Chapter 7 - Returning Yellowhair

From a distance K stood watching as Hiroshi hugged and kissed his mother and father goodbye. He felt a pang of guilt and a pang of longing over the loss of his own parents that had been so violently ripped from his life. Seeing Hiroshi with his parents now made him realize that they loved their son very much. And by the looks on Hikaru's face, he was worried. It was just like a father to worry this way and K could feel those worried, accusing eyes of the chief landing on him.

He kept it cool…he was a chief himself, he understood.

There was nothing he could do to convince Hiroshi otherwise, the man was on a mission. K understood that too, he didn't like to be told what to do and had defied his own parents on a regular basis. Only now they weren't around, besides, he was old enough not to be told what to do.

Truthfully he didn't need anyone to guide him home; he was capable of doing that himself. He'd gotten into this mess and he could get himself out…well, he lived because Hiro had saved his life. But still, it wasn't his intention to drag Hiro or any others away from their task—from what he guessed it was some kind of gathering. A gathering to a place called Naniwa with a clan called Uesugi he'd discovered. Closing his eyes to a warm breeze that sailed past his face, K crossed his arms over the buckskin parka he'd been given. He marvelled at the supple texture these people were able to achieve with their tanning process, he wondered what fats they used. K sniffed into his arm to smell the earthy scent still left on the leather from the smoking process, it was divine. He also looked down over his tanned-hide pants and wriggled his toes in bear fur boots, strapped to his calves with sinew.

The Nakano clan had been very generous.

They'd clothed him even though he took up much more material due to his height, but no one had complained. K would never forget that. His injuries still throbbed under the clothes, but Hiro had cleaned them and put on fresh 'biwa'—as Hiro called it and dressings. K felt a lot better than he had a few days ago. And ever so slowly he was catching onto the bare bones of their language, finding himself somewhat of a natural.

He'd never known that about himself before.

Finally the Nakano clan began their march south in the early morning hours and K saw the one's left behind, the one's that were going his way. He'd been introduced to Eiri Yuki, Sakano, Suguru Fujisaki, and that small guy from yesterday, Shuichi Shindou, and of course Hiroshi Nakano. It seemed like too many people to simply return him home, or maybe…just maybe they wanted strength in numbers. This, K concluded was probably the reason, smart he had to admit. Hiro's father wasn't taking any chances that his son could get hurt by the barbaric clansmen of the Winchester family K thought with amusement. Hrmph, well Hiro didn't have to worry about stones to his temple, he'd deal with that as soon as he found Ark!

They would be safe, he'd see to that.

After the Nakano clan was gone Hiroshi waved for them to go the opposite way, north. They headed towards some flat shields of old rock, probably sculpted by even older glaciers then there was present today. Plenty used to walking, K remained soundless and followed, carrying a sack full of blankets and food. He'd also been given a spear in case fresh meat presented itself or for protection—he admired the work on the flint tip as well. Easily, they walked for almost an hour before anyone spoke up.

"We're gonna see some strange people…do you think they all have blue eyes too?" Shuichi wondered out loud first, gingerly walking along beside Yuki.

"'Strange' isn't very nice," Sakano rebuked.

"Different," Hiro offered diplomatically, "I'm sure we have nothing to worry about. Why would they hurt us if we have him?" He thumbed in K's direction.

K glanced from person to person, feeling lost as they spoke.

"I'm happy to be going anywhere but home," Yuki revealed without looking at anyone.

Hiro flashed his eyes at Yuki's back and whispered loudly, "The ceremony…"

Yuki only gruffed and said nothing in reply.

"Oooh yes Hiro, Ayaka the boar-goddess of the sun. I bet she will dance for you," Shuichi exclaimed happily and twirled on the spot.

"That's the power of the sun represented by her boar totem you moron," Hiro spouted at his free-spirited friend. He clunked Shuichi on the head playfully with a fist. "Her first cousin also shares the same spirit…father tells me she's also going to be part of the ceremony."

Yuki paled then and coughed.

