(A/N: Hey there. I've decided that due to the overwhelming amount of homework I received from being sick for two weeks, I'll be trying to catch up again for a while, so I'll most likely update once, maybe twice a week.
Mr. Unimportant, I appreciate that comment about the A/N in the first chapter, but a little revising was necessary, and without the correct information, the whole section just sort of fell apart, so I made it more traditional.
I'm sure that you're going to notice a few Japanese words thrown in for good measure. Trust me, they're nothing more than mere curses, so unless you want to know the obscenities that Kage and Kyou scream at each other, I suggest that you don't go searching for them…)
Oh, and I'm fairly certain that I own two characters in this story, and I'm pretty sure that I don't Harvest Moon or Natsume.
Chapter III: The Closer You Get To The Light, The Greater Your Shadow Becomes
Kage turned to face the shorter shadowed figure and originated back to his former method of communication.
(Shiyounin! Return my weapon!)
Shiyounin hurried over to Kage and held out the katana whilst kneeling on one knee. He seemed to mutter something under his breath, but Kage ignored him.
"So, Kage," Ruby spoke, "How was your training in Japan?"
Kage stood and answered by hand, (It was all right, I guess. Most of my sensei kicked me out after a few weeks, claiming that I was too skilled for them, or something along the lines aforementioned. I've been searching forever to find a talented and experienced enough teacher, but finding good help is hard these days.)
He turned to Tim, (Have you been training in secret, Tim? Under that flabby exterior is some superior skill.)
Tim laughed, "Maybe all those methods finally sunk in!"
"Would somebody tell what the hell is going on?" Rock had captured the attention of his parents, but Kage and Shiyounin didn't even turn their eyes.
"Rock!" said Ruby, "Stop being rude, we have a guest. And what did I say about using foul language?"
Rock stomped out of the inn, mumbling to himself.
Ruby turned back to Kage, "So, would you two like something to eat?"
Shiyounin rose to speak, but Kage smacked him in the back of the head, hard.
(Shiyounin! What did I say about our mission? We're supposed to be ascetics by now, and you're lying on the floor begging for food like a homeless fool with a drug addiction! You just ate yesterday!)
Shiyounin rose from the floor and glared at Kage, although he was the only one to notice under his glasses and mask. However, Kage returned a glare cold enough to force Shiyounin to back down.
(You're right, sir. What was I thinking…?)
Tim broke the tension and asked, "So, will you two be needing a room?"
(I hate to be a burden, but I must accept your offer)
Tim laughed, "Oh, it's no trouble at all! If you're going to be eating as often as you say, it's practically free!"
(Very well. Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll be on our way.)
Without another sound, the two opened the doors and stepped out into the twilight as the sun hung just over the barren mountains.
"Um…"
"Uh…"
"How…"
Valley Jack shrugged and looked at his hands again. Dr. Hardy removed Jack's gloves and carefully examined them.
"I really don't know."
Dr. Hardy carefully adjusted his "mechanical eye"/eye patch to examine Jack's hands further, which made Nami and town Jack cringe.
"Hm…you seem to be fine."
"I feel fine."
"But that might just be a side effect. I'll have to run a few tests while I'm here. Lie down, please." Valley Jack did as he was told.
Town Jack looked at his watch, "Oh, darn it! I've got to get back to work; my horse is entering the festival for his first time and I need him to be in tip-top shape. Jack, Nami, Dr. Hardy, if you'll excuse me."
He was just about to sprint out the door when Jack called his name from the bed. He turned around just in time to catch a tiny sack of money.
"Put it all on Lucky."
Town Jack smiled as he turned around to get back to watering his plants. Nami shook her head, "You've got a pretty eccentric cousin."
Jack shrugged, "It runs in the family, I guess."
"Jack, you're such a goofball."
"Perhaps, but maybe that's just one of my many boyish charms."
Nami turned around, her face red with annoyance, but Dr. Hardy merely chuckled and asked, "Would you like to wait outside, miss?"
