All right. Thank you so much for bearing with me as it's taken me a while
to get this chapter out. I would like to thank the following for reviewing,
despite the pitiful amount of time it took for me to get this chapter out
to you.
Aeriolus, Sachairi, Mia1218, and fanficmaniac. Thank you all so much.
Now, since it's taken me so long to get to five reviews, which, by the way, is really pitiful, considering that there are five chapters, I've decided that I'm not updating again until I've gotten ten reviews. In other words, if you don't tell other people about this story, and if you've been reading it and just not reviewing, then too bad. If I don't get to ten, no more updates. That's all there is to it. If you think I'm joking, just try me. Come on, you know you want to. Maybe you think, boy, he's in a bad mood. You're right. I am. No one has been reviewing except for the above people. Nothing against them personally, but if you like this fic so much, why don't you spread the word? Tell other people. If you don't, then you've no one but yourselves to blame.
Except for Sachairi, who has already done her part. Thanks!
So anyways, if you keep an eye on my bio page, you'll find that I update it often with news on my stories and characters.
Please, read this and review. I don't beg. I never have, and this is the closest that I'm going to come to actually doing it. (and by the way, if you're reviewing, why haven't I gotten any constructive criticism yet? I could really use it. And don't give me that crap about how my story is perfect. It isn't. I'm always going back and finding more things wrong with it. HELP ME!)
Without any further ado (or ranting)
*~*
The Quest: Chapter Three- Attack
*~*
*bangs head on table due to lack of reviews*
*~*
Sunlight glistened off the flat, calm, tranquil surface of the immense lake surrounding the bathhouse. As it rose, it revealed a large silver dragon preening itself on the roof, watching as it rose high into the light blue and gold sky. Birds could be heard singing in the trees, and the sounds and smells of the bathhouse preparing for the night ahead filled the air. It was a beautiful morning, indeed, but only one thought was running through the dragons mind.
{One day}
It had been one day, though not exactly, since his bride to be had been kidnapped from the ceremony. It had been one day since he was supposed to have married her. And it had been one day that Keetra had had to harm her in any of a million different ways.
The dragon rose, stretching out its front legs, then pushed off from the roof and re-entered the bathhouse.
The upper levels of Aburaya were quiet, and the dragon glided its way through them, not looking either way, but with a sureness that indicated that it knew where it was going. It did not stop until it had arrived at a gilded door a few levels beneath Yubaba's office, where it paused and then shifted into the form of a young man. He again paused, then threw open the door and entered, looking around him. At first glance the room appeared to be empty, but further inspection revealed a small fox lying curled up on the bed in a patch of sunlight. Haku grinned, then walked over and gave it a good hard poke in the side.
The fox bolted. It went from lying down asleep to shivering on top of one of the couches in an instant. A brief flash of light, and it was replaced by the form of another, seriously ticked off boy.
"What the heck was that for?" he demanded, glaring daggers at Haku. "What did I ever do to you to deserve that?"
"You slept in, that's what." Haku replied, grinning from ear to ear. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast, and then we can ditch this place." Nami nodded, only too happy to be off once again. . . in search of food. The meal he had had the night before had barely been enough to tide him over, and he had spent the majority of the night dreaming about the various dishes he wanted to sample. The two adventurers made their way through the bustling hallways, on their way to the kitchens. Before they got there, however, they ran into a familiar figure.
"Haku! Is that you?" The two spirits turned to see Rin hurrying towards them, the washcloths in her hands forgotten. They paused and waited for her to catch up. "Where are you two headed?" she asked.
"We were just on our way down to the kitchens," Haku replied. Rin smiled and fell into step with them.
"I'll come with you. I just got off on my break, so I've got time." They made there way to the kitchens, where Rin saw to it that they got some of the best food that was available. There were eggs cooked to a perfect golden color, the same shade as the sunrise. There was French toast, piled up into mounds oozing with golden maple syrup. There was fruit by the dozens, huge, juicy grapefruit, magnificently sumptuous oranges, and juicy, mouth watering pears. There were meat pies and platters of vegetables the likes of which the human world had never seen.
Haku and Nami ate until they found that they could eat no more. Once they had reached that hard to achieve point, they pushed back in their chairs.
