Translation Notes: Oniisan means older brother; Yua uses –niisan as an honorific. Imoutousan is little sister. Baka means idiot or stupid. Here, a younger Ryu combines the two terms to mean "stupid sister."
Chapter Seven: New Faces, Old Faces"It doesn't look like you'll be making a lot of friends here," Katt noted darkly as she glanced at the bustle around her. The Windians in the street gave the adventurers a very wide berth. Mothers sheltered their children, fathers stood protectively in front of their families, guards never took their gazes off them. Katt's fur ruffled angrily.
She turned to Nina, who was taking it all in stride, her face a composed—almost icy—block of ivory. "You don't deserve this," the Woren said with vindication.
Nina just smiled quietly, stiffly, uneasily. "It's all right," she said through that forced smile, "I'll be all right. I'm…used to this."
Ryu, who had followed in silence until now, finally spoke. "We should camp outside town tonight." His gaze met those of a guard who was approaching them. There was dark intent written in the soldier's purposeful strides—an intent that Ryu quickly quashed with an angry flash of his emerald eyes; the soldier backed off meekly. The ranger sighed tiredly. "There won't be an inn around who'd take us in, anyway."
Nina looked down shamefacedly. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "It's my fault."
Suddenly, Katt bopped her on the head. "Don't you start talking like that!" she chastised. "We're your friends, so it doesn't really matter. From all I've heard, Bow's given Ryu much more trouble than simply getting kicked out of town. Ne, Ryu?"
"Bow could do worse than you could ever manage," the ranger agreed.
"Besides," continued the exuberant Woren, "I happen to like the outdoors. As long as we aren't walking to Hell and back like we've doing for the past week and a half," she added with affected vitriol. Her antics made Nina laugh. Katt playfully punched the Windian on the shoulder. "Buck up, Nina. This ain't a problem at all."
Nina's smile was wide and genuine. "Thank you, both of you."
With that, the adventurers left the city proper and set up camp a few miles beyond the walls. After the day's shocks concerning Nina's family, it was decided that a small break was in order. Ryu, of all people, was the one who suggested it.
"I thought workaholics didn't take breaks," Katt said snidely. Ryu cloaked himself in his customary silence, which only earned him a frustrated glare from the Woren. "You could at least make a comeback," she grunted. Why is he always so stony? she wondered. You'd think a guy traveling with two beautiful girls would be more excited about things. Hmph.
It was Katt's turn to hunt and Nina's to cook. Ryu busied himself about camp gathering firewood and securing fresh drinking water from a creek. Day passed into twilight and further on into night. Cooking fires belched a thin column of white smoke into the air. The smell of roasted rabbit was tantalizing.
It was that aroma that absorbed the three adventurer's attention, hungry as they were. It was that aroma that also drew a fourth visitor. Wide, slanted eyes peered from the shadows. A pink tongue licked large lips. This one had not eaten in a while; hunger gnawed at him like an itch he could not scratch.
But this was mostly lost on the adventurers sitting around the campfire, tucking into their meal. Katt devoured three rabbits—loudly. Nina, more dainty in her eating habits, could only watch in wide-eyed wonder at the Woren's impressive appetite. "Eh…wow," the Windian mumbled in fascination. "That's…a lot of food."
"Eating a lot—" Katt began, stopping to swallow, "is a sign—" here, she stuffed a thigh into her eager jowls, "of being healthy!" she finished upon another large swallow.
"It must be," Nina agreed. She had barely eaten half a rabbit and was already stuffed. She set the remaining meat on a plate. It would be dried later and carried as a jerky. Not as tasty, but it lasted longer. Ryu taught me that, Nina thought. He knows so much about things like this. She involuntarily looked at the laconic ranger, who had been silent throughout the meal. He's always so quiet, she mused. I wonder what he thinks about when he's quiet?
Ryu was staring into the fire, picking at his teeth with a sharp piece of wood too. He, too, had a considerable appetite, but he was subtler than Katt. Two neat stacks of bones—cleaned of meat—sat on a plate by his leg. Something's behind us, the ranger thought, his senses ever alert and ever observant. He had felt the presence of an uninvited guest long before. Bandits, perhaps? No, this one must be alone—or else why stay in the shadows? This one will probably strike once we are asleep. It is safest that way.
