First Day as Sorakage

I woke up at 4 in the morning and slapped my clothes on. My head was ringing with the orders issued out to me by the lead nurse, who apparantly had gotten a bad impression of me. She was always complaining about my habits and the food I ate. Luckily, I only had to see her for meals and mornings. I stepped out of my door, leaving the screaming Greidel behind. My room was right next to the Sorakage's althought it wasn't as extravagant. I saw Ryushin coming down the hallway in the customary butler outfit.

"May I help you, madam?" he said jokingly.

"Why yes, Ryushin, my dear," I said in my most fancy, high-class voice. "You may wake up young master Yoko."

"I'm not so sure. Greidel might get mad at me," Ryushin stopped our ongoing joke. I asked Yoko to make him our butler/secratary while I was in office or at least, until we could figure out what to do with him, and he also gave me a room next to his, which he tries to visit as often as he can, despite Greidel's protests. Today was going to be my first day as the Sorakage's substitute. I'm supposed to work behind the scenes-even Yoko agreed to this-and pretend to be Yoko. If the public finds out that they're leader is deathly ill, it might cause a panic. Especially since it was me, who was being the sub.

flashback

I flicked my head around to find Ryushin. "YOU IDIOT!" I rasped at him, the sudden need to be secretive overwhelming me. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU FOLLOW ME?!"

Ryushin was too stunned to answer.

I shook my head. "Do you realize what you have done? This village has remained a secret for years, and now you, an outsider, has found it. I'm sorry, Ryushin, but I'm going to have to keep you here."

He finally snapped out of his shock. "What? You're holding me prisoner?!"

I shook my head. If only I could. "No. You're lucky I'm not a bad person. Though I am going to have to keep you here. I'm sorry, but you'll have to remain here for a while, until Yoko-sama regains his health. You can stay with me, under my protection, and act as a regular citizen of this city, but you'll have to get rid of that head band."

Ryushin quickly took in the information and nodded solemnly. He got over things quickly. He took off his headband and began to put it in his jacket pocket.

I grabbed his arm. "I'm sorry, but we'll have to get rid of it for good. We can't risk being found out or its both our heads."

Ryushin looked up at me with worry, but I took the headband from him and chunked it high into the air. It flew up and over the fence, and back down to Earth. Ryushin ran to the fence to watch the last traces of his ninjahood fall through the clouds. I felt sorry for him, but it was for the best.

end flashback

I was dissapointed to find my job being nothing, but paperwork. It was mainly just bills asking to be passed and petitions and reports from our ninja squad's patrol around the city. I was so bored, I couldn't even focus on the work. Of course, Greidel made sure to stop by and "check" on my health. What was her freakin' problem, anyway?

Luckily, Ryushin stayed by my side most of the time when he wasn't called to help Yoko. He was actually a really nice guy. He was always spewing out compliments about me and he had this immense passion for dragons. (Like little giddy schoolgirls and horses.) I loved having dragon discussions with him. I really wanted to brag about me being a dragon, myself, but my concious cowardness kept me from opening my mouth. I was too afraid he would treat me differently like other people did. Yoko has been the only one to treat me exactly the same as he did before. I didn't want to ruin a new, and most dire, friendship.

I had an interesting evening though. I was finally finishing the last of the reports when I was delivered an entire shop's worth of flowers. My office was full of them. Apparantly, they were sent to Yoko, but since I was the current Sorakage, and in place of Yoko, they were sent to me.

People really care about him, I thought with a smile on my face. I can see why, too. He's come, himself, to check on me many times. Not that he doesn't think I can do the job, it's just that he feels like he's slacking off of his work.

"You're-" I said to him one day, but was interuppted by Greidel.

"-really shouldn't over exert yourself, sir. Your body is much to weak for you to check on her."

I glared at her for the emphasis on that last word, and she gave a disapproving snort.

Yoko slapped her hand away as she tried to tuck him back into bed. "I can take care of myself perfectly well, thank you. Besides, I don't trust anyone to check over the work."

"But, sir, you have m-"

"No, not even you!"

I gave Yoko an angry look. "I think I can handle the job, sir. You may be a genius, but I'm not an idiot. Remember, I'm older than you. You should obey your elders."

"I have more authority than the elders," Yoko retorted with a triumphant smile.

I had no come-back. Greidel gave me a scornful look before taking his dinner tray out. Once we were sure she was really gone, Yoko gave me a curious look. "If you had said 'sir' any more impolitely I think she would've decapitated you right here, right now."

"Oh, well. Oh, hey, your office is full of flowers now. Apparantely wind of you being sick leaked out into the village. They really love you."

"I know. I'm just sorry to let them down."

"Let them down?! Dude, you've doubled our country since you've been in office. That's pretty good if you ask me. All problems are instantly solved by you."

"Except for the worst one." He looked extremely glum.

"What? The village is fine."

"No. We're so ignorant and inexperienced. We're like a bunch of spoiled kids who didn't get what they wanted on Earth so they ran away to the sky. We're cowards, Sarafu. We'll eventually be found. It's only a matter of time. Sarafu, I'm telling you, and only you, this because I fear that I might not live to see this day. Sarafu, I want to ground the sky village."

...to be continued.