Haku was already able to tell the significance that the meal was going to have. He groaned. There was no way that they would be able to make as good time as they had before, even with the super-fast metabolism that every spirit was gifted with. Nami nodded, able to tell what Haku was thinking by reading it in his eyes.
"We'll just have to do the best that we can," he said. Haku nodded, and the two young spirits staggered to their feet and lurched out the door. By the time they had returned to their room, they were both feeling slightly better. Haku reached into his pack and pulled out one of the maps he had brought with him, unrolling it out on the table.
"All right. Due south between here and the first set of caverns is a lake."
"How big is it?" Nami asked, looking down intently at the map.
"Big enough that if we go around, it's going to cost us a lot of time. Unfortunately, we can't just fly straight over it because of the unusual storms and winds that constantly hang over it all year long. It's too dangerous."
"All right, so we find some way to get across. Got any ideas?"
"Actually, yes. According to the key here there should be a ferry that ought to bring us over. We can probably take that." Haku sat back and put his feet up on the table.
"Well, do you have any idea how much it's going to cost?"
"No, but I should have enough. If not, then we can probably barter our way onto it with the stuff the others packed for us. And, of course, if that fails, we can always just sneak on without anyone seeing us." The two of them stood up as they heard a knock on the door. Nami looked over questioningly at Haku, who nodded, so he went and opened it. Rin smiled brightly and stepped inside.
"Yubaba says that you should probably hit the road. She said to warn you that there's a storm on the way, and you'll have to hurry if you want to stay ahead of it."
*~*
Toruma looked up yet again at the foreboding sky. In the past hour it had gone from being a beautiful, sunny day to dark with menacing clouds gathering above. Every so often, a flash of lightning could be seen off in the distance, followed by the ominous rumble of the thunder.
He cursed vehemently. It was just his luck. Not only had Charon only given him just a few extra men for the mission, but now it seemed that they would have to carry out the attack in the middle of a thunderstorm. All around him, his men were at work, sharpening their weapons and readying their armor. To the unfamiliar eye, they were just a ragged bunch, many of them grizzled and hardened by years of servitude.
However, if you looked a little closer you would see that they moved with a sort of self-assured air that showed that they knew perfectly well what they were doing. They were the best at what they did, and they knew it.
"Sir?" One of the soldiers had ventured over to his vantage spot and looked uncertain as to whether he was doing the right thing in approaching him.
"What is it?" Toruma barked harshly. He recognized the spirit as one of the newcomers to the group. Most of them were undisciplined, and hardly any had seen combat experience. These were the warriors that had been assigned to him by Charon.
"Well, sir, it's just that there's a storm coming, and we haven't made any move to set up camp." He chuckled a bit. "One would almost think that you were seriously considering attacking in this weather!"
Toruma glared at him.
{Idiot}
"Is there something wrong with attacking now?" he asked, his voice as smooth as though it were coated with honey.
"Well sir, attacking in the middle of a storm isn't really the honorable thing to do."
"I had no idea you were supposed to be honorable when carrying out an ambush."
The soldiers eyes widened with realization, and he hastily apologized and beat a quick retreat.
"Idiot," Toruma muttered, watching him leave. Well, there was always one in every group.
*~*
With a sudden and violent crash, a flash of lightning ripped through the sky, followed almost immediately by a sudden, torrential downpour. The silver dragon just lowered its head and pushed on, buffeted on all sides by powerful gusts of wind. With a sigh of resignation, it realized that flying wasn't going to get them anywhere now. It landed and transformed. The fox that had been on its back soon followed.
"Blast!" Haku growled as he stared up at the sky, as if by glaring at it he could somehow stop it from raining. "I was hoping we'd be able to get to the ferry before the storm hit." He cursed.
"Oh, calm down, will you?" Nami wasn't glaring at the sky, he was glaring at Haku. "So far, all you've done is gripe and complain. If you don't learn to have a more positive outlook on things, we're never going to get Chihiro back."
Haku glared at him. "Don't you EVER say that. I WILL get Chihiro back. I don't care what I've got to do to get it done, but it WILL happen, and then I'm going to make that bitch pay dearly for what she's done to me." Nami nodded, sweeping his long, wet black hair out of his eyes.
"How much further do you think we've got to go?" he asked. Haku, however, never had the chance to answer.
*~*
Toruma had kept a careful watch over the path he knew the targets would be taking. Before the storm had hit, he had been worried about Haku's ability to fly, but now it seemed that that wasn't going to be a factor, since the wind and rain had picked up. It would be suicide to try and fly in the weather.