Katt belched loudly, interrupting his thoughts. "So, who wants first watch?" she asked gaily.
"No watches," Ryu said to the surprise of the girls. This stranger wishes to steal something from us, he reasoned, but setting up a watch will merely frighten him away. Aloud, he said, "We are still near Windia. Border patrols will ensure our safety. For now, let's all get some rest." The reasoning was valid, of course, and Ryu hoped that the uninvited guest would fall for it.
The adventurers went to their bedrolls. Katt was soon snoring, tumbling and tossing around on her blankets. Nina slept more soundly, her breathing soft and rhythmic. Ryu, on the other hand, simply closed his eyes—but kept his other senses tuned to the slightest disturbance. An hour, maybe more, he estimated. Then he will come out. Sure enough, after an hour's passing, Ryu heard the padding of soft footsteps.
The ranger moved like lightning. In the blink of an eye, he was on his feet and charging at a shadowy figure crouching over Nina's bags. Ryu leaped on top of him, dragging the stranger to the ground.
The ranger shifted his weight, slipped an arm under his opponent's leading leg, and turned. The stranger tasted dirt as his face was ground into the grass. Ryu bent over him, speaking harshly into his ear, "Give up now. You're completely at my mercy."
By this time, the girls had been wakened by the commotion. "What the?" Katt grunted, wiping sleep from her eyes. "Ryu? What's going on?"
"A thief," the ranger replied stonily, pushing the stranger's face further into the ground. To him, he said, "I'm going to let you up, but don't think for a second you can get away. The Woren's good with that staff. The Windian's good with magic." Ryu shifted his weight again; the stranger let out a cry as something important popped. "And I'm good at breaking people in two."
Nina thought the threats had gone far enough. "That's enough, Ryu! Let him go. You don't need to scare him to death." She let out an audible sigh of relief when the ranger released his captive. Ryu…how can he be understanding at one moment and a completely different—completely frightening—person the next?
Nina walked up to the stranger and was startled when she saw the wide nose, the flat cheek structure, the spindly build, and the long hair. "You're a Highlander!" she exclaimed, recognizing him as a member of the monkey-like race of the distant kingdom of Highfort.
"Aye, lass," he grunted. "I be that." His long fingers wrapped around his wrist, twisted in the scuffle with Ryu. "Ye needn't 'ave been so rough, lad. I'd 'ave gone quietly with just a knife to me throat." The ranger said nothing in reply.
Suddenly, the Highlander smiled nastily. "By the way, lad. Ye should cover yer far leg better next time ye try to grapple tha' likes o' me." He opened a hand, revealing a slender—but wickedly sharp—knife.
Again, the ranger remained silent, but his eyes held respect. In the lock I had on him, he had ample opportunity to slash the tendons in my ankle, Ryu realized. This one is very dangerous.
"What's a Highlander doing this far to the north?" Katt asked suspiciously. "And for that matter, why were you trying to steal from us?"
The Highlander shrugged—Ryu noticed that he no longer held the knife, had somehow slipped it away without anyone seeing it. "I like to travel, lass. I just happened to stumble hereabouts. As for tha' why, well, I'm hungry."
"If it's food you wanted," Nina said, "then you should have just asked." She dug up some of the jerky from her bags and handed it to him. The Highlander bowed graciously and tore into the meat with relish.
"Thank ye, kind lass. But one doesn't simply ask around these parts anymore. Many strange things 'ave been appearing, don't ye doubt. 'Tis dangerous times, these be."
"True enough," Katt agreed, thinking back to the rampaging Deathpedes that destroyed a village. "By the way, what's your name?"
The Highlander threw his cloak behind him with a theatrical flourish. "Sten Legacy, at yer service, lass."
"If you're done trying to pick our pockets," Ryu cut in, "then feel free to leave." We must be careful around this one. Katt and Nina don't realize how deadly this man, Legacy, can be. He hides it well, but he's a fighter. A good one.
"Don't be rude, Ryu!" Nina reprimanded. To the Highlander, she said kindly, "Have you a place to stay?"