Nami didn't answer and slammed the door behind her.
"Feisty, that on," he said, turning towards his tool bag.
"Hey, what can I say?"
Dr. Hardy picked up a wooden board and held it up to Jack, "Jack, I want you to try and break this. Hit it as hard as you can."
Jack stood up and held back his fist, bending his legs to gain support. He then pushed all of his weight forward and straight punched the board, splitting it in two.
"Interesting. Now try it again, but hit it as lightly as possible."
Jack did as he was told, and lightly flicked it with his finger. Rather than split, this time the board shattered, sending dozens of chunks of wood in random directions, yet missing Dr. Hardy altogether.
"It seems that the more you restrain it, the stronger you become."
Jack was exasperated, "Then how the hell am I supposed to…be gentle…?"
"You'll just have to learn to control it. Maybe it's your wild lifestyle. Now that you've got a wife, it shouldn't be long before you've relaxed, "
Jack did something between a cough and a snort.
"But maybe these will help." Dr. hardy held out a few books describing various forms of yoga, meditation and martial arts. Jack picked them up with interest and flipped throughout the pages, but was rather confused to see pictures of strikes, grapples and blocks.
"I don't think that a mild mannered farmer's going to be needing self-defense training."
Dr. hardy coughed and looked over his shoulder towards the door. Jack nodded and laughed in response.
"I hear you. Thanks, doc."
He shook his head, "Don't mention it. But you might want to brush up on your history, it might give you a clue."
Jack was puzzled, but before he got the chance to ask, Dr. Hardy was gone.
Jack smiled and said to himself, "Silly old man, you're full of surprises, aren't you?"
He walked outside to see Nami with her back to the wall, arms crossed and eyes closed. Jack decided to break the silence.
"Miss me?"
"Only so much one girl can take."
"You know, I really wish I knew which way you meant that."
"Maybe it's both."
"Maybe…"
"Maybe it's not." Jack looked downtrodden.
Nami half-smiled in response and dragged him down the street.
"Celia!"
"Yes, Vesta?"
"Come downstairs, Tim and Ruby want us to meet their new customers. I hear that they're a couple of young men."
When she hit the bottom step, Vesta noticed a small twinkle in her eyes.
"Don't get too excited, I'm sure that they're exhausted."
"Don't worry, I won't!" Celia exclaimed as she skipped towards the inn.
Marlin came in looking confused, "What's with her?"
Vesta became very serious, "Marlin, follow her. I don't want her doing anything foolish."
He shrugged, "sure."
…
As soon as she reached the end of the bridge, Celia noticed two concealed figures exit the main doors, speaking with Tim and Ruby, overhearing a few things, but watching the two unknowns communicating with strange hand symbols that she had never seen before. Eager to meet new people, she continued to skip on over.
(Are you sure about this? Walking around with this sword on my belt isn't exactly going to leave a best first impression.)
Tim chuckled, "Don't worry about it! Most people here would assume that you have your reasons."
(I thought that you were, indifferent, sir.)
Kage nudged Shiyounin in the ribs.
(Urusai! You know why we do what we do.)
(Yes, sir)
Celia couldn't understand what they were saying, that being no surprise considering that the form of communication that the two used was secret and personal.
"Hello there!" She said, beaming. Shiyounin almost jumped out of his shoes, but Kage hardly even glanced.
Tim looked up, "Oh, hello there Celia. These two just came into town last night. Allow me introduce you. This is…um…"
Shiyounin nodded and spoke, "Kyou Gekido."
Tim continued, "And this is…"
Kage interrupted him by pulling off his glove and pulling down his mask.
"Kage Ochitsuita." He took her hand and shook it firmly.
"Why don't you take off those sunglasses, too? I bet you're really handsome."
Kage whispered something in her ear that made Celia blush heavily and giggle uncontrollably.
Kyou got Kage's attention by slapping him on the shoulder, (Having fun, Kage? Looks like you've become quite modest.)