No, he would be traveling along this, the ONLY path through the forest where they lay in wait.
All he needed to do was keep watch.
*~*
Flashback
*~*
Haku glared at Nami and told him to move along. He was not only tired of walking, but he was wet and generally irritable. He quickened his pace.
*~*
End Flashback
*~*
Toruma could hear voices. He tightened his grip on his sword and raised his hand into the air. The warriors around him tensed.
*~*
Flashback
*~*
Nami grumbled to himself. He was just as tired of the walking as Haku was, but that didn't give the dragon the right to yell at him. Muttering about upstart, lovestruck spirits, he too quickened his pace.
*~*
End flashback
*~*
As the two figures came into view, Toruma dropped his hand.
"ATTACK!"
*~*
Haku dropped instantly into a defensive stance as he found himself and Nami surrounded by a band of very angry looking warriors. There was no way that this could be good.
He sidestepped the first soldier who came at him, swinging his dervish expertly. One well placed blow to the base of the neck and the spirit went down like a ton of bricks. In an instant, he found himself fighting for his life.
It took Nami a moment to realize that the majority of the attackers were totally ignoring him, focusing all of their attention on Haku. For a second he paused, then, throwing all caution to the wind, he waded into the melee.
Haku was getting tired. The relentless attacks being thrown at him were steadily wearing down his resistance and he was having trouble keeping his footing on the wet, muddy ground.
He never felt the spear enter his back. One moment he had been dodging a strike, and the next he felt a slight push from behind. Then everything jumbled together in a confused mess of noises and he blacked out, falling limply to the ground.
*~*
Nami reached Haku just in time to see him stumble, catch himself, and then fall to the ground, his shirt becoming stained with his blood. He screamed with rage and launched himself into a furious assault, attacking anything and everything that came in reach. Tears stung his eyes as he dropped to the forest floor next to the limp body. Their mission accomplished, the enemy faded into the trees as quickly as they had appeared, leaving the spirit to grieve for his friend.
*~*
AN:
Please don't kill me. . . (hides from angry reviewers)
It'll all work out, TRUST ME!
Anyways, thanks again to all of you who did take the time to review.
Aeriolus, Sachairi, Mia1218, and fanficmaniac. Thank you all so much.
Now, since it's taken me so long to get to five reviews, which, by the way, is really pitiful, considering that there are five chapters, I've decided that I'm not updating again until I've gotten ten reviews. In other words, if you don't tell other people about this story, and if you've been reading it and just not reviewing, then too bad. If I don't get to ten, no more updates. That's all there is to it. If you think I'm joking, just try me. Come on, you know you want to. Maybe you think, boy, he's in a bad mood. You're right. I am. No one has been reviewing except for the above people. Nothing against them personally, but if you like this fic so much, why don't you spread the word? Tell other people. If you don't, then you've no one but yourselves to blame.
Except for Sachairi, who has already done her part. Thanks!
So anyways, if you keep an eye on my bio page, you'll find that I update it often with news on my stories and characters.
Please, read this and review. I don't beg. I never have, and this is the closest that I'm going to come to actually doing it. (and by the way, if you're reviewing, why haven't I gotten any constructive criticism yet? I could really use it. And don't give me that crap about how my story is perfect. It isn't. I'm always going back and finding more things wrong with it. HELP ME!)
Without any further ado (or ranting)
*~*
The Quest: Chapter Three- Attack
*~*
*bangs head on table due to lack of reviews*
*~*
Sunlight glistened off the flat, calm, tranquil surface of the immense lake surrounding the bathhouse. As it rose, it revealed a large silver dragon preening itself on the roof, watching as it rose high into the light blue and gold sky. Birds could be heard singing in the trees, and the sounds and smells of the bathhouse preparing for the night ahead filled the air. It was a beautiful morning, indeed, but only one thought was running through the dragons mind.
{One day}
It had been one day, though not exactly, since his bride to be had been kidnapped from the ceremony. It had been one day since he was supposed to have married her. And it had been one day that Keetra had had to harm her in any of a million different ways.
The dragon rose, stretching out its front legs, then pushed off from the roof and re-entered the bathhouse.
