Chapter One:: Benevolent Picaroon
Ryaka smiled smugly at the novice, taking a quick glance at her records. "Well, it seems you have reached the qualifying level of becoming a thief. Are you sure you want to go through with the test?" The novice nodded, smirking confidently. Her name was Bakhu and she was perfect for a thief. Cold, cruel, and ruthless, anyone who got in her way, paid the price—Death. At the age of twelve, she was swift, and agile, able to pull off the near impossible thieveries. And now, she was ready.
"Well, alright. You must go to meet one of the thieves we placed outside of the Mushroom Farm. You know where that is, right?" Bakhu nodded again, her brilliant green eyes shining with eager. Ryaka continued. "Anyways, if you collect twenty-five points, then you have passed, and will then be an official thief."
"Fine. But I'll be collecting even more than that." Bakhu replied, her dark brown hair with highlights so green it could rival the color of the greenest tree, falling into her face. She quickly turned to walk out of the dungeon room, before Ryaka called her back. "Remember, Orange Net Mushrooms are three points and Orange Gooey is one point!"
Bakhu sighed. "I know, I know." She had taken this test many times before, but since novices DB in there everytime she takes her test, she never got to pass—she kept on fainting. She felt sorry for the owner of the Mushroom Farm, when he sees what happened the next morning.
She exited the Thief Guild, her hand gripping her Cutter tightly. Her feet tapped silently against the stone path, her mind instinctively leading her through the maze, past one corridor and into another. She had been through the pyramids so many times; the Morrocian could practically do it with her eyes closed. Left, right, left, left, straight, right.
When Bakhu was younger, she would play in the pyramids until Ryaka, the only person in her life whom she considered family would come to tell her stories about the Minotaurs and the creatures on the lower and upper levels. Bakhu smiled at this thought, thinking about her younger times made her so happy. But her smile quickly turned into a frown as she approached the light that lead to the outside.
Her eyes squinted at the light, quickly adjusting to it. She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked around. The pyramids were quite crowded that day, causing her to scowl in anger. How she hated tourists.
Her ears twitched as she detected some violence further back. Bakhu walked closer, perhaps hoping for a chance to loot some zeny from unsuspecting people. She crept forward, sticking to the walls. As she came closer, she saw a young archeress and a knight riding on a Peco Peco. Apparently the knight was yelling at the archeress for stepping on his Peco's foot. The girl quivered frighteningly, clutching her bow tightly in fear. Bakhu sensing that this was not the time sheathed her Cutter, straining to hear. "You little maggot! I should send you to oblivion right now!" At this the archer's blonde hair fluttered in the wind, her eyes filling up with tears. "I'm sorry." She said quietly, staring down at the ground. "Sorry isn't enough!" The knight snapped and his Peco honked in agreement.
The knight pulled out his sword and held the tip at the archer's neck. She started shaking uncontrollably, tears streaking down her cheeks. Bakhu stepped forward, clearing her throat. The knight turned his head towards her, glaring daggers at the twelve year old. "What!?"
"Killing people isn't gonna solve anything." She commented, and rolled her eyes mentally. And yet, this was coming from her. "Screw off, novice." The knight snarled, sheathing his sword, the archer falling to the ground, dropping her bow. Bakhu's eye twitched, and suddenly, she was perched on the back of the Peco, standing there nimbly. She grabbed the knight by the collar of his shirt and stared at him straight in the eyes. "Never. Call. Me. Novice." She let him go, jumping back down. The knight, suddenly scared, dug his heels into the Peco's sides and the Peco and he ran off.
Bakhu reached her hand out, and pulled the archer up. She smiled sweetly at the other, her cheeks flushed. "Thank you." She murmured, refusing to make eye contact. "What's your name?" Bakhu asked, arching an eyebrow. She knew she was wasting time, but right now, it didn't matter.
"Kitsumi."
"Aah…I'm Bakhu." Bakhu held out her hand to shake, and Kitsumi grabbed it, shaking her hand slightly. "Where are you going?" Kitsumi asked her azure eyes innocent and large. Bakhu blinked, unsure of what to say. She knew she wasn't supposed to tell anyone about what was going to happen, knowing tourists and out-of-towners; they'll snitch to the guards. But she had a feeling she could trust Kitsumi. She ignored that feeling.
"I'm going... to get some things for home." Kitsumi raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "Alright…" She says finally and then asks something unexpected. "May I come with you?"
"Wah!?"
"Well, here in Morroc, it's not very safe with all those thieves and assassins around and everything."
