What the hell is it doing here?" Byza asked, taking baby steps backward.
"A dead branch, we must've missed it on our way up here." Mira replied her voice shaky and quiet.
The three began inching backwards and a cold sweat ran down the novice's neck. "Please don't leave me." her voice choked with tears as thoughts of death flooded her mind. She heard the creature behind her shuffle a bit, like she was getting ready to strike. Chiyo whimpered, knees buckling while the rest of her body was shaking from fear and suspense.
The wind whistled as the holy arrows shot through the air, striking the monster on it's shoulder. The creature recoiled back, giving Sukuraji a split second to move. She rushed forward, grabbing the back of the novice's shirt and lifting her off the ground. She turned and flung Chiyo to Mira who caught her and stumbled back.
Her split second was over and the leaotus reached for it's whip. Sukuraji spun around with her crossbow ready to fire again, her movements were slow and she suffered a heavy blow. The whip came down on the area between her neck and shoulder blade.
The archer screamed in pain as she fell backwards, unbalanced and off-guard. Byza rushed forward, grabbing Sukuraji by the arm (which made her howl in pain once more) and pulled her back. Thank goodness for her god-like speed.
She ducked her head under Sukuraji's arm and wrapped her free hand around the archer's waist. With some effort she managed to dash out of the battlefield, the furious creature following. Mira and Chiyo were up ahead, the novice still sobbing and the merchant struggling under the weight of her goods.
The portal wasn't too far off, neither was the leaotus. With an extra burst of speed the group threw themselves through the portal, safely making it to the village.
Byza accidentally let go of Sukuraji as the hit the ground on the other side. The archer smashed her wounded shoulder into the ground and rolled onto her back on the bridge. She whimpered in pain, biting her lip to keep from crying or screaming again.
Mira, still exhausted crawled over to the archer, "Sukuraji-"
"…it hurts…" her friend replied weakly, forgetting her previous anger, shuddering as she lay there.
"Can you get up?" she asked, leaning forward to give the archer a slight push. She barely touched her shoulder when Sukuraji howled in pain again. They didn't even need to pull off her blindfold to tell she had passed out from the pain.
Chiyo was still shuddering and crying, taking a few deep breaths before speaking, "What was that thing?"
That was probably the least of their concerns at the moment; Byza hushed her before grabbing the archer's good arm and slinging it over her shoulder. "We'll go to the in and get a hold of Ridd, she'll know what to do." She began walking off the bridge and towards the gate.
Mira nodded and motioned for Chiyo to follow. They walked in silence, people gawking at them as they passed. Some actually stopped to ask what had happened. When they did arrive at the Inn the keeper gasped and practically threw the room key at them. Mira paid for two rooms before they headed up the stairs.
Mira began to examine the wound while Byza was busy writing some sort of letter. The asked for Byza's knife while Chiyo crawled over to see what was really happening to her savior. Wincing, Mira cut a slit in the purple cloth before ripping it open, before she shrieked.
Sukuraji's right collarbone had completely snapped in half. It was so severe that the bone actually punctured her skin and was visible. She was at a loss for words, what could they do? Chiyo covered her mouth and looked away. Mira gulped and looked away, she reached out her hand to check the archer's temperature.
She and Byza exchanged glances, "She burning up… Make sure that the word gets around immediately."
"I'll see if she can be here by sundown." Byza headed back downstairs with the letter in hand. She returned a few minutes later with a bucket of cool water, a few rags and a smile.
"So…?"
"I got a hunter to lend me his falcon, Ridd will get it in no time." She returned the smile, "Got some water for her fever too."
Mira nodded, "Thanks."
Chiyo's eyes widened when Mira removed Sukuraji's blindfold. She was rather disappointed though, nothing unusual, just Sukuraji sleeping off the pain. I wonder what'll happen when she wakes up…
"Byza…" the merchant started, the thief automatically turned to look at her, "Why don't you take Chiyo around town, show her the ropes?"