The upper levels of Aburaya were quiet, and the dragon glided its way through them, not looking either way, but with a sureness that indicated that it knew where it was going. It did not stop until it had arrived at a gilded door a few levels beneath Yubaba's office, where it paused and then shifted into the form of a young man. He again paused, then threw open the door and entered, looking around him. At first glance the room appeared to be empty, but further inspection revealed a small fox lying curled up on the bed in a patch of sunlight. Haku grinned, then walked over and gave it a good hard poke in the side.
The fox bolted. It went from lying down asleep to shivering on top of one of the couches in an instant. A brief flash of light, and it was replaced by the form of another, seriously ticked off boy.
"What the heck was that for?" he demanded, glaring daggers at Haku. "What did I ever do to you to deserve that?"
"You slept in, that's what." Haku replied, grinning from ear to ear. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast, and then we can ditch this place." Nami nodded, only too happy to be off once again. . . in search of food. The meal he had had the night before had barely been enough to tide him over, and he had spent the majority of the night dreaming about the various dishes he wanted to sample. The two adventurers made their way through the bustling hallways, on their way to the kitchens. Before they got there, however, they ran into a familiar figure.
"Haku! Is that you?" The two spirits turned to see Rin hurrying towards them, the washcloths in her hands forgotten. They paused and waited for her to catch up. "Where are you two headed?" she asked.
"We were just on our way down to the kitchens," Haku replied. Rin smiled and fell into step with them.
"I'll come with you. I just got off on my break, so I've got time." They made there way to the kitchens, where Rin saw to it that they got some of the best food that was available. There were eggs cooked to a perfect golden color, the same shade as the sunrise. There was French toast, piled up into mounds oozing with golden maple syrup. There was fruit by the dozens, huge, juicy grapefruit, magnificently sumptuous oranges, and juicy, mouth watering pears. There were meat pies and platters of vegetables the likes of which the human world had never seen.
Haku and Nami ate until they found that they could eat no more. Once they had reached that hard to achieve point, they pushed back in their chairs.
Haku was already able to tell the significance that the meal was going to have. He groaned. There was no way that they would be able to make as good time as they had before, even with the super-fast metabolism that every spirit was gifted with. Nami nodded, able to tell what Haku was thinking by reading it in his eyes.
"We'll just have to do the best that we can," he said. Haku nodded, and the two young spirits staggered to their feet and lurched out the door. By the time they had returned to their room, they were both feeling slightly better. Haku reached into his pack and pulled out one of the maps he had brought with him, unrolling it out on the table.
"All right. Due south between here and the first set of caverns is a lake."
"How big is it?" Nami asked, looking down intently at the map.
"Big enough that if we go around, it's going to cost us a lot of time. Unfortunately, we can't just fly straight over it because of the unusual storms and winds that constantly hang over it all year long. It's too dangerous."
"All right, so we find some way to get across. Got any ideas?"
"Actually, yes. According to the key here there should be a ferry that ought to bring us over. We can probably take that." Haku sat back and put his feet up on the table.
"Well, do you have any idea how much it's going to cost?"
"No, but I should have enough. If not, then we can probably barter our way onto it with the stuff the others packed for us. And, of course, if that fails, we can always just sneak on without anyone seeing us." The two of them stood up as they heard a knock on the door. Nami looked over questioningly at Haku, who nodded, so he went and opened it. Rin smiled brightly and stepped inside.
"Yubaba says that you should probably hit the road. She said to warn you that there's a storm on the way, and you'll have to hurry if you want to stay ahead of it."
*~*
Toruma looked up yet again at the foreboding sky. In the past hour it had gone from being a beautiful, sunny day to dark with menacing clouds gathering above. Every so often, a flash of lightning could be seen off in the distance, followed by the ominous rumble of the thunder.
He cursed vehemently. It was just his luck. Not only had Charon only given him just a few extra men for the mission, but now it seemed that they would have to carry out the attack in the middle of a thunderstorm. All around him, his men were at work, sharpening their weapons and readying their armor. To the unfamiliar eye, they were just a ragged bunch, many of them grizzled and hardened by years of servitude.
However, if you looked a little closer you would see that they moved with a sort of self-assured air that showed that they knew perfectly well what they were doing. They were the best at what they did, and they knew it.
"Sir?" One of the soldiers had ventured over to his vantage spot and looked uncertain as to whether he was doing the right thing in approaching him.
