Author's Note: I know it's been a while. Let's not dwell on that. I hope everyone is keeping safe in the current climate and being safety-concious. Also, on another note, Happy NaNo! The reason I'm not on FF as often any more (aside from my lack of creativity) is that I'm posting more on Ao3 nowadays. But FF will always be my home, and all the stories here will be updated. However, there are some stories I've posted on Ao3 that I haven't put on FF, so if you're curious, I'm Kanako_Hime on Ao3! Also, yes, I used 'cens' from Full Metal Alchemist because I drew a blank on currency, but the anime shows that they clearly have one...so I kind of improvised. A cen is about the equivalent of a dollar/pound/euro for the purposes of this story. 1 cen = 100 centas (made up that one, don't judge me!)

Title: The Threads of Fate

Author: Princess Kanako

Pairing(s): Mushra/Yakumo, Sago/OC, slight Kutal/OC, Mushrambo/OC, OC/OC

Date Submitted: 5/11/20

Disclaimer: I do not own Mushrambo/(マシュランボー)/Mashuranbō/Shinzo or any of its affiliates; they belong to Tetsuo Imazawa-sama.

Claimer: I own my own OCs, a few plot ideas, and some other stuff that pops up along the way. If I do not, I will say so.

Genre: Adventure, Romance, Drama, Fantasy, Humour, Angst.

Summary: Sent tumbling into Earth's future, Hitomi must keep her wits about her as she tries to change the course of destiny. In an uncertain, violent time, will she be able to overcome the trials that fate flings at her? Or did the gods choose the wrong person?

It had been about a week since the incident in the Bee Tunnels. Accalia and Hitomi had been on the move the entire time, sleeping outdoors and keeping off the beaten path. It hadn't been a completely uneventful seven days, however; the Fox Matrixer was determined to teach Hitomi the basics of surviving in the wild. In the morning, Hitomi gathered enough water to boil over the fire while she prepared breakfast. After breakfast, they broke camp and had to learn how to hid their traces - Accalia was paranoid (in Hitomi's opinion) that someone would or had caught word about another human, and she was determined that if a bounty hunter came sniffing around, they would find it tricky to locate their prey. While they were travelling along the road, the pair of them would gather herbs and plants while Accalia would explain what each of them was for, whether it be a handy snack, something to make a dish more appetising, or if it had medicinal or poisonous uses.

"Not all poisons are instant or deadly," the fox had lectured at Hitomi's expression when that topic had come up, "The dosage is important, and can help you draw a line between incapacitating an opponent or killing them. You need to learn about these plants; one day, they could be the only thing standing between you and escaping your captors."

So the lessons continued, much to Hitomi's annoyance, but yes, she could see the benefits of having such knowledge stored away. It was like CPR, she reasoned; one would never know when you'd need it, but it was always practical to know.

When they found a place to set up camp, Hitomi was supposed to either set up camp or hunt for dinner. Accalia had taken pity on her and had done the majority of the hunting - mainly game and fish - but she was insistent that her impromptu student would learn how to catch, kill and skin her prey before cooking it. After the meal, Accalia would run through some self-defence with her - nothing impressive yet, just the spots to aim for on particular types of Matrixers and was currently teaching her how to wriggle her way out of rope and how to pick locks. Both were going disastrously, in Hitomi's opinion, but Accalia was optimistic that she would get the hang of it in time.

Just yesterday, they had stopped in a village on the outskirts of a desert where they had traded furs, skins and medicines in exchange for coin. Hitomi now had more than one shirt to her name, as well as a mode of transportation when Accalia couldn't Hyper Form: a large hover board that was large enough for Hitomi to lie on if she wanted and (funnily enough) looked like a chunky flying carpet.

"The board's run on solar energy," the weasel-Matrixer who'd sold it to them said eagerly. "Stores up to three days worth of travel in energy if you've any plans to travel through bad weather. And if you do this-" he had tugged on one of the 'tassels' at the front and the machine had folded up to the size of a matchbox. "Becomes as portable as you please! It's a steal!"

Unfortunately, the weasel's idea of a steal wasn't the same as Hitomi's, but she had a fox on her side, and after a lot of haggling, both parties had walked away satisfied. Now, they'd arrived atop a hill, overlooking a wild-west type town in the middle of a valley when Accalia had stiffened and her eyes had gone milky.

"Accalia?" Hitomi said nervously - those pale eyes creeped her out. The fox blinked once, and her eyes returned to their normal mulberry colour. "You okay?"

"I need to go," the fox said suddenly, her normally golden skin pale and clammy. "My students - something has happened to them."

"What? How-"

"I see visions; I have no time to explain now," Accalia snapped, putting her staff and cloak into her bag, paused, then pulled out a large bag of coins and tossing it to Hitomi. "I'll be back when I have completed my business."

"Wait, you're going to leave me here? Alone?!" the teenager fairly screeched as the elder strapped her bag back onto her person.

