Chapter 11: Brother Ryokuryuu
As promised by Mundok, a week after they had left Kuuto, they had begun their search for Ryokuryuu. Kija had begun to awaken in the middle of the night during their journey. His dreams were filled of nightmares. A green haired man beating a child with similar hair. Chaining the child to a wall, only for said child to escape. The child never got far, as the green haired man would hunt him down, smack him around and then starve him for several days before coming back to a dingy hut drunk. These dreams left Kija waking with tears in his eyes.
In his instructions from his father and elders of his village, Kija had heard of stories where the warriors of old not only could sense each other, but in times of great stress, they could find each other through dreams or even share dreams; but that was only when Hiryuu had been alive. Upon their master's death the dream connection had vanished until it had become a myth, even amongst the warriors descendants.
Kija looked next to him to find Hak unconscious. The younger boy's sleep was unaffected by Kija's wild dreams. Standing, Kija went to relieve himself, afterwards he found himself looking into the water of the lake they were camped by. The large bright full moon was shining upon its surface. Upon examining his reflection, Kija saw that his white hair was all messed up once against from the bad dreams. Taking his human hand, Kija fixed his wild hair. Pausing, Kija touched his chest with his dragon claw and looked towards the cliff's. Going towards them, he looked out into the night. The fluttering feeling in his chest moved quickly, as if Ryokuryuu was once again being harmed in some way.
A hand came down upon his shoulder breaking the connection Kija had with his brother. Turning his eyes upwards, Kija saw the worried face of Mundok "You've been having bad dreams lately." the older man stated simply. Kija gave a nod as an answer. "Are they of the boy we are searching for?" Another nod was his answer.
"I'm convinced now," Kija began as he looked into Mundok's good eye. "he is being hurt and it's by the former Ryokuryuu."
"Tch." Mundok sounded disgusted. "How old is this kid?"
Kija shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not certain." he answered honestly. "In the first generation, the Ryokuryuu was second oldest. Hakuryuu was the eldest. In this one, Ouryuu is the eldest."
Mundok nodded. "I see." he stated as he crossed his arms over his chest. "There is a village nearby, we will go there tomorrow to rest in one of the inn's."
Kija shook his head. "No." he said with a stern tone to his voice. It would've been cute, except for the serious look upon his face. "Ryokuryuu is there." he said pointing to the lights in the valley below. "I am certain of it."
"I see." Mundok answered as he rubbed his chin. "Then you know that you will not be entering that village."
Kija turned his head away from the horizon and looked back towards Mundok. "I know."
With morning came a nervous air amongst the band of travelers. Kija and Hak were left behind with Zen as Xa'den went on ahead to spy on the village ahead of the group of four men that were with Mundok. Surrounding the village were lookout towers, but Xa'den found them quite strange. Instead of the occupants looking towards the woods that surrounded the village, they were watching the village itself. Also there was a stone wall that surrounded the village, but a digout that surrounded the village with wood spikes inside the deep dugout ditch. A single bridge led inside to out of the village.
Xa'den snuck into the village, stole some local clothes and began to look around the village. On the outside, it looked like a normal village; but the eyes of the people told a different story. The children did not leave their mothers sides. The men all carried weapons and the elders seemed to be constantly watching a single hut with a green door that was stationed at the center of the village upon a hill. It didn't take a genius to understand who lived there and as he watched the hut, Xa'den could soon confirm his thoughts.
As a green haired man came out of the hut, people seemed to run from his presence. The old snooty elders watched him with patience as he walking up to them. They gave him a basket of food, half which he ate before returning to the hut. With this sighting confirmed, Xa'den waited until the man left the hut and the people weren't watching it. It wasn't until late afternoon that he got this opportunity. Several minutes after the green haired man had left the hut, Xa'den rushed towards the hut. He only needed a peek to confirm what was inside.
Pushing the door open, Xa'den found himself disgusted at what he saw. A young, thin boy laid on nothing more than straw. A stench came from the hut, as it reeked of urine and feces. The boy had manacles upon his wrists and one larger, stronger looking one upon a single green ankle. The basket of food was upon a table, of which the young boy couldn't reach. Xa'den also saw bruises covering the young boy. From his face to his green leg, bruises of verying sizes and colors marked up his body.
