Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! :heart: They make me so happy!
Kaeru Soyokaze- lol, seriously! XD I'm having a tough time trying to figure out how she's discoverd, although I think I got it down pat!
poppy- OMGosh, I did . . Oo Thank you for telling me, that's emarrassing!
Uchiha Tenshi- Well, I can't say if Tatara will come in soon- A warrior will come in very soon though! XD
Hydra-Star- Wai, you made that Genbu fic! :heart: :hug: Yeay, I'm happy you like it! Gosh, I've been told that about Suzuno a lot . . ; I didn't get the impression of her being perfect at all!
Chapter 8
"There you go." The large man, who still had no name, sat Suzuno down on a large crate. The two were on the outside of the city, but just barely. They were so close to it, that the crate had touched one of the buildings. Suzuno leaned her back against the wall, and the large man sat down on the ground in front of her. Even thought there would normally be a height difference, they were at eyes' length, and Suzuno neither had to lower her head nor raise it, although she had trouble keeping eye contact.
"I . . . I thought . . ." Suzuno stuttered as she tried to ask a question, one she had gotten increasingly curious about as they passed by homes.
"Hm?" The large man had the knives he bought at the market place out, and with a small cloth that looked more like tissue in comparison to him he was cleaning them. "What is it? You can say what you like, that you can!"
She gripped her knees, which hug over the side of the crate as she spoke, hoping that asking a question out of turn wouldn't make her sound so stupid. She knows in real life, or back in Tokyo, she would've gotten hit, or told off. Would this man do the same? "Well . . . You said you were going to deliver those . . . those things to your friends, and . . . um . . . "
"Oh, the knives?" he held them up by her, making her nervous, although it seemed he meant no harm by it. "My buds and I always meet here. Thought it'd be a nice place to talk too, since it's quiet. You know, kill two birds with one stone. We'll wait for them, okay?"
Suzuno nodded, and seemed a little relieved at the same time. He looked at her with a smile, as if waiting for her to talk about her problems. Suzuno spoke softly, unsure of whether or not she felt comfortable speaking. "I . . . I met someone, and he seemed very nice . . ." She paused for a second a glanced up at the man, waiting to see him turn away as if uninterested. But he didn't, and even slightly urged her to go on. "Um . . . But I learned that he . . . sells . . . he sells himself, and-"
"Sells? Is it Echi?"
"Echi?" While she had described Amefuri a little bit, this man had mentioned someone completely different. The hair rose on the back of her neck and she shuddered; could there honestly have been more people who did something so . . . so wrong? "Uh-uh . . . His name is Amefuri . . ."
"Oh yeah," he muttered in a disapproved voice, putting the knives back in his pocket. "That's right; Echi's a Warrior of Byakko, the annoying bastard." He snorted, and Suzuno just realized she might've made the large man angry; what past had he had with Amefuri?
"Are you . . ." Suzuno was about to ask about his well-being, to see if his upset expression could have been a decline in health, when she suddenly felt the man's giant arms pick her up from under her knees. He didn't seem so kind as to let her sit on his shoulder like last time, but tossed her so her stomach was lying on him and her front half behind him. "Eh?!"
"Sorry," he said in an apologetic voice, although it sounded fierce and competitive as well, "But if you're friends with Echi, then I'm gonna use you as a bargaining tool! He's too soft-hearted not to come for a girl when they're in trouble!"
"Wha- wait. . ." Suzuno felt an air of self-consciousness . . . This man was taking her away! Where was he going, and why did she trust him so easily? She ran away from someone to try and get away from the trouble her Father warned her about, and walked right back in it without even thinking! 'And Amefuri!' Many thoughts raced through her mind. 'He said that he was soft-hearted, and that he rescued girls, but . . . Doesn't he just want money first?'
"As Amefuri of the Celestial Seven Warriors, please accept my allegiance with you . . . Priestess of Byakko!"
'I'm the Priestess,' she thought to herself as the man started to walk, making her shift uncomfortably. 'And he's one of my warriors, but . . . I don't want to be near someone that makes me feel so . . . so scared. What if he tried something? Something so horrible I could never tell my Father about it. My Daddy . . .'
Suddenly she realized that just out of her seven warriors, those created to protect her on her journey to summon Byakko, just the first one brought problems. The first of seven. If he made her this nervous, what would happen to the others? Would they be worse? What if one was a murderer, or . . . 'I guess . . .' she concluded, 'I guess they wouldn't want to help me, or others. But I have to get them to help. But, without Amefuri . . . If I already knew who it was, wouldn't Byakko say it's alright? I could still summon him . . . If I found the rest and learned who they were on my own . . .'
Suzuno decided not to think about it, and she let herself take a glance at her surroundings. She noticed that the man hadn't walked back into town, but had walked further out, towards a large mountain in the distance. The mountain seemed beautiful in comparison to the sandy and dry area she was just previously in. It looked completely filled, like a large wood and seemed like a forest that would be full of life. It was incredibly tall, so high up that the top of the mountain reached the clouds and was covered up with the white fluff. Even then, it didn't seemed covered in snow at all; she wondered why it was the only place with clouds around it, or any plants. She heard the large man mumbling something to someone, then a scatter of footsteps.