Shuichi lovingly took his cue and rubbed Yuki's back. "There, there," he cooed.

Suguru wheeled on K stopping the man in his tracks, "So, what is your totem? You know…your spirit?" He held dug under his collar of his shirt and produced a carving of a chipmunk, then pointed to himself.

The others all giggled in hilarity, Suguru flashed angry looks back at them.

K sniggered at the comical display. But he didn't know why the others were acting this way. "Totem?" he asked in their language.

"Yes," Hiro said nodding approvingly at K's use of his language. "Mine is a mam—"

But Shuichi cut off Hiro, eager to show off Yuki's animal spirit marking, lifting Yuki's shirt to show off his lower back. K caught a glimpse of four large scar lines; it looked to have been put there by an animal…a big one too. "Lynx," Shuichi charged.

Yuki swatted at Shuichi and hollered at him not to touch him. He yanked his shirt back down, looking a touch distressed.

But K totally understood what they were talking about now! Spirit animals, his totem…so they did believe it such things too! Suddenly K dropped his pack and sat on the ground like a child would. He began to unlash his left boot and unabashedly rolled up his pant leg. Pointing to his bite scar he said, "Wolf."

"He's saying he was bitten by a wolf—that's his totem," Hiro explained to them, looking down at the blonde.

"Wow! A wolf and it bit you. It's as bad as Yuki's scratch mark. It must have hurt," Shuichi expressed. "Mine is the butterfly."

K didn't understand 'butterfly'. He fixed his pant leg and tied his boot back on.

"More like a bug…" Suguru offered unable to help himself, seeking a little revenge. He snickered at his own joke.

Shuichi levelled fiery eyes on the young man. "Take that back!" he wailed.

Hiro shook his head at Suguru and Shuichi and took his own carving totem—that hung on a string on his neck—out. He'd been told to wear it on his journey by his mother. "The mammoth," he said and stopped to show K.

Shuichi made a trumpeting noise closely related to mammoths and made tusks with his fingers; he bunted Yuki playfully with his head while he was at it. "Hiro has the strongest totem in our clan, Gaia came personally to his mom when he was born and told her so," Shuichi muttered aimlessly.

Not understanding Shuichi's explanations, K didn't think he could hear the boy anyway. Instead he reached out to the carving of the mammoth in sheer astonishment, his own voice lost as he marvelled. Hiro had to be some kind of entity that he couldn't fathom, an entity that saved his life twice, K concluded. He stood before one that was blessed by the spirit of a mammoth! K felt completely overwhelmed.

"He's really taken by your spirit Hiro," Sakano said carefully, unsure what to make of the stranger's reaction.

"I know…" Hiro whispered, standing close to the blonde as he still inspected his spirit carving. The look in K's eyes was indescribable; there seemed to be something really important about his totem.

Yuki and Shuichi stopped a few feet ahead, looking back.

"You…are…powerful," K finally murmured, rubbing a thumb tenderly over the wooden carving. As if K lost all energy in his legs, he fell to his knees in front of Hiro and bowed. "How can I be so selfish as to have a spirit guide me home?" K asked desperately. It was too much to take; this was like a symbol, a beacon straight from his god. Emotions overwhelmed him; tears welled in the brims of his eyes. Aurora's power was paramount. "What is this enchantment? Why do you bring me a man with a spirit of a mammoth, what does it mean?" K pleaded, crumpled in a heap, his hair draped to the ground.

Bewildered Hiro stared in awe at the man on the ground; he looked around at his friends. They looked vigilant. What was this man mumbling about? His spirit was causing a stir way beyond reason. It was just a totem, one he held dearly but it shouldn't bring reactions like this. Maybe this animal meant something to K that he didn't understand. He bent and urged K to stand back up, he was feeling a bit embarrassed having the man bowing to him this way. "I'm not some god K," Hiro said sternly and shook his head 'no'. "No god." He pointed to himself. "Just spirit, mammoth," he continued carefully.

