"I'm tired zura..." Hanamaru groaned as they climbed up the mountain. "I feel like I'm going to die."
"We have only just started and your already tired!" Yoshiko exclaimed. "Both of you calm down." Riko ordered, not taking her eyes from the map. "We should be able to reach the town by sunset, if there are no obstacles blocking us. Then tomorrow we can head to the cave."
"Aye aye, captain, full steam ahead!" You said with a salute. "Let's do this!" Chika said enthusiastically. And so they walked on, with a complaining Hanamaru. Hanamaru wasn't really an athletic person and her stamina sucked. On a scale of one to ten it would be a two or even a one. Ruby could only feel a bit sad for dragging her friend into this decision of being a knight after seeing Hanamaru struggle. It was because of her persuasion that Hanamaru joined with her(and got a stamp on their foreheads thanks to Mari who approved their request) and in their previous quest got abducted. She could have saved her but she couldn't. All she just wanted was someone she knew, with her due to her shy personality. She didn't want to feel left out because of it. She wasn't like her sister. The dependable, hardworking, strong Dia. Sure, she had her weak points but it never was seen so easily, unlike her. Ruby was sensitive, weak, harmless and not so dependable. One of the reasons she built courage to join the squadron now called Aqours was to become a dependable and a open person. She wanted to stop being shy(at least at some places).
"Zura..." Hanamaru fell on the snow, tired. You was shivering. On seeing You shivering Riko took off her scarf and wrapped it around You's neck. You thanked Riko while blushing.
They had planed to stop to rest a bit and eat. They can't keep going forever in that cold wether with an empty stomach. "What did we bring as food, cause I'm starving!?" Chika said blowing into her hands to keep warm. You opened the backpack which Yoshiko placed on the ground and took out some containers. "A container of my Nicenoodles and the Tears of a Fallen Angel." You said the second item in a deep voice. "Alright then let's eat!" Chika said, taking out the bowls, placing the food in them and giving it to everyone. "Calm down Chika, eat slowly!"
"Sawy I wash hungwe(Sorry I was hungry)"
"I want some more zura!" Hanamaru said extending her bowl. "Already!" Yoshiko exclaimed, surprised at Hanamaru's speed. Ruby smiled at the two while eating. The two were childhood friends. Not just that Ruby knew Hanamaru's secret. It was nice to see that her friend had an idea of who her soul mate would be. Unfortunately for Ruby she hadn't gotten a tattoo yet. She wondered who would it be. She hadn't really felt any sort of attraction to anyone yet. She wondered how would it feel to fall in love with someone.
Ruby munched on her Nicenoodles and avoided the Tears of the Fallen Angel because she had a taste of them at Nozomi's place. Worst thing Ruby hated anything spicy.
"Is everyone ready to go?" You asked everyone once everyone is done. "Hai!" everyone said in unison. "Full steam ahead, my first mates!"
Nothing much happened except for Yoshiko almost falling of the edge of the mountain with the supplies. They had reached the town and headed for the inn Chika said she knew. Once they reached they Chika opened the door of the inn with a huge grin.
"Welcome to the- oh Chika chan your back!" a black haired woman said happily before calling on another person. The other person was a orange head younger than the black haired lady."Shima nee, Mito nee I missed you!" she gave the two a hug. "That's your sisters!" everyone but You said, surprised. Chika had been talking all about them as they were heading to the place located just out of town, near the cave. Chika nodded with a grin, still plastered to her face.
They were then acquainted with Chika's sisters before Chika led them to her room. On the way Ruby bumped into a purple haired girl, around her age. She wore the same hair style as her. "Watch it." she said to Ruby, with a cold voice. "Ah s-sorry." Ruby apologized to the glaring girl. Ruby felt a warm sensation on her back. It was so foreign but it felt good. She felt to know the girl even more though she felt a bit scared of her. "Ruby chan are you alright zura?" Hanamaru asked. "Yes. I am a bit scared." Hanamaru gave her a hug before joining the others in the room.
