Sorry that I didn't update in so long. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it. And also, it seems this fic is becoming a bit more serious than funny which I had originally planned. SO I changed it.
PS. I'm aware that that last chapter was a bit weird. o_O
Chapter 8
"I have no form, but I do have smell. You can't see me, but I can see you. I can kill you, but without me, you will die . . . What am I?"
I stared off into the horizon from behind Brad's shoulder. It was a bright and beautiful morning. The same morning for the past few days. The sun was warm not burning hot like days in the past. The clouds were in the sky and sometimes they would cover the sun, giving us with some shade. But unlike most of the days in the past, there wasn't a wind. But I suppose I wasn't so concerned about that.
I rested my head on Brad's shoulder as he carried me through the meadow. I didn't want him to carry me on his back, but being such the gentle person that he was, he insisted that I did. I was able to take in the scenery without having to worry about tree roots or snakes in my way. Sometimes I would spot an animal in the meadow and I would point it out to Brad, but the animal would always run away and he would miss it.
And Brad has become quite the storyteller since the past few days. I was sick after my incident with the wine and I didn't speak often. So Brad would speak for me. He would tell me about his trips to these different bars and towns and all these people he met. He even told me about the time he saved this little girl from a well. He said that she had been in there for days. I couldn't believe how a parent could forget about their child like that. It was just the same as the time I got lost in the forest when I was young. It was getting dark and I was so afraid that I would be stuck in the forest forever. I didn't know what animals lurked around in the forest during the nighttime and I was afraid to find out. The little girl must have felt the same, afraid of being forgotten in a place that no one knew of. Hayabusa was there to find me though and that was how I had met him. It was noble of Brad to save that little girl.
"Kasumi?"
"Huh?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"What question?"
He looked back at me with a sort of amused grin. I suppose I forgot we were playing a game. I was too busy looking over the scenery. But he repeated it for me without any complaint.
"Uh . . ."
I looked around, hoping to see something that may have encouraged him to speak of it. Everything around me had a form and I could definitely see it. Therefore it wasn't a tree or grass or water. Brad started making a ticking noise. He was imitating a clock. Giving me a time limit wasn't going to help me. So I just blabbered out whatever came to mind.
"A crow?"
Brad instantly let out a loud laugh that caused a flock of crows to fly away in the distance. They had scattered into the sky and went in different directions before coming back down to the earth as a group just like before. They were actually the reason I answered the way I did. It sounded silly, but I had to say something.
"All right, the ride stops here."
I stepped off of Brad's back and was able to stretch my legs after hours of inactivity. It was good to feel the blood coursing through them again and I found that I was stretching a little too much, because Brad was staring at me.
"Was I an uncomfortable ride?" he asked me, grinning.
I laughed a little and shook my head. Then Brad started to look around the small clearing in the meadow he had stopped us in. A group of people must have camped there a while ago because the grass was patted onto the earth and there was a small ditch in the center of the clearing where ashes and rocks laid. I wondered how long ago that group had left, who they were, and where they could be off to. Brad and I weren't the only ones traveling that land obviously. And I began to wonder if it could have been the ninjas. I could see them in my head, sharpening their sword near the pit of the fire. They were out to get me and somehow we hadn't run into any of them for a while. For days actually. They were bound to show up and I had to let Brad know this.
"Brad," I said getting his attention.
He was already lying down on the grass, but he picked his head up to listen.
"The ninjas haven't showed up for quite some time. We have to be careful. Usually, the assaults make up for the dormancy," I told him before sitting down across from him.
I remembered those days very well. The feeling of freedom for several days, but then it disappeared as soon as the shurikens come towards me in my sleep and I'm forced from my bed to run again. The sound of my heavy footsteps on the soggy ground, the sound of my fall, and the sound of their blade colliding with mine; I remembered those sounds all too well. I just hoped Brad would be okay. He still wasn't aware of what he was up against. It would have been all my fault if he was to get hurt.
Brad had been staring at me the whole time and I didn't even notice until he said my name. I turned to look at him.
"Do you want to know the answer to that question?"
I nodded and then he waved his hand through the air.
"You're breathing it."
With that said, he laid back down again to soak in the sun.