"Mammuth," K copied tentatively, still feeling unsure that he was talking to a flesh and bone man and not a god. "Mammuth saved me from wolves," K said partly in his and Hiro's speech. He pointed at Hiro's talisman and stomped his foot, then pointed to the region of his leg where the wolf bit him again. "Mammuth drive off the wolves!" K said and punched a fist into his right palm. It was as if he needed to tell Hiroshi his story.

Hiro understood K's talk for 'mammoth' and 'wolf', but he wasn't exactly sure why K was putting them in the same sentence. A mammoth had hit a wolf?

"The mammoth chased the wolf off," Yuki divulged out of no where.

Everyone raised an eyebrow peculiarly at Yuki.

But the redhead turned to gape at K now. It all made so much sense now! "A mammoth saved you from a wolf!" he exclaimed. Hiro huffed in surprise, "No wonder you're bowing to me." A very rare act by a mammoth indeed, Hiro thought. He laughed lightly, feeling so strange. He urged them all to continue walking and looked over at K when he finally caught up. "You had me worried there," he told him. Hiro patted his own chest and said, "I'm just a man, gods in the sky, gods in the earth, gods in the water…everywhere gods." He thrust a finger into the air, pointing at the sky, the earth and spreading out his arms.

"Just…man…gods," K repeated the words he caught. What did it mean? Everything was becoming so bizarre. His dream had come alive, he found a man that bore the spirit of a mammoth, a member of his clan trying to murder him…what kind of fate was this for a man?

Puffing with exertion the group discovered that the only way around White Falls was to trek up a steep slope. It was lined with deciduous trees and fresh composting leaves, smelling of dank earth. Everywhere plants thrived, ferns, skunk weed and ankle high foliage. It also stank of wood mushrooms, which grew like steps up the sides of many trees—these of course were not edible. The ground was slippery enough that all six of them had to crawl on hands and knees, grabbing roots and such to help them up. But after a strenuous effort, they all managed to climb the embankment and place feet on flat land.

K knew he had to be close to home.

A whole day of walking must have covered the distance that he took sailing down that river. And even after coming out of the forest and into some very tall grass, K urged them all to follow the direction of the river. His clan had after all situated themselves near it.

So they continued, only stopping once to hydrate and once when Sakano twisted an ankle. But all in all it was a nice warm day, so warm in fact that Yuki had to wipe his brow. It was inviting this weather, changing so quickly…it was almost forbidding. For K it was murder, he panted and removed his buckskin, it was sweltering. He wasn't used to this temperature, because for the longest time he'd been freezing his sac off. The sun felt better on his skin anyways, rather than heating up the leather profusely, causing it to chafe his skin.

"I'm tired," Sakano offered, glancing at the sun that was now dipping into the western horizon. "It's getting dark soon, we should think about camp."

Hiro agreed but he'd hoped so much that they'd find K's clan today. He was anxious to meet the people his strange friend belonged too, so curious. "Just a little further," he coaxed.

Everyone groaned except K. No, K wasn't groaning because a few things began to look familiar. He recognized the terrain. This was the place! Just, it was from a different side.

Only…there was no one here…

Confused, K darted past the group and ran ahead, fueled by adrenaline. He swung his head to and fro…not a trace of his people could be seen anywhere! K studied the area more carefully to make sure he was not delusional, that the swampy forest was indeed where he knew last and the path to the river as well, it was the same. Looking at the ground he saw places where tents once lay, the weight of its contents leaving an indent.

Blinking in utter abandonment, he finally saw the remnants of a few fire pits, their coals cold and damp. The clan had moved on for at least two days ahead of him. Where did they go? He looked around and saw nothing, no one!

"ARGHHH!!" K was mad.

Hiro ran up to the angriest man he'd ever seen in his life. K was bursting with fury, he felt scared but concerned at the same time. "What's the matter?!" he questioned loudly. Was this the place? Hiro looked behind at his clansmen with alarm.

They stood a few feet away too frightened to come any closer.

