Arriving in the next town, Reina payed (yet again) for the traveling food. After a walk through the town, they found a trail through a thick forest.
"We should use this as a short-cut."
They all agreed and headed up the small hill the trail led into. Reaching the top, they found a circle of trees, making a decent camping area.
"This is great. We can stay here for the night."
Fiera gave a small nod, and started gathering twigs for a fire. Musuyo glanced anxiously around, and disappeared through the thicket. Reina shrugged and continued lighting the fire.
Panting, Musuyo stopped running and leaned against a tree. A hand grasped his shoulder and he jumped. He turned around to find it was only Kijo.
"You gave me a fright there..."
Kijo waved a hand to silence him. "They give me a fright, you fool. You have done almost nothing to earn their trust, especially that boy, Kyoko. Reina is getting there, but their bond is much stronger than I had hoped. I'm sorry to say, but I'm going to bring in your sister."
Musuyo gasped. "But, Shukun Kijo, she's mad. You can't..."
"Shush. She can help. I have her under control. She knows the concequences." Turning her head, she called, "You may come now, my pet."
A young girl stepped out of the shadows and stood behind Kijo.
"You remember your brother, don't you Yakunan?"
She snickered. "All too well, Shukun. Hello brother. It'll be nice to work with you."
He grumbled a "hello" and shuffled his feet. "Why are you wearing those rags?"
She snorted. "It's part of our plan, thick head. You will pretend to find me while searching for...what were you looking for?"
Musuyo gave an irritated sigh. "Sticks. For fire."
"Right, right. Anyway, you bring me back to camp, one of those dimwits fixes me up..."
She pulled her sleeve up and revealed a large gash along the side of her arm.
"And we be friends and I go along with you to, in the end, destroy them."
Musuyo nooded, and Kijo smirked.
"Then go. And try not to act suspicious you two."
They nodded simultaneously and ran off.
Reina had meanwhile made a large fire and had started cooking some leftover meat that they saved inside Kyoko's sack. Ruffling behind some bushes roused them to turn their heads and watched as Musuyo emerged, grasping the arm of a girl with one hand, while he carried a few sticks in the other. The girl had tears streaming down her face, and blood stained her dirty clothes.
"Please, help me," she sobbed. "It hurts."
Reina grabbed a bandana that Kyoko carried in his back pocket and ripped into strips, tying it on the wound. She placed the girl's hand on top of cloth for pressure.
"I found her on the ground while getting sticks. She said she got mauled by an un-identified animal..."
Reina nodded. "Can you tell me your name?"
"Yakunan." She whispered, her words coming out ragged due to her trembling.
Reina's mind froze. Evil...
"W..what a pretty name." She stuttered in vain.
"Well, we can't leave her alone, now can we?"
Kyoko scoffed.
"No we can't," she accentuated her words. "She'll just have to come with us."
Kyoko grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the group.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
Reina rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you seem to have problems with everyone. Yes, I think it's a good idea. The bigger, the better."
Reina stood up and walked over to Yakunan. "You are free to travel with us if you like."
Yakunan's eyes glimmered with joy. "Really? You mean it?"
Reina nodded her head in approval. Yakunan jumped up and hugged her with her good hand. Reina smiled and sat her down.
"Why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"
Yakunan was hesitant, but soon began talking.
"I am 15. My family abandoned me not that long ago. I guess that's why they gave me my name...I bet I wasn't good enough for them. But they abandoned me anyhow. They just kinda kicked me out."
Musuyo rubbed her shoulder tightly, smiling her way. Yakunan gently shrugged it off.
"That's horrible. So, you're not even going to try turning back?"
Yakunan shook her head sadly. "No. I'm too lost to do that anyway."
Kyoko muttered under his breath. His thoughts were this group is getting too big for my liking...
"Well, the plan is we're sleeping here for the night, leaving in the morning for the next village, and stopping to get you some decent clothes."
Yakunan gave a nod of gratitude and pulled up closer to the fire. Musuyo sat beside her, and Yakunan gave him an irritated glare. He responded with a smirk, and Yakunan had no choice but to tolerate it. The sky grew dark, the stars coming out slowly, and one by one, the group began to fall asleep beside the fire, that was still brightly burning. Musuyo and Yakunan held back, waiting for everyone to doze off. After Fiera, the last of the three to drop off, went to sleep, they started talking.
"I like that one," Yakunan said as she pointed to Reina. "She's quite the trusting one now isn't she?"
"Yes she is. That was too easy."
Yakunan scoffed. "Way too easy. Kijo mentioned that you had to get close to that one. What do you plan to do? She's not that trusting, I can tell you that now..."
Musuyo gave a chuckle. "Oh don't worry. When we get into the next town, I have a plan to take out."
