Chapter Ten: The Man in Black
No one slept that night. To keep herself from brooding about the stalking boat that was steadily getting closer, Haru helped herself to the meager traveling supplies just before dawn, using a single lantern to slowly warm sausages and make tea for their breakfast.
Muta made a sour face as he sniffed the mug of tea she gave him, but nonetheless drank it down without a protest.
"What? No boiled grass comments?" Toto asked as he sipped his own wooden mug full of the girl's warm brew.
"Now's not the time to worry about that," he said, pointing an accusatory finger at the boat that was now a mere half-mile away from them. "He's practically on our tail. If we don't get to the cove soon, he'll be close enough to jump on board."
"I wonder if he's using the same winds we are using," Toto mused as Natoru hesitantly took the wooden cup from the slim brunette before she poured the rest of the tea for herself.
"That doesn't matter anymore," the boss of the operation snapped, making sure that the girl drank the tea and bit into her sausage, before consuming it himself, just in case she had drugged it. "Once we get into the cove, Muta can take us up the side of the cliff, and he's the only one strong enough for that. Whoever our mysterious stalker is will have to sail around for hours before he finds the harbor, and we'll be long gone by then. Move the thing!" he ordered, trying to sound like he knew what he was talking about.
Toto grinned, and purposefully kicked over the large trunk they had transported Haru in.
"The other thing!" Natoru said in exasperation, making the slim brunette laugh helplessly.
"Do you want to do this?!" the kidnapper demanded of his captive.
"Just let them handle it. They know what they're doing," she said while giggling behind one hand.
Natoru shook his head at himself, and stomped down the boat, muttering to himself angrily about headstrong women as Toto hopped off onto the wooden deck in order to tie the vessel secure.
Muta didn't bother with anything on the boat except a strange series of leather straps that were riveted together with metal, throwing it over one shoulder as he swept the girl into his arms, and hopped out of the boat before Natoru could finish struggling with the gangplank.
"Hey!" the boss protested as Muta set the girl down with surprising care, and reached over enough to grab the little pipsqueak by the scruff of the neck and set him down on the deck, Toto already running ahead with Haru, holding her gently by one hand.
"Whoever that stalker is, he's not going to stop and wait for us to get off of the boat properly," the giant explained as he played with the leather straps until he could find a place to pull his head through as he kept running for the cliffs. As the leather straps fell over his body, it became apparent that some of the straps hanging empty were meant for other people. Toto and Haru were already waiting for them by the lone rope that trailed down the side of the impressive cliff.
As respectfully as he could, Toto helped Haru through two of the sling-like straps on Muta's right side before helping himself to the left side, Natoru having to be lifted into his sling at the front of the giant by the giant himself.
"Hurry, hurry!" Natoru urged as Muta grabbed the rope, and began climbing.
For the first time in years, Haru realized that she was scared of something other than fate. The sheer size of the cliff was easily five times as tall as the castle she had left behind, and the thought of all that empty space underneath her feet made her want to faint from fright.
But she said nothing, not wishing to expose her sudden weakness to the men she was traveling with. She merely clung to Muta's huge shoulder, and kept her eyes firmly shut as he moved his way up the side of the cliff at a surprising speed.
"Inconceivable," Natoru breathed, but it didn't seem to be directed at the giant he had hired.
"What is it?" Haru asked in a clipped tone, trying with all her might to keep her tone steady.
"That man in black. He's climbing after us," Toto noted clinically. "I didn't think anyone under the king's service would be brave enough to do this. He must really want to meet you, Haru."
"You're not helping!" Natoru yelled at the swordsman, looking down at the man as Haru risked a small peak.
She immediately regretted it. Muta had already taken them up the cliff about one-third of the way, and all that bare emptiness under her feet made her want to scream in terror. But just before she closed her eyes and turned her face away, she noticed a small black dot at the bottom of the cliff, close to where the end of the rope was lying against the rocks. Yes, it did look like he was climbing the rope as well.
About two thirds of the way up, Haru risked another peek. "He's gaining on us pretty fast."
"I know that!" Natoru snapped at her. "I haven't taken my eyes off him! But the king won't win this time! No sir; I'll slit your throat at the top of the cliff if I have to in order to get my revenge!"