K launched his spear like a javelin and kicked at dead coals in the fire pit, sending a bloom of black dust into the air like gnats. "WHERE DID YOU GO?! I'M HERE! JUDY?! ARK?!" K yelled at the top of his lungs. "I'LL TAKE YOUR LIFE NEXT TIME!"

Not a soul dared near K.

Sakano decided he'd set up camp.

No matter what happened now they couldn't go any further. Everyone else took suit, except Hiro who paced around; he was keeping an eye out for the blonde. But K had stormed off towards the river…Hiro knew better than to follow a pissed off person. He did have a bunch of questions about a situation he was unsure about. Where was K's clan? Why weren't they here? And what was K so angry about?

"I'm kind of scared," Shuichi managed and rolled out his sleeping fur. "That guy is really upset…was his clan supposed to be here?"

"Looks that way," Suguru said making use of someone's old fire pit and put some tinder he'd collected in the middle of it.

Sakano began making a fire alongside Suguru when he returned with a pile of kindling. "I wonder why they would take off so suddenly?" he pondered aloud. "Maybe it's something we shouldn't get ourselves involved in."

Shuichi began to nod his head, scooting his bedding closer to Yuki's.

Hiro, who hovered around them said, "Maybe we should go looking for them?"

All heads twisted in his direction swiftly.

"Well, shouldn't we?" Hiro questioned.

"It's not our problem," Yuki muttered and scooted his bedding further from Shuichi's.

"Oh, he's coming back," Suguru told everyone.

Prickles ran up their spines as they saw the blonde foreigner reappear. The man looked so defeated, walking with an unreadable face. By now he'd put the buckskin parka back on as the evening sun left the earth with only a greenish-blue glow in the sky—already the full moon was coming up on the eastern skyline.

K sat heavily next to the fire, seemingly out of gas for the moment and he sighed. Not in the mood to try and explain himself to everyone he just stared grimly into the flames as if in trance.

Everyone looked at each other pensively.

Hiro too, sat down on his bedding that Shuichi had rolled out for him and dug into his pack to produce food. Some dried meat and a few wild berries, he offered some to everyone.

They took a little gratefully.

He offered some to K, but the man wouldn't even look at him. Hiro felt bad for K, whatever was happening with his family he wished he knew. He didn't know what to say, or how to say it in a way that K would understand. Like everyone else he watched the fire in silence, the night sky now dark, and the stars appearing by the millions. Over the next hour, Yuki, Shuichi, Sakano and Suguru had burrowed into their furs to lull themselves asleep by dancing flames. Shortly after, they entered the realm of the spirits in slumber.

But not Hiro, he felt tense. Looking at the moon made him think of that looming ceremony, he felt his stomach lurch. Digging into his pouch he pinched a rolled leaf between his fingers, filled with mullein and brought a twig out of the fire with a tiny flame to light it. He inhaled contently and then exhaled some of the tension out of his body. He knew that he was running away, hoping to become lost and not having to go to Naniwa. It wasn't like he didn't want to be mated or make children with Ayaka, but he wasn't sure that's all he was cut out for. There seemed more to living than that, he wanted to explore—he wanted to learn more.

He wanted adventure…

But it could anger Gaia by betraying the ways that his clan followed. What if he never got united? His father and mother would surely be upset, his father more so. He didn't think that was all there was to his life, simply carrying on traditions. What happened to living life?

A touch on his arm brought him out of his reverie. He looked over at K, slightly surprised. Oh? "What is it K?" he asked softly, keeping his voice low so he wouldn't disturb anyone.

K pointed at the smoke. "What is that?"

"You never smoked before?" He passed the smoke to K and simply said, "Smoke."

The blonde spoke the unfamiliar word and boldly took the strange object, copying how Hiro had used it. At first drag he coughed and made a face. It wasn't like anything he'd tried before. He'd seen people inhaling smoke but never from a rolled leaf. He tried again, but slowly this time…the mullein warmed his lungs. It wasn't so bad, he decided but handed the thing back to Hiro. Instead he opted for some food now, being angry was wearing off and it was exhausting. Now he just sat wondering what he was going to do, feeling numb.