Chika then left to talk with her sisters. No one stopped her though cause they all knew the pain of staying away from their family. Hanamaru soon left to use the restroom.
The atmosphere of the room was a bit awkward, or so Ruby felt. She could sense You and Riko looking at each other awkwardly. That's when Ruby notice that the two had never really talked to each other and were closer to Chika than each other. Chika came back with some drinks placed it on the table in the middle of the room and left wondering what happened to everyone all of a sudden because everyone was quiet. Ruby and Yoshiko took their drinks.
Yoshiko was sitting beside Ruby bored. "Hey Ruby." Yoshiko whispered. "Yeah Yoshiko chan."
"It's Yohane and keep it low!" Yoshiko exclaimed quietly. "As my fourth little demon I need you to keep a secret. Don't tell anyone or else you shall face the wrath of the hellish flames." Yoshiko warned. "Alright tell me." Ruby gave her a warm smile. "Remember when we were at Nozomi's."
"Yeah."
"Well I found who's my soul mate."
"That's nice. Who is it?"
"Zuramaru." Ruby almost spit out her drink. She did know but still. "Huh I see. So is that why you screamed from the bathroom at Nozomi san's place."
"No it's not that. A fallen angel does not scream for such dumb reasons." Yoshiko said, but her beet red face told otherwise.
"What happened?" Riko asked looking confused as she looked at Yoshiko's embarrassed face. "My little demon was telling me something, Lili."
"Who are you calling Lili?" Riko gave Yoshiko a glare. "You are my elite little demon of course you need a name to show your elite status."
"I am not your little demon. None of us are."
"Alright I think that's enough." You intervened with a chuckle, to prevent anything worse to happen. "There's a hot spring here zura!" Hanamaru barged in with a food in her mouth, startling everyone. Ruby squealed. "We should go there zura!"
"Sure. Full steam ahead!"
"Why not."
"Okay. Zuramaru control your eating habits. It's not good for a knight to gain unnecessary weight. "
"If Chika chan allows."
"We are going there!" Chika said who was standing behind Hanamaru. "Let's go!" Chika said enthusiastically.
They were at the bath strategizing for the next day. It was always best to be prepared than sorry.
"According to Mari sama we have to beware of the Ice Sisters of Hakodate." Riko said. "How dangerous would they be? We can beat them up." Chika said proudly. "Actually they are very skilled. They have ice powers which are not very easy to defeat. According to Onee chan someone went missing because of them. She never tells me who." Ruby said, quietly. "Wait Ruby chan, you have fire powers you could defeat them, right?" You said, with hope. "I'm not as strong as Onee chan. I might end up being blasted away."
"I see. What if we send Yoshiko?" Riko said. "Hey it's Yohane!" she gave an eerie laugh before saying, "they shall stand no chance against me or my little demons."
"Yoshiko chan, they could easily dodge you and defeat you." Ruby said. "Hey!" Yoshiko exclaimed. "You do know a lot about knights." Riko said with a smile. Ruby smiled sheepishly.
In the end they came up with a plan to defeat the dragon. The dragon happened to be an ice dragon. Ruby would have to shoot a column of fire at it's weak point while Yoshiko would create a barrier around Ruby so she would be able to shoot at it without getting any injuries. The rest would protect the two. "Hopefully this works." You said. She was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.
That's when two purple haired girls entered; one around Ruby's age and one about two years older than her. Ruby started to mentally freak out. It was that girl. The girl she bumped into. The girl still gave her a glare to which Ruby squealed. "Sorry for the intrusion." the older one said. "No it's fine it's a public bath after all." Chika said with a smile. The two girls entered the water.
"So what brings you two to the Northern Mountains?" Chika asked. "We are on a mission." the older one said. "What about you?"