Yakunan narrowed her eyes. "And that would be...?"
Musuyo lowered his head. "Let's just say it's gonna make Kyoko even more jealous."
Yakunan nodded her head slowly, obviously intrigued by the mention of the plan. "What about me? Kijo said I had a part to play in this. I want a good role."
Musuyo scratched his head in thought. "Kyoko would be a good catch for you..."
Yakunan nodded frantically. "Yes, then I can make the girl mad!"
Musuyo sighed and shook his head in dismay. "That's not the point of it. Remember, we're doing it so we get trust from most people in this group of dingbats."
"I understand."
Musuyo gave a final nod, and drifted to sleep. Yakunan followed, curling up in a tight ball. As the fire died, eyes glimmered in the dim light, anger showing inside of them.
The sun rose high the next morning, waking up Reina. She stretched and crawled over to Kyoko, shaking him violetly. Kyoko grumbled and rolled over on his side. Reina poked and prodded him until he finally woke up.
"Why are you such a bother?" he asked grumpily.
Reina shrugged and went to see to Fiera. She awoke more easily, but was more nervous to see Reina.
"Gooood morning! We won't be having breakfast just yet. We'll have to walk a bit first..."
She was interrupted. "I need to talk to you, Reina. It's about..."
Reina shook her head. "I'm sure it's not that urgent. I'm sorry but I'm a bit busy with Kyoko. He's more grumpy than he usually is, and he's treating everyone like dung. I'll talk later, OK?"
And she ran off, leaving Fiera downhearted. Kyoko grumbled, lumbering around, pacing back and forth.
"Can we go now? I'm getting hungry. And annoyed."
Reina sighed. "What's wrong with you this morning? I'm not going to take anything from you my friend. Either stop being a tight ass or go be a loner somewhere else."
Stomping off, she rolled her eyes to look at Yakunan's arm. The bleeding had shed through the cloth, and Reina applied another layer. Tying it in a knot, she mumbled, "We'll be going soon. I hope your arm won't slow you down."
Yakunan shook her head. "It won't. With all this care, it'll be better in no time."
She smiled at Reina, and she giggled warmly. She gave it a soft pat and went to see Fiera.
"You said you had something to tell me? Well now's the time."
Fiera nodded. "Well, it was bothering me, and I wasn't exactly sure if I should tell you or not. But I decided you should know. I was sitting around and I..."
She was interrupted by Musuyo's voice calling her. Fiera shook her head, but let Reina go talk with Musuyo.
"What is it now?" Reina asked tiredly.
Musuyo looked up at her. "Oh, I just need help tying this...," He held up a cloth and swung it around his neck. "Please?"
Reina scratched her forehead, but took the ends of the cloth and tied it for him.
"There. Now please, leave me in peace for a while."
She took off for Fiera again, but when she reached the spot where she had just been, she was gone. Reina gave a huff of frustration, and left to gather everyone up to leave.
All settled in one group, walking in the afternoon sun, Reina noticed they all looked beat down and tired, even after the night's rest they had. Thinking of her own hunger, ran up ahead to Kyoko.
"You're probably as hungry as I am, aren't you?"
Kyoko shrugged. "It depends on how hungry you are," trying to make a joke despite the odd silence. "Just kidding."
Reina gave a curt chuckle. "Well, my stomach tells me that if I don't get food soon, it'll probably burst. I wonder how long it is until the next village..."
Fiera tapped her shoulder. "I'm getting hungry..."
"That's what we were just discussing."
Fiera sighed. "Everyone looks as if they are all hungry and tired. I wanna stop walking and rest. Can you see any signs of a town?"
Reina strained her eyes to see over the vast plains, but nothing came to her. "No, sorry. We'll get there, don't worry."
But even though Fiera and Kyoko looked reassured, Reina wasn't so confident. All there was in front of them were big open fields, and not a tree in sight. And with the sun beating down on them, it made the going even more tough. Musuyo, who was trailing behind with Yakunan and was whispering in her ear secretivly. Fiera grunted, which puzzled Reina.
"Are you feeling sick or something? You've been acting weird ever since this morning."
Fiera shook her head. "No I'm fine. I just really need to talk to you in private."
Reina nodded. "Tonight when everyone's asleep, we can talk."
Fiera gave a wry smile. Kyoko raised an eyebrow, but was silent. Reina fell behind once more, and chatted comtentedly with Yakunan, with Musuyo listening in on the conversation. Fiera looked over her shoulder, and tugged at Kyoko's arm.
"What is it? Is there something you want to tell me too?"
Fiera shook her head. "No, but I'm worried for Reina...don't ask why. But you should stay close to her..."
"You mean protect her?"
