Chapter Twelve: For the Fight Ahead
A/n: Happy Holidays! I hope everyone will have a nice one! Anyways! I sort of have an idea of where this will go. This takes place before the lush forest arc, and the current arc in the manga. Which would be the fort. I know not everyone reads the raws like I do. So I'm not sure at what point this story will meet up with the current arc, but it will start having references soon. Again, not sure how 'soon' soon is, but it is coming up. I'll keep it light so for those who don't read the raws won't get too confused. Anyways! Enjoy~~~! Happy readings!
"Dammit! She's not here?!" Min-Soo exclaimed, tears pricking at her eyes." That means those damn officers took her!" She yelled out, hands clenched up as anger overcame her.
The silence that filled the air after those words were spoken, there was a tenseness that hung in the air so tight, one could almost feel it.
"Wait, surely they don't just take them away right off. Is there perhaps somewhere where they take them? Do you know?" Kija was speaking fast, gesturing with his hands all the while. Min-Soo opened her eyes, staring at him for a moment, and then nodded slightly.
"I… I'm not sure, but there are several shops I heard do the trade off. They're disguised as regular shops, obviously, so it's a bit hard to really find." Min-Soo answered, wiping at her eyes.
Just like in Awa.
Jae-Ha thought, but immediately shook his head. He wouldn't let his mind go there. He knew if his mind went there, he wouldn't be able to hold in his emotions.
"Where are they? Do you know? If you do, we can all split up, and-"
"No." Min-Soo interrupted Yona, giving her a hard expression. "I can't let you guys get further involved, and just get in trouble yourselves."
"We can handle ourselves."
"The same logic applies to Tian. I am worried about her, but there's nothing we can do without getting into trouble ourselves."
There was a slight debate among the group. Jae-Ha remained silent, as did Zeno, as they both collected their thoughts.
"Min-Soo has a point. Not everyone should get involved at once." Jae-Ha announced, which made the group go silent as they looked at him." However, I don't think we should sit back on our hands, and just wait for her to return either." Jae-Ha looked at Min-Soo with a determined expression, not a single trace of a smirk or grin on his face."I've handled things like this before. Tell me where the shop is, and I'll personally investigate. " Min-Soo was silent for a moment, and then sighed as she looked away with her eyes closed.
With that expression, I don't doubt him. Besides, he gives off that air of someone who's been in plenty of dangerous situations. No wonder Tian had a soft spot for him. But still…. I don't want any innocent people dragged into this. Still… he's right. We shouldn't just sit back on our hands, and wait for something to happen.
"Yeah. Fine. I'll tell you, but be careful!" She looked at him with a steely expression, to which he just chuckled slightly.
"You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine."
Tian groaned slightly as she came to her senses. She wasn't sure how long she was out for, but when she woke up, she found herself blindfolded, and being carried. She gleaned slightly, moving to get out of the strong hold on her body.
"Well, well, well, you woke up quickly." It was a man's voice that spoke to her once more, but she was quickly set to the ground.
Tian felt panic set in her. She had no idea where she was. She had no idea what was going to happen to her, and worse off, she had no idea how any of the others were. She knew by now, they would have long since noticed her absence, and were probably frantically looking for her.
Min-Soo. Ha-Seon. BaaBaa. Ae-Cha. Kija. Hak. Zeno. Shin-Ah. Yona. Jae-Ha… Everyone… Stay safe. Please.
Tian silent hoped to herself. That was really the only thing she could possibly do in this situation. She was powerless to protect herself, much less them. The only thing she could do was just hope they didn't bring attention to themselves,and land any of them in big trouble.
"Another one?" To Tian's surprise, it was a female that spoke. An older female with a slightly rougher, harsher voice. Tian felt her heart speed up at the tone of the woman. Even more so when the woman roughly grabbed her chin, and then her arms. As of inspecting her." Eh. She'll do. Put her in the room with the others. We'll house them until the wagon comes this evening to take them to Sei."
Sei? Where is that? Out of Kouka? I've never been out of Kouka before….
