a Suikoden I & II fic by Seiji
(Apologies for the shortness of this chapter. It gave me a hard time.)
III: He will wake to-morrow, and cheer ye in your tents at dawn
Anders and Disa left before dawn the next morning. A few wisps of conversation and a horse's nicker roused Viktor just enough for him to roll over and sprawl across the blankets Flik had abandoned.
He slept until the birds grew too raucous to ignore, which seemed like no time at all. He'd never been to an area so thoroughly infested with songbirds, and considering some of the places he'd been--Mt. Tigerwolf and North Sparrow Pass, Banner Forest and Erud Forest, and even the Great Forest--that was really saying something. Their abundance made him a trifle uneasy. It felt unnatural, but what could he say? There could hardly be anything nefarious about a bunch of chirpy little birds, could there?
Still, if they ever returned this way, they'd have to bring a pair of hawks.
Viktor dug around for his belt while he considered the problem. Where could they get their hands on a couple of large, airborne predators? Would they even be able to handle them? Flik would look dashing as a falconer, but--ah! His belt.
He fastened it, then pulled on his boots and remembered the ninjas.
Ninjas! The human equivalent of hawks if there ever was one. If Eyes' Woods was crawling with them, it would be a simple matter to find one, follow him back to his village, and convince the Grand Ninja Master of the amazing health benefits of sparrow-and-blackbird pie.
Viktor clapped his hands together and grinned.
A perfectly pointless plan! He liked it. Having the Star Dragon Sword around quickly taught a man that it was far, far better to be the fool behind the errands than the fool's errand boy. And if he and Flik weren't careful, that's exactly what they'd be, errand boys for a talking scrap of tin--Speaking of which, where was it? It didn't seem to be in the tent...
He crawled out and found Flik. He was down by the river, eating an apple. The Star Dragon Sword was on the grass beside him. By the angle at which it rested, Viktor was certain he'd interrupted a conversation. He went over to rescue Flik, the poor bastard.
He scooped up the sword and secured it to his belt with a thong.
"Morning."
Flik took the last large bite from his apple and raised its core in greeting. The Star Dragon Sword made a noise not unlike a griffin coughing up a hairball. And they were the morning people in their little group!
"Well?" Viktor asked.
Flik swallowed. "I don't know."
"That seems unlikely."
"We aren't in a hurry." Flik switched the apple core to his left hand and gave the stem a twist.
"Nope," Viktor said. "We sure aren't. We're just going to see a man--who may or may not exist--about a sword. No hurry at all."
"Can't you keep even one fact in that little pea brain of yours?" the Star Dragon Sword said. "I told you. He'll be there. Nikko is a genius--"
"Was a genius," Viktor said. "He sharpened you three hundred years ago--if you're to be believed."
"His skill is without equal! It was a generation before my edge began to dull."
"I thought," Flik said, "that you spent those years asleep in the cave at Qlon."
"Bah! That was a nap!"
"Some nap," Viktor said. "I asked around after getting saddled with you. The priests all said you'd been there for ages."
"What would they know? They weren't exactly coming 'round my place for tea and biscuits every day, were they? Besides," the sword said, turning its eyes to Flik, "who's to say I was a sword that whole time? This form doesn't always suit my purpose, you know."
Flik looked intrigued.
"You're delusional," Viktor told it. "Come on, Flik, you tell him. He's got us looking for a three-hundred-year-old blacksmith. What's he got, the True Anvil Rune or something?"
"There is more than one type of immortality," Flik said.
"And more than one type of insanity--"
"Nikko will be there," the Star Dragon Sword insisted.
"Sure he will," Viktor said and gave it the same pat on the head he'd give an amusing child. "And the beauty of it is, if he's waited around this long, he'll still be there whenever the hell we show up."
Flik twisted the apple stem again. It broke off, and he jumped slightly and stared at it like he'd forgotten it was in his hands.
"So..." Viktor said. "Let's not backtrack yet. Let's go check out the ashes in Meenoma. Maybe they left a sign or something. 'This bridge burned courtesy of your local secret ninja village.'"
Flik almost smiled. His eyes were full of laughter even as his face was busy saying, There's no way I'm going to encourage your antics. It was part of what made Flik the best partner a man could have.
Flik tossed the apple core into the river and stood. "Yes," he said. "Let's."
They broke camp with the ease of long practice. In less than twenty minutes, they were back on the road to Meenoma, and Viktor was polishing an apple on his shirt and singing under his breath.
"Ninja hunting we will go, ninja hunting we will go; Heigh-ho, the--"
"Does any one," the Star Dragon Sword said loudly, "have any cotton for my ears?"
Viktor thumped it, then swore. The sword sputtered and shook globs of crushed apple off itself. And Flik laughed so hard, he tripped over a rut in the road.
"Dammit! I was going to eat that!"
"Help yourself," the sword said and spat a chunk at him.
It was nearly another ten minutes before Flik could walk again.
Towards noon, a boy joined them. He had blonde hair which looked as if it had been cut by a blind man--or by Viktor's barber, who was none other than Viktor himself.
Flik wasn't the best judge, but the boy couldn't have been more than nine... Ten at the most... Maybe eleven? In any case, he was too young to be a likely focal point for another gathering of the Stars of Destiny. Flik saw no harm in allowing him to tag along.
The boy held a fishing pole and a string of fair-sized fish, and he circled 'round Flik and Viktor with great interest. Viktor, of course, wasn't content to just leave the kid alone.
"Hey," he said. "Nice catch!"
The boy circled them again, then settled into a backwards gait, facing them instead of the road.
"Hey," the kid echoed.
Flik nodded at him.
"Going to town?" the boy asked.
"That depends," Viktor said.
The boy blinked.
"We're going to Meenoma," Flik said.
"That's town," the boy said.
"Well," Viktor said, "that settles it, then. Flik?"
"Yes?"
"Let's go to town!"
The kid edged closer to Flik, but kept looking at Viktor. Flik had seen similar looks on the faces of children seeing Bolgan breathe fire for the first time.
They walked in silence for a dozen strides.
"I'm Henning," the boy said.
"Really?" Viktor asked. "I thought you were fishing."
"I was fishing," Henning said. His brows scrunched together.
"Then what are the fish for?" Viktor said. "Oh, don't tell me," he continued, his voice lowered conspiratorially. "They're bait for the hens!"
The furrows in Henning's brow deepened, then disappeared in sudden understanding. He turned to Flik and bombarded him with questions.
"You're not bandits, are you? Is he your brother? Are you taking him to the doctor? Is he one of the special people? Momma says the neighbor's oldest girl is one of the special people because she's way older than me and still learning from the same lesson books as I am. Can you believe it? The same ones--"
Flik smiled, but didn't dare look Viktor's way. If he laughed any more today, he'd bruise his ribs.
"Whoa, kid," Viktor said. "Slow down."
Henning stopped walking, and Flik bumped into him.
"I'm surrounded by special people," the Star Dragon Sword muttered.
Flik was glad that Henning didn't seem to notice. Bandits and imbeciles were one thing. Men with talking swords were another matter entirely.
"Why did you think we were bandits?" Viktor asked.
Henning shrugged.
"They stole my uncle's horse, didn't they?" Henning said. "And killed his assistant."
"Where?" Flik said.
"The woods. That way." Henning pointed to the western bank.
Flik exchanged a look with Viktor. They'd laughed about it, but at least one person had really disappeared.
Note:
(1) Chapter title is from "Saved" by Adah Isaacs Menken.