Kyoko gave a suspicious glance. "I don't think there is any reason to believe that she's in any danger. Unless you're referring to all the demons that are popping up. But other than that..."
"I really want you to keep an eye on her. I will tell her too. But for now, just take care with her in secret for the time being."
She gave him a puppy-eye look, and Kyoko sighed in defeat. "Fine, but you have to tell her sooner or later, or I'll tell her myself that I was given "orders" from you."
Fiera nodded and bounced happily over to Reina. Kyoko stared over at them as they laughed. Shrugging, he walked on in front of the group.
After walking a long distance, Kyoko started to smell smoke. It was faint, but he waited for them to catch up.
"Don't you smell that?"
Reina lifted her head to sniff the air. Fiera and Musuyo did the same.
"Yeah, I do. It smells of smoke...what do you think it means?"
Kyoko shrugged. "Either destruction or another village. We might as well follow the scent and find out."
Reina nodded, and no one disagreed. With all of them in a line, they walked on with Kyoko and Reina leading the way of the scent trail. Not long after, they spotted low hills with small whisps of smoke appearing from the tops. They climbed the hills and found a ruined village. The creature that had created the destruction had obviously left, for there was no trace of a demon or monster. They skidded down the hill side, and walked along the banks of the village. There were people coming out from hiding places, searching for loved ones or grieving over their losses. There were bodies sprawled over the ground, blood shed amoungst them.
"It looks horrible..." Reina noted as she tripped over a dead man's leg. Fiera scrunched her nose in disgust, whilst Musuyo and Yakunan paid no attention. Kyoko stayed close to Reina's side, as requested. A couple that had been crouched on the ground stood up and shakily walked over to them.
"What are you young ones doing here? Are you part of this?" the man asked, pointing around him to the burnt down village.
They all shook their heads, even Musuyo and Yakunan, who were both thinking the same thing, this was shukun's doing, no doubt.
"We just smelled the smoke coming from the burning houses. We were just passing through. But if you need help rebuilding..."
Reina smiled, and the couple gave each other interested glances. They nodded, which got groans from the others. Reina gave a wry smile.
"But there is a catch to this..."
The couple gave suspicious glances.
"We need a place to stay for the night. If you could supply that..."
The woman whispered in the man's ear. The man turned to Reina. "I guess that's not too much to ask."
Reina smiled her thanks and followed the couple farther into the village. Men were lifting debris off the ground and helping others find belongings. The couple led them to a temple, which wasn't that shaken up as the rest of the village.
"This is the first job you can do. Just clean the temple up a bit and throw anything that can't be helped out. After you're done, come see us at the motel over there." The woman instructed, pointing to a building with the far wall stripped apart. Kyoko walked inside and looked around the large space. There were broken windows, which had to be repaired last, statues that were tipped over and chipped, and wood all over the floor. Reina began lifting the statues upright, while Musuyo and Kyoko picked up the wood scraps. Yakunan and Feira scooped up the glass shards, and went to discard them in anything available outside. Kyoko handed an armful of wood to Musuyo, who went to throw them away. Reina picked up the chips of the statues and followed them out. Coming back to help Kyoko, grabbed a some wood from Kyoko's hands.
"I think I can help with that..."
Kyoko shook his head. "Let us do this. Go pick up some glass or something. You might hurt something."
Reina responded with a growl of disatisfaction. "I will not be taken for a weakling. I think I can do this small task, Kyoko. Now let me do as I wish."
But Kyoko kept a firm grasp on the peice of wood that she was attempting to steal away. She grumbled and went to pick up another peice. Kyoko took hold of that one too, making Reina even more angry. She picked up a pile, and set them upon her arms. She started to walk away, but Kyoko gently tripped her. The wood flew from her hands, and Kyoko caught her by the waist. She struggled to break away, but Kyoko took her up in an embrace. Their gaze met and they held it for a long moment, feeling each other slowly getting closer. Musuyo had come back and had stared at the scene, which was horrifying to him. Snarling, he began to make noises to break them up. Reina and Kyoko heard the footsteps and their gaze broke. Releasing her, Kyoko resumed to picking up wood. Musuyo stomped in and gathered the rest of wood pile. Huffing in rage, he left them to finish up. Yakunan and Fiera walked in with confused looks spread across their pale faces.
"What with him? He looks pretty agitated..." Feira commented.
"Yeah, he looks like he got his heartbroken or something. He's in a really bad mood." Yakunan added.
Reina shrugged. "I don't know. We were here when he came back in that mood."
Kyoko shrugged as well, but rolled his head in pure annoyance for being interrupted.
"We better head for the motel now. It doesn't look like we can do any more here." Kyoko said aloud.