"Right away, Ma'am."
"Hurry. Someone has come, and we can't afford to have someone spot this girl."
"Right. Of course." Tian grunted as she was roughly picked up rather forcefully by her arms, and shoved her forward.
"Be gentle with her, moron! We can't afford for her to get hurt. What use will she be to us then?" The older woman scolded the man. He mumbled in complaint, but seemed more gentle with Tian.
Damn. If they take me to Sei, there's no chance I will ever be seen again. Dammit! I have to figure out how to get away before then! Dammit!
Tian bit her lips, her muscles tense as she was lead further down a hallway. She felt fearful. She was about to be taken to a place she had never been to before. Outside of Kouka. Once again, she was being taken away from everything she knew, and there was nothing she could do about it. She felt weak. She felt stupid. She felt regret. For everything she felt she should have said, or did, but never did.
No! I can't take this laying down like some helpless child once again! No! I'm not gonna accept this! I have to be smart! Think of a way to get out of this! I just have to think is all!
At that moment, she was shoved into a room. She grunted as she fell to the floor. She was the roughly maneuvered so that she was sitting up. She scowled.
Don't worry about me. I'll be fine guys. Just stay safe. Please.
Jae-Ha sighed as he walked up to the shop that was rumored to be a trade off space.
"These trade off posts, they're legitimate buildings. They offer to hold slaves who are to be enroute to be sold in exchange for goods for their stores. From what little I could dig up, you can purchase these slaves with a single word. Not sure what it is, but if you're as good as you claim you are, I'm sure you can find out quickly what it is. Please, please be careful!"
The woman's voice rang clearly through his mind. Jae-Ha sighed, running his fingers through his hair for a moment before adapting his confident grin on his face, and stepping forward.
"Hello, sir! Is there something I can help you with?" As soon as he stepped into the building, he came face to face with a rather kind, simple looking, middle aged man.
"Ah, yes! I heard this shop specializes in unique and special purchases. Is that true by any chance?" He questioned, trying to appear as laid back as possible. The man eyed him, friendly smile immediately dropping.
"You heard wrong, sir." The man stated." We simply sell-"
"You say that, and yet I heard differently. From some drunk officers as a matter of fact. See, I've come from the Kai Empire myself. I'm looking for some new servants for my household. I was told to come here." The man once again paused, looking a bit unsure under Jae-Ha's steady, unmoving gaze.
So, they are a trading post. Jae-Ha felt his jaw tighten. I'm not going to go easy on him if he thinks I'm a fool.
"You were mistaken. Kouka does not allow such things. Now please sir, try somewhere else.''
It was almost painfully obvious that the man was trying to get Jae-Ha away, but the green dragon had always been a stubborn man. Especially when it came to those he held dearly being put in danger. He wouldn't forgive such actions.
"Let's try this again, shall we?" Jae-Ha stated, surprising the man by quickly pinning him against the desk. He scowled as he held the man's arms behind his back in a rather painful manner, while the other hand was holding his face against the desk. He was using his dragon leg to pin the man's legs so he couldn't move." I heard this is a slave trading post. Is it true? I suggest telling the truth. I'm not a very forgiving man. And I'm not afraid to get my hands a little dirty either." He whispered lowly into the feeble man's ear, applying pressure to the arms to until he grunted in pain. Pain was one way to get anybody to talk after some point. Jae-Ha just had to find this man's point…
"Jae-Ha has been gone for a while. I hope he's OK." Yona stated in worry, her purple eyes looking towards the path towards the village.
"Don't worry, Yona. He did go investigate three possible leads by himself. Of course it's gonna take a while. Meanwhile, here's some rice. Eat it before it gets cold." He began handing out rations to everyone, who jokingly thanked their 'mother', to Yun's annoyance. Min-Soo just giggled slightly.
"Thank you, Yun." She said softly, smiling. Yun nodded.
"Yeah. Sure." He said, setting another bowl out. Min-Soo didn't have to ask to know that it was for the missing member. Well…. One of them anyways.