"He's not from the king, you simpleton," she told him firmly, privately wondering if he hadn't been paying attention when she threatened his life the day before. "Can't you tell?"
"What makes you think he's not from the king?" Toto asked curiously from the other side of Muta.
"For starters, the only ones under the king's service that wear complete black are the ones in the military, and I don't see any gold braids or medals winking in the sun from our stalker. Also, not only are the ones high enough in the military to wear black despise exercise, that man looks like he's wearing a mask made out of a black scarf. If he were out for a reward for returning me to the king, he wouldn't wish to remain anonymous. Have any of you killed anyone recently? Whatever that guy wants from us, I'm betting it's personal."
"Next time we pick a leader, I think I'll vote for Haru," Muta grumbled as beads of sweat began rolled down his face and neck. "At least she knows what she's doing. Thanks, Chicky," he added as the girl pulled out a handkerchief that had conveniently been left in one of her pockets, and started mopping the sweat off of his pale skin.
"This isn't a democracy!" Natoru yelled at the top of his lungs. "I hired you two to help me kill her, remember?! Go faster, Muta!"
"I am going faster!" the giant yelled back, nearly flying up the side of the cliff, the masked man in hot pursuit.
"You're supposed to be this colossus! You are this… great… legendary thing, and yet he gains!" the pipsqueak yelled at the man easily three times as big as he was.
"Well, I'm carrying you three, and he's only carrying himself! Cut me a little slack!" the giant yelled back as he continued to climb.
"I don't accept excuses! Maybe I should just look for another giant!" Natoru threatened.
"Sure, order one from a catalog," Haru said sarcastically, carefully leaning to one side to wring out the handkerchief in a way that the sweat wouldn't drip onto their pursuer, since that was just uncalled for.
"You're not helping! Why are you all ganging up on me?!" Natoru whined nasally.
'You know, I don't think that it was laughing at the king's outfit that got him kicked out of the castle,' Haru thought as the two hired hands started laughing at their employer mercilessly. 'I bet the king just got tired of him and took the first excuse he could to get rid of this guy. Although the king did seem shallow enough to flog anyone that laughs at him besides me. Oh, I'd have loved to have watched him try to flog me.' She began cackling evilly at the thought of taking the whip from the king and using it on him.
"What's up, Chicky?" Muta asked suspiciously.
"Just entertaining myself," she said with an impish smile, looking up. "Just calm down, Natoru. We're nearly at the top." 'And if you really think I'm going to let you slit my throat, you're in for a nasty surprise.'
"Hurry anyway!" Natoru screeched, scrambling out of his place in front of Muta to place himself on top first, and run for the giant rock that the rope was tied against.
"Little weasel," Toto muttered mutinously as he calmly slipped out of his straps to also climb onto solid ground, and extend a hand to Haru as Muta struggled to pull himself over the edge.
She accepted his hand gratefully, turning around as soon as she was on top of the cliff in order to help Toto pull Muta up after her.
A split second after the giant had been pulled onto the solid ground, the rope that had been supporting them snapped loudly, and flew off the side of the cliff, doubtlessly taking the man in black with it.
"No!" Toto shouted in horror, looking over the edge and down the cliff.
Haru looked sharply behind her, only to see Natoru slipping a knife back into his vest.
"You coward!" she yelled at him, joining Muta and Toto as they looked over the edge.
The man in black was still there, miraculously clinging to the rocks. Haru breathed a sigh of relief as Natoru came running up behind them to look over the edge as well.
"He didn't fall?!" the short brunette whined. "Inconceivable!"
"You should be grateful that he didn't," Haru replied angrily, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. "Because if he had fallen, I'd have tossed you down to join him, you filthy coward!"
"Why should you care?" Muta asked, his eyes fearful as the man in black began slowly climbing, using the rocks as handholds. "Is he a friend of yours?"
"Does it matter?! That was a very low and cheap trick to pull! Give the man's death a little dignity, if he has to die!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, shaking Natoru around like a cheap rag doll, her slim hands itching to wring the little weasel's neck. "If you ever pull a cheap trick like that again, I'll break every bone in your body!" she screamed at him, not caring if the black-clad fellow below them could hear every word out of her mouth.
"What kind of hired thugs are you two?!" he whined at Toto and Muta, who were looking back at him coldly. "Why do you let this girl bully me whenever she pleases?!"