None of them expected what happened next, because Kage turned around and punched Kyou/Shiyounin clean in the face.
(Shiyounin! Tojikomeru! What did I tell you about that?)
Celia ran over to him, "Are you all right, Kyou?" Kyou stood up and brushed himself off without saying anything.
"What's the matter with you, Kage?"
"Don't worry about it. I've gotten used to it," Kyou said as he tossed his glasses into a nearby garbage can and pulled another pair out of his pocket.
"My goodness, how many of those do you have?"
"More than you'd believe."
Kage turned around and headed towards the hill.
(Where are you going?) asked Kyou.
(Gym,) he answered, not bothering to turn around.
As soon as he was clear out of sight, Tim turned around and went back inside while Kyou decided to take a look around, leaving Celia in the middle of the road, filled with thoughts, questions, and very confusing ideas.
"Celia!"
Celia broke out of her train of thought long enough to notice Marlin walking towards her.
"Yes?"
"Did I miss them?"
"Yes…they were…interesting…"
"Hmm. I see. I guess I'll just have to meet them later…" He turned around and walked back towards the farm, mumbling to himself.
Seeing as how she really had nothing else to do, Celia decided to walk around the Valley and enjoy the nature, maybe even clear her head. She was, after all, having trouble contemplating just what the world was coming to.
"Nah."
"C'mon, Nami. This is the first time I've ever really had the time to explore this place. It would be nice if you'd let me."
"Nope."
"Please?"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
"Jack, stop begging. People are going to think that we're siblings. And wipe off your pants. A 'grown' man should know it's not a good idea to kneel down in the middle of a road like this."
Jack stood up and brushed off his pants, muttering to himself. He looked up at Nami and attempted to convince her one more time, but felt a cold shock run through his head. He didn't flinch, but it sure did hurt like hell. He looked up to see a man in black slowly walking down the road towards Moonlight City, but he figured that it was just a coincidence.
"Meh, maybe you're right Nami. I think I should get some sleep."
Nami looked around towards the road, turned around, shrugged and pulled Jack home by the wrist.
Celia sighed as she stood in the bathroom, carefully brushing her teeth. There wasn't much of explicable reason, but she felt very tired. Perhaps it had been too much excitement than she was used to, but she had no intention of analyzing it anymore that day.
It was only six o'clock when Celia dragged her feet up the stairs into the loft and pulled the covers up just below he neck. Too annoyed with keeping her hair in that straight fashion with the restraining bandana, she removed it and tossed it onto the floor without much of a second thought.
Not tired enough to fall asleep right off the bat, she lay in bed staring at the ceiling, thinking.
Wow…I've never me anybody like that. It's almost as if he's bipolar, but not so severe. He's definitely charming, but I don't think that's the real him. Why else would he keep himself so concealed?
After a few minutes of contemplating as many aspects of the situation as she could, Celia gave up and told herself that she'd figure it out later as she turned out the lights and drifted off.
"Hey, you two!"
Tim and Ruby poked their heads out of the front doors of the inn to see the newlyweds coming back down the road. Jack's arm wrapped around Nami's shoulder, looking exhausted.
"You feeling better, Jack?"
Jack nodded lazily, eyes half open and standing without much of his own support. He yawned loudly, and then fell asleep. Nami's shoulder shrugged about half an inch.
"I think I should get him to bed. Something's been bothering him lately."
She slowly made her way up the hill back onto the grounds of her new home. Takakura was busy cleaning off Jack's prized cow when he saw the two of them and rushed over to take a load of off Nami's hands, with Uma trailing at his heels.
"Geez! Kid's been here a year and gotten pretty heavy. I must really be getting old. Up and at 'em."
Takakura grunted as he pulled jack into the house, his feet dragging through the dirt. Nami opened the door and Takakura dropped Jack on his bed. In his sleep, Jack curled up into a ball and began snoring.