"Didn't like that too much huh?" Hiro said with a small grin and watched the other man dig food out of his own pack and bite into some dried meat. He glimpsed at the fire dancing in K's eyes as they studied orange flames…such perfect eyes…

Shuichi mumbled in his sleep and quietly shuffled closer to Yuki once more. Both Hiro and K started and glanced over at Shuichi who was obviously not fully asleep yet. They looked at each other, Hiro smirked.

Then he pointed at the moon. "Full moon," Hiro told K.

Under his breath K whispered the words in monotone, his eyes now gazing upon the moon. He liked to do this, sit in the quiet of night watching the moon and the stars. As he watched, a shooting star zipped across the sky. "A falling spirit," K said in a hushed voice.

This time Hiro repeated K's words. The blonde looked at him in a pleased way then and the pit of his stomach tightened. Hiro liked how K looked at him; he knew he wanted to see that again.

"Mother and father," K said this time and pointed up to the night sky. He tried to say that in the Hiro's language, words Hiro taught him earlier—he'd remembered.

Throwing the rest of the rolled leaf into the fire, Hiro blinked in wonder at K's meaning. Did he mean in the sky was his mother and father? He shook his head, he didn't understand.

K scooped a handful of forest berries out from his pack—Hiro had given him earlier, picked from some shrub near the waterfall— and into his mouth. They were sweet and tart; he ate the seeds and all as he thought of how to explain himself to Hiro. He got an idea. K placed his hands together, resting his head on them as if to sleep, then he pointed at the sky again and repeated mother and father. "They're with Aurora and her angels."

Hiro tried to repeat that and bit his tongue quickly once he realized what K was trying to say. Hiro's face fell…how sad. He beheld the blonde stranger who was appearing sleepy, but it was apparent the man was having trouble relaxing. Hiro couldn't blame him. But he wondered how his dead parents existed in the sky? Was there a world up there? He gazed at the night sky and stars and wondered about that. He wondered how K's parents had died too. "I'm sorry," Hiro said quietly, wanting to show his remorse, he also wanted to give comfort.

He would the only way he knew how to without words. Hiro got up off his blanket and picked it up. Then he draped it around K's shoulders and sat on the man's blanket right next to him. Feeling a wicked verve flow through him just being this close to K, Hiro wrapped the blanket around the both of them, huddling into the blonde's body.

K sat utterly still at first as Hiro nestled close, sharing his warmth. How did the man know that he couldn't possibly feel any worse than he did right now, and all he wanted was to be held? Because after the anger, all there was, was angst. His people disappeared and he was alone and bruised. Hiro, the mammoth, the man—right now was the only thing that kept his heart from beating needlessly. K was touched by Hiro's kindness and found himself seeking human contact. He wrapped his right arm around Hiro cautiously; fingertips groping just under his ribcage…oh how badly he needed a caring person right now. He laid his head on Hiro's shoulder, his nose disappearing into a mass of dark hair…it was like dipping his nose into the petals of a soft flower.

A hand came around K's midsection, fingers mimicking his own, Hiro held him tightly back. The only other man he'd ever shared this sort of closeness with, was the one man that now made his blood boil, Ark. Growing up, they used to comfort each other; it was not uncommon...until Judy came along…then things began to change. But there was this irrefutable pull with Hiro, K knew. It was a force he couldn't yet describe but he felt it in his soul…his spirit felt whole. She had brought Hiro to him for a reason…

K closed his eyes as Hiro began to speak softly.

"I can't deny my vision…I was meant to find you, to feel you…more than I can explain. I need to say this now, I wish you could understand me," Hiro murmured, reaching over with his free hand to finger loose ribbons of K's pale hair that draped over his arm. "You have so many burdens on your shoulders, I can tell. I want to help you; I am your servant…that is Gaia's wish."

A/N: Will update soon! Thanks for reading.