The sun rose high the next morning, shining brightly through Reina's room window. She scratched her eyes and ywaned. Stretching, she rolled out of bed and grabbed the rest of her clothing, heading for the bathroom. Kyoko was already awake, rapping on the door.
"Come on sleepy head! Let me in!"
Reina grumbled and yelled back, " I'm awake, and kinda busy!"
Kyoko stuck out his tounge (a.n at the door :P) and waited, quite impatiently, at the door. Reina finally unlocked the door, and Kyoko sat down on the bed.
"Are we leaving today?" Kyoko asked.
Reina shrugged, "I actually wanted to stay and visit the (very unfriendly) town some more. Get some souveniers, get some more food…"
Kyoko nodded frantically, and Reina laughed at him.
"Hey, I was thinking the same thing! I guess great minds think alike."
Reina shook her head, "I have to disagree, your mind isn't that great."
Reina smirked and headed out the door. Kyoko frowned, hurt and annoyed at the insult. In the lobby they found a chubby old woman working at the front desk.
"Uh, we'll be checking out now…"
The woman grunted, looking them both up and down. First at Reina; her black hair, her skinny build, the staff she carried, and last at the shoes she wore, which were worn with age. Kyoko stood awkwardly as the woman eyed his messy hair (a.n bed head!), his broad face, his baggy clothes, the same skinny build, and the old runners with the ratty laces.
"Huh, your kind shouldn't be able to stay here…or maybe you're the only one's who should be able to stay here."
Reina gritted her teeth. She thought of sending an insult right back at her, but thought other wise.
"Well, that's fine if you think that, but we have a different persepective."
Then, turning on her heal, she briskly walked out, Kyoko running after her.
The city wasn't as bustling as it was the day before, and Reina enjoyed walking around looking at the sights and peeking at the valuable items under glass frames. She checked their pocket money, and found there wasn't much.
"Hey, I'm uh, going to go look at something over there. Stay here, I'll be back."
Kyoko nodded and went on looking. Reina rushed around to a nearby ally and summoned her advisor.
"Are you coming back yet?"
Reina shook her head, "No, not for a long time. I just need money...a lot of it."
Nanako sighed and handed her a brown sack of shickles.
"There you go. Now run off. I have business to attend to."
Reina shrugged and ran back to the stand.
"I didn't find anything...hold this in your bag, would you?"
Kyoko sagged at the weight of the sack. He pushed it in the bag without question.
"Now, I want that necklace..."
After all the walking, they stopped on a bench with a snack of lemon bread. Reina was proudly wearing her new peice of jewelry; a necklace with a red and black cross made of glass, the middle bearing yet another sapphire. Kyoko secretly admired it, staring at the huge stone it held. They munched the lemon bread in silence, the crowd becoming more and more thick. The sound of mad yelling people could be heard over the rumble of footsteps on the cobblestone road.
"Has it ever occured to you that we don't really know where we are?" Reina finally asked. Kyoko shook his head, now thinking of the perplexing question.
"Somewhere in Japan?"
Reina shook her head in dismay, "Yeah, we know that dibstick, but what's the city called?"
A man in a black cloak and a grey beard turned to them.
"You are in the city of Tokinokane. You are new here, I'm assuming?"
Kyoko nodded slowly. The stranger smiled and turned back to the newspaper he had been reading. The two of them stood up and slowly walked away, glad to have the new information, and to get away from the old man.
"Strange man. I hope he doesn't stalk us."
Reina spat, "He better not, or he's not gonna like the outcome."
They reached the edge of the city, again finding a vast plain which they'd have to walk. But it didn't look far to the next stop, for they could already see billowing clouds af dark smoke coming up from a forest of trees. Reina took a deep breath and they started on their way.
"I am dying to meet these two. Hurry up and tell me to go!"
Kijo sat in a chair, tapping her fingers on the table.
"In time, Musuyo, in time. We cannot rush them, now can we? I'll send you out when they reach Kawagoe. There you will make them trust you, follow them to the celebration, and at just the right moment, kill them off!"
Musuyo rolled his eyes, but bowed regardless.
"Yes, Shukun Kijo."
She waved her hand, signaling his dismissal.
To Kyoko's dismay, they weren't even a quarter way to the next stop, and they had been traveling a very long while. Plus, it was getting dark.
"We might as well set up camp. We won't get much farther before sundown."
Reina nodded and sighed in defeat.
"You get the wood, I'll set up food...maybe you should go hunting too, we need meat."
Kyoko rolled his eyes and dragged himself to his duty. Reina gave a short giggle and took out the food from the bag. While putting the food out, Kyoko came back with an armload of kindle.
"I know, I know, I'm going back out to hunt."
Reina gave one short nod, and started to light the fire. Warming herself by the flames, she began to meditate. She glowed on and off, a bright golden color. Kyoko came back again with a bundle of meat. He watched Reina meditate, slowly watch the glowing light brighten and fade. Reina suddenly stopped, and was surprised to see him watching her.