"Oh…well…." Bakhu sweatdropped, not sure what to say. Staring into Kitsumi's eyes made her shrivel up in thought, they were so absorbing, whether Kitsumi intended it or not. "I guess so." Kitsumi grinned broadly. "Thankyou! Thankyou so much!" She giggled, but inadvertently tripped over her feet, nearly losing her balance, but ended up falling onto her bottom. Bakhu sweatdropped again, wondering how she managed to get paired up with such a ditzy airhead.
"C'mon." Bakhu grumbled and stalked towards the mushroom farm. "Coming!" Kitsumi quickly ran after Bakhu, in an attempt to catch up. No dice. Bakhu was fast, even when she was walking.
It didn't take them long to reach their destination. It wasn't really hard to find either. The guide's eyes lit up when he saw the novice and her companion archer. "Aah… Bakhu, right?"
"Yes. That's me."
"Good. You know the rules."
Bakhu pushed open the gate leading into the small farm and Kitsumi attempted to follow. "Sorry, Missy. No one but novices comes in." The guide blocked the entrance, narrowing his eyes. "B-but--!" Kitsumi was interrupted. "Sorry. It's the rules." Kitsumi scowled in anger and plopped into the ground, her arms cross against her chest. "Not fair."
-----
Bakhu continued to mutter under her breath, striking Fabres who seemed to appear out of nowhere. She whirled around to see Spores behind her. "Crud." She was not strong enough to take on more than two at a time, and by the look of it, they were angry. She slowly backed away, her hands held up in front of her defensively. "Woah, guys. I didn't do anything to you." She tripped and fell on her back, her Cutter scattering away from her.
The Spores grinned evilly, advancing towards her. Bakhu scrambled towards her Cutter, the mushrooms falling out of her backpack. "ARGH!" Bakhu cried in anger, picking up the 'shrooms as fast as she could but it was too late. The Spores had reached her. They started to swing their heads at her, missing by centimeters. Bakhu leaped for her dagger, grabbing it just in time. She backflipped quickly, avoiding another attack and brought the Cutter down into a Spore's head. It collapsed on the ground, making a sound like a rubber duckie getting the air squeezed out of it.
This made the Spores even angrier. They glared at her, avenging their fallen companion. A gust of yellow particles flew out from their heads, swarming around her. Bakhu started coughing uncontrollably, growing weaker by the minute. She fell to the ground, her hand balling up into a fist. Her eyes flashed red and with a sudden burst of power, she slammed her Cutter into the ground, causing the earth to shake. A large crack split open and all the Spores fell in it, falling to their doom. The dust disappeared almost immediately, and Bakhu looked out of her half-closed eyes. The test was never this hard before, and she never knew she could do that. She's never done it, not ever. She stood up, her legs feeling like jello.
She wiped her brow with the back of her hand, sweat trickling down her forehead. She suddenly felt woozy, and exhausted. Her knees buckled underneath her and Bakhu fell forward, collapsing onto the ground.
-----
"Bakhu-chan? Bakhu-chan….?" A voice faded in and out through her mind. It sounded strangely familiar. Her eyes flickered open and a face with long blonde bangs falling into her eyes stared over her. The girl finally came into focus and Bakhu realized that Kitsumi was calling her. Bakhu sat up almost immediately, breathing hard. "W-where am I?" She managed to gasp out, her emerald green eyes fixated on Kitsumi.
Kitsumi smiled gently. "Outside of the mushroom farm." Bakhu blinked in confusion and glanced around. They were just outside of the farm, the gate door swinging back and forth in the wind. She never noticed how high the fence was. Sand surrounded them, until you got further off, where there would be large patches of dirt and grass, followed by typical palm trees. "How'd I get out here? Last thing I remember, I was fighting Spores."
"I found you lying on the ground, so I ran to help."
Bakhu suddenly grew angry. "But you're not even supposed to be in there!" She shouted in fury, but stopped when she realized she had harmed the archer's feelings. "Neither are you…" Kitsumi whispered softly, her eyes on the ground.
Bakhu swallowed hard, realizing that Kitsumi must've figured it out. She reached out to touch her on the shoulder, attempting to comfort her friend, but Kitsumi pulled away. "I-I'm sorry…." Bakhu murmured in anguish, running her fingers nervously through her hair. Perhaps she noticed how much she hurt her new friend, apologizing was quite hard for Bakhu.
Kitsumi looked at Bakhu. "Really?" Bakhu nodded slowly. "Ooh Bakhu-chan!" Kitsumi leaped at Bakhu, grabbing her into a glomp, causing them both to fall to the ground. Bakhu pretended to choke. "Ack! Can't breath!" Kitsumi started to laugh, getting off of the soon-to-be-thief.