Truthfully, Min-Soo was too filled with worry to really eat, but she ate out of courtesy. The boy was kind enough to cook for her. She could eat, but it was all mush to her. She was worried for Tian. She was worried for her town. For Ae-Cha. For Ha-Seon. For.. For everyone.
"Your name is Min-Soo, correct?" Min-Soo looked over at Kija as he took a spot next to her. She nodded slightly, looking back at her bowl of rice.
"Kija, am I right?" She questioned, looking back at him. The white haired man nodded, smiling slightly. She reflected the small smile back to him, but quickly looked away. Her smile dropped just as quickly.
"Don't worry. Tian will be just fine. My brother is nothing if not persistent. He will find her." Min-Soo nodded, smiling.
"I don't doubt it." She stated, looking at the man with a smile." He seemed like the persistent type." She giggled slightly, and then looked away once more. Kija found himself relaxed a bit to see the smile that stayed.
Before anything else could be said, Jae-Ha returned. His shirt was torn slightly, revealing the back shirt underneath, and there were a few cuts that were bleeding. The one on his shoulder was most noticeable. Mostly because Jae-Ha was holding it. Regardless, he had his usual grin plastered on his face.
"What the hell happened?! You said you were going to investigate! Not fight, and grin attention to yourself! Come here, and let me patch you up! You're bleeding everywhere!" Yun was immediately fussing, leading Jae-Ha closer to his tent where the medicine was. Everyone immediately forgot their meals, and followed the two to the tent.
"Well?'' Min-Soo immediately asked. Jae-Ha looked at her, and smiled apologetically.
" I'm sorry. They all claimed other wise. One even picked a fight with me. Obviously. But I couldn't get anything out of them. "
There was silence that once again filled the air. Min-Soo sighed, hanging her head. Kija once again glanced at her, wanting to comfort her, but Yona had already put a comforting hand on the woman's shoulders. Kija looked away, biting at the insides of his lips.
"So… What now?" Min-Soo asked, looking at Jae-Ha. He looked at her, and then sighed as he looked away. At this point, Yun had finished patching him up.
"I overheard one speaking about a wagon that was supposed to come to take them to Sei. I doubt we'll have much luck getting them out before this happens, but we can try to stop them before reaching Sei." Jae-Ha offered, looking back at her."I don't know if-"
"It may scare me, but I want to go too. Those bastards have my two friends. I want to save them. I may not be able to fight, but I know a lot about medicine. I can make anything from anything. And I can cook anything from anything as well. I can repair weapons, and make clothing as well, and-"
"You do know, I do that too right?" Yun questioned, making Min-Soo deflate immediately. He sighed, looking away." But I could use the help taking care of these rare beasts."
"Right! And if you want, I can always teach you some things! I mean, I couldn't do anything either, but now I'm stronger, and can fight really well! I can teach you!" Yona offered, smiling.
"If the princess doesn't mind then neither do I. Although, I probably wouldn't have her teach you to fight." Hak said teasingly, which made Yona a bit annoyed.
"Zeno doesn't mind! Besides, I'm sure the miss would like another girl around!'' Zeno announced with a smile. Shin-Ah nodded silently. Min-Soo glanced at Kija, who was looking at her with a contemplating expression, and then smiled gently.
"I do not mind either." He stated, making Min-Soo smile.
"Alright! I promise, I won't make you guys regret this! I'll be of use! Thank you!" She was thanking them profusely, making Yona laugh a bit.
Please. Be alright Tian. Be alright. Just hang on. We're coming to get you.
Tian was still in thought, wondering how she was going to get out of this when they came to get her. Her only means of escaping would be before they reached Sei. How that was going to happen, she really had no idea. She was still scared, but she couldn't just let them do as this to her either. Not without a fight anyways.
Please, just please, stay ssafe. Please.
Tian thought to herself as she was loaded into the wagon. After all, she had gotten out of worse situations before. She couldn't think of any at the moment, but... She would be OK. She would get outnof this alright. She just prayed the other s stayed safe...