Breathing what?
Air. That was what it was. I felt really silly for not figuring that out a long time ago. But it always seems that whenever you figure out a riddle, you always curse yourself for not thinking up something as simple as that sooner. The air had no form, but it had smell. I couldn't see it, but it existed. And I suppose the air could be harmful, but without it I couldn't live.
As I continued to sit and look around me, taking in the view and also keeping an eye out for any signs of an attack, the clouds were scattering and the blue sky was turning into a dull grey. The air was becoming denser and cooler by the moment. A fog was settling on the meadow. I wrapped the jacket around me to keep the cool air from getting near my skin and I lay down on the grass to watch the fog get heavier and heavier. It was strange though. The weather changed so quickly. I thought it was going to rain soon. I turned to look at Brad to see if he noticed it, but he wasn't there. I sat up to look around the clearing, but he was definitely nowhere in sight.
Where could he have gone so quickly? Why didn't I notice?
It was too difficult to see any farther than a few feet, because of the fog. I called out his name, but there was only silence in return. The bugs and birds weren't chirping anymore. It was a dead silence. I stood up and looked around for him in hopes of finding him better, but it was foolish to think so. Fog hid everything no matter where you were. I was starting to believe it was some sort of omen, the abnormal change in the weather, the sudden quietness, the disappearance of Brad.
I should stop worrying myself. He'll be back. Maybe he sensed the cold air moving in and just went off to get firewood.
I listened to my thoughts and sat back down, waiting for his return. I had waited for about ten minutes before I decided that I couldn't wait anymore. If the ninjas were anywhere near the meadow then Brad would be in danger. I quickly got onto my feet and ran about the meadow, calling out his name. I didn't care if the ninjas heard me. All I cared for was Brad's safety. He was kind to me the whole way through and I repay him by letting him die?! There was no way. I had my wakizashi out just in case I did run into any of them.
I must have called out his name over thirty times, but there was still no answer. I couldn't tell which way I was going, because the sun was hidden in the clouds. I was hoping to at least hear a small murmur of his voice by that time, but there was definitely nothing. I tried not to panic, but I feared for his life. I had to keep looking. So I ran and called out his name even more until I heard a sudden cracking noise and I stopped instantly. I had stepped on something in the grass and when I looked down, it was his flask. He must have left it behind when he came by there. I reached down to pick it up and noticed his sack against a stone just a foot away from my face. I quickly reached for it and saw that all of is belongings were still inside.
Where could he have gone without his belongings?
I placed his flask inside the sack and draped it over my shoulder before I continued my search for him. I was in front of the forest again when I thought I heard laughter from within the trees. It wasn't a woman or a child, but definitely a man. And as I listened even more, I could tell it was Brad's laughter. There was no mistake about it. I've heard him laugh many times before. And because he was laughing then I assumed he was okay. I quickly sheathed my wakizashi and began to call out his name as I ran through the forest. I was running and jumping, trying my hardest not to run into the trees that were barely visible in the fog. Brad's laughter was getting louder until it was clear in my ears. I stopped as two shadows appeared. One was wiggling around on the ground and the other was just sitting on the ground. Brad wasn't alone.
Why would be leave and not come back for me?
"Brad?" I said, unsure if I would be accepted to speak or not.
I got closer to see Brad lying on the ground, staring up at the tree limbs with what looked like a dazed grin. He shot his head over towards me when I was only two feet away from him and he immediately grinned even wider.
"Hey, Kasumi!" he said.
He was drunk obviously.
"Why did you leave and not tell me?" I asked him.
I just hoped that it wasn't to go off to be drunk someplace, because I was sure that I wouldn't be able to find him. He instantly quit smiling, placed a hand on his forehead, and then pushed his hair back. He must have been trying to remember why. And all the alcohol was to blame.
"I could have sworn you were right behind me," he finally said before taking a drink from the flask in his other hand.
If I have his flask then where did he get that one?
I had forgotten there was another person with Brad. And as if on cue, that person was getting up from his seat on the ground and coming towards us. His shadow became darker as his footsteps became heavier. He was a tall man just like Brad and when he came into view, I was instantly faced with his wide grin. He was happy about something obviously. I stepped back to get a better view of him. A tall, blonde man in a brown leather jacket, shorts, and boots. There was also a large pack strapped to his back that indicated he was a traveler. Maybe the traveler that was at that clearing in the meadow.
