Hikari and the Soul Edge
Hikari and the Soul Edge
Chapter 5: Kupo!
Hikari and Kenji rode in a caravan as they headed towards the next town. Hikari was reading a book that she had bought, for it had detailed information on the legend of the Soul Edge.
"This thing sounds creepy," Hikari said.
"We don't even know if it's real," Kenji said. "I'm pretty sure that it's a myth."
"I'm not so sure," Hikari said. "My father always said not to doubt something's existence."
"Anybody who says something like that must've seen some interesting stuff," Kenji said.
The caravan stopped abruptly, shaking the whole thing. The horses cried out as something was happening outside.
Hikari and Kenji jumped out of the caravan to see that they were being attacked by some thieves. The driver had been knocked to the ground. One thief, who wore an eye-patch over his left eye and had spiky hair was in front of the rest. He wielded a dagger.
"Hand over your loot, and we'll let you live," the thief said. "Refuse, and you'll be killed."
The thief leader then noticed Hikari.
"Hello there, little lady," the thief said as he smoothly walked up to Hikari. "How would you like to be with a real man?"
"Buzz off," Hikari said.
The thief looked pissed off.
"Nobody says that to me!" the thief shouted. "I am known as the Bandit Lord in these parts."
Before he could react, Hikari had her sword to his throat.
"Don't tempt me, buddy," Hikari said menacingly. "I'm not above slitting your throat."
The thief leader snapped his finger, and the rest of the thieves surrounded Hikari. As soon as she turned her focus on them, the leader jumped back out of Hikari's range.
"Let's see how you can deal with ten of us," the leader said.
Hikari looked over to Kenji.
"Give me one minute," Hikari said. "Then you can pick off the rest."
"Right," Kenji said as he stepped back into the caravan.
The thieves then all charged forward on their leader's command. Hikari then got into a fighting stance. A minute later, Kenji stepped out to see what was happening. Three of the thieves were passed out on the ground, four were attempting to crawl away, two were stuck in a tree, and the leader was being lifted into the air by the collar of his shirt.
"One minute alone and you cause this much havoc," Kenji said.
Hikari then tossed the leader onto the ground. He and the thieves that were conscious ran away as soon as they could.
"That felt good," Hikari said cheerfully as she wiped dust off of her hands.
Hikari and Kenji then heard something in the bushes. Hikari and Kenji got ready for battle. When nothing came out, they slowly walked to the bushes. When they moved the leaves away, they saw what was there. It was a baby Moogle that was sleeping. It then opened its eyes and looked around.
"It's so cute!" Hikari gleefully exclaimed, much to Kenji's surprise.
The Moogle yawned as Hikari picked it up.
"Kupo!" the Moogle said.
Hikari giggled with delight as she held the cute creature in her arms.
"Who are you and what have you done with my violent friend?" Kenji asked.
Hikari then held the Moogle in her left arm and hit Kenji over the head with her right.
"I like cute things, alright?" Hikari angrily said to Kenji.
"I keep forgetting that you're a girl," Kenji said. "You act more like a guy most of the time."
Hikari hit Kenji over the head once more.
"Anyway, that thing's a baby Moogle," Kenji said.
"What's a Moogle?" Hikari asked.
"It's a creature that sort of looks like a stuffed animal," Kenji said. "They usually walk around in groups, but I guess this one got separated from its family."
The Moogle began to float in the air in front of Hikari.
"Kupo!" the Moogle said once more.
"Moogles also have the ability to fly," Kenji said.
"You are just the cutest thing!" Hikari exclaimed.
"Maybe we should try to find its family," Kenji said.
"That's probably a good idea," Hikari said. "For now, however, I'll give him a name."
"Don't do that," Kenji said. "You won't be able to let go of him after that."
"Maybe I'll wait," Hikari said. "I can't seem to come up with a good name yet."
"Hey!" Kenji exclaimed. "Are you even listening to me?!"
"Let's get moving," Hikari said.
The Moogle purred as it floated next to Hikari.
"I feel so insignificant right now," Kenji said as he followed Hikari back to the caravan.
After the driver woke up, they all continued to the next town. As soon as they reached the next town, they immediately found an expert on Moogles. Kenji was doing most of the talking, for Hikari was too occupied with her new friend.
"I believe that there are any wild Moogles around here," the expert said. "Besides, Moogles always care for their young. If this one was on its own, I'd say that its parents are gone."