"Beautiful," she said to herself, then getting swung around by the man so she was back to facing the village. They were still close enough that the buildings were visible, but it was apparent that they had walked a great distance.
"We're going to go up there," the man said. "I just told one of my men that we're challenging Echi up there!"
"Why . . . why there?" she asked curiously, disregarding the part of 'challenge'. Before he answered she tried to readjust herself on his back, since being bumped up and down as he walked was giving a sore pain to her side that she hadn't noticed until she came out of her thoughts. He must've noticed her fidgeting, and used his hand to pick her up by her the back of her shirt and flip her so she sat comfortably on his shoulder again. She massaged her side a little, and while not completely trusting the giant anymore for lying to her, she was still grateful. "It seems so . . . so crowded for . . . for that sort of . . . thing."
He answered with something she didn't expect in the least bit. "The forest is haunted."
"Wha . . .?!"
"There's a ghost that supposedly controls the entire forest in there; once you go in there, unexpectedly the plants will start to move. Some have never even come back, so they also say the plants are carnivorous." He smiled happily, partially with pleasure and partially with the idea of having the upper hand. "And ever since we were little Echi has been afraid of ghosts."
Suzuno found it strange that someone like Amefuri, who was brave enough to sacrifice his arm to try and defeat an entire team of Colossal Scorpions, was afraid of ghosts. But then again, she couldn't blame him, either. She always remembered the ghost stories her Father told her when she was younger, right before she went to bed. Most of the time she was scared stiff and he'd smile and tell her they were only fairy tales, and then he'd continue telling her more righteous adventures. However, he would let her cuddle up with him in his bed, and she'd always feel better and have pleasant dreams. . .
'Daddy . . .' She turned around to look at the large man, who seemed pleased to just get a scare out of Amefuri, whom he obviously knew well from the capitol. She started to wonder about the connections between the two of them, especially since they had an obvious age difference. This man looked years upon years older; while there were no aging wrinkles in his face, his large muscles and unbelievable size suggested that maybe he was a fighter. To Suzuno, he seemed like a weight-lifter. But could such people be in this world? She doubted it.
As Doulin walked around the capitol, finally away from the shouting and into a quieter region, she started to think of what Amefuri had said, about being a member of the Byakko seven. It seemed like such an amazing thing, to journey and to help support a Priestess. But why would she of all be people be chosen anyway?
"Then again," she muttered to herself, leaning against one of the walls and bathing in the shadow, taking a break. "Things have been strange ever since Suzuno came . . . She is the Priestess, so naturally we're drawn to her . . . Or is it only the warriors that feel such a presence?"
She began to recall to earlier that day, when the four of them had just walked inside Amefuri's home. It was one of the smaller homes, and the loud commotion outside from being right next to the marketplace seemed to buzz so much, it seemed impossible to sleep. It was only a one-floored home like her and Lanva's, only it didn't cover nearly as much ground. There was only a single window when they walked in, but it was half-way covered with a dark cloth, and there were many shadows.
"What's that smell?" Lanva said, pinching his nose. His voice sounded odd as he spoke, "It's even stronger than that stuff Suzuno had on her when we first found her!"
"Perfumes," the home's resident had replied, walking up to one of three doors. There was a tiny rounded hall as soon as they walked in; on the left side was one door, and another adjacent to it; then at the very end where the wall curved were two more. He picked the back door on the left and turned his back while still holding Suzuno, pressing his elbow down on one of the handles and opening it, then walking it. The smell was even stronger then, and oozed out of the room.
"Gods, that's awful . . . You actually live here?"
"I can barely smell it anymore," he admitted to the two who were still at the entrance. He had to shout in order for them to listen. "My Mother is always trying to improve herself because I get more jobs than her, so either way I have deal with it!"
When he walked out, he had a smile on; the two of them could tell that the matter seemed to hurt him. Doulin shifted her eyes to Lanva, who caught her gaze and understood. She looked down at his arm, which still looked heavily scarred and said cheerfully, "Do you need help fixing that?"
"Thanks, but I'm alright," he replied. In the center room before the hall but in the presence of the entrance was a small table of choppy wood fit for no more than four, and to the side a cabinet. He opened one of the tiny doors for it, and in it were some bandages and what seemed like more perfumes to give off the putrid scent. However, they were ointments. Amefuri decided to explain to them as he ushered them to sit down together, which he did as well.
"All of these were given to me by the Emperor when I was a child," he said. "I used my powers for the first time when I was seven, so my Mother sent me to the palace hoping to get a lot of money. But, he just on a regular basis sends these to me so I can be ready when the Priestess comes." He pointed to bottles as he spoke. "One is a very special alcohol that cleans my wounds so I don't because too severely infected with my own poisons, even though I've become immune to some; it stings a lot! Another is a thick butter from trees that grow in the Oasis village, that help rearrange my skin, and the other is just a normal medicine to keep my fevers down whenever I am poisoned. He actually told me he had a dream that this was for me, and that Byakko had given it to him personally."