"Oh great. He snores too?"
"Don't worry about it. He'll probably stop in a few minutes. Tea?"
Nami nodded and Takakura went back to his house to fix a pot for the two of them.
Nami rummaged through the drawers and searched for a blanket. She finally found a red one to suit her tastes and sat on the carpet, covering herself.
She almost drifted off to sleep as well, and when Takakura tapped her on the shoulder, she almost jumped out of her shoes.
"Here," said Takakura, handing her a small white cup filled almost to the brim with green tea. Nami got up and sat on the bed, pushing Jack to the other side and almost collapsing from exhaustion.
Takakura nodded and left. It was just past eight, the moonlight pouring in through the window. Nami sat, slowly sipping her tea and watching the moon rise higher and higher towards the peak of the night sky.
Nami tends to get lost in thought quite often, so when Jack rolled over in his sleep and unknowingly and unconsciously hit her in the back of the head, she got angry. Turning around to hit him in the face, she thought that it might be amusing to wake him up.
But just as she pulled back her fist, she noticed the gleaming ring on her finger. Smiling softly to herself, she sipped down the last of her tea, hit the lights, snuggled up under the covers and kissed her husband goodnight.
It may have been a coincidence, but it seemed that every step that the dark figure known as Kage took in the moonlight was overshadowed by something. It was if nature were trying to keep him out of the light. Nevertheless, he paid it no mind and continued to walk slowly towards the inn, and opened its doors just as the half-moon reached the top of the sky.
Laughing quietly to himself as he could hear Tim's snoring from outside his room, he jumped up the steps as stealthily as possible, not even making a sound as he landed on what Rock referred to as the "squeaky step."
A quick flick of the lights and Kage had enough to time to view the surroundings of his temporary home. He noticed Kyou, sleeping in the corner with the other bed pressed right against it.
Hakuchi... You're too lazy to even push the bed away.
Without much effort, Kage lifted the bed with both hands and carefully placed it on the other side of the room. It wasn't that he cared that people were sleeping. It was simply in his regimen: "Do what you must to improve and benefit yourself, no matter the liabilities or profits that others gain."
Kage slowly stepped into the shower, allowing the clean, warm water to rinse off the blood, sweat and tension that he had built up during the day. It was almost like meditation, but much more physical than mental. He preferred that.
He stepped out of the shower and took a good look in the mirror, observing the scar across his face and his messy, unkempt hair. He wasn't exactly sure why he cared. But he told himself that it was solely for the purpose of appealing to himself, just as he always had.
A quick rinse of mouthwash, a few minutes of flossing and brushing and a little cream to keep his body from getting infection-along with the added risk of losing precious energy-was all that he needed to do before sinking into the warm sheets of his bed.
He had never spent too much time in a real bed, perhaps because he had traveled so often and gotten himself into so much trouble-none with the law-that made him truly appreciate where he was.
But such thoughts were not on his mind tonight. Make no mistake; this night was really no different from any. Kage usually had trouble falling asleep. His mind was just so full of useless and useful information that it found trouble realizing that the body was trying to catch its breath.
It's been so long, I guess it took me a while to realize where I've gotten. I haven't got nearly as much energy as I used to. I kept telling Mom and Dad that it was sucking the life out of me, but they continued to say 'hang in there, it's for the best.'
Yeah, looks like general education really got me where I am today. A six foot-three male with a bad attitude, a cursed sword and a real reputation among even the highest crime lords that don't even know what I look like trapped in a world of fools. Don't they realize anything?
You're doing it again. How many times do I have to tell you that it's pretty much pointless to contemplate such a silly argument?
You're right, as usual. But maybe I need something a little more stress relieving. Maybe I'll think about it in the morning.
Not merely content with drifting off to sleep just yet, Kage pulled a rock out of his backpack and watched it hit Kyou in the head.
He was rewarded with an annoyed call of, "Shimatta!" just before allowing his thoughts to give way to his urge to rest.