"Nay, lass," Sten replied. "I'm a vagabond. Me home is tha' road. Though it seems ye've a good camp here that might do for a spell."
"Well," Katt said, "if you ain't going to steal any more of our stuff, then feel free to crash. But I'm warning you—I'll be keeping both eyes on those hands of yours."
And I'll be keeping mine on them too, Ryu thought. Aloud, he said, "If we're done here, I'm going to bed. It's late."
"Aye, it is," Sten agreed. "Thank ye for giving this old thief a bed for the evening."
Ryu said he was going to sleep, but he remained awake. It was not to watch over Sten Legacy, who had long since taken to his bed; soft snores could be heard from where he lay. Rather, Ryu stayed awake so that he could find a moment of privacy.
He took the top out of his bag and wound the cord around it. Memories came unbidden to his mind.
"Ryu-niisan, I'm so jealous!"
"What do you have to be jealous for, Yua? Otousan buys you stuff all the time!"
"But he makes you stuff. That's why I'm jealous."
"I don't get you at all. The stuff he makes isn't very good, anyway. Not like at a toy store."
"Hey, hey, Ryu-niisan, can I play with it?"
"No! It's mine!"
"Lemme play!"
"No! Baka-imoutou!"
Ryu watched the top spin and spin and spin. "I should have let her play with it," he murmured, voice thick with memory…and regret. The top kept on spinning. Caught in the gyroscope of the past, Ryu's mind wandered further and further back….
"Come on, Ryu-niisan—just let me play with it once!"
Ryu put the top in his vest pocket. "Go away, Yua! Go play with your dolls." He turned his back on her, intent on heading out. But he did not notice the determined set to his little sister's eyes. Nor did he notice her get up and charge at his back.
He did, however, notice the sudden weight on his back and the small arms around his throat. "Gack! Yua! Leggo!"
"Gimme it!" she wailed. "Gimme it or I'll choke you!"
"Otousan's gonna be mad at you," Ryu warned.
His sister's face popped in front of him, startling him momentarily; she had clambered onto his shoulder and was bent over his head. She looked so silly, her face upside down and her ponytails dangling down. She stuck her tongue out at him while pulling down her lower eyelid with a stubby finger. "I don't care if he does. He won't care. I'm his favorite, you know."
"That's only because you're a baby," Ryu countered snidely. Yua whimpered at that; he pressed on the attack. "Baby, baby, baby! Yua's just a baby!"
"I'M NOT A BABY!" the girl wailed, bopping him repeatedly on the head. "TAKE IT BACK AND GIMME THE TOP, BAKA!"
But Ryu kept on chanting, "Baby, baby, baby!"
"I'M NOT A BABY!" Yua pounded her tiny fists on Ryu's head some more. The boy was caught up in his teasing so much that he did not notice the top fall out of his pocket. It spun in the air and…
…fell on its side. Ryu blinked, brought out of his reverie. He did not say a word. He simply picked it up, wound it again, and let it spin some more. How long ago was that? he wondered. Yua must be about Mina's age by now. I wonder if she's all right? The top kept on spinning, spinning, spinning.
Ryu was so caught up in his own thoughts that he did not notice the lack of snoring from one particular bedroll. Sten Legacy watched him through slitted eyes. That lad's sharp, he thought. No one could bring me down in a wrestling match, not even Truvo. But that boy took me down in the first pass. And he knew exactly what he was doing, too. Next time he tries that on me, I may 'ave to use the knife after all.
Sten continued his silent vigil on the young ranger, noting every detail. The easy grace of his movements—a fighter's movements—the dispassionate professionalism, the discipline. All corroborated Sten's conclusion that Ryu Bateson was a dangerous man, one to be wary of. But Sten noted, too, that he was so much like a child. It's the top, the Highlander thought. He's so careful with it. It's incredible, really. Someone like him…is just a child at heart.
Sten settled back into his bedroll and curled up, intent on getting some real sleep. Sure, he's just a kid at heart, but even a kid can cut off a thief's hand. Sten smiled mischievously. Still, this group's an interesting bunch. I think I'll like hanging around them.