"Because you deserve to be bullied!" the giant snapped at his employer. "Money's one thing, but ethics are quite another. If she weren't around to keep you in perspective, I would have left by now."
"Me too," Toto muttered furiously, one hand on the hilt of his sword. "Besides, you little idiot, our black shadow down there is climbing up as we speak, and he'll more than likely want to chastise you for your dirty little trick."
"He can have him," Haru replied, shoving the little man away disdainfully, making him land on the loose-dirt ground a little far away from the sheer rock face of the cliff.
Natoru rubbed his backside sorely as he glared at the girl. The small man slowly got back to his feet, thinking hard. "All right, here's what we're going to do. Whoever that guy is has seen us with the girl, so he has to die. Muta, carry Haru. Toto, stay to make sure he doesn't come after us, and catch up when he's dead. If he falls, fine. If not, the sword."
The two hired hands exchanged exasperated looks before looking down the side of the cliff in unison.
"I'm waiting!" Natoru whined impatiently.
Toto sighed, and bowed towards Haru as Muta picked her up with ease, despite the fact that the girl could probably outrun all of them. "I'll catch up, I guess. But I think I'll fight him left-handed."
"We're kind of in a hurry, Toto," the giant grunted softly, although Haru could see a smirk on his face.
"We're running late anyway, thanks to the weasel," the swordsman replied sourly, glaring at his employer, who was tapping one foot impatiently.
"You're that good?" Haru asked with interest.
The black-haired man grinned at her, and modestly kicked some dirt. "I'm only the best."
Muta scoffed as the brunette in his arms stole one last look down the cliff before he walked away with his employer. Her eyes widened as a gasp escaped her throat.
"Something wrong, Chicky?" the giant asked curiously as he ran just behind the weasel-like man, who was surprisingly swift.
"N-no," she said nervously, shaking her head with a nervous giggle. "It was probably just a trick of the light."
"Well, maybe it wasn't," Muta countered, running around the ruins of an old castle and up the hills after Natoru. "What did you think you saw?"
"I know you're going to laugh," she said nervously, glancing over his shoulder to see Toto pacing the edge of the cliff calmly. "But for a second, I could have sworn that our stalker had an orange tail. Weird, huh?"
Muta quirked an eyebrow at her, and looked behind him towards the cliff. "That is pretty weird. Maybe it was a scabbard pointing a strange angle?"
"Maybe," Haru said unconvincingly, since she had seen a black scabbard strapped to the side of the man in black as well as a moving orange thing swaying from the man's backside. As hard as she tried to convince herself that it was just a spare rope or something else entirely, her mind refused to accept any explanation but a tail.
But… why would a random stalker have something as unusual as a tail?
Could it be… a sky pirate? They really existed, after all? But what would a sky pirate want with her? Was she even what he was after, or was it the incredibly annoying man that had just tried to kill him?
Muta panted heavily from exertion as they joined a fuming Natoru at the top of a hill that was positively littered with large rocks.
"Do you see what he's doing?" the small man demanded, pointing to the ruins they had just left.
Haru and Muta looked to the distant edge of the cliff. Toto, although miniscule now, was unraveling part of the rope that had been wrapped around the large rock in order to send it down the side of the cliff for the man in black.
"What part of 'make sure he doesn't follow us' did he not understand?!" Natoru cried out in exasperation.
"It could take that guy a few hours to climb up on his own," Haru pointed out patiently, watching Toto start pulling on the rope, obviously helping the man in black as much as he could up the cliff face.
"Yeah," Muta quickly agreed with her. "This will only speed things up, and isn't that what you wanted in the first place?"
"I suppose," Natoru grumbled as the dark stalker struggled onto the top of the cliff, perhaps saying something to Toto as he drew the sword from the black scabbard at his side.
Toto held his hand out, saying something that none of the onlookers could make out. The man in black nodded gratefully, and slid his sword back into the scabbard as he sought a large rock to sit on, turning enough to the ones on the hill to unconsciously flaunt a swishing orange tail at them.
"Yep, we've got a sky pirate on our hands," Haru muttered to herself thoughtfully, making Muta look down at her sharply as Natoru groaned in oblivious dismay.
"Now he's giving the guy a break before fighting him?! I'm going to have to cut Toto's pay in half for this," the small man fumed.