The thief began to shake her head, then paused, and quietly mumbled an, "Alright."
"No. It's okay I'll just-" Chiyo began but was stopped when Mira shot her a look of annoyance. Could Mira be annoyed? She felt her heart sink and quietly she followed Byzantinie.
"Why is Mira mad at me?" the novice asked when they were downstairs and out of earshot of the merchant.
"She's not mad at you, she just needs some Mira time." The thief paused, "Sometimes Mira can be difficult to understand. She is always expected to be 'happy-go-lucky Mira', and then she gets stressed and breaks down. To avoid said break down we need to leave her to her thoughts sometimes." Byza paused again, "Between babysitting a novice, keeping on Sukuraji's good side, and trying to keep her best friend from dying she's not going to get much Mira time. That's why were going for a nice, long, stress-free, walk."
"Oh." Chiyo suddenly felt very guilty, she was slowing Mira down. Only a Valiant member one day and already she was a big burden.
The two walked in awkward silence as they exited the hotel. They passed some raised platforms where people giggled with each other, drank sake, and just enjoyed themselves. Maybe Sukuraji, Byza, and Mira used to be good friend like that. She thought as they passed a female threesome sharing what seemed like juicy gossip; in reality they were just drunk.
They came to the came to the pet merchant who reluctantly bought some of the items Byza had obtained through monsters. With her wallet considerably heavier the thief suggested they grab a 'quick bite'. They headed towards the Archer Village entering a small building you wouldn't know was there unless you looked really hard.
Needless to say it was quiet and the only customers were a few thieves and the waitresses serving them. A few waved at Byza who nodded back, others scowled when Chiyo passed. Neither of the two were actually hungry, they nibbled on some bread and orders a few rounds of tea before they both headed back to town.
"What was that?" Chiyo asked, looking back but seeing nothing.
"Thief hideout, we thieves have the sharpest eyes in Rune Migard, nobody but thieves can see the hideouts." Byza explained then grinned, "Of course I have the sharpest eyes of all the thieves!" she proclaimed proudly.
"What about the assassins? Are you better than them too?"
She sighed and somewhat frowned, "I said thieves not assassins…"
They continued in awkward silence until Chiyo asked another question, "How long have you known Sukuraji?"
"A very long time."
"Did you know her before the… accident happened?"
Byza stopped and stared at Chiyo with a stopped look, "Who told you about the accident?"
"Mi-"
"Never mind, yes I did." The thief shook her head and went into serious mode.
"Was she kind back then?"
"Very."
"Why isn't she kind anymore?"
"She still is." The thief replied dryly.
"But, she's so cold?"
"Yes, she can be cold. But she is always kind and caring."
"Doesn't act that way." Chiyo became somewhat confused, was there something about Sukuraji she couldn't see?
Byzantinie's eyes glazed over as she stopped in front of the novice. "Are you stupid or something? Why would even begin to think she is unkind? Uncaring? She picked you up off the streets, saved you from certain death while putting her own life on the line? Sukuraji took all of us under her wing, and we are grateful to her for that." She was furious now, "But you! She's dying and all you can do is complain about how mean she is? We we're grateful. You, you're just a spoiled brat!"
With that the thief left her to her thoughts, storming off down the dirt path and disappearing down the bend. Chiyo stared into the distance as the wind blew by her, Byza was right; Sukuraji had saved her life twice now and was dying, just so she, a complete stranger could live. I am ungrateful. Byza was right, what right do I have questioning Miss Sukuraji? She thought, feeling overwhelmed with guilt.
She found herself sitting outside the city gates where people crowded selling wares or waiting for friends. Other people were heading across the bridge; some came running back, screaming. Apparently the leaotus hadn't been defeated yet. She leaned against the concrete wall, arms around her legs and chin on her knees.
