From the Side

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

A/N: Yes, it hasn't even been a week and I'm updating. Mirables do happen. My goal is to get a chapter up a week. Taking advice from a reviewer so you'll see less of a lot of characters except during the scenes I find important. I apologize to all those who liked them, don't worry they aren't gone permanently! I just have main characters I need to concentrate on. Thanks again to reviewers! (Special thanks to Chargone again!)

~*~

The blonde healer sat next to Zarame, fixing his arm so that it at least looked remotely normal. "What happened?" she asked nonchalantly while bandaging and then casting a healing spell.

"I got punched by my boss. Don't be surprised if I get sent back after this," the samurai responded, sighing. "How is it?"

"It's fine, I've seen worse happen to a poor fighter named Dylan today," the healer responded. She stood up and stepped away, showing that he's done. "Okay, now go on and get back into battle. I'll log your points in the registry." Zarame nodded and began to walk away. "Oh, and I will see you again. Adell's not the type to hold grudges, so make peace with him. Alright?" She received no response.

Still bandaged, the black haired male entered Adell's house, seeing the circle with the sibling ninjas as a center piece. Zane wasn't exactly in the group, standing just in front of all the others. Zarame glanced around to find Brandon and immediately moved next to him when he did.

"Glad you could join us, Zarame. How's your arm?" Brandon asked, staring at the bandages.

"It's fine, the bandages are mostly for show. What's going on here?"

"Our thief wanted Ran and Shito's token that they took from the orc. Some fight started and then Zane decided to step in. Waffle will leave them alone provided that they give a good enough explanation. You may want to cover your ears, it's probably going to get sappy here."

"Ran and I were orphaned as little kids," Shito began, his eyes locked on the ground. "And we were adopted by a lady named Aki. She raised us to be a ninja and--."

"Aki?" Zarame asked, an eyebrow raising as he recognized the name.

Adell, noticing the samurai was in the room, turned to him. "Do you know her?"

"No, I don't think so," Zarame replied, shaking his head. "The Aki I knew wasn't a ninja. She was more like… well more like Miriam. Sorry to interrupt." The last sentence was just tossed out, he didn't really care.

"Okay, continue," Waffle said, tossing the feather in her hand.

"Aki was the Overlord of our world, which allowed her to come into a lot of money. We weren't the first orphans she took in, there was a lot. Everyone thought it was odd to have such a kind Overlord as our ruler, but when it came to fighting there was no equal," Shito added.

Ran nodded. "She taught us all how to fight, not so we'd become her little minions or loyal vassals but so that we could defend ourselves and the others if something ever happened to her. She knew there were others who didn't like her."

"However, she also had a lot of allies. Or so we thought. Two of her closest allies were Overlord Orican, the leader of the orcs, and Overlord Kazuhiko, a dragon leader though I don't believe he's a dragon himself. Ran and I were wandering around when we caught two of their servants talking. I don't know what they were saying but they agreed on something and departed. The next day Aki was attacked…" Shito clenched his fists and failed to continue. His sister took it up again.

"Aki first realized something was wrong when she noticed the temperature was up. Two guards had already been killed and Aki forced the rest to get us out. Five of us were a tad bit slower, including Ran and I, but that saved our lives. They knew we'd try to escape. By the time we arrived at the tunnel, they were all dead." Even Ran was shaking, now. "We ran back just in time to see Aki fighting Orican. She would have won, but both of them spotted us as well as Orican's warriors. The three that were with us were killed before Aki managed to come to our aid. She fled, carrying us out… however they had managed to get one good shot on her while she was leaving. She survived for only a week afterwards and we were forced to abandon her without giving her a proper burial."

"We cared for her and we vowed revenge," Shito mumbled. "That Token belonged to her, and that's why we want it. It's not yours."

"Well it's not yours either," Waffle whined.

"Give it back to them, Waffle," Adell growled. The thief looked at her boss with pleading eyes before Adell's fierce gaze overpowered her. She sighed and handed it over to Ran, who took it back with a big smile on her face. "See? Not so hard, now let's go and get new equipment. The Arms Dealer said they have a new bow in."

Zarame's face was getting darker during the conversation. He stood there, staring at where the two ninjas had been as if in shock. His gaze, however, was anger, confusion, and sorrow all mixed into one. Slowly, he inched forward, only stopping when Kuno grabbed his arm. He turned sharply and found himself glaring at her concerned blue eyes.