"I didn't hear you come back. Well, let me cook that meat, and then we can eat."
She stood up and began to roll the meat over the fire with left over sticks from the pile that Kyoko had brought back. He sat beside her, warming up by the fire's glow. Reina passed a half burnt peice of meat to Kyoko, and he wrinkled his nose at it. But he ate it regardless.
"Have you ever tried combing that mat of hair on your head?"
Kyoko turned to face Reina. "What do you mean?"
Reina shook her head, "It looks like you've just got out of bed...all the time. Sometimes I wonder if you even own a comb."
He shrugged. "I thought it looked fine the way it was..."
It looks cute...
Reina froze and shook her head in disbelief.
Did I just think that? Or maybe I was imagining...
"Is there something wrong?" Kyoko raised an eyebrow.
Reina smiled, "No, there's no problem...do you want another peice of meat?"
Kyoko nodded. Reina took another peice off the stick and handed it to him.
"This time it isn't burnt."
He gulped it down in one swallow. Licking his lips he lay his head on his arms and stared at the sky. Reina watch his eyes grow droopy, and finally close completely. Reina stared at the fire for a moment longer, and lay her head beside Kyoko's. She drifted to sleep, with a smile on her face.
In the middle of the night, Kijo sent Musuyo out to the next town to wait for the pair to arrive... (a.n. this can't be good...)
Reina slowly awoke, finding that Kyoko had waken and gone already. She stretched, the sky ahead grey and gloomy. She frowned, yawned, and got up. Kyoko was rubbing sticks together, trying to start a fire.
"There's no use in making a fire now," Reina called. "We're gonna be leaving soon, and it looks like it's about to rain."
Kyoko nodded and threw the sticks away. "I have some food in my pouch, you can grab some if you want some, I already ate."
Reina scoffed. How dare he eat without me...wait, why should I care...
She hastily grabbed a peice of melon bread, and and sat abrumptly on the ground. Kyoko stared at her in puzzlment. She munched on her breakfast, a bigger frown on her face.
"Exactly how long have you been awake?" She snapped.
"Maybe an hour...why?"
Reina gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Then why, may I ask, didn't you wake me up!"
Kyoko rose a hand in defence. "Hey, you were peaceful in your sleep, if you want me to wake you up, next time tell me..."
Awe how sweet!
"Oh, I didn't know...that was nice of you."
And she continued with her melon bread, leaving Kyoko confused.
"Uh...can we go now? I've been anxious to leave."
Reina nodded and started to leave.
"Hey, wait up!" Kyoko shouted.
"I don't wait for slowpokes!" she yelled back.
Kyoko rolled his eyes and ran to catch up. Panting, he started a slow walk beside her.
"You really are impatient."
"Yeah, you just noticed?"
Reina smirked and ran ahead. Kyoko grumbled and ran after her, lunging forward to grab her shoulders and pull her down. After a couple tries, which were unsuccessful, Kyoko slowed to a jog, making Reina think he had given up. Reina began to walk, head up adn smiling. Kyoko grinned, ran and sprung on her shoulders, pinning her down.
"Who's proud now?"
Reina growled and kicked him off, running away while he picked himself off the ground. He shook his head and caught up, lifting her up by the waist.
"Let me go!" Reina screamed despite of her laughing. Kyoko dropped her, and she lay on the ground breathing hard.
"Ticklish?"
Reina nodded, "Don't do that again...what gave you the idea that you could violate my personal space?"
Kyoko shrugged. "I don't know, an impulse, I guess."
Reina cocked her head, and stood up.
"OK, let's go now. We got to get to another inn...or find another place to stay."
Kyoko gave a small nod and followed her.
They finally reached the town, and found it was smaller than they thought. It was also more desolate than the last. (a.n I know you said slow the story down, but what else am I supposed to write?) They walked around, passing old and crumbling buildings. Perched in a small tree up ahead, was Musuyo. He spotted them coming up the path, and dropped to the ground. He waited for them, leaning agaist the tree's trunk.
"Hey, there's a guy over there, maybe he know where to go." Reina said, pointing to Musuyo. Kyoko shrugged as Reina ran ahead. Musuyo smirked and remained in position.
"Hello, is there a chance you could help us?"
Musuyo looked at Reina carefully. "Of course, and what would you need, my young lady?"
Reina rasied an eyebrow, "Uh, we just wanted to know where a motel or inn might be..."
"Yeah buddy, back off of her, and just tell us."
Reina elbowed him in the stomach, in which he replied with a short mumble.
"There isn't an inn here. It was burnt down a year or two ago," he lied. "But I can take you to a shelter not too far from here if you like."
Kyoko gave her an uneasy glance. Reina nodded at him, and turned back to Musuyo.
"We'd like that very much."
Kyoko scoffed, and Musuyo led them away.