"You'll be fine - go to the village and make yourself comfortable. I'll see you soon." Without waiting for an answer, she Hyper-Formed and took off across the desert in a plume of smoke. Hitomi was left with her jaw hanging open.

"I'm going to kill her," she hissed, stuffing the bag of coins into her pocket as she slowly nudged her hoverboard forward. She didn't like the idea of speeding downhill when she was still such a novice at piloting the thing.

"Hey! You there!" a voice called. She turned around to see a familiar group speeding towards her - the cat had flagged her down. She just about kept her jaw from dropping, pulling her hood down more firmly to cover her eyes.

"Uh, yes?" she managed politely as they drew up alongside her.

"Do you know anything about this town - if they have doctors?" the cat asked, gesturing to a white craft that had Yakumo inside in the driver's seat, eyes shut and her face pale. "Our friend is ill."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not a local," Hitomi said apologetically, "However, I was on my way there anyway - perhaps I might accompany you? I know a little about medicines if there isn't a doctor, and I have some stuff in my bag that might be helpful?"

"That's very kind of you!" the cat boomed, ignoring the looks that the other two boys in his group were shooting at a flustered Hitomi. "Let's go then!" He nudged his vehicle forward and it slowly puttered down the hill. Mushra and the boy with the scooter stayed close to Yakumo's craft, while the cat was between them and Hitomi. "What's your name?" he asked politely.

"Uh, Hi-"

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Mushra butted in, suddenly right in her face. She gasped and her board braked automatically. "You seem really familiar."

"Er, well, I suppose I do," she hedged, wincing as the lightbulb went off for the other boy.

"You - you were the one in the tunnels!" he gasped, clicking his fingers. Hitomi smiled weakly. "That means you're-"

"Guilty as charged," she agreed, "But can you please keep it down? I'd rather not advertise what I am." She sighed, pinching her nose for a moment before straightening. "Let's try again. I'm Hitomi Yukimura. Who are all of you?"

"My name is Sago, pretty lady," the water-matrixer said flirtatiously as she laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Hitomi-han, correct? I am Kutal, an explorer and a chef-" '-han'? Sounds a lot like the Kansai dialect, Hitomi mused as the feline shook her hand vigorously. "-and how on earth did you know Yakumo-han's name? Or Mushra's? Have you met them before?"

"Not face-to-face," she admitted as her hands were released and they continued downhill. "I was...around...when Mushra fought at the statue. Myself and my companion left the next morning and we came across you in the tunnels."

"The fox?"

"Yes. She ran off earlier saying she'd be back 'when I have completed my business'," she quoted, sighing. "Goodness knows when that will be."

"She left you alone?" Sago said incredulously.

"She said it was an emergency," she said a little defensively as they finally drew into the town. "Besides, she'll be back."

I hope, she thought a little nervously.

"Hey, old man, is there a doctor in this town?" Mushra yelled, speeding off to hassle some old guy while the rest of the group sighed. After a few moments, the teenager came back looking a little put-out. "No doctor," he fumed as they made their way down the street. "Just an inn, and an apothecary. Ridiculous."

"Okay, well how about we get settled in a room and plan from there?" Hitomi suggested as they stopped outside the faded-green inn. "Yakumo-san needs a bed, peace and quiet, and some medicine." She scanned the price list tacked to a post. "Five cens for a room and a meal seems pretty reasonable." She turned to see the boys looking sheepish. "What?" she asked, climbing off her board and pulling on the tassel to store it in her pocket.

"We don't have very much in the way of funds," Kutal said delicately, as Sago interjected, "Last time we ate was yesterday morning."

Suddenly, the large bag of coins was making way more sense. Hitomi crossed her arms and mentally cussed-out/praised Accalia and her visions.

"I'll tell you what," she said after a moment, "This is on me. I'll pay for rooms and a meal, as long as you don't drain my funds, and in exchange, I can stick with you guys until my friend comes back." At the wide-eyed look, she shrugged, muttering, "I don't really like being alone."

"That seems fair," Sago mused, scratching his chin. "Any objections?"

"None for me!" Kutal said eagerly. Finally he could eat some good food. Mushra shrugged, and with that, Sago escorted Hitomi in to sort out rooms, while Mushra and Kutal secured their rides and brought Yakumo inside. As they settled her Yakumo into the room, the price suddenly seemed a bit much, considering the state of the place. But beggar's can't be choosers and all that, so Hitomi grit her teeth and got on with it. As they settled Yakumo on the covers, her eyes opened and blearily took in her friends, and Hitomi.

"I'm sorry, this is holding us up," she murmured.

"Don't worry about it," Mushra said kindly. "The most important thing is you rest up and get better."