"Are you okay?" the Nekomata asked, the hand trembling on his arm. "Did something in their story worry you?"

The samurai hesitated, thinking over all they said. It wasn't just one thing that worried him, but there was one thing in particular. A small part of him didn't want Kuno to hate him though, and to tell her what happened would do just that. Instead he shook his head and forced a smile. "I just keep putting my Aki in place of theirs. I'd just hate to imagine her dead."

Kuno nodded, lowering her head. She dropped her grip on his arm and then hugged him. The action surprised Zarame, but he didn't fight the embrace, that same nagging feeling about not wanting Kuno to hate him. Instead, he simply said "I think the other two need this a bit more."

Kuno shook her head, moving his clothes since it was buried in them. "I can tell, you're hurt too. Maybe not by the same thing, but you are hurt. And no one else will comfort you right now." She sniffed as if she was crying.

"You're too kind for a demon," he added, pushing her away. The cat girl shrugged and gave him a grin.

"Someone has to be. Besides, take it from me in saying that being sad by yourself is a bad thing. Now come on, once we get shopping done we should get you and Adell to make up."

"Why does everyone think we need to say sorry?"

Kuno spun around, that same grin splitting her face so that it seemed to glow. "I never said say sorry. Make up the same way two fighter make up. Like how you do with your friends, I'm sure."

Zarame smiled again, this time for real. "Okay, we'll see what we can work out." He walked away to join the others. Kuno stayed behind for a few moments, waiting until her face wasn't that red.

She tilted her head, ears twitching as she gazed at the door Zarame left open. "He's cute when he smiles," she stated before trotting out.

Once she was out of hearing range, a certain pink haired kid stuck her head out of her room, grinning mischievously. "I heard that!"

~*~

By the time Zarame arrived at the market everyone was already equipping themselves with their new gear. Rozalin walked right up to him carrying a large black sword. Shoving it out to him, she sighed. "Here, your new weapon. We've also got you a cloak but Tink is getting that so you may have to wait until he's done flirting with the item store keeper. But can you believe this? Adell is making me work like a messenger girl! Sometimes I don't know what goes through that guy's mind. Does he even really acknowledge whose daughter I am?"

"I'm sure he does, but you have to remember that he doesn't hold Zenon in the highest esteem," Zarame noted, taking the sword from her. "At the very least he doesn't consider you an enemy."

"Such a fool," Rozalin muttered, turning so she could see the back of the guy in question.

"That may be so, but I have to hope that that is what will keep me in this group," Zarame responded, shrugging.

The princess looked at him with honest curiosity. "You've become attached?"

"Wrong, the longer a mercenary stays with a group the higher the rank they get. We've got a lot of rules and regulations, and my goal is to reach the top rank so I abide by them. One of them is to not get attached," the samurai replied. "Nevertheless, it doesn't hurt to seem friendly. Something I'll have to work on."

Rozalin laughed. "That you will! The stunt you pulled back there was hardly friendly by any means!"

"Hey, I wasn't the one doing the damage! Adell broke my arm!"

"Yes, but Adell is hardly the type to get angry for no reason."

"I'd argue that point."

Before either could make another comment, a red frog floated up to the group. "Oh ho! I am zorry my lady but I will have to miss ze meeting this afternoon! I have a date with a certain mage, oh ho ho." He pulled out a cloak and tossed it onto Zarame, the cloth draping over him so that he appeared as a cliché sheet ghost. "Zere iz your cloak, now I must be off!" With that he began to fly away.

"Want me to say it?" Zarame asked, having learned a trick not too long after he joined the group.

"Feel free," Rozalin replied.

"Draak-Tink-Mahalaak!" The words were a little ridiculous coming out of his mouth, but nothing beat the satisfaction of staring at the confused look on the now-blue frog's face as Rozy and Zarame made their way outside of Veldime. "Meet us when you're ready Tink, we'll be outside."

By the time they got there Miriam was finishing drawing up the plans. "With that said, we need to find Zenon before the curse gets any worse. I believe it'll be a month before Veldime permanently becomes a Netherworld."

"So we don't have much time. We have to find him, but how?" Adell grumbled.

"Why not have Rozalin plead for her daddy?" Hanako suggested. "Like 'Oh Daddy! I miss you! Come here!' on T.V.!"

"I refuse to grovel like that! It is below a princess," Rozalin responded, crossing her arms.