With his suspicions confirmed, Xa'den quickly left the village the way he had come into it. Once again the guards didn't even blink as he walked right out of the village. He met up with General Mundok moments later and gave his report. To say the wind general was livid was an understatement. The general had a soft heart towards children, everyone knew this. To hear of one being harmed in such a way in the wind territory, well, Mundok went from Elder Mundok mode to General Munsok mode in seconds and began ordering his men around.
As dusk began to fall upon the Ryokuryuu village, a single figure could be seen entering the village by way of its gate. The elders, who had stayed in the square most of the day were surprised to see the stranger; however, it wad the eldest of them all that recognized the insignia upon the stranger's shoulder and the significance of the feathers hanging from the one eyed man's band on his head.
"General Mundok." Those two words alone were enough to send fear into all of the hearts of those in the village square. All had heard rumors of the generals exploits on and off the field of battle. For such a man of legend to be in their village certainly, something had to be wrong.
"Give him to me." Mundok said with a tone that send this was a warning.
"W-Who are you talking about?" asked the younger of the four elders.
Mundok took a deep breath to keep himself calm. "The boy."
Fear went through the four grey haired elders. How could this man know of the boy? There was no way Garou would betray the village. "What boy?" the eldest inquired, pretending not to know what the general was talking about.
"The boy with the green leg." Mundok clarified. The looks of shock upon their faces gave them away. "The boy who is being mistreated by his supposed predecessor. The boy who lays in that hut." He finished this as he pointed to the hut where Garou and the other lived. "You think I do not know what goes on in my tribe? I am the general of the wind. Those who live in my tribe are protected by me, even mythological beings of old." His Hand touched his sword. "Now, are we done with this farce or do you wish to continue?"
Suddenly a green leg came out of nowhere to kick Mundok in the gut, only for the one eyed general to catch said leg. "Garou!" one of the elders yelled.
"You fool!" another yelled.
"If you kill him, you'll bring his army down upon our heads!" a third yelled.
The eldest elder clutched his staff. "You wish to use him like all of the others before you, but you would see the truth." he said with a chuckle. "These beings are nothing more than curses that should be eradicated!"
"Yet even if killed, they come back in the form of another child and another and another." the second eldest finished for the first. "We cannot let you take them for if you do, the curse will spread!"
Mundok looked at the dark look that the green haired man had. It would seem he d I'd not know this was what the elders thought of him or the boy. "What you see as a curse, I see as a blessing sent by the Kami." He raised his hand, giving a signal to those waiting for it. Arrows of fire shot across the sky, turning the ditches into a blazing inferno. "I give you a choice now, give me the boy or watch your village and everyone inside burn alive."
"The rumors are true." The eldest elder said with mortified fascination. "You have a soft heart for those you deem innocent and hash justice you deem an enemy."
"You will regret this." the youngest stated as they quickly began to evacuate in order for the younger ones to save the village from being burned.
Mundok turned towards the hut, as he did, he heard a voice rise above the roar of the fire. "Why!?" Mundok turned in time to see the green haired man Garou fall to his knees. "Why come for him!? Why didn't you come for me before he was born?"
"I am sorry." Mundok told him with sincerity. "We did not know until now." He turned away from Garou who began to cry at this information. Mundok kicked the door to the one room hut open. The boy inside coward away from him, pulling himself to the corner of the room. The image the boy presented made Mundok's heart clench. "Do jot be afraid. I'm not here to harm you." Taking his sword from his hip, Mundok slammed the metal against the rust covered chains, cracking them before they shattered. Grabbing the boy by the scruff of his neck, Mundok threw him over his shoulder and quickly got the hell out of the village before Garou or the villagers changed their minds and came back to fight him. Placing the boy on his horse that was waiting outside the village in the forest, Mundok and his men got the boy quickly out of there.
"What are you going to do with me?" the boy ask, distrust was in his eyes and tone.
"Take you to a place you will not be thought of as a curse." Mundok answered.
The boy turned greenish/violet eyes away from looking at Mundok. "Does a place like that even exist?" he asked sadly.
Mundok took a cloak from one of his men who were offering it to him for the half naked boy to wear. Placing the heavy warm cloth over the boy, Mundok answered as the boy looked back up at him in surprise. "That is something you'll have to decide on your own."
M-Angel: So...this chapter is what happens when I listen to nothing but Twenty-one Pilots as I write. LoL. Okay, so Mundok may have been a bit OC here but you've gotta admit, he's badass when he needs to be.