Ack. XD I was late. Very late! Sorry, sorry. ' I said every other week it would be updated now, and I missed it. It's like, the first time I seriously missed one! TT Will you all forgive me? Pwease? I wish I had a betta' chapter to make up for it. I know! I'll update on Friday or Saturday this time, then continue the every other week thing to I can do my other fanfic. 3 Yeay for Naruto!
Lady Rhian Knightmage- Hmmm, you think? I always thought of it as an emerald, but others might perceive differently! XD
Kaeru Soyokaze—Yeay, Subaru has powers! Although Taiisukun's deisng is a little different, her main inspiration was the Merciful Goddess from Saiyuki. Oo Whose young a beautiful and all that other fun stuff! But I figure she must've been young once, ya know?
Suzuno Oosugi- Well, I have written Tatara's appearance, but I dunno if you would think of it as soon. . . ' It happens, but probably not for a little while time-wise with updating. XD Sorrreeeee! I do need to put him in more though; I just can't figure out how to make him a love interest! ' He has to be though, otherwise the story wont match up.
Care – Oooh! You're just gonna have to wait and see; remember, Amefuri doesn't know love, so it'll probably take him some time to fall in luv. XD But I want it to happen now. Bummer! Lol!
Chaotic Demon—Yeay for Nyan-Nyans, lol!
Chapter Sixteen
"Amefuri's gone?" Suzuno said as she sat down at the table. She put her hands on her lap and looked down in an upset manner, ignoring a warm bowel of a chunky, thick liquid soup that had been placed in front of her by Subaru. Lanva sat across from the Priestess, still with an ever cheerful smile on his face while waiting for his meal.
"Yeah, I guess he left for the palace last night," he said, guessing exactly what everyone knew. He sighed. "Damn, is he ever lucky . . . He's a Warrior and he gets to do the future Empress!"
"I heard that!" Subaru shouted, slapping him from behind the head with what looked like a frying fan. While he felt for any more bruises, also running through his hair she turned around to continue cooking. Then she said nonchalantly, "You would think with the money Prostitute's earn from their services that they would have enough money for a stove at least. Poor things."
"You sound like you actually don't mind it anymore."
"Well . . . Amefuri and I had a little talk, and I guess we can see eye-to-eye now."
"Oh," he replied in an annoyed manner. Then he thought about what she said. "Wait . . . If they don't have a stove, then how did you make her such warm broth?"
"I made a mini-stove!" Subaru said proudly, stepping out of the way of her own little invention so the other two could admire it. The cabinet where most of the medicine and perfume bottles had been closed with the exception of a few. Inside of them, surrounded by tiny sands was a candle in the center, the flame just tall enough to reach the end of the bottle, but not out. On top of it, being held by two taller bottles on the left and right side was a small bowl with a mix of broth and vegetables. She had a ladle in the bowl as well, the end hanging out as if ready to fall off.
"Pretty clever," Lanva said with a smile. She nodded approvingly and went back to mixing it in, trying to keep it fresh and ready.
After Subaru fixed two more bowls of broth, she sat down next to her fiancée, and the three began to eat in silence. The air wasn't heavy or awkward, but Suzuno's quiet and upset expression and lack of eating concerned the both of them inwardly. Suzuno looked down at her meal, a thick swamp of little orange carrots and clear, surly onion skins. The mountains were potatoes, chopped in large chunks and soaked until they were soft and warm, and equally large pieces of meat floated around. She sighed.
"Suzuno." She looked up at Subaru, and she heard a tiny clank when the young warrior put her spoon down on the table. "Dear . . . is something bothering you? You should eat before we leave to find the next warrior."
". . ."
Neither of her seniors barked at her for an answer as she sort of shook her head and looked back down at her food. 'It's not the food,' she thought, a weight growing in her chest as she continued to figure out herself what depressed her so much, 'Nothing's wrong, but . . .'
"It's . . ." she started in a quiet voice, and both Lanva and Subaru stopped eating, eager to listen to what their quiet Priestess would say. She smoothed the creases on her skirt that formed at her knees, trying to figure out how to put her feelings into words. "It's . . . something doesn't seem right."
'I wanted to apologize to Amefuri . . .'
"Are you kidding?" Lanva said, picking up his spoon and giving her a quizzical expression. "The number one thing Subaru is best at is cooking, no doubt about it!"
"No, I didn't mean that!" Subaru replied quickly, hoping not to further a misunderstanding. She smiled her best to try and show she really meant it, though it wasn't much convincing since she still wasn't feeling at her best. "What I mean is . . . I met both of you first . . . then Amefuri . . . then Jin-Shun, and Tatara-"
"Tatara?" Subaru asked, cutting her off. Suzuno closed her eyes a bit to get her thoughts back together again, though she noticed before they were shut that Lanva whispered to her, covering his mouth and her ear with his hand. When someone interrupted her, which was quite often since she never spoke clearly, whatever she was going to say would become jumbled in her head, making it even harder to explain.