"Us too!" Chika said enthusiastically. "Good luck." the girl said. "Same too you!" Chika gave her a thumbs up before standing up. "Chika chan! " Riko was embarrassed by her friend's action. "We should be going now." Riko said. "Hai!" the rest of the squadron said before getting up. They would have to get a good night's sleep for the quest. Who knows what they might need to face.
Ruby was nervous and frightened. She didn't want to mess this up. This was her chance to show her strength and show that she was as useful as her elder sister.
They reached the entrance of the cave. The path was small but just enough space for a tiny dragon to pass by. The cave was one of the most scariest things Ruby had ever seen. A dark cave that loomed over everyone. Ruby's hands shivered not only because of the cold. Coldness was an enemy of pyromancers. Ruby wished her sister was there to hide behind.
In front of the entrance were two girls. One taller than the other. The two had purple hair; both looking a bit familiar. It was that girl. Ruby trembled, her quarterstaff almost falling out from her hand, when she realized it was none other than the Ice sisters of Hakodate. "Ah it's you again." the taller, older one smirked. "Why are you here?" the older one asked."I'd like to ask you the same thing." Riko said. "To defeat that dragon, of course." Chika said proudly before the two girls in front of them could reply; the two laughed, leaving Aqours confused. "You can't destroy a spirit." the older one mocked them. "You can control them."
"Is that so..." Chika chuckled nervously. "We are going to make it go back to sleep. So don't be in our way." the older one said. "We are also on a mission to do so. We will go and stop that dragon." Chika said. "Well then since you picking up a fight, send your fighter and let them fight one of us. Who ever wins shall complete their quest."
Chika agreed to the terms leaving the other members bewildered with the dumb choice. "Ruby chan." Chika turned around. "W-what!?" Ruby squealed. "Go on." everyone was looking at her. She remembered the plan they made in the morning. She had no choice but to go. She had forgotten to mention something to her group. Pyromancers grow weaker in the cold. As it was below freezing she was feeling really weak.
"Leah." the older one said. Leah moved up cracking her knuckles, scaring Ruby. She really didn't want to fight in this state. In fact she didn't want to fight at all. "Let this fight begin!" the older one announced.
Ruby, startled, let out a fire ball on Leah's direction. Leah skillfully did a front flip over it and shot a ice ball at her. If Ruby wasn't fighting she would have stared at Leah in awe. Ruby crouched preparing for the impact but it landed behind her. Ruby let out a terrified squeal. Ruby stood up, unsteady, as Leah landed on the ground. Ruby used her quarterstaff and sent a path of fire at Leah. Leah from her hand sent an ice one.
The older one, Sarah was hopeful Leah would win in that strike. In Aqours everyone was tensed. Some felt that they should have sent Yoshiko instead. They were scared if Ruby would be alright.
Both of their powers were cancelled out, surprising everyone, sendiing a burst of ice and fire everywhere. Sarah created an ice wall to protect herself while Yoshiko used her power and created a barrier. Meanwhile, Leah and Ruby were slowly moving back, at the force the columns of power were coming at them; both of them trying hard to defeat the other with the other's column of magic. Ruby could feel herself growing weaker by the second because of the cold. Leah's piwer weren't helping her either. She didn't know if she would make it. They heard a loud roar from inside. Both of them stopped attacking each other. and looked in horror as they peeked into the cave. The ground rumbled and shook. Before anyone could react the tiny dragon had stormed out of the cave nearly crushing the other members of Aqours and Sarah. Unfortunately, Leah and Ruby were thrown to the sides of the small path. The two had fallen down into the unknown pit.
"Ruby chan!" the other members screamed while Sarah yelled, "Leah!"
Both groups looked in horror as they has just lost a member. A person close to them at heart. All of them were only able to be speechless as they sobbed. Chika felt guilty for forcing Ruby and wondered how her sister was going to take this news. Sarah was heart broken. Her sister was gone. Gone. Gone.