Soon things got serious. Kitsumi stared at Bakhu sternly. "You weren't allowed in the farm. Why were you there?" Bakhu balled up her hands into fists, by her sides and avoided Kitsumi's eyes. "I-I….." She started off, biting her lip. "I'm trying to become a thief." She announced finally, puffing out her chest with pride, just for a moment, before seeing the look that Kitsumi was giving her. "A thief? A THIEF?" Kitsumi shrieked, causing Bakhu to scoot backwards away from this outburst. Kitsumi stood up and started to walk towards Bakhu, jabbing her finger into Bakhu's chest every time she took a breath. "You're trying to become a thief?! One of the most ruthless of all classes? They're criminals! You can't!"
Bakhu couldn't get a word in as Kitsumi continued to rant. "Kitsumi! KITSUMI!" Bakhu yelled out, causing Kitsumi to stop in mid-sentence. "Look, my family has been distinguished thieves, rogues, and assassins, for twelve generations, I'm not letting them down now." She said firmly. "I've gone too far to give up now. Do you understand the pressure I'm under? Besides, I want to become a thief. It's my destiny."
Kitsumi slowly nodded, showing she understood. "I'm sorry." She apologized quickly. Bakhu rolled her eyes, in annoyance. "No need to apologize. C'mon let's get going." Bakhu stood up. "Where are we going?" Kitsumi bent down to grab her bow. Bakhu grinned devilishly. "Into the maze."
Kitsumi stood there staring at Bakhu in shock. "You're kidding, right?" Kitsumi choked on her words, to nervous to speak. Bakhu arched an eyebrow. "No. You're not scared are you?" Bakhu smirked at this and waggled her finger at Kitsumi. "There's no fear when you're hanging with me." Kitsumi groaned in anguish and they slowly trudged towards the pyramids, the archeress dreading what was to come.
-----
"Got it!" Bakhu cried out in triumph, dumping the mushrooms onto the counter, Ryaka staring at the piles of orange mushrooms in amazement. "Bravo!" She said at last, putting her hands together, and clapped. "Thankyou. Thankyou. You're too kind." Bakhu said teasingly, bowing over and over. "Jariah!" Ryaka pulled her partner over, the red-head grinning nervously. "What's up?" He asked, his shaggy fiery hair falling into his eyes. "Count the mushrooms." Ryaka ordered, pointing at Bakhu's prize. Jariah eyed Kitsumi disapprovingly, then muttering under his breath, started to count up the points, his eyes scanning the mushrooms expertly.
"Twenty-eight…Twenty-nine…Thirty….Thirty points!" Jariah called out, grinning from ear to ear. "Congratulations Bakhu! You're finally a thief!" Bakhu whooped and hollered, pumping her fists into the air, pushing her right leg forward. Kitsumi squealed, and wrapped her arms around Bakhu's neck. "Yay for Ku-chan!" Bakhu didn't bother to ask about this new-found nickname.
Jariah reached under the counter, and pulled out some clothes, folded up. They were the typical thief attire. "First," He began, pulling the clothes away as Bakhu grabbed for them. "You need to sign a form." Ryaka pushed a clipboard towards Bakhu and she quickly scribbled down her name, and then snatched her new outfit away from Jariah. "Mine!" She hissed, narrowing her eyes and before heading into the back room to change.
Kitsumi chirruped with pride. "I'm so happy for Bakhu" She said, bringing her fists up to her chin in a childish manner. Her bangs fell into her eyes, but right now she didn't care. Her braid flipped out from behind her as she bounced around, causing Ryaka and Jariah to stare at her strangely.
"Done." Bakhu stated, stepping out from the storage room. She had on her goggles and bandana tied around her forehead, just loose enough for her to not get a headache and her hair to move around slightly. She had the thief jacket on over a black tanktop, revealing her slim, tanned stomach. A punk collar was around her neck, and she had on two belts crisscrossing over her thief pants, large baggy capris-like things. Her Cutter hung in its sheath at her side, and she had bandages wrapped around her ankles, over her black fighting shoes.
Kitsumi squealed once more, causing Bakhu to bring her hands to her ears, flinching from the sound. "'Grats Khu-chan!" Ryaka said, coming from behind the counter and giving Bakhu a hug. "You've finally become one of us!" Bakhu grinned. "Thanks!" She turned to her archer friend. "We better get going, if we're gonna get some training done."
Kitsumi stared. "Training? Wah!?" She groaned, and followed Bakhu, who was walking backwards out of the room, waving her goodbyes to Ryaka and Jariah.
------
"The archer's our target?" A female voice asked, from the darkness of the maze, her eyes always watching the two. "Yes." Another voice replied, this time a male one. "But why?" Yet another female voice asked, this more high and feminine then the other. "It's our job." Three figures darted out of their hiding places, after the two unsuspecting travelers.