"Oooh," Lanva said in a comprehending voice, acting like he was taking all of the information in when he really had a hard time understanding. He rudely put his elbow on the table and propped his chin in his hand, waiting for more answers from a Byakko Warrior. "So how come you're not immune? What poisons can you do?"
"I can control any kind, whether it's inside of my body or not." Amefuri smiled. "It's really convenient, you know! But, whether I'm a warrior or not, I'm still human, and I guess no matter what I'll still get some effects like a human; I think it's the healing and the ability itself that is Byakko's gift."
"Suuure . . ." Amefuri smiled at his response.
"It's funny though; I've never actually done it so bad that I lost my hand! Must be the work of the Priestess that I haven't collapsed yet."
Because of that handicap, Amefuri had a difficult time trying to keep the bottle stable and twisting the cap off with his hands; eventually, Doulin sat up a little and did it for him, pouring some of the liniment in her hand and letting it soak; for her, it felt like water, but he said it had stung. The warrior thanked her quickly and asked her to rub it on his arms where the wounds were, if she wasn't disgusted enough. Not wanting to be impolite, she let it drop onto his skin where it immediately fizzed, and a white bubbling erupted. Amefuri flinched, but reassured her it was normal and asked her to continue.
"You know, I'm awfully curious about the rest of the warriors," he said as she massaged it around, trying to ignore how painful it seemed. "I know that a lot of the time this thing seems more like a curse then a gift. I wonder if the other warriors have trouble with their powers or if they had to go through what I did . . ."
"Yeah right," Lanva replied, showing no sympathy. "Keep on telling yourself that! You shouldn't think that your life sucks, because somewhere out there, there's someone with a past worse than yours. Just be grateful you're not him!"
Although it was just something to say for Lanva, to Amefuri, it was wisdom coming from someone older. While Lanva often acted immature, in his trips to their home when delivering water he had learned that Doulin was seventeen and Lanva nineteen, one and three years older. It rather surprised him, that Lanva would say something so incredibly positive. It made him laugh a little.
"Oh!" Doulin said, like she just remembered something. She felt she had put enough alcohol in his arm, and decided to open to open the tiny lipstick- like case of butter. Amefuri then asked her to rub it over top, like soap, which she did easily once the fizzing of the bubbles had calmed down. "Amefuri, what did you mean when you said, 'She's the one' back there after Suzuno . . ."
"Oh, that?" Amefuri looked back at the door in the hall where his Mother's room was, "I meant that because of the white light, she is the Priestess of Byakko."
Doulin, who decided that her break of leaning against the wall should be finished, was still amazed that such a young girl would be the Priestess. She was still a child, after all, and it was sadly obvious that she was having a hard enough time in her own world already . . . It made her angry, thinking of how irresponsible Byakko was, letting a girl like that become the Priestess when she had plenty enough troubles. "The poor dear . . ."
"Doulin!"
As she looked up, taken out of her thoughts, she saw Amefuri running up towards her with Lanva at his side. The two reached her spot, and Lanva looked down at her with a sort of comedic shame.
"Geez, if you're standing around like this you must not care for the Priestess after all," Lanva said sarcastically. "Just thinking here, all by your lonesome! Come on Doulin; show that sexy determined spunk I like!" He slid to the back of her and slapped her behind a little playfully. "You know I like it!"
"Jerk!" She shouted, elbowing him in the stomach so he would double over. She smiled at Amefuri, who looked at her nervously. She always puts on that charming smile as if she really is an angel in disguise. "So, do you know where Suzuno is?"
"We might," he replied. "We asked around, and someone said they saw a girl with weird clothes with a large man carry her off towards the Haunted mountain." His face seemed determined. "I bet its Jin-Shun."
"Jin-Shun . . .?" Both looked at the Celestial Warrior seriously, almost as if they were frightened and intimidated by the small description alone. With Amefuri's disgusted expression, this man, and as told by them a large man, must have been a ruthless and feared person. And it was Suzuno of all people, the Priestess of Genbu, which this fierce man had to find. Amefuri sighed and crouched down, his arms resting on his knees and his head down.
"Damn," he muttered. "He knows I hate that stuff . . . "
"Hate?" Doulin and Lanva inquired at the same time.
"I'm . . .uh . . . nevermind!" Amefuri jumped and stood up straight quickly and walked off, as if trying to change the subject by movement. They followed him naturally, both curious of his nervous laughing and his sudden drive in a direction. He continued to speak as they walked. "Yeah, the Haunted . . . Eh, Haunted Mountain is away from the town! And it's haunted because people think there's gh-gh- ahem, ghosts . . . so yeah, we've gotta save the Priestess! Yup, she needs our help right away, that's right . . ."
"Onto the Haunted Mountains?" Lanva said, wondering what the big deal about it was. Doulin smiled, for once agreeing with him on something.
"Yes. . . To rescue the Priestess!"
lol, I bet you're all probably annoyed by the lack of warriors . . XD I'm trying to keep it interesting! If it makes you feel better, one is coming up very, very soon . . . Wanna guess? lol!