They all nodded and jogged over to the motel. Musuyo was already there, as was the couple. They came over and greeted them.
"We need to burn down the rest of this motel. No use for it any more, seeing as one whole side caved in. Just grab a torch and light the base. It'll spread upward and soon it'll be nothing but ashes."
The couple nodded and disappeared around the corner of the motel. Kyoko immediately lit a torch and began to light the building. Fiera and Yakunan did the same. Watching Reina move to the torches, Musuyo's anger bubbled over at this point and he ran to grab her and pull her away from the rest of the group. Reina went along willingly, although she was confused. When they were out of sight, Musuyo turned her to face him.
"What's going on?" Reina asked.
Musuyo didn't answer, and she opened her mouth to ask again, but Musuyo put two fingers to hush her. Dropping his hand, he held her closer and kissed her. She pushed him away, and stared in confused horror. Unable to speak, she turned and ran away, leaving Musuyo standing alone, with a smirk of satisfaction on his face.
A single tear ran down her cheek, which she wiped away hastily, so as not to worry Kyoko. She dashed past them and into a patch of trees to be alone and think about what had just occurred. Fiera tugged on Kyoko's shirt and pointed at the trees. He nodded quickly and hastened after her. Listening to the hard footsteps ahead, he followed by ear. Reina hadn't stopped running, but was beginning to tire. Huffing, she finally rested upon a large rock settled under a shady tree. Kyoko soon found her, slowly walking up to her and gently touching her shoulder.
"What happened, Reina?" Kyoko's concerned voice rang out.
She didn't look up nor did she respond. Kyoko bent down to brush the bangs out of her saddened face. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, and she kept his wandering gaze until she burst into sobs and embraced him.
"It was Musuyo, I swear! I had no intention of it what-so-ever!" she cried.
Kyoko gave hushing sounds and rubbed her back to confort her.
"What did he do now? I swear I'll tear him apart..."
She wiped the tears from her eyes and grabbed Kyoko's shoulders.
"You have to promise me that you won't blame me for this. And you can't touch Musuyo for it either. Or else he'll know I have told you. Do you understand? I need your word."
Kyoko nodded. "I promise."
Reina lowered her eyes for a moment, and letting go of his shoulders, she blurted out, "He kissed me, Kyoko! And I hate myself for it! I'm sorry!"
She hugged him again, his face plastered with a shocked look. Carefully breaking away, he finally asked, "He...he kissed you? And you let him...?"
Reina shook her head vigorously. "No! I broke away from him and ran. I swear to you, Kyoko! Please believe me!"
Kyoko sat stunned for a moments silence, and then slowly nodded. "I believe you...it's just hard to take in right now..."
Reina cocked her head slightly. "Why is that so? I know that we're friends and all but I didn't think you'd mind this much. Is there something I'm not aware of?"
Kyoko shrugged. "I don't think so..." he mumbled.
A small smile grew on her face, and standing up, she lifted Kyoko up as well. "You don't need to hide anything from me. What's on your mind?"
Kyoko searched her face, but no distinguished emotion showed through. He looked through his whirling thoughts, and sighed in defeat.
"I..."
Reina took his hands and urged him to finish.
"I...I love you...Reina..."
He lowered his head, waiting for the rejection. But it never came. Reina lifted his chin up and lay a hand on his cheek.
"I love you too, Kyoko."
A smile broke on both of their faces, and Kyoko took her up in a big embrace. It seemed like forever before they let go and started back for the village. Half way there, Kyoko let her ride on his back, for she was still tired from the run. Fiera and Yakunan stared at them as they came back together, grins spread on both their faces. Musuyo wasn't there, which was a relief to Reina. Yakunan gave a snort of displeasure, and Fiera smiled as they passed. Kyoko dropped Reina to the ground and she hurried over to them.
"What do we have to do now?" she asked, her voice sounding as if nothing happened.
"Sweep away the ashes. There are small brooms over there." Fiera replied, pointing to a wall with brooms set upon it.
She ran and grabbed two, throwing one in Kyoko's direction. Catching it, he walked over to the rubble and slowly started to sweep. Reina accidentally kicked up ashes at Kyoko, who took it as a practical joke, and flung some at her. It missed and got Fiera instead, who threw some at Reina. Soon an ash-throwing fight had started, and they were covered in dirt. Musuyo came back to see them filthy and laughing. His anger had melted, and he smirked again, assuming that she hadn't told anyone of the recent event. He walked away, leaving them with their business. Kyoko had saw him looking their way, and his hatred overflowed. Thoughts of revenge encircled his head, giving his eyes glimmering with a slight evil that had encased him.
I will get back at him. No matter what or how long it takes. I will make sure he can't get at Reina again.