What is he doing in the forests of Japan?
"Hey, there uh . . ." he had outstretched his hand, "Kasumi! Am I correct?"
He seemed friendly enough. So I shook his hand. But it didn't mean that I wasn't suspicious of him.
"Heard lots about you around the little towns," he continued to speak, "They're all looking for you. You must have a bounty on your head."
Bounty?
"Oh, Kasumi, did I introduce you to John?!" Brad interrupted, picking his head up off the ground, "He and I met at a bar one afternoon back in China! It's a coincidence that we both end up here! Strange!"
He then continued to drink from the flask, but began shaking it when nothing came out. He had enough of that stuff anyway.
"Well, I'm off once again!" the traveler said, putting on a hat as he turned to leave, "Nice meeting you again, Brad! Take care, you two!"
Brad had hollered after him, telling him good bye. I watched him as he left. I just didn't like something about him at all. I didn't know if I considered him too friendly to be trustworthy or I had been away from foreign folk for too long to consider him a normal person as well. But my assumptions were right when I noticed something near his leg. It was a katana in a black sheath.
What would a foreign traveler be doing with a martial arts weapon?
I stared closer as best I could in the fog and noticed the red ribbon tied to the hilt and the red writing on the sheath. And I gasped in shock.
Could it be?
The traveler had my ancestors' katana! It was sacred to the clan and our family and kept safe from foreign reach in the depths of the shrine. How he was able to obtain it, I didn't know. He must have been very talented with stealth if he was able to get past the watchful eyes of the ninjas that guarded it. And they would soon notice that it was gone and would go in heavy search of the katana. The man was in danger. And I had to take it from him for his own safety.
"Stop!" I cried out before he disappeared completely in the fog.
He stopped and looked back at me, asking what the matter was and by that time, I was already by his side.
"You must give me the katana you have with you!" I said, pointing at it.
"Why?! This is my treasure!"
His friendly voice was gone now and he was angry at me for demanding it. They were all so ignorant of the way of the shinobi. They didn't know what they were capable of. He might as well have been walking about with a bull's eye on his back.
"The katana is a sacred weapon of my people! They will try to take it from you with force! You are in danger! Don't you understand?!"
He gripped the hilt of the katana to keep me from taking it from him, "I know it's sacred! That's why I have it! The girl didn't even see me take it! She was too busy caught up in her own affairs! Blame her!"
Girl?
Memories quickly surfaced in my head. The memories of Ayane when we were younger. She had often gone to see the katana and sometimes would take it. Of course, she was often punished for taking it from its rightful place, but none of the punishments ever affected her. At least, she made it seem as if they didn't. What she would do with the katana, I didn't know. The sword was a symbol of our ancestors; they have held it in their very hands. And Ayane was often considered an outcast from our family. She wanted to be accepted and I suppose taking the katana was a way of finding her place in our family. She must have taken it again and took her eyes away from it long enough for him to take it.
I had to get it back and return it. Possibly I would be able to redeem myself that way.
Or maybe Ayane would say that I was the one who had stolen it from the shrine and it was all fraud.
I didn't realize the man was still talking until I finally stopped daydreaming.
"I'm getting tons of money for this!"
I realized that trying to reason with him wasn't going to work. And that they were near us and I hadn't noticed until it was too late. They were in the trees and in the bushes waiting for the perfect time to strike and take back what was stolen. I could almost feel their eyes on my skin and I didn't dare move. I searched for them with my eyes. I saw one of them on a tree branch, hiding behind the leaves. He was staring directly at me. Another behind a tree. And another behind me, moving quickly but cautiously towards us. They knew that I could sense their presence. They would attack anytime they wanted and I would have to dodge their attacks to save my life, the traveler's, and Brad's as well. The two were completely unaware of their presence.
I slowly reached a hand up to the hilt of my wakizashi on my lower back to ready myself for the attack. After seeing me move, they decided it was time to reveal themselves.
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This chapter was longer than I thought it would be. Anyway, hope you liked it.