Passing Destinies

Chapter Two

The red head cried out, covering his eyes. He braced for the impact, frowning when he felt nothing. Kikumaru slowly opened blue orbs, noting that the demon was gone, only a dark mark on the ground left in its wake.

"Mada Mada Dane (1)," a soft voice spoke.

"Why can't your stupid familiar just stay with us?" a gruff voice protested.

"My data shows that your cat sneaks away 87.5 percent of the time."

Kikumaru blinked, gaze landing on the three individuals who had just arrived. The first that had spoken looked at least two years younger than him, although he had an aura about him that spoke of great arrogance. He had black hair and wore a brown cloak, which indicated his magical ability. He'd been told by Tezuka that most sorcerers wore brown. The healers wore a pale blue and the white mages, the most powerful of all magic users, wore deep black. 'I wonder why white mages use black... wouldn't it make more sense to wear white? What about the black mages... what do they wear? I'll have to remember to ask Tezuka next time we're alone.'

"In case you didn't notice Kaidoh, your familiar ran off as well. He only just came back now to tell us where Karupin was," Echizen pointed out.

"Good master! Saving the back scratcher," the cat exclaimed as he made his way over to the youngest of the three.

Echizen sighed as he picked the creature up. "You want to explain what's going on?"

"Well I was busy taking a nap up the tree when evil Killias over there decided it would be fun to freak out that redhead over there. I stopped him and then found out that they're going to Mildian, which is where we're off to. Then the demon attacked and you came and saved them," the familiar explained.

"Thank you for saving my brother," Fuji spoke up, smiling brightly, "My name is Syusuke Fuji, Eiji Kikumaru Fuji is my brother over there, and this is Kunimitsu Tezuka." He indicted each individual as they were introduced.

"I'm Ryoma Echizen and you've already met my familiar Karupin," the younger male stated.

"Kaoru Kaidoh," the next male said simply. Kikumaru shivered, 'Scary. He doesn't look very nice at all and that snake is around his neck.' The male wore the same outfit as Echizen except for the addiction of a green bandana around his head. The large cobra was currently wrapped around his upper body, the head draped across his left shoulder.

"Sadaharu Inui. Interesting... I don't believe you two are actual brothers. 78 percent change that one of you was adopted, with 87.4 percent being that it was Kikumaru," the last male stated, right hand scribbling quickly on a worn notebook.

Kikumaru frowned, gazing at the male with short spiky hair and thick black glasses. "How did you know that?"

The male grinned. "It's all in the data."

"Scary..." the redhead murmured.

Kaidoh hissed before replying, "Inui does this all the time. Just ignore it."

"Would you care for a taste of my special high protein drink? It will give you over 30 essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs for the day," the man inquired, pulling the canteen out of his knapsack. He waved the item in front of Fuji, grinning widely when the smiling teen took it from him.

"Don't mind if I do," he remarked, opening the top.

"No! What did I tell you about him... You're going to..." the cat shivered as the liquid slid down the brunette's throat. "Well it was nice knowing you. They always die young."

"It's quite delicious. You did a good job," The blue eyed teen stated as he handed the container back. Echizen and Kaidoh's jaws dropped, eyes wide in shock. Kaidoh looked almost ill as he watched the other male's eyebrows rise.

"Interesting. Very interesting," Inui muttered, his hand once again posed over the paper.

"So what brings you three to Mildian?" the cat inquired.

"Our town was attacked. We're just trying to find someplace that's safe to stay," Tezuka stated. His brown eyes raked over the newcomers, studying them deeply to make sure they were harmless. 'If they were going to hurt us they would not have saved us.' He reasoned with himself. He frowned as his gaze landed on the youngest one. 'Echizen... Where have I heard that name before?'

"Why are you off to Mildian?" Fuji asked.

"That is only a temporary destination. Our final destination is the capital," Inui informed.

"Echizen? As in King Echizen?" Tezuka spoke up, his mind finally recalling where he had heard the name.

The young male frowned, eyes gazing away. "That would be my worthless father. He's too busy with his concubines to pay attention to the fact that his kingdom is being ravaged by demons."

"You're a prince? That is so neat! What's it like? Do you have like servants and cooks and butlers and..." Kikumaru exclaimed, bouncing excitedly over to the black haired teen.

"Calm down," Fuji hushed.

"But Syusuke... I've never met a real prince before. I've never even met a sorcerer before either," the redhead protested.

"He's going to get annoying very fast," Kaidoh hissed to Inui.

The black haired individual said nothing as he continued to write everything that transpired down.

"You'll have to excuse my brother. He's always had the energy of twenty children. We've never really been outside of our hometown, except for the few times we went to the nearby town to shop," Fuji explained.