Kutal entered the room, holding a plant that Hitomi wasn't familiar with in his paw. "This should help," he said, taking a mortar and pestle out of Sago's rucksack and starting to grind up the acorn-like fruit. "Just need to add a little water - Sago?" The water-Matrixer flicked his finger and a small stream of water flew into the bowl until Kutal told him to stop. A somewhat spicy scent made Hitomi's nose itch.

"Kutal-san, what exactly is that?" she asked politely.

"An old remedy, perfect for colds or fever," the cat said proudly, looking into the bowl (though honestly, it was more of a small washing tub in reality; Kutal's size made everything seem smaller) and pouring out a little into a cup for Yakumo. Sago took the cup and helped Yakumo to take a sip, but almost the instant it hit her tongue she started choking and coughing.

"Yakumo-!" Mushra fretted.

"Her constitution is clearly very different from ours," Sago said, helping Yakumo to lie down properly on the quilt.

"I don't understand, it's always worked before," Kutal said, sounding upset.

"Thank you for thinking of me, Kutal-san," Yakumo said softly, and the feline fairly blushed before taking a big gulp of the medicine himself. The three boys went to talk in the corner among themselves, so Hitomi got out some light clothes from her bag - a large baggy t-shirt and some shorts she'd managed to save from Kat's purging - and helped Yakumo into the fresh clothes and bundled the others up to wash. When she finished tucking Yakumo in, she turned around to see that Mushra was the only one left, scowling at the door.

"Uh, where did the others go?" she said awkwardly, putting Yakumo's clothes down at the end of the bed.

"They went to eat," he said sourly, taking a seat. "Rock paper scissors, and I lost."

"That's still around?" Hitomi said incredulously. Mushra blinked up at her. "Sorry - that was a game I used to play as a kid. I'm surprised it lasted-" She stopped, then cleared her throat. "Well, you get the idea."

"Yeah, I guess." Mushra eyed her in a way that made her feel like a bug under the microscope. "So were you frozen like Yakumo?"

"What? Uh, no - though that'd be an interesting story," she pondered, pulling out her precious pack of medicine, including her cold and flu tablets in her emergency med kit. "I'm...not really sure how I got here, truth be told. One minute I was walking around my hometown, then I woke up here the next." She shrugged, popping out two pills.

"What're those?"

"Medicine from my home. They're helpful for fever," she said, neatly avoiding the fact that she only had the one packet. "Hand me a glass of water?"

Curious, the Matrixer obliged and after nudging Yakumo to sit up and take the pills, she was once again curled up asleep.

"Hopefully that'll help," she muttered, glancing at Mushra, then at the door, then at Yakumo. "Mushra-"

"How long is she going to sleep?" he interrupted.

"As long as she needs to?" she hedged. "A few hours, at least. If it's just a fever, she should be okay by tomorrow. If she's got a cold or the flu, she could be sick for a few days, maybe a week."

"Humans are so weird," he grumped. Hitomi rolled her eyes.

"I apologise on behalf of all humanity," she said drily. "Listen, I'm going to go down and grab some food-"

"Don't you leave me alone too!" Mushra whined. "I'll get bored with no-one to talk to!"

"Mushra!" she snapped. "I'm going to get some food and then I can come up and sit with Yakumo until one of you has had your meal. I know how to treat human sickness, so it makes more sense for me to stay up here."

"Really?" he seemed suspicious. "Why?"

"Because I find that when boys are hungry, they can't think of anything else besides their stomachs," she snapped. She took a breath. "Look, if she gets worse or wakes up or whatever, I'll call one of you, how about that?" He still was shooting her suspicious eyes, so she sighed and went to the door. "Think about it, okay?" she asked, before leaving the room and making her way down to the main bar. The Grasshopper Matrixer behind the counter was polite, and when she explained that she wanted to wash some clothes upstairs, he sent one of the workers up with a couple of buckets of soapy water, while he set out a small tray of rice, meat and mixed vegetables for her to take up to the room. Thanking him, she waved at Sago who was calmly sipping some tea before heading back up the stairs to the room, nudging the door open with her hip. Instantly, Mushra was trying to nab her food.

"Down boy, this is for me," she said irritably. "But you can head downstairs. Just be back up soon, okay? I don't like being alone in new places too much."

"Gotcha. Thanks!" And with that, the teen vanished out the door, eager to eat. Hitomi sighed and rolled her eyes, but put the tray down as she threw Yakumo's clothes into one of the buckets and let them soak. Bringing the chair closer to the bed, she picked at the food tentatively before digging in. Whoever the chef was, she wanted to shake their hand.

A shadow fell across Yakumo's face, and Hitomi glanced over to the single window to see a spider hanging from the drain outside, causing a shadow to be cast on Yakumo's face. She put her plate back on the table, reached over and closed the shutters. Spiders always gave her the creeps. At least one thing stayed the same over the centuries, she mused as she started humming softly; spiders still grossed her out.

She didn't notice the shutters slowly inching open.

To be continued...