Once Suzuno opened her eyes again, she noticed that Subaru had been smiling. "Oh, so you found the third Warrior in the mountains?" It was then that Suzuno also saw that her smile was a little forced, and half of her was a little nervous, while the other half suddenly wanted to laugh. Subaru was very overprotective of her, so she quickly realized that Lanva had also told her the reason why he didn't join them. "Well, continue on."
Because of that urge to laugh, it for some reason made the idea of speaking her mind easier, even if it was exactly positive. "Well . . . It just seems that this hasn't begun and everyone is going their separate ways. . . Amefuri is leaving, and Tatara never came. And Jin-Shun seemed nice too . . ."
"Yeah, nice and fifteen," Lanva pointed out, sliding his now empty bowl a little forward to give him some elbow room. "I guess the other two guys don't have the best excuses, but at least he still has excuse of being a kid."
"I guess. . ."
Subaru stood up, sliding back her chair only a little as not to make any noise. She walked around to the other side of the table, and to Suzuno's surprise, she hugged her like a Mother would. Suzuno felt a pleasant but quick nostalgia rush up inside her as she remembered her Father's comforting embrace whenever things seemed even a little troubling. The thought of him almost made her cry; she wasn't used to being away from her Father except to go to school, and she missed him so much.
"Listen, Suzuno," Subaru said in a soft voice, laying the Priestess' head on her chest. "There will always be sad times, and things may seem apart now . . . But just remember, that there is always a good side, and that in the end, your pain and hard work will be rewarded."
"Rewarded . . .?"
"Mm-hmm. . . When we gather all seven warriors, who will love you and care for you like family as I do, we will summon Byakko, and any wish you want will be granted."
'Anything?' she thought, her eyes widening. The word alone gave her an excited, enticing feeling she hadn't felt before. If she could have any wish be granted . . .'I could have friends at school, or good grades . . . or . . .'
"I could go home to see Daddy," she said in a small voice, fully realizing the endless possibilities.
"Yes, even that!" Subaru said, letting Suzuno sit up on her own now. She had her hands on her shoulders, as if looking at a daughter proudly in a brand new, expensive dress. Before standing up, she gave a sisterly, affectionate kiss on the forehead. "And no matter what you wish for, we'll all be proud of you."
Amefuri stretched his arms out above him, one hand connecting to his other, brand new, clean wrist to pull on it a little. He yawned at the same time, then after a moment of standing wiped his eyes to get the creeping sleepiness out. "Finally," he said in a monotone sounding voice, "I'm here, and it didn't even take to the afternoon to get here!"
Amefuri was very proud of the fact that over the night, he had quickly covered more ground than he thought over the desert. Before he left his home, he had met his Mother walking in and had bought her a night at the Inn (which she graciously took in a slur, since she had been drinking earlier), then also took a beautiful sandy colored horse, leaving the pay at the stableman's doorstep. That man lived on the outskirts of the capital, so there was nothing to worry about when it came to waking people with the loud clonking of the animals' hooves.
The temperature in the desert at night was extremely chilling to the bone, but with a few of the rags he found in his home along with a bit of a spicy poison flowing quickly through his blood, warmth was easy to find. He also warmed the horse, giving it plenty of encouragement to glide throughout the desert; surprisingly enough, not a single Colossal Scorpion or any other beast had come to attack him.
"And now, I'm in pretty much in Daini Toshi," he said with a smile. Daini Toshi was the name of the city that the palace resided in; it was built after the capital, where the original kingdom resided before it was destroyed in a war a hundred years before. It wasn't nearly as lively as the much populated Capital, but calmer and more elegant. The palace was barely a mile off into the town, across a long and heavily guarded bridge.
"Good thing I wasn't born here," he muttered and he hopped off of his horse, who he petted in between the ears affectionately once he had his ground. He smiled while talking to it and feeding it a few dried oats he had also taken with him, "otherwise business would be slow!"
He had stopped as soon as he came into the city, literally feeling the same lazy calm from it swoop through him, making him fatigued since he had no need to sleep the entire night. He tried to fight his urge to just lie on the ground, first securing his horse to a part of a thin wired fence in front of an Inn. It was there as soon as he reached the town, and even though he knew he could sleep at the palace for free, he couldn't resist. Just as he was perfectly sure that the horse couldn't run off even if it tried, he felt a tap on his shoulder and jumped a little. He was so out of it, he didn't even notice that there was someone behind him.
"Excuse me," said a deep voice, and Amefuri turned to find a tall, stick-like man before him. His eyes were like slits and he had a small, round nose with bony cheeks. He was wearing robes just like anyone in Sairou would, only his were a bit more ethnic, sporting the large white God tiger, Byakko, on the front of his otherwise golden lined and dark green dressing gown.
"Y-Yes?" Amefuri finally said after examining the man to see if he was harmful for a second, trying his best to stifle another yawn coming.
"Might you be Amefuri, of the Byakko Seven?"