"What is it?" Toruma barked harshly. He recognized the spirit as one of the newcomers to the group. Most of them were undisciplined, and hardly any had seen combat experience. These were the warriors that had been assigned to him by Charon.
"Well, sir, it's just that there's a storm coming, and we haven't made any move to set up camp." He chuckled a bit. "One would almost think that you were seriously considering attacking in this weather!"
Toruma glared at him.
{Idiot}
"Is there something wrong with attacking now?" he asked, his voice as smooth as though it were coated with honey.
"Well sir, attacking in the middle of a storm isn't really the honorable thing to do."
"I had no idea you were supposed to be honorable when carrying out an ambush."
The soldiers eyes widened with realization, and he hastily apologized and beat a quick retreat.
"Idiot," Toruma muttered, watching him leave. Well, there was always one in every group.
*~*
With a sudden and violent crash, a flash of lightning ripped through the sky, followed almost immediately by a sudden, torrential downpour. The silver dragon just lowered its head and pushed on, buffeted on all sides by powerful gusts of wind. With a sigh of resignation, it realized that flying wasn't going to get them anywhere now. It landed and transformed. The fox that had been on its back soon followed.
"Blast!" Haku growled as he stared up at the sky, as if by glaring at it he could somehow stop it from raining. "I was hoping we'd be able to get to the ferry before the storm hit." He cursed.
"Oh, calm down, will you?" Nami wasn't glaring at the sky, he was glaring at Haku. "So far, all you've done is gripe and complain. If you don't learn to have a more positive outlook on things, we're never going to get Chihiro back."
Haku glared at him. "Don't you EVER say that. I WILL get Chihiro back. I don't care what I've got to do to get it done, but it WILL happen, and then I'm going to make that bitch pay dearly for what she's done to me." Nami nodded, sweeping his long, wet black hair out of his eyes.
"How much further do you think we've got to go?" he asked. Haku, however, never had the chance to answer.
*~*
Toruma had kept a careful watch over the path he knew the targets would be taking. Before the storm had hit, he had been worried about Haku's ability to fly, but now it seemed that that wasn't going to be a factor, since the wind and rain had picked up. It would be suicide to try and fly in the weather.
No, he would be traveling along this, the ONLY path through the forest where they lay in wait.
All he needed to do was keep watch.
*~*
Flashback
*~*
Haku glared at Nami and told him to move along. He was not only tired of walking, but he was wet and generally irritable. He quickened his pace.
*~*
End Flashback
*~*
Toruma could hear voices. He tightened his grip on his sword and raised his hand into the air. The warriors around him tensed.
*~*
Flashback
*~*
Nami grumbled to himself. He was just as tired of the walking as Haku was, but that didn't give the dragon the right to yell at him. Muttering about upstart, lovestruck spirits, he too quickened his pace.
*~*
End flashback
*~*
As the two figures came into view, Toruma dropped his hand.
"ATTACK!"
*~*
Haku dropped instantly into a defensive stance as he found himself and Nami surrounded by a band of very angry looking warriors. There was no way that this could be good.
He sidestepped the first soldier who came at him, swinging his dervish expertly. One well placed blow to the base of the neck and the spirit went down like a ton of bricks. In an instant, he found himself fighting for his life.
It took Nami a moment to realize that the majority of the attackers were totally ignoring him, focusing all of their attention on Haku. For a second he paused, then, throwing all caution to the wind, he waded into the melee.
Haku was getting tired. The relentless attacks being thrown at him were steadily wearing down his resistance and he was having trouble keeping his footing on the wet, muddy ground.
He never felt the spear enter his back. One moment he had been dodging a strike, and the next he felt a slight push from behind. Then everything jumbled together in a confused mess of noises and he blacked out, falling limply to the ground.
*~*
Nami reached Haku just in time to see him stumble, catch himself, and then fall to the ground, his shirt becoming stained with his blood. He screamed with rage and launched himself into a furious assault, attacking anything and everything that came in reach. Tears stung his eyes as he dropped to the forest floor next to the limp body. Their mission accomplished, the enemy faded into the trees as quickly as they had appeared, leaving the spirit to grieve for his friend.
*~*
AN:
Please don't kill me. . . (hides from angry reviewers)
It'll all work out, TRUST ME!
Anyways, thanks again to all of you who did take the time to review.