"How good of you to join us," Aerin muttered, looking at both of the two who just arrived. Kuno had obviously arrived before them because there was only two allies missing now. "Where's Tink?"

"Maybe he's sleeping?" Hanako suggested. "He is a frog."

Zarame glanced around the group, seeing the ghost of their party sitting in the background. However, outside of Tink they were missing another monster. "Eclipse?"

"He quit," Adell noted. "Apparently he got a better offer." And with a surprisingly guilty look, he added, "how's your arm?"

"It's fine. So, we're after Zenon directly now?"

"Yes, but I don't know how to get to him." The human sighed, completely unsure of what to do now.

Miriam cleared her throat. "Well, I was going to say that I know a building where we may--"

"Excuse me, zam."

All eyes turned to the new speaker. It was a young girl, a demon if her pointy ears and naturally strong physique had any say in the matter. Her eyes were ice blue and her outfit had a matching blue along with white and a little bit of red. She carried a sword at her side, though it was doubtful she could use it well. However, she held herself with such pride that everyone knew she probably had more skill than her natural look led on.

"Who are you?" Adell asked, honestly surprised. No one had seen her arrive, except Zane who shrugged in the corner as neutral as ever.

"My name is Yukimaru, zam. I was just wondering if you would know where I could find the coliseum, zam. It is very important that I participate in the upcoming battle, zam," the girl stated, bowing as she spoke.

"Coliseum?" Miriam asked. "That would be the Gate [GZ256]."

"Thank you, zam." And she left quickly with that. It wasn't until afterwards that anyone realized that Yukimaru hadn't made a sound outside of speaking. Talented indeed.

"So, how do we get to Zenon?" Adell repeated for the nth time.

"We go to Gate [GZ256]," Miriam replied, and though she sounded calm, she was glaring daggers at her boss. "Which is what I've been trying to say for a long time."

"The Coliseum? How would that help?"

"They winner of the coliseum gets to meet Overlord Zenon." The healer was pulling out her staff, dusting off the prinny at the end of it. "If we can join and win then not only do we get a prize but we'll be able to get Rozalin back to her dad and then have you take him on. We best be prepared, but it helps that they set up an Assembly and many shops in the Coliseum apparently. The only problem is that…"

"We want to take a break, sir," Ran cut in. Shito nodded at her side. "We found a clue that may lead us to Aki's murderer and we wish to take it. As soon as we find the end of that we will return, whether it's a hit or miss. Is that alright?"

"The token?" Adell asked. The brother and sister nodded. "Okay, I'm not going to say no for something like that. It wouldn't be fair. Go on, we can handle things by ourselves."

"Thanks. Zarame's right, you're truly chivalrous. Give Zenon an extra hit for me," Ran stated, pulling her brother off. "We'll be on the planet Arborian if you need us!"

So the party waved the ninja siblings off and then quickly returned to the warper in order to head to what they truly believed would be their final trip. They would meet Zenon once and for all. The samurai stare for a few moments at Rozalin and the looked at Kuno. To him, neither seemed prepared and a part of him that had begun to show itself more wanted to push them away so that they wouldn't get hurt. He wouldn't admit it, but Adell was the one who made him want to protect them. Fighting the urge he turned to Brandon. "Too bad Eclipse left, I'm sure he would've stayed had he known it would be such a short mission."

Brandon shrugged. "Killing the Overlord of a planet isn't for everyone."

~*~

"Lord Kazuhiko," a white dragon said, bowing his head before his overlord's throne. The man with his own personal armory stood before the dragon instead.

"He's out at the moment," the guy growled. "What do you need?"

"Oh, sir Spectre. Eclipse has just reported that Adell returned to Veldime but quickly left again after restocking. We believe they're headed towards the coliseum."

"Really, that's interesting. I'll bring it up with Kazuhiko." The man turned around, a grin forming on his face. Coliseum meant battles. If he joined then he could get their target without any difficulty or questioning. No, he couldn't enter directly otherwise the other party would get suspicious. He'd hire a group to take care of them, one that hated demons or would willingly capture one at the very least. "Tarj!" he hollered, his rifle demon stomping in front of him. "Go get a group of people who we can pay off to capture a demon for us. If this succeeds I promise to give you a raise."

The Baciel trudged off, leaving his boss to laugh to himself, his plot unfolding for his overlord.

~*~

A/N: *begs for reviews* Next Chapter: Brandon gets a pleasant surprise, but the coliseum takes its toll on one member.