The man's voice, though a little shaky because of his obviously old age with his plainly gray hair tied back neatly and his wrinkles, was still loud, and when he mentioned this a few quiet passerby's stopped and admired him for a second. He nodded, and one of the passerby's, a young lady, giggled and blushed at the warrior before running off. "That's me."
"We have been waiting for you to come today," he said with a smile, his lips colored so well with his chinese tanned skin that at were as if they were never there. "His highness and the lady asked me to stay here and ask every young man who came here to Daini Toshi."
"Is that so?" Amefuri turned back around, fumbling around with untying the knot he had made on the fence for the horse to stay put, his weariness starting to wash over him. "Are you . . . one of the King's attendants?"
"Yes sir," the elderly man said with a smile, as though he were speaking to someone older than him. Amefuri actually smirked a little, though it wasn't seen; because of his status, he never really was the target of any respect. It felt a nice being called 'sir' and such. "I am Ryeu-Chou-Rai. A pleasure to meet you, my Lord."
"Just called me Amefuri," he said as he took the hand that Ryeu-Chou-Rai offered to him, which was shoken a little violently out of excitement. The man turned around and said quickly, slightly ignoring the Warrior's request, "Please, Lord Amefuri, this way to the palace."
Amefuri followed him in a steady walk, holding onto the reigns of the horse which trotted along I an equally lazy pace. He glanced around at the town a bit, noticing how few people there were outside and the lack of a bustling market place, which were replaced by several smaller shops. The homes were organized into quaint places, and since the ground wasn't sandy and even a bit fertile, there were a few trees growing here and there as well. He didn't pay so much attention to detail though, and mostly let his chesnut horse guide him as he let his head rest a little on his chest.
"Ah," Ryeu-Chou-Rai said, stopping and turning to Amefuri as soon as they had reached the bridge. "This lake here is the largest oasis in all of Sairou's desert, and it is populated with sometimes anxious, teething fish," he informed with a smile. "I just thought it best to warn you to keep yourself on guard in case they jump out the water to take a bite."
"Sure," Amefuri muttered, nodding a bit and then letting his horse walk again. Amazingly enough, the idea of an actual lake so large and sparkling, vastly streatching as far as the eye could see on both sides and beyond that failed to awaken him. He had never really been to places that had much of a river or lake, so normally he would be highly impressed.
He continued easily with his eyes closed, knowing he was walking on the bridge when he heard the clonking and creaking of wood and the clicking hooves of his horse louder than ever. With him dozing in and out of what was going to be a deep sleep as soon as he found a bed, it was surely to be a short walk.
He heard Ryeu-Chou-Rai squeal a little in a manly way, which may him snap open his eyes for just a moment to glance around. The man had his body facing toward him and not the direction they were walking to, his shoulders raised as if tense.
"A fish," he said, shrugging indifferently. He chuckled. "It nearly got me this time, that it did."
For a moment he was a little on guard, and rightly so, as one of the fish he had been warned of seemed to literally sprint out of the water as quick as could be, biting through the reign and falling back into the water on the other side, tearing the horse and him apart. The horse, frightened by the large jagged teeth of the otherwise small dark blue fish backed up cautiously, neighing. Amefuri quickly calmed the animal down, patting the neck on both sides like he was about to hold it down.
Another of the fish jumped over the side of the bridge, but this time it failed to miss, diving its' teeth into Amefuri's shoulder, making him wince. The little creatue's tail flipped back and forth crazily and energetically as if trying to swim through the air and bring it's teeth deeper into his skin. He could feel it easily tear, and instantly he realized that this fish wasn't anything ordainary; for its' small size, it was purely a carnivore!
"L-Lord Amefuri!" Ryeu-Chou-Rai said in a nervous voice, running towards him and reaching out to the fish like he was going to take it and rip it out, though Amefuri himself kept shaking his shoulder so much that it would have been impossible to grab. Then, the old man watched as the boy calmly as he could stand still holding both his hands together. Only a tiny bit of liquid was being poured from out of nowhere into the other, but once it was thrown all over the fish with a sickeing splatter, it this time writhed in pain, bursts of steam coming from the spots it made contact with. Amefuri grabbed the fish while it was still in its' weakened state, tore it out while trying his best not to shout, then he threw it into the water where it made a loud splash.
"Are you alright, Lord?" Ryeu-Chou-Rai asked, taking a close examination on the arm, which was beeding profusely from deep wounds. "We need to take you to the palace right awa-"
"I'm . . . so . . ." Amefuri started, getting the man's attention. ". . . so . . . damn tired." After that, he immediantly shut his eyes and fell back on the bridge, completely lost of all his energry and only prepared for resting.
X x x x x x x
That's right everyone; man-eating FISH! ' The fish will have more of a role later, as they are, afterall, man-eating fish. Yeay! Lol!
I hope you liked this chapter, even if not much happened. XD I like Ryeu-Chou-Rai a lot. He's a kewl old guy!