"It's starting to get dark. We need to find a spot to spend the night and start a fire," Tezuka pointed out.

"Since we're both going to the same town how about we stay together? Its always smarter to stay in a bigger group," Fuji suggested.

"That would seem like a logical choice," Inui stated.

"There was a clearing a little while back that looked like a good place for the night. We should go there," Karupin exclaimed, as he jumped from his master's arms. "Come back scratcher! I'll lead the way." Kikumaru grinned as he followed after the animal.

Fuji yawned, the warmth of both fire and Kunimitsu's body lulling him to sleep. His eyes fluttered open as he quickly glanced at the small campsite.Eiji was sound asleep several yards beside him, the cat curled up on the center of his back. Inui was sitting on the other side of the fire, still taking notes. Kaidoh was sleeping as well, his body resting against Inui's back. Echizen was sitting beside Tezuka, speaking softly so as to not wake the slumbering individuals.

"So you left the castle to try and help Inui and Kaidoh with the demons in their neighboring towns?" Tezuka inquired.

"My father is useless. He wasn't going to help at all. He didn't care. There are only five white mages total in the whole kingdom. He demands that two stay there at all times and tells the others that they are free to go anywhere to help with the demon problem. Because of this he has no clue where any of them are and since he won't send the two there to help he's not aiding any of the towns that are being attacked. I can't stand it anymore. So I went with them to see if I could be of any help. I'm not a white mage but I can at least fight the demons off one on one," Echizen stated, "It was too late however. By the time we got back to their hometown it had been destroyed."

"Fuji and Kikumaru lost their mother just a few days ago when their hometown was attacked," Tezuka added.

"What about you?" Echizen questioned.

"The town wasn't my hometown. I'd been living there for several years with Fuji and his family."

"I wouldn't let him leave," Syusuke murmured as he shifted, slipping his head into the lap of his boyfriend. Tezuka smiled for a moment, his left hand stroking the soft strands.

"My father is an idiot. Just sending the white mages to destroy the demons that attack towns isn't enough. They need to aim for the source of the attacks," Echizen murmured softly.

"The source? What do you mean?"

"The attacks have continued to increase with each passing week. My calculations show that there has been a 45 percent increase in attacks within the span of a month. If these trends continue the kingdom will be taken over in a little over 6 months," Inui informed, his eyes still on his notes.

"So there is someone controlling these creatures and forcing them to attack? Who could manage to control them?" Tezuka questioned.

"A very powerful black mage," Echizen claimed, "I've never seen one but in the history books their have been tales of battles waged between black and white mages. The black mages were defeated but I'm sure there is one out there, controlling the demons. The creatures aren't intelligent enough to attack the way they are."

"In what way are the attacks intelligent?" Fuji asked, eyes opening to gaze at the prince.

"Of the towns known to have been attacked 86.7 percent of them contained great sources of natural resources. Whoever is controlling the demons knows that taking out the materials that can aid the soldiers in defending the kingdom is one of the best strategies in taking over the major towns," Inui once again pointed out.

"Sounds like a very thought out plan. This black mage must be vastly intelligent," Fuji muttered, shifting to find a more comfortable position.

"We're going back to my father to explain this too him. If he won't listen I'm afraid I might have to talk to the white mages there and pull rank. They know it's useless for them to stay there but won't leave because of my father. If I allow them to leave though I'm sure they'll be willing to follow us," the youngest sorcerer exclaimed.

The four froze when a loud hiss emanated from both Kaidoh and his familiar. "Sleep..." he ordered.

Inui smirked as he wrote something down quickly. "I suggest we do what he says. He can get pretty violent if he's woken up too much."

Echizen nodded in agreement. Fuji yawned as he shifted off Tezuka's lap.

"Time for bed," he murmured.

Tezuka said nothing as he laid down, his boyfriend immediately slipping his body around his. The other shifted around the campsite, settling down before allowing themselves to sleep.

TBC...

(1) I just couldn't help myself. Echizen has to say Mada Mada Dane. Him not saying it is like... well Kaidoh not hissing. It just doesn't happen. And for you who don't watch PoT as much as the rest of us this pretty much means... lots more to work on. Or something to that extent. Pretty much Echizen saying you have to do a lot more to be able to even come close to beating me. He's such a stuck up little brat but we love him.

Darn my sister! I got her into PoT and told her about this story and she had to give me all these new ideas that involve a whole bunch more characters. It was just going to be demons attacking but now we have the black mage in charge of it all... anyone want to take a guess as to who it will be? Just a hint... it will be someone from one of the rival teams.