Standard Disclaimer – the Ronin boys aren't mine… I'm just borrowing them.

Legends By Ariki Chapter Three

Shuu didn't say a word until dusk set in and Ryo suggested setting up camp.  At first he thought the other boy hadn't heard, but eventually Shuu nodded, his eyes still on the path ahead.  By the time Ryo picked out what he felt was a suitable spot, the first evening star was visible and they had to hurry to start a fire and gather what food they could find.  Shuu caught a hare and held it over the fire, turning it occasionally to prevent burning.  Ryo watched, repulsed by the sizzling skin and juices that rolled down the now hairless animal, but fascinated by the process.  He had never seen anyone cook meat before, and while he had no intention of ever doing it himself, it was an interesting sight.  Luckily, the wind came from the south, blowing the smoke, and most of the odor, away from him.  Shuu, on the other hand, inhaled deeply.  He was clearly excited by the thought of eating the hare.  Ryo impaled one of his mushrooms on a small stick and held it over the fire.

"Where does the road lead to?" he asked.  His blue eyes focused on Shuu's face, now bathed orange in the fire's glow.

"Herrig."

"Herrig…" Ryo mulled that over.  "Where's that?"

"Near the Green Mountains," Shuu answered.  Seeing Ryo's puzzled expression, he added, "In the North."

"Is it far?"

"A day's ride.  On foot, it's closer to three."

"And that's where you're from?"

Shuu nodded, pulling the hare closer towards him as the fire popped.  "I have to tell my family what happened.  You don't have to come…"

Ryo pulled his burnt mushroom out of the fire and examined it before burying it in the dirt.  "You shouldn't be walking that far alone.  It'll be safer if we're together."

Shuu stared intently at Ryo, who briefly met his gaze before turning away.

 "So you think the Eastern Kingdom did it?"  he asked.

Ryo nodded.  "Who else would? They were seen in the area before and are the only aggressive invaders I know of."

"What about the Elves?"

Ryo snorted.  "As long as you don't bother them they won't attack.  This was unprovoked."  The other boy looked at him, disbelief written plainly on his face.  "Trust me," Ryo finished.  "Elves didn't do this.  You'd know."

Shuu pondered that before continuing.  "So, what do you know about them, the Eastern Kingdom."

What do you want to know, Ryo thought dryly.  Shrugging, he answered, "You know the stories."

"What stories?"

Ryo gaped at him.  "You've never heard about them?  The demon legions?  The soldiers have been terrorizing the region for decades.  Is Herrig really that far away?"

Shuu flushed, color returning to his cheeks for the first time all day.  "I'm sorry I don't live in some war-torn province," he snapped. Ryo's eyes hardened and Shuu instantly regretted that he'd let the words leave his mouth.  Slowly, the black haired boy pushed himself to his feet, the rest of his dinner forgotten.  As Shuu watched wordlessly, Ryo walked into the darkness with a muttered, "I'm gonna look around."  Within moments he was gone.  Shuu shivered as the wind changed and a cold night breeze replaced the heat that had enveloped him.  All of the sudden, the surrounding nightlife felt much more threatening.  He sighed and pulled the hare out of the fire, slightly darker than the golden brown he'd been trying for.  Thickly callused fingers didn't flinch as he pulled off a steaming strip of meat.  Ryo would come back.  Sure, he shouldn't have said what he did, but Ryo would be back, wouldn't he?  He chewed the meat over and over until it tasted more like soggy leather than anything else before he swallowed, peering out into the darkness.  Yeah, he'd be back…

"Shit."

Cradled in the branches of a tall birch tree, Ryo watched his companion toss around in a fitful sleep.  The fire had long since gone out, but he had no desire to reignite it.  When hiding, fires did more harm than good, their light and even the smoke could lead skilled trackers straight to the source.  He hadn't had a chance to tell Shuu that soldiers were likely still in the region, that they needed to be extremely cautions to avoid them.  At first Shuu had been too busy grieving and later, well, Ryo had needed to cool off.  By the time he'd returned from his "excursion" Shuu was already asleep, his back propped up against a smooth rock.  He had probably never slept in the woods before, or maybe he was trying to wait up for Ryo.  Whatever the case, Ryo hadn't told him he was afraid the soldiers would stick around, that they were probably looking for something…

So far the night had been quiet, except for the occasional owl or bat flying through the canopy of leaves.  There were no signs of other humans in the area and he could hear the animals moving about unconcerned.  Ryo knew he could go to sleep, and under most circumstances he would have made himself comfortable in the tree and dozed off, but it wasn't just him this time and he was a bit uneasy at the thought of Shuu sleeping in plain sight, defenseless.  No, he would stay up for a little while, just in case.

"Ryo!  Ryo, where are you?"

Pulled from his deep slumber, Ryo squinted against the sunlight and held himself still, straining to hear what was going on.

"Ryo?  Come on."  The voice took on a pleading note.  Ryo shook his head, clearing the sleep-induced confusion.  "He knew that voice.  He heard Shuu moving below him, thrashing loudly through the underbrush.  Ryo pushed away from the trunk and stretched, careful not to upset his perch.  Shuu now stood directly below him, clearly searching the area for any sign of the other boy.

"I'm here," Ryo said as he began his descent.  He landed with a loud crunch, vegetation snapping under his feet.  Shuu whirled around to face Ryo, his features shifting between relief and anger.  The two stared at each other in silence before Ryo spoke.  "You were asleep when I came back."

"So you left again?"

Ryo adjusted the strap holding the red-cloth package onto his back and turned away.  "Do you want to eat something or should we get moving?"

Shuu grabbed Ryo's arm before he could walk away.  "Neither," he growled.  "Ryo, what was that?  Where were you?"

