Author's Note:
Hello again, everyone! I'm going to be gone this weekend on a trip to San Francisco, so I won't be able to update. So I'm using my day off on Veterans Day to update on chapter 4; b A Fated Crossroad/b.
Special thanks to the following reviewers;
uStar Cherry:/u THANK SO MUCH!!! I loved your site! And now I finally can use bold, italics, and underlining, lol. BTW: do you know how to do a tab? Thanks so much for your constant reviews and support, you're my number one reviewer! I'm so glad you like my story so much, I can't say thank you enough!
uMystical Wolf:/u Thanks! I really liked the last chapter too, it actually started to have the beginnings of a plot, lol. Thanks for being so consistent with reviews, it means a lot.
uSakurapetalsntears:/u Thanks for all of his sisters' names, now I actually know them all! Yay!
uHikaru Ayumi:/u I loved your name for Halma so much that I'm gonna use it! Thanks for the suggestions on Syaoran's sister's screenames. I hadn't even thought of anything for them, and now I've got a ton of ideas. I'll probably use yours for Fanren and Feimei.
uStargirl-rebels:/u I loved your name for Meriko! Thanks so much, I really wasn't sure what to use for such a cheerful person, lol. Thanks sooooooo much for all the praise! I blove/b it when people enjoy my stories so much! And, yes, you're isuch/i a decisive person, lol.
uAnimeObsessionFantasy:/u Yep!^^ Just read to see what happens when they do..
uFa:/u Thanks for Syaoran's sister's name. Don't worry about having the other two, I got them from other people. I'm glad my story is so kawaii!
uchibi cherry blossom:/u Of course your opinion matters! All my reader's opinion's matter to me! I love hearing feedback from my reviewers, especially if it helps me to become a better author. Thanks for your review!
uShamankinggirll:/u I will! I will! I will!
uanjuliet:/u Thanks! I love stories like this too, lol ^^. I hope you like this chapter!
Thanks for all the reviews, everyone. Apparently this chapter was a heck of a lot more popular than the others, lol. However, nobody sent in suggestions for the extra assignment! Oh well, I already was pretty much decided on what was going to happen, so I suppose it doesn't change anything. Thanks so much with all your help with Syaoran's sisters and the screenames. And an extra special thanks to Star Cherry for all her help with the fonts.
BTW: Did you guys like the characters Halma and Kiran. I'm still deciding how important they'll be later on. And did anybody notice what Kiran was carving when Syaoran came outside? Here's a hint; the carving looked like it had a braid. ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the CCS characters and certain ideas from this story were inspired by .Hack//Sign.
Well, on with the story. Here's Chapter 4 of bReal Love is Just a Dream/b; iFated Crossroad/i
...............Syaoran's POV
"Little Wolf, huh? That's an odd one. Most people have more direct screenames. Any idea why the oracles went with that one?" Kiran asked, brushing wood chips off of his shirt and trousers.
Syaoran glared. "No" he replied curtly.
Kiran glanced at him skeptically before returning to his spot on the bench. "Well aren't you polite" he responded sarcastically, clearing a spot next to him and motioning for Syaoran to sit.
Syaoran ignored Kiran's offer and remained standing. "What was I doing in that bed in there?" he asked gruffly, his arms crossed over his chest.
Kiran grabbed a simple brush from a wicker basket next to the bench and started to clear away his carving materials. "I found you on lying on the ground, unconscious, in the glade on the outskirts of town. You're lucky that Bethym needed some exercise, or else I never would have found you, and you'd probably be sitting in a ditch somewhere with no money, courtesy of the bandits that hang around the hills outside of the village."
Syaoran raised a brow, a million questions flooding through his mind. "Bethym?"
Kiran waved a hand absentmindedly toward a squat, wooden building nearby that looked to be some type of stable. "My stallion." He answered simply.
"Where the hell am I?" Syaoran asked, still glancing around, taking in his strange surroundings.
"Souta village, the Pri Nuta Region" Kiran answered in a practiced voice, as if he'd given this speech many times.
"Is that supposed to tell me anything?" Syaoran growled.
Kiran dropped the brush back into the basket and looked back up into Syaoran's amber eyes. "I don't know, does it?"
Syaoran's eyes narrowed. He was getting tired of this guy's riddles. He was thinking of just shoving his fist in this guy's face and trying his luck at wandering around town. But he knew that would be impossible. Despite the fact that Souta village was called a 'village', he could tell that he could very easily get lost among the crowds of people who all seemed to know where they were going, unlike him. He sighed tiredly, letting his glare disappear on his face and give way to a look of utter exhaustion and confusion. He'd known this was a bad idea from the start. Leave it to Mei Lin to get him lost in an imaginary world.
Syaoran shrugged. He could tell anger and intimidation wouldn't work on this guy, so he settled for a humble approach. "I have no idea. This is my first time in Ch'ien, or, at least, my first time in a while. I was supposed to meet my cousin here, but I think that may be harder than she thought." He replied, finally taking a seat next to Kiran.