"That's sad," Kenji said.
Hikari looked sadly down at her Moogle. The Moogle looked confused at Hikari.
"I've got another question," Kenji said. "Why does this Moogle seem to like Hikari a lot?"
The expert looked confused.
"Did you say that you found it sleeping in the bushes?" the expert asked.
"Yes," Kenji said. "Why?"
"Some Wild Moogles tend to give birth to their young somewhere soft like bushes and patches of grass," the expert said. "This might've been the first time it's woken up. Most baby animals tend to believe that the first thing it sees is its mother."
"So Hikari's been turned into a mom?" Kenji asked.
"That's right," the expert said.
The baby Moogle giggled at Hikari.
"Then I guess we have no choice but to take care of it," Kenji said.
"So can I name it now?" Hikari asked.
"Might as well," Kenji said. "Have you thought of any…"
"Mog," Hikari said. "You're name is now Mog. Do you like that?"
"Kupo!" Mog gleefully cheered.
"Then it's settled!" Hikari exclaimed.
"How long have you been thinking of a name?" Kenji asked.
"I thought it was perfect," Hikari said. "Mog is short for Moogle."
"But…we…never mind," Kenji said. "I'll go check out the local library to see if I can find anything about taking care of Moogles."
"Mog and I'll go with you!" Hikari exclaimed.
"Kupo!" Mog cheered once more.
"Thanks for the info!" Kenji shouted back to the expert as they left.
That evening, Hikari, Mog, and Kenji began to walk to the hotel after purchasing food for Mog.
"It took a while, but at least we found food for him," Kenji said.
Out of the blue, a serious look appeared on Mog's face.
"KUPO!!" Mog cried.
Mog continued to shout out the same word rapidly as Hikari and Kenji tried to calm him down.
"What's wrong, Mog?" Hikari asked.
Suddenly, Hikari saw something on the roof of the building they were next to. The thing jumped down, wielding a pair of wave swords. He tried to slice Hikari, but Hikari managed to roll out of the way.
"What the hell was that?!" Hikari exclaimed.
She then looked up at her attacker. He wore a green hat with a red feather on it. He wore a strange outfit with fur-shoulders, metal gauntlets, leather boots, green and red pants, a long red shirt, and a leather belt. The most disturbing thing about the attacker was that his face was a skull.
"Zombie?!" Kenji exclaimed.
The zombie charged straight for Hikari. Hikari tossed Mog over to Kenji and drew her sword. She managed to block and repel the zombie's attacks. The zombie attacked over and over, which limited Hikari to her blocks.
Mog tried to get Kenji to let go of him. Kenji was having a hard time holding on to him.
"I know you want to help Hikari, Mog, but it'll be easier for her if you stay away from there!" Kenji exclaimed.
Hikari was too busy blocking the zombie's attacks to notice that she was backing up into a wall. When she hit the wall, she realized that she had blocked for the last time. Before the zombie launched its last attack, it heard something down the path. A woman and her daughter, unaware of the fight, were walking down the street. The zombie noticed the two of them and charged straight for them.
"No!" Hikari shouted. "Get away!"
Kenji and Hikari could only watch as the creature charged for the poor innocents. Before the zombie could reach the woman and her child, a bolt of lightning struck the zombie and distracted him long enough for the girls to get away. Hikari used this chance to run up behind the zombie and slash at it with her sword. The zombie brought up his swords to block, but the force of Hikari's blow knocked them both away. Realizing that he had lost the battle, the zombie ran away.
"Just what the hell was that thing?" Kenji asked.
"I think it was a zombie," Hikari said. "By the way, great shot with that spell."
"What are you talking about?" Kenji asked.
"I mean the lightning bolt that hit that thing," Hikari answered.
"I didn't cast a single spell," Kenji said. "I don't know what did it."
"If it wasn't you, then who?" Hikari asked.
"I guess we'll never know," Kenji said.
"Come on, Mog!" Hikari called. "Let's get back to the inn."
Hikari and Kenji began to walk down the street towards the town's inn. Mog followed the two of them. As he did, a small spark of electricity shot off of his fur. As they walked away, a black man in a white robe wielding a scythe was watching them. The zombie appeared next to him.
"That girl is strong, but she is of no concern for now," the mysterious man said. "But we'll continue to watch her."