The sun was setting now and the lamps spread out among the city glowed softly. Though they went out when the wind blew hard, making the front gate dark. Still people loitered, some had been there for several hours, and some were only passing by. Growing bored she watched as people walked by, there was an auburn haired acolyte with a ponytail, a blonde archer, and a red haired merchant. After those three there were very few people passing by. And after awhile the number of people dwindled until only Chiyo was left.
There was still enough light to see by, so she whipped out a piece of paper and her pen to write home.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I should have never left Prontera. I don't want to worry you but I think you have a right to know everything that has happened. First I trained hard at the training grounds, and then I went to Payon and met a merchant and archer. The archer was named Sukuraji, she wears this weird blindfold to training, and I never get to see her eyes though. The merchant is named Mira; she's really nice and really cares for Sukuraji.
I went to the caves for more acolyte training (She didn't want them to know she had no intention of being an acolyte yet) where I was almost killed by this zombie. Then Sukuraji jumped in and saved me. I joined their party so be proud 'cause I'm now a member of Valiant.
Well, actually, don't be proud quite yet, we were in Payon forest when this leaotus almost killed me again. Sukuraji saved me but the leaotus hit her right in the collarbone. I didn't know they were so strong! They must have really special whips! Sukuraji's bone is now snapped in half and she's fine for now but if she doesn't get help soon she might die.
I don't know what to do now, maybe I should just leave Valiant, I'm weighing them down anyways. Here, Chiyo looked down to the small Valiant broach she wore. If she took it off and left it, it would mean she wasn't a member anymore. The sun is going down so I gotta go.
Hugs, Chiyokins
She blew on the parchment to dry the ink, before folding it neatly and tying it all together with a string. She sat in the darkness, staring at the broach. After what seemed like forever she reached down, grasping the clip and pulling on it to release the broach. She closed her eyes, not wanting to remember this part. Only it didn't go 'plunk' when it hit the ground. Instead she heard it jingle as if it was being waved around.
"What are you doing?" the familar voice said playfully, she opened her eyees to see Mira's gloved hand waving the little pin in her hand. "This is a symbol of your party, don't just let it fall and get all dirty.
"Mira…" Chiyo's eyes watered as she smiled.
"Riddilili arrived about two hours ago and said she saw you here. We're waiting for you to come back so we can revive Sukuraji." The merchant smiled, Chiyo let her tears fall, "So don't cry. Everything's going to be fine." She kneeled down to be eye-to-eye with her teammate, still smiling with an encouraging look.
Chiyo practically jumped forward and hugged Mira, sobbing on the merchant's shoulder. "I'm so happy…" she said with a shaky voice, "That, Miss Sukuraji will be, okay…"
Mira patted the novice on the head as they sat there for a few minutes; Mira hummed a soothing song while Chiyo cried. "Everything's going to be all right."
For a while, I truly believed everything would be all right. Sukuraji would be healed, I would make up with Byza and Mira would always be there to hum songs while I cried on her shoulder. I was such a naïve little girl back then. When we become soldiers to fight for Rune Migard we live a life of pain. So nothing is ever all right.
A/N: Incase anyone hasn't figured it out yet Chiyo is telling the story of Sukuraji and she pops up in first person to talk about it once in awhile. Which is what the whole paragraph of italic text is. Hehe, so Ridd is joining the fray a little sooner than expected. I really wanted a chance for Chiyo to mature before she gets her class. Yeah, that won't be for a long time. I just couldn't think up another situation that would best fit this chapter, so yeah. Poor Suku! This chapter also reveals a little more about Valiant through Byza's freak out. So yeah, thanks for the reviews isles!
So now that I've cried my eyes out- "Hold on Chiyo! It's MY turn! Mira here, everyone's favorite charrie right? Hehe, anyways Riddilili is here, yay! Sukuraji will be back on her feet in no time right? WHAT! Oh, we can still have some fun without her! Time for a little break from training! Next time! Bravery comes with… vacations? Keep it real! Mira blastin' off!