Kiran nodded, a slight look of approval in his eyes. He leaned back against the wall of the cottage. He didn't look surprised that it was Syaoran's first time, as Syao had thought he would. Instead, he nodded again knowingly. "I figured as much." Kiran grabbed a stick and started drawing in the dirt. He drew a large square. "Pretend that this is all of Ch'ien" he said. He drew two large blobs that attached to each side of the square. "This," he pointed to the pool on the right, "is the Nebiros Ocean". He pointed to the pool on the left. "And this is the Bashura Ocean" (*AN-I'll scan a map of Ch'ien into my computer later. If you want a copy, just email me and I'll email it to you). Kiran pointed to the isthmus of land in between the pools. "Here," he said, "is the Rada' Han Mountains." Kiran lifted his stick toward the snow-capped peaks along the horizon. "Or, in other words, those towering peaks." Kiran returned to the map, drawing a collection of trees south of the mountain range and a small dot next to it. "These trees represent the Hagden Woods, and the dot is Souta village." Kiran motioned toward the menacing forest on the hill overlooking the village. "Those are the Hagden Woods."
Syaoran glanced at the map in the dirt and back at the towering oaks standing watch over the town. Most of what Kiran had just said was gibberish, but he was starting to get an idea of where he was, in regards to Ch'ien. But that still didn't help him.
"Do you know of a place called 'La Pajara'?" he asked.
Kiran shook his head and was about to speak when the young girl that Syaoran had seen before peeked her head out of the window. She nodded her head enthusiastically, causing her brown braids to bounce up and down on her shoulders.
"I know that place! Halma took me there on my birthday! It was a really nice café, with a cute little band that played in the plaza outside!" she said, smiling at the memory.
Syaoran adjusted his position on the bench so that he was facing Star Blossom. "So, where is this café? Is it nearby?"
Star Blossom's smile faded, and a look of deep concentration replaced it. She looked up at the sky, as if the puffy white clouds would spark her memory. She looked back at Syaoran, an apologetic look on her face.
"Sorry, all I remember is that we had to ride horses to get to the town. It took us a couple of hours to get there, but I was too excited to memorize which way we went." She looked forlorn that she couldn't help.
Syaoran sighed. Well, it looks like he'd miss his afternoon's appointments. He was never going to listen to Mei Lin again, coward or not.
"It's alright. Would this Halma person know where it is?"
Star Blossom nodded, happy to have an answer this time. "Yeah, I'm sure she would! I could take you to her. She works as a guide in the Hagden Woods, but today she shouldn't have any customers because of the heat. She'd be happy to help."
Syaoran wiped some sweat from his brow at the mention of heat. It was uncommonly hot, he noticed.
"You mean the woods up there?"
Kiran nodded for her. "yeah, she works with a bunch of other people guiding travelers through the forest. It's a pretty big forest though; I don't know how you'll find her."
Star Blossom looked at Kiran. "What are you talking about? We'll just go to the cabin on the outskirts of the woods."
Kiran shook his head. "She's not there; she probably went out for a walk or something."
Star Blossom narrowed her eyes, and a suspicious grin slipped onto her face. "And how would you know that, brother?" she asked, stifling a giggle.
Kiran looked away, a small blush appearing on his face. "I just went up there earlier to, uh; deliver a new blade, that's all."
Star Blossom laughed. "Yeah right, as if I believe that"
Syaoran dismissed the sibling's quarreling. "So, how do I find her?"
Kiran shrugged. "She'll probably be down here for lunch anytime now. Afterward, she'll go back up to the cabin to take care of some business, and you can just meet her there."
Syaoran nodded and stood up. He wanted to get a head start and have some time alone to develop his first impression of Ch'ien silently. He shook a few stray wood chips off of his shoulders and turned back.
"Thanks for your help. I better get going."
Star Blossom looked slightly disappointed. "What? Already? But Halma won't be back to her cabin at least an hour, and I was going to take you up there. It'll be a lot easier to get through the crowds if you know where you're going."
Syaoran shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I can find it myself."
Star Blossom was about to object, but Kiran settled a hand on Star Blossom's shoulder, shaking his head. As Syaoran disappeared into the crowd, Star Blossom turned to her brother.
"Why'd you let him go?"
Kiran started to go back into the house. "Because he needs to find it on his own" he said simply, heading in for some lunch. ....................
"Give us all of your money, and maybe we'll consider not hurting you" the man sneered with a toothy grin.
Sakura sighed. No matter how many times the administrators kicked bandit players off; they always seemed to find another way to spawn forth at the worst times. Her rumbling stomach had grown in volume until it had become a defiant roar. She could probably eat the lanky boys that accompanied the beefy, lock jawed, muscle men that held up their simple silver daggers threateningly. One had managed to obtain a rusty old Ragara short sword. She wasn't impressed. She'd faced bands of thieves much worse than these. Of course, she hadn't been this hungry when that had happened.
