in the meeting?"
"Oh, just a small disturbance at Black Mage Village."
Actually, the 'disturbance' was a small sighting of Garland. It didn't take much to figure out why Garland was popping up around that area. And Zidane hadn't heard much from Mikoto lately. And since Kirei was with us now, it was hard for not to be suspicious of Mikoto.
"I'm pretty sure you know what this means," Kirika said thoughtfully.
"You sound worried," I commented.
She jumped down from the ceiling and down onto the floor gently.
"Newer powers stimulate woes," She whispered as she walked out of the room.
Good point. But for your sake daughter, I pray you won't have to deal with those woes.
Midnight
Kirika:
A small whine combined with a growl assaulted my ears, jarring me awake somewhat.
"Enough, Amaranthine," I snapped, pushing the dragon away with my hand.
Two heavy paws landed on the bed with such force that I flew out of my bed. I landed on the mattress roughly, jarring the sleep from my head.
"Fine, I'll get you something to eat, just leave me alone afterwards."
I got out of my bed and stormed to the door. The moment I opened it, Amaranthine bounded through and went to Kuja's door. By now, crankiness had settled in and I considered going back to sleep with the door locked. But something seemed wrong about this situation. Kuja's door was always open a little at night. That way, Silver could come in to get Amaranthine easily. Strange…
I opened Kuja's door softly, knowing how light a sleeper he was. A shadowy form was hovering above Kuja's head, brandishing a knife. Ignoring Amaranthine's warning growl. I broke into a run and ran into the figure, sending us both through Kuja's large window. Wind whipped around my body, giving me some sort of unnatural high. However, I knew very well that I could die if I didn't react soon. I threw my hand behind me and balled it into a fist. A long staff appeared in my hand and I twirled it around, quickly uttering the words to a float spell.
The figure and I stopped just inches away from the street's surface. I blinked and landed in the street calmly.
"Who are you and why do you have me out in the street barefoot?" I snapped.
The figure got up and pulled the mask off of its face. It was now a girl with jet-black hair and cold silver eyes. She curled her lips up into a snarl at the sight of me.
"My name is not of your concern. However, I will tell you that I will kill you on behalf of the Black Tail!"
I narrowed my eyes and tightened my grip on the staff. I would give this idiot a run for her money if she were going to cut my life short.
"Draw your sword then!" I shouted, pulling the end of my staff off, revealing a long diamond-studded blade. (A/N: Ah, people should like be afraid of me. I can hide weapons in anything.)
I threw the other half away and twirled my blade calmly, getting used to its weight all over again. The girl settled into a battle stance, without a weapon. Good, all the fun for me! I eased closer, swinging my sword over my head swiftly towards her. The girl leaned back out of the sword's reach and launched her foot at my stomach. I blocked it with my left arm and shoved it away. I stabbed at her quickly with my sword, attempting to end this quickly. The girl spun away quickly and kicked me away. Since I was barefoot, it was hard for me to stay on my feet, especially in situations like this, so I fell backwards. The girl closed in instantly, and grabbed my sword, a sick smirk on her lips. I kept any signs of doubt off of my face and stayed calm. Energy was how building up within my body as a result of the Iifa's demands.
"Giving up?" The girl asked.
"I don't think so. Flare Star!"
Tendrils of flames rocketed away from behind my body and slammed into the girl, making her drop my sword on the ground. I turned around and caught sight of Kuja in his nightly robes and with an unpleasant smile on his face.
"The Black Tail will get you yet, Kirika Tribal!"
I found that hilarious for some odd reason. Maybe it was because I knew that statement was an empty threat. The girl hissed and ran away, leaving us with a glimpse of a silver tail.
"A…Genome?" Kuja asked.
I shrugged.
"I don't know. But I guess she is," I answered.
"Great, now I have yet another Genome after me."
I laughed.
"No, the girl is after me, not you, Kuja. You have nothing to worry about."
Kuja snorted and started back into the castle.
"Like hell, I don't."