Ryo yanked his arm free and stepped back.  "I went to sleep, all right?  Now can we go?  The sooner we get out of here, the better."

Shuu leaned back against the vacated tree.  "Why are you in such a hurry?  This is my mission."

"Because we're still too close.  The soldiers might be in this area and I want to get as far away from them as possible.  Now's a good time to start walking."  This time when Ryo turned to leave Shuu hesitated, then followed, stepping on branches that sounded ear-splittingly loud to Ryo but didn't seem to bother Shuu at all.  The larger boy had become quiet again, leaving Ryo alone with his thoughts.  When they turned back onto the road, Shuu caught up to Ryo, apparently attempting to lead the way.

"So," he began, "this is kind of normal for you, huh?  Sleeping in the woods, I mean."

Ryo shrugged.  "I guess.  I don't know my way around this one, though."

Shuu nodded and reached back to knead his shoulder.  "The ground's not comfortable at all. I think that was the worst rest I've ever had."

Ryo smiled a little.  "I know.  That's why I don't sleep on it."  At Shuu's look of bewilderment Ryo pointed to the canopy of trees they had just left.  "It's a lot better up there."

"You sleep in a tree?"  Shuu's shock was apparent.

Ryo nodded.

"You don't ever fall out?"

Ryo looked offended by the suggestion.  "I have good balance.  Once you learn how to do it, it's easy."

Shuu shook his head.  "I don't know about that.  Is it comfortable up there?"

"Better that the dirt."

Shuu considered that.  "Do the rest of your family sleep in trees too?"

"Nope," Ryo answered.  "It's just me.  I live by myself."

By myself.  Shuu couldn't conceive of the notion.  "Where's everyone else?" he asked, confused.

"Dead."  Ryo kicked at a stone on the edge of the road and watched it bounce ahead of them.  "They died a long time ago."

"Oh."  So Ryo had been living in the forest across the river alone all this time.  Shuu suddenly suspected he knew why Uncle Fan had let him steal, and immediately felt a wave of regret.  He shouldn't have left them lying there like that, he could have at least buried them.  That's what his father would have done.  How could he tell him that not only was his younger brother dead, but that he and his wife were not properly buried?

By the time the two stopped for water and food the sun was midway through its ascent.  Shuu looked distrustfully at the nuts Ryo picked out but ate them, hungrily.  Ryo watched, amused, as Shuu examined each one before popping them into his mouth.

"I wish we could catch something," he lamented.

Ryo shrugged.  "You'll just have to wish until we stop for the night.  We still have, what, two days to go?"

"Probably closer to two and a half.  I wish we had a horse…"

Ryo lifted his head and turned abruptly to Shuu.  "Do you have a big family?

Shuu blinked, thrown off by the question.  "Yeah, I guess.  Four brothers and three sisters."

"Do they all live in Herrig?"

"Everyone except my older sister.  She and her husband are pretty far away.  Me and my younger sisters live with my parents.  My brothers all moved out, but they're still around all the time."

"Must be nice."

Shuu nodded.  "They help a lot with the animals.  We raise livestock and farm a little too, but not so much anymore."

"So why were you in Sheratz?"

"Helping Uncle Fan."  Shuu sighed heavily.  "He needed someone to work the fruit stand with him, so I came."

"Didn't his wife used to be there with him a long time ago?"

"Yeah, but she got sick a few months back and Uncle Fan couldn't do it all himself."  Shuu wiped his sleeve across his mouth before continuing.  "Did you used to live in Sheratz?"

Ryo shook his head.  "I was across the river for the last two years, but that's it.  I guess I'm from the South."

Shuu fought with himself for a moment before blurting out, "When did your family…"

Ryo picked at a spot on his pants.  "They died when I was nine."

…A long time ago.  Shuu couldn't imagine a life where the wishes of his family didn't trump his own, let alone a life without them at all.  He didn't want to admit it, but he found himself morbidly intrigued by the boy sitting before him. Again, he struggled to find a phrase that could get his question across without sounding callous, but gave up and decided to go the single word route.

"How?" he asked.

"The Eastern Kingdom."  Ryo smiled humorlessly.  "They raided the village we were visiting.  Killed almost everyone, including my parents."

"Is that why you were so interested in the news in town?"  Ryo gave Shuu a blank look.  Shuu mentally retraced his steps.  "When I told you the elders were nervous about some rumors you almost jumped on me."

Ryo lowered his gaze to the ground and didn't answer.  Shuu realized he had asked too much.  Gradually, he became aware of the sounds around them.  The birds chirped and twittered loudly as the wind whistled past the two.  When he thought about it, Ryo had saved his life twice in one day – first from drowning, then by keeping him out of the village.  It was startling to think how quickly he had made the leap from an enemy, Shuu's arch-nemesis, to a companion. He still wasn't quite sure how he felt about the blue-eyed boy but he certainly appreciated the company on his trek.

Without any prior coordination, Ryo and Shuu both stood at the same time.  When Ryo's eyes met Shuu's this time they were full of curiosity.

"So, you said your town's near the Green Mountains?" he asked.

Shuu nodded.  "Yeah, but it's not really.  You can see them but that's about it."

Ryo smiled as he squinted at the sun.  "I've never seen mountains."

"They're not that far away.  If we walk fast we might be able to see them tonight."

"Then let's go."  Ryo took off at a fast jog, leaving a confused Shuu staring behind him.

"Wait.  What are you doing?  It's my town!" he called.

"I'm gonna see mountains," Ryo called back over his shoulder.  He turned around and jogged backwards until Shuu caught up with him.

"Mountains," Shuu muttered.  "You're crazy, you know that?"

Ryo grinned widely and picked up the pace.