The man with the rusty sword pointed his old weapon at the leather pouch hanging at Sakura's belt. "Just throw those over, and we won't harm you" he said, in a much more serious tone than the perverted mocking of the others.
"Ah, come on Biret, let us have some fun with 'um." Another man with many missing teeth said, leering at Halma's chest.
Halma casually flipped her long braid over her shoulder. Kero stood defiantly in front of the two girls, growling deeply at the men blocking the road into town.
The one called Biret glared at the one who had just spoken. "Shut up Matak, you had plenty of fun last night wasting the caras* we got from those supply wagons." (AN: Ch'ien has a different currency than K'un. One silver cara is equal to about a dollar and 30 cents in US dollars. 5 silver caras makes one silver hania. 2 hania's or 10 caras is equal to one gold shan. 2 copper ratas is equal to one silver cara.)
Matak's smile disappeared and a fierce glare replaced it. "You're treading on thin ice, Biret. We've all gone along with your stupid honor code, and we're sick and tired of it. We never have any fun anymore. If Kinoti knew that you're resolve was faltering, he wouldn't have made you a second."
Sakura rolled her eyes as the men cheered in consent with Matak, all seemingly against following orders from Biret. Not only was this band of thieves pathetically under equipped and unskilled, but they weren't even united! Halma glanced at Sakura from the corner of her eyes, and Sakura knew she was thinking the same thing.
Halma's hand slowly traveled to her waist, where her crossbow hid beneath her billowing blue cloak, but Sakura subtly shook her head. Halma's eyes conveyed her confusion, but she acquiesced and settled her hands on her hips.
Sakura took the opportunity to let her hands slide down beneath her cloak, grasping the two hilts of her Double-Bladed Ran Kodachi's resting on her hips. She loved the feeling of her fists clenched tightly around the silver engraved hilts. She felt powerful, which is something she rarely felt these days. These two blades were the greatest gifts her father had ever given her. (AN: a kodachi is like a very short, slim sword that specializes in defense and agility.) Her father, Fujitaka, actually worked for the Ch'ien administrators, although she'd never been able to find out exactly what it was that he did. When they'd found out that she had complete freedom within Ch'ien, Fujitaka had presented her with these extremely rare blades, forged by Rayn herself when the world was first created. Rayn had created a set of weapons to start out the game, which had now become ancient tools of magic called "Rayna Weapons." Anyone who obtained one of these weapons was given a high rank within the game as well as the title of 'Rayna Wielder' or 'Rayna Warrior'. However, Sakura's blades were only part of a Rayna Weapon. They had originally been fused with another blade, but had been broken apart by Rayn herself when she realized that the three fused blades had more power than the other Rayna weapons put together. For fear that someone with bad intentions would obtain the fused blades without a name, she broke the middle blade off and the blades were sent to opposite ends of Ch'ien. The middle blade, or Saotian Saber, hadn't been seen since. Neither had the Ran Kodachi's until Fujitaka had somehow ended up with them and passed them down to Sakura. The blades possessed great power when fused with the saber, but apart, they were simply metal swords, which meant that Sakura had gained no rank when they'd come to her. Still, Sakura felt more in control when those blades were in her hands. She would forget about being paralyzed, about being fatally diseased. For once, she had something that she was good at, that she could win with. Sakura smiled as her fingers traced the water dragon designs on the sword hilts and as she predicted each man that blocked her way lying on the ground in pain.
Sakura had learned to use the Kodachi's quickly, what with nothing else to do while Tomoyo and the others were at school. She mastered her own style of swordplay, and could now defeat her enemies quickly and swiftly without killing them. The double blades could be twisted a certain way with gravity so that merely the momentum of force they cause could knock a man unconscious.
A bark from Kero shook Sakura from her daydreams. Matak and about half the men were shouting at the other half of the men behind Biret. Only three, lanky men with crummy daggers were left guarding their potential prey. Sakura smirked. 'Piece of cake.'
...........Biret's POV.
Biret watched as his men fell one by one, a green blur slipping in among the groups of quarreling men and cutting them down just as fast. The blond- haired girl stood back, watching uninterestingly as her companion proceeded to cut down the 20 some men that had surrounded them. The gray mutt sat quietly at the girl's feet, waiting for his master to finish her mission.
Biret slipped his rusty sword back in its scabbard, suddenly realizing their mistake in targeting these two girls. He slipped down the hill stealthily, knowing full well that the swordswoman was watching as she finished up with the rest of his men. He ran down the hill towards the main road swiftly, searching the area for possible hostages. He knew her type, protectors of the innocent and all that. If he could find something to use against her, he'd get out of here in time to try his luck at another unlucky person, this time without the skill to defend against him.
Suddenly, he spotted a tall figure heading up the road from the village.
"Bingo" ........Syaoran's POV
Syaoran walked slowly up the dirt road, thinking over what Kiran had told him of this new world and of the miniature map in the dirt. He'd never realized how big Ch'ien really was. Hell, he'd never bothered to realize it. He glanced at his wrist to see what time it was, when he realized he didn't have his watch on anymore. Syaoran sighed angrily. Mei Lin was already going to be mad at him for not showing up on time, and he'd have to reschedule all of his afternoon appointments by the time he got home. He just hoped that this Halma woman would know where they could get some good horses from. He'd hate to have to walk across these hills until dark, by which time Mei Lin would probably already be gone. As Syaoran pondered over his predicament, he heard footsteps on the road in front of him. Syaoran looked up to see where the footsteps were coming from and was faced with a hard faced man with spiked red hair and tawny-colored eyes (tawny is a sort of brown and gold color).
"Sorry about this, mate" the man said before darkness flooded Syaoran's vision.
............Sakura's POV
Sakura watched as the last man in front of her fell to the ground with a grunt. But she knew better than that. The leader, Biret, had run down the hill toward the road. She glanced back at Halma.
"I missed one, he ran down the road. Think I should go after him?"
Halma considered for a moment. "Nah, let's go eat. I'm starving"
Sakura nodded and started to walk back toward her when she hesitated. Something didn't feel right about that Biret. There was something different about him, and she wanted to know what it was. She turned back and yelled over her shoulder. "Better to be safe than sorry, I might as well go and take care of him before this 'Kinoti' guy shows up wanting revenge, you know what I mean?"
Halma shrugged. "Alright, do what you want. Just hurry back; I could eat a horse right now."
Sakura smiled and disappeared down the hill.
..........Syaoran's POV
Syaoran groaned as his eyes opened into the bright sunlight. A dull ache pounded in his head. Syaoran tried to reach up to rub his neck when he found that his hands were tied behind his back with a piece of coarse rope.
'Great, now what?' Syaoran thought sarcastically. Was there anything else that could go wrong today?
Syaoran immediately regretted thinking that when he saw where he was. He was hanging perilously from a tree branch over a huge cliff. He couldn't reach his dagger, and his headache was keeping him from thinking straight. He turned his head as much as he could, and his jaw almost dropped when he saw the hard-faced man standing at the edge, a blade positioned to cut the branch in half.
'I had to ask...'
..........Sakura's POV
Sakura screeched to a halt as she turned at the bend in the road and blinked her eyes at the sight in front of her. Biret stood at the edge of an eighty foot cliff, his rusty blade positioned to cut an overhanging branch that was swinging dangerously over the side of it. Even if Biret's blade was old, he could easily cut down the worn branch.
"Well this isn't something that happens everyday" she muttered to herself. Suddenly she noticed a figure tied to the branch. She continued to jog closer, slipping in among the shadows and desperately trying to get a better view.
Sakura settled herself behind a small juniper bush and looked out from behind it. She gasped as her sight settled on a huge man in a beautiful hunter green traveler's cloak. His calloused hands were tied to the tree branch, leaving him hanging dangerously above the precipe, groaning in pain. But none of this caught her attention when the man's head turned, and she was lost in a moment in time as his amber gaze surrounded her, blocking everything else out...
...........Syaoran's POV
Syaoran's neck was killing him, but he glanced back anyway to try again to convince the red-haired thief to pull him back when he spotted a figure slipping behind a nearby juniper bush.
He puzzled over who the figure could be when a small face peeked out from the bush, and deep emerald eyes enveloped him, taking him away from the cliff, away from the thief, and into a world where only the two of them existed...
...........Halma's POV
Halma ran down the road after Kero as the mutt bounded down the road, disappearing from sight around a bend.
"Kero! Kero! Get back here you stupid mutt! Sakura's fine, ..Kero!"
Halma silently cursed as she jogged around the bend, only to have her jaw drop at the sight before her.
Sakura was hiding behind a nearby bush, a dreamy look on her face as she gazed at a tall man hanging from an overhanging branch by his hands over a huge cliff, staring back at Sakura with the same dreamy look, and the red- haired bandit leader was standing at the edge of the cliff, a rusty sword positioned threateningly at the edge of the branch with a confused look on his face as he glanced between Sakura and the mystery man.
Halma sighed. "Why couldn't we have just gone to lunch?" she muttered.
.....................................
Tada! That's chapter 4! Sorry to end it there, but that's the point of a cliffhanger! Lol, ironically enough, Syaoran really is the cliffhanger here, hehe. But I assure you that was simply a coincidence. Kind of a stupid way to meet, I know, but what can I say? I know it's weird that the big, strong Syaoran was caught by a stupid bandit and is now hanging off of a cliff, but Syaoran wasn't exactly prepared for this. It'll get better later, I promise. Tell me if you guys think that this was a really stupid way to meet, in which case maybe I'll do an alternate chapter or just come up with something better for my next story. Please tell me what you think!
BTW: I need screenames for Syaoran's sister Fuutie and Touya's daughter Ayna.
Ja Ne!
Next Chapter: The Wolf under the Cherry Tree.
Hello again, everyone! I'm going to be gone this weekend on a trip to San Francisco, so I won't be able to update. So I'm using my day off on Veterans Day to update on chapter 4; b A Fated Crossroad/b.
Special thanks to the following reviewers;
uStar Cherry:/u THANK SO MUCH!!! I loved your site! And now I finally can use bold, italics, and underlining, lol. BTW: do you know how to do a tab? Thanks so much for your constant reviews and support, you're my number one reviewer! I'm so glad you like my story so much, I can't say thank you enough!
uMystical Wolf:/u Thanks! I really liked the last chapter too, it actually started to have the beginnings of a plot, lol. Thanks for being so consistent with reviews, it means a lot.
uSakurapetalsntears:/u Thanks for all of his sisters' names, now I actually know them all! Yay!
uHikaru Ayumi:/u I loved your name for Halma so much that I'm gonna use it! Thanks for the suggestions on Syaoran's sister's screenames. I hadn't even thought of anything for them, and now I've got a ton of ideas. I'll probably use yours for Fanren and Feimei.
uStargirl-rebels:/u I loved your name for Meriko! Thanks so much, I really wasn't sure what to use for such a cheerful person, lol. Thanks sooooooo much for all the praise! I blove/b it when people enjoy my stories so much! And, yes, you're isuch/i a decisive person, lol.
uAnimeObsessionFantasy:/u Yep!^^ Just read to see what happens when they do..
uFa:/u Thanks for Syaoran's sister's name. Don't worry about having the other two, I got them from other people. I'm glad my story is so kawaii!
uchibi cherry blossom:/u Of course your opinion matters! All my reader's opinion's matter to me! I love hearing feedback from my reviewers, especially if it helps me to become a better author. Thanks for your review!
uShamankinggirll:/u I will! I will! I will!
uanjuliet:/u Thanks! I love stories like this too, lol ^^. I hope you like this chapter!
Thanks for all the reviews, everyone. Apparently this chapter was a heck of a lot more popular than the others, lol. However, nobody sent in suggestions for the extra assignment! Oh well, I already was pretty much decided on what was going to happen, so I suppose it doesn't change anything. Thanks so much with all your help with Syaoran's sisters and the screenames. And an extra special thanks to Star Cherry for all her help with the fonts.
BTW: Did you guys like the characters Halma and Kiran. I'm still deciding how important they'll be later on. And did anybody notice what Kiran was carving when Syaoran came outside? Here's a hint; the carving looked like it had a braid. ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the CCS characters and certain ideas from this story were inspired by .Hack//Sign.
Well, on with the story. Here's Chapter 4 of bReal Love is Just a Dream/b; iFated Crossroad/i
...............Syaoran's POV
"Little Wolf, huh? That's an odd one. Most people have more direct screenames. Any idea why the oracles went with that one?" Kiran asked, brushing wood chips off of his shirt and trousers.
Syaoran glared. "No" he replied curtly.
Kiran glanced at him skeptically before returning to his spot on the bench. "Well aren't you polite" he responded sarcastically, clearing a spot next to him and motioning for Syaoran to sit.
Syaoran ignored Kiran's offer and remained standing. "What was I doing in that bed in there?" he asked gruffly, his arms crossed over his chest.
Kiran grabbed a simple brush from a wicker basket next to the bench and started to clear away his carving materials. "I found you on lying on the ground, unconscious, in the glade on the outskirts of town. You're lucky that Bethym needed some exercise, or else I never would have found you, and you'd probably be sitting in a ditch somewhere with no money, courtesy of the bandits that hang around the hills outside of the village."
Syaoran raised a brow, a million questions flooding through his mind. "Bethym?"
Kiran waved a hand absentmindedly toward a squat, wooden building nearby that looked to be some type of stable. "My stallion." He answered simply.
"Where the hell am I?" Syaoran asked, still glancing around, taking in his strange surroundings.
"Souta village, the Pri Nuta Region" Kiran answered in a practiced voice, as if he'd given this speech many times.
"Is that supposed to tell me anything?" Syaoran growled.
Kiran dropped the brush back into the basket and looked back up into Syaoran's amber eyes. "I don't know, does it?"
Syaoran's eyes narrowed. He was getting tired of this guy's riddles. He was thinking of just shoving his fist in this guy's face and trying his luck at wandering around town. But he knew that would be impossible. Despite the fact that Souta village was called a 'village', he could tell that he could very easily get lost among the crowds of people who all seemed to know where they were going, unlike him. He sighed tiredly, letting his glare disappear on his face and give way to a look of utter exhaustion and confusion. He'd known this was a bad idea from the start. Leave it to Mei Lin to get him lost in an imaginary world.
Syaoran shrugged. He could tell anger and intimidation wouldn't work on this guy, so he settled for a humble approach. "I have no idea. This is my first time in Ch'ien, or, at least, my first time in a while. I was supposed to meet my cousin here, but I think that may be harder than she thought." He replied, finally taking a seat next to Kiran.
Kiran nodded, a slight look of approval in his eyes. He leaned back against the wall of the cottage. He didn't look surprised that it was Syaoran's first time, as Syao had thought he would. Instead, he nodded again knowingly. "I figured as much." Kiran grabbed a stick and started drawing in the dirt. He drew a large square. "Pretend that this is all of Ch'ien" he said. He drew two large blobs that attached to each side of the square. "This," he pointed to the pool on the right, "is the Nebiros Ocean". He pointed to the pool on the left. "And this is the Bashura Ocean" (*AN-I'll scan a map of Ch'ien into my computer later. If you want a copy, just email me and I'll email it to you). Kiran pointed to the isthmus of land in between the pools. "Here," he said, "is the Rada' Han Mountains." Kiran lifted his stick toward the snow-capped peaks along the horizon. "Or, in other words, those towering peaks." Kiran returned to the map, drawing a collection of trees south of the mountain range and a small dot next to it. "These trees represent the Hagden Woods, and the dot is Souta village." Kiran motioned toward the menacing forest on the hill overlooking the village. "Those are the Hagden Woods."
Syaoran glanced at the map in the dirt and back at the towering oaks standing watch over the town. Most of what Kiran had just said was gibberish, but he was starting to get an idea of where he was, in regards to Ch'ien. But that still didn't help him.
"Do you know of a place called 'La Pajara'?" he asked.
Kiran shook his head and was about to speak when the young girl that Syaoran had seen before peeked her head out of the window. She nodded her head enthusiastically, causing her brown braids to bounce up and down on her shoulders.
"I know that place! Halma took me there on my birthday! It was a really nice café, with a cute little band that played in the plaza outside!" she said, smiling at the memory.
Syaoran adjusted his position on the bench so that he was facing Star Blossom. "So, where is this café? Is it nearby?"
Star Blossom's smile faded, and a look of deep concentration replaced it. She looked up at the sky, as if the puffy white clouds would spark her memory. She looked back at Syaoran, an apologetic look on her face.
"Sorry, all I remember is that we had to ride horses to get to the town. It took us a couple of hours to get there, but I was too excited to memorize which way we went." She looked forlorn that she couldn't help.
Syaoran sighed. Well, it looks like he'd miss his afternoon's appointments. He was never going to listen to Mei Lin again, coward or not.
"It's alright. Would this Halma person know where it is?"
Star Blossom nodded, happy to have an answer this time. "Yeah, I'm sure she would! I could take you to her. She works as a guide in the Hagden Woods, but today she shouldn't have any customers because of the heat. She'd be happy to help."
Syaoran wiped some sweat from his brow at the mention of heat. It was uncommonly hot, he noticed.
"You mean the woods up there?"
Kiran nodded for her. "yeah, she works with a bunch of other people guiding travelers through the forest. It's a pretty big forest though; I don't know how you'll find her."
Star Blossom looked at Kiran. "What are you talking about? We'll just go to the cabin on the outskirts of the woods."
Kiran shook his head. "She's not there; she probably went out for a walk or something."
Star Blossom narrowed her eyes, and a suspicious grin slipped onto her face. "And how would you know that, brother?" she asked, stifling a giggle.
Kiran looked away, a small blush appearing on his face. "I just went up there earlier to, uh; deliver a new blade, that's all."
Star Blossom laughed. "Yeah right, as if I believe that"
Syaoran dismissed the sibling's quarreling. "So, how do I find her?"
Kiran shrugged. "She'll probably be down here for lunch anytime now. Afterward, she'll go back up to the cabin to take care of some business, and you can just meet her there."
Syaoran nodded and stood up. He wanted to get a head start and have some time alone to develop his first impression of Ch'ien silently. He shook a few stray wood chips off of his shoulders and turned back.
"Thanks for your help. I better get going."
Star Blossom looked slightly disappointed. "What? Already? But Halma won't be back to her cabin at least an hour, and I was going to take you up there. It'll be a lot easier to get through the crowds if you know where you're going."
Syaoran shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I can find it myself."
Star Blossom was about to object, but Kiran settled a hand on Star Blossom's shoulder, shaking his head. As Syaoran disappeared into the crowd, Star Blossom turned to her brother.
"Why'd you let him go?"
Kiran started to go back into the house. "Because he needs to find it on his own" he said simply, heading in for some lunch. ....................
"Give us all of your money, and maybe we'll consider not hurting you" the man sneered with a toothy grin.
Sakura sighed. No matter how many times the administrators kicked bandit players off; they always seemed to find another way to spawn forth at the worst times. Her rumbling stomach had grown in volume until it had become a defiant roar. She could probably eat the lanky boys that accompanied the beefy, lock jawed, muscle men that held up their simple silver daggers threateningly. One had managed to obtain a rusty old Ragara short sword. She wasn't impressed. She'd faced bands of thieves much worse than these. Of course, she hadn't been this hungry when that had happened.
The man with the rusty sword pointed his old weapon at the leather pouch hanging at Sakura's belt. "Just throw those over, and we won't harm you" he said, in a much more serious tone than the perverted mocking of the others.
"Ah, come on Biret, let us have some fun with 'um." Another man with many missing teeth said, leering at Halma's chest.
Halma casually flipped her long braid over her shoulder. Kero stood defiantly in front of the two girls, growling deeply at the men blocking the road into town.
The one called Biret glared at the one who had just spoken. "Shut up Matak, you had plenty of fun last night wasting the caras* we got from those supply wagons." (AN: Ch'ien has a different currency than K'un. One silver cara is equal to about a dollar and 30 cents in US dollars. 5 silver caras makes one silver hania. 2 hania's or 10 caras is equal to one gold shan. 2 copper ratas is equal to one silver cara.)
Matak's smile disappeared and a fierce glare replaced it. "You're treading on thin ice, Biret. We've all gone along with your stupid honor code, and we're sick and tired of it. We never have any fun anymore. If Kinoti knew that you're resolve was faltering, he wouldn't have made you a second."
Sakura rolled her eyes as the men cheered in consent with Matak, all seemingly against following orders from Biret. Not only was this band of thieves pathetically under equipped and unskilled, but they weren't even united! Halma glanced at Sakura from the corner of her eyes, and Sakura knew she was thinking the same thing.
Halma's hand slowly traveled to her waist, where her crossbow hid beneath her billowing blue cloak, but Sakura subtly shook her head. Halma's eyes conveyed her confusion, but she acquiesced and settled her hands on her hips.
Sakura took the opportunity to let her hands slide down beneath her cloak, grasping the two hilts of her Double-Bladed Ran Kodachi's resting on her hips. She loved the feeling of her fists clenched tightly around the silver engraved hilts. She felt powerful, which is something she rarely felt these days. These two blades were the greatest gifts her father had ever given her. (AN: a kodachi is like a very short, slim sword that specializes in defense and agility.) Her father, Fujitaka, actually worked for the Ch'ien administrators, although she'd never been able to find out exactly what it was that he did. When they'd found out that she had complete freedom within Ch'ien, Fujitaka had presented her with these extremely rare blades, forged by Rayn herself when the world was first created. Rayn had created a set of weapons to start out the game, which had now become ancient tools of magic called "Rayna Weapons." Anyone who obtained one of these weapons was given a high rank within the game as well as the title of 'Rayna Wielder' or 'Rayna Warrior'. However, Sakura's blades were only part of a Rayna Weapon. They had originally been fused with another blade, but had been broken apart by Rayn herself when she realized that the three fused blades had more power than the other Rayna weapons put together. For fear that someone with bad intentions would obtain the fused blades without a name, she broke the middle blade off and the blades were sent to opposite ends of Ch'ien. The middle blade, or Saotian Saber, hadn't been seen since. Neither had the Ran Kodachi's until Fujitaka had somehow ended up with them and passed them down to Sakura. The blades possessed great power when fused with the saber, but apart, they were simply metal swords, which meant that Sakura had gained no rank when they'd come to her. Still, Sakura felt more in control when those blades were in her hands. She would forget about being paralyzed, about being fatally diseased. For once, she had something that she was good at, that she could win with. Sakura smiled as her fingers traced the water dragon designs on the sword hilts and as she predicted each man that blocked her way lying on the ground in pain.
Sakura had learned to use the Kodachi's quickly, what with nothing else to do while Tomoyo and the others were at school. She mastered her own style of swordplay, and could now defeat her enemies quickly and swiftly without killing them. The double blades could be twisted a certain way with gravity so that merely the momentum of force they cause could knock a man unconscious.
A bark from Kero shook Sakura from her daydreams. Matak and about half the men were shouting at the other half of the men behind Biret. Only three, lanky men with crummy daggers were left guarding their potential prey. Sakura smirked. 'Piece of cake.'
...........Biret's POV.
Biret watched as his men fell one by one, a green blur slipping in among the groups of quarreling men and cutting them down just as fast. The blond- haired girl stood back, watching uninterestingly as her companion proceeded to cut down the 20 some men that had surrounded them. The gray mutt sat quietly at the girl's feet, waiting for his master to finish her mission.
Biret slipped his rusty sword back in its scabbard, suddenly realizing their mistake in targeting these two girls. He slipped down the hill stealthily, knowing full well that the swordswoman was watching as she finished up with the rest of his men. He ran down the hill towards the main road swiftly, searching the area for possible hostages. He knew her type, protectors of the innocent and all that. If he could find something to use against her, he'd get out of here in time to try his luck at another unlucky person, this time without the skill to defend against him.
Suddenly, he spotted a tall figure heading up the road from the village.
"Bingo" ........Syaoran's POV
Syaoran walked slowly up the dirt road, thinking over what Kiran had told him of this new world and of the miniature map in the dirt. He'd never realized how big Ch'ien really was. Hell, he'd never bothered to realize it. He glanced at his wrist to see what time it was, when he realized he didn't have his watch on anymore. Syaoran sighed angrily. Mei Lin was already going to be mad at him for not showing up on time, and he'd have to reschedule all of his afternoon appointments by the time he got home. He just hoped that this Halma woman would know where they could get some good horses from. He'd hate to have to walk across these hills until dark, by which time Mei Lin would probably already be gone. As Syaoran pondered over his predicament, he heard footsteps on the road in front of him. Syaoran looked up to see where the footsteps were coming from and was faced with a hard faced man with spiked red hair and tawny-colored eyes (tawny is a sort of brown and gold color).
"Sorry about this, mate" the man said before darkness flooded Syaoran's vision.
............Sakura's POV
Sakura watched as the last man in front of her fell to the ground with a grunt. But she knew better than that. The leader, Biret, had run down the hill toward the road. She glanced back at Halma.
"I missed one, he ran down the road. Think I should go after him?"
Halma considered for a moment. "Nah, let's go eat. I'm starving"
Sakura nodded and started to walk back toward her when she hesitated. Something didn't feel right about that Biret. There was something different about him, and she wanted to know what it was. She turned back and yelled over her shoulder. "Better to be safe than sorry, I might as well go and take care of him before this 'Kinoti' guy shows up wanting revenge, you know what I mean?"
Halma shrugged. "Alright, do what you want. Just hurry back; I could eat a horse right now."
Sakura smiled and disappeared down the hill.
..........Syaoran's POV
Syaoran groaned as his eyes opened into the bright sunlight. A dull ache pounded in his head. Syaoran tried to reach up to rub his neck when he found that his hands were tied behind his back with a piece of coarse rope.
'Great, now what?' Syaoran thought sarcastically. Was there anything else that could go wrong today?
Syaoran immediately regretted thinking that when he saw where he was. He was hanging perilously from a tree branch over a huge cliff. He couldn't reach his dagger, and his headache was keeping him from thinking straight. He turned his head as much as he could, and his jaw almost dropped when he saw the hard-faced man standing at the edge, a blade positioned to cut the branch in half.
'I had to ask...'
..........Sakura's POV
Sakura screeched to a halt as she turned at the bend in the road and blinked her eyes at the sight in front of her. Biret stood at the edge of an eighty foot cliff, his rusty blade positioned to cut an overhanging branch that was swinging dangerously over the side of it. Even if Biret's blade was old, he could easily cut down the worn branch.
"Well this isn't something that happens everyday" she muttered to herself. Suddenly she noticed a figure tied to the branch. She continued to jog closer, slipping in among the shadows and desperately trying to get a better view.
Sakura settled herself behind a small juniper bush and looked out from behind it. She gasped as her sight settled on a huge man in a beautiful hunter green traveler's cloak. His calloused hands were tied to the tree branch, leaving him hanging dangerously above the precipe, groaning in pain. But none of this caught her attention when the man's head turned, and she was lost in a moment in time as his amber gaze surrounded her, blocking everything else out...
...........Syaoran's POV
Syaoran's neck was killing him, but he glanced back anyway to try again to convince the red-haired thief to pull him back when he spotted a figure slipping behind a nearby juniper bush.
He puzzled over who the figure could be when a small face peeked out from the bush, and deep emerald eyes enveloped him, taking him away from the cliff, away from the thief, and into a world where only the two of them existed...
...........Halma's POV
Halma ran down the road after Kero as the mutt bounded down the road, disappearing from sight around a bend.
"Kero! Kero! Get back here you stupid mutt! Sakura's fine, ..Kero!"
Halma silently cursed as she jogged around the bend, only to have her jaw drop at the sight before her.
Sakura was hiding behind a nearby bush, a dreamy look on her face as she gazed at a tall man hanging from an overhanging branch by his hands over a huge cliff, staring back at Sakura with the same dreamy look, and the red- haired bandit leader was standing at the edge of the cliff, a rusty sword positioned threateningly at the edge of the branch with a confused look on his face as he glanced between Sakura and the mystery man.
Halma sighed. "Why couldn't we have just gone to lunch?" she muttered.
.....................................
Tada! That's chapter 4! Sorry to end it there, but that's the point of a cliffhanger! Lol, ironically enough, Syaoran really is the cliffhanger here, hehe. But I assure you that was simply a coincidence. Kind of a stupid way to meet, I know, but what can I say? I know it's weird that the big, strong Syaoran was caught by a stupid bandit and is now hanging off of a cliff, but Syaoran wasn't exactly prepared for this. It'll get better later, I promise. Tell me if you guys think that this was a really stupid way to meet, in which case maybe I'll do an alternate chapter or just come up with something better for my next story. Please tell me what you think!
BTW: I need screenames for Syaoran's sister Fuutie and Touya's daughter Ayna.
Ja Ne!
Next Chapter: